This is a VERY common struggle for many dog owners. It really does come down to one of two things: lack of focus (too much going on in the environment that is distracting) and/or lack of generalized understanding (the dog has never offered that behavior in that situation).
Lack of focus: A lack of focus refers to your dog losing attention on
you, because they find the outside stimuli (squirrels, passing
people, sights, sounds, other dogs, etc.) much more interesting. The way you improve
attention and engagement with your dog, is by becoming the source of
super duper fun things while your dog is outside! You have to be more fun than the environment! Start working your dog in a
low distraction place outside (driveway, back yard, the street just in front of your house, etc.) When
your dog pays attention/listens to you in those low distraction environments, reward them with high
value food rewards (not your everyday boring kibble or milkbones, but something that the dog considers really amazing) and engage them in active game play. Use your happy voice! Don't be a cheapskate, reward heavily!
Lack of Understanding: What do I mean by "lack of generalized understanding"? Well, your dog is naturally a contextual learner. By nature, dogs do not generalize well. If your dog was a human and you taught him/her how to change a tire at home, s/he would know how to do that out on the side of the road. But not with a dog! Your dog knows that “sit” means, when facing you while in your kitchen, butt goes on the ground. S/he doesn't necessarily know it means to “sit” next to you at your side while on a walk.
If someone asked you ‘have a seat’, you would easily understand to sit in a chair, on a bench, on a stool, etc. You would also be able to easily ‘have a seat’ inside a friend's house, out on their patio, or in an office building bench. We can generalize our understanding of words and phrases. But our dogs cannot. This frustrates many owners and confuses the dogs.
Help! How do you help clarify things for your dog? How do you help them expand their contextual understanding to a general understanding? Practice! Simply practice the commands they have mastered in one setting, in a new setting where you will get success. You may find that you need to take a step back (lowering the criteria and helping with a food lure) in order to make two steps forward in progress. Always set your dog up for success - make things easy and build on small wins of success with big rewards.
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