One of the most common problems I see among dog owners is
the issue of how to get their dog to pay attention to them. You can be the best
trainer in the world, but if a dog won't look at you, who cares? Here are some
tips on how to engage your dog and make training much simpler.
1. Be something that your dog WANTS to look at. Easier said
than done? Quite possibly. But it's so important to remember that we are always
competing with the environment for our dog's attention, and if we are not
making an effort to be interesting, most likely the environment will win that
battle. When I am working with a dog, I communicate as if I am talking to a
child - with enthusiasm, purpose and wonderment!! I am so excited by the world!
Simply changing my tone of voice will often be enough to get a dog's attention,
but I also use body language and movement as well. One thing I've learned in my
experience as a trainer - you have to be willing to make a little bit of a fool
out of yourself if you want to train a dog. They will always pay more attention
to the person who is being a little bit of a goof - use that to your advantage!
2. Reward correctly and frequently. There is a chain of
events that I see all too often in the context of human-dog interactions and it
goes a little something like this: Dog does something bad, owner calls dog
over, dog comes to owner, dog is reprimanded for bad behavior. Perhaps this
seems like a reasonable chain of events, but what is actually happening here is
that the dog is being punished for coming to the owner and paying attention -
not for the behavior that the owner thinks he is reprimanding. Over time, the
dog learns that "Dog! Come here!" means "I am mad and something
unpleasant is happening!" and the dog chooses to ignore requests for
attention. Obviously, this is not good or what we have intended. Instead, if
you want a dog that really pays attention and comes when called, it is
essential to make it rewarding each and every time. This can mean food rewards
if you desire, but praise, affection and play will also suffice. Just make sure
that whenever your dog responds to your command for attention, you make it
worth his while.
3. Practice engagement training. Engagement training is
exactly what it sounds like - training your dog to engage with you. I love
working on engagement training... it is a lot of fun for handler and dog alike.
Some dogs are just naturally attentive and engaged with their owners... but
most aren't! And though many people will spend massive amounts of time teaching
a dog a library of commands, they don't spend time training the dog HOW to be
engaged, which is the most important part of dog training in my opinion. This
kind of training teaches the dog to check in with you frequently, and that it
is more rewarding to pay attention to you than to the environment.
4. Put it on cue. Though we hope that your dog is already
checking in with you frequently and giving you lots of eye contact, it is still
important to have a solid "watch" command for emergencies and
whatnot. Take the time to train this command reliably in your dog. And don't
overuse it! I see it all the time - the owner is begging the dog to
"watch... watch... watch!... WATCH!!!! WAAAAATCHH!!!!!!" and the dog
is completely oblivious. If that is happening with your dog, then your dog does
not know what this command means and you need to start training it again from
the beginning... preferably using a different word as a cue. The word
"watch" has become synonymous with "ignore me".
5. Set it up for success. Don't expect your dog to give you
rock solid attention at all times without taking the time to train and
cultivate it. This means starting your training in a low-to-no distraction
environment and working up to more and more distractions. Don't start in the
middle of a crowded dog park and expect your dog to be 100% engaged. Time and
training are required!
Credit: Christine Fasan
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