Have No Fear, Pawpad Is Here

Have you ever felt that boost of adrenaline when you’ve conquered a difficult task? We work hard to keep socialization experiences comfortable and safe for our puppies, but it can also be valuable for our pups to learn they can successfully navigate a scary environment too! Having an easy, familiar task to do can help them feel capable and confident in an otherwise overly challenging environment.

Is it Important?
Using the pawpad game to navigate puppy concerns can be very effective – and empowering – but not all puppies will need the extra confidence booster, and other puppies may respond better to more gradual introductions. Feel free to try this game out and see if and how it fits in your puppy raising toolbox!

What You’ll Need

A Pawpad (you can make your own!)
A calm pup
Kibble or treats
A quiet environment

Proceed Pawsitively

To begin, grab your bait bag, a pawpad, and some kibble. Find a quiet spot where you can work without too many distractions.

Start by creating a positive association with the pawpad. Use a kibble to lure the pup’s front foot onto the pawpad. Release the kibble when they step a foot up onto it then continue feeding while they have their foot on it for a few more seconds.
After a few rewards, encourage them to step off and repeat.
When they are comfortable and willingly step one foot up, see if you can lure both front feet up and only reward with two feet on the pawpad.
Repeat until they are comfortable standing with both feet up there while receiving frequent kibbles.

Over a few sessions of this game and when they’re comfortable with two feet on the pawpad, start to randomly increase the time between kibble rewards. Sometimes they get a kibble right away, sometimes after 2-3 seconds, and if they’re really patient, sometimes 10 seconds or more. Increase the time gradually and make it an enjoyable experience so that the pup associates having their feet on the pawpad with yummy snacks and praise.

Let's Take the Show on the Road

Wait a minute... I know that game! Does your pup’s face light up when you pull out the pawpad? If so, you’re ready to take the show on the road! Review the Rules of Three as a reminder of when to increase the difficulty, when to make it easier, and how to incrementally make things more challenging. Although we generally talk about the Rules of Three when introducing distractions, environmental challenges driven by worry and concern are equally impacted by distance, duration, and intensity (as opposed to distraction) and we still want to keep our pups successful!

Here's a Tip!

When using the pawpad in an area where the pup needs to be on leash, hold the leash loosely. Try not to fall for the temptation of using the leash to keep the puppy on the pawpad.
The first time you use the pawpad around something just a little spooky, make the pawpad game easier. Maybe go back to rewarding just one foot on the pawpad or feeding every 1-2 seconds. Don’t forget to use plenty of verbal encouragement and celebrate their win!
Mix it up! You don’t want the pawpad to start predicting spooky things – keep playing the pawpad game in easy situations too. If the pup starts acting suspicious when you pull out the pawpad, you may need to go back and rebuild that positive association.