Hey friend,

I had a visitor this week—a nine-week-old working line Aussie named Gator. She came over for a few hours of socialization, and we packed a lot of learning into some very short play sessions.

I started some patterns and structure for self control and arousal management without doing obedience drills.

A few highlights:

• Toy trading — Prevent keep-away games and resource guarding before they start, and build a foundation for recall away from dogs and prey animals.
• Sit for the toy — Gator had more toy drive than food drive, so I used that. Lift the toy, wait for her bum to hit the ground, throw. She's learning impulse control and emotional regulation without even knowing it. Build on that with Sit for a treat and sit for attention.
• Being a safe space — When she got overwhelmed by my horse calling or wasn't sure about Riker's body language, I made sure she knew: come to me, and I'll keep you safe. She can choose to opt out of interactions.
• Naps. So many naps. — Puppies need 16–20 hours of sleep. Just because they want to keep going doesn't mean they should. Little Gator slept more than half the time she was here.

Play for play's sake matters. But play can also quietly install the life skills that prevent behavioral problems down the road.

If you've got a puppy—or a dog who missed some of these foundations—it's never too late to start. We just adjust the criteria.

​See Gator's video on Facebook​​
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Happy training!

~ Christina

Psst... my podcast has a whole new vibe!

Check it out and listen to the games I played with Gator in more detail.