Why does the dog not obey in the street?

Owners sometimes complain after classes with an instructor on the training ground or independent training at home that their dog follows commands on the training ground or at home, but simply becomes completely uncontrollable on the street. Why does the dog not obey the owner on the street?

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Why does the dog not obey on the street, although he obeys at home or on the playground?

The reason why a dog does not obey outdoors, although it perfectly obeys commands at home or on the playground, is simple. As a rule, in this case it turns out that the owner deals with her exclusively at home or at the training ground. And this is absolutely not enough.

Fact is that dogs don’t generalize well. So, if you taught your pet the command “Come to me” or “Next” on the site, it is obvious for the dog that this command must be carried out there. And a different place means different conditions and different irritants, which for a dog is a significant increase in complexity. It is too difficult for her to focus on the requirements of the owner. In fact, for a dog, this is practically a different command, which means that it is not at all a fact that the dog will execute it.

Even if you are used to giving a command, for example, with a right hand gesture, and suddenly decide to use a left hand gesture, a dog unaccustomed to such changes may not understand what you want from him.

So the dog does not obey on the street not because it is “bad” or acts “out of spite”. She just doesn’t understand what you want and/or is unable to focus on you.

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What to do if the dog does not obey the owner on the street?

The answer to this question is obvious: it is necessary to train with a dog at different times of the day, in different places and with different amounts of stimuli, bringing as much variety as possible into the training process. But at the same time, one of the main principles of training must be observed: the complexity increases gradually.

That is, if the dog is accustomed to performing the “Sit” command only at home, it is unreasonable to immediately go out into a busy street with a lot of people, cars and loud sounds and expect the skill to be perfectly executed. At first, it is worth practicing in a quiet, familiar place near the house, where no one will disturb you, and then start practicing the skill in different places, gradually increasing the number and strength of stimuli.

Visit as many different locations as possible. The more places a dog regularly visits, the easier it is for her to adapt to new conditions and clearly execute a command in an unfamiliar environment.. Moreover, the changes do not have to be global: for example, at first you can practice in several neighboring clearings in the same forest, on one and the other side of your house, give a command with your left and right hand, and so on.

Then you can increase the complexity and number of stimuli, for example, to study when another dog is walking in the distance, and eventually come to the point that the dog will concentrate on you and obey, even if screaming children and barking dogs are running around, cars and bicycles are driving, birds fly and cats scurry, and anywhere you go.

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