“Check It Out”: Helping Your Dog Feel Safer Around Strange Objects
How to teach your dog to confidently investigate “spooky” things—without pressure or conflict
Sometimes I imagine living in this weird human-centered world as a dog, and it boggles my brain. It’s kind of amazing what they are able to navigate. That being said, random objects that appear seemingly out of place (think a garden gnome or random shoe on the sidewalk) spook a great many dogs.
If your dog falls into this category, I’d first recommend looking into pain and discomfort as this could be a potential sign of it. Once you’ve either ruled it out or gotten it well managed, there are some very simple things you can do to support them.
What “Check It Out” Means (and Why It Works)
The one I want to cover today is “check it out.” This is a cue I would use to essentially indicate to a dog that it is safe for them to go investigate whatever the “object of interest” is in the space (that was a super “construct-y way to explain what’s going on, but I fear overly technical talk at the top here here won’t serve my goal – I promise my explanation will get better and more nuanced).
“Okay, but how do you teach a dog that it is safe?”
This is where carefully arranging antecedents comes into play to give them a history of investigating objects while feeling comfortable. They’re going to contact reinforcers (and no aversive stimulation). Let’s walk through a training game I love to use to teach “check it out,” so you can try it too.
Here’s why I like this game so much (you can watch a video of me playing the game here):
There’s so little risk of creating conflict (you aren’t tossing treats at the object).
You are not going to be pushy about getting them to move towards objects. You’re going to arrange antecedents so they are very likely to choose to approach it on their own.
You build from where they are already comfortable rather than trying to “change how they feel.”
The Training Game: How to Teach “Check It Out” Step by Step
Be sure to read to the end to get some answers to frequently asked questions, some additional tips, and how to apply this in real life. Without further ado, here’s how to play the training game:
1. Gather some objects.
You want fairly neutral objects – especially to start. What’s going to make them of interest is going to be the fact that they are out of place. Depending on your dog, you may need to go up or down in interest level, but avoid anything that might spook them.
Examples: Chair, stool, pot, jacket, water bottle, etc.
2. Find an open area that will serve as your “stage” (aka your training space).
You want a space that is open that you can put your objects in. You want to give your objects main character energy – spotlight on them. When you put that object down in your training space, it should stick out as THE object of interest.
3. Have your dog station away from your training space.
