Getting Attention...From A Dog Who Wasn't Originally Trained That Way

We receive many e-mails from people complaining that they just can’t keep their Rottweiler focused, or his head up, while training. The following article, written by Norma Dikeman - editor of the CRC Newsletter, and reprinted from the April/May 96 issue, has some good solid advice on how to work with a dog who’s already developed some bad habits.

By Norma Dikeman

Editor.- I was asked to do an article on this subject I am going to try but am not sure I won’t forget some important body language that has become second nature to me. Those of you who are obedience people please read this and send me your corrections or additions for publishing in the next issue.

First off, this will not be a quick fix. The dog has a habit of not watching already so changing the habit will take nearly as long as the time it took the dog to get the wrong habit. You will think you are on the way to proper heeling and go in the ring and have the dog revert back to his old habit.

It is important to NEVER move forward unless the dog is watching and continues to watch. The first step is the most important and hardest one for the dog. You must do what ever it takes to keep his head up as you move forward. If his head goes down as you take the first step you have lost his attention.

DAY ONE: ... STATIONARY WATCHING: and how ever long it takes to get the first step with the dog watching: I use a pinch collar with the small links. It gives a quick correction which helps timing. A choke collar working as a choke won't work. A buckle collar or the choke on the dead ring will work on a dog who corrects easily. If you need a heavier correction than what you can get on the dead ring I recommend the pinch. People will tell you that the pinch wont work since you can't take it in the ring with you and the dog won't work without it. This isn't true. I use the pinch all of the time except when I go in the ring. It keeps my pull tab in the right spot for easy corrections, plus it affords me the upper hand when maneuvering in public. The collar must be snug also. If it is loose it does not pinch as it was meant to, it will only poke into the skin and is not nearly as effective.

I attended a seminar of Anne Marie Silverton's once. We were working on proper jumping. Breanna tends to throw herself over the jumps so I volunteered so she could set up spacing for cavaletti for her so we could improve her timing. She commented on the pinch collar so I just took it off, The audience all said "OH OH" since she had been telling everyone how the dog won't work without the pinch once taught with a pinch. Of course Breanna worked under full control like she always does and received a cheer from some of those who were becoming disenchanted.

One of my males had such a resistance to pain that I used to have to use both hands to get his attention. I was beginning to think it was never going to work but he became a very consistent, high scoring, working dog.

One secret of being able to go in the ring with a normal choke collar after working only with a pinch is to NEVER let the dog know he doesn't have a pinch on while standing at ring side waiting to go in. I never use the leash and collar to keep the dog out of trouble at ring side. We all get nervous before we go in the ring. I find myself jerking on the collar for very little reason other than I am nervous. This alerts the dog to something different going to happen than just a normal training period so, instead of worrying in a physical manner, I use attention and treats and do 1/4 turns to build attitude before getting ready to perform. This keeps my hands off the dog and makes me feel better since the dog is attentive to me. I'm sure it makes him feel better too.

Getting and keeping the dog's attention solves many problems Change your word for beginning to heel. I tell my dog ‘straight’. This means the dog gets into heel position and watches. Take a small piece of food in your left hand and show it to the dog. When the dog looks at the food move the food up to your waist saying ‘watch’. Pick the point where you want your dog to watch and never change it. I want the dog to watch my face. Some have the dog watch their hip area or even lower depending on the size of the dog. As soon as the dog looks up praise and give the treat. When you are reasonably sure the dog understands the word "watch" (don't expect this to happen in just a few training periods) have someone cause mild distractions. When the dog looks away, correct in an upward direction. Say nothing. As soon as the dog looks back praise and release letting the dog jump up for the treat which is still going to be at about your waist level. Don't move the treat toward the dog or away from your original spot. Let the dog go for the treat. I usually say OKAY!!! but some say "Get it', indicating the treat. Don't overwhelm the dog with distractions. If you notice apprehension do something else like playing with the dog. While you are playing with the dog use the toy to keep the dog's attention on you ... in fun... So he gets used to thinking you are much more fun that anything else out there. Work on attention from in front of the dog too. Stay close in case you have to make corrections. Use food or a toy or alternate between so the dog doesn't get bored. I sometimes do weird things different from what the dog is used to so they find me interesting. Jumping up and down, turning around; wiggling; sitting down, etc. When I release my dog, I always release into me and praise profusely.

THE FIRST STEP: Work at your own speed. Some dogs go much faster than others. Some dogs will not look at you when you give the collar correction. If they don't, it is because they don't understand what it is you want. Take your left hand and place it under the dog's chin. Your hand will be along the left side of the face and your fingers will be under the chin. Raise the nose up towards you and praise when you get the dogs eyes. Awkward to do since the treat is usually in your left hand. I would put the food in the right hand with this dog until he understood what I wanted. With a lazy dog the food in the right hand sometimes works better at the beginning as it brings him forward more. Eventually you will want to get the food in the left hand though as the food in the right hand tends to get the dog to wrap around too far and/or to sit out of position with his rear swung out in order to get closer to the treat.

While I'm thinking about it. if your dog lags, do not use your leash to get him forward. You must encourage the dog into proper heel position with attitude, treats and toys. Any negative jerking on the collar to get the dog up to heel position will act as a turn off (especially with Rottweilers) and your dog will get further and further behind you. You can build the habit of being in proper heel position using my method as long as you always work the dog exactly the same way in the same spot.

