Yesterday afternoon we had some fun in the dog pen. You don't always have to let the dogs just run around and play with each other. Doing a few contact exercises now and then strengthens leadership, and the dogs also find it fun, or at least tasty :).
I usually have plenty of treats, of course. The next step is to get them to sit, which can be a challenge when they've been working hard in harnesses all winter and haven't had to think along those lines. Once they sit well on command, the next trick is eye contact; they should ask for the treat. You have to be a little patient, but after some frustration, they will try to make eye contact, and then, quick as a flash, they get a treat.
Nike and Axon weren't interested at all and just walked around sniffing in the pen. Sisu lost interest after a few treats. But the others in the pack were really eager, cooperative, and made many attempts to understand how to get me to let go of the treat that I had firmly hidden in my hand.
It's also interesting because when you have several dogs at once, they seem to learn from each other. If one dog doesn't understand but the other sits down, the one who doesn't understand imitates it, and then suddenly, even that one understands what is expected. I love working with dogs in a pack; it's so enriching.