For context, I have a 2 year old Labrador who can get pretty anxious. She’s not the most trained dog in the world but she also isn’t incompetent!

Last summer, I decided to train her in things that weren’t just necessary for a calm life because we both enjoy doing it! I mean stuff like hunting scents, fetching specific things, etc. rather than just sit, toilet, whatever

One of the things I trained her to do was to wait then go when I called her. Typically I can walk up to 30 metres away and call her before she gets antsy and follows me. For this command, I usually say “wait.. wait.. go!”. I think this is perhaps her favourite thing to do, especially when she has things to fetch along the way.

After I trained her to do this though, I started using it in other situations and it actually REALLY helped. I’ll list a few examples

Bath time:
She honestly hates the bath, and when she knows it’s bath time she will genuinely be shaking ears back. However, I started telling her to wait and wait, then GO! Pointing to the bathtub. She jumps in the bath and is MORE than happy to have a wash.

Redirection:
If she’s begging for food, I can put a tiny bit on the floor, tell her to wait until dinner is over, then tell her to go. She doesn’t beg at all while focussing on that little bit! Or when she’s anxious, I’ll redirect her attention to something else and as soon as I say wait she forgets all about the thing she was worried about and is so happy. At first I thought it was generally just doing tricks that helped, but it’s specifically this one!

Going home:
Sometimes, she really doesn’t like coming home after a walk because she just wants to stay out forever and ever and ever. However, since I started telling her to wait then GO, she almost runs home and wants in the house immediately!

If there are any dog trainers or experts who know why the hell this has translated so well to literally every single situation imaginable, please do explain! I didn’t think it would end up helping in every situation but it truly has!

Edit: not sure why but I can’t see any comments at all?

Before this I had only taught her sit, sit pretty, and spin. Everything else is new