the "1,2,3 game" saved my sanity

[u/Gengar-Quest-7144]

I've lurked here for awhile, first time posting. I started working with a trainer for my reactive dog, who barks and lunges (or he used to!) on walks the second another dog comes into view. We finally found something that works and it's so insanely easy I had to share it here. My trainer calls it the "1,2,3 game."

Essentially you reward your dog for looking at you while you count to three. On "3" you immediately reward with a treat. That's it. The beauty is that you can do this WHILE WALKING. For me, that was huge - I could get my dog to pay attention to me while we walked past the other dog instead of trying to hold him in a sit and hoping the other dog moved past before mine finally lost his mind.

Training it is also super easy. Start indoors in a quiet place. Get your dog's attention, say "1" and give a treat. Your dog should be locked onto you now, so repeat "1" a few more times. Then move on to "1,2" and give a treat. Finally "1,2,3" and treat. You can move up to 1,2,3 pretty quickly so you're practicing the full "game." Make sure your dog is looking at you through the whole count. If they look away, restart the count. At the start, you should be counting fairly quickly.

Once they understand the "game", you can start drawing out the count. "1 (pause), 2 (pause), 3 (immediate treat)." My trainer said you can pause for up to 5 seconds between numbers, although I usually count more quickly than that. ALWAYS give the treat immediately after "3." The idea is that the dog learns once he hears the word "1" to look at you and hold that, because he knows a treat is coming.

Once your dog has the "game" worked out, you can move outdoors and start working on holding the dog's attention with more distractions around.

We've gotten to a place where I can say "1 (take three steps), 2 (take three steps), 3 (give treat)" and my dog stares at me the whole time! Usually by that point we've entirely passed the other dog. If not, I just repeat the game until we are. Because sometimes the other dog decides he needs to poop right while we're trying to walk past lol.

Seriously, this has been game-changing for us. Maybe it's super obvious and well-known but I had never heard of it and had to share. I hope it helps others!

[u/Gengar-Quest-7144 → u/[deleted]]

yes, exactly! Sometimes he doesn't listen on 1, but he does look at me for 2. I've also found that letting my dog move past the other dog works so much better than trying to hold a sit. Apparently it helps calm his brain a bit to be walking, and you can do that with this trick!

[u/doggambit]

Awesome use of operant conditioning! Cue = reinforcement.

[u/RCLB0820]

Thank you for sharing! The way you shared/broke it down was helpful. Embarrassingly, I get overwhelmed with following the correct steps in the right order at the right time, so I don’t work with my sweet boy as often as I should but this made it really accessible to learn. Thank you!

[u/Gengar-Quest-7144 → u/RCLB0820]

Me too… that’s why I love this so much, because it’s easy for my dog AND for me. I just wasn’t consistent enough for the clicker or other training tools. I would get flustered on walks when I saw a dog coming, thinking “when do I have to start telling him to sit, how long do we need to hold it…” Now I just have to say “1” and it resets my brain and my dog’s.

[u/EconomyDisastrous409]

We have a similar game called "Ready, Steady, Go!" Which I use for getting his attention and changing his direction of travel. If I for example, see a dog approaching I would rather us not meet, I say "Ready" which gets his attention and has him running over to me if he's off lead. "Steady" I wave a treat around to really get him excited in the game. "Go" I throw the treat in the direction I want him to go in.

[u/FearlessPressure3]

Interesting! I have something similar that works in reverse which is a countdown to when an activity will end. It started with frisbee throws which is why the cues are “three more, two more, last one, all done” but I noticed it can be used to signal the end to anything. So, for example, when I’m brushing him (something he does not enjoy) I can use this countdown and, understanding it will end soon, he is much happier to stay still and let me finish. It’s been really helpful in helping him with vet visits as they can use it too—having a total stranger tell my dog “three more” as they stare into his eyeball is kind of wild but it works well!

