One of the biggest mistakes I see people make with young dogs is allowing the dog to focus on a distraction.
This is especially common when dog owners are trying to get their dog used to other animals. Whether it’s cats, sheep, rabbits, other dogs, the principles are the same.
The more the dog focuses on the distraction, the more excited and distracted they become. And the less likely they are to listen to anything you say.
Let’s take the example of someone wanting to get their dogs used to chickens.
They are lucky enough to get permission to take their dog to a friend’s house where there are chickens. This is a great opportunity for dog training!
OMG Chickens!!!
They realize that the dog must be on a leash to begin with, so that’s a good start. Maybe those chickens are in a pen, or maybe they are free ranging around the yard.
Either way, the young dog on a leash is immediately transfixed and overwhelmed with excitement.
They’ll probably react by lunging and leaping at the end of the leash, and when denied the opportunity to get up close and personal with the chickens they start to bark. Over and over again. Yap, yap, yap. You get the picture.
The owner of the dog is now embarrassed. Their friend has been kind enough to let them visit, and now here is their dog making a complete spectacle of themselves.
Flustered and stressed they give the dog a leash correction. Which has no effect except to send the dog into another volley of ear splitting barks. Clearly their naughty dog can never be allowed access to chickens ever again.
True or false?
Well it’s false actually, though admittedly we’ve gotten off to a pretty bad start. In a moment we’ll rewind and look at how this should have gone.
But first let’s give some thought to protecting your distraction!
Protect your distraction
Before you begin it’s important to remember that when you are training around animals, your very first priority must be the safety and welfare of the animals that you are training around.
Whether it’s rabbits, chickens, or even sheep, you must have the permission of their owner to train your dog in their proximity. And you mustn’t get so close to them that they start to feel uncomfortable.
My animals all grew up around dogs and have no fear of them, but that is not true for many pets and most livestock. So do bear that in mind and make sure that the distances between your dog and the animals are right for both, not just for your dog.
Small pets should be introduced very gradually to canine family members, and vice versa. Feeding behavior is a good indicator. If your rabbit or guinea pig is happy munching on the carrot you offer them with your dog sitting nearby, then that distance is probably fine.
But bear in mind that the situation could change rapidly, and always keep a barrier between them or a leash on the dog while you are making introductions or training.
Ok, let’s look at a better way to start some training in the scenario we visited above.
Bring awesome treats
Be prepared with plenty of your dog’s favorite treats. Roast chicken, beef, something like that. Cut into tiny pieces.
Carry these in a treat bag attached to your belt or a pocket. They must be easily to hand
Do not feed your dog before you visit the chickens. The dog should be hungry
Put distance between you
First things first. Everything starts at a distance. Get as far away from the chickens as you can while still being close enough for the dog to be aware that they are there.
This could be fifty yards or more to begin with. You will reduce the distance over time.
The dog should be on a leash! The chickens should be happily scratching around or feeding, with no signs of panic.
Engage your dog
You can’t teach a dog that is hyper focused on something other than you. So the next step is to open a channel of communication between you. Engage your dog in a conversation so to speak.
One way to do this is to give the dog some simple cues and reinforce the correct response with lots of great rewards. However, it’s entirely possible that in this new situation, your dog will be simply too distracted to respond to even a simple cue like ‘sit’.
In this case you need to begin by hand feeding the dog. Don’t ask for anything. These are free treats. And they need to be good ones.
If your dog cannot eat your awesome treats you are too near a distraction. Bear in mind that it might not be the distraction you have in mind. You might be fifty yards from the chickens, but maybe there are other distractions in this new area.
If you can’t get any further away, the next step may help
Get your dog moving
Walk the dog up and down briskly. Encourage them with your voice, then stop, ask for a sit, and give a treat. Then start moving again. Don’t wait for the dog to look around and start thinking. Just keep them focused on moving, stopping, eating, repeat.
Once the dog is starting to relax, to engage with you, and respond to simple cues, you can think about moving a tiny bit nearer to those chickens.
Every time the dog starts to focus their attention on the chickens, get them moving again. Only when they are relaxed enough to look at you, and watch your face, should you think about doing any kind of stationary exercise such as a sit-stay.
If you haven’t done much in the way of focus and attention training this article will help: Teaching Your Dog To Pay Attention
Big achievements take big effort
Having a dog that is well-behaved around livestock and other animals is a really big achievement. But it’s important to recognise that this kind of training takes time and repetition. Don’t be in a hurry to lose that leash.
The results of training can be awesome, but there is no point in arranging to visit chickens today, if you are never going to be able to visit again, or if the chances of you visiting any chickens again this month are low.
If that is the case and you really want to train your dog to behave around chickens, then you really need to keep some chickens.
Which is something I highly recommend!
You get what you train for
Remember that you get what you train for. If you want your dog to be good around kids they need to be exposed to kids. Regularly, repeatedly, not just once or twice a year.
If you cannot access opportunities to train your dog in these situations then your best option is to manage the dog using a leash, and to maintain a safe distance.
There’s no shame in managing a dog with a leash. Not everyone will get so many opportunities to expose dogs to chickens, or sheep, that they will be able to trust their dog around sheep, or any other form of livestock.
This is the reality. And it’s ok to use a leash if that is your situation. Your first priority is to keep pets and livestock safe from your dog.
For more information have a look at my article on introducing distractions.
And have fun with your training!
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