The Magnet Effect

People often encounter the challenge of their dog having no reference to their them whenever they’re out and about. It’s like the dog is pulled in every other direction AWAY from the owner.

Some phrases we have come across are the following:

• “His ears are painted on.”
• “He can do it at home.”
• “It's like everything we’ve practised has gone out the window”

It's easy to see problems and point them out, but not so intuitive to delve deeper and think about why such behaviours are arising. 

For example, “his ears are painted on.” The problem is the dog isn’t listening to you, but why? We could say that he’s got no focus, or he just wants to play with other dogs, which can be true, but the explanation is superficial. We have to look deeper than that. The truth likely is that your dog does have focus, it’s just not on you.  

So again I ask, why? What does the distraction have that you don’t? How can we make it so that you are more interesting than the distraction? If your dog is so attracted to the other dogs and the play - how can we mimic that attraction in the same way… we want to be more magnetic than the distractions!

If your dog likes to play with other dogs, what do they enjoy about the play, how can we replicate that?

Toys are a really useful tool to channel your dogs natural instincts and allow them to express their innate desires.

• If they like the chase, DIY yourself a lure with something interesting on the end to chase. It might be a ball or frisbee they like you to throw for them to chase.
• If they like wrestling, it’s often about out-muscling and being strong. Tug is a great game for this, whether it's on a rope, or a sturdy ring toy.

Here’s another example. If your dog is distracted by smells, and is always trying to drag you toward the next sniffy spot, how can we facilitate this and be involved?

• Lay a trail of treats or drag something stinky (and safe), or a favourite toy along the ground for them to follow and track to an ultimate reward at the end. You can guide them to where the trail starts and help them along the way.
• Set up a tree hunt. Use malleable treats and press them up trees for your dog to search for. You can guide them around trees and encourage them to find the important one. If your dog is more toy motivated, hide the toy instead.
• Teach them some scent work at home, and hide the scent for them to find while you’re out and about. Encourage them to search for and find the scent, and reward them or play when they do. You can even buy pheasant scent if your dog is particularly interested in birds.

So the answer is quite simple, find a point of interest that lies with you. It’s what creates the magnet effect - the more you can attract your dog by providing what excites and motivates them, the more you will be relevant to your dog over other things in an environment. They will start to hang around you, and have you as a point of reference, because you facilitate the fun and good things.

The issue of feeling ignored will disappear - you just have to make sure to practice!

Authored by Brooke Rapira & edited by Sarah Endres​