attention exercise for dogs – A to Z Dog Training

6 Tips to Gaining Your Dog’s Attention

If you find yourself saying ‘I just wish my dog would pay attention to me more’ try these simple tips to help. Bonus, keep in mind #6 when you OR your dog are learning anything new. Engage with your dog Your dog knows when you are not paying attention. I will often tell students, “if you are not engaging with your dog, why in the world would your dog engage with you?” What do I mean by engage with your dog? Talk to your dog on your walks or when you are out and about. Yep, be that crazy dog owner who tells your dog about your day, praise your dog for walking next to you and paying attention to you. Make your walks unpredictable to keep your dog guessing where your next move will be. For example, if I am walking a dog, I will randomly turn to the

Tammy Nunes June 1, 2021 No Comments

How to Get Your Dog’s Attention

A big question I receive is “how do I get my dog to pay attention to me. No matter what.” I feel the ‘Look’ exercise is underused. If past students tell me their dog is starting to bark on their leash, I’ll remind them to use the ‘Look’ exercise. Here are some other examples of how I use this exercise: To redirect your dog from other dogs To redirect your dog from cats To redirect your dog from something they are afraid of such as skateboards or bicycles To stop your dog from pulling To stop your dog from smelling And so much more! A word of caution: training a reliable ‘look’ takes time, practice, and patience. You must start this training in a quiet, non-distracting environment. As your dog gets better, you can increase the distractions and your expectations. Always remember, consistency over time gets results! Take a look

Tammy Nunes May 17, 2021 No Comments

Try This Before Your Walks

Did you know that the way you start your walks with your dog can set a precedent to how your walks will go? If you allow your dog to pull you out the door at the beginning of your walk, it is more likely your dog will pull you during the entirety of your walk. Consequently, it will take that much longer to gain their attention. I quickly learned that if I allowed a dog to jump all over me while putting on their leash, or allowed them to pull me out the door, it took me and my furry companion much longer to get anywhere without them pulling. I’m not sure about you, but I do not find walking a dog that pulls me to be fun, at all. One of the first things that I do when training one of our Board and Train or Day Train dogs

Jen Chapman December 15, 2020 No Comments

Helpful Tips For Your Recalls

Is your dog not responding to their recalls like you would like? Do they look at you when you call them to ‘come’ but continue to turn and run the other way? If you find you are having a hard time with your dog coming when called, apply these helpful tips. When applied you will see results immediately! 1. First and foremost, set your dog up for success. Do not give your dog freedom until they are coming to you reliably– unless you are in a situation where you do not need them to come when called. The reason for this is because every time you call your dogs to ‘come’ and they do not, they are learning to ignore your requests. People hate to hear ‘keep your dog on leash’ until they know better. They envision their dogs running free and coming back to them at

Jen Chapman December 1, 2020 No Comments

Tripods Don’t Stop

A common reaction when people see a three-legged dog is sympathy. (“Poor thing…”) Another is admiration. (“What a brave pooch!”) Both are entirely understandable. For humans, amputation can involve complex psychological and emotional issues. For dogs? Less so. Dogs have no notion of body image, no mental image of what they are supposed to look like. What they care about falls into two major categories: One, whether they are in pain. Two, whether they can do things they love: go for walks, play with toys, eat yummy food, get belly rubs, snuggle on the couch, etc. Nature is kind to animals in this way. A pain-free, well-fed dog with a loving home doesn’t give a hoot that her daily walk happens in the characteristic tripod hop instead of a lope. Amputee dogs, often called tripods, generally lose a limb either as a result of an accident or as a means

Jen Chapman April 11, 2016 No Comments

Motivating Your Dog

Does your dog’s response to cues seem lackluster? You may not have found the right motivation. Like humans, dogs work harder with strong motivation. Here’s how to turbocharge your dog’s drive—whether to come when called or break her agility speed record. Find What Drives Your Dog We are all motivated to action by different things. Maybe it’s that afternoon caffè latte we promise ourselves if we finish the report, or the massage we feel we earned after a month of gym visits. But the wrong reward would leave us cold. If you wanted chocolate, would you toil for a carrot? What does your dog most want? If in doubt, parade different treats past your dog to see what really gets her attention. Most dogs go nuts for meaty, greasy, and smelly. A few dogs prefer bread-based items. Some dogs, particularly working breeds like Border Collies and some terriers,

Jen Chapman April 11, 2016 No Comments

Tips for Running With Your Dog

If your dog is healthy, loves to run, and is capable of running a respectable distance, you have the makings of a wonderful running partner—whether Labrador or toy poodle mix. Dogs don’t mind if you rouse them at the crack of dawn and never fuss about runny noses or side stitches. But unless you happen to share your life with a born side runner (like Dalmatians, once bred to run alongside fire engines), you may have to teach your dog the human version of running. Dogs like to go faster than people, check out interesting smells along the route, and chase the occasional cat. If you haven’t done so already, the first step is to teach your dog good on-leash manners during walks. Then proceed to walks interspersed with periods of jogging and finally graduate to full runs. Build distance and time slowly—in increments of 10 minutes, for example—to ensure

Jen Chapman June 18, 2015 No Comments

The Many Benefits of Dog Sports

If you think of the practice of dog sports as a competitive and fairly serious business, you’re only about 10 percent right. Just as in human athletic pursuits, the vast majority of dog sports enthusiasts are hobbyists; happy amateurs not much interested in ribbons or plaques. So what hooks people? The numerous benefits two- and four-legged sportsmen alike reap. For starters, a quick alphabetic inventory reveals something for every ability and temperament: agility, caniscross, disc dog, dock diving, earthdog, flyball, freestyle, herding, lure coursing, mushing, nose work, rally-o, tracking, treibball, and weight pulling. An exhaustive list would be much longer, of course, and still wouldn’t include the many fun, creative activity classes trainers, dog facilities, and dog groups might offer. On the two-legged side of the benefits scoreboard, consider the ageless appeal of all this variety. We expect kids to enjoy playing sports with furry friends, but don’t underestimate the delicious

Jen Chapman June 16, 2015 No Comments

The Cairn Terrier

This confident, active, tenacious little ragamuffin is the smallest of the Scottish terriers, and was originally bred for hunting rodents and small game like otters, foxes, and badgers. A Cairn’s paws are made to dig—literally. The front paws are bigger and flatter than the hind paws, making it easier for the dog to get into “cairns,” the rock dens where his quarry lived. Cairns also sport a weather-resistant outer coat, highly expressive ears, and enough personality to steal any picture. Case in point: the unforgettable Toto in The Wizard of Oz was a Cairn (“he” was a she called Terry). Quick to learn and always up for a game, Cairns are happiest when they get plenty of exercise and stimulation. Despite their modest size, they are terrific little athletes that, with patient training, can excel at agility, tracking trials, K9 Nose Work, and Rally obedience. To give a Cairn Terrier

Jen Chapman March 3, 2015 No Comments

Beyond Fetch: Games To Play With Your Dog

A game is a great way to exercise your dog’s body and mind, and spend a little quality time together. What’s in your repertoire? Here’s a selection of games you can play indoors or outside: Homegrown agility. If your house is big enough, create a makeshift obstacle course for your dog from rolled-up towels, cardboard boxes, blankets hung between chairs, etc. Or, if the weather is good and you have a yard, build your course outside. Hide-and-seek. Grab a handful of yummy treats or your dog’s favorite toy. Ask your dog to sit and stay, then you go hide in another room. Call your dog and when he finds you, reward him with a treat or a play session with his toy. Repeat until you have had enough—your dog likely won’t get bored anytime soon. The name game. Get two of your dog’s favorite toys and remove all other toys