How to train your dog to ignore other dogs when walking?

You can train a dog to ignore other dogs by following these steps. 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. Dog owners can use these steps to train a service dog or to prepare them to be friendly at daycare. Begin by taking a normal walk with your dog where there are no other dogs around. Use a collar and leash with which the dog feels comfortable. 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. 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. Use your clicker and high-value treats to bring their attention back to you when you notice them getting distracted by the other dog’s in the distance. 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.

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 you can do this at home, you can progress to the garden where there are more distractions from sights, sounds, and smells. Once you’ve mastered that, you can start going out and about – but stick to quiet places where you can avoid other dogs until you and your dog are experts at this. 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.