“Ready” and “Enough”- The Foundation

Let me start this by prefacing that this is not my novel idea. Treat chasing games, play in general, and calm on cue are something I’ve used heavily since I got into training, but this use of “Ready” and “Enough” are the foundations of Jay Jack’s window concept. The window concept is a very valuable way to teach our dogs context, and how to play with us when it’s appropriate, have fun on their own terms when it’s appropriate, and chill when it’s chill time.

You don’t have to dive deep into this (although let me know if you’d like to and I’ll show you the best resources!) to put it into place, I’ll get you where you need to go.

The first, most important, and easiest step is beginning to tell our dogs how to shift between play and calm. For this exercise specifically, we’re shifting between play with us (“ready”), and calm time (“enough”). You can use your own choice of words, just remind me of your words when we train together when I get confused. For the sake of these instructions I’ll be using my cues.

Begin with your dog on a leash near you, stand calmly. They don’t have to be doing a particular behavior, do not ask them to do anything. When you’re ready to begin, look at your dog and say “ready”, then say “yes”, then show them a treat to chase. Some dogs may be hesitant to chase the treat, if all they do is follow it for one step initially that’s fine! Give them treats for effort, the chase will come. Think of your treat hand and your dog’s nose as magnets, let them follow at their own pace and don’t lead too fast. You’ll see in the video that if Journey falls behind I let her catch up and almost chomp at my hand as she follows it. After a couple rounds of chase and feed, end the game by saying “enough” and stepping on your leash. “Enough” simply means the game is over, it’s calm time. Initially, I only make the dog stay calm for fifteen to thirty seconds before starting the game for another round or two.

We’ll build on this later. You can also say enough as you tether your dog or step on their leash in any other circumstance. We will talk about this more in depth later though! For now, just focus on using “ready” and “enough” to shift between play and calm in short bursts. Right now, it’s all about putting a meaning to the words and getting your dog comfortable with chasing food in your hand.

Once those two things are solid, we can do a lot of useful things with them!