Location Based Dog Training

Have you ever tried to have your dog lay down while at a friend’s house, or told your dog to come at a new park, or introduced your dog to a stranger in a place where your dog has never been before?    Whether it be a delay in response time, a display of fear or uncertainty, or the overwhelming urge to explore the new environment, many of us get a much different response from our dogs in new places.

We all know that our dogs can be very easily effected by environmental factors that you and I take for granted.  Simple things like new smells and sounds can have a big impact on our dog’s behavior, not to mention the other more obvious factors that are present in new locations. In order to advance our dogs’ training and overcome location specific training, it’s important to expose them to new locations and bring them out of their comfort zones.  Here are some tips to help your dog become used to working in new environments.

• Start by finding the right locations to work with your dog, instead of taking your dog for a walk along the same route everyday, explore new parts of your neighborhood.  If you are an Unleashed Unlimited client who usually comes to our Leander dog training location, try coming to one of our Austin dog training classes for a change of pace, and vice versa.  Meet up at a friends home or a park that they visit frequently and do a little training in their favorite locations.

• If your dog is having a hard time in a new environment, don’t get frustrated or mark the wrong behaviors, remember to stick to the core concepts of your training program, don’t panic!  Instead, take a step back and practice something a bit easier and let them be successful, then return to more challenging tasks.

• Remember to keep moving!  Movement is a great way to dissipate stress in dogs and it can help them regain their focus back on you.

By working our dogs in new environments we can constantly expand their comfort zone and increase the dog’s confidence and skill level.  The world is such a better place when we have confident, obedient, and well socialized dogs!

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