Teaching Your Dog to "Watch Me"
Deffinition
“Watch me, look at my face, pay attention and be ready for further instructions.”
Practical Uses
“Watch Me” is the foundation of all training, as it serves to get your dog’s attention before you give her another cue. You must have your dog’s attention before you can teach her anything. There will also be times when you want to distract your dog’s attention from something that is inappropriate, such as another dog, a squirrel, a dead something that might be fun to roll in or other temptations.
How to Teach “Watch Me”Hold the treat in your fingers, put it near the dog’s nose and move the treat toward your nose. As soon as she
looks at your face, *click and reward her with the treat and with praise. You may have to be quick to click
before she jumps up or looks away again. If she jumps up after you click, wait until all four feet are on the floor to reward her. The click signals the end of the behavior that you want her to perform, so it’s OK if she looks away after you click.
Comments
Wait until your dog consistently follows the lure to your face before adding the cue words, “watch me.” When she looks at your face, click and give her the treat you’re using as a lure. Begin to use the treat as a reward, rather than a lure, when she immediately looks at your face when you give her the cue. Without holding food in your hand, point to your eyes and say, “watch me.” When she looks at your face, click and give her a treat from a different source, such as your treat bag, your pocket or your other hand.
Try not to bend over your dog. Rather, stand erect to increase the distance between her eyes and your face. Work toward a quick response to your cue “watch me.” When she looks at you immediately, begin to increase the length of time she looks at you before you click and treat.
Reinforce eye contact by holding a treat in your hand behind your back or straight out to your side. Your dog will probably stare at your hand, but be patient and don’t say a word. Eventually, she’ll look up at you.
The second she makes eye contact, click and give her the treat.
Once you can consistently hold your dog’s attention for about five seconds, begin to click and treat every second or third time. When you are not using the food reward, simply point to your eyes, using the cue “watch me” and praise her when she complies. You are building her attention span, so be patient!
Remember that eye contact is a type of dominance behavior. Less confident dogs may look away as a gesture of submission to you. Overly confident, pushy dogs may initially interpret direct eye contact as a threat and respond with threatening behavior. Smile at your dog, talk to her in a jolly, high-pitched voice and relax your eyes rather than stare at her. If necessary, look at the top of her head or her ear rather than directly into her eyes. As your relationship with your dog grows, she should become more comfortable with
sustained eye contact with you.
**If you're not using a clicker saying "Yes!" or "good!" can be interjected at the correct times