April 2023 - 2 Minute Trainer

Get your dog’s attention with the “Watch!” game

Do you wish your dog would pay more attention to you? There are lots of times and circumstances where aggravation could be avoided if your dog just stopped staring at whatever, and looked at you. Like when your dog spots a bunny on your walk and takes off running when it does. Or when the person with the loaded cat carrier sits right across from you in the veterinarian’s waiting room. Wouldn’t it be great if you could instantly get your dog’s attention?

But how do you get your dog to focus on you when so many interesting things are happening all around? The answer is to be more interesting than anything else. How do you make that happen? Play the “Watch!” game!

Make them love the game

For the “Watch!” game to be effective, the reward for playing has to be the absolute top of your dog’s food chain. If your dog is “meh” about kibble, don’t use it. In other words, the perfect fuel for this game is one your dog would run through fire to get. For lots of dogs, it would be hot dogs, or cheese.

It doesn’t matter where you play the “Watch!” game – it doesn’t require much space or any “stuff” other than treats. This is another great “kitchen game” to play while you wait for the water to boil.

How to play “Watch!”

Have the treats (already diced into reward morsels) in a bowl close at hand, where you can easily reach them, but your dog can’t. Take one treat in each hand between your thumb and forefinger. For this game, we want our dogs to know that we have the treats. With your dog sitting or standing in front of you, hold your arms outstretched at the level of your ears. Straight out, with your hands as far apart as you can get them.

Every single dog we’ve ever met will glance from hand to hand, trying to figure out what you want them to do. One of the reasons we start with the hands so far apart is to clearly see where the dog is looking. We want them to meet our eyes. They’re not doing that if they’re looking back and forth like they’re watching a tennis match.

If your dog is easily frustrated, have them on collar and leash so they can’t leave the vicinity. You want them to keep trying to figure it out – at least for the 2 Minutes you’ll play.

As soon as your dog meets your eyes, even if it was by accident while back-and-forthing, say “Yes! Good Watch!” (or “Look!” – whatever word you want to use is fine) and give the dog, in quick succession, one treat from each hand.

Keep Going

Reload, and do it again. And again. It may take a few 2-Minute sessions before your dog is staring into your eyes like Lady & The Tramp. That’s okay. It will come. Just be consistent, hold those treats out, and stare into your adorable dog’s face. You’ll get your dog’s attention – just be patient.

The next step, when they’re meeting your eyes the majority of the time, is to start bringing your hands in closer to your head. The rate of progression depends on the dog, on the frequency you play the game, and the value of the rewards to the dog. More is better in this case.

Eventually, the objective is to have your hands tight up against your head. You should still be able to discern when your dog is looking at your face, not at the treats. That’s what you want.

Next step

As the game progresses, you can start lowering your hands to your sides. Again, take it slow and make sure your dog’s attention is still where you want it – on your eyes. The ultimate goal is for your dog to love this game so much, all you’ll have to say is “Watch!” and his/her head will snap around to meet your eyes.

The point of the game is to make it so incredibly rewarding for your dog to focus on you that he/she will disregard whatever distractions are around. Like “Touch!,” it’s a game you pull out and play whenever you need it, wherever you are. And whenever you want your dog’s attention.

There may be times when you give the signal “Watch!” because you need it, but don’t have any primo treats at hand. When that happens, and it happens to everyone occasionally, you’ve decreased the “balance” in your dog’s training account. Refresh and even add to that account by playing the game over the subsequent few days with top-of-the-line goodies. We always want our dog to love playing “Watch!” with us.

Never too late to socialize your dog

Lots of puppies adopted in the last couple of years have been deprived. They’re not accustomed to real life in the real world. There wasn’t a way to properly socialize your dog. There just weren’t the places to go, classes to take, people to see, that other dogs got to experience. The good news is that it’s never too late. Every healthy dog can learn to be calm and confident in public, regardless of age or upbringing.

The pandemic saw the shelters empty as people looked for companionship during the lockdown. That was good for both the animals and the humans. There’s no one who appreciates time spent at home more than your dog. The down side was that these dogs led a sheltered existence, so to speak. The world they grew up in wasn’t the same as the one we have now.

Socializing your dog doesn’t mean they have to like every person or dog. It means they can be calm and listen to you wherever you are, whatever’s around, whoever you’re with.

