As the name implies, this exercise combines “Get It”, as in - get the treat, with a super motivating ‘Come’ and is a really great foundation exercise.
It’s perfect as a warm-up exercise to begin training, as well as an exercise to motivate, condition and maintain speed and accuracy in many areas of training.
Play this one very thoughtfully with young puppies as you don’t want them turning sharply – make sure they have eaten the treat and have gently turned around to face the new direction before you break away and toss another treat.
Traditionally, this is an exercise beloved by dog sport enthusiasts particularly competitive obedience as it instils a fast run for recalls, retrieves and other obedience exercises. The goal is to get the dog to start running from a standstill, like a horse coming out of the starting gates so we are looking for the dog to start running on his first stride.
Top tip: experiment with the colour, size and consistency of the food treats you use for this exercise depending on your training floor as they need to be easily visible to your dog and easy to chew.
I have found Canibit biscuits work really well on dark surfaces / grass as long as the grass is fairly short. They are a decent size and white (think a flat sided malteser before it's covered in chocolate!). According to the blurb they contain hearty Ostrich meat. I doubt there's much meat in them but they do work really well and no upset tummies with my dogs. They are very light but don't crumble in the pocket and according to my doggies are very palatable and can be easily scoffed in quick succession hence they are ideal. I get them on zooplus: