At this point, most of the training you have been doing has been probably been done in the kitchen or living room. Before moving your training sessions out of doors and into the real world of squirrels, cats, honking cars, and general chaos, try adding a few distractions to the controlled surrounding of your house.

Once your dog has a command figured out and is nailing it easily each and every time, add one of the following and see how he does:

Bouncing a ball
Squeaking a squeaky toy
Throwing a ball or toy
Dance, do jumping jacks, run in place (I like the Charleston for this particular distraction)
Have someone else dance, do jumping jacks, etc
Sing a song
Put the radio on
Run around the room
Turn the TV on loud
Run water
Eat food
Have a friend come over with her dog and have him playing near your dog
Go into another room and play ‘peek a boo’ around the corner at him
Lay on your back on the floor and continue to give various commands

You get the picture! Act goofy, have others act goofy around him, toss treats at or near him, and generally do whatever you can in an attempt to get a reaction out of him.

You can expect some regression when you try these distractions. Don’t worry, that is normal and why we are doing this in the safety of your own home. Keep working him to get him to listening to you even under odd or unusual circumstances. This sets him up for success and really makes him think it all through.

Once he is back to nailing his commands even under extreme chaos in your home, take him outside to the backyard and start all over again. Next move to the front yard and then to the park.

Eventually, you want him to do his commands no matter what is going on around him – the world could be ending and he would still hold his ‘stay’! I take my dog to banks, in front of busy grocery stores, dog-friendly hardware stores, festivals, and coffee shops and put them through their paces. People will usually stop and begin to watch, especially if your dog is one of the animated obedience performers. This is great when they do, it adds to the distraction!

This is no guarantee that he will listen to you when you yell ‘down’ as he runs into the street after a squirrel. However, the more distraction work you do, the greater the likelihood that he will not break his ‘stay’ to chase the squirrel and next week we will discuss another command that may stop him mid-chase!