“Steal Your Dog”

Steal your dog! That is what Jay Jack calls it. It is an easy game to proof behaviours that we use with our behaviour modification clients as well as for our GRC Dogsports club.

🔸 The distraction is added while you play with the dog. This can be a person talking to your dog, waving food around, juggling a toy… If the dog disengages, the person goes passive. Keep a leash on to stop them from making contact with the distraction. Wait for the dog to re-engage with the owner, mark and start playing again. Try to just add little bits of distraction at the start rather than a constant background noise.

🔸 Then, add the distraction in the interruption of the game, during the out.

🔸 Add the distraction during a static behaviour.

🔸 And finally, during movement.

🔸 Practice static behaviours and movement (heeling, recall, follow…) both when your reward is on display and when it is out of sight.

🔸 When the dog is good at it, have them engage with the distraction in between reps. Practice having the dog listen to when the other reward is available and when it is not.

You can find a video of an unedited training session with our dog Saga HERE.