Have you heard of boundary games for your dogs? We have stumbled onto this amazing website that helps you turn your reactive, over aroused, distracted trouble making dog, into a well-behaved superstar!
Sounds too good to be true? Well from the reviews and comments on the Absolute-Dogs NBN (Naughty but Nice) Facebook page it looks like this free resource has transformed many hyper pups and have saved the sanity of many pet owners.
Why teach dogs boundary games?
Boundary games assist with an on/off switch for your pup and is a very important aspect of developing an arousal balance. The games teach pups to stay in a specific place until the release cue is given. The boundary area can be a collapsible dog crate, a mat, platform or even a step in your household – you name it, any specific space can double as a boundary!
One of the benefits of boundary games is that it teaches and promotes your dog’s impulse control - when your pup learns to control his impulses with a variety of different types of distractions, he can thrive in any environment.
Other advantages of teaching the boundary game
- They are key to working with reactivity
- They can increase arousal and boost motivation
- They can decrease arousal and promote calmness (yes, they can do both!)
- They clean up your training sessions.
The steps that are involved when teaching the boundary games are, using a soft dog crate as the boundary:
- Your dog goes to their soft crate on cue
- He stays in the dog crate and remains calm
- He only moves out of the crate when you give the release word
- Once the release cue is given your pup may leave the soft crate and interact with the owner.
It is really something magical when you can control the arousal in your dog and it has been proven to be of great benefit when working with dogs that are reactive, lack impulse control, are easily distracted, over aroused or frustrated. It’s a game-based approach and lots of fun!
The resource is available free of charge and you can check that out here: