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Why You Should Teach a 鈥淲atch Me鈥� Cue
A 鈥渨atch me鈥� cue allows you to control your dog鈥檚 focus, which is essential during training sessions. Influencing where your dog is looking will increase your success, particularly with lure-and-reward training聽(where you lure a given behavior with a聽听辞谤 ) or聽teaching hand signals. A dog that isn鈥檛 looking simply won鈥檛 see what you鈥檙e doing. But one who watches you is waiting to see what you鈥檒l ask for next.
Getting your dog鈥檚 attention is also valuable in everyday life. For example, it鈥檚 common to give your dog instructions, like to lie down on a mat when visitors come in the door or sit before you get dinner. Getting your dog鈥檚 focus first, especially when there are exciting things competing for their attention, can greatly increase obedience. A 鈥渨atch me鈥� cue is also useful to redirect your dog away from distractions. If you want to pass another dog on a walk, asking your dog to look at you, instead of the other dog, will make it easier to walk on by.
贵颈苍补濒濒测,听not all dogs are comfortable with eye contact. Staring can be seen as threatening. Teaching your dog to look at your eyes can help relieve any stress associated with mutual gazing. Some dogs, on the other hand,聽love to stare into their owner鈥檚 eyes. It鈥檚 how they show affection. In fact, looking into their owners鈥� eyes releases oxytocin, the love hormone. The same thing happens to you when you stare into your dog鈥檚 eyes. So, encouraging mutual eye contact is a great way to build your bond with your dog.
How to Teach a 鈥淲atch Me鈥� Cue
The easiest way to teach a 鈥渨atch me鈥� cue is to lure the behavior from your dog. If you make it obvious where you want your dog to look, it won鈥檛 take long for them to catch on. Start these exercises in a quiet environment so you鈥檙e easily the most interesting thing in the room. The following steps will help you lure your dog鈥檚 eye contact:
- Hold a treat in front of your dog鈥檚 nose.
- Slowly bring the treat up between your eyes. Your dog should watch the treat and be staring at your forehead.
- Mark your dog鈥檚 behavior with a clicker, a marker word like 鈥測es,鈥� or praise, then give your dog the treat.
- Repeat the above steps but reward your dog with a treat from your other hand instead.
- Repeat steps one to three with an empty hand, but still reward your dog with a treat when they make eye contact. It can help if you stink up your fingers first by rubbing them with a treat. You鈥檝e now taught a hand signal for 鈥渨atch me.鈥�
- When your dog is reliably following the hand signal, start saying your verbal cue like 鈥渨atch me鈥� or 鈥渓ook鈥� before you move your hand.
Adding Distractions
Now you鈥檙e ready to build a single distraction into your training. You will give your dog a choice of where to look 鈥� at you or at the treat. You want your dog to realize that the way to get the food is not to stare at it, but to pay attention to you instead. Follow these steps:
- Hold a treat to your dog鈥檚 nose then slowly move your hand out to the side of your body so your arm is straight. Your dog can now either stare at the treat or look at your eyes. Chances are the treat will win. Wait.
- Eventually, your dog will look at you to see what鈥檚 up. As soon as your dog looks towards your face, mark the moment and give them the treat.
- After several repetitions, your dog should begin to understand the correct choice. Now wait for direct eye contact before marking and rewarding.
- When your dog is reliably choosing to look at you instead of the treat, add your verbal cue like 鈥淲atch Me鈥� before you place the treat out to the side.
If your dog isn鈥檛 food-motivated, use a toy instead and reward them with a fun game like tug-of-war or fetch. Remember that some dogs are uncomfortable with eye contact and will take longer to pick this up than others. Be patient and stay calm. If you notice your dog is deliberately looking away from you, be aware that they are likely not ignoring you. Rather, that鈥檚 dog-speak for 鈥減lease calm down.鈥� Take a break and try again when you can stay relaxed and upbeat with your dog.
Tips to Encourage Your Dog to Look at You
When your dog has mastered 鈥渨atch me鈥� in a quiet environment, start training in more and more distracting locations. If your dog fails to look at you, you鈥檝e moved too far, too fast. Take a step back and practice some more. Eventually, your dog should find looking at you as rewarding as looking at anything else. Particularly if you鈥檝e taught them that the way to good stuff is through you.
Be the source of your dog鈥檚 rewards and they will want to look at you to see when the next good thing is coming. In other words, ask your dog to sit before you give a or ask for a down before going for a walk. If they know that they鈥檒l be rewarded by listening to you, your dog will naturally pay more attention to you.
Don鈥檛 forget not to take eye contact for granted. Any time your dog is choosing to look at you instead of something else exciting, reward that with praise, a treat, or even a cuddle. Let your dog know you鈥檙e somebody worth attending to and their eyes will always be on you.
Getting a dog鈥檚 attention, particularly when they鈥檙e new to training, is the first step to teaching any behavior. If your dog isn鈥檛 looking at you, chances are they aren鈥檛 listening to you either. But how do you get your dog to look at you when you want, especially when you are聽dealing with distractions nearby? Simply teach your pup a cue that tells them to look at you. 鈥淲atch me,鈥� 鈥渓ook,鈥� or 鈥渓ook at me鈥� can all work well as verbal cues to catch a dog鈥檚 attention.