Warm Up (Engagement) In a New Location
Added 2025-08-25 12:00:06 +0000 UTCThis is a short clip of what I did right after entering a new location with Denver to practice rally with a friend.
I started by actually leaving Denver in the car while I set up the course. This allowed me to focus completely on him once I got him out of the car. I first give him a chance to sniff around outside and potty before entering the building.
My friend was already practicing when we got in, so I immediately started playing engagement games. Basically I start with just putting a piece of food on the floor. As soon as he eats it and looks back up at me, I mark and put another piece on the floor. As I see that he's focused on me I start putting it off to the side so he is essentially facing away from me and has to turn to look back at me.
Once he was solid with re-engaging after eating, i did a few hand touch warm ups.
At this point I feel that he's ready to start focusing on me and practicing in this new space.
This warm up only took one minute but it can tell me a lot about my dog's state of mind and readiness to work! Latency (slow to look back at you) after eating the food? He might need to sniff around more outside or he may be unsure of the environment or over-faced. Quick to engage? He's ready to work!
One more thing - I use medium value food for this game. Not low value like kibble where some dogs will be relatively disinterested in a new space, but not high value like cheese. I want my read on him to be genuine and not just engagement because the food is so high value.
You can practice this before any outing to judge readiness to work! (Practice in your home too and in neutral locations to get a baseline read on your dog)
Happy Training!
Comments
I have a public YouTube video showing my whole process for warming them up before going into a store coming out next week (probably if i can get the editing done) so stay tuned for more! :)
Laura DeMaio Roy
2025-08-29 13:30:22 +0000 UTCThis makes so much sense!
Marka Danielle Rodgers
2025-08-29 13:28:43 +0000 UTCI really like using pattern games and touch since they make things easier and more enjoyable for dogs and their people.
Melanie Wonneberger
2025-08-28 23:30:48 +0000 UTCI have not found it to be an issue but you definitely don't have to use it if you don't want to. I use cheese to train maybe once every two weeks? I probably wouldn't feed it every day for long periods - but I believe there's sodium in pretty much any preserved treat. If you're concerned, freeze dried single ingredient treats, or cooked chicken or steak would both be good alternatives!
Laura DeMaio Roy
2025-08-25 19:26:10 +0000 UTCFor sure! So useful!
Laura DeMaio Roy
2025-08-25 19:20:23 +0000 UTCI love all the situations where the Touch cue can be used! Definitely one of the first games I'll play when I get my pup
Mel
2025-08-25 18:06:18 +0000 UTCIs sodium in string cheese an issue. At one dog school I went to they brought that up. Appreciate all your help and advice.
Wesley Quinlan
2025-08-25 17:28:09 +0000 UTC
