How to Keep Your Dog Motivated
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 throughout the day is a great way to keep the interest of the dog. Doing things the dog enjoys, like walking in the park, riding in the car, and playing with other dogs, are great ways to keep the dog's attention, but you must reward him for small successes.
For instance, to thank the dog for coming to you when you call him, tell your dog to come to you, without giving any clues about going for a walk, a car ride, or other treats.
After your dog has come 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 enjoys doing.
Providing some sort 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 way to keep your dog's motivation while you are dog training.
If the dog knows something good is going to occur every time he obeys your commands, he will be more motivated to do want you want every time.
Distraction training.
When training a dog, it is vital to not let distractions disrupt the training. The dog must be trained to ignore distractions, such as other people, other dogs, other animals and loud noises, and concentrate on what is being taught These types of distractions can also be used as rewards when training your dog to come when called.
For instance, if your dog enjoys playing with other dogs, whether in a local dog park or with the neighbour's dogs, let him play freely 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 pals. Do this a few times and praise the dog every time he comes to you.
The dog will soon realize 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 naturally social animals, and leaving the pack is one of the hardest things you can ask your dog to do. Most dogs will be understandably reluctant to leave their canine companions, but it is vital to persist in dog training.
Training the dog to come to you when you call can take some creativity on your part at first. For instance, waving a favourite toy, or a lure, is a great 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 training your dog.
Once the dog begins to get used to coming when called, you can start to reduce and eliminate the visual cues and focus on getting the dog to obey your voice alone. It is vital that the dog responds to voice commands alone, since you will not always have the availability of a toy or other lure.
Providing random positive stimuli throughout the day is a great way to keep the interest of the dog. Doing things the dog enjoys, like walking in the park, riding in the car, and playing with other dogs, are great ways to keep the dog's attention, but you must reward him for small successes.
For instance, to thank the dog for coming to you when you call him, tell your dog to come to you, without giving any clues about going for a walk, a car ride, or other treats.
After your dog has come 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 enjoys doing.
Providing some sort 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 way to keep your dog's motivation while you are dog training.
If the dog knows something good is going to occur every time he obeys your commands, he will be more motivated to do want you want every time.
Distraction training.
When training a dog, it is vital to not let distractions disrupt the training. The dog must be trained to ignore distractions, such as other people, other dogs, other animals and loud noises, and concentrate on what is being taught These types of distractions can also be used as rewards when training your dog to come when called.
For instance, if your dog enjoys playing with other dogs, whether in a local dog park or with the neighbour's dogs, let him play freely 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 pals. Do this a few times and praise the dog every time he comes to you.
The dog will soon realize 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 naturally social animals, and leaving the pack is one of the hardest things you can ask your dog to do. Most dogs will be understandably reluctant to leave their canine companions, but it is vital to persist in dog training.
Training the dog to come to you when you call can take some creativity on your part at first. For instance, waving a favourite toy, or a lure, is a great 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 training your dog.
Once the dog begins to get used to coming when called, you can start to reduce and eliminate the visual cues and focus on getting the dog to obey your voice alone. It is vital that the dog responds to voice commands alone, since you will not always have the availability of a toy or other lure.
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