Getting the Behaviors You Want: Using Distance to Teach Good Habits

One of the things I hear owners say quite a bit is that their dog behaves wonderfully when there are no other dogs/people/other animals around, but as soon as they see another dog, person, etc, they go bonkers.  After I ask a few questions, I find out they have an adolescent dog who has only just begun his education.  Adolescent dogs (typically age six months to two years) are more distracted the environment than puppies and adult dogs tend to be.  In addition, all dogs who are new to training need to be taught how to focus and perform even the simplest of behaviors when around something very distracting.  It is up to us to make sure this crucial part of their education isn't left out.  This is the second of a series of posts about getting the behaviors you want in real-life situations that are typically a bit challenging.  Read the previous post here about the importance of playing with your dog and how that relates to getting behaviors.