Sit-Stay with approach by a stranger:
Prerequisites: Basic & Advanced Obedience
Days 1 & 2
1. Put your dog in a sit stay and move to the right of it.
2. Have your ‘stranger’ approach the dog. He will come to a stop right next to the dog’s
head (not in front of, not behind, not straight for, but right next to the dog’s head).
3. Have your stranger stand quietly for 30 seconds, then move on. Your helper
is not to make eye, verbal, or physical contact with the dog. For all intents
and purpose this is a sit-stay exercise and your helper is merely another
stimulus for your dog to reject as a distraction.
Days 3 & 4
Set this up just like days 1 & 2, but this time, after a short pause have your
stranger reach down and touch the top of your dog’s head. Then have the
stranger move on. No other contact is needed or allowed, just a touch to the
head.
Days 5 & 6
Just like days 3 & 4, but after the short pause, have your stranger reach down
and touch the top of your dog’s head, then move his hand down the back of the
dog as he moves walks past.
By the end of the week your dog will see the approach and the touching as
nothing more than a planted distraction.
Continuing Practice:
Keep practicing with more and more realistic greetings until your dog can sit quietly with even the most enthusiastic
people.