When I start a training session, I want to gauge the dog’s connection before I get into training complicated behaviors.  If my dog is disconnected, maintaining their attention and teaching new behaviors will be much more challenging.

You don’t want to use behaviors you care about because if the dog ignores them (which sometimes happens if you cue when the dog isn’t quite ready), you won’t be lessening the value of any important behaviors.  Ideal behaviors are valuable and can be offered behaviors.  Here are a few ideas to get you started!

Offered Eye Contact to Gauge Your Dog’s Connection

One of the very first things I teach my dog is to offer eye contact.  I make sure to bring my dog to a very boring environment with as few distractions as possible.  Grab a handful of cookies and place one on the floor.  I hold the treats in a way that doesn’t bring attention to them, like maybe behind my back.  As soon as my dog looks up for more treats, I mark and reward.  If it takes a while for the dog to look up, I am patient.  I may move a step or two, but I don’t talk to the dog or ask him or her to look at me.

After the dog gets a few cookies for looking at you, you’ll notice that he or she will start to look at you more.  Reward this increased attention!  The dog should know that looking at you means good things are going to happen.

Many people put eye contact on a cue, but I do not do this.  I want the dog to offer eye contact as a way to let me know that they are ready to work.  Eye contact starts each chain of behaviors.  I will often wait for eye contact, then ask the dog to set up in heel and go from there.  Or I’ll wait for eye contact before I ask for a different behavior, like sit, touch, down, etc.

We need to show the dog that eye contact is valuable so that he or she will be more likely to offer it.  The more the dog offers it, the more he or she gets rewarded, and the more likely you are to get eye contact in more distracting situations.

In this video, Rise is learning to look away from the distraction, the treat in my hand, and offer eye contact.

Hand Touch

I use a hand touch to “ask” my dog if he or she is ready all the time.  I don’t verbally cue the hand touch, but I do present my hand.  If my dog ignores the hand cue, I know not to ask for more complicated behaviors!

I teach this behavior with treats in one hand.  Present the other empty hand (with a flat palm) a couple of inches from my dog’s nose.  IBe careful to keep my hand still and not bop the dog on the nose – they should be doing the touching!  Most dogs will reach out and sniff your hand.  As the dog touches your hand, mark and reward.  I frequently switch hands at this stage.  If the dog doesn’t touch the offered hand, I try to encourage movement.

Here is a video of Lexi working with Strive on touch.

The touch behavior tends to be highly valued by dogs because we nearly always reward it.  Therefore, it’s a great way to ask your dog if they are paying attention to you!

Name Game

Another way we can ask the dog if they are listening is to say the dog’s name.  When I have a puppy, I spend a lot of time saying the pup’s name, then rewarding with a treat.  Pretty soon, I have a puppy running to me whenever I say their name.  I tend to not say my dog’s name unless I want their attention, so hearing the name is valuable to the dog.

When I’m training, I observe my dog’s reaction to hearing his name.  Do they whip toward me immediately?  That shows me they are listening.  If they continue sniffing the ground or being otherwise distracted, I know they are not ready to work!

Here is an example of me playing the name game with Rise.

Other Fun Behaviors or Tricks to Gauge Your Dog’s Connection

You can also use twirls or spins, sit, down, or other fun tricks to gauge connection.  As long as the behavior is valuable and fun for your dog, it can be used for this purpose.

My pet dog clients often ask me, “How do you get your dog to listen so well every time?”  The answer is relatively simple to say but hard to do!  I don’t ask my dogs to do behaviors unless I am 100% sure the dog can do that behavior in the current environment and unless I’m 99% sure the dog will actually do it.  The behaviors we’ve discussed in this lecture give me a baseline so I can gauge how attentive my dog is and how likely they are to listen to me.

If my dog can’t respond to a cue, that’s a huge hint that the dog isn’t very connected.  Simply taking the dog by the leash or collar or putting them on a treat magnet will often help them reconnect.  What I won’t do is repeatedly give a cue that my dog isn’t capable of listening to in the moment.

In conclusion, setting up a strong foundation of engagement through simple, offered behaviors like eye contact, touch, and name recognition can make all the difference in your training sessions. These easy exercises allow you to gauge your dog’s connection without risking the reliability of more complex cues. By recognizing and respecting your dog’s attention and connection levels, you’re setting both of you up for a smoother, more positive training experience. This approach will make your training more effective and strengthen the mutual trust and understanding between you and your dog. Remember, patience and attentiveness to these small behaviors can lead to big successes.