Chapter 6
🐾 From the basic position into movement
Once your dog understands that he should look at your hand under the left armpit while sitting, we can finally take the first step.
At the beginning, this may look a little shaky — and that is completely normal.
Your right hand stays under your left armpit, with food in the hand.
Then:
➡️ Give your cue, for example “Come”, “Heel” or “Let’s go”
➡️ Take exactly one step forward
➡️ Stop immediately
➡️ Let your dog sit again
➡️ Reward only once the final position is straight
If your dog stays sitting at first, simply go back or help him a little so he feels confident enough to take that first step with you.
📍 Start and finish straight
It is very important that both the starting position and the final basic position are straight.
If your dog sits crookedly after the step, correct the position first and then repeat the exercise.
The cleaner you perform this first step, the more it will pay off later.
🎯 Why do we stop after only one step?
By stopping immediately, the dog has to return to a clean basic position.
This teaches him that it is not worth:
❌ swinging the rear out
❌ moving too far forward
❌ tilting the head
❌ losing the correct body position
Because after only one step, we stop again anyway and return to the same clean picture.
That is exactly why this first step is so important.
🍪 Reward only after stopping
In the beginning, we do not reward while moving.
The sequence is always:
➡️ Take one step
➡️ Stop immediately
➡️ Make sure the dog sits straight
➡️ Then reward
Only when this one step works really cleanly do we move on.
🏡 Keep this technical work at home
This more technical and calmer setup is practiced at home.
In parallel, you continue your food driving on the training field with lots of energy, action and motivation.
💡 Really invest several sessions only in this one step.
If your dog can keep the same clean head and body position while taking that first step, you have already made it through one of the hardest parts.