How to Keep Your Dog Motivated
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 ruined by boredom. Making dog training fun for the dog and the human alike is vital to making a happy, well-adjusted and well-trained dog.
You should provide random positive stimuli throughout the day in order to maintain 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 methods to keep the dog’s attention, but you must give him rewards for his 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 leash 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 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 great way to keep your dog’s motivation while you are dog training.
If your dog knows something good 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 vital to not let distractions ruin 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 kinds of distractions can also be used as rewards when training your dog to come when called.
For instance, if your dog like playing with other dogs, whether in the local 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, give him lots of praise, treats and other rewards, then immediately allow the dog to return to playing with his friends. Do 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).
This so-called distraction training is one of the most difficult things for your dog to learn, because dogs are social animals by nature, and leaving 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 doggy companions, but it is vital to persist in dog training.
Training the dog to come to you may require 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 as well when you are training your dog.
Once the dog starts to get used to coming when called, you can start to reduce and then stop the visual cues and focus on making the dog obey just your voice. It is important that the dog obeys voice commands alone, as you will not always have a toy or lure to hand.
