Focus

What?

In this first exercise, we will teach your dog to look at you when you ask. Rather than use his name, we are going to train your dog to offer eye contact when he hears you say "Look".

Why?

Teaching your dog to focus on you is a really important foundation skill to teach.

As this course progresses, you will be teaching your dog more advanced skills. These are incredibly useful skills he'll require in life, whether he ends up as a working gundog or a family pet.

Teaching your dog to focus on you indoors, whilst close and stationary is key to being able to subsequently train:

• Recall - coming back to you from a distance, often whilst sniffing or chasing something
• Heelwork - maintaining position by your side whilst moving and ignoring interesting smells
• Sit/Stay - remaining stationary but focussed on the handler for the next direction of what to do

Why Not Just Use Their Name?

This exercise can also be taught in a variation known as 'Reflex to Name'. This is where dogs are taught to make eye contact with their handler when they hear their name. My preference for gundog training is to use a different cue to their name. I prefer something different like "Look" or "Watch Me". This is for two reasons:

1. Inadvertently, owners will use their dogs name in a negative context when they do something wrong. So, puppy pees on the carpet and when the owner spots it they use their dog's name in a gruff voice to chastise them. Suddenly, if the cue to make eye contact is their name, it becomes poisoned.
2. In gundog training, dogs are typically sent for a retrieve using their name if working in a team. It allows the handler to differentiate which dog is to go. When marking a retrieve, it is important that your dog's eyes remain glued to the spot where the bird fell, in order not to lose their bearings. If we train them to look at us when we say their name, we train them to take their eyes of their target. Even though you might have only one dog now, it is a lot easier to train it this way from the start, in case you get another dog later on.

That said, the cue you decide to use is really up to you. What is more important is that the cue is clearly understood by your dog and doesn't conflict with anything else you may say.

How?

1. Take a piece of food from your dog's nose to your own as a lure. When he makes eye contact with you, mark and reward. Repeat several times.
2. With an empty hand, repeat the process. Mark and reward using food from your treat bag. Repeat several times.
3. Add the "Look" cue at the point the eye contact is made. Mark and reward. Repeat several times.
4. Try using the cue to get the behaviour by saying it first and not using your hand. Mark and reward eye contact.
5. Stand up and repeat earlier stages. Often the added distance your dog's eyes have to travel makes this harder.
6. Hold a distraction such as food or a ball in your outstretched hand. Cue the "Look" and when you dog looks from your hand to your eyes, mark and reward.

Next Steps

Once you have mastered this in your living room, practise in as many interesting places as possible. By interesting, I mean interesting for your dog. Places they struggle to remain focussed on you, such as their favourite field with bunnies hopping around, or in the local park, where other dogs may be chasing a ball.

Develop your dog's ability to switch from the interesting distraction back to you in a flash. This is the foundation on which you will later build the more advanced behaviours.

Target to Achieve For Next Week

Before undertaking the next module on this course, it is important that you practice at home. Daily repetition will ensure that your dog has enough time to learn the behaviour before we progress further.

Next week, we will start the training at the point where we assume that your dog can perform the following criteria:

Look you in the eye when you say "Look", regardless of the distractions going on around you

Lesson Summary

In this exercise, the goal is to teach your dog to look at you when you ask. Instead of using their name, you will train your dog to offer eye contact when they hear you say "Look". This is an important skill to teach because it is the foundation for more advanced training.

Teaching your dog to focus on you indoors, while close and stationary, is key to being able to train skills such as recall, heelwork, and sit/stay. Using a different cue, like "Look" or "Watch Me," instead of their name, is preferred because it avoids any negative associations with their name and allows for clear communication.

To teach this behavior, start by using a piece of food as a lure to guide your dog's eyes from their nose to yours. When they make eye contact with you, mark and reward them. Repeat this process several times using an empty hand and then add the "Look" cue when they make eye contact. Practice saying the cue first and then rewarding them when they make eye contact without using your hand. Gradually increase the difficulty by standing up and adding distractions, such as holding food or a ball in your outstretched hand.

Once your dog has mastered this exercise in your living room, it's important to practice in different places that are interesting to them. This could be their favorite field with bunnies hopping around or the local park where other dogs may be playing. The goal is to develop their ability to switch their focus back to you quickly.

Before moving on to the next module, make sure to practice this behavior daily at home. The goal for next week is for your dog to be able to look you in the eye when you say "Look" regardless of distractions.