Spring is almost here and that means dog-sports season is right around the corner! Practicing key foundation behaviors now, indoors with low distraction, will boost your success when you are ready to take it outdoors.

In this video, Karen Pryor Academy Associate Director Gretchen Carey and her dog Joe are working on orientation, directionals, and the “go around” behavior—critical behaviors for every dog sport. Gretchen and Joe began training these behaviors near the cone, slowly adding backing away to add distance as Joe became more fluent. When they take the behavior outside, Gretchen will lower her criteria and move closer to the cone until she is confident that Joe has transitioned the behavior from inside to outside.

Good luck with “spring training!”