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July 1st, 2009 by Owen Jones

Keeping the attention of your dog during 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 sabotaged 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.

Providing random positive stimuli during the day is a great way to keep the interest of your dog. Doing things the dog enjoys, like walking in the park, riding in the car, and playing with other dogs, are good ways 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 begin the treat. This can be either the afore-mentioned stroll in the park, ride in the car, or anything else the dog likes to do.

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 your dog knows something great is going to occur every time he follows 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 your dog to come when told.

For example, if your dog like 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 yard and call your dog.

When he comes to you, provide lots of praise, treats and other rewards, then immediately let the dog to return to playing with his friends. Repeat this several times and praise the dog each time he comes over to you.

The dog will quickly learn that coming to you means 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 naturally social animals, 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 unwilling to leave their canine 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 your dog begins to become used to coming when called, you can begin 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.