Non-slippery floor
This is by far the most important piece of “equipment,” as we want to make sure puppies have grippy footing to minimize stress on their rapidly developing bodies. Make use of yoga mats, gym flooring, or carpets to minimize slipping or sliding when doing exercises.
Low stable platforms
We will make use of 1 - 2 low, stable platforms. Aerobic platforms, steppers, and garden pavers are excellent options that are relatively easily accessible. I also make use of scrap wood (with grip tape on top), insulation foams (taped together with duct tape), or puzzle mats (taped together with duct tape, with yoga mat on top).
A long pole
We will use 1 long pole to introduce puppies stepping over something. I use a long uncut PVC pipe in the video, because I happened to have one leftover. Other options can be a broom handle, curtain rod, garden stake, or even an old garden hose. Make sure to weigh down the pole on both ends (e.g., with towels or sandbags) to prevent the pole from rolling.
Cookies
For my puppies, I use a portion of their regular meals for cookies. This means that the “cookies” are just their regular kibbles. However, you can use any cookies (e.g., kibbles, cheese, treats) your puppy likes.
Frequently Asked Questions
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I start my puppies with these exercises when they first come to me around 8 weeks.
Because these exercises are very low impact, making use of low, stable platforms on non-slippery floors, they are generally safe for puppies as young as 8 weeks.
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As we introduce puppies to different equipments, I prefer to use bigger platforms to set my puppies up for success. Bigger platform = larger surface area = easier to “target”.
I gauge the size of the first platforms to be approximately twice the size of the puppy. As the puppy gains confident, I can switch to smaller platforms.
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I prefer the platforms to be no higher than the puppy’s carpal (i.e., wrist) for safety reasons.
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Every puppy is unique, so there is no hard and fast rule for how often you should do these exercises.
I usually do 2 - 3 exercises a day, for about 30s at a time. Puppies have a short attention span, and we want to keep our training sessions fun for everyone.
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Every puppy is unique, so there is no hard and fast rule for how long each training session should be.
My rule of thumb is “keep it short and sweet.” I make sure to end the session before the puppy gets bored, frustrated, or tired.
For puppies 8-12 weeks, my training session is usually about 3-5 minutes total. It may look something like:
30s play
10s train
60s play
15s train
30s play
15s train
60s play
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The goal of these exercises is to show the puppy that training is fun. We are exposing the puppy to all the different things they can do.
Therefore, I do not emphasize on the number of repetitions. When I first start, I take a handful of cookies, work on one exercise. When the cookies are gone, I am done with this exercise for this session.
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Nope! Although some exercises build upon each other (e.g., front feet side stepping requires puppy knows front feet target first), the puppy does not have to master one exercise before moving on to the next.
In fact, I often do 2-3 different exercises in one training sessions to keep things interesting.