Wait what?! Using a distraction as a cue? That can't be right...

Many people see distractions as something to avoid with your dog, but the more that you utilize them, the more your dog will know what to do when there is a distraction!

If you've ever heard of the "Engage - Disengage" game, this is very similar. The Engage Disengage game is a wonderful tool for reactive dogs. This game is simply Level 1 (Engage): when your dog looks at the trigger mark and reward. Level 2 (Disengage): When your dog looks away from the trigger, mark and reward.

This is a great way to get your dog to have less reactions toward their triggers.

Rather than doing this game, we're going to focus on getting our dogs to offer attention to us whenever a distraction is present. This might sound unreasonable, but if you start small and practice this often, your dog will start to catch on!

What you need:

Toys

Food Bowl

Treats/Food

Leash

Patience!

What your dog needs to know:

A positive conditioned marker cue such as a clicker or "yes"

A very good attention cue such as "look" or "watch me"

M+R = Mark (with your conditioned marker cue) and Reward your dog

︾

Part 1:

• Start indoors in a place with no distractions. We want to be able to control the distractions at this stage.
• Present an easy "distraction" such as a toy or moving object. If your dog offers attention, M+R.
• If your dog does not offer attention, cue them to give you attention. As soon as they look to you, M+R.
• If your dog is still not looking to you, make the distraction easier until responding to your attention cue is simple.
• Do not make the distraction harder until your dog is easily offering attention when the distraction is presented.
• Try to go back and forth between making the distraction simple and difficult. If you continuously make the distraction harder, your dog can lose confidence and interest in the exercise.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rOVPzopWbu4" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Part 2:

•