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Distraction training- introduction

Distraction training- introduction

August 12, 2010 by Conor Davis

Have you ever watched a service dog work? Maybe you've observed a guide dog lead his master across a street or seen a therapy dog bring joy to a patient. Maybe you've thought these dogs are smarter than yours. They're not. They've been distraction trained.

Distraction training is the third phase of obedience training. The first phase of obedience training is teaching your dog what a command means and how to respond consistently. The second phase involves practicing the correct response in many different settings. The third phase is proofing your dog's correct response around distractions, training him to focus on you and ignore whatever else is taking place around him.

There are five levels of distraction training. The first four teach your dog to disregard extraneous visual (sight), auditory (sound), olfactory (smell), and tactile (touch) stimuli and follow your commands. The fifth teaches him to obey you even when he thinks that he should be interacting with other animals (playing or fighting with dogs, chasing cats, tracking game, etc.).

For your dog to learn to obey a command unconditionally, you have to practice that command while moving him through each of the five levels of distraction. When he has mastered one level, move to the next. As you progress through the five levels, you will notice that he finds some levels easy and others almost impossible. Persevere. It takes time, determination, patience, and a sense of humor to work through the five levels. The result is a dog that you can count on!

(This is the first in a series of posts on distraction training. The five levels of distraction training will be the focus of next five posts.)

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