Distraction Training

Tonight was our regular Wednesday night Rally-O practice time. It's usually a small group of dogs and we just set up a course or two and practice, help each other out, etc. Tonight was just like any other Wednesday night, myself with the boys and one other lady with her Miniature Poodle. One thing was different tonight ... there was a bunny!

The facility that we practice at is a doggy daycare during the day, and then used for classes and group dog events in the evenings and on weekends. The business has two bunnies that just live there in their little hutch. By the sounds of it, they are trying to rehome one or both of the bunnies, so there was a couple there this evening checking them out. They had their dog with them, a Lab mix by the looks of it, to see if dog and bunny would get along, or if bunny would prove to be too tempting of a snack for the dog.

At one point, I had Romeo put away in a kennel and was working Gio off-leash. The couple that was checking out the bunny decided to put it on the floor to see if a moving bunny would kick in the prey drive of their dog. The dog did really well, was super excited about the bunny, but was just being playful. I was walking a heel pattern with Gio when the bunny made a dash for it. I stopped walking and Gio sat at my side just as the bunny dashed in no more than 8 inches in front of him. He didn't move a muscle, barely even registered that there was a bunny there!

Now THAT is distraction training!