Today we did one of my favorite exercises, the “Sit Around and Do Nothing” exercise.
We all sit far away from each other, either on the ground or a blanket or a chair. We click and treat anything we see our dogs doing that we like; i.e., looking calmly at anything, or other dogs, or people, sitting, laying down, sniffing. Every few minutes one of us gets up and moves a few feet closer (as in, 2-3 feet). In order to be able to move closer, our dog must be calm and relaxed.
The goal is that, over time, the dogs can be in a rather small circle, hanging out with their owners, near other dogs, and not care. It is an incredibly powerful exercise. Few of us ever take the time to sit with our dogs, and observe and enjoy the world around us. We are so busy walking or exercising our dogs, that we don’t give them a chance to ‘just hang’. Matter of fact, we don’t allow ourselves to do that, either.
We typically give this exercise a half hour. Over time, the transformation is wonderful.
Click here to see a later video blog of the Sit Around and Do Nothing exercise.
3 of the 4 Reactive Class participants relaxing with their dogs.
Recent Reactive Dog Classes
