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How to teach your dog to disengage?
Marco McKenzie
2025-07-07 00:30:58
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: 21
The engage disengage game is a great game to play with a dog that is reactive to new things, both in a fearful or excited way. The goal is to help a dog learn to watch the stimulus and not react. Before starting training your furry friend on this new game, make sure they’ve burned a little bit of energy. Be sure that your furry friend masters the “engage” part of the game before moving on to “disengage.” To use the engage disengage game to stop a dog from barking, practice in short successful sessions, setting them up for success by exercising them 20 min before. If the dogs bark or react, the humans set things up too close and the practice won’t be effective. I’d like to see the family set this exercise up with each dog once a day for a week. A great way to do this is the engage disengage game, which helps to find ways to help turn the “boogie man” into a positive.
Hattie Moen
2025-06-23 06:10:11
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: 17
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.
When playing this game, play in about 5-minute increments, then take a break to walk around and let your dog relax.
In Level Two, we are rewarding our dog for DISENGAGING the trigger by looking back at us.
You should begin this level at the same distance from the trigger as Level One.
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.
Repeat for 3 to 5 successful repetitions.
A successful repetition is your dog comfortably disengaging from the trigger on their own.
After these 3 to 5 repetitions, you are ready to slowly move 1 to 5 steps closer to the trigger.
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