From Movement 🚶

🐾 Now we add movement

Up until now, your dog has learned the Stand while you were crouching down.

Now we want to stand up ourselves and bring movement into the exercise.

For many dogs, this already creates a completely different picture, so it is normal if they need some extra help again at first.

➡️ Start on the right side

Take some food in your right hand and guide your dog onto your right side.

Not directly in front of you and not on the left.

Why?

Because the dog has contact on the right shoulder, and when we later turn around, the picture stays more familiar — only the direction of movement changes.

This makes the later transition much easier.

🔄 Walk backwards

You now walk backwards while your dog walks forwards.

This has one big advantage:

You can see the entire dog clearly, including all four paws, without bending down or twisting your body.

That helps us avoid unnecessary body cues.

🍪 So the exercise looks like this

Let the dog follow the food hand for a few meters.

If walking this way feels strange at first, simply reward the dog a few times for following you.

Then:

➡️ Stop walking
➡️ Stop the hand as well
➡️ Guide the hand slightly downward
➡️ Let the dog come into the Stand
➡️ Reward once the dog stands securely

Afterwards, use a release cue such as “Okay” or “Free” so the dog knows the position is finished.

🗣️ You do not need the cue yet

As long as you are still clearly luring the dog with food, the verbal cue is not essential for the learning process.

You can use it if you prefer, but it is not necessary yet.

For now, the important sequence is:

Walk backwards → stop → guide into the Stand → dog stands securely → reward.

💡 The goal at this stage is simply to help the dog transfer the familiar Stand into movement while keeping the picture clear and easy to understand.