What do you think the very first skill I’m teaching my puppy is? Impulse control!
Knowing Posie is an Italian Greyhound, I know she’s going to be fast, excitable, and full of energy. If I don’t teach her how to slow herself down now, I’m setting us both up for a much harder time later.
Impulse control is one of the biggest foundations of dog training. It helps with greeting people calmly, waiting at doors, not launching at food, staying focused around distractions, and even settling when I get home from work instead of bouncing off the walls because she’s so excited to see me.
One of my favourite games to build this is Go Wild and Freeze.
The goal is simple. Get your puppy excited with a toy, then pause the game and become completely still. Wait for four paws on the floor, or a sit, then immediately start the game again. What your puppy wants is to play, so getting to play again becomes the reward for making the good choice.
When you’re starting out, only play for a couple of seconds before freezing. If your puppy can’t regulate themselves and keeps jumping or barking, make the play even shorter. As they get better and offer the behaviour straight away, you can gradually make the play sessions longer.
When I first introduced this game to Posie, I didn’t use the cue “sit” because she hadn’t learnt it yet. Instead, I removed the toy and stood completely still. The moment she chose to sit, the game started again. Once she was consistently offering the sit on her own, I started adding the cue.
You’ll also notice that if she doesn’t sit straight away, I don’t keep repeating the cue. I give her time to think and let her work it out herself. When she does, I make the next round a little easier by shortening the play time again.
It’s such a simple game, but it teaches puppies that calming down doesn’t end the fun. It actually makes the fun start again.