Help Your Dog Focus with This Game

A great, fun way to get your dog to give you more focus as well as introducing clicker training and weaning off treats. All dogs learn at different paces so the scheduled days are just a suggestion. If you have an attentive Border Collie then you may be able to fast forward in just a few quick sessions. If you have a new rescue puppy who doesn't even know you then you may want to expand it to a few weeks.

**Days 1-2: ** Mark and reward every time the dog pays attention to you on his own. Use the clicker or verbal marker to pinpoint any glances your way, and give a great reinforcer. Try to mark the exact instant your dog starts to turn his head toward you, so that you are rewarding the choice of turning his head.

1. If you're not going to train for a while, give an All Done signal. When you're ready to train again, say his name and click/treat the turn toward you.

2. In quiet places like the living room, you can reinforce with your dog's kibble. Offer better rewards when your dog looks at you around distractions. Dogs deserve 'hazard pay'.

3. When you are using a clicker as the marker, attach a key chain wrist coil to it so the clicker is always at hand. You can swap back and forth between the clicker and verbal marker, so use whichever one is available first. The click is more memorable to the dog, so use that when you can. Don't forget to praise your dog after you mark her glance.

4. For this and all of your training, vary the type of reinforcer and where it comes from. Mark and then pull a hidden toy out of a tree or off a shelf. Mark and pick up a stick to toss. Mark and play a game of chase (dog chasing the human). Mark and run to the kitchen together and grab a treat from your refrigerator. It helps to match the type of distraction the dog was looking away from, so that looking away from food gets them food, looking away from a toy gets them a toy, etc.

**Days 3-4: ** Mark and reinforce the best look out of every two. We are now weaning off the treats a little. That doesn't mean you aren't reinforcing attention. Continue to praise or at least acknowledge your dog for checking in.

1. Every time you mark, you still reinforce; you just won't be marking as much.

2. Get a little picky- click for the faster head turns, longer glances, or whatever is somehow 'above average'.

Days 5-7: Wean off of the treats Mark and reinforce on a random schedule, for about one-third of the responses. Try to mark the best responses. Reinforce by just paying attention and/or praising the rest of the time. Gradually shift to a one in four schedule, then one in five. Change the reinforcement schedule slowly, so that your dog won't suspect the odds are getting longer.

The Lassie Protocol is great to do during the first week of training along with using Mark and Move on walks. Do it again whenever the dog needs a refresher, like when you have a baby, get another dog, or move to a new home.