Teach Your Dog to Focus on You and Not a Treat.

I’m a huge fan of using food and treat rewards in training. I even make my own semi healthy treats. However, I don’t want my dog to associate treats as the end all and be all of training and consequently their life. I want to be the end all be all of my dogs life. Do you think that makes me vain?

Wanting a dogs focus on me and not a treat is not an emotional representation of my human urge to befriend my k9 companion, but rather it is so logical even a Vulcan would agree to the practicality of training focus on me, with out first introducing it as “Look at this treat in front of my face!”

First and foremost is that in a dire situation of uncertainty, excitement, confusion when I’m calling for “Look” I want my dog to be looking to me for direction, not as a trick of look at my face, get a treat. You can absolutely teach eye contact by holding a treat in front of your face, and gradually fading the lure, but to me that instant just holds meaning to me and not my dog. By teaching a dog to initially focus on you, and then get rewarded with out holding food in front of my face I think eye contact can hold meaning to my dog as well.

Another reason to teach focus with out a treat in front of my face is because a treat creates excitement and anticipation, in most situations, especially for a reactive dog I find that my dog benefits more by me cueing and helping him be calm. “Oh My Peanut Butter! What is that, how do I scare it away?!” is not such a far cry from “Oh My Peanut Butter, What is that? Look? Yay, a Treat, what do I have to do for a treat!?”

By teaching focus on me with out adding value to my eyes themselves I can foster a much calmer cue from “Look” “Oh My Peanut Butter! What is…Look?, oh I know what to do for look. where is my human at?”  When my dog is about to react, or make a poor choice my goal isn’t to redirect his excitement, it’s to redirect him and calm him down to better enable communication.

I would argue that teaching a dog to look at me from the start is easier than teaching it with a treat in front of my face and fading the treat.

This is how I taught my dog to focus on me.

Step 1. I took two handfuls of my dogs kibble and made certain my dog understood that there was kibble in both of my hands.

Step 2. I kept both my hands closed as my dog sniffed and mouthed¹ Yes, puppies mouth at my hand.

Step 3. Eventually my dog figured out that mouthing at my hands wasn’t doing anything and looked at me. “What gives human?”

Step 4. As soon as my dog looked at me I Immediately marked “Yes”²I use “Yes”, instead of “Good”, because the dog will break eye contact to eat. and rewarded with the kibble that was in the hand the dog did not sniff last.

Step 5. Repeat, and keep repeating until the dog is barely wasting anytime being interested in kibble in the hands and offering immediate eye contact.

Step 6. Start Cueing “Look”³ or what ever cue you wish to use.

Step 7. Repeat constantly whilst cueing “Look”

Step 8. Cue look then reward with food that was not shown to the dog prior.

Step 9. practice this often, and in high distracting places revert back to using two hands of treats or food if need be.

I wouldn’t advise cueing look if you know it is going to be ignored, unless you have a plan to follow through. I’m not a dog trainer. I am just very passionate about establishing solid communications and relationships with my dogs.