Episode 10: Build Handler Engagement With Your Puppy

Hello and welcome to another episode of Let’s Go for a Walk. Today is a slightly different kind of episode because I am out here with my Springer Spaniel puppy. She will be training for explosives detection, so the way I work with her is a little different from how I work with my herding breeds. As a hunting dog, she is naturally more independent and less handler-focused than my Belgians were as puppies.

I want to show you an exercise that I work on with her when we are outside. This works well right now, but as she gets older it may change. That depends on her natural characteristics and how motivated she is by her environment.

As you can see, she has found a pine cone. What I am practicing with her is engagement without being overly controlling. A lot of people put puppies on a leash and spend the entire time trying to get their attention. Eventually, the puppy starts to resist because they are not allowed to explore or do the things they want to do.

I give her quite a bit of freedom so she can get that exploration out of her system. It provides great enrichment. That said, because she is more likely to take off after things than my herding dogs, I still work intermittently on redirecting her back to me.

Good girl. Yes. Very nice.

What I am doing here is waiting until she becomes distracted or chooses to come back to me on her own, and then I reinforce that. As you can see, she has no issue going off and doing her own thing. When I decide to call her back, I am using treats right now. She responds very well to toys, but treats are easier to use quickly and then move on.

Here she has found a stick. I am not going to take it away from her. I just reinforce her engagement with me.

Yes. Good girl. Good girl.

I am trying to make myself as interesting as possible using the treats. Prey drive does a great job of increasing handler value for dogs and puppies. I am not standing still or simply handing her food. I am moving, running backward, being engaging, and delivering the treat in a way that turns it into a game.

When she is doing things that are not a big deal, I do not correct her for every little behavior. I monitor her and let her explore. If she gets involved in something unsafe, then I will intervene. Sticks and pine cones are fine as long as she is not eating them. The key is letting your dog be a dog so they can get it out of their system.

Even with hunting breeds that are more independent and more likely to follow game trails, it is about finding the right balance between allowing exploration and maintaining handler focus. This balance becomes even more important as puppies enter adolescence and independence increases. You want to build a foundation where you are valuable to your dog as a handler.

After I reinforce her for coming back, I do not put her on a leash and I do not take her inside. I let her return to what she was doing. That way, coming back to me does not become something negative. As you can see, she is happy to run far and fast, but she does check back in. That is something we have been working on because she definitely has the tendency to wander off on her own.

If you are practicing this with your own puppy, you may get nipped occasionally due to enthusiasm, especially if you are moving treats around like a toy. I do not mind it, but it is something to be aware of. If that bothers you, you can use something like canned food in a tube or another option that creates a barrier between your hand and the food.

Another thing to note is that sometimes I wait until she naturally looks at me before recalling her. Right now, we are in very early stages, and I like reinforcing that check-in behavior. Other times, I recall her when she is distracted to build those skills as well.

Come on. Yes. Good girl.

After reinforcing, I let her go right back to exploring. These skills help build the foundation for a reliable recall. The goal is to make sure your dog is happy to come back to you because you are high value.

Inside the house, and sometimes outside, I also use toys as reinforcement. I have a small tug toy with rabbit fur, fox fur, and a ball at the end. I drag it along the ground to activate prey drive. She also loves non-abrasive squeaky Kong tennis balls. I do not throw them far because she is still a baby, but I use them strategically to reinforce behaviors I like.

When conditions are icy or unsafe, food is simply the easier and safer option.

That is it for today. I hope you enjoyed what you saw. If you did, please like and subscribe. If you currently have a puppy, tell us in the comments what you are doing to build handler engagement. We look forward to seeing you again next time.

Good girl. Yes. Very nice job.