Teaching Your Dog Attention!!
Attention is the most critical skill your dog and learn. Start out on the right foot with your new puppy or new rescue dog. Dogs of any age can learn attention skills!
Why is attention so important?
A dog that is attentive isn’t misbehaving. Attention from your dog means that you are working together as a team. For example, if your dog knows to “check-in” (give attention) with eye contact every few seconds while on a walk, they cannot be pulling at the same time! Attention is essential to all types and levels of training. There are 2 ways to get your dog’s attention—1) Capturing it 2) Prompting (or putting on cue).
Capturing Eye Contact (Auto Check In) This uses dogs natural behavior to look at you and then we reinforce it when they voluntarily give us eye contact. What is so great about this, is your dog choses to give you attention because he wants to be engaged with you instead of something else.
Prompting Eye Contact This is where you ask your dog to give you eye contact. You can use this to refocus them on you instead of allowing your dog to focus on something else, like a distraction.
Auto Check-in Attention
How to Teach Auto Check In Eye Contact
The beauty of having your dog voluntarily give you attention (eye contact) is it helps the dog realize that they can have a 2 way communication with their handler. This is epic! They will learn that if they want to ask you a question, they simply need to look at your and when you look back, they can look at what they want, or what is making them uncomfortable, or excited, etc. Then look back at you. Then you, as the leader of the pack, can answer back by giving your dog guidance. Let’s say you are walking down the street with your dog, and another dog is approaching. Your dog sees this other dog and may become anxious or fearful. In the past your dog may have immediately started barking or lunging at this other dog. But once a dog realizes that they can use attention to communicate with you, they have options. Instead of barking or lunging at that other dog, they can look at you and basically ask… “Do you see that other dog? What should we do about it?” It is now up to you, to make a decision to proceed moving forward, or stepping aside and asking your dog to Leave It, or simply turn around and move into another direction. This is why Auto Check-in is so powerful!
Kindergarten - Level 1
START in a Quiet place and have a bag of small treats with you
SIT or STAND with dog on leash
WAIT for dog to look at you, when they do, Click or say YES and give them 5-10 treats one at at time!
TAKE your attention off your dog (look away or move a step or so way)
REPEAT the exercise above
SLOWLY require your dog to hold your gaze for a longer period
Grade School - Level 2
FIND a place that has a few more distractions (i.e a park where you are 8-10 feet away from the trail)
SIT or STAND with dog on leash
REPEAT Level 1 in the presence of distractions that are far enough away that the dog can remain calm
SLOWLY decrease distance and work your dog closer to distractions (dogs and people)
College - Level 3
REPEAT Level 2 when you are walking
STOP Randomly wait for your dog to look at you and reward profusely
Every time your dog looks at a distraction (another dog or a person) and remains calm and looks at you, reward profusely.
Tips to Remember
SIT or STAND with dog positioned in front of you or slightly to your side
NO TENSION on the leash
WAIT for eye contact (Be Patient! It may take some time especially if you are doing it in the presence of distractions)
NO TALKING or CUES
MARK Eye Contact when given with treats and enthusiasm
Jackpot the dog for giving you voluntary eye contact (give 5-10 small treats ONE AT A TIME with praise)
Prompted Attention
How to Teach Prompted Eye Contact
Prompted Attention is also a great skill to have so that you can ask your dog to redirect their attention from something else and back on to you. Prompted Eye Contact allows you to interrupt your dog’s behavior before it escalates by asking them to turn their attention to you and then you can provide them guidance such as asking them to ignore something or to Sit.
Kindergarten—Level 1
PLACE a treat at the dog’s nose
SLOWLY move treat away from dog’s nose (This is the LURE)
WAIT for dog to look from the treat to your eyes - even if quick glance - then click and feed
BE QUIET during this period of training. You should not be talking to your dog
Grade School - Level 2
LURE dog to look at you
SAY cue (LOOK/WATCH)
GRADUALLY increase length of attention before clicking and feeding
FADE hand lure
College - Level 3
ADD distraction, like holding a toy/ball in your hand
SLOWLY increase number of distractions - moving toy in your hand, dropping toy, people approaching, etc.
Tips to Remember
RECOGNIZE that this is very difficult for your dog! Give them plenty of rewards and praise
START in a quiet environment
ALWAYS use your release word so that your dog knows when he is done
BE SURE to practice in several locations. Dogs need many many repitiitions in a variety of places
IF YOUR DOG CAN’T FOCUS, go back to Kindergarten and try again!!!
Practice Attention by signing up for a Paws N Play Class!
At Paws N Play, we work on Attention exercises in every class. We offer a variety of classes including Obedience, Agility, Rally O, Loose Leash Walking, and Impulse Control classes throughout the year.