Engage Disengage Game – Reduce Your Dog's Reactivity!
The Engage Disengage Game was created to help overstimulated dogs manage their stress in a more productive way.
First, you are going to want to identify your dog's triggers so we can help avoid and manage them!
Second, you want to figure out your dog's trigger threshold! Approximately, how far away do you need to be from the stimulus to have your dog leave it alone successfully? For some dogs it’s 10 feet, for other dogs, it’s 10 blocks.
What we do NOT want our dogs to learn:
-That when they react, the trigger walks away. This teaches the dog that their actions are successful and worth repeating.
What we do want our dogs to learn:
-How to decrease their stress around triggers (anything that is causing a strong emotional response)
-How focusing on us is WAY more rewarding and how to self-interrupt themselves before they go over their threshold.
What you’ll need:
-High-value treats (like these https://pfrd.site/treats15-off)
-Patience
-Space
Troubleshooting: if your dog does not turn their head after you mark the behavior, you need to move further away from the trigger!
Thank you to Brittany from Good Boy Training for providing this tip! Check
out her Instagram here: / goodboytrainingasbury