Hello,

I recently purchased the Micahel Ellis, The Power of Training Dogs with Food DVD from this site and after watching it a couple of times I just had a few questions I was hoping someone could help me out with.

1. When working on engagement and overcoming environmental stress, should I start in a area where my 14 month old boxer feels comfortable and can focus (like the backyard) and then as he progresses start moving to more distracting areas. Or should I just constantly mix it up and take him to all kinds of places no matter how distracting they are?

2. If I should go threw the progression when do I start moving to more distracting areas? Would a good rule of thumb be when my boxer can consistently give me five to ten minutes of good engagement/ focus I move to the next area/ level of distraction.

3. Lastly and I might have missed it in the DVD, will every dog get to the point (with tons of practice) where they can consistently give their handler engagement in all types of different and distracting locations? Or will some dogs just never be able to achieve this given their temperment.

Thanks in advance and I would definately recommend this DVD to anyone who hasn't purchased it already. if only I had known about engagement training when I first purchased my boxer.

Oh well never to late to learn,

Bryan

It doesn't matter how old the dog is.....if you are going to start marker training & engagement with either food or a toy, you would go back to the begining of training, just as if the dog has had no previous training. You will move forward more quickly with a dog that has had a level of training then you would with a dog with no training at all. But you still need to go back thru all the steps. Start in a no distraction area & with one command & move forward only when the dog is reliabble (9 out of 10 times-consistantly) on a command. When you get the basic commands (like sit, down, watch me, come)in place move the training out to the back yard, then the front yard etc increasing distractions slowly. Differnt areas, (school fields, shipping centers, etc) each present their own new type of distractions. The dog should remain 'engaged' in each area before moving on to the next area & level of distractions. Training with distractions has been discussed many times here. If you are talking slippery floors, shiney surfaces, see thru steps, metal grating etc as environmental stresses (which I personally don't consider a distraction) then I would say that it is possible that the dog has nerve issues which may or may not be overcome with time & practice. I hope that I have answered some of your question.

ETA...that a stable, good nerved dog should be able to work anywhere with training.