With the dog in heel position, (getting there by saying straight or what ever word you decide upon), command the dog to watch. As soon as he looks at you, take a short brisk step forward, keeping the food at his nose so he keeps the head up. If this happens, release and praise and give the food in the upward motion explained above. Release forward, upward and then toward you so you keep the dog’s attention. Do the same thing over again 4 times then break and play a few minutes. Try the same thing with distractions. (DON’T RUSH AHEAD> If the dog isn’t ready for distractions, don’t do it until he is ready). If the dog looks away, give an upward collar correction. The shorter the leash the better when doing this. I use a pull tab. I find that the leash gets in the way. First off, it is too cumbersome since you are working in such close quarters. By the time you get the leash out of the way, your timing will have become ineffective. It just isn’t necessary. Second...one tends to use the leash if it is there. It is much better to keep the dog’s attention with no hand on the dog or his collar or leash unless a correction is needed. Even my beginning dogs are worked more off leash than on. Of course, the pull tab is always there in case I need to make a correction.

Another “before I forget it”: When making corrections, the dog will become aware that when your hand comes down towards him to grab the pull tab a correction will follow, so he may start to flinch. So...you must remember to sometimes reach down toward the dog to pet instead of correcting so he won’t anticipate.

Once you can take the first step without the dog dropping his head, work at getting the food away from his nose and have him “Get it” on the release. Don’t rush the first step. At this time I start dropping food from my mouth to the dog’s mouth. Stationary at first. It is really hard to drop food into the dog’s mouth while moving until he gets really good at catching and is watching properly.

Work at getting more steps with the dog watching. The higher drive dogs will learn this quicker. Lower energy dogs will need more motivation. I may not go more than ten steps with a lower energy dog even if I have been working the dog for a few months. I never go further than what I can, maintaining attitude and proper attention. If you heel 10 perfect steps three or four times and you notice the dog’s attitude failing, quit before he actually starts to get bored. Even though it may not seem like you are doing anything, you really are. You are building a habit. If he can only go 5 steps properly, you are still building the habit.

When I got Dani’s CD (197 ½, 196, 193), we had never done a full heeling pattern because she takes so much motivation and I got so out of breath. I practiced her in short heeling patterns with turns and sits and releases with toys and playing plus food from my mouth. To be honest, I was pleasantly surprised at how well she did. Since then I have done all my training that way, mostly because I can’t walk very far without losing my breath, which changes my speed and throws the dogs off. The only time I heel for any length of time is in the ring.

Always make sure that each step is with the dog watching in proper heel position and your body language saying the same thing. On leash or off leash it should look the same. With you pull tab always on the dog, you can give corrections when needed but won’t be using the leash so, in essence, the dog will feel off leash all the time. If the dog lags, use your treat and heeling speed to get the dog in heel position. If the dog forges, I put my leash behind my back so the dog corrects himself when too far forward. (Obviously this is an occasion when I need to use a leash). Any leash corrections forward will cause your dog to hesitate which makes the lagging worse. If you always heel only when the dog is in the right position and watching with attitude, lagging won’t be an issue. If you keep walking when the dog is not watching you only encourage improper heel position.

Eventually, when ever you command your dog to “straight”, the dog will move into heel position and watch automatically. After doing what ever it was you wanted to do, if you still want your dog to sit still rather than release and play, you must have a “shut-off” switch so the dog isn’t continually watching as this is not only too hard on the dog, but, he will probably stop watching when you aren’t paying attention and you will lose all your hard work. I tell the dog to stay and move out of heel position just a little bit so I am standing at an angle to the dog. This way, they stay put but know it isn’t a formal situation.

Before I figure my dog is ready to compete, I have a few things I want the dog to do. One is to catch the food as I drop it from my mouth while heeling. The dog must continue on heeling as he swallows the treat and never stop watching. One biggy is that the dog must swing into heel position with a single quiet word from me (or hand signal) from wherever he is, even if 5 feet away and distracted. I also want the dog to do 1/4 turns forward and backwards so I can position him at any time without having to turn in circles. Of course he must be able to do all the Novice routine. If your dog expects an occasional treat to pop from your mouth at any moment, if you happen to lose his attention in the ring you may be able to get it back again by “wiping your mouth with your fingers”. It won’t work often, but may in a pinch.

OH...I forgot.. I also use “YES” just before I give my heel command while training, so that when the judge says “Are you ready?” the Yes will get the dog’s attention if I don’t already have it. I think this sounds much better than “Ready” in answer to the judge. I start the dog getting used to the word by dropping treats from my mouth immediately after saying YES. I don’t use the word heel either and I am so glad I don’t. Since my dogs are handled by other people in conformation they often tell the dog to heel . I want my heel work to be strictly for the obedience ring and to mean that they must give me attention. I say “Hup”. I don’t know why but it works for me. It is an upbeat word which takes very little energy and oxygen from me and seems to excite the dog somewhat.

After you are pretty secure in the knowledge that your dog knows the word watch and that he must watch no matter what, you will want to increase the distractions. Make sure you are ready for what ever you set up so your timing will be correct, Things like bouncing balls while you are heeling work well. If your dog looks away from you, correct upward. As soon as the dog looks at you, break off your heeling and release and praise. Don't continue heeling as you want him to be absolutely sure what the correction was for and what he did to stop the correction.

Goose, and now Gunner, know the "watch" so well that they won't look away even if there is a bitch in season walking by. Their eyes may roll and they may get a bit jittery but they will continue heeling ( I don't call it heeling unless they are watching me). When I was getting Goose's CDX I felt lucky if one of my bitches was in heat because he treated it as a major distraction and really heeled with intensity.