Teaching Your Dog the Interrupt Command

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     Have you ever noticed that dogs cannot keep their focus on just one object? If you have been teaching your dog something and he suddenly runs after a cat he saw, chances are you really need to teach your dog the Interrupt Command.
Once you have taught your dog this behavior, his attention will be redirected back to you when he is doing something which is not appropriate. Such actions can include bothering the cat, barking, paying an overenthusiastic attention to your visitors and so on. When your dog has fully comprehended this command, the responses of your dog will be much habituated that he will not care if you have a treat or not. But in order to teach him this command, be prepared for using many treats.

As with any other training, you should set up an environment free from distractions. This is so that you can have the sole attention of your pet. If you really want your dog to succeed no matter what command you give him, you should play your part in making sure that he gets the best training as well. Thus, providing him a distract free surrounding is your best bet. The command which you will be using is either 揟his Side?or 揙ver Here.?Either command can be used as your cue for interruption.

You should start saying the phrase while you use an upbeat and happy tone while your dog抯 attention is focused on you. While doing this, you should have a treat that has a high value waiting for him as a reward. You can give a piece of turkey dog, cooked chicken or cheese. This process should be maintained until you see that he fully grasps his concentration between the process of the treat giving and the verbal phrase command.

The next step includes taking him somewhere there are few distractions. If you see that your dog starts sniffing on these distracting things such as an old pair of shoes, you can give out the interrupt command along with your happy tone. If he has fully connected the reward and the phrase, he will stop what he was doing immediately and run to you so that he can be given the treat. So make sure that you have prepared it for him.

Lastly, add in some more distractions while still having a controlled environment for your pet. In order to see if the command has been fully understood by your pet you can add in more toys and items so that he can sniff them. If your pet seems to have a slow response or gets confused with what you are asking him to do, you should move back to the earlier step.
It is important that you become patient with your dog as dogs do not have the same capacity of comprehension. Keep practicing the command with your dog and eventually, you both can do the command in the real world. You can stop your dog from sniffing at every fire hydrant he sees each time you walk him once he fully understands your interrupt command.