#168 Breaking Your Dog's Fixation: Pattern Interrupters That Work

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Ever watched your dog get completely stuck, fixated on something in the distance? The barking, staring, and occasional lunging that just won't stop, even after you've given the "leave it" command? You're not alone, and there's a simple solution that works like magic.  

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hey there and welcome back to the 5-Minute Dog.
Today we're talking aboutpattern interrupters, quick and
effective ways to snap your dogout of a middle loop and get
their brain back on track.
So let's say that your dog'sfixated on something in the
distance.
He's barking intently, staring,maybe even lunging a little bit

(00:26):
, but not a full-on reactivity.
Lunge, uq, leave it, and theydo, but a few seconds later
they're back to barking, lungingand staring.
They just can't let it go orfocus on anything else.
That's when patterninterrupters come in handy.
They're like rebooting yourdog's brain without the drama.

(00:50):
Here are some interrupters youcan use after your dog responds
to leave it.
Maybe do some puppy push-ups,ask for a sit, then a down, then
back to sit, reward and repeat.
It gets your dog back in rhythman d shifts their brain from

(01:13):
reaction to engagement.
Maybe try the touch cue Trainyour dog to boop your hand with
their nose.
It's fast, it's fun and supereffective for snapping their
focus back to you.
Maybe cheerfully say this wayand turn and start moving in a
different direction.
Once your dog follows, you havesuccessfully broken the stair

(01:38):
and moved on.
Or try a mini obedience gameSpin, sit, touch, turn, treat
and repeat.
This taps into novelty andbrain power, which helps it burn
off overstimulation.
If your dog is toy motivated,whip out a ball or a tug and

(01:58):
have a quick game.
A little play goes a long wayin snapping them out of
obsession mode.
Make a noise, maybe a smoochsound or a silly word or whistle
or some other novel sound,something lighthearted and

(02:21):
engaging, not scary.
Sounds usually penetrate ourdog's brains faster than words.
So this should bring hisattention back to you pretty
quickly.
And my favorite, play a littlebit of up and off.
If you see a bench or curb orretaining wall, ask your dog to
hop up and then off and then upand then off.

(02:41):
It's like a mini reset buttonusing movement to get them to
disengage, and the further apartthe objects are, the better.
The key is to interrupt theirthoughts, getting them to think
about something else and move on.
So the next time you're out andabout and your dog just cannot

(03:03):
stop looking for that squirrel,try one of the interrupters we
mentioned earlier to see if youcan get his mind off the
squirrel and back to the walk.