My Dog Knows Stuff but Doesn't Listen with Distractions!
My dog knows commands!
That’s awesome! You’ve already put in work to teach your dog what words mean and that they can earn some positive reinforcement from you! That’s a huge first step! And this is very common for dogs to not want to listen when they’re distracted. If you got your dog as a puppy, my hunch is that they were awesome and excited to listen to you until about 8-14 months old (puberty), and then they started to test the waters. No worries, though, this is typically an easy fix!
You’re boring
I’m sorry! I hope that’s not mean. But that’s a humongous part of what’s going on. Your dog is looking for stimulation and things that fulfill their genetic needs to chase or bite in part because they aren’t getting enough fulfillment from you. How do you fix this? Play. Play a lot. Play at least once a day for 20-30 minutes per session (you can take short breaks in between for water and rest but make sure your dog stays focused on you while you sit with them and pet them). This makes you interesting and makes it much easier to say “hey, don’t worry about that squirrel.” Learn more about play here:
https://www.thetrustedcompanion.com/thetrustedcompanionblog/play-why-its-important-and-how-to-do-it
How to get my dog to listen when distracted
Play. Play must always come first so that you are interesting and relevant. But then, we need to set up a communication with your dog, a language. We want to positively condition a way to get their attention when they’re focused on other things, and you can do this a number of ways. We would start with leash pressure most likely, as that’s the easiest form of communication for your pup to understand, and teach them that when they follow the leash pressure (and not fight against it), they get praise and reward! Once they understand that easy form of communication, we can use it to teach other forms of communication. Once you understood verbal communication, your parents and teachers could use that verbal communication to teach you how to write or even to teach you other languages!
Off leash reliability
Once we’ve begun teaching them how to follow the leash, we can then use that to teach them how to understand an electronic collar. These tools are quite misunderstood in the dog training world as some are adamantly opposed to them and others use them incorrectly. However, if used correctly, they are a great form of communication to teach your dog how and when to pay attention to you even under distraction! Much like the leash, we would start with low levels of distraction and practice understanding the language before we graduated to those bigger distractions. We want to ensure they know the language before we lean on it when it matters!
Obedience prevents anxiety
If you are at the early stages of your dog not listening to you when they’re distracted, you may not see any anxiety in your dog right now. And honestly, there is a small percentage of dogs who just never have anxiety, even if their owners do all the wrong things. In reality, though, most dogs struggle when they feel like there isn’t a leader present, and it makes them very nervous. If your dog is testing the waters, as their genetics tell them to as they grow, and they are learning that what you say doesn’t matter under distraction, then they are learning you are not a leader. The majority of dogs I’ve worked with know “come” or “sit” or “down”, but they just won’t do it when there are distracting things around. Well this teaches them that in those situations, mom or dad doesn’t matter, and if you don’t matter, then they become responsible for their own safety (from their perspective). This is the foundation for anxiety and most aggression. So asking your dog to listen when they are distracted is not only convenient, it is also important in keeping them safe and from running where they shouldn’t, but it also ensures you develop a relationship that keeps your dog happy, relaxed, and confident!
Recommended Packages
ESSENTIAL $500:
Includes 3 30-60 minute private lessons at a park in Elkton, VA or Penn Laird, VA (appointments subject to weather)
Includes Herm-Sprenger prong collar and long training leash
Teaches how to improve your relationship with your dog through play
Teaches leash manners, “out”, and “place” or “come”
Teaches how to play and set parameters for inappropriate behavior
Can cater to specific issues
For dogs at least 5 months old
COMPLETE $850:
Includes everything in Essential package plus 3 additional 30-60 minute private lessons for a total of 6 lessons and electric collar (appointments subject to weather)
Includes remote electric collar
Teaches fundamentals of play and how to use play to develop your bond and communication with your dog
Teaches leash manners, “out”, “come”, “sit”, “place”, “down”, and “heel”
We will proof commands for distance and duration
Will cater to any specific issues with your dog
For dogs at least 4 months old
ROCKSTAR $1100:
Includes everything in the Complete package plus 2 additional 30-60 minute lessons in Elkton for a total of 8 lessons (appointments subject to weather).
2 additional private lessons can be used for teaching additional advanced commands to really bring out the rockstar in your dog! Advance commands can include your choice from extended distance sit and down, come to the heel position, send aways to place, stand, front, maintain eye contact, or feel free to ask about something else!
For dogs at least 4 months old
ANXIETY & AGGRESSION $1100:
Includes everything in the Complete package plus 2 additional lessons in Elkton for a total of 8 lessons (appointments subject to weather).
2 additional lessons will be used to work specifically around the sources of the anxiety and aggression where applicable.
Focus on building confidence and trust
For dogs at least 5 months old
*Military, First Responder, and Multiple Dog discounts can be applied!!
ESSENTIAL $800:
Includes 3 30-60 minute lessons conveniently in your home
Teaches how to improve your relationship with your dog through play
Teaches leash manners, “out”, and “place” or “come”
Teaches play and how to set parameters for inappropriate behavior
We will proof commands for distance and duration
Includes Herm-Sprenger prong collar and long training leash
Allows us to address specific issues in your environment
For dogs at least 5 months old
Includes everything within an hour of Massanutten, though further distances are able to be accommodated for a small surcharge.
COMPLETE $1550:
Includes everything in Essential package plus 3 additional 30-60 minute in-home lessons for a total of 6 lessons and electric collar
Includes remote electric collar
Teaches fundamentals of play and how to use play to develop the communication and bond with your dog
Teaches “out”, “place”, “come”, “down”, and “heel”
We will proof commands for distance and duration
Will cater to any specific issues with your dog
For dogs at least 4 months old
Includes everything within an hour of Massanutten, though further distances are able to be accommodated for a small surcharge.
