Breathe. Breathe again. It will be ok. I had a distracted poodle puppy. She was nothing like all of the other puppies in class. A super ball in a room full of marbles. Noelle stood out and I thought I was the worst dog trainer.
To help you dog learn to pay attention... Stop trying to get your dog's attention. Just go outside, with your dog on a leash, and a pocket full of very tasty things. Hang out on a chair and watch your puppy. Sniff here, sniff there, look here, race there, just wait. Do nothing. Say nothing. Wait for the puppy to notice you. The instant your puppy notices you, become the fun machine. Treats, praise, love, affection. Puppy turns away, you become silent and wait.
You might wait a long long time. Wait for your dog to make contact and praise and treat and praise and treat as long as the puppy is paying attention. First few check-ins take a long time. By the fifth check-in, you'll notice the interval getting shorter. And shorter, and eventually your puppy will check in with you every few seconds.
If you push, and prod, and insist, and make weird noises, and do things to get your dog's attention, you will slow this process to a crawl. Make it the puppy's choice and you will see your puppy choose to connect with you. When you step outside, your puppy is like a five-year-old in Disneyland. Everything is attractive and interesting. Your puppy has not learned yet that YOU are the most interesting thing out there. This exercise will teach your puppy that you are valuable. http://www.mwbcr.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Auto-Check-In.pdf This is one of the most useful skills to train a dog. More useful than sit. Everything else will flow from this starting point.
Once you have the puppy choosing you out of all the distractions in the environment, you'll be able to use that to play hide and seek behind trees. And make a huge deal out of the puppy finding you. When your puppy chooses you out of all the other things in the environment to interact with, that's worthy of a celebration. If you celebrate those choices, you'll be off to a great start.
To help you dog learn to pay attention... Stop trying to get your dog's attention. Just go outside, with your dog on a leash, and a pocket full of very tasty things. Hang out on a chair and watch your puppy. Sniff here, sniff there, look here, race there, just wait. Do nothing. Say nothing. Wait for the puppy to notice you. The instant your puppy notices you, become the fun machine. Treats, praise, love, affection. Puppy turns away, you become silent and wait.
You might wait a long long time. Wait for your dog to make contact and praise and treat and praise and treat as long as the puppy is paying attention. First few check-ins take a long time. By the fifth check-in, you'll notice the interval getting shorter. And shorter, and eventually your puppy will check in with you every few seconds.
If you push, and prod, and insist, and make weird noises, and do things to get your dog's attention, you will slow this process to a crawl. Make it the puppy's choice and you will see your puppy choose to connect with you. When you step outside, your puppy is like a five-year-old in Disneyland. Everything is attractive and interesting. Your puppy has not learned yet that YOU are the most interesting thing out there. This exercise will teach your puppy that you are valuable. http://www.mwbcr.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Auto-Check-In.pdf This is one of the most useful skills to train a dog. More useful than sit. Everything else will flow from this starting point.
Once you have the puppy choosing you out of all the distractions in the environment, you'll be able to use that to play hide and seek behind trees. And make a huge deal out of the puppy finding you. When your puppy chooses you out of all the other things in the environment to interact with, that's worthy of a celebration. If you celebrate those choices, you'll be off to a great start.
