[dane&cockermom]

gwen does great on her leash in the back yard, but as soon as we go out the front door for a walk, it's all out the window. she's way too distracted.

i just had her out back and had her walking right next to me, treating her and praising her. we stepped out the front door, and she lost any and all interest in the treats.

i've tried stopping when she pulls. i've tried turning around and walking the other way. i've tried the gentle leaders, choke chains, prong collars, and just her regular collar. but she's just so distracted by everything out on walks and nothing works.

any ideas on how to get her more focused on me outside the back yard?

[TooneyDogs]

Go out the front door and then don't walk. Instead, work on the simple, really easy commands that she already knows like Sitting with attention. Work on that for a few minutes then go back in the house. Do that several times throughout the day until she learns that going out the front door means going to work and paying attention.
Next stage go just a little further, stop and repeat the simple commands. Watch her attitude/focus....she should be giving you more attention although it will take time to fully develop.

[dane&cockermom]

awesome! i didn't even think of that. i thought maybe getting good/better in the backyard was what i needed.

thanks so much! i'll try that later this afternoon!

[natureloverchris]

Originally Posted by TooneyDogs

Go out the front door and then don't walk. Instead, work on the simple, really easy commands that she already knows like Sitting with attention. Work on that for a few minutes then go back in the house. Do that several times throughout the day until she learns that going out the front door means going to work and paying attention.
Next stage go just a little further, stop and repeat the simple commands. Watch her attitude/focus....she should be giving you more attention although it will take time to fully develop.

Yes, I was going to suggest the same thing. And building on that, it's going to take some time patience. Don't be surprised if you've made great progress and then seem to backslide. Just back up a step in the process and keep working on it. Especially if Gwen is a pup, as they develop they both test boundaries and become aware of different things.

My last dog was not food motivated at all. Which made things harder, but see if you can find something that does motivate her. If she's super hyped, it's probably too late to use that but the trick is to grab as many moments as possible to reward her which is why you build up slowly.

[Curbside Prophet]

You can also try all-or-nothing training. It's very simple, you reward the dog when she's giving you the behavior you want, or she gets nothing.

I'd do this in a safe outdoor enclosure like a tennis court...perhaps early in the morning when no one is around, and just let your dog explore and walk freely. You do the same, just walk around the court at your own pace.

As she burns off the initial energy and explores all that's to be explored, you will suddenly become the most interesting thing. You were always that, but she just didn't know it at the time.

Given some time she'll start giving you attention, and perhaps will even follow you. Reward for attention and incrementally start rewarding for walking at your side.

This is not a blazingly fast process, but it is one thing to get over the distraction of being outdoors.

[helen01]

hi, my dog does that too, but after about 5 min's walking she's o.k, it's just the initial out of the backyard thing that she goes nuts. good luck with the training.

[dane&cockermom]

after just two days of moving what we've been doing in the back yard to the front yard, gwen has DRASTICALLY improved! yay! we've also been doing it at night, so it's less distracting. tomorrow we try some day light for a little bit!