Understanding the Brain’s “Circuit Breaker” for Attention

Picture this scenario: Your dog is performing a beautiful, focused heel in training class. Suddenly, another dog appears around the corner. In a heartbeat, your dog’s attention vanishes, and no amount of calling their name or waving treats will bring them back to you.

What just happened? In neuroscience terms, your dog’s Ventral Attention Network (VAN) just ran roughshod over their Dorsal Attention Network (DAN). Understanding this process can transform how you view and address attention issues in training.

VAN: The Brain’s Alert System

VAN – the Ventral Attention Network – is a “bottom-up” attentional system. It’s driven by stimuli in the environment rather than by conscious choice. VAN operates automatically, alerting your dog to potentially important information without requiring any decision on their part.

This system has been crucial for survival throughout evolutionary history. A dog whose attention couldn’t be captured by the sudden movement of a predator wouldn’t survive long. Neither would one who couldn’t instantly notice potential prey or danger. By the same token, VAN can be responsible for your dog noticing a leaf dancing along in the wind, or a cat dashing across the yard.

When VAN Runs Over DAN

When I talk about VAN “running over” DAN, I’m describing a neurological reality. These networks exist in an inhibitory relationship—when one activates strongly, it suppresses the other. And in certain situations, VAN can completely override DAN, no matter how committed the dog was to their previous focus.

Three primary scenarios cause this instant attentional hijacking:

1. Perceived Threats

In my webinar The Anatomy of Attention, I described a scenario where you are walking down the street to buy a present for a friend. DAN is active, as you are sorting out what you are seeing (hardware store, baby clothing, auto parts) as “not birthday present.” But suddenly, right in front of you on the sidewalk, there is a cobra! The moment you see a dangerous snake (VAN activates), and your present-buying mission instantly becomes irrelevant.,

For dogs, perceived threats might include:

• Unfamiliar dogs (whether or not they appear threatening –  just being unknown can be alarming for some dogs without a lot of social skills or experience)
• People who make them uncomfortable (again, just being a stranger can be enough to be worrisome for some dogs, even if the person acts appropriately)
• Novel objects that look strange or move unpredictably (see a theme here? Yes, just being unfamiliar can equal threatening for many dogs, even if you know it’s just a garden gnome)
• Loud or startling noises

This is so important when we’re dealing with fearful, anxious, shy dogs. What is threatening is defined by the dog’s view, not what we know or think. We have to remember for the dog, their “cobra” might be the woman with the toddler heading your way, or just a kid with a skateboard.

2. Anxiety and Fear

Chronic anxiety creates a brain primed for VAN dominance. When a dog is anxious, their amygdala (fear center) is already activated, making it easier for VAN to take control at the slightest provocation.

This explains why anxious dogs often appear “distracted” or “unfocused”—they’re not being stubborn; their brain is in a physiological state where DAN simply cannot function optimally. Imagine trying to focus on this article after someone told you there is an enormous spider in the room, or perhaps a wasp, or whatever would alarm you.

If we feel safe, we forget that the dog may not.  This mismatch between our perception and the dog’s emotional reality leads to many training frustrations.  And it can lead to undermining the relationship when we dismiss what the dog is telling us. “Oh, don’t be silly. You’re fine!” is always the wrong thing to say to anyone who is worried or afraid.

3. Sensory Sensitivities

Dogs with heightened sensory sensitivity experience stimuli more intensely than others, making VAN activation more likely. As a trainer, I always assess individual dogs along a spectrum regarding sensory awareness:

• Auditory sensitivity: From complete deafness to so sensitive they’re dysfunctional with normal sounds
• Visual sensitivity: From blindness to being triggered by slight movements or light changes
• Tactile sensitivity: How they respond to touch (remember that light touch can actually be alarming!)
• Olfactory sensitivity: How intensely they respond to scents

A dog with extreme auditory sensitivity might have their VAN triggered by sounds you barely notice. A visually sensitive dog might react to subtle movements that wouldn’t register with other dogs.

Conversely, deficits. in sensory awareness can make the world a challenging place to be. Hearing deficits can make it hard for a dog to accurately orient to sounds and where they are coming from, or they do not hear some sounds at all. Visual deficits are far more common in my experience than you might think, with many dogs near-sighted and unable to clearly distinguish people and other dogs and things in their environment at a distance. Imagine how you would deal with life without your glasses!

Working With VAN, Not Against It

Understanding VAN doesn’t mean abandoning training goals. It means working with your dog’s brain rather than against it:

1. Respect thresholds: Stay under the threshold where VAN completely overtakes DAN.
2. Create distance: When VAN triggers appear, increase distance when possible. “The very first answer is always, if at all possible, put distance between you and the scary thing.”
3. Recognize signs of VAN activation: Learn your individual dog’s early indicators that VAN is beginning to activate.
4. Build recovery skills: Teach your dog how to return to DAN dominance after VAN has been triggered.
5. Address emotional responses: Use counterconditioning to change how your dog feels about VAN triggers.

Conclusion: Respecting the Brain’s Reality

When we understand that VAN can and will run over DAN in certain situations, we stop taking our dogs’ “distractability” personally. We recognize it as a neurobiological reality, not a training failure or a reflection of our relationship.

By respecting these neurological realities and working with them rather than against them, we can develop training approaches that set our dogs up for success rather than constantly pushing them into situations where their brain’s wiring works against them.

Summer presents unique challenges for dog training. The world explodes with distractions – squirrels dart across paths, children play in yards, and barbecue scents waft through the air. Rather than fighting an uphill battle, what if you could turn these summer challenges into training opportunities?

Suzanne Clothier’s Summer School Series brings together four essential webinars that will revolutionize how you approach training during these distraction-rich months.