Squirrel! Training Distracted Dogs

“My dog listens unless there’s a distraction. Then all bets are off.”

Board and Train Puppy, Jovie, distracted at the park

Is that you? If so, you’re not alone!

People and their dogs don’t live in a bubble. Life is one distraction after another. Either you’ve got kids running around the house, packages arriving, dinner on the table, cars driving by, or other dogs encountered on walks.

That’s why I consider Listening Around Distractions part of basic obedience for every dog. Skills that only work when you’re home alone with your dog aren’t very helpful for real life.

Consider these three things if your doesn’t listen around distractions:

Break It Down

Training your dog to respond correctly despite distractions, should be like gradually wading into the ocean—not jumping into the deep end of the pool.

Instead of moving straight from Sit practice inside your quiet home, to Sit practice at the outdoor mall (jumping into the deep end), how about Sit practice in your driveway, then down at the street corner and then in a quiet parking lot (gradually wading)?

How might you gradually work up to the distraction?

Is He Anxious?

Sometimes distracted dogs are actually worried dogs.

Board and Train Puppy, Luna, looks distracted, but she’s actually concerned about the environment.

Imagine you find yourself home alone one night. You hear breaking glass downstairs and remember your neighborhood has experienced a number of burglaries recently. How well can you concentrate on that work project now?

Anxious dogs are chiefly concerned with their safety which makes your request for Sit, Down and Stay very irrelevant to their brain.

In some ways, these dogs aren’t distracted at all. They are extremely focused on what their brain perceives to be the most important thing in that moment. It’s just not you.

The anxiety must be addressed before you can expect your dog’s brain to attend to your request.

Is He Working?

Loofah’s genetic makeup contributes to her “healthy” distraction.

Sometimes, distraction is actually a perfectly healthy and normal demonstration of a breed tendency.

I see this in Livestock Guardian breeds such as Great Pyrenees or Anatolian Shepherds. These dogs were bred to live in the fields with the livestock—away from humans. They are designed to watch the environment and make decisions without input or direction from humans.

Training these dogs to “listen and pay attention” isn’t impossible, but it’s likely to take significantly more effort because it’s so antithetical to their genetic makeup.

In most cases, teaching dogs to do the behavior is the quick part. It’s teaching them to do it despite distractions that actually takes a significant amount of time.

If you want personalized help with your distracted dog, contact Koinonia!