Pawtential Dog Training
and Behaviour Consultation
(ABN: 14 965 042 976)
Lyn Witts
Cert IV Dog Behavioural Trainer
Cert IV Veterinary Nurse
DEVELOPING FOCUS
You have very little chance of your dog responding to your requests unless they are switched on or
connected to you. Obtaining their focus and maintaining it requires training and practice. The following
exercises will help develop a focused dog and will assist in drawing your dog’s attention away from
distraction.
Getting Attention (Using Name, Interrupter Noise or Movement)
- Initially only say your dog’s name when they are looking at you to establish the connection of
‘looking’ at you when they hear their name.
- Then say your dog’s name with an upbeat exciting tone of voice when you know they are
about to look at you so their Name coincides with the behaviour of looking at you.
- If your dog is distracted and you are not 100% sure your dog will look when you say their name,
then try movement or noise to bring your dogs attention back towards you.
- Your dog’s name will become meaningless the more you call your dog and they don’t look at you!
So, set your dog up to succeed and to practice the response you want to develop.
- Practise also getting your dog's attention by using an Interrupter Noise such as a high pitched “pup,
pup, pup” noise or 'kissy kissy' noise. Click the moment they respond. Treat.
- Other than Name or Interrupter Noise, movement can be used to get your dog's attention. See
“Target or Touch” explanation next page.
Maintaining Attention
- Show your dog a treat then take the treat up to your forehead.
- Click the moment your dog looks up at your face then deliver the treat.
- Soon you won’t need the treat in your hand.
- Label this behaviour “Look” or “Watch” once you have the behaviour occurring consistently.
- Be consistent with a hand signal, having it look the same whether food is in it or not.
- Introduce Duration by delaying the Clicker for increasing and varying amounts of time.
- Once you have Duration, introduce gradually increasing levels of Distance and Distraction.
Everything Comes Through You!
- Hold a treat in your hand extending your arm horizontally away from you at shoulder height.
- Click and Treat the moment your dog stops looking at the treat and looks at you instead.
- This will help your dog pay Attention to you despite distractions.
- Try holding different items away from you too, not just food. We want to ‘proof’ for distraction.
- Be sure not to prompt your dog to look at you. Instead, be patient and wait for them to look at you.
Pawtential Family Dog Training
Continued
Developing Focus
Page Two
Catching Treats
- Teach your dog to catch their treats! This requires great focus and concentration on your dog’s part
so will help to increase focus and concentration skills.
- Hold a treat above your dog’s head. Move the treat down slowly towards them and drop the treat
into their mouth as their mouth opens in anticipation.
- The treat is taken away if they jump! The treat keeps coming closer to them as they remain seated
and is finally dropped into their mouth as they open their mouth.
- As your dog is opening its mouth sooner in anticipation of the treat, start dropping the treat from a
greater height.
- If your dog is struggling in this exercise, try threading half a cheezel onto a strand of cotton. Lower
the cheezel slowly towards your dog and let your dog grab the cheezel off the cotton. Gradually
increase the pace at which you are dropping the cheezel towards your dog.
Find it Game
Level One
- Throw a treat onto the ground away from your dog instructing your dog to “Find It”.
- The 'click' moment is when your dog makes eye contact with you after finding their treat.
- After 'clicking', either give your dog a treat or drop it on the ground saying “Find it” to start the game
again.
- This exercise can be used as a distraction if something appears near to you that you don’t want
your dog to run towards or react to. Having played the “Find it” game, your dog will immediately
start looking on the ground for something to “Find”. This can give you time to then place a lead on
your dog and/or move your dog away from danger.
Level Two
 When you and your dog are finding Level One above very easy, increase the challenge to Level
Two!
 Throw the treat on the ground stepping behind your dog as you do so.
 The 'click' moment is when your dog turns around to find you and makes eye contact.
 After 'clicking', either give your dog a treat or start the 'find it' game again.
 This 'Find it” game evolves into a fun game for strengthening your dog's love of coming to you.
(See the Come When Called notes).
Target or Touch
- Place your hand, palm facing dog, beside your dog’s head. This will prompt your dog to investigate
your hand. When your dog touches their nose to your palm, click and treat.
- Placement and delivery of the treat ideally should be where your dog’s nose touches your palm.
- Repeat this exercise until your dog ‘gets’ that their nose on your palm triggers the clicker to ‘click’.
Then introduce, at your dog’s pace, some distance by placing your palm further from your dog.
- Another step is then to wait for multiple placements of nose to palm before clicking and treating.
© Pawtential Family Dog Training 2010