Puppy too distractible in new environments to train. How to fix?

287 Views 4 Replies 3 Participants Last post by Al James, 6 d ago

Matt Gr

Discussion Starter · 1 mo ago

So this post is about my first sport dog/ppd prospect, she's a 15 month Rottweiler puppy. The dog has lots of drive (for her breed), no fear issues and I was able to train the basic bite fundamentals by myself at home. My problem is getting her to engage with me or a helper in unfamiliar environments without becoming overly distracted. Based on what I've seen, it's not a drive problem, it's her drives being pulled in many directions at once. The distraction comes in several forms, from being curious and wanting to explore/sniff/lick/eat new things to more cautious or even suspicious of new things, however not showing signs of fear/nerviness. I understand this is normal young dog behavior to a certain extent, and I think could be some early hints of defensiveness (which would be typical of dogs in her lines), my question is what to do about it and am wondering about which direction to take. I've heard multiple opinions.

The way I see it, there's really only 2 strategies: a) just put her up and let her mature, let her brain develop such that she finds focus and becomes less stimulated by novel stimuli or b) train through it and get her desensitized (at least to the environments she would be training in). I'd be very interested to hear some thoughts/anecdotes because this dog has some very knowledgeable trainers stumped at the moment. Thanks!

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Matt Vandart

· #2 · 15 d ago

I would work on engagement with myself for a good while for the first issue and leave her mature for the second.
A vid would as always help to see exactly what is happening, could be a number of things.

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Al James

· #3 · 7 d ago

I come from a performance retriever training background where distractions are abundant. Not knowing your dogs/you/training history forgive me if this seems elementary/off base.

I operate under a Teach/Train/Test mantra. Obedience is the foundation of everything and you are in the "training" period. In all of those distracting environments I'd focus the dog 100% on OB and you both ignore the distraction. Until it's no longer a distraction or the dog chooses focus on you (and it's job - OB) instead of the distraction.

Obedience training never ends. It has to be a lifestyle for you both. Just because the dog was "taught it" doesn't mean not continuing to "train" it and ultimately "test" it.

Good luck - this is the fun part and one that makes a good dog great.

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Matt Gr

Discussion Starter · #4 · 7 d ago

Al James said:
I come from a performance retriever training background where distractions are abundant. Not knowing your dogs/you/training history forgive me if this seems elementary/off base.

I operate under a Teach/Train/Test mantra. Obedience is the foundation of everything and you are in the "training" period. In all of those distracting environments I'd focus the dog 100% on OB and you both ignore the distraction. Until it's no longer a distraction or the dog chooses focus on you (and it's job - OB) instead of the distraction.

Obedience training never ends. It has to be a lifestyle for you both. Just because the dog was "taught it" doesn't mean not continuing to "train" it and ultimately "test" it.

Good luck - this is the fun part and one that makes a good dog great.

I appreciate the replies. I've been told that too much obedience caps drive, makes the dog too reliant on the handler when it's the time for the dog to work on its own. I'd be interested to hear whether there's truth to this from those with experience doing protection training, and if doing OB at this stage would be counterproductive.

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Al James

· #5 · 6 d ago (Edited)

Matt Gr said:
I appreciate the replies. I've been told that too much obedience caps drive, makes the dog too reliant on the handler when it's the time for the dog to work on its own. I'd be interested to hear whether there's truth to this from those with experience doing protection training, and if doing OB at this stage would be counterproductive.

I spent some time at Langley working with the young dogs a few lives ago but the perspective is based on a life long journey of working dogs in general. Definitely a good ask on your part however and always happy to hear others opinions.

Just keep in mind that the "drive" doesn't matter unless channeled through obedience. Actually it's dangerous without it. A common mistake is people training in the same spot all the time (yard, school grounds, open space) and then wondering why Fido acts differently in new environments. Confidence is king and acclimating the dog to a variety of environments while training (working) is what makes "new places" not a thang. If environment changes the dogs focus on you or the work or the command, you've got holes in your training.

You can't praise or reward the animal for exhibiting drive and execution if you're correcting it for being distracted on basic OB. This is where corrections and timing matter. Training in various places, even on basic things, is the "training" part of Teach, Train, Test. Obedience and "Formal Obedience" are two different things.

Dogs are highly associative. Always keep that forefront in your mind.

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