By Rebecca Köhnke
- Put your pram/buggy up somewhere where your dog can see and investigate it, but where he has plenty space to go elsewhere without having to go past the buggy. This could be inside or in the garden, but should be calm and without any distractions.
- Get yourself a large treat pouch or bowl. This should by filled with lots and lots of small treats; very small cheese cubes are good for this if your dog likes them.
- Sit near the pram with your treats in reach, but not in your hand. Your dog can just roam. Whenever your dog shows interest in the pram, click or mark and toss a treat just behind him. Being able to increase distance to the new object is a reward in and of itself, and a very valuable one at that. For obvious reasons, don’t reward exuberant or inquisitive actions, such as paw swatting, biting, or climbing the pram.
- You’ll notice your dog becoming more comfortable around the pram. That’s what you want; comfortable, not mega-excited, crazy, happy, or bouncing.
- With your dog still loose, handle and fold the pram several times. Again, tossing treats behind the dog as you go. Watch for signs that the dog is comfortable, not excited.
- Next, move the pram back and forward a bit, lift the front and/or back as if trying to negotiate corners and curbs. Toss treats as before. Again, comfortable is your goal.
- Think about which side you want your dog to be on. I like him to be on the side which is furthest from the traffic. Now we’ll get moving. Take your treats with you; keep them easy to reach, but not in your hand.
- Slowly push the buggy. Whenever your dog happens to be at the side you picked, mark and treat. I like to treat on the floor at this point, on my chosen side, at about my 7 o’clock position, as the floor serves to automatically ‘reset’ the dog. You could treat from your hand instead, if you prefer, from slightly behind your thigh. What I’m doing here, is making ‘beside and slightly behind me’ the sweet spot. I want the dog to be slightly behind, so that later, neither he, nor the lead, can get caught under the wheels.
- Soon, you’ll notice that the dog will come right back to his sweet spot after he’s finished eating. That’s fab!
- Now throw in some bends and curves. While doing so, make sure to treat often in that ‘slightly behind and beside’ position. This ensures that the dog learns not to rush in front when you’re going around bends. Include inward turns, too; these are tricky!
- When your dog happily stays in their sweet spot, regardless of what direction or speed you’re going, it’s time to add the lead. Keep going with your treats as before; best from your hand now as your dog won’t now be able to stop and sniff out treats. Repeat all your moves with the lead on.
- Keep rewarding that sweet spot every so often to keep it to keep it reinforced!
- Give a release cue to let your dog go when off lead.
Done! Now you can add a cue. For my dogs, the presence of the pram and putting the lead on is cue enough.
Take it outdoors in increasingly difficult environments. Think about how to best negotiate leaving and returning to your home and teach this. Don’t forget to factor in stairs. For example, I have two large dogs, a three-foot-wide, six-foot-long hallway with three steep steps leading outdoors, and a pretty large pram. I get the pram out first, then fetch the dogs from the living room. Reverse on entry, or the pram just stays in the garage. It pays to do this with an empty pram first, maybe with a baby doll. It’ll be a lot to handle at first for both you and your dog, so be sure to get comfortable before Baby is actually there.
If you think a situation might be too difficult, either turn away, or move to the side. Then secure the pram, move the dog to the back or front of the pram, and away to the side. That way, they can’t knock it over if something puts him over threshold and they jump. If you have more than one dog, practise with each of them separately, and then join them up. I like mine to both be on the same side when on lead. They also have their set order of who’s closer to and who’s further away from me. I keep that when out with the pram.