Keeping the attention of a dog while training is not always an easy task. Dogs are very easily distracted, and it is important to not allow the dog training sessions to be ruined by boredom. Making dog training fun for the dog and the human alike is essential to creating a happy, well-balanced and well-trained dog.
You should provide random positive stimuli during the day in order to keep the attention of your dog. Doing things the dog enjoys, like walking in the park, riding in the car, and playing with other dogs, are great ways to keep the dog’s attention, but you must reward him for small successes.
For instance, to reward the dog for coming to you when you call him, tell your dog to come to you, without giving any clues about going for a walk, a car ride, or other treats.
After the dog has come to you and obediently sat down, attach the leash and start the reward. This can be either the before-mentioned walk in the park, ride in the car, or anything else the dog likes to do.
Giving some sort of reward, whether a treat, a special outing, or just a scratch behind the ears, every time the dog does something you want, is a good method to keep your dog’s motivation while you are dog training.
If your dog knows something good is going to happen every time he obeys your command, he will be more motivated to please you every time.
Distraction training.
When training any dog, it is important to not allow distractions spoil the training. The dog must be taught to ignore distractions, such as other people, other dogs, other animals and loud noises, and focus on what is being taught These kinds of distractions can even be used as rewards when training the dog to come when called.
For instance, if your dog enjoys playing with other dogs, whether in a local dog park or with the neighbour’s dogs, let him play freely with those other dogs. Then go into the park or yard and call your dog.
When he comes to you, provide lots of praise, treats and other rewards, then immediately allow the dog to return to playing with his pals. Do this a few times and praise the dog each time he comes to you.
The dog will soon realize that coming to your call results in good things (treats and praise) and not bad ones (being removed from the park).
So-called distraction training is one of the hardest things to teach, because dogs are naturally social animals, and breaking away from the pack is one of the hardest things you can ask your dog to do. Most dogs will be understandably unwilling to leave their canine companions, but it is important to persist in dog training.
Training the dog to come to you when you call may take some creativity on your behalf at first. For example, waving one of his favourite toys, or a lure, is a great way to get your dog’s attention and put the focus back on you. If your dog has been clicker trained, a quick click can be a good motivator too in dog training.
Once the dog begins to get used to coming when called, you can start to reduce and eliminate the visual cues and focus on getting the dog to respond to your voice alone. It is important that the dog responds to voice commands alone, since you will not always have the availability of a toy or other lure.
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