Distract-Proofing In Your Dog Training

How To Implement “Distract-Proofing” In Your Dog Training

Distractions are stimuli that may entice a dog to break from command. “Proofing” is exposing your dog to distractions. The purpose is to teach the dog in a controlled setting that he must obey your commands despite whatever is happening nearby.

Taking every dog through every step isn't mandatory, but do so with animals whose working environments are highly stressful. Always condition at a dog's real-world level.
During initial exposures to distractions, begin with familiar basics. Using Stay as an example, start with brief, short-distance, on-leash Stays, not prolonged, Out-of-sight work.

As conditioning implies higher-stress situations than those to which your dog is accustomed, start with work in which he's confident. Complicated obedience can be added as you progress together.

No distraction should appear threatening. Your dog was born with a drive to protect himself as well as you, and to contrive a setting intended to counter that drive would be unsettling in the extreme. Lastly, recognize that during distraction training, you know what's coming, distraction-wise - as well as what's expected, but your dog doesn't.
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