IT’S WHAT’S AROUND THE CORNER

With a sense of smell, hundreds, even thousands of times more powerful
than ours, where dogs can see (metaphorically) what’s around a corner,
what’s buried underground or where a rabbit is hiding hundreds of
yards away in a tall, grassy fields. Plus with vision that is
especially keen to movement, it a wonder why dogs pay any attention to
us. This is especially pertinent to know when trying to teach your dog
something. We are competing with a dogs powerful sense of smell, their
predatory nature, their innate breed instincts, their highly social
needs etc. Many people try group classes to teach their dogs, or they
try to teach their dogs around distractions. Group classes are not the
best place for beginner dogs or their owners to learn, contrary what
owners think, so, no-one ends up learning or learning enough to make a
lasting difference. A dog should learn around little or no
distraction, before practicing what they’ve learned around bigger
distractions. Do not wait and try to teach a dog when they’re
misbehaving, practice how you want them to behave in familiar places,
like in or around your home. At first, practice on pavement (asphalt)
v.s. grass; you wont have their attention because of all the smells or
other associations to grass, like playing and going to the bathroom.

If you thought your dog was stubborn or could not learn, now you
should know it was just “what’s around the corner”.

There are ways to win your dogs attention back, hire your local -dog
friendly- instructor to find out how.

Be patient, It takes time and practice for dogs to learn and listen in all environment, surfaces and situations.