Training a dog takes time but you will get there quicker by moving slower.
Baby steps
Every little improvement is a cause for celebration. Don’t try to accomplish too much too soon. If your dog has only just learned the recall from the other side of the kitchen, expecting your dog to come back to you from the other side of a field without being distracted by all the smells, other dogs, trees blowing in the wind, squirrels, rabbits, birds etc is too much of a leap. Remember to set your dog up for success by taking baby steps. If training has been going well, try to think of the smallest change you can make that will make your training slightly more difficult. If all goes well, you can always up the difficulty some more, but if you try to give your dog commands in a highly distracting environment, you needlessly risk taking a few steps backwards. Go slowly. You do not need to rush your dog’s training.
Get your dog’s attention
Only train your dog when you have their attention. If they aren’t giving it to you just bide your time. If you’ve controlled the training environment so there isn’t anything overly distracting and entertaining for your dog to do instead, they will eventually look to you for entertainment. Be ready to give it to them.
Feel free to make funny noises that your dog might find interesting, and it’s okay to use treats and toys as bribery in the very early stages of your dog’s training, but don’t worry too much if your dog is still distracted.
If you are training your dog in your home or garden, let them sniff and run around. As long as you haven’t given your dog any commands they are free to explore. If you’ve tidied the home or garden before training, there will be fewer distractions around and your dog should turn their attention to you much sooner. Just be ready for the moment that they look up at you. When you have their attention, you have the best chance of success. As your dog learns that paying attention leads to fun interactions and rewards, they will become more interested in you and less interested in everything else, but this takes time.
As you move on to more challenging distractions, or when you start to train your dog away from your home and garden, you will be able to control your dog with a lead to ensure they don’t get carried away with things they might find more interesting. The lead is a tool for doing just that – leading. With a lead you can gently but firmly keep your dog in one spot until they are ready to focus on you. If you have a dog who gets carried away sniffing the ground around them, pull the lead gently upwards just enough to lift their nose away from the ground. Repeat this until your dog gives up sniffing. Be patient, stay calm, repeat for along as it takes. As soon as you have your dogs attention, praise them and show them what they’ve been missing by keeping your training fun and rewarding.
If it takes ten minutes to walk your dog to the nearest lamp post because you have spent the majority of your time patiently waiting for your dog to stop watching everything that moves, that’s absolutely fine. Slow is good, and slow will work out quicker in the long run.
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