7 Tips for Keeping Your Dog’s Attention

Lana and Roxy practice their commands in public amid distractions.

Do you struggle with a dog who is easily distracted or find yourself begging for your dog’s attention? It’s not likely that you always have a handful of tasty treats on hand nor want to, so you want to wean away from giving treats all the time. Here are a few ways to keep your dog’s attention on you through calm leadership.

1. Don’t dole out affection freely all the time. A dog who comes up and shoves his nose under your hand while you’re reading a book knows he can always get scratched and petted whenever he wants. Instead, make him work for the affection so that it becomes more valuable. If he approaches and demands attention, ignore him and then call him back to you when he’s moved on to something else. This shows you initiated it and you’re reinforcing recall!

2. Practice your commands! Being able to do them at home is great. You can build on your dog’s attention span by practicing the commands in new places and around the neighborhood. Give lots of praise when you are done with the exercise.

3. Make your dog sit for everything – dinner, to be petted, for a treat, to be leashed, go outside, or even just because. This keeps him working and focused, especially if you have a high-energy dog.

4. Keep moving fast. If your dog is a pro at commands, start calling them out back to back. His focus will stay on you and he will not have time to think about what he wants to do next. He will also be exhausted after an exercise like this.

5. Use less words and more body language. Without words, your dog has to look up and pay attention to what you are asking. If your dog knows how to sit, have him sit by incorporating a hand signal if you do not already use one. If he is learning, give it time and he will figure out what you are asking. If you have a dog who is quick to do commands, practice them the same way without words. It is a great mental exercise.

6. Do not stare at your dog! Leaders do not look to their followers for attention, followers look up at their leader. By always looking at your dog and trying to get his attention, you are placing him in the leadership role.

7. Be the treat. Use lots of praise when your dog is doing all the right things. That positive attention will turn you into the reward, eliminating the need to always have treats, and building a better bond between you and your dog.

Kersti Nieto
Certified Dog Trainer
K9 Solutions LLC
http://www.nck9solutions.com

7 Ways to Prevent Separation Anxiety

Having a dog with separation anxiety can be a huge financial, safety, and emotional stress. It is so much easier to prevent, prevent, prevent, than fix it. Sometimes owners don’t even realize they are setting their dog up to be anxious when left alone until it’s too late. Here are some ways you can set your dog up to be happy and confident, and keep that terrible anxiety away.

1. Exercise! Make sure your dog always has plenty of physical and mental exercise. A tired dog is a happy dog is a happy owner. Burning off excess energy leaves you with a nice calm dog when you leave. Teaching your dog commands and tricks is also a great way to mentally stimulate them.

2. Don’t feel like you have to spend every waking moment with your dog. Make time during the day for “down time” – it doesn’t have to be hours and hours – but just a break so your dog gets used to being alone.

3. Don’t make a big deal out of leaving. When you leave, if you want to give your pup lots of love and pets, do it 30 minutes before you leave, then gather your things up, and leave calmly. If you give your dogs tons and tons of attention while they are over the top excited, and then you suddenly leave, it makes it much harder for the dog to deal with you being gone.

4. Same goes for coming back home – walk into your house calm and confident. If your dog is going crazy jumping and dancing to see you, keep going about your business, greet your family, set your things down, totally ignoring the dog until they are calm. Then when that energy is down, call them over and love on them like crazy! Always be aware of what state of mind you are rewarding.

5. Give your dog something to do when you leave so you leaving is actually fun and rewarding! A stuffed kong, knuckle bone, antler, or any other safe heavy duty treat that will last a long time will keep your dog busy while you’re gone.

6. Socializing to new places can be a huge help in boosting your dog’s confidence. Going new places not only gets them used to new things, but also tires them out more. This increases their confidence in you, seeing that you can take care of yourself and them. If your dog knows commands, or even fun tricks, do them while you’re out and about in new places.

7. If you do all these things with your dog but still seem to be having a hard time with constant anxiety, panting, whining, or excessive drooling, it may be time to talk to a professional trainer/behavior consultant to diagnose the anxiety properly and get additional tools under your belt.

Kersti Nieto
Certified Dog Trainer
K9 Solutions LLC
http://www.nck9solutions.com