Day Eight -- Distractions

There are distractions all around. They can be as simple as a smell...

As exciting as a new friend...

Or as challenging as another species.

It's ok for Indy to look at distractions. It's very normal for dogs to need to see what is going on in their environments.

But he needs to be responsive to his name and other commands even when everything is going on around him.

I have similar expectations when we are walking. I start the walk out by having him check in with me. I want him to realize right off the bat that he needs to pay attention to me and that he has a task before him, to walk nicely on the leash.

When we are walking, I like for him to periodically check in with me.

Most of the time he's looking forward to see where he is going. I just want occasional glances up at me as if to say, "Do you need anything?"

Ideally, I notice the big distractions around us long before I've lost his attention so I'm continually scanning the environment.

If I see something that might catch his attention, I start rewarding more frequently.

If need be, I pull off to the side and work on attention. Over time, if he is conditioned to pay attention to you, those big distractions will be much easier to handle.

I started to add some distraction to his distance stays today. Just a little bit. But even that was a bit much at first. Breaking his stay let me know I was asking too much at the time and I needed to modify my approach.

I can do that a few different ways. I can stay a little closer when I do the distractions. Or I can make the distractions smaller.

Or I can walk away a short distance, return and reward him, and walk away again. I did this several times and then he was able to handle the distraction.

He's doing really nice coming off of distractions when I call him to come.

Even with a brand new friend.

And, as suspected, the two were fast friends. Or at least he thought Pioneer will do if Remo is not available.