GO to MAT: Level 2

We began by first teaching the go to and then being on. Landry volunteered the down. In fact, it was his volunteer down when learning Go to Mat that was the beginning of teaching him to down. Yesterday we trained Go to Mat using a bath towel for the mat in his x-pen. Dale trains this at home with yet a different mat, so he is getting lots of practice generalizing this important behavior. Now we are back using the original mat, adding a little more distance and inadvertent additional distractions (roofers across the street). Adding the cue once he is committed. Dale uses the cue the same way at home. Here you can see Landry's quiet determination. He chews his treats thoroughly, thinks things through and then, quite deliberatively, usually stays in the game. What a fun, serious little guy!

Week Four

12 weeks old