Getting socialized

Just because your puppy couldn’t go places, meet people, and do things doesn’t mean they’ll never be able to. It does mean some “remedial” socialization has to happen. If your dog grew up in the time of “social distancing,” you just couldn’t do the things that help dogs mature into confident, calm beings with public manners. Now, you can.

The key is to start small. If your dog reacts to people walking by, freaks out when bicycles pass, or can’t handle hordes of traffic, don’t plunge them right into those situations. Figure out your dog’s “comfort zone” and expand their world gradually.

Distance is always your friend when training a reactive dog. Watch your dog’s body language. As long as they’re calm and relaxed, you’re doing fine. Watch for signs of stress. They may not be as obvious as lunging and barking.

Something as subtle as stopping to scratch may be stress. It could also be an itch, so look at your dog’s overall demeanor. Where is she holding her tail, or ears? A stiffly-held tail and laid-back ears are signs of nerves. Is he panting? Are the whites of his eyes showing? All of these say “I’m not comfortable.” If that’s the case, stop where you are and just let the dog adjust.

Using dog training’s most difficult skill

This is the time you need to pull out all your patience and just wait. Hang out with your dog. Let them look around and see there’s nothing threatening. When they look at you, reward. You’re establishing in the dog’s mind that they can trust you. You won’t bring them anywhere that’s scary or unsafe.

In this week’s “Manners” class, the first skill Hope had the dogs practicing was this one – doing nothing. All of these dogs were pandemic puppies, now grown into not-very-socialized dogs. It took a while for them to figure out there was nothing going on. We were all just sitting there. Ignoring their noise-making.

When they figured out there was nothing to bark at – they all stopped barking. Of course there were a few moments when one would forget and start, which triggered all of them. But each episode was shorter and had fewer participants.

If the dog stays calm or neutral, that’s the objective. The next time you can get a little closer and start reducing the size of the dog’s comfort zone. When you reach a point where your dog can sit calmly as people walk by in your quest to socialize your dog, it’s time to ask for some help.

Enlist friends and strangers

Ask people walking by to toss some treats to your dog. Hand them some treats if you can get that close. If not, put them on a surface and step away so the other person can reach the treats. As you calmly discuss the weather with the other person, they can toss the treats near your dog. Strangers, in time, become something to be happy about.

Fran’s almost 14-year-old Brussels Griffon Tango (pictured above) was an extremely reactive dog. He would bark, lunge, and try to bite both people and other dogs. No one but Fran could get near him. Taking him out in public was impossible. That was 13 years ago – he was 11 months old when he came home.

Now, just by the simple method described here, anyone can give Tango treats, pet him, even hold him. His first “cookie ladies” are still his favorite people – other than Fran. He was able to compete in Agility and Rally at large, noisy venues full of other dogs and people. Now, as a retired elder statesman dog, he’s everybody’s friend and a perfect gentleman. (Check out Book 5: Reactive Dog Recipe in the 2-Minute Trainer’s ebook series.) Tango is proof that it’s never too late to socialize your dog.

Socialize your dog at your dog’s speed

However old your dog is, that’s how long they’ve been building their current behavior. It won’t take as long to change it, but it will take patience and consistency. Stretch your dog’s “comfort zone,” but don’t try to smash the barrier all at once. You can have the calm, polite, socialized dog you planned on. It’s just going to take as long as it takes.

Getting to the “Aha!” moment in dog training

It’s the biggest joy. That “Aha!” moment in dog training that happens when the dog gets it and the dog’s owner sees it. When the team comes together in understanding that they can trust each other, work together, and achieve more than they ever imagined.

We got to see it just this week. This person has had dogs for years. She’s followed lots of different dog trainers and tried all different methods of dog training. And in one single session, she saw her dog change, think, learn, and grow. It was kind of wonderful to be part of it.

Let them think

We wish that these amazing training moments were video-worthy. But they’re not. It’s one of those things where you absolutely have to be there to realize something special is going on.

This person really, really wants her dog (a Portuguese Water Dog) to play the “Put Your Toys Away” game. The first step is to set something not-very-valuable to the dog on the floor. And stare at it. At first, the dog either bothers the hand with the treats, nudges the clicker hand, tries licking or whining to get the action started. The owner and I just wait, staring at the “thing.” In this case, it was an antler chew toy, which the dog doesn’t particularly like. Eventually, in his bid to make something happen, the dog accidentally touches the antler with his paw. Click, cookie near the antler.

