Now that everyone has Mark>REWARD and Four Feet in a Box going it is time to introduce  a new trick.

Review:

Four Feet in a Box teaches your dog that all 4 feet matter. As I progress to smaller and smaller boxes I like to Mark when the back feet go in the box. Keep working on this so you can creatively mix up your dog’s training. You can even build a little duration into 4 feet in a box by rewarding for duration for staying in the box.

Something New:

Two Feet on a Plate

You will need 2-3 dinner plate sized objects. Old phone books, or magazines work great for this step. I even take my feed buckets and flip them upside down for this step.

How:

Put out 2-3 plates about 3 feet apart. Start to Mark>REWARD for your dog interacting with the plate. They may try to put all 4 feet on it so make sure you Mark just the front feet. REWARD by tossing the treat away from you and the plate. Have this be really fun with your dog moving from plate to plate. I had a Jack Russell student years ago that would pounce on the plate and slide it across the floor. This is a faster activity than the box because in later lessons we will be rewarding the dogs for moving their hind feet around the plate. Use different “plates”. Some can move like a pot lid and also make sounds.

Here is an old video of my sweet pup Prim working on 2 Feet on a Plate.

This is former herding student Emma, a corgi mix, reviewing 4 feet and two feet on a plate.