How to build frustration tolerance in dogs?
Carmelo Collier
2025-07-22 11:16:44
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: 9
We practiced various impulse control games, teaching her how to “leave it.”
Daisy’s adopter practiced these games for a couple of minutes every day.
We practiced rewarding Daisy for walking next to her human on leash.
Daisy was rewarded at her person’s side, building value for being next to her.
I asked that she practice this every day when she took Daisy for a walk.
We carried high-value treats that were sure to capture Daisy’s attention even in the face of distractions.
We worked on teaching Daisy to remain calmly standing or sitting before greeting people, starting about 20 feet away.
In the beginning, if we were any closer, Daisy was too excited to perform the behavior.
Over time, we were able to decrease that distance to about 5 feet away.
We put greeting people on cue, using the verbal cue “Go say hi!”
We practiced by using people Daisy already knew before taking it on the road with new people.
Fletcher Leffler
2025-07-22 06:52:01
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: 11
A great way to build up your dog’s tolerance for frustration is working on your dog’s impulse control. That is, their ability to hold themselves back, and ideally wait calmly and patiently when faced with something they want. The protocol is simple: whenever you have something that the dog wants, such as food, a toy, or going outside - teach the dog sit patiently before it is released. At first, it may only be for a short second. Then, slowly increase the duration. You can also improve your dog’s impulse control by teaching it to stay in a dog bed until it is released. Start practising in a calm and quiet room, and slowly build up the distractions by having your dog stay in the bed while you are having dinner, and eventually when people are coming over. Finally, you can use playtime to run your dog through commands, and teach your dog to hold a sit or down stay while you throw a toy. To make sure that you are teaching the dog to cope with frustration rather than building frustration, keep the training sessions easy and short, and build up the difficulty at a slow pace. Make sure to also provide outlets for any built up stress or frustration, such as playing tug or giving the dog a bone to chew on.
Kieran Nikolaus
2025-07-22 06:22:46
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: 12
Like self-control, dogs are not born with frustration tolerance. It must be developed in them. You need to build the behavior and give the dog the tools needed to remain calm. Exercises to Help You Get Started Tie your dog to a short chain in the yard and work with it for 10 minutes to start. Do not ignore your dog, but do not let it act out. If your dog is calm then talk to it and give a treat, but keep moving away so that your dog must deal with its stress issues. When a dog acts out then stop. Make it lay down. Wait. Keep waiting when the dog is quiet. Then when ‘you’ chose to move on give a command. If the dog acts out, or ignores your command then stop again, repeat this. Make the dog wait for its food, treats, and toys. Play with the dog and stop playing and wait quietly for 1 minute. Then resume playing. Any exercise where your dog wants something, but doesn’t get it, can help build frustration tolerance.
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