This exercise is designed to teach dogs how to remain calm and focused in situations that may trigger a reactive response. By teaching your dog an alternate behaviour, such as looking at their owner instead of reacting negatively, the Engage-Disengage exercise helps to rewire the dog's response to the trigger.

During the Engage-Disengage exercise, we must be observant and proactive. When your dog notices a trigger but does not react negatively, you mark with YES and then reward your dog with treats, praise, toys, more distance, sniffing, whatever motivates your dog. This reinforcement helps them associate the trigger with positive outcomes, reinforcing the behaviour of engaging with you around a trigger. Consistency and patience are key in this training exercise, as it may take time for the dog to learn and exhibit the desired behaviour consistently.

The next step is to wait until your dog voluntarily looks away from the trigger, they don't have to look directly at you, but just disengages from looking at the trigger. At that point, when they disengage now we give our YES and then reward. We are showing your dog great things happen when they disengage from the trigger. You aren't asking your dog for attention, you are silently waiting for them to process the trigger and disengage from it. When they do disengage from the trigger that activates you to do something that motivates your dog. So your dog soon learns they can activate you to do stuff they like. And all they have to do is look away from the trigger.

Ultimately, the Engage-Disengage exercise empowers the dog with the ability to make a choice in how they respond to triggers. By teaching your dog to disengage from the trigger and engage with you instead, reactivity can be reduced or even eliminated over time. It's not unreasonable for your dog to look at their triggers, non reactive dogs notice things in their environment, the key is the dismissing it as no big deal and disengaging from it.

With practice the Engage-Disengage exercise can be a valuable tool in helping dogs overcome reactivity and become more resilient in various situations.