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Interrupting intense focus on walk

Myles Adams
Fri, 23 Sep 2016 22:55:08 GMT

hello everyone i remember it mentioned we would be taught how to interrupt intense focus on other stimulus i am have trouble with one my dogs a Kelpie dogs seem to have become interesting and too interesting in fact to the point where it almost seems like he spooks himself and the other dog reacts to that staring and then he starts barking/growling what was the game for that? thanks myles

Jaime
Sat, 24 Sep 2016 03:14:28 GMT

Sometimes I have this problem too. When that happens, all DMT attention noise etc fails. I tend to use A to B, or just try as quickly as I can to get as far away as possible, all grace and positivity out of the window. Might it be A to B, DMT, and/or orient INTO distraction?

Jo Duffy
Sat, 24 Sep 2016 08:34:59 GMT

I concur with Jaime's advice. A-B is the best for Cara as distance from distraction brings her back into her head which is shown by eye contact and offered proximity. I have a mental block with the Attention Noise and forget to use it every single time!Lol! Orient into distraction is a good game although I remember Tom saying not to use it with people(Ping Pong game) because the counter conditioning of fear of people needs to be addressed first. If you can get behaviours from a distance from mega distraction, you could test your dog by going near again and seeing what choice your dog makes. As a sideline, this morning we went into the centre of our tiny village and played Orientation Games; treat thrown towards distraction and then first hint of turning back rewarded. Took ages before Cara offered to turn back as cars, people, bikes and noise was way more interesting than me! I waited her out for a min and if no head turning back, did A-B with a treat thrown away from distractions. After a couple of mins she was in the game and just had fun with the proximity games. Jaim e, I laughed at your description of your ungraceful retreat from distractions!! I know that exit strategy well!

Myles Adams
Sun, 25 Sep 2016 00:10:31 GMT

thankyou two :)

Jaime
Sun, 25 Sep 2016 07:02:25 GMT

Hope it helps Myles. Jo, with a strong NBN dog, there's no grace in times of emergency lol.

Karen B
Fri, 07 Oct 2016 20:03:12 GMT

I haven't logged in for a while, been busy rearing calves. But I followed this post when Myles first posted, because at the time I was interested in the answers. Now, almost 2 weeks later and after working on my first 3 week plan (focus on walks) I can happily say that I can now do A-B to break Maddi's intense focus on distractions. She is a very strong eyed Kelpie so this was one of our major problem areas. So now, not always, if I see her staring I do A-B. Sometimes I need to do it a few times but can usually break her stare and get her focus back on me. After I get the focus I find orient INTO the distraction is better than DMT because it keeps her moving. Myles, I hope you have made some progress in this area too.