Now that your dog understands how to get on and off a platform, the next step is to introduce them to the fact that not all platforms are stable. As a dog groomer, I’ve seen too many dogs clutching the edge of a table, eyes squeezed shut, shaking violently because the table wasn’t rock solid.
Little dogs unfortunately do get the short end of the stick as far as tables. If there’s two tables and one is small and wobbly while another is large and sturdy, a big dog is going to get the large and sturdy one.
A wobble board is a board large enough for your dog to put all four paws on, made unstable so it wobbles when they touch it. On top of being great for introducing dogs to unstable surfaces safely, they’re also good for your dog’s core strength, body awareness, and can help with recovery after injury.
Wobble boards are generally great things to have for your dog anyway, but today we’ll be putting it to use teaching your dog that grooming tables aren’t always stable.
We talked about wobble boards in our equipment section, but to review, you’ll need either a wobble board made for the purpose such as this one, or a sturdy piece of plywood with a small rock or similar to make it wobble.
I personally prefer the plywood/rock combination because rather than having to put my foot under to stop the motion, I can just pick the teensiest little pebble in the whole world from outside to make it wobble a very small amount, and then gradually pick bigger rocks.
Do remember if you have wood floors though that the rock may scratch them. I usually do this in my garage with concrete floors to avoid scratching.
Introduction: The Bang It Game
Just like we did with the platform, let your dog investigate the wobble board by looking at it and smelling it. Reward your pup for investigating the board, even if it’s only a look or a very modest sniff.
When your dog is comfortable around the board, push the high edge down so it makes a soft noise—nothing that would startle your dog. Reward the dog for listening to the sound.
Repeat this several times so your dog knows, and is prepared for, the fact that the wobble board might make a sound when it comes down.
It’s important not to progress if your dog jumps out of their skin at the sound or motion. Make the motion or sound softer if you have to, but keep working until the dog is expecting treats when they hear that sound.
Stage two of the introduction is to ask your dog to make the board bang on its own. Lure the dog into putting a paw on an edge of the wobble board, and reward them lavishly when they bang it. The dog does not have to get all the way on or do more than one paw.
Do not move on until your pet is fully comfortable banging the wobble board themselves.
Troubleshooting
It can happen that dogs seem fine banging the wobble board in one lesson, and then the next lesson entirely refuses to do it. They may decide the sound is scary after having time to process it. It may be that you missed discomfort signals in your dog and pushed them.
Whatever the case, the solution is to go back to listening to the bang, as softly as possible, and rewarding for it—even if you have to toss the treat from what the dog views as a safe distance away. Dogs can get very nervous about bangs and wobbles, so it’s important to take your time on this.
If your dog is uncomfortable with you making noise and wobbly boards, imagine how awful they feel at the groomers when they have no control over the sounds and wobbles!
Step One: Two Paws on the Board
At this stage your dog should be comfortable with putting a paw on the board. If they are not comfortable, do not progress to this stage. Rushing a pup through this can only make it worse.
Now that your dog is completely comfortable making the sound with the board, see if you can lure them a little bit farther onto the board. It may be that your pup was banging the board with two paws instead of one, in this case, ask your pup to move forward on the board until his back feet are just off the board.
Practice at this level, asking your pup to get on, and rewarding them lavishly each time, until they are very comfortable.
Step Two: It can move!
When your dog is comfortable getting on the board, take the edge of the board yourself and wiggle it just a little bit. You want a very small movement. Reward your dog lavishly if they don’t get off the board with that small movement.
If they do get off, that’s okay! Work with getting on a few more times, and then try again with an even smaller movement. Remember, most dogs find this scary if it’s not presented very slowly, so don’t be upset if your dog is hesitant about the motion.
Once your dog can handle a tiny motion that you create, you can gradually build up the movement. Remember for the little ones, you’re not trying to catapult the dog or make it into a roller coaster. The wobbles they will experience on a groom table are very small, it’s unlikely to move more than a quarter inch (0.6cm) up and down.
Step Three: All Four Paws
Once your dog can handle a smooth wobble steadied by your hand, you can ask your dog for all four paws on the wobble board. Remember to steady it with your hand or by jamming a foot under it when they get on so it doesn’t wobble more than the tiniest little bit when they get on.
The goal here is for them to be confident on a platform, even if it wobbles a little bit. If they are sure it’s going to be a roller coaster every time they get on, it may actually make the problem worse. Slower is always better when working with a wobble board!
Reward them for getting on the board, and practice getting on and off with the platform stabilized many times, until the dog is fully confident.
Gradually remove your assistance stopping the wobble (letting it wobble just a tad more) until the dog is comfortable getting on the board without any help.
This is as far as you need to go for training your dog to understand that some surfaces are wobbly. If your dog enjoys working with the wobble board, there are many fun exercises you can do with them that will benefit their health, aid them in dog sports, and so much more.
Homework time!
If you’d like to follow a step-by-step guide for training, we present a homework sheet for you and your pup to work on. Unlike with platform training, this is one area where you should introduce it all the way from the beginning. (No quiz today!)
Yes, your dog probably will step on the platform the first time without hesitation (we did just do platform training on a stable surface, remember) but also remember they have no way to know it’s going to move this time without proper introduction. Thus, this time we only have one “level” of homework, and no proofing is necessary since the wobble board is actually a form of proofing for the platform training.
If your dog loves this we do encourage you to look up some amazing wobble board exercises to do with your pet, but in the meantime, let’s move on to introducing the grooming lead.
Similar Posts:
- Platform Training Your Dog
- How to Teach Your Dog To Scratch with the Rear Legs
- How to Teach Your Dog to Use a Scratch Board
- Foot Handling: Touching a Target
- Two Paws Up: A Handy Skill For Your Pet
