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!