"Watch me" Game

To learn more about clicker training in San Diego or to sign your dog up for classes visit: http://www.pamsdogacademy.com
http://ptfordogs.blogspot.com/

This is a game that will help you get your dogs attention with out always yelling "Watch me". It teaches your dog that you are important and that good things come from you. The only way for your dog to earn a click and a reward is to "watch you". However, you are not going to ask the dog to watch you! You are going to wait and let him decide that watching you is important. This is a fun game that will be an important building block to future training that you will do with your dog. It is important to have a dog that wants to work with you and watch you.

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[keleroo]

Someone over here in SA also taught me this but in a different way. it might help for very distracted dogs. Hold your arm out at your side with the food, at first your dog will want to look at your hand where the food is, but often when she realises she cant have the treat, she will look at you and then you click and give her the treat. Over time you hold both arms out with treats and later you should be able to hold the treat right on the side of her head.

[pamelamarxsen]

@keleroo Oh yes, I know that method. It works too and I like that it is the dogs choice to look at the handler. :) You can also do that same thing with toys in your hands, bouncing a tennis ball, with another person playing with a ball or eating food, and more. The great thing about both exercises is teach the dog that good things happen when he looks at his handler instead of the distraction. :) Thank you for your awesome comment! :)

[testorki]

We are also really successful learning tricks.

But her attitude often is like "ookay, I do it, but only so I can go away and do something without you without you calling me back". Especially when doing dogdancing in the group where I can't avoid the distraction of other dogs and people (she will do anything for their food and not accept mine, for example).

I hope it's okay, I'm asking you so much - thank you very much!!

[pamelamarxsen]

@testorki What is your dogs breed? Some dogs just have a shorter attention span. My husky mix loses focus quickly and is easily distracted, so I keep training with her fun, short, and use the highest value treats that I can. It helps, but she will never be as focused as my border collies. Also, at your training place, you all should swap food treats to help all the dogs. They would be more willing because the treats are new and stuff they do not usually get.

[pamelamarxsen]

@testorki Also, end the training session before she tunes and before you get frustrated. Use the environment in the training. If she wants to play with another dog, then have her do something for you and then let her go play, then call her back, do some more work (but make is so fun that she would rather be with you), then let her go play with the other dog. Repeat many times!! Soon she will not have as much interest in that thing in her environment that she wants to get to so badly.

[pamelamarxsen]

@testorki I hope that helps some! Take care and good luck!

[testorki]

I've been trying to do this in many situations.

It really helps in every-day life. My dog pays me way more attention when going for a walk know (she is nearly always offline).

But I just don't get her to be really motivated to learn. Have you tips for me how I can archieve that, maybe through practicing this?

I try to apply all "usual" tips like making very short training sessions (3 min as a start), making it very easy (I click the slightest step in the right direction), etc.

[MBLAQandAnimals]

@pamelamarxsen Yup that certainly helps! :) Thanks so much! I've realised from all the videos I've watched that Border Collies are very toy-motivated, sometimes food won't do the trick in teaching complicated tricks! =^^=

[pamelamarxsen]

@MBLAQandAnimals I still play this game with my dogs, but I keep increasing the difficulty. Can they watch me when sitting, standing, if I have a piece of food in my hand, a ball in my hand, a ball under my foot, a ball bouncing (can you tell that my dogs must love balls)... Can they find my eyes if I am walking, laying on the ground, hiding behind something, and I make it a game... I click and toss a treat every time they find my eyes and choose me over the distraction. Hope that helps!

[MBLAQandAnimals]

Bandit takes the treat so daintily! :) Can I ask, how many times would you repeat this 'watch me and you get a treat'? Thank you!