Paying
attention to your owner is one of the most important things for any
dog or pet.

If
a dog is too undisciplined or restless it is probably because he
hasn’t learned how to listen and obey various commands. As an
owner, you need to teach your dog that being disciplined and obedient
is good and that there is reward for doing so.
When
we say obedient, most people think that these are dogs with broken
spirit; dogs that suffered a lot of abused. This isn’t the case as
it is really easy to teach your dog how to listen and more important
how to obey without resorting to physical measures.
Attention
training basics
As
I already mentioned, there shouldn’t be anything negative or
violent when it comes to dog attention training. This is the same
with any other training. You always have to turn to love and positive
emotions as you wouldn’t like to have a dog that is led with fear.
Attention
training is important for building a bond between two of you but it
is also important as a setup for other forms of training.
If
you think about it, this type of training is crucial for setting up
hierarchy. It is necessary for a dog to learn that he always needs to
obey his master and pay attention to his words even if owner doesn’t
have anything to say.
Given
the importance of this training, it is best to do it at a young age,
while the dog is still a puppy. As it sets
up basis for other training you should address if first before
anything else.
Attention
training sharpens focus and should be done with other commands.
Start
with puppy’s name
First
thing that a dog needs to learn is to
respond to its name.
Like
any other process this can be very tedious but you still have to be
patient no matter what.
Start
by having a dog in the same room as you. Call his name several times
until he looks at you. Then, give him a
treat and pet him. This is something that should be repeated again
in the future until the dog learns
that he needs to start focusing when his name is mentioned.
The
amount of treats used should be constantly reduced until you
stop giving him treats in general. At first you will need a lot of
them but this will reduce as the time goes by. Incentive is very
important at first; otherwise the dog will
never pay attention to you.
Retaining
attention
Now
here is where things get complicated. Although
it is rather simple to teach your dog how to look at you and even
respond to its name, it is much harder to keep that attention for a longer period of time.
As
you cannot constantly give dog treats, you need to try some other
methods that will encourage him to be
focused on you. Try talking with him for a while, doing silly
gestures etc. You need to be interesting enough so that the dog’s
eyes are peeled on you. Each time your
dog stops looking at you, you need to call him out again and give him
a treat for doing so.
When
it comes to some advanced methods, you need to put a dog in a
less isolated place.
Make
sure there are his favorite toys around him or something else that
otherwise attracts his attention. During
this step, the other items lying around that are more interesting
than you will make it more challenging. If
the dog tries to reach out to some of them, make sure to cover them
with hand or foot. Even though there should be numerous interesting
things lying around dog needs to learn to be focused on you no matter
what.
Subsequent
commands
Sooner
rather than later you will need to add some
other commands to your arsenal. Just looking at the dog or
calling their name will not be good enough as you will have to
find some other ways to command them to do things.
This is a part of advanced training and it slowly introduces dog to
new set of tricks.
Taking
a dog attention training class is a great way to learn these basic
dog attention skills which you can develop over time during your
dog's lifetime either with further classes or by trying out new
commands with your furry best friend.
Have
you had much success with dog attention training?
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