Do you find yourself hopelessly trying to get your dog's attention? Did you check in one ear, not the other sound familiar? Or is it easy for your dog to listen to you until he sees the scary postman? In any case, it is important that we, the owners, can attract and hold the attention of our dog. Imagine the consequences if our dog runs out on a busy road and can't hear us call him!
In this article, I will review 5 simple tips that you can apply immediately to help your dog become more attentive.
Brain Training
Doing Brain training which is a super effective way to increase your dog's ability to pay attention to you!.
Many of the games from my Dog brain training course are designed to improve your dog's attention span. Did I tell you that one of my favorites is the "Airplane Game", which you can access for free? By playing this simple game, your dog will learn the following important skills:
How to pay attention to the team.
How to stay focused on yourself despite distractions, paving the way for super-listening.
How to use your hidden intelligence to solve riddles.
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Free Brain Game!
The Airplane Game can improve your dog's ability to pay attention to you. Just enter your email address below to get 100% free instant access.
The “Smacking Sound”
Wouldn't it be great if we could make some noise at any time, so that our dog would immediately pay attention to us? Well, luckily for us, there is, and it's called the "smacking sound"! But before we can use its power, we must teach our dog that this particular sound = food.
To do this, while with the dog in a quiet room, make a smacking sound, as if you were kissing the air, and then immediately give her a treat. It doesn't matter what he does when you give him a treat (as long as he doesn't do anything wrong, like tearing up the couch), the idea is just to show him that whenever he hears a sound, he gets a treat. After doing this for a while, you should notice that your dog is looking at you for a treat whenever you make a sound. By continuing to practice, you can start using the sound of smacking in your daily life when you want to get your dog's attention!
However, keep in mind that smacking can be less effective in cases where your dog is too excited. For example, if he sees something outside that he reacts strongly to, your sound may go unnoticed. One cure for this is the "Look at This" game I found in my "Brain Training" course for dogs. In "Look at This" , we will work specifically to teach your dog to pay attention to the sound of smacking, despite strong distractions.
Einstein says: Don't like spanking? No problem! You can replace the smacking sound with any other sound you like, such as a whistle or a pop. Just make sure that the sound you choose is loud enough to be heard in more crowded places, and that it's a sound you can make yourself.
The Importance of Incentives
Slices of plain boiled chicken are a very valuable treat. They can be used during particularly difficult training sessions.
How would you feel about the idea of working without a salary? This is how our dogs can feel when we ask them to perform mundane tasks without rewarding them for their efforts! This is why incentives are so important in dog training.
There are many different types of rewards, but food rewards are the most common. These rewards are given to the dog whenever it successfully performs a certain action. So, let's say we just started teaching our dog to " sit " for the first time. When he successfully sits down, we reward his efforts by slipping him a dog biscuit or a piece of food. Now, the next time we ask him to sit down, he'll be ready to do it, because he knows he'll get something delicious in return!
In the program "brain training for dogs", I talk about techniques that allow you to stop giving a dog a treat every time it successfully performs a certain action, as well as introduce other forms of reward.
Reward Voluntary Check-ins
I reward my dog for voluntarily looking at my garden.
When you are in the yard with your dog, how often does he pay attention to you? Probably not much, as he is too busy exploring the world with the help of his powerful Sniffer. Maybe it's time to change a little ...
Get into the habit of carrying valuable treats (such as simple pieces of boiled chicken) when you go out. Keep these treats handy in your pocket or candy bag. Now, whenever your dog is near you, congratulate him and extend to offer him a prize. If you do this often enough, the positive reinforcement will do its magic and you will soon find that your dog is testing it more and more. This is great news because it means that he will know that you are worthy of his attention!
Right Place, Right Time
Choosing to start your workouts in the right place and at the right time can play a role in whether your dog is able to pay attention.
It is best not to train your dog when he comes home from work and is eager and excited to greet, or when he is all excited and bouncing on the walls after eating. Instead, wait until your dog is calmer and better focused, and use that time to your advantage.
You can also avoid learning new behaviors in an environment where there are lots of distracting looks, sounds, and smells (such as in the yard), as this makes it difficult for your dog to focus on you. Instead, try exercising first in a quiet room. It is also recommended to avoid rooms with windows if your dog is easily distracted by things he sees outside.
Einstein says: once your dog learns to behave in a new way, you can try to take her to a more distracting place for an additional task. By training a dog to behave despite additional distractions, it will become more self-confident.