# Getting him to ignore distractions



## Aticineto (Aug 14, 2008)

Greetings all,

My Brody is nearly 3 years old and never learned to walk on a leash without pulling. Also, he is distracted (often out of fear) by every little noise and cars going by. He is also distracted by people walking by(he wants to run over and say hello). As he has calmed down a bit over the last couple of months, I am trying to go back to square one with leash training. 

What are some good ways to:

Get him to become more used to the activity around him when I take him out front?

Get him to focus on me and my commands rather than distractions. 

To stop pulling. 

Thanks in advance! 

Al


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## fostermom (Sep 6, 2007)

Hi and welcome! 

I have one dog who is easily distracted (I joke that he has ADD). He is super food motivated and I use hot dogs to keep his attention on me when I need it.


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## Oaklys Dad (Dec 28, 2005)

Start by having the distractions far away and making him sit/stay/down whatever then move closer and closer to the distraction working him hard the whole time. Do this over a couple of months. Never try to "Calm" your dog with "There There's" or "It's OK" have him do every command in his arsenal to show him that you are confident the distraction is not a threat.


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## Old Gold Mum2001 (Feb 25, 2007)

fostermom said:


> Hi and welcome!
> 
> I have one dog who is easily distracted (I joke that he has ADD). He is super food motivated and I use hot dogs to keep his attention on me when I need it.


Food, and a squeaky toy work here


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## Ashivon (May 3, 2008)

Need help as well....Lisa has NO control when it comes to rabbits and butterflies. Will launch herself like fish on a hook to try and catch one. Food, toys , nothing matters when it comes to bunnies and butterflies.


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## Goldie Oldie (Mar 27, 2008)

I am having the same issues with our 4 yr. old Wookie! Last night he pulled me and I actually sprained my finger as I fell to the ground! Enough for me, I've hired a personal dog trainer to come to work with us at home. (should say we've had Wookie 6 months only - rescued him)
Sure hope the $$ is worth it.
I'll keep you posted.


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

Clicker training might be really helpful for Brody, or a beginner's agility class for the great attention games learned there. LibertyME and Flyingquiz will have lots better answers, but these are a few things that work for me in developing attention. Look at attention as a skill in itself and teach it to the dog away from distractions at first. Grab a handful of good little treats your dog likes. Simply ask the dog to sit(or tether him if he wont stay seated) and keep the treats in your hand. Let him stare at them, being superalert for any move he makes to shift his attention to your eyes. When he looks at you, click and treat. repeat the game many times so that he understands that in order to get what he wants, he should look to you. Also,say "Brody, _Find_", and toss a treat away and let him gobble it. When he comes back to look for more treats, wait for the eye contact and click/treat. A rthym will establish itself between Brody pouncing for the "Find" treat, and then coming back to you for the eye contact treat. There are probably twenty of these little games I play with my dogs learned over the years from various trainers and sources. The main thing is that it begins to carry over into daily life, until you have a dog who joyfully looks to your eyes and is hard to distract. A slightly harder one for the dog is to put a soso treat on the floor, and when the dog tries to pounce on it, gently put the toes of your shoe over it so he can;t get it. Have an awesome treat hidden in your hand. Eventually, Brody will look up at you instead of at your foot. Immediately click and give him the better treat. Eye contact is your goal, and the games have to be played many times in a fun way.


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

I forgot to say you don't need a clicker. You can use the word yes.


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