Keeping your dog’s attention on you when you are training together can sometimes prove difficult. You can find yourself competing with factors that your dog finds more desirable than what you have to offer. It could be smells on the ground, another dog, other people, noises, rubbish, or a number of other things. It can feel like your session is getting nowhere and leave you feeling deflated. What can you do to counteract this? One of the most important factors in building a strong relationship with your dog is the ability to teach your dog how to engage with you. When you step out for a session with your dog you want them to lock on to you in anticipation of what is about to happen. Engagement is when a dog willingly wants to participate in the work and tries to push buttons to make that work happen. They aren’t as easily distracted with what is going on around them and use every opportunity they have figuring out what is going to earn them that reward they really want.

A common mistake a lot of people make is starting their dogs in an environment that is too distracting for them. While you think the open air and sunshine down at the local park is a relaxed and fun setting, for a beginner dog this environment can be highly distracting. Even if there is no one else around there are still hidden distractions that us humans don’t notice. For example, a dog’s nose is up to 10,000 times more sensitive than that of a human. Yes, you read correctly – 10,000 times more! A human nose contains around 5 million scent receptors, whereas a dog’s nose can contain anywhere up to 300 million. That’s a lot of scent receptors! So it’s no surprise that when you take Fido out for his training session to that beautiful, “quiet” park you love to train in that his nose goes straight to the ground. Pair his nose with his acute hearing sense (e.g.: children screaming in the distance) and keen eye (e.g.: a bird fluttering past) and you can quickly see how this all adds up against you.

In the beginning it is highly recommended to begin your engagement work in a sterile environment where there are no competing distractions. A place the dog feels comfortable, such as a quiet room in your home is a good place to start. Mood plays a big part in your dog’s performance. If your dog is not feeling it then chances are their work will mirror that too. We need to make our sessions with our dog fun! Use whatever reward works best for your dog to prevent them from fading as much as possible. Some dogs may prefer food while others may prefer a toy. If your dog loves food, find out which food they work hardest for and only use it when you are training with your dog. The same goes for toys. And don’t be afraid to make them work for their reward. Instead of getting into the trap of using the reward as a bribe during an exercise to keep them working use it as a form of payment after a job well done. Luring your dog with food or a toy may work in the beginning but don’t make this a habit. Your ultimate aim is to make your dog work for you, not the food or toy that you are dangling in front of them. Real learning and true engagement happens when the dog can still perform without these visual aids prompting them.

Build value for your own self by keeping your sessions with your dog short and intense. You want to leave them begging for more. Too many people try to push their dogs for too long. A common misconception people have is that if they have set out 15 minutes to train their dog that they must utilise the entire 15 minutes. This is not true. Not only is this incredibly boring for the dog, but it will go against you by undoing any good progress you did make. If you get one good repetition out of your dog leave it at that. As your dog gets better ask for a little more. Then mix it up! You don’t have to be regimented in your training. You don’t want the reward for your dog to be the end of the session. If that is the case you will know because you will have one bored dog! Keep it simple, short and always set your dog up for success. Acknowledge the good progress your dog makes and leave them on a high at the end of every session.

Letting your dog know when you are about to train is a great communication tool for putting your dog into work mode. Teaching your dog a verbal cue like “Ready to work?” can help with this. Watch your dog come to life once they understand that this cue is their opportunity to earn reward! This cue doesn’t even have to be verbal. It can be in the form of equipment, such as a specific collar or harness that only goes on before a training session. The dog will pair the act of the equipment going on with the opportunity of a training session coming up. It’s amazing what dog’s can cue off! And once your session is done you can communicate this to the dog via a simple termination cue such as “Finish”. This will let the dog know that the session is now over and there is no more opportunity for reward. If you can clearly differentiate these cues for your dog it makes training sessions very dynamic and your dog will eagerly wait for the next one to come along. Not only will this strengthen the subsequent levels of engagement your dog shows you but it will also create a willingness in your dog to work. Your dog will work harder to earn as much reward as it can during the small window of opportunity you open up to them in your sessions. You have the power to create the perception in your dog’s mind that he is in fact in control of the rewards he can earn so it makes the work they do all the more powerful!

Once your dog is happily engaging with you at home you can start to take your sessions outside the home and gradually increase the level of distractions as they progress. This could be as simple as moving your sessions from inside the house to your backyard. Now going to your own backyard may not seem like much of a difference to you but to your dog it sets a completely different picture. By steadily increasing the level of distractions and training environments your dog is exposed to your dog will begin to generalise the environments they are training in and adjust rapidly.

Once your dog has learnt the art of engagement you can begin your training sessions on a high every time. You will love it, your dog will love it and your relationship will be that much stronger.