Focus Issues

[Snoopy21]

How do I improve my pups focus on me? She is so easily distracted by just about anything that it can be impossible to get her to do anything. She is a 6 month old rescue mutt (dane X) and we have had her for about 8 weeks. We have been attending puppy classes at our local obedience school which is good, but she is so distracted when we are there (she just wants to play with the other pups and stare at the other dogs). I try to give her 2 or 3 short training sessions each day, as well as a walk and at home she is good....but a bird, the cat walking past, another dog, one of the kids etc and her focus is just gone. We use food rewards for training and I can sometimes get her attention with those, but not often. Are there any exercises we can do that work on focus and attention? Any other tips?

[4 Paws]

I found I had much they same issues with my lot until I introduced the triangle of temptation thats pinned at the top here.

Now i get a lot more focus,not perfect but improved by heaps,especially at dinner times.There's no longer a dog thats focused on her bowl now,she knows to get it she has to look at me ,not the bowl

Give it a go and good luck

[Reddii]

How do I improve my pups focus on me? She is so easily distracted by just about anything that it can be impossible to get her to do anything. She is a 6 month old rescue mutt (dane X) and we have had her for about 8 weeks. We have been attending puppy classes at our local obedience school which is good, but she is so distracted when we are there (she just wants to play with the other pups and stare at the other dogs). I try to give her 2 or 3 short training sessions each day, as well as a walk and at home she is good....but a bird, the cat walking past, another dog, one of the kids etc and her focus is just gone. We use food rewards for training and I can sometimes get her attention with those, but not often. Are there any exercises we can do that work on focus and attention? Any other tips?

Sorry, but this is the exact same problem I have with my boy. (now 16 month BC) He's a really good boy and his focus is improving all the time, but he still has a really puppy brain. It's just been a matter of working with him all the time and really rewarding the good behaviour with either play or food.

Funny - the biggest improvement we've seen in him has been in the last month. We took him away to the flyball nationals and I sat for 2 days on the side of the ring with him watching the other dogs. By the end of it he was amost dragging me into the ring he was getting that excited. Ever since he's been super focussed and super keen to work!

For me it's just been time, work and patience. If I really want focus in a hurry then his favourite squeaky toy does the trick. Only problem is his focus is on the toy, not on me.

[Snoopy21]

Well I'm glad it's not just me. It is frustrating. I know how well she can do when she is paying attention, but none of it is any good if she will only do it at home.

I will have another look at the TOT thanks 4paws.

[Reddii]

Well I'm glad it's not just me. It is frustrating. I know how well she can do when she is paying attention, but none of it is any good if she will only do it at home.

I will have another look at the TOT thanks 4paws.

SOOOOOOOOO true. Even with my girl who is really focussed and doesn't really care about too much except working I sometimes have troubles. eg: at a new (to her) venue for a trial I have to be really carful or she is a 50/50 chance of running off to explore. It will improve with time I'm told.

[dogdude]

Hi Reddii

That type of behavior will only improve if you train for it. Part and parcel of trial preparation is training at strange training grounds daily.

I always go back to my "training cocoon" ground while teaching new exercises.........but when dog knows the exercises, move away to unfamiliar territory and continue your dogs socialisation and proofing by doing this.

I think TOT is a fantastic grounding for focus and it is what I use.

Most newby triallers that I observe at dog clubs are very inconsistant in their demands for focus. I very rarely see anybody stop during a trial run through to demand focus from their dogs. I can never understand why they would let their dogs get away with it during daily training..........but expect it during a trial.

Quite simply.........the handlers who have dogs with great focus are the ones that demand it all of the time!! Focus is taught before heeling for a good reason. Without it, you are just walking the dog IMO.

There are a number of ways to demand focus during training. You can lightly tap on your dogs head until you get it (mark focus and reward), or I like the way Gina O'Keefe does it by breaking off and reeling your dog in with a lure while running backwards until you regain focus, then mark and continue on by pivoting back into heel formation in the opposite direction. She also uses very basic heelwork patterns to directly target focus practice by leaving out all turns, and heeling in very large circles in both directions. I use the methods and find they give great results.

