Start Your Engines for Distractions and Dogs

Is your dog a distracted driver? Are you exasperated whenever your dog blows off your cues and remains distracted? Believe it or not, training your dog to pay attention to you, even around distractions, starts inside your home! Inside your home is the only place where you can control your dog’s exposure to distractions. If your dog is a distracted driver outside, watch this presentation about how to approach distraction training inside your home.

If you’re looking for a self-guided program to train your dog to pay attention to you and come when called, even around distractions, join Behavior Buddies! Add Behavior Buddies to your play list for many skills, including how to train your dog that his or her best choice is to pay attention to you - even with distractions!

Time to start your engines! This flowchart represents when to reward your dog, and when to reset a training trial by starting again. Remember, whenever your dog does not respond immediately and correctly to your cue, your dog has missed the exit. This means your dog must drive all the way around the highway again before you reset, restart, and give the cue again.