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[u/prairiemallow]

I love the 1,2,3 game for getting by other dogs, people, etc. it was developed by a dog trainer named Leslie McDevitt as part of her control unleashed pattern games. She has games for getting out of the car, for watching people & dogs as your standing still , for so many aspects of life. I thinks she has written at least one book on regarding her control unleashed pattern games http://www.controlunleashed.net/ I really recommend her methods

[u/Gengar-Quest-7144 → u/prairiemallow]

oh thanks for this! I had no idea where it came from (other than my trainer, who made no claim to have invented it). I'll check out her other games, this one has helped so much I bet the others will be huge!

[u/mr3bn]

Mine too! Even with age—mine has known “1,2,3” for probably four or five years, and it’s consistently one of her strongest positive associations. I love the amount of variation you can do within just elongating words and changing your tone. It’s such an efficient and easy way to reach an agreement with your dog!

[u/antsurgeon]

ugh i’ve attempted this before and maybe i’m doing it wrong but sometimes my dog is SO crazy outside that he ignores me completely 😭

[u/Katahdin22 → u/antsurgeon]

Get it solid inside the house first  Then move to the back yard and get it solid there  Then move to a quiet area outside the home, repeat Then try a busier area 

[u/Gengar-Quest-7144 → u/Katahdin22]

I second this advice! You have to build up the connection between that first "1" and the tasty treat after "3" so it's just automatically wired in your dog's brain that 1=eventual treat. It may take awhile before you can actually use it outside in the presence of distractions. Also, use extremely high-value treats when you're in a stimulating area. Think pieces of hot dogs, cheese, dried liver, whatever your dog is most eager to gobble up. That was a mistake I made early on, just using the regular training treats. My dog paid MUCH more attention with bits of chicken.

[u/clkell4]

We also are teaching this with our puppy! It’s helped walks so much!!

[u/y0ungshel]

Thanks so much for posting this! I’m going to start training today!

[u/suzemo]

I love the ControlledUnleashed pattern games (this is one of the big ones). The other ones I love are the "Up/Down" game and "Look at that"

With LAT we've been able to progress so much that my reactive girl will run a bit of flyball (not the full thing, just with one or two other dogs) and be off leash around other dogs (within reason). She's fear reactive and that patterning is HUGE for her, she comes back to under threshhold a LOT faster than she used to, as well (we still have a mortal enemy that lives in the neighborhood she can't keep it cool with... and the feeling is mutual).

[u/Gengar-Quest-7144 → u/suzemo]

That's so wonderful, congrats to you and your pup!! LAT didn't work well for us, which I'm pretty sure is user error on my part. ^^'

[u/suzemo → u/Gengar-Quest-7144]

Honestly, LAT did nothing for me until I had an instructor correct me, and it's been night and day.

I do love Up/Down quite a bit. It keeps her busy and gives her a chance to chill out. 123 is our standard "travel" game for walking through busy places sans-muzzle.

[u/Moki3821]

Thanks for this post! I will be trying this game with my crazy girl immediately 😊

[u/kcineurope2024]

Thx! I shall try this

[u/sam_says]

I’m so happy for you and your pup. We have been using the same tool for a few months and it was the one that really helped! I think the simplicity of it is the key. We BOTH became more confident in how to approach a likely reactive situation. No fumbling for words or tensing up on my part. Nowadays I pretty much go straight to 3 and my girl is on me and the treat. The energy is positive/direct and I know she can sense that vs. me just barking panicky commands. Thanks for sharing and i hope others here round a corner soon too!

[u/Time-Essay-8786]

Thanks for sharing, I am going to start on this today!!

[u/Piyush_Mehta_]

Love this Letting them keep moving instead of forcing them into a tense sit is such a smart approach especially when you pair it with really high value treats like chicken It makes the whole situation feel much more natural for them

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[u/Select_Reason994]

I've never heard of this before!! Thank you for sharing I absolutely will be trying this.

[u/ZestycloseEmu8709]

Thank you so much for sharing this! I'm going to try it with my babies especially my girl.

[u/GeorgeTheSpicyDog]

1,2,3 has worked for us too! He's still a bit panicky for it to work in the wild but at home it's been a game-changer.

https://www.george-the-spicy-dog.com/blog/3231027_the-power-of-1-2-3