What is the engage disengage technique?

The Engage-Disengage Game uses positive reinforcement methods to first decrease the dog’s fear, anxiety, or frustration and then teach a safe and appropriate replacement behavior of Self-Interruption. The Game is played in about 5-minute increments, then take a break to walk around and let your dog relax. Our goal in level one is to reward your dog for ENGAGING their attention with a trigger. At the EXACT moment your dog looks at the trigger, MARK using your clicker or marker word. When your dog looks to you, deliver one of your super tasty treats. In Level Two, we are rewarding our dog for DISENGAGING the trigger by looking back at us. Wait for your dog to engage the trigger, then wait 3 to 5 seconds for your dog to DISENGAGE or look away from the trigger on their own. As soon as your dog looks away from the trigger, MARK with your clicker or verbal marker. Deliver your tasty treat.

This technique builds on LAT, teaching your dog to notice a trigger and then refocus on you. It’s particularly helpful for reactive dogs or those easily overstimulated. For example, if your dog sees a squirrel or another dog, they can engage briefly and then look back to you for guidance. This skill fosters self-control and builds trust between you and your dog.

The engage disengage game is a training technique that teaches dogs who may be reactive to things in the environment to focus on or return to their handlers instead of reacting to the environmental trigger. Start at a safe distance from the trigger, where your dog can see or sense the trigger but will not react to it. Stay still and wait for your dog to notice the trigger themselves. When your dog spots the trigger, allow them to look at it for 1 or 2 seconds, then use your marker to make the dog look back at you for their reward. As your dog gets better at the behaviour, allow them to look at the trigger for longer and wait for them to look away voluntarily without needing to be cued. Still, mark and reward the disengagement. As the dog becomes fluent in this behaviour, start rewarding the marker with a go sniff in a direction away from the trigger and then continue walking away from or around the trigger.

Engage, Disengage is an easy game and training technique to help dogs and owners struggling with reactivity issues. Does your dog ever bark or lunge at strangers, other dogs, squirrels, or bicycles. If your dog starts to bark or lunge at his/her trigger while practicing this technique, it means that you are too close to the trigger.