Its worth noting that to maintaing a high scoring trialling dog, it is important that you plan your training to pay attention to going over the very basic elements of each exercise even when the dog knows what he is doing.

Don't assume that your dog will do it picture perfect every time because if you fail to go over old ground, your dog will lose his sharpe edge over time. I have seen many previously high scoring dogs peter out for that reason. Pick on one previously learned exersise a week (be it turns, recall, focus...whatever) and make it his be all and end all before he gets his meal to keep it interesting.

[helen]

It would be beneficial to get the behaviour in an eviornment free of distractions (like you bathroom etc) and gradually build up distractions at a level your dog can cope with, set it up for success, not failure.

Being a new rescue she may need more time to properly settle in too, but no harm on working on this now

PS - here are a couple of links that may help

http://www.diamondsintheruff.com/attention.html

http://www.clickersolutions.com/articles/2001b/attention.htm

Edited March 17, 2008 by helen

[Reddii]

Thanks DD. For us it's a bit hard to train at different grounds every day - I'm agility trialling, not obedience. We are out all the time and get to new places as much as possible, but as for exercises - bit difficult to lug all the stuff around.

We do go back over the basics every day at home and then sequence twice a week at training AND I don't accept anything in a trial I wouldn't be happy to accept in training.

Agree though that we need to do more work in strange environments - I figure that trialling away from 'home' as much as possible and being prepared to sometimes pick up faults etc as a result of requiring perfection is something I'm going to have to accept if I want to get really good.

[Kodiak]

I had a lot of success training my Australian Shepherd to focus with clicker training and food rewards. I also use the TOT mentioned above and she will stare at me intently anytime I give her the command to "watch". I have had some success with my huskies but they are very easily distracted by anything that moves..... so it goes out the window if there is a good distraction around.

What I like about clicker training is that it helps the dog focus on you and not so much on the reward.

[The Spotted Devil]

My 15 month old Dally is HIGHLY distracted by the slightest thing too :D I actually do all his training myself, which I find is better than going to a class at the moment because he really needs to work up to high distractions slowly IMO as his brain matures (here's hoping ). I will make it to a class when I feel he is ready.

Firstly I use a clicker, which has been nothing short of a sensational tool. I teach the exercise in the lounge room firstly when it is quiet, the cats are asleep and OH is not around. Then he has to give me the same focus with the cats in the room, OH wandering in and out and the the TV or radio on. Then we moved to the local park - of course, he forgot EVERYTHING But, with really high value treats we worked on the basics again - the real trick with him is to work him for only a minute or two to begin with - get really, really good focus, then release him to sniff and lift his leg and all the boy dog stuff :cool: Then I say "working" and he is required to switch back on. What I am finding now, is that he can work longer before I give him his release command and has also started coming back to me before I ask him to start working again. He's really enjoying the process of training :rolleyes: We are nearly ready to move to a busier park - probably another week but I'm in no hurry. We do 'formal' training at the park for around 15 minutes probably 4-5 times a week. Doesn't sound a lot but he is coming along in leaps and bounds and I feel it's more effective than asking him to focus for an hour straight in a class.

As he matures, I will expect more from him but I'd rather be patient and enjoy the process at the moment. Have fun

[Snoopy21]

Thanks all. I will definately give TOT a go. Those articles are really helpful too thanks Helen. I realise that she will still have a little settling in to go yet, but she is much more at home than she was even 3 weeks ago. The lack of attention is spilling over into other things like pulling on the lead and a total lack of recall under any distraction. I feel like once we have her attention we can work effectively on the other things (the loose leash training is going OK, but the recall is going nowhere).

All that being said she is a sweetheart and worth any amount of effort!!

[dee lee]

Snoopy21- you have described my dog!!

Good luck, I hope you get her sorted- mine is still a work in progress.

I have come to the conclusion that some dogs take longer than others. Im hoping its an age thing for mine.

I have tried the TOT and its great at home but outside not so good.

[dogdude]

deelee2 It sounds like you are confused about what TOT is designed for?

