the Up-Down Pattern Game
I completely understand the urge to ask your dog to sit when they are over reacting to certain triggers. But, asking a dog to sit still when they’re seeing distractions they have big feelings about can often set them up for failure. Worrisome things can also become scarier if we aren’t allowed to see them- think about a giant spider disappearing from view in your bathroom! I want my learners to be able to cope with actually seeing distractions.
The Up-Down game is super easy to learn and play, which is part of what makes it so useful. This pattern was coined the “Up-Down game” by Leslie McDevitt as part of her Control Unleashed (CU) program. Check out her books on CU, listed on my book recommendations page.
This game teaches our pets they can ‘win’ by looking at us for just a moment, regardless of their body position. This low criteria helps us find a point of success to start from! Like all new behaviors, teach this without distractions around at first and then slowly fade them in. Maybe you begin in your quiet room, then your living room, then the porch, backyard, front yard, sidewalk, busy park, etc. Starting with clear expectations and then incrementally adding small distractions, gives a much better chance for success!
Once a dog can fluently play the Up-Down game at home, it will become easier for them to fall into the pattern, even in more distracting environments. This pattern can be helpful when you’re waiting in the vet lobby with your pet, if you need to pull over to the side of a path while someone passes, if you want to get more check-ins outside, and to help your dog cope with new things in their environment.
To play the Up-Down game:
Drop a small treat on the ground, in front of your dog.
If your treats are bouncing unpredictably, try using different shaped/sized treats, a different surface to play on, or setting the treat down on the ground instead of dropping it. Check out my treat recommendations if needed.
Allow your pet to look down, find the treat, and eat the treat off the ground.
As they finish chewing and swallowing, most animals will promptly look back up at their handler, hopeful for another treat.
The moment your dog starts to move their head toward your face, mark.
If your pet does not promptly look back up at you, wait quietly. Refrain from calling their name- the goal of this game is to capture your dog making their own choice to offer you attention. Be patient. Assuming you are in a minimally distracting environment, eventually your dog will look at you! The moment their head starts to turn towards you, mark and continue.
With dogs that are already offering eye contact, I will mark when I get eye contact. Please note, I won’t ever force a dog to make eye contact with me, as this can be perceived as distressing in canine body language.
After you’ve marked, grab your pet’s treat. Deliver it by dropping it on the ground again.
Repeat steps 2-5! Down, up, down, up.
End the pattern game with a transition activity like a few treats in a snuffle mat, a small chew or licky treat, sniffing in the yard, etc. Clearly calling “all done!” and then offering a transition activity at the end of each session can help your pet learn the game is over (and there’s no use pestering you about playing more!)
My favorite part about the Up-Down game is that it’s perfectly fine for my learner to pause while we are playing to pause and watch something. Be that a person passing they’re excited about or another dog having a hard time they’re concerned about, my dog can take a moment to look/process, and then easily recall this pattern.
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Lily, a white femme person with red hair pulled back in a clip, stands in front of two side-by-side, closed closed garage doors. They wear sunglasses, a green hoodie, brown yoga pants, and big green rainboots.
First they have a medium-sized, black, short-haired mixed breed on their neon orange 12 foot long line. Bertie, the black dog, is a pit bull mix and wears a wide neon orange collar. Bertie stands fairly still, watching things off screen while Lily describes how to hold a leash and clicker simultaneously. White text captions appear at the top of the screen with a black background.
At timestamp 15 seconds, they play the ‘up-down’ pattern game until timestamp 0:40. Every time Lily clicks the clicker, the caption “*click” in black text appears over a neon yellow background.
At timestamp 0:41 the video cuts to Lily playing up-down with Randall, a medium-sized mixed breed dog. They are standing in the same place on the same day as the first clip. Randall is a pit bull mix and has white, short fur with black spots and patches. He wears a neon orange harness connected to the same orange leash Lily used with Bertie. He wags his tail eagerly as they play.
Finally, at timestamp 1:11 the video cuts to a clip of Lily and Bertie on a different day. They stand on a cemented trail next to a lake playing the up-down game. At 1:30 you can see a child riding a scooter pass on the trail, followed by a medium doodle dog pulling towards us walked by an adult. Bertie pauses quietly and walks a few steps towards the commotion when the dog is closest and then promptly turns back towards Lily once they’ve passed.
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When I’m working with a dog on leash and using a clicker, I like to hold my leash through and my clicker on the same hand. I think that makes it a little bit easier. You obviously can also use a verbal marker.
Start by dropping a treat on the ground. I’m going to mark when she orients- click- back towards me. Click- click- click- Went flying, but I’ll just wait for that reorientation again. Click-
Up-Down game, I’m going to start by dropping a treat on the ground and then I’m going to mark when he lifts his head back up towards me. This game is nice because it can be done in any position- click- that’s most comfortable for the dog. So like he looked like he was going to offer- click- a sit there. That’s fine if he- click- wanted to do it that way. Most dogs are going to stand up- click- anyways in this game. Click-
Voiced over: Here you can see me using the Up-Down game- ”Yes!”- with my dog Bertie in a real world scenario. We have- ”Yes!”- pulled off the trail because there’s a family- ”Yes!”- approaching us. The dog is having a hard time kind of- “Yes!”- barking and lunging towards us. There’s a kid on a scooter, ”Yes!”- so we pulled off to the side and play the up-down game while we let them pass. Note that it is perfectly okay for Bertie to stop and look at the distraction for a second to check it out, ”Good girl!”- but because she knows this pattern it’s easier for her to disengage from the distraction- ”Good girl.”- and re-engage with me giving her attention and able to move on.
