training
Training Tips: The Flitting Game Emma Judson describes the game she plays with puppies to help them get used to being alone
T
o help a puppy become accustomed to being left alone sometimes, I use a two-part game that I call the Flitting Game. We pick two adjacent rooms, ideally the kitchen and the living room. Set the timer on your phone (silently) for five minutes. Then make multiple trips from one room to the next, fiddle with something in one room, then move on. As you do this, ignore your dog – as in don’t talk to him or touch him, but keep an eye on him. As he begins to settle, flit again. Over the course of a few sessions you should find your dog becomes slower to get up, slower to settle, lurks in the hallway or in doorways, starts to look annoyed at you because this is now TEDIOUS and unrewarding.
Reason to Stay It’s important to remember this is not some strict military regime. If you WANT your dog to come with you, to talk to him and fuss with him, that’s fine. Outside these sessions, invite him along. The point is that when you do not invite him, it might not be worth his effort to follow you. When he realizes that, you can then occasionally add in a good reason NOT to choose following you. Step two in the Flitting Game is, add that reason in. It might be a big
If you WANT your dog to come with you, to talk to him and fuss with him, that’s fine. Outside these sessions, invite him along. The point is that when you do not invite him, it might not be worth his effort to follow you and when he realizes that, you can then occasionally add in a good reason NOT to choose following you.
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BARKS from the Guild/September 2019
© Can Stock Photo/MatHayward
Learning to be left alone and feeling relaxed about it is an important life skill
juicy bone or a big, filled Kong, i.e. something that’s highly rewarding and a pain in the proverbial backside to lift and carry around. Now repeat the flitting. If he chooses not to follow you, try to stay a little less time in the ‘away’ room, a little more in the ‘home’ room, and build up gradually, second by second. Do not always give him the Kong or bone. Carry on doing sessions without them, and very gradually build up to other rooms and longer durations away. At any point, your dog is free to come and check what you are doing or where you are. If he does, that’s fine. Don’t say ‘hi’ or anything but make a mental note that perhaps this was a step too far and to scale back. The idea is that your dog learns that it is his own choice not to follow and that, sometimes, that choice is highly reinforcing. Sometimes it just saves him some tedium and effort. He is free to check up if he’s worried. There’s no force or pressure at all. n Emma Judson is based in Worcestershire, West Midlands, United Kingdom and is head training and behavior consultant at the Canine Consultant (thecanineconsultants.co.uk). She is a part time wheel‐ chair user due to Ehlers Danlos and dilated cardiomyopathy, so “works around” her illness. She shares her home with her partner and the “hairy freeloaders” Womble, Errol, Baggins, Weasels and Kelda. She is a KSA trainer (one‐to‐one) via the Professional Associ‐ ation of Canine Trainers, a registered animal training instructor via the Animal Behaviour and Training Council and also handles remote separation anxiety clients. She is known for her cartooning (Beanz, Fido), commercial illustrations (Your Dog magazine) and freelance writing (Dogs Today).