It is a tool on which to base further learning off. This alone will not fix your loose lead walking. You need aversive methods to fix that.

[dee lee]

Dogdude, I understand the principle of TOT.

My dog focuses like a dream at home with TOT. I just have been trying to reinforce the focus whilst out walking by applying the principle there too. As for aversion, I was using a check chain too but have recently switched to a martingale plus waterbottle. Slowly, slowly...

Admittedly I havent revisited the TOT at home recently. I probably should.

[dogdude]

Hi Deelee2

Unless you have trained your dog to a very high level using TOT, you can't really use it while walking your dog. Having food in your hand is different to TOT. There is no triangle in which to base it on.

When you use food as reward fed from the hand, the energy and self control used in TOT is

diluted due to the dog shifting his focus from "what you want" to "what he wants" (ie; where the food might be hiding on you, and when it might appear)

Dogs are much more easily distracted while doing this.

If the dog fails to give you focus using true TOT, then the reward is not good enough, and either more work is needed to build drive, or further proofing is required.

[dee lee]

This is very instructive Dogdude, thanks .

If the dog fails to give you focus using true TOT, then the reward is not good enough, and either more work is needed to build drive, or further proofing is required.

How do you build drive? And what would be a good enough reward?- At home with my dog I can use food or her ball, but outside of home the only thing she wants is to chase a cat or another dog! Food and ball are of no interest then.

Im such a novice about training and since my dog is not one of those eager to please types I get a bit fed up and then lazy. I will admit to slacking off lately, but even when vigilant I seem to get little progress other than what seems to be just her maturing.

[The Spotted Devil]

deelee2 - at home I can train Ziggy with a tug game, a ball, plain kibble or even his worm tablet :p Once we're out and about, however, his distraction level is very high - you do need to experiment a little with what works best for your dog - I now use a combination of steamed chicken, 4 Legs Chicken Dog food, Nature's Gift chicken treats and a few random cat treats that the girls won at cat shows. Ziggy is never sure what is coming, if anything - he might just get a good boy half way through some nice heelwork then a bonus handful at the end for a lovely sit. I use the clicker to work on focus - it means I can ask him to "watch" my eyes rather than have him look at the reward. I do a few minutes of training in the park 4/5 times a week on our morning walk - both of us really look forward to it now! Good luck

[dee lee]

Thanks TSD,

The clicker training sounds interesting, I looked into it when I first got my dog but didnt follow up. Might have to rethink.

Evie is unbelievably easily distracted- nothing works. I did find she LOOOOVES corned beef though!!! but even if I could trick my MIL into making it for the "kids" again it loses all potency at the park. Maybe the clicker is the answer.

Actually its so frustrating, I need to see a trainer but have to keep putting it off thanks to all these bloody interest rate rises!! Renting was easier i swear...

ETA: oops, Snoopy21- sorry to hijack your post!

Edited March 20, 2008 by deelee2

[dogdude]

Hi deelee2

Ah.........If the problem is cats etc, then the problem is high prey drive that will be difficult to compete against in training without aversives.

It will pay you to see a pro when the budget allows. Maybe e-collar training might be the go?

No amount of food treats will compete with live prey if your dog is that way inclined.

[dee lee]

Hi deelee2

Ah.........If the problem is cats etc, then the problem is high prey drive that will be difficult to compete against in training without aversives.

It will pay you to see a pro when the budget allows. Maybe e-collar training might be the go?

No amount of food treats will compete with live prey if your dog is that way inclined.

Hallelujah Dogdude!!! At last a explanation for her crap focus!!! CATS!!!

Yes, she is insane over cats, especially since i have been working on her dog issues (which have improved).

its interesting, she is crossed wih something fast and taller- we assumed kelpie but as she gets older Ive wondered if she is x whippet since she is quite skinny. whippet x staffy = highly prey focused?!!

Would LOOOOVE an ecollar but at over $500 plus a trainer its a little more than I can justify to my (non doggy) OH!! Saving my pennies for it and working hard on that looselead walk in the meantime!