Square sit on platform

Goal:

• Have puppy sit on a low, stable platform, front feet straight and parallel, hind feet tucked close to torso, toes pointing forward

What you need:

1. Non-slippery floor

2. One large, low, stable platform

3. Cookies

4. Your puppy

What to do:

1. Put a cookie on the floor or in a bowl, away from the platform for the puppy to eat

2. Lure puppy to sit on the platform, aim to lure puppy to sit as close to the front edge of the platform as possible

3. Mark + treat with puppy’s head in neutral position

4. Continue to treat puppy with a few cookies as puppy remains sitting on the platform

5. Throw reset cookie behind puppy

6. Repeat steps 2-5

Troubleshooting:

• If puppy does not sit square, use a lure to gently lure puppy into a better position

• E.g., Puppy sits with RIGHT hind foot sticking out, lure puppy’s head upwards and towards puppy’s LEFT to encourage puppy to shift weight to puppy’s LEFT

What the progression may look like:

1. Puppy sits on platform for 1 second

2. Puppy sits on platform for 2 seconds, hind feet sticking out

3. Puppy sits on platform for 2 seconds, one hind foot sticking out

4. Puppy sits on platform for 5 seconds, one hind foot sticking out

5. Puppy sits on platform for 5 seconds, hind feet tucked in

How many reps? How often?

• Learning phase: 3-5 reps/session, 2-3x/week

• Maintenance phase: 5 reps/2 sets/session, 2x/week