Have you ever tried to have your dog lay down while sitting at a friend’s house or said your dog would come from a new park or introduced your dog to a stranger at a place where your dog has never been before? Whatever it is – delay in response time – display of fear or uncertainty – or the overwhelming urge to explore the new environment – many of us are able to get a much different response from our dogs in new places.
We know that our dogs can be very easily affected by environmental factors that you and I consider as a constant. Simple things such as new smells and sounds can have a big impact on the behavior of our dog – even the other obvious factors present in new locations. In order to improve training and solve location-specific training of our dogs, it is important to introduce them to new locations and to bring them out of their comfort zone. Here are some tips to help your dog become comfortable in new environments.
- Start by finding the right places to work with your dog – instead of walking your dog everyday along the same route – explore new parts of the neighborhood. If you are an Unleashed Unlimited customer who usually comes to our Leander dog training location, try to come to one of our Austin dog training classes for a change of pace and vice versa. Meet up at a friend’s home or a park that they frequent and do a little training at their favorite sites.
- If your dog is having trouble in a new environment, don’t be frustrated or mark the wrong behavior, remember to stick to the core concepts of your training program. Don’t panic Instead of taking a step back and practicing something a bit easier and allowing them to be successful, the aforementioned will return to more challenging tasks.
- Never forget to keep moving! In dogs, movement is a great way to dissipate stress and it can help them to return their focus to you.
By working our dogs in new environments, we can continuously expand their comfort zone and improve their confidence and skill level. When we have confident, obedient and well-socialized dogs, the world is such a better place to live!
