Distractions are Part of Life – Incorporate Them Into Your Training and Play So Your Dog Learn to Stay Focus On You No Matter What.
It never fails. You carve out 30 minutes of your time to work with your pup, but the phone rings or someone stops by. Maybe you’re in the park but Fido is more interested in the good looking Doberman. Effective training incorporates interruptions and distractions into each lesson. If you introduce the right disturbance at the right time, your dog will learn to stay focus and listen to you regardless of what is going on around. Remember that training is not a set time.
Look at Me – Watch Me – Either Commands to Bring His Focus on You.
Begin your training with as few distractions as you can manage.
When your dog is first learning something brand new, you want him to focus on you so he can absorb the information and learn. So the first thing you want to teach is “Look at Me” or if your prefer ” Watch Me”. This is a command that will help you bring your dog back and focus on you while distractions are going on.
Different place, same command. Your dog, unlike you, cannot make generalizations as he’s learning. If he’s learning to sit in the backyard, he might not make the association that the command “sit” means the same thing at the park. Once your pup is adept at whatever it is you’re trying to teach him at one place, introduce a different location keeping in mind that distractions should still be kept to a minimum until he has a strong sit, lay down or whatever command you want to teach me.
Always kep in mind that a dog attention span is short. Keep your training session to 15 minutes and less if you have a puppy.
One Singular Distraction.
When there’s no confusion with the command in your dog, introduce a single distraction. What the distraction is depends on your dog. What is exciting to one dog might be a bore to another. To one dog throwing their favorite toy across the yard while having them maintain a sit and stay is incredibly distracting. Yet to another, nothing. For my two Shelties, the phone ringing is their greatest distraction. So pay attention to things that distract your dog.
Multiple Distractions
Once you have an idea of a few things that distract your dog, add them in one at a time. As you do, plan ahead to be sure your dog will succeed. Adding too many distractions in too quickly will breed failure. And failure will only hamper your training.
Let’s say your dog has problems with his “heel”. Here’s an example of how you can work distractions into your training to make sure Fido stays in his heel position.
- Have your dog on leash, sitting in the heel position.
- Have some treats in your pocket and in your right hand. Make sure you have some really good treats that you know your dog likes.
- Ask a friend or neighbor to sit on the grass nearby with a tennis ball. She can roll the ball, toss it from hand to hand, or bounce it. (Provided your dog is ball crazy)
- Have your dog watch you, and when you have his attention, tell him, “Fido, Heel!” and walk a large circle around your friend.
- When your dog looks at the tennis ball, show him the treat again and repeat a “Watch Me” command. When he looks back at you, praise him!
- When he’s focused on you and is ignoring the ball, stop, have him sit, and praise him enthusiastically.
Repeat this exercise, making the circle smaller, reversing direction, and challenging your dog to pay attention to you. When he does well, praise and reward him. When he loses focus, bring him back with the “Watch Me” and praise.
Repeat. How many times depends on your dog. Watch his body language. If you see him yawning, this is a sign he is getting stressed or bored. Take a break, toss the ball and play.
Training with distractions will help your train your dog listen to you. This is a very important part of training. You want your dog to listen no matter what is happening around. If you have difficulties with the recall, it will definitely help your dog be more consistent.
