# Can't get him to pay attention?



## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

I think your instructor is giving you good advice- to get him out and about alot to see people and play with other dogs so class isn't a big novelty. 

Retirement homes and playgrounds are good too- the mall. . . Each of our pups went to first grade once a week and town soccer games etc. Anywhere where fun people and carefree noise happens. . .

A clicker is really helpful to me with small puppies. The noise is so distinctive.


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## Jersey's Mom (Nov 25, 2007)

I realize you tried a different flavor treat, but what "kind" of treat are you using? You may really need to step it up on the "delicious" scale to get his attention at first in distracting situations. Pieces of chicken or hot dog are usually big hits... some good stinky liver... get creative. It also pays to start small, an area with a few people off in the distance is less overwhelming than smack dab in the middle of a playground for instance. It won't be perfect at first, but with practice he'll catch on that it "pays" to focus on you.

Julie and Jersey


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## Oaklys Dad (Dec 28, 2005)

I agree with the others. Lots of practice with increasing amounts of distractions and some over the top treats.


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## MaddieMagoo (Aug 14, 2007)

I really liked the advice the others have given to you on here. And your instructor is right-once he gets used to different places he'll be able to pay more attention to you! Just give it time and PATIENCE! Attention is one of the hardest to teach, and getting that attention back from old habits-not paying attention, is difficult! When I train my dogs, I like to use turkey franks, they are extremely healthy (well..better than hot dogs), or string cheese is also a good thing to use. Use it all sparingly though. With a little paitence and a lot of hard work, his attention to you will come! Good luck!

Oh yeah...another place to go is PetSmart...I was reading in a book that I have that, that can be a good place to work on things...ask them if they mind if you train in the back...or in an aisle, they may be very nice to let you!


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## GoldenOwner12 (Jun 18, 2008)

Shelley sometimes loses focus and looks away what i do is call her name and say focus most of the time that works. But Shelley has been trained with distractions since a young pup. If she still won't focus on me after i call her name and tell her focus i clap my hands which sometimes works if that don't work i lighty tap her on the bottom and say focus. I've trained Shelley without using any food what so ever, She still looks the other direction but she listens to my commands. If she does it wrong i say No Shelley and start over. She seems to only do the 1 mistake then the next time round she is good as gold. That mistake is if she is learning something new that she doesn't already know. Shelley is a fast learner well with obedience anyway lol. 

So maybe take Loki out to a park more often for training i would keep him onlead at first. If he goes to turn his head call his name and give the command focus or watch me also works. If he still doesn't listen clap your hands even a whistle might work, If that don't work maybe a gentle tap on the bottom. If none of them ideas work a tug on the lead might get him to look at you. Once he pays you attention reward him either with food or praise.


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## Farbauti (Jan 7, 2009)

Thanks everyone. Tonight at the reservoir I thought was a good start since there aren't a ton of people around, we actually only saw maybe 5 other people there. It was more him wanting to smell everything. I was using the milkbone chewy chicken flavor, and tonight I switched to a different flavor, but the same brand. I boiled up some chicken tonight (is that too plain?) and I know he likes hot dogs, so I will use stuff he likes better while working with him. 

I know I can't expect him to learn everything in 1 day, but he did so well at home, I figured he would do fine. But I will just have to keep working with him with a little distraction at a time.


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## Jersey's Mom (Nov 25, 2007)

In my experience when it comes to dogs, chicken is chicken is chicken. They don't seem to care how it's cooked... or even if it's cooked for that matter. LOL. 

I think everyone has been in that place where we think we have it down and then get whacked with the realization that there's far more to do. Don't let it get you down. The good news is she DOES know all those commands. Once she learns a little self control things will start to fall into place. Another good way of introducing the concept of self control is NILIF (Nothing In Life Is Free). If you haven't heard of it, a quick search here or on Google will tell you plenty. That doesn't negate the need to actually go out and work around distractions, but it can help set the tone that all good things come through you and make you the one to watch. 

Julie and Jersey

PS~ Completely unrelated: I once bought Jersey one of those giant hedgehogs (in your signature pic)... he destroyed it in one day. You would be AMAZED at how much stuffing is jammed into that thing!! He's generally really gentle with his toys, but that one didn't make it.


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## timberwolf (Apr 1, 2009)

I was having a problem with walking Timber, he gets so distracted by everything and not only stops to look, he has to take a seat for the duration of whatever is going on!!! Our Kinderpup instructor gave me some "Baked Dog Food" to try and it was like I was walking a totally different dog. He loves it and it seems to get and keep his attention whenever we are out.

I bought a high quality canned dog food from our Vet, sliced it in 1/4 inch slices and baked it on cookie sheets for about an hour on the bbq (needless to say, there will never again be cookies baked on those sheets). It keeps in the fridge for about a week and Timber has done great with it.


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## Farbauti (Jan 7, 2009)

At least chicken will be a change, and probably better for him than those treats. I'll just keep working with him and eventually he will get it. 

He loved that hedgehog until it stopped grunting. Then he turned his attention to the feet and ripped them off. It has now joined the "graveyard" on top of my dresser of all the toys I need to sew up. He is good with the toys until they stop squeaking or making noise. Then they get ripped to pieces hahaha


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## Bock (Jun 23, 2008)

I actually use a squeaky hedgehog toy as a tool to get Tysen to pay attention to me when there are a lot of distractions. He rarely gets anything soft or squeaky so when I pull it out and he pays attention and does what I say, he gets to play with it few like 15-20 seconds. It works well, because Tysen is known to not only not take treats, but to actually spit them out. 

If your dog doesn't get to play with a tennis ball on a normal basis, it should work well also.


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## Farbauti (Jan 7, 2009)

He doesn't get to play with tennis balls much. He doesn't like to go get it if we throw it, so games of fetch don't last long


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## Heidi36oh (Feb 27, 2007)

I was gonna say a tennis ball, mine are very fixated on the ball and I can get their attention in no time.


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

There are lots of fun little attention games and name games that really help .

"FIND": Toss a treat and say your puppy's name and then FIND. Once the pup gobbles the treat, have him come back and sit for an even higher quality reward. After he masters that, and you can toss treats pretty far away and have him return to sitting in front of you lickitysplit, you can turn it into "Choose To Heel". It's the same game except you toss the treat, say "Puppy FIND", and then walk away in an unexpected direction. Teach the pup to return to your left side immediately for an excellent high quality treat. The pup will soon choose to put himself in heel from wherever he may wind up. 

Ask the puppy to sit in front of you when you have treats in your hand. Hold the treats out to the side and watch his eyes. At first, he will stare at the treats, but eventually, his eyes will flick to you like what the heck? The instant he makes eye contact, click or say YES, and give a treat. Over time, he'll get it that it's eye contact that wins the reward. A variation of the same game is to drop a treat on the floor and step on it. Puppy will stare, sniff under your shoe, maybe dig a little. Eventually though, he'll glance up at you. With careful timing, click that look or say yes, and then treat. Soon, your pup will automatically look at you.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

MagicOPromotion said:


> Spam Deleted.


Spam?
:spam:


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

Ljilly28 said:


> Ask the puppy to sit in front of you when you have treats in your hand. Hold the treats out to the side and watch his eyes. At first, he will stare at the treats, but eventually, his eyes will flick to you like what the heck? The instant he makes eye contact, click or say YES, and give a treat. Over time, he'll get it that it's eye contact that wins the reward. A variation of the same game is to drop a treat on the floor and step on it. Puppy will stare, sniff under your shoe, maybe dig a little. Eventually though, he'll glance up at you. With careful timing, click that look or say yes, and then treat. Soon, your pup will automatically look at you.


You've gotten some wonderful advice on this thread. Remember that having a dog's attention is a matter of building habits over time, not a bidding war between the distraction and the treat on the spot. High-value treats are important, but if the dog isn't paying attention no matter what treat you have, you need to create a more controlled situation to practice paying attention with distractions in the background.

Class is great for this, since the environment gets more and more familiar but is continually distracting. It can be incredibly frustrating at first, but the practice pays off.

I quoted this section of Ljilly's post because I wanted to second the idea of practicing the habit of paying attention itself. Reward the dog for giving you direct attention in a controlled situation, and he'll be more likely to think of it as fun and positive in other situations.


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## Farbauti (Jan 7, 2009)

Thanks so much for the advice. He is doing sooo much better. I can take him out and he pays attention a lot better. And I have been using boiled chicken which he loves and no matter where we are, he will pay attention. In class I can get him to pay attention pretty much the whole time. He gets a little sidetracked smelling different things, but as soon as I say his name, he gets right back into things.

Ljilly, I will try the 2 ideas in your post. I've noticed that when I tell him to stay, if he knows I have a treat in my hand, he watches my hand, and he doesn't get it right away, he looks back at me like well, am I going to get it? And I like the other one that gets him coming back all the time. When we are home, he likes to be sniffing everything even when I tell him to come (which is slowly getting better). When we are out anywhere, he wants to be next to me all the time. That would be a good game for the backyard.

I was camping the whole weekend, and even with all the distractions he paid attention to me the whole time. I was so worried that he would just do what he wanted and ignore me, but I had no trouble at all with him. I was getting frustrated at first, but I am back to having so much fun working with him. I'm glad that I started the class with him and it is definitely something I want to keep doing with him. I love seeing him learning new things and he is always so happy at class and when we are practicing at home.


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