It’s very frustrating for dog owners when a dog usually obedient around the home ignores them in the presence of more tantalising distractions.

Undoubtedly the lament I hear most frequently is: “He always does it at home.”

If I had a fiver for every time I heard that I’d build the biggest, most luxurious kennels any rescue dog had ever seen. All dogs are inclined to go deaf when their senses are overpowered by temptation, but that is no time to despair.

That’s the perfect opportunity to remind them of their previous training and reward them for ignoring the distraction.

From time to time my dogs get over excited coming out of the truck and would barge past me the moment I open their door if I let them. It’s at this time I remind them of the rules. I ask them to stay put until I invite them out one at a time. That way I can check there are no cars passing and ensure they remain safe.

If I didn’t do it they would soon be charging out the moment I opened the door. Entering and exiting the car is an exercise we do in class regularly then all we have to do is remind them what they have already learned.

Teaching your dog to ignore other dogs is not as difficult as it sounds if you have already done the training.

Dogs that always come back when called in class often don’t come back at all in the open countryside so you need a strategy for teaching them to follow their initial training. Pulling on the lead is an easy problem to cure in an indoor class but not so easy once out in the park.

I have a two-day master class on June 22 and 23. For details email vicbarlow@icloud.com

By Vic Barlow ' The Dogfather'