Keeping the attention of a dog during training is not always easy. Dogs can be 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 essential to creating a happy, well adjusted and well trained dog.
You should provide random positive stimuli throughout the day in order to keep the attention 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 reward him for small successes.
For instance, 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 going for a walk, a car ride, or other treats.
After the dog has come over to you and obediently sat down, attach the lead and start the treat. This can be either the afore-mentioned walk in the park, ride in the car, or anything else the dog likes to do.
Providing some kind 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 way to maintain your dog’s motivation while you are dog training.
If your dog knows something great is going to happen every time he obeys your command, he will be motivated to please you every time.
Distraction training.
When training any dog, it is important to not let distractions disrupt 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 also be used as rewards when training the dog to come when called.
For instance, if your dog enjoys romping with other dogs, whether it be in a park or with the neighbour’s dogs, let him play 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 allow the dog to go back to playing with his pals. Repeat this a few times and praise the dog every time he comes to you.
The dog will soon learn that coming to you means good things (treats and praise) and not bad ones (being taken away from the park).
This so-called distraction training is one of the hardest things for your dog to learn, because dogs are social animals by nature, and leaving 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 important to persist in dog training.
Training the dog to come to you may take some creativity on your part at first. For instance, 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 as well when you are training your dog.
Once the dog begins 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 vital that your dog responds to voice commands alone, since you will not always have a toy or other lure to hand.