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Teaching Dogs to Focus: A Presentation by Emma Parsons

 It is common for dogs to struggle with focusing on their handler in high distraction environments. We see this everywhere: in an obedience or agility class, in a conformation ring, in the park, in a veterinary office, etc. For this dynamic to improve, we, as handlers, need to understand Learning Theory as well as how and when to deliver reinforcers.

The goal is to create a behavior chain where the dog sees the distractions (whatever they are) as the cue to look at the handler voluntarily. The presence of the distraction in the environment becomes the cue to reorient to the handler. Once the handler has the dog’s attention, they can cue a set of reliable behaviors. Accidental behavior chains will also be discussed.

 Emma Parsons, BA, KPT-CTP, CDBC

 Emma Parsons is currently a Canine Behavior Training Consultant at Emma Parsons, LLC. She specializes in managing and rehabilitating the reactive and aggressive dog and has authored three books on the subject: Teaching the Reactive Dog Class, Click to Calm: Healing the Aggressive Dog, and The NEW Click to Calm: Solutions for All Dogs in a Challenging World. Emma also works with agility competitors whose dogs are having emotional difficulties regarding the sport. Emma is a faculty member of Karen Pryor Academy for Animal Training & Behavior (KPA-CTP) as well as of the Karen Pryor Clicker Expo conferences. She is also certified by the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants. (CDBC).

Emma holds a BA degree from the University of Massachusetts Lowell, and shares her life with her husband, Greg, and their five clicker-trained competition dogs—two Golden Retrievers, Austyn-Roque and Spirit-Rayne; a Border Collie, Joshua Lee Hunt; and two Papillons, Zachary-Benedict and Katydid-Elizabeth.

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