Dog Community

Problems with attention-type exercises.

Posted : 8/29/2008 1:35:54 AM

I have failed miserably at teaching Cherokee any kind of attention behavior. Watch me, heel, targetting...anything like that. She knows lots of "tricks", the standard sit, stay & come, she's a great loose-leash-walker, and we've made huge progress in her aggression towards dogs, but anything that involves paying attention to me just doesn't fly. I saw in another thread a picture of Kenya walking along just staring up at Lies' face, and that's seriously mind-boggling for me.. I can't imagine Cherokee EVER doing anything even remotely like that. Is this a relationship issue, or a training issue? I just don't get why I had no problem teaching her speak, give me five, beg, roll over, etc., but can't get her to "watch me" without luring, or with ANY distractions (even WITH luring).

I really wish I could take training class with her, but the human aggression is proving MUCH more difficult to remedy than the dog aggression... Sigh...

mudpuppy

Posted : 8/29/2008 7:49:04 AM

well you know most aggression is based in fear. If your dog is fearful she needs to keep an eye on her suroundings at all times. you're safe so staring at you is, in her mind, probably not a good use of her attention.

JRTzoey

Posted : 8/29/2008 8:31:20 AM

i'm no trainer, but i have read 2 good books on the matter of focus (i also have problems with my JRT paying ANY attention to me) and they're called "when pigs fly" and "control unleashed" (which is more centered around agility)

out of the 2 i'd say the pigs one is more what you're looking for. it's cheap, and a good read.

http://www.amazon.ca/When-Pigs-Fly-Training-Impossible/dp/1929242441/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1220016599&sr=8-1

it deals with the reasons dogs don't listen, and has lots of exercises to help improve. i found it very helpful.

good luck!!!!! :)

BCMixs

Posted : 8/29/2008 9:34:26 AM

mudpuppy
well you know most aggression is based in fear. If your dog is fearful she needs to keep an eye on her suroundings at all times. you're safe so staring at you is, in her mind, probably not a good use of her attention.

I think that's it exactly. I have the same problem with Woobie. He's fearful but not aggressive and out in the big wild world, there are much more important things to watch out for (like those pesky dog-eating kids!) than to focus on me. I haven't had a chance to try it out yet, but lots of reactive dog owners swear by the "Look At That" exercise from Control Unleashed. Might be worth a try. It's a slow go with fear-based issues, they are so tough!

chelsea_b

Posted : 8/29/2008 8:00:05 PM

mudpuppy
well you know most aggression is based in fear. If your dog is fearful she needs to keep an eye on her suroundings at all times. you're safe so staring at you is, in her mind, probably not a good use of her attention.

Okay, so should I just not worry about it until we've worked more on the fear stuff? I just feel like a failure, or like my dog doesn't "respect" me or something.

I'll definitely look into those books, JRTzoey. Thanks for the suggestions.

spiritdogs

Posted : 8/31/2008 8:44:08 AM

To teach eye contact to a fearful dog is more difficult, but not impossible. Use a very enticing reinforcer, such as liverwurst, cheese, natural sausage, organ meat, etc. and start in a very non-distracting environment. The free attention exercise at www.clickerlessons.com works well. And, try using a clicker, because it marks the very instant you see the dog's eye catch yours. Some dogs, at first, dare only a quick glance, and you need to capture it pretty instantaneously.

AgileGSD

Posted : 9/1/2008 9:15:19 AM

Check out the control unleashed book - the author talks about the issue of fearful dogs not wanting to watch their owners and has an interesting way of working with them.