Flirt pole time! Flirt pole is one of my favourite toys to use for helping dogs learn to think even when they are very excited. How many of us have had experience of our dogs listening UNTIL something else fun in the environment distracts them?

So using the flirt pole I get the dog all excited and chasing and then will ask them for a well known cue, like a sit, down, touch, middle, spin...really anything they know well. Can the dog still perform the cue? Can they do it but there's a bit of a time delay for them? Or does the dog have no idea and are still chasing and jumping and mugging you for the chase to begin again? It doesn't matter where we are in this journey but it is useful information for us. If my dog can't perform a task they know very well when they are higher in arousal, how do I have a hope of recalling them if something suddenly appeared. Exercises like these can really help our dogs learn to have flexibility in thinking. And even just a minute here and there will all add up. This is part of why I love to use play so much in training!

Many trainers may tell you to do lots of calming activities with your dog and not let them get too aroused. There is absolutely value in practicing calm activities too. But let's be real, when a bunny pops out of a bush no amount of calm zen activities are going to keep a prey driven dogs arousal low. Owning bully breeds I quickly learnt that their arousal can shoot from 0-100 in half a second and actually teaching them how to still use their brains and ears when in that excitement was far more beneficial for me out in the real world! I have since seen the benefits with not only my own dogs but client dogs.

For Vince here the flirt pole is a great way to biologically fulfil his desire to control movement. I ask him for some well known cues mid chase and also sometimes before the chase continues to really check if he is able to still listen when he is very excited. Start simple, when the toy stops the dog stops. As soon as they stop the chase begins again. Then build in your well known cues from there. When they are nailing this then you can try asking for a behaviour mid chase, it's a big challenge but by breaking this down to manageable steps I know you and your dog will smash it!