On a scale of 1-10 (low to high) Kenzi has great focus in the 1-4 range. So I'm trying to focus on adding in as many distractions as I can at home to help up her overall focus.
So what I'm doing is bringing out random distractions when we play and scatering them around (food, animal bones) as she is incredibly focused for ball/fetch games and it's very easy to redirect if she starts showing interest in it.
I'm also taking high value rewards (cooked chicken) and doing focus work around the cats/chickens. I'll do simple heel work (she's very familiar with it) and touch games, the closer we get to the distration, the higher the reward. We'll get close, have a jackpot reward, then move farther away. These sessions are kept short and super motivational.
It sounds good to me Mara - if these are new to her they certainly qualify as distractions! What is the plan for the next step? Having someone toss the bones or food into the area while you are working??
They're not new to her per say, but it hit me that her drive drop when we're in the vicnity of the chickens, cats, etc or there is something out there that she might be interested in (A bit of ADD going on :grin
So I'm moving her closer to distractions and bringing things that she could get distracted by out to the field at home where we normally play/work. Her drive is super high and she is quite focused there. So I'll stat to add things in there as she is quite likely to ignore them or can easily redirect.
Writing all of this down makes it seem like a no brainer. I guess my brian has been too busy with school lately to think about getting all the basics covered with my dogs
And in my defense, Missy is the best dog ever and can switch back and forth between anything pretty naturally. Stockwork, ball, find the cat. find the kid. All I ever did was tell her what I wanted and that's what she focused on.
It was kind of weird when I got Kipp and realized that switching back and forth like that wasn't really the norm. And neither was the intense focus (well, he had it, but it was only for the all cat channel)
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Adding distractions in training
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