The real world presents all sorts of challenges to your puppy’s obedience training. Prepare them by adding in distance between you and your puppy, longer time duration between commands and releasing them, and real-world distractions!
The Puppy Academy student, London!
What are the “3Ds”?
While the name of this training might be unfamiliar to some new owners, it’s actually not as complex or ambiguous as it sounds! Distance, Duration, and Distractions, or simply put the 3Ds have controlled exercises that will test your puppy’s new skillset and aid you to manage your puppy’s impulse control with real-world challenges!
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Introducing the 3Ds!
During this session, you’ll have your puppy performing the same commands that they already know but introduce a new challenge, the 3Ds!
We recommend that you begin this session by having your puppy do what is easiest for them. This way, you can build up your puppy’s impulse control even more with the addition of the 3Ds. First, start by having your puppy in a “Sit” or “Down”, and follow up by saying “Stay” while using your hand signal (a flat hand held out in front of you). During this step, take one to three robotic steps back and say “Good!” and walk back to your puppy to reward them. Now, you’ll repeat this process except this time say “Come” and reward your puppy. Again, repeat this process and put your puppy back into a “Sit” or “Down” and start adding the 3Ds.
Distance
You’ve already started taking steps away from your puppy while they were on Place in a Sit or Down, so the goal is to increase the amount of space, or you guessed it, the distance between you and your puppy while holding “Stay”! Creating distance will help boost your puppy’s self-confidence to comfortably stay in one place and resist the urge to get up and move, even if they can’t see you.
Just as you did at the start of this session, use slow robotic movements and begin stepping back away from your puppy. Use the leash to help create an initial measurement of distance and work up to the end of your leash, eventually dropping your leash. Then go even further by walking out of sight such as into a different room, over the course of a few weeks.
Distractions
The Puppy Academy students, Beau and Sunny!
Out in the real world, your puppy will encounter many distractions from other people, dogs and objects, so this activity will help manage their impulse to follow or even chase after things that happen to go past them!
For this routine, take a step to the side rather than just backward. Try stepping back with some pep in your step or more fluidly rather than robotic to create some motivation in your puppy. This is a huge challenge in the beginning, so expect to reset your pup a few times! Now, back up one to three steps and then calmly squat down in front of your puppy. The reason behind this is because oftentimes puppies see this as an invitation to come and play so it can be a huge distraction in order to reinforce a strong command!
You can practice with other distractions from easiest to hardest to help increase your puppy’s resistance to go after them! Think outside the box such as the family or neighbors making noise, playing noises on your phone, a family member cooking, etc. And change the location where you practice to create a new environment distraction!
Duration
Lastly, introduce more varied lengths of time that your puppy is holding one particular command. The biggest difference between the duration exercise from the distance and distraction exercises is that duration needs to be mixed up and not gradually increased. So when you begin to add in different durations, start with a few seconds, then move up to twenty seconds, and then scale back to maybe a few seconds, and eventually even move up to minutes!
The 3Ds are a huge advance to your puppy’s overall retention of their obedience commands! As your puppy matures and you continue to practice, they will be able to listen to you regardless of distance, what’s happening around them, and for longer periods of time! This opens up the amazing opportunity for your puppy to accompany you to new exciting places, while you have the peace of mind that your puppy will listen to you!
BONUS: Boost Your Puppy’s Confidence with 360 Practice!
@reese_the_dood
360 practice simply means completing a full circle around your puppy while they are holding a Sit, Down, or Place command (whichever is their strongest!) and have them Stay in order to simulate a real-world situation out in public! Your puppy will eventually encounter having to Stay in an environment where other people, dogs, bikes, etc., are all happening around them. And while it’s very normal for puppies to want to follow what’s moving around them, with this practice, you’ll help build up your puppy’s tolerance to those types of activities happening in their space and learn to simply exist while staying put.
To do this, take a couple of minutes to get your puppy focused and in a ready-to-work mindset! Practice a little warm-up session by having your puppy go to “Place”. Once there, say “Come” and move a few steps away from your puppy. Reward your puppy for “Come” or, to add a little more challenge, pattern to another “Place” cot, or your pup’s “House”. Throughout this short session, keep your energy up and use food lures to get your puppy motivated for their upcoming 360 routine!
With your puppy on their “Place”, say “Good!” and reward them with food. At this point, ask for a “Stay” and use your hand signal (a flat hand held out in front of you) and take a step back. Now, begin to move to one side and if you need to, reinforce “Stay” each step you take as you make a circle around your puppy. If they are staying, mark the correct behavior with “Good!” and reward your puppy with food every other step or so. Continue to complete the circle and for the next repetition, go in the opposite direction!
This can be a challenging effort for new puppies in the beginning so don’t be discouraged if your first-ever attempt ends up with only a half or even quarter circle around your pup! It's normal for them to get up or change their position to see you when you go behind them when they're first learning! Remember to use slow, robotic steps first, then transition to more natural flowing walking motions as your pup gets better. Practice this activity over the course of a few weeks until your puppy can remain still as you move around them, then start adding in the 3Ds to this as well!
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