Fort Phoenix in Fairhaven, MA was swamped the other night.
It is a great little park on the ocean. I was there to meet a client with their Doberman.
Funny thing as I pulled in the parking lot. There were no spaces. After a few minutes I found a spot and parked. When I walked around the park I noticed there were people everywhere. In one section of the park there had to be 30 to 40 people.
I thought maybe there was a fight or something and cautiously approached the large group of people. That’s when it hit me.
There was no fight.
There was no party.
There were 40 people looking down at their phones playing…..
….POKEMON!
It was amazing. Everyone was so focused on their phones.
What I find interesting is that I have walked into people’s homes for over 20 years to help them train their dogs.
When I first started I usually had the person’s full attention. Now when I walk into a house people leave the TV on, check their phones and even answer texts while we are training.
It really does not bother me. I’ve already been paid.
Anyway, attention is in short supply. I get it. I check my phone often but work to give full attention when required.
And your dog needs to give you more than attention. Your dog needs to fully engage with you. The biggest problem with obedience happens when the dog is engaged elsewhere. You can improve your dog’s obedience just by working on attention and engagement.
Here is your homework for today. Call Sparky over and offer a treat. Before you give it to him have him follow it a few feet while you walk a few steps.. Then walk backwards and come to a complete stop. Have Sparky make eye contact for a few seconds and then reward.
Do this a few times and you’ll see your dog engage with you. Once you accomplish this you will get much better performance from your dog.
And you have it easy. Your dog can’t play Pokemon.
YET!
Now that I have your attention. Have you checked out The Dog Training Inner Circle yet?
It’s only $1.00 to get started.
Here’s where to go next:
Best,
Eric