Tuesday Training Byte: Getting your dog to pay attention when around distractions

Often people tell me that their dog behaves great at home or in the house, but outside of that environment the dog doesn't pay attention. To start, dogs have a hard time paying attention in various environments, as they may become over-stimulated. When over-stimulated, a dog may show fear or be very excited. Either way, they cannot seem to process the commands you just gave him. First, I like to observe what triggers my dog. Once I know what those triggers are, I try to keep the dog under that threshold of getting over-stimulated during training.

For example, if my dog starts running, jumping, and barking wildly when someone rings the doorbell, I know that triggers the over-stimulation. I will put my dog on leash and sit across the room from the front door. I will have my dog follow a few easy commands to sit, down, shake, etc while I give him treats for his correct response. Then I have my husband walk past us to the front door. I get my dog to look at me and sit while I give treats again. Next my husband opens the door and rings the doorbell then comes in and shuts the door. If my dog looks back at me, he gets rewarded with treats. He may look at the trigger briefly, but must be giving me his attention. A dog that is over-stimulated will have difficulty giving you eye contact and taking treats, so keep this exercise easy enough (ie: under threshold) so your dog can pay attention to you and use self-control. If your dog is fearful of children riding by on their bicycles, we will practice the same steps a distance away while you give simple commands and reward with treats. Make sure to give high-value treats when your dog makes eye contact with you in the presence of the distractions. You will make far better progress when you are calm and reward the calm behavior in your dog, rather than yelling at or pulling your dog away. Giving your dog a string of commands when your dog is not looking at you and is over-threshold is counterproductive. Reward eye contact and calm behavior. Happy training!