Spring Cleaning

 

Aaahh! Spring Time! The sights, sounds, smells and OH the Distractions!! After a long winter of  cabin fever and snow, your dog may be nuts come Spring. Now is the time to do some Spring Cleaning and get better behavior around distractions.

What is it that drives your dog crazy? Is it people, moving objects such as cars, motorcycles, joggers or children? Children: running, screaming, riding bikes or playing with toys?

And how about other dogs? Does your dog go bonkers at the very sight of a dog. When, you ask, will your dog be able to walk by another dog without going ballistic?!!

Here are 4 training techniques to practice. One way to tackle this is not to practice on the "Walk". Practice separately away from the distraction so you are prepared in any situation. You will need to test which technique best suits your dog or which works for each distraction.

1. Use an Alternate Behavior Command: Using the commands of Sit or Down helps your dog work at holding the position.

2. Create space: Moving your dog away from the distraction will lessen their need to react.

3. Yield your dog: Making your dog back away by walking into them puts you between your dog and the distraction. Like a buffer, you prevent the dog from advancing forward.

4. Focus on you: Your dog can not look at the distraction while looking at you.

You may now be thinking "How" do we practice without distractions? Last Saturday we put these techniques to the test. I held my first workshop called "Distracted Dog". I helped the teams go through each technique so they understood what to do with their dogs. Remember "Practice makes Permanent"!

1. Find which anchoring command your dog does best.

2. Act out moving your dog away on the leash so they are willing to follow you.

3. Teach your dog how to yield by randomly asking them to move out of your way.

4. Reward your dog for watching you. Put that behavior on cue so you can use it when needed.

Once you clean up bad behavior with these techniques, you won't be distracted from enjoying the beauties of Spring.

 

Out of the DogHouse LLC website www.ohiodogtrainer.net

Contact Dru Therrian 440.286.9070