Your dog passes between two obstacles. For dogs who are worried about tight spaces, start with the objects wide apart and gradually decrease the distance between them.
Possible stations: two chairs, two plant pots, boxes, suitcases, bins, benches, hoover, lawnmower. The two obstacles don’t need to be the same.
1. Lure your dog through the obstacle with food. Use your marker word as soon as they have fully passed through the objects and reward them with the food from your hand.
2. Once your dog is confidently and smoothly following the lure, remove the food and use just your hand for your dog to follow. Mark and reward.
3. Once your dog is confidently and smoothly following your hand without a lure, add a verbal cue just before you begin. Mark and reward. The verbal cue is ‘Valley’.