Most dog owners want their dog to come back when called (commonly called a recall). Proximity describes your dog’s ability and really desire to be close by without prompting or constantly rewarding them. By growing the value in being close to you (or other members of your family) we unlock the secrets to successful off-leash walks.

Optimism in dogs is a lot like optimism vs. pessimism in people. Do they find the world glass half-full or half-empty? Optimism is a crucial concept that will help many dogs overcome common struggles. They learn to experience new and strange things with a different outlook and generally feel that everything will be OK.

Calmness is KEY. At FikaDogs, we whole-heartedly believe that calm needs to be a dogs default mode when they are not being asked to do something else. Calm dogs = dogs that tend to have great household manners and can be taken out and about with more ease. Calmness will have great impact on other concepts.

How well can your dog see something, smell something, hear something and essentially decide it is none of their business? Disengagement helps your dog grow their ability to move away from something, eventually without being asked!

And not the kind of “arousal” you might be picturing…but when a dog is in a highly aroused or alert phase, can he still maintain self-control. For example, can they perform a command in the middle of a game where they are excited about getting something, whether it be food or a fun toy.

There are many different types of focus, but essentially, we want to grow how well your dog can remain committed to a task. It could be focusing on you, tracking a scent, or for some working dogs, fetching downed game or herding sheep.