Dog Training: Focus

Focus

One of the first skills we want our flyball prospect to learn is "Focus". This is one of those universal dog training lessons that can be used in almost any dog sport. If you cannot get your dog to focus on you, it is almost impossible to direct your dog into performing a desired behavior.

This exercise utilizes classic conditioning. I will write a more detailed article later as to what constitutes classic conditioning: what it is and how can we use it to achieve results.

In the meantime, I want to discuss how we get your dog to focus on you.

By now, I am assuming that you've had your dog long enough to know what motivates your dog. Some are motivated by a toy but, most will respond to food. Identify which is most important to your dog and have that "motivator" ready to use for this exercise.

Enter an enclosed area that is free from distraction. This can be a small room indoors or an enclosed pen outdoors. To begin this lesson, your dog will be allowed some freedom. The reason for the small space is for you to control just how much freedom your dog can have.

Give your dog some time to explore. 30 seconds to a full minute should be sufficient. Your dog should be busy checking out their surroundings. When you are certain they have acclimated to the immediate area, say their name out loud. Do not use a command such as "come"! You are not really asking them to "come". You are asking for their attention only. Hearing their name, they should stop whatever they are doing and focus their attention on you. Your dog should have his eyes on you as though to ask, "What's up mom/dad?" We expect a response that is anticipatory without a "bowl you over, I'm coming!" kind of exuberance. Your dog only hears his name. He must wait for you to see what comes next.

Once you get that focus on you, immediately reward your dog with your chosen motivator. Make it short but, definitely rewarding. We are not asking much from the dog so, we should reward appropriately. Later, as we "back-chain" behaviors, our rewards for desired behaviors will increase. If dog wants to receive a bigger reward (and what dog doesn't?), he/she will learn they have to earn it. That in itself helps to keep their focus on you.

Keep this exercise short. If you have other dogs to work (most teams do), then spend only 5 minutes on focus. Put your student away and bring him/her back out after 30 minutes to an hour. This also teaches them that you will return again & again. This re-inforces patience.

Focus is a beginner's lesson. I would think you would only need two or three weeks of work. An older dog or one with "rescue" issues might require more time. This is a building block kind of exercise. Before you can modify a dog's behavior in any way, you must have their attention focused on you. Also, this is a great way to break up a long or boring training session for an advanced dog. If you feel their attention span is waning, just do a couple of focus exercises and ask nothing more. For a dog, it works the same way as it does for humans. "Wake up!" Pay attention!

See you at practice!

Mighty Mite Small Dog Sports Forum

Dog Forums

There is a source of information for dog training on the web that is too often overlooked.

Forums on all kinds of topics from cooking to investing money abound on the internet. Curious, I did a Google Search to see what I could find in the Forums on the topic, "Dog Training"

I found a winner!

Mighty Mite Small Dog Sports Forum is loaded with timely and useful dog training information on a wide range of dog sports. I found Agility, Dock-Diving, Disc Dog, Go-to-ground for Terriers and a whole lot more!

Although it's name suggests it's for the small dog, the dog training techniques discussed there would apply to all breeds large & small.

I also was delighted to see that it is very active with the freshest post only 20 minutes before I got there. There are over 3,000 registered users.

Registration is FREE. The only drawback is the forum is moderated and you might have to wait a day or two for your registration to be approved. It's worth the wait, however, because the users are very friendly people and very willing to help newcomers and those who are struggling with training issues.

If you find a Forum on the internet that contains good information, is friendly and active, drop us an email so we can check it out!

See you at practice!

Dog Training Forums

Flyball: Dog Training

Dog Tag= Dog Training!

What makes a good flyball dog? Good dog training, that's what! ...but, how do you get that "super-smooth, super-fast" dog trained?

Let's start from the very beginning!

Good dog training begins the moment you pick out your dog! Most of the time, this will mean starting out with a puppy. ....but, not always! Sometimes, a full grown adult dog will join your household. I will attempt to include articles that may be applied universally to both dogs and puppies. I may use the words "puppy" and "dog" interchangeably.

Training a dog for a unique sport such as Flyball needs to utilize and tap into the dog's own natural instinct to chase and to bite. To begin, you need a "motivator". That's dog trainer's talk for a dog toy!

It can be a squeaky. It can be hard or plush. It can be a ball or frisbee. One of the most popular is simply a long, braided piece of cloth called simply a "tug".

Offer your dog the dog toy and call out his name. He should respond and want to bite the toy. Give it to him and engage in a little game of tug. Call his name often and praise him while you play tug.

Is this really "dog training"?

• The answer is "Yes!" You are teaching your puppy his name.
• You are teaching your puppy controlled play.
• You are teaching your puppy what his "reward" will be in the future.
• You are giving your puppy a reason to work for you & with you.

In return, you are learning how to read your dog. You are learning what your dog responds to and also, what he ignores. Pay attention to these kinds of things. Being able to properly "read" your dog's motivation will help you move quickly to a well trained flyball dog!
How do you end the game? First, look for signs that the puppy is tired. Use this natural loss of focus to take the toy out of the picture. You do not want to "force" your puppy into relinquishing the motivator. You simply do what it takes to control your puppy. It may be grabbing hold of his collar or harness. It may be picking him up off the floor. Whatever works for your puppy, use it to control when the play session ends.
See you at practice!

Flyball: Dog Tag

Hello!

Welcome to my flyball dog training blog. Here you will learn about training your dog to compete in flyball.
Flyball is a relay race for dogs over jumps to fetch a ball. Hence, the name "Dog Tag" added to my blog name.
I hope you enjoy learning tips and tricks to have a better trained flyball dog!

See you at practice!

dog training books,

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