Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2009 10:18 am Post subject: getting the dogs attention
hi every 1 can you help me i have just got a rescue wiemaraner and i am struggling to get his attention at classes, can you give me some advice how i can get over this problem, thanks
At Steve Kimberley's we always do a focus exercise. Sit the dog and begin to walk in a circle around him. Only move when his eyes are on you. The second he takes his eyes off you then you must stop and wait until he looks at you again. Continue to do this on a regular basis. It teaches him to watch you.
Steve did say there is a record for the longest time it took someone to walk around the dog and that was over 2 hours!
Another exercise is to sit the dog and walk away from him. Turn and face him and begin to walk towards him. If he is watching you right up to you get to him then you can call him to heel. If he is not watching you then continue to walk past him, turn around and walk by him again and repeat it a few times.
I too make mine wait when I take the lead off and don't let them run on until they look at me. I also do the same when feeding-put the food down and tell them to wait and when they take there eyes off the food and focus on me I let them eat - same goes for fetching dummies/toys etc _________________ www.deifstockgundogs.co.uk
I do that too. To get Beecham to watch me when he was younger, I had to hold a big piece of chicken close to my eyes At one time, I thought I was going to have to walk around with something akin to a live pheasant strapped to my head, but we got there in the end.
Classes can be hard for young dogs when there are so many dogs there, and they could be especially exciting for a rescue dog. Are you able to carry a really exciting treat in your hand, with some less exciting ones, so that he doesn't know when he will get the jackpot treat? Or a toy or some article may help. I carry a tennis ball with Bosco at general training school as he finds the smells on the ground a bit too interesting at times. Neither interferes at all with his gundog training.
Hi Gemma - snap - I have just got a 2 year old rescue too. We went to our first clicker training session last Saturday. I kept him interested in me with treats and more treats. One treat I find easy to keep him focussed is a tube of primula cheese spread but I vary it. If he had a choice between food or his ball though he would choose his ball.
I had already taught a 'watch me' by holding the treat at arms length and when he looked at me he got his treat. I actually use a clicker to mark the behaviour but you can use a world like 'good' or 'yes' so long as the timing is good. _________________ Lesley, Holly (nearly 9) Buddy (2) both rehomes.
I worked on eye contact with helen phillips. At home with the clicker in response to his name. When we're out in a very stimulating environment, if he can't do anything else because he's too rigid with excitement like a sit or anything else, I wait and try to get him to look at me. I then do a series of response to name in a row before I let him go. I use it if I can't get anything else out of him and then lead on to other actions.
I saw a lovely bit on one of the clicker expo dvds with Steve White who trains police dogs. He used eye contact with the clicker and no commands and it developed into heelwork. He gently moved around the dog and CT for the dog getting eye contact with him.
Another nice way is to hold the treat out away from your body and CT when the dog looks at your face not the treat.
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