Attention, it seems like such a simple skill, until you get a puppy. Then you suddenly realize that so many other things are vying for your puppy’s attention. The new smells, the birds, the neighbor’s dog, the cars driving by, the cat no can remember which house it lives in, your shoes, and so much more are constantly distracