NEW PUPPY SURVIVAL GUIDE: This is How I Train EVERY DOG to LISTEN When DISTRACTED! (EP:8)

How to train your puppy or dog to listen in public and more! Thanks PupBox for sponsoring this episode! Go to and enter discount code ”ZAK” to get 50% off of your first PupBox when you sign up for a multi-month subscription!

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All right we’ve got some dogs coming by Over here I’m zach george i’m a dog trainer meet My new project Kona i’ve got just three weeks to train Her and set her up for the most Well-behaved life possible that means i Need to work on the most common puppy Issues like potty training how to Actually pay attention Stopping things like play biting chewing Separation anxiety Getting along with other animals leash Walking and teaching her Everything a good dog needs to know real Dog training doesn’t always go smoothly And that’s why i’m going to show you Every success And mistake and how i work through all The most challenging parts of raising a New puppy Welcome to your new puppy survival guide Today is absolutely huge for kona it’s Going to be her Very first public training experience Let’s see what pup box sent us This month pop box is an awesome product Because they send you Training supplies treats and toys based On your dog’s Specific age one of the things that Really separates pup box is that they Send you a training guide like this Every single month so that you know what

You should be working on So we’re gonna get some training treats I know we’re gonna need those In fact what i’m gonna do is i’m gonna Put some of those in here right now This is an awesome ball it actually Lights up when it’s dark so you have These little stars that go in the moon Once she figures it out dogs really love Pulling those little squeaky toys out of The Bigger toy there so you can see she’s Immediately into that one that’s gonna Be a lot of fun A new toy can really jump start a new Training session with your dog and get Them super excited And with young puppies they need to Teeth so these teething rings are really Good So you’ll find that getting a pup box Every month is really helpful for Keeping your training Extra interesting not only for your dog But for you too and pop box is going to Give everyone 50 Off of your first pup box when you sign Up for a three six or 12 month Subscription go to pupbox.com and enter Discount code zach the details will be In the description So today is really a special training Day for kona we are in public For the first time this is a public park

Out here this is going to be kona’s very First Screensaver training lesson we kind of Coined these sessions screensaver Sessions because It really just allows her to let the World go past her let her observe things Things that she hasn’t seen before or Maybe things that she’s seen but Isn’t quite sure of so there’s a lot of Value in these for Young dogs people tend to think of Socializing their dog with people And other dogs which is important for a Young dog but socializing them to places Is extremely important and sometimes That gets overlooked Kona has gotten the clearance from her Vet to go out in public And just out of an abundance of caution I’m taking her to this less Populated park which happens to be right Behind our house Which is why i bought this house it’s a Great place to train a dog This path right here i find to be very Valuable For introducing a new dog to the world Because you have a steady stream of Walkers you get some dogs here and there You get bicycles of course you have all Of the smells coming off of lake Pontchartrain which is actually quite Nice

Believe it or not well most of the time Anyway Now there’s a bike coming by over here It looks like it’s got her attention So i’m just gonna let her check it out Hopefully she’ll react well Look at that oh yeah how about that good Job And see there’s an exposure she got to See something go by that she Hasn’t seen before she reacted well kona Yes good girl nice and again In public i’m going to reinforce that Recall when she comes to me i mean as Close to 100 As possible it’s such a vital skill coda Good girl come what I feel like i just hit a grand slam Right there she saw those bikes i don’t Know if you could See her glancing at it i noticed she Looked at me so i’m like i’m going to Try and get a free when called here While she’s mildly distracted by this New thing so come when called already Looking good i mean I wasn’t going to insist that she come To me when i call her in this new place But since she’s doing so well why not Nice Job girl kona come on Nice kona Yes good girl fantastic A plus so far all right we’ve got some

Dogs coming by over here so she’s going To get some good exposure To dogs she hasn’t seen before and They’re going to walk by i’m not going To let her socialize with them right now But dogs don’t have to interact with one Another to Gain some socializing experience so So she’s a lot more interested in the Dogs on the treat here See i can’t even give her a treat Because she’s like whoa those are Interesting hi how are you Nice dogs I know so here i’m just happy to let her Bark and acknowledge them But i wanted to show you that she was Not interested in a treat because Something like a dog Is super exciting to a puppy and that’s Okay i’m not going to insist that she’d Be The perfect dog right now in this Training lesson Hey what’s this good see now i can get a Sit now i can get her attention that’s a Really good example by the way Of how dogs become more compliant the More distance there is between them And the thing they’re interested in so As the dogs got farther away You saw that i was able to get her to be More compliant that’s normal And of course over time your focus is to

Shrink that distance but again the point Of today’s lesson Isn’t to get strong obedience out of her Point of today’s lesson is to say hey There’s a planet out here that you might Want to check out there’s some things You need to know about it So that’s what we’re hoping to make a Dent in we have a dog coming up over Here So if she seems receptive to it i’m Going to try and ask for some basic Attention like a look at me And if i can do that i’m going to Reinforce it with a treat because Ultimately Getting your dog’s attention around Other dogs is one of the tougher things Yes kissy sound was successful in Getting her attention nice job girl Yes good girl i’m just giving her small Bits of treat here Hi how are you uh well i’m doing some Training with her right now so I’m afraid she’s going to lose her mind So Thank you for offering those really nice You know there’s a time and a place for Everything and right now we’re focused More On general exposure so by the way You notice how she just has been sitting Here the whole time yes Good girl very good there’s a time to

Socialize a dog with other dogs and There’s a time to say hey we’re not Going to go up to every dog we see and So i guess my instinct there was I don’t want to set a precedent of oh You see a dog we’re going to go and play With that dog I wanted to know that look sometimes Dogs go by and they just go Oh here come the dogs again these are The two dogs she saw last time So here we’re a little bit farther away Maybe we’ll get more polite behavior out Of her Again this really underscores how Important distance is when you’re trying To teach your dog to behave acceptably And even if she does bark here It’s okay but she’s baby well yes you Want this See that isn’t that funny took a second For her to take the treat Because she was so fixated on the dogs It’s okay you can look at the puppies Oh what well-behaved dogs by the way huh Look at them They’re checking around yes good girl So you can see what i mean by screen Saver dog training here right i mean you Get the occasional distraction coming by The occasional dogs you have the waves And the smells in the background But we’re not overwhelming her or Inundating her with

Every distraction in the world it’s just Hey here’s a little slice of the world What do you think oh here comes the bike Again Hey what’s up nice job girl Yeah good and so Really i’m not really focused on Training her even though i’m giving her A treat i’m more just trying to Condition her that hey that thing came By You were good you got something you like I’m just trying to chip away and seal in Those More desired behaviors where i can when They happen organically like that That’s why we’ve got to get out in the Real world we’ve got to train with our Dogs but you can do this Just about anywhere i mean you know look Around your own community what makes Sense Surely you can find a bench at a park or Even if you live in a big city you can Go off the beaten path And let your dog observe all of the Activity at a reasonable distance So you might have noticed the lake right Here let’s go give her a closer look at That and see what she makes of it Experiencing the sound of the waves and Looking at them up close Is likely to have some value okay we Have a jogger coming by let’s let her

Observe the jogger Dogs are generally attracted to people Running more than they are walking Yes konak Kona come on you’re making me look too Good here We have a dog training series to do give Me something to train you Come on i’m not really focused on leash Manners right now Remember now imagine what this might Look like to a dog as As this big body of water tends to fill Their vision As they approach it i mean you can see She’s even being a little guarded as we Get close it can be daunting i mean even To a person it’s like man That’s a lot of water kona come on Oh look at that now see unexpected i Thought she might have Walked up a little bit more Enthusiastically but she’s like Let me let me check that out for a Minute there are the bikes good girl See that like past at close range Yes come on here Okay remember the environment counts as Reinforcement too If that’s what your dog is interested in At that particular moment And so there’s recently been water up Here so a lot of different smells from The water have washed up but now she

Look at her she’s like wait a minute She’s noticed the waves She’s decided to wrap herself up in a Leash and bite her tail as a consequence What are you doing let’s see what she Wants to do Look at that you think isn’t that Interesting Screensaver training it’s like Meditation only better On a session like this it’s a fine line Between enforcing Leave it and just letting them smell and Explore but right now the emphasis is Definitely on exploring but let’s get Her away from The stuff here i think it’s a good Opportunity as well since we’re out here To put some movement to the screensaver Maybe we can Walk around a little bit since we’re on The lead again this is more of a free Walk than anything you’ll recall that a Free walk Is just letting your dog walk on their Own terms Provided they’re safe and on a long lead Like this of course That’s opposed to a training walk which Has a bit more structure to it where we Keep our dog a lot closer to us Kona come on Yeah good girl [Applause]

Hey i’m over here i think she forgot About me halfway through But i mean you just look at her you can See she’s like oh i want to see what This is i want to see what that Is good work good girl Yes when she checks in with me like that Or when she gives me any attention Voluntarily i want to Reinforce that by giving her a treat as Long as she’s taking him and she’s like Cool i’ll take that I’m happy to give it to her that’ll make Future training a little bit easier as Well So here cona is just like hey i’m going To take a break i’m going to lie down And Appreciate these waves and this person Exercising let’s see if she’ll come to Me kona Come come on come on No see that see how she didn’t come Because she’s Really distracted good morning Good girl i really wanted to get that Out of her there did you see how she Didn’t pay attention to me As the woman was getting closer but then Again as the distance reached a certain Point kona is like all right i’ll pay Attention to you now over time we of Course Want to minimize those instances and

Teach her to listen to us no matter how Close Something is but one step at a time okay Kona has had some time to adjust and Take everything in so i think we can Practice some basic training while in This Screen saver environment now i have to Be pretty flexible on today’s lesson i Don’t know what i’m going to get out of It i don’t know what our attention is Going to be like There are five things that i want to go Over today that i Really like to make sure that every new Pet parent really understands when it Comes to training a dog Because they’re not always that obvious Probably the first thing that i tell Anyone new to training a dog is keep Your expectations realistic It’s normal not to know how long it Takes to get a dog up to speed and how To get them trained and everything Depending on how far you want to take Your training with your dog it can take A good couple of years to really get Them to understand Everything you want them to listen to in A broad variety of contexts and settings That doesn’t mean you can’t get amazing Results in just a few weeks and really Start to get them Understanding you but it probably will

Take longer than you’re originally Thinking to get your dog trained And i tell you this because i really Want your mindset to be the most patient Possible In other words you’ll probably find that The slower you go With training your dog the more Methodical you are the better results You’re going to get Long term so right now you might notice That she’s a little distracted she’s Chewing on the grass and i’m calling her Periodically i’m really focused on Getting rough drafts of all of her basic Skills In a variety of circumstances kona come On good girl yeah i mean that’s a good Example It wasn’t a perfect come win call but She did come to me So it’s kind of a rough draft version You see what i mean focus on really Refining those skills over time Kona yes good girl You can see we have a long 50 foot lead Just to keep extra good control of her And give her a reasonable amount of Freedom To explore this new place too that was Really good i love that she came to me In this public environment that’s always A good sign puppies are living thinking Beings so don’t

Expect linear progress either with them In other words they might really be Excelling on a particular skill but then All of a sudden Well they start not doing as well on That skill as they once were Potty training is a good example of this It’s normal for a puppy to say have a Few consecutive days of success and then They might have accidents a few days in A row That’s all normal so when that happens Be prepared to take a step back and Repair The skill and walk them through the Steps a little more thoroughly so they Have a better understanding of how you Want them to behave Now with a puppy it can often be Tempting to get frustrated with them When they’re not behaving how we want Them to behave And i notice a lot of people fall into The trap of blaming their dog rather Than Taking accountability and saying you Know maybe i could do something a little Bit better or Maybe i could break this down into Smaller steps to help them understand So really avoid falling into the trap of Blaming your dog when they don’t behave How you want them to behave This is one of my my golden rules when

It comes to training dogs Dogs learn best after exercise See when a dog is able to get their Energy out especially if it’s in a Structured way like fetch or even a long Walk They seem to be much more primed to Absorb new concepts So it’s a really good idea to exercise Your dog before training them something New you know especially things like Leash walking or being calm in an Exciting environment so that’s why i’ll Have an emphasis On exercising her and teaching her fetch Because i think it really will Accelerate her training progress overall Now She’s not perfect at fetch yet but let’s See how she does with fetch training And again i’m trying to keep my Expectations realistic here i’m not Expecting a perfect fetch I don’t even care if she ignores it but I just want to do some testing and see What this individual dog is like [Music] So i could see squeaking it there she Looked at it but she’s like i want to go Smell around instead Let’s see maybe she wants to play with This toy go get it Nice Come on coda good girl yeah

Good let’s give her a little tug because She likes that remember you don’t want To just take the toy from your dog when You’re playing fetch with them You want to give them some enjoyment ah There we go go get it If you’ve got an energetic dog that Doesn’t mean there’s something wrong With them in fact that probably means They’re a very well-bred dog with Fantastic genetics i mean remember we Selected for dogs that had endless Stamina energy and endurance over the Last several centuries Now many of us don’t necessarily have a Need for all of that energy but we still Have to meet those genetic needs So especially those of you with higher Energy dogs have a strong focus On creating structured ways to release That energy Preferably early in the day so that you Can have a more sane day And i think you’ll be very happy with The results that you get over Time so so far plan a is working very Well I’m getting come when called i’m getting Some basic fetch out of her And the reason i’m so thrilled and Surprised is because I am in a new place and i know from Experience that the fastest way to Cause a dog to be thrown off or act

Uncharacteristically or stop paying Attention to you is to change their Surroundings We have done so in dramatic fashion here And she’s really Adjusting and adapting very well kona Here come Come here wet nose sit good nice ah That’s great i that’s so good the fact That she Is being this attentive in this Environment i mean inertia wasn’t this Intentive In this environment next be flexible Your training plan is rarely going to go Exactly as you intend it to go So you have to be prepared to make Adjustments on the fly when you’re Training a dog And be able to work with them maybe you Had a plan to go into the city and take A walk with them but you see that They’re barking and they’re overwhelmed Well it might be a better job to sit off To the side and do a screensaver Training lesson like we’re doing today And just let them observe things from a More acceptable distance where they Don’t feel as overwhelmed there are a Million examples of ways that you’ll Need to adjust your training Expectations As time goes on just understand that That is completely normal and

Build that into your training strategy Overall oh real life leave it See this leave it look at me Here yes good girl we talked about Dropping a treat and saying leave it Like that As i’ve said before just because a dog Leaves a treat alone doesn’t mean They’re going to leave everything alone In the natural environment so you’re Going to encounter things like garbage Where they’re like oh i don’t think i Have to leave that alone i just have to Leave the treat alone when i’m asked so It’s a good opportunity to stop and Really zoom in on those things and Practice Leave it when the opportunity presents Itself like that Kona come yes okay I’m gonna quit while i’m ahead on that One so there i was able to get a Reluctant leave it And get her to come to me as i called Her and she ran past the debris there So good job girl let’s see how she’s Doing on sit and down and things like That that we’ve been working on Let’s see if she’s able to do them out Here ready sit Yes gotta sit there Okay good let’s try again let’s do a sit And how about a lie down Wow really good

And on a windy day on top of that wind Makes things challenging very often Because of all the scents that are Coming off the water and everything else Remember dogs really Experience the world through scent in a Way that we just can’t fathom or Completely understand Is it down Yes okay good girl that was a nice Lightweight training session for kona Now we’re back in the house and we’re Gonna let Kona and inertia duke it out and play a Little rough right now but their play Just continues to get more and more Confident Every day you remember kona was Initially very reserved With inertia and now hinders has met her Match i think But it’s important for kona to get this Physical activity With another dog i mean this is how dogs Learn so much about one another their Social cues and how to use the Appropriate amount of force when playing So i mean you can see she’s biting on Her collar right there and hershel will Probably let her know hey don’t bite me That hard Well the thing about inertia is she’s so Super tolerant But aderson likes to put kona in her

Place in her own way All right so the next thing i have Planned for us training wise Today is to teach kona how to do the Stairs this is something i get a lot of Requests for I think it’s a good way for her to learn How to use her body she’s going to Encounter stairs many times in her life So why not get started now but just to Establish Kona if i say kona Like you can see she appears to want to Come up but she’s like wait a minute i Don’t know how to get up those things Good girl very good so I love the metaphor of teaching a dog to Go upstairs it’s One step at a time so let’s see if we Can get her on this one stair Good job right you gotta do one stair Before you can do two Here get it good yes Did you see that beyond the mechanics You’re teaching your dog how to be more Confident and how to encounter this World With a little more optimism perhaps yes Good you see that that’s good i’m gonna Actually get over here behind her Come here yeah good girl so hey pretty Good start You can see it’s a little awkward for us Yes

Look at that i’m just luring her here Yes Good girl and i’m gonna make sure i’m Here to protect her and you know that She Slips or gets uncertain it might seem Silly but it really is important To be extra safe when it comes to Teaching your dog how to do stairs Yeah she did it good girl Very good and so we’re gonna encourage Her to go Yes good just giving her a spot there Yes Good girl very good And so you gotta love that i mean her Confidence is so strong Good work all right i think she’s ready To go higher i hadn’t really intended to Have her go up the entire staircase but She seems to really be catching on so i Don’t see why we wouldn’t keep going Yeah look at this see once they get it They get it very often come on Kona wow wow okay i didn’t expect it to Go this quickly she’s doing great Kona oh okay there she goes and you can See how she’s being Awkward okay oh boy I have awoken the sleeping dragon can You make it all the way to the top no no Yes come on let’s go She’s thinking she’s like all right how Do i move my legs to do this

Tada good job girl Look at her nice Yeah good girl you did it Good job wonderful but again i do want To emphasize that’s why this is going to Be important because we don’t want her Having access to this staircase Unsupervised certainly not in her time With me If your puppy seems a little more Nervous than kona is that’s totally fine Be content with them just looking at the Stair or just going up one stair Or even two stairs or something like That kona’s progress is Really accelerating i’m so proud of her And for the rest of you get 50 Off your first pup box when you use Discount code zack at pupbox.com Zach be sure to follow us on instagram Facebook and tick tock and get both of My books too We’ll see you guys in the next video You