Rewarding disengagement is a really helpful and important part of working with your dog outside the home. Especially when off leash! I took this video quickly in the park this morning on our walk to show a real life example of this. I love doing this with Griffin. I want him to be a thinking and problem solving dog. I ensure we are at a distance where I know we will be successful, I am not here to challenge or test him, I am here to teach and reward him for decisions he makes. He is also off leash, and if he decides to start running, I trust his whistle recall to get him back.
1. As soon he spots the off leash dog, who has also spotted him and is staring (hard for both dogs to disengage from this!), I make sure I stop walking so we don't get closer. I give him a few seconds to think and make a decision, then help him out by starting to step in his periphery vision. The sound of my movement helps him disengage.
2. The MOMENT he turns away from the dog, I mark it and produce my high value reward. In this video, it is a reusable baby food pouch filled with lamb.
3. He goes back to looking at the dog, which is fine. We are still a fair distance away, and the other dog has also turned away. Griff very quickly chooses to disenage which I reward again.
4. The dog is now running after squirrels which is incredibly exciting, and I know we only have one more repetition of this before Griff will go over his threshold and want to join in! His body language is loose, and very intrigued! He disenages again, which I reward highly!
5. After this, I start to move away and I reward him for following me. He learns he doesn't always have to go play with a dog that looks fun!
Need help with this with your dog?