ROCKSTAR $1800:
Includes everything in the Complete plus 2 additional 30-60 minute lessons for a total of 8 lessons
2 additional lessons can be used for advanced commands and specific issues anxiety or aggression. Advance commands can include your choice from extended distance sit and down, come to the heel position, send aways to place, stand, front, maintain eye contact, or feel free to ask about something else!
For dogs at least 4 months old
Includes everything within an hour of Massanutten, though further distances are able to be accommodated for a small surcharge.
ANXIETY & AGGRESSION $1800:
Includes everything in the Complete plus 2 additional lessons for a total of 8 lessons
Lessons will be used with an emphasis on building confidence and reliability around the source of the aggression or the anxiety where applicable.
For dogs at least 5 months old
Includes everything within an hour of Massanutten, though further distances are able to be accommodated for a small surcharge
*Military, First Responder, and Multiple Dog discounts can be applied!!
Getting your dog to do things for you and getting them to want to do things for you are different concepts and achieve different relationships with your dog. Want to get amazing obedience without turning your dog into a robot? We do, too! And we get there by focusing on two huge but neglected reasons for behavior: emotions and genetics.
Most dog training courses focus on getting dogs to avoid electric collar stimulation or get a treat, and stop at that. However, neglecting the emotional and genetic components to behavior makes this training successful for only the short term. This is why we play. Happy, healthy dogs who have their needs met love to play. We don’t have to deprive your dog of food or affection for play to be successful and when your dog understands the games we play, it will be a much stronger reinforcer than food or treats will ever be. Through play, we can develop the language and obedience you need for your pup to live a happy, confident, safe lifestyle while satisfying their genetic needs to bite, chase, and fetch, as well as their genetic need for social interaction which will result in you becoming the most interesting thing in the environment.
This package is designed for dogs without any anxiety or aggression issues and will attempt to develop the concept of play into a reinforcer, a means of communication, and then a means of developing a high level social interaction with your best friend which fulfills them on a genetic level.
Your pup will live with a trainer at their house for 3 weeks!
Can include an electronic collar from E-Collar Technologies and Herm-Sprenger prong collar for off-leash and on-leash reliability
Will develop the fundamentals and rules of fetch and tug within the time allowance
Can include commands of “out”, “come”,” sit”, “place”, “heel”, “down”, leash manners and door manners.
Will cater to any specific issues with your dog
Can proof commands for distance, duration, and in distraction holding commands until released
Commands proofed off-leash where applicable
Impulse control for doors, food, and people
Updates every single day
2-4 hour in-home turnover (within 2 hours of Massanutten) to make sure you know how to maintain the training and develop your new relationship with your dog!
Lifetime refresher lessons at the park in Massanutten should you need any help transitioning the dog home or even if you let things slip a little
50% discount on a consultation for help getting started before Board and Train start date.
For dogs at least 5 months old
Rushed scheduling is available for a 30% surcharge.
*Military, First Responder, and Multiple Dog discounts can be applied!!
*All Board and Train purchases must be paid and full and have returned signed contracts before scheduling.
This package is designed for dogs with anxiety in certain situations, reactivity towards people or dogs, some mild to moderate aggression, and adult dogs who need more time developing confidence and practicing good habits around a diversity of distractions. The additional weeks will be used to further guide the genetic and emotional drives to appropriate and fulfilling places as well as develop a stronger and more profound relationship with your pup. Emotions and genetics matter a lot especially in anxiety and aggression. 5 weeks gives us more time to focus on those components of your problem issues. It is possible to teach your dog through stress and coercion, but if we can help build trust and motivation through play, they will be much more excited to learn and maintain what they learn. Motivation is far more important to learning than repetition.
Play is the highest form of social interaction with your pup and the highest form of reinforcement when the dog understands how to play. We will attempt to develop it as the primary positive reinforcer, but also as the means to communicate boundaries and develop a trusting relationship to help guide your pup through their issues. It is impossible to fully suppress behaviors reinforced by your dog’s individual genetics. If they are genetically inclined to bite or chase, we cannot keep them from biting or chasing forever. It will always eventually pop up in the places we don’t want, because it’s who they are, and suppressing who they are creates anxiety. However, if we use our time to develop outlets for those behaviors by biting tugs or chasing balls through play, then we have a significant chance to be successful at telling them they can’t bite people or chase cars, etc for the long term. We will also use our time to create more embedded patterns and habits of the more acceptable behaviors and states of mind so that they translate to your home more readily.
Your dog lives with a trainer at their house for 5 weeks!
Can include electronic collar from E-Collar Technologies and Herm-Sprenger prong collar for off leash and on leash reliability
Can include commands of “out”, “come”, “sit”, “place”, “heel”," “down”, leash manners and door manners
Will develop the fundamentals and rules of fetch and tug within the time allowance
Can proof commands for high distraction, long distances, and long duration holding commands until released
Commands will be proofed off leash where applicable
Can spend additional time proofing for higher distractions
Can spend additional time working around sources of anxiety with a focus on increasing confidence
Can spend additional time working on specific issues like resource guarding
Can spend additional time getting multiple dogs accustomed to working with each other
Slower and easier introduction to the commands
Can cater training to any specific issues with your dog
Updates every single day
2-4 hour in-home turnover (within 2 hours of Massanutten) to make sure you know how to maintain the training and develop your new relationship with your dog!
Lifetime refresher lessons at the park in Massanutten should you need any help transitioning the dog home or even if you let things slip a little
50% discount on a consultation for help getting started before Board and Train start date.
For dogs at least 4 months old
Rushed scheduling is available for a 30% surcharge.
*Military, First Responder, and Multiple Dog discounts can be applied!!
*All Board and Train purchases must be paid and full and have returned signed contracts before scheduling.