Keeping Your Dog Motivated
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Keeping the attention of a dog while training is not always an easy task. Dogs can be 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 vital to making a happy, well-balanced and well-trained dog.
You should provide random positive stimuli during the day in order to keep the attention of your 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 example, 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 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 before-mentioned walk in the park, ride in the car, or anything else the dog enjoys doing.
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 method to keep your dog's motivation while you are dog training.
If the dog knows something great is going to happen every time he obeys your command, he will be more motivated to please you every time.
Distraction training.
When training any dog, it is important to not let distractions ruin 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 types of distractions can even be used as rewards when training the dog to come when called.
For example, if your dog like romping with other dogs, whether it be in the 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 allow 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 taken away from the park).
So-called distraction training is one of the hardest things to teach, 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 too when you are training your dog.
Once the dog begins to get the hang of coming when called, you can begin to reduce and eliminate the visual cues and focus on getting the dog to obey your voice alone. It is vital that the dog obeys voice commands alone, since you will not always have the availability of a toy or other lure.
Article Source: Articlelogy.com
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