DOG ATTENTION EXERCISE – EYE CONTACT The objective of this training exercise is to teach your puppy to be attentive to you. An attentive dog makes dog training so much easier than a dog that is not focused and distracted. Grab some treats and sit the puppy on your left side. You can do this standing, sitting on a chair or squatting. Hide the treats at your back. ● Call the puppy's name. When the puppy looks up at you, say “Yes” and *reward. If the puppy is not too responsive, making a high pitch sound with your mouth will help. ● If your puppy is too fixated on your hand with the treats, lift it to your face. Reward the moment she looks at your face. Eventually, she must figure out herself to look at your face. ● Next stage is to wait for the puppy to make eye contact voluntarily. The moment the puppy lifts its eyes to yours, say “Yes” and *reward. ● Keep still and wait for it to happen again. Repeat until your dog understands that looking in your eyes or at your face will be rewarded. ● When your puppy becomes very good at it. You can progress to stage 3 where you hold the treat or a toy in front of him but out of reach. Puppy will be attracted to the item but you wait for that moment when she’ll get impatient and look at you wondering why you’re not delivering the treat. When that happens say “Yes” and *reward. IMPORTANT Treat - Training treats should be “High Value Treat” (from the dog’s perspective). Something that has the “wow” factor and excites the dog from the very first bit and captures his full attention. Tone of voice - Praise in a high pitch “mickey mouse voice” Give commands in a firm matter fact voice. Reprimand in a low growly stern voice. *Reward - Deliver the reward “3 in 1” Treat + Pat + Praise. Right hand feed - Left hand pat. Atmosphere - Keep it vigorous and cheerful. Duration - Training sessions should not be too long for puppies. 20-30 mins is ideal. Conditioning - Repetition is the first principle of all learning. Repeat a 6 (minimum) - 16 times. Multiple short sessions is better than a long session. Do at least one session daily. #professional dog trainer #dog trainer #dog training #private dog training