Getting your dog to Focus

One of the most useful and important behaviours to teach your dog is to focus attention on you using the cue "watch me" to get your dog’s attention. It’s a prerequisite to every other behaviour.

It’s a learned behaviour and needs to be taught step by step. If you cannot get and maintain your dogs attention, especially in distracting situations, how can you get any other behaviour?

This can be useful in many situations where you need to distract your dog from a potential reward, and focus on you instead.  If your dog looks at you reward this behaviour.

Instructions:

With your dog sitting in front of you show your dog a "tasty" treat held at your eye level or out of reach to your dog, now, move the treat with our dog watching it out to your side with your arm extended. Your dog should continue to watch the reward, soon frustration will build up in your dog from not getting the reward and your dog will look at you in this unsure situation, as soon as your dog looks at you "click". You have now caught your dog’s required behaviour, otherwise known as operant behaviour of deciding to look at you, and to look away from a reward to do so. Looking away from a reward, and looking at you has earned a reward "click”. Throw the treat away from you for your dog to find.

Repeat until your dog is looking at you at first, for half a second, then a second, and then two seconds - until your dog continuously looks at you when you extend your arm. Use different arms and different arm positions to generalise the behaviour. Attach the name "watch me" to this behaviour. Start fading the use of the arm, use the cue "watch me" to get your dog's attention when he is distracted by any other stimulus.

Try the above in different rooms in the house, and then move out to the garden, then into the park and any other situations that have distractions. Don’t be surprised if you have to go back to the beginning when you move to new places – the dog may not understand that the behaviour is required in different locations. If your dog isn’t really interested, then I’d suggest trying even tastier treats.

Getting your dog look at you is a very important behaviour so start rewarding any eye contact that your dog may offer, a smile and a pat can work wonders. Try not to ignore your dog, especially when your dog is not demanding attention from you.

Always acknowledge (reward) good behaviour from your dog.