Focus the mind and the body will follow. That seems like a pretty simple statement but it’s very powerful. This is the premise of good dog training.
Dogs are intelligent animals and have been domesticated for thousands of years. They work well with humans and are able to learn our ways of communication if we take the time to teach them. But teaching can be frustrating, especially when you are dealing with a different species than yourself.
You can’t reason with a dog. They don’t speak with words or explain things. There are no shades of grey. Everything is black and white in the dog world. So in order to have our dogs learn our human ways of communication with words and hand signals, we have to get them to understand what it is we are actually asking. And for that, we need focus.
When trying to teach a dog something new I think we tend to put too much emphasis on the body, myself including. I have seen people trying to teach their puppy to sit by physically pushing their butt to the ground and forcing the sitting position. Sure, this may eventually work, but it’s really not an effective method of training. We want to ask the brain to sit, not the body.
How do we train the brain? If you’ve taken a dog to basic obedience you’ve probably learned some different tricks for training your dog standard commands like sit, down and stay. When you just use words and hand signals you are training the brain and establishing yourself as the pack leader. But whether it’s been your own dog or just someone else’s you have observed, it’s obvious it’s not always easy to get the dog to pay attention enough to do the command. It’s not that they are being blatantly disobedient, it’s just that there are so many other scents, sights and sounds to pay attention to, they aren’t worried about a faint voice in the background saying “sit”.
If you are a parent or you’ve been an authority figure to someone, you’ve probably said “look at me” before asking an important question or discussing something. You do this because you know if your kid is watching TV or running in circles, he might hear you, but the words just probably aren’t going to sink it. This same principle applies with dogs. If you want Sparky to do something, you need him to pay attention to you first.
Teaching the “focus” command is very simple but incredibly helpful for a variety of situations. If your dog understands to block out everything else and only pay attention to you when you give this command, her mind is yours for whatever you need to say next. Maybe you are teaching a new skill in your backyard and your dog is too busy smelling dandelions to give you the time of day. Or your dog believes every person walking down the street should be his friend so he tries to go up and introduce himself. Or you’re the person essentially being walked by your dog through the pet store because she’s just so excited about being there. In any of these situations or countless others I’m sure you’re thinking of, being able to get your dog’s attention quickly is important.
Ares and Chaos are of the school of thought that every person we encounter on our walk is a long last friend or dying to meet them. We want them to know that walks are not for socializing, we give them plenty of other time for that. Even though they’ve been taught this rule, many times their manners fly out the window when we pass by a giggling child, someone in brightly colored clothes or a runner while out walking. Instead of waiting for this to happen and the inevitable embarrassment from trying to reign back in my bouncing boys, it’s much better to be proactive in my approach.
When I see someone coming I do not change my grip on the leash or my pace, I’m just aware. As we get closer and are ready to either pass by someone going the opposite direction or pass in front of someone going a slower pace, I ask my boys to focus. When they hear that word they know to look at me immediately. Once I have their attention I can then just direct them around the person or people and continue on our way.
As with all the other training subjects I’ve talked about and will talk about, my dogs aren’t perfectly trained to focus. We do work extra hard with this one because it’s so important for us, but my dogs are just like other dogs and they get distracted or don’t always listen and obey. I will give them credit that 9 times out of 10 they are going to stop what they are doing and look when we say “focus” but sometimes those dandelions are just too much fun. Training never ends so it’s just something we keep reminding them of.
Step 1: Get Your Dog to Look You in the Eyes
- Take a treat and hold it at eye level. Your dog with naturally look there because he’s looking at the treat, but that’s okay.
Step 2: Understanding the Concept
- At first, give your dog treats every time she makes eye contact. It doesn’t matter what her body is doing as long as she is looking at your face.
Step 3: Add the Command
- Start saying “focus” when your dog looks at you and then give him treats. You can still use the treat at eye level to help him look at your face.
Step 4: Demonstrate the Command
- Now that your dog understands looking in your eyes and giving you his attention = “focus”, you can ask him to do it.
- Say “focus” and if your dog looks at you, give him treats and praise.
- Start using a hand signal instead of a treat. We just hold a finger to our temple but you can do whatever you feel you’ll be the most comfortable with.
Step 5: Make it Harder
- Instead of treating your dog right after you say “focus” and she looks at you, make her keep looking at you for longer periods of time before she gets rewarded.
- If she looks at you when you give the command but then looks away, say “no” firmly or make a sound and then try again.
- Increase the length of time very gradually. You may only be able to go up another second or 2 each session and that is okay.
Step 6 – Add Distractions
- Once your dog has learned to focus on command and can do so consistently, add things that might distract him.
- Go outside but only on your porch, driveway or backyard so you don’t add too much too soon.
- Practice focusing with the sights, sounds and smells outside until she is consistent and then take it on road so to speak
- Ask your dog to focus while on a walk, but only for short periods of time so you can both pay attention to where you are going
Saying “focus” and having your dog look at you seems so simple but the impact it has is strong. Focusing is key to understanding any concept, no matter who or what is involved. Focus the mind and the body will follow.
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