Goal:

  • Have puppy stand with all four feet on a large, low, stable platform

What you need:

  1. Non-slippery floor

  2. One large, low, stable platform

    • This platform needs to be long enough for puppy to stand on comfortably

    • When possible, I try to use a much longer platform than the puppy’s body length

  3. Cookies

  4. Your puppy

What to do:

  1. Put the platform between you and the puppy

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

  3. When puppy comes back towards you and puts all four feet on the platform, mark + treat

  4. Feed a number of cookies rapidly to encourage standing

    • Try to feed with puppy’s head in a relatively neutral position (i.e., not looking up or down) to encourage standing

  5. Before puppy has a chance to sit or lie down, toss a cookie away from the platform

  6. Repeat steps 3-5