Tuesday Training Byte: Dealing with distraction
Distraction can be difficult for many owners who want to take their dogs out but the dog seems to suddenly not even know it's name. Think of your dog as a young toddler with ADHD. Asking your dog to pay attention when there are distractions is a big ask. Here are some ways to start building your pup's ability to pay attention in public spaces.
Start indoors without noise or other people or pets in the room. Keep it fun and short. As the dog understands the commands, it is time to up the ante. We can begin to add the other two "D's"- duration and distance. For example, at first I will have my dog follow me in heel position in the living room. After that is going well, increase the time from five minutes to seven minutes, while changing speed, direction, and adding in some stops and starts. After a couple of days, add some distance- practice heeling all around the house. If your dog begins to lose focus, go back to the basics from day one. After making solid progress over a week or so, take it to the back yard, carport, or the garage. In the new place, start small again with a brief session and lots of encouragement. Build up the duration and distance in the new location. Now it is time to graduate to the driveway and front yard. Here you may find that your dog is getting a bit too excited to follow commands. If this happens. take some training treats while holding the end of the leash and say watch! as you toss the treat by the dog, letting him gobble them up. Toss them a variety of directions within his reach of the 6 foot leash. If your pup is too distracted to take the treat, move back to the location where your pup was last successful and practice there for a couple of days, keeping it fun. We want to make sure that our dog is not too overstimulated because once this happens, he will not be able to focus. You will soon learn what puts your dog over that threshold. When I take my dog to the big box store, before I head in, I let him sniff and explore and walk around at the end of his leash for a few minutes until he is ready to calmly pay attention and go inside. On one occasion, my puppy was too excited whenever I would approach the building, so on that day, we just worked outside for a few minutes doing the treat toss, then back home. It can take time and some practice, but working up slowly will help your dog be successful. Even my adult obedience titled male, gets a chance to warm up in the parking lot before we go inside. One last reminder though- if you place the back of your hand on the asphalt and it is too hot, it is too hot for your dog. Fall days are coming which will be perfect weather to get out with your pups. Happy training.
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