When you are walking with your dog there may be times that you notice something moving towards you that your dog will struggle to walk past calmly. Sometimes you will be able to cross the street or change direction to give your dog more space, but there will be times when this isn’t possible.

In these situations, one option is to move to the side of the pathway and cue your dog to stand or sit in front, facing you, with their back to the passing distraction.

This will help to keep your dog’s focus on you as the other person, dog or distraction moves by without concern.

To start you’ll want to practice prompting your dog into position at home or in your garden away from distractions. Walk with your dog on a loose lead before slowing down, turning 90 degrees and getting your dog to turn and face you. Reward your dog several treats one after another as they hold the position.

When they are doing well with this, practice in a quiet area of your neighborhood. Walk together before slowing down, moving to one side of the path and getting your dog to turn and face you.

Gradually progress to working around distractions and in real life scenarios until your dog can calmly face you while people, dogs and other distractions pass you.

Putting time into training this before you need it will really help you to navigate challenging situations with your dog.