Keeping the attention of your dog during training is not always easy. Dogs are easily distracted, and it is important to not allow the dog training sessions to be sabotaged by boredom. Making dog training fun for the dog and the human alike is vital to creating a happy, well adjusted and well trained dog.
You should provide random positive stimuli throughout the day in order to maintain the interest of the dog. Doing things the dog enjoys, like walking in the park, riding in the car, and playing with other dogs, are great methods to keep the dog’s attention, but you must give him rewards for his successes.
For example, in order to reward the dog for coming to you when you call him, ask the dog to come to you, without giving any clues about a walk, a car ride, or other treats.
After the dog has come to you and obediently sat down, attach the lead and start the reward. This can be either the afore-mentioned walk in the park, ride in the car, or anything else the dog enjoys doing.
Giving some kind of reward, whether a treat, a special outing, or just a tickle behind the ears, every time the dog does something you want him to, is a good method to maintain your dog’s motivation while you are dog training.
If the dog knows something good is going to happen every time he obeys your commands, he will be more motivated to do want you want every time.
Distraction training.
When training a dog, it is vital to not let distractions ruin 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 your dog to come when told.
For instance, if your dog like playing with other dogs, whether in the local park or with the neighbour’s dogs, let him play freely with those other dogs. Then go into the park or garden and call your dog.
When he comes to you, give him lots of praise, treats and other rewards, then immediately let the dog to return to playing with his pals. Repeat this a few times and praise the dog every time he comes to you.
Your 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).
This so-called distraction training is one of the most difficult things for your dog to learn, because dogs are social animals by nature, and breaking away from the pack is one of the most difficult things you can ask your dog to do. Most dogs will be understandably reluctant to leave their doggy companions, but it is vital to persist in dog training.
Training your dog to come to you when you call may require some creativity on your part at first. For example, waving a favourite toy, or a lure, is a good 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, when training your dog.
Once your dog starts to become used to coming when called, you can start to reduce and then stop the visual cues and focus on getting the dog to respond to your voice alone. It is important that your dog responds to voice commands alone, since you will not always have a toy or other lure to hand.
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