Crawling is another fun trick that can help you train your dog not only mentally but also physically.
Task:
👉 Sit down on the floor and have the dog lie down in front of you, perpendicular to you.
👉 Hold your hand with a treat in front of her nose (low), then slowly move your hand forward.
👉 If she follows your hand by stretching her neck, praise and reward, but if she stands up, take the treat away, have her lie back down and start again.
👉 Repeat this, in small steps, expecting more and more from your dog.
👉 Once you have managed a few steps of crawling, start introducing the command word, “crawl” (in this case too, this should come before the hand gesture, of course).
Tips:
👉 Do not try to push her down with your hands, as this can be an unpleasant experience for your dog. – Start teaching on a comfortable surface (e.g. a carpet).
👉 You can use an aid for teaching (for example by putting a chair above her), but in this case you have to take into consideration the fact that if you stop practicing with this tool, your dog will not necessarily know what to expect.
👉 Be patient, fine tune your hand movements. Stay calm, don’t make sudden hand movements, sooner or later she will understand what you want from her.
👉 It helps if you use a clicker to confirm even small steps quickly and accurately.
👉 Rise from the ground gradually and reduce your hand movements to very slight gestures.
👉 Gradually increase the time duration of the exercise.