The dog sits back and stares at us. What just happened? What did I do to get that treat? You can absolutely see the wheels turning in the dog’s brain. We go back to staring at the antler. The dog gets up and tries it again, licking, whining at the treat hand. Nothing. Turns and looks at the antler and slaps it. Click, cookie by the antler.

The “Aha!” moment in dog training arrives. The dog is starting to make the connection. Slap the antler, get a cookie. We’re over our three minutes by then, but the owner wants to keep going.

Next step

After three times pawing at the antler and getting rewarded, we know the dog has figured out that getting the treat has something to do with that object he doesn’t really care about. But he does care about getting treats. For the next step, to encourage growth of the game, we stop rewarding for using his paw. We’re looking for him to use his mouth to pick up the antler.

We could see him get a little frustrated – what worked before isn’t working now. Again, he sits back on his haunches. You can see him thinking. And he comes back to try something else. He mouths the antler! Click and reward. He does it again! Click and reward.

At this point, we’re well over the time threshold and call it a day. The next step will be getting him to hold the antler. Then move while holding it. Then take it to a basket or toy bin. Then drop it. Each little step matters. Some dogs will get it right away. Others may still be at the starting line. But, with your patience, every single dog will experiment to see what gets the reward.

When they know, they know

When you have a dog that’s accustomed to trying new things, thinking of solutions, and experimenting, you have a phenomenal companion and partner. Dogs become more confident, more social, better-behaved, and much more fun. And while the behaviors you learn together may go viral, the process isn’t exciting. Mostly what you’re doing is watching and waiting. The result is worth it. The owner, attuned to her dog, had an “Aha!” moment of her own. It was the first time she’d seen him think, solve, and grow before her eyes.

“One and Done” syndrome in dog training

Is your dog a habitual “one and done” kind of guy? As soon as they get a reward, are they gone, looking for something else to do? The bad news is – it’s your fault. The good news is, it’s pretty easy to fix.

How it happened

If your dog is saying “bye!” after a single reward, they’re reflecting what they’ve learned from you. They don’t expect any more, so there’s no reason to stick around. Give them a reason to stay and they will.

Fix it

Reward "Touch" as long as your dog's nose is in your palm. Avoid "one and done."

The “Touch!” game is a good one to use for demonstration. As a refresher, you hold the palm of your hand in front of your dog and say “Touch!” When your dog touches your palm with his/her nose, with your other hand, you bring a treat to the open palm and deliver it into your dog’s mouth. It’s a simple game. And incredibly useful to get your dog’s focus and attention back to you when they spot that enticing squirrel on a walk, cat at the vet’s office, or bicyclist about to pass on your walk.

The key to the game is leaving your open palm in place in front of your dog. It doesn’t move for the duration of the game. If you’ve been in the habit of using that hand to reward your dog, or moving it away after the “Touch,” you’ve created the “one and done.” Just leave it there. And every time your dog bops his/her nose in your palm, they get another treat. Every single time.

Promises kept

When can you randomize or lessen the number of treats? You can space out the treats when your dog knows the game thoroughly and loves playing it for its own sake. When the value of the treat has transferred to loving smashing his/her face into your palm. And even then, when it’s your dog’s favorite game and they’ll run through proverbial fire to play, you still hand over the reward the majority of the time.

Same thing with every single behavior that requires duration. If your dog is disengaging after a single reward, it’s because they don’t expect more. Surprise them! If you’re working on a down, give three treats in rapid succession, delivered between your dog’s front paws. Then give a release or “That’s all!” cue to let your dog know the game’s over.

It works for games that require motion, too. If you’re working on loose-leash walking, give a reward every single time your dog looks up at you from the correct position at your side.

Your dog knows if you’re being stingy

Dogs aren’t stupid. If you’re stingy, your dog knows it. They have no reason to keep doing whatever it was that got them one treat after they get it.

If, on the other hand, the dog has no idea when the next cookie will be coming his way, he’ll stick around and keep doing the “good” stuff in hopes of being rewarded. Don’t disappoint them!

Dogs are eternal optimists

It’s true. Dogs are always ready to believe that you’ll deliver delightful things. If you give them a reason to keep doing what they’re doing, they’ll keep doing it. What gets rewarded, gets repeated. Give your dog a reason to keep going.