I have 2 Bichon pups that I am training, what skills do my 6 month old dogs need to learn that will allow me to train with one while the other waits his turn without having to be put in a separate area?

Good morning and thanks for a great question.

I train two or three of my dogs at the same time and I start with teaching them to really value being on a station like a Kuranda bed or Klimb. I prefer the Klimb platforms due to their versatility. For small breed dogs I take the legs off and build lots of value for staying there by teaching them that all good things come to them on there. It's how I start teaching my formal stays with all my dogs too.

I first lure them onto the Klimb, mark and reward. I don't reward them on the release because I want all the value to be for staying up there. Some of my training friends have a Klimb for each dog and put an eye bolt in the wall, position the Klimb next to it and put a lightweight line on the dog so they physically can't jump down when you walk away. I have never needed to do this but it's an option. You never want to leave a dog unattended with this set up but it helps if you have multiple dogs and not enough hands to control everyone :) I've added a link to the Klimb below, there is a video on the webpage that shows just some of the ways we use them here.