How to train your dog to ignore other dogs on walks?

You can train a dog to ignore other dogs by following these steps: 1. Prepare the right equipment. Plan to bring along all of the gear you need to take your dog on a comfortable walk as well as bring training tools for positive reinforcement. Use a collar and leash with which the dog feels comfortable. Have treats your dog loves and a clicker for helping your dog know when they have done something right. Dog owners can use positive body language and treats to teach a dog how to sit and stay when called and to obey you when around other dogs. Take a walk with no distractions. Begin by taking a normal walk with your dog where there are no other dogs around. It’s normal for your dog’s attention to fly in every direction, especially if they are a new puppy. Practice rewarding your dog when called. Every so often, stop and call your dog’s name. Reward your dog and use your clicker if they look at you and remain calm, but turn away and withhold the reward if they don’t. Start walking at a distance from other dogs. Once you have trained your dog to stop, calm down, and leave objects alone while on walks, you can begin slowly walking around other dogs at a distance. Gradually move closer to other dogs. Over the course of multiple days and dog walks, begin moving closer to other dogs while still using positive reinforcement to bring their attention back to you when distracted. Eventually you can walk your pooch around another friendly dog and use your new training to teach them to leave the other dog alone. After many training sessions, you should be able to walk around other dogs and people while still keeping control.

Teach them a Watch Me, do this randomly throughout the day. Start where there are no distractions, and your dog isn’t doing something else. Say their name enthusiastically and when they look at you reward them with a high value treat. Once they can do this reliably, practise this everywhere – always rewarding them. Avoid places with many dogs, start training your dog the Watch Me exercise in a quiet place indoors where it’s just the two of you. Once you can do this at home, you can progress to the garden where there are more distractions from sights, sounds, and smells. Distract them when meeting other dogs, start off a long distance from them – beyond the point where your dog would usually react. All you want your dog to do is look at you, and you will reward this. Slowly build this up to being able to do it at closer proximity but never too close that your dog feels that they need to react to the other dog. Always use high value treats to reward them for paying attention to you and not the other dog. Practice is key, remember that patience is very important when training any dog and you shouldn’t expect instant results. If your dog has been barking at other dogs or being reactive for a long time, it will take time, patience, and consistency to break the habit or change the behaviour.