The First Step - Distance 👣

🐾 Now the body starts to move too

Up until now, we have only moved the hand away from the dog.

To create real distance, we now need to start moving our body as well.

That is why the staggered stance from the previous step becomes important.

🦵 Set up your position

Stand with your feet slightly staggered.

Ideally:

✅ your body weight is on the front leg
✅ the back leg stays loose and lightly touching the ground

It does not matter which leg is in front at this stage. The important thing is that you can shift your weight backwards in a controlled way.

🔄 The exercise stays almost the same

Start as before:

➡️ Food in front of the dog’s nose
➡️ Walk backwards together
➡️ Stop
➡️ Close the hand
➡️ Give your Stand cue if needed
➡️ Move the closed hand away

Now comes the new part:

➡️ Shift your body weight backwards
➡️ Shift your weight back towards the dog
➡️ Bring the hand back
➡️ Wait briefly
➡️ Reward

⚠️ Do not take a full step yet

At this stage, you are not actually stepping away from the dog.

You are only shifting your body weight backwards.

The dog should learn:

“My handler can start moving away, and I still remain standing.”

💡 Small mistakes are normal

There are quite a few small movements to coordinate here, so it is completely normal if it does not feel perfect at first.

The most important rule is:

Always return to the dog before delivering the reward.

🐕 Body weight back → body weight forward → hand back → wait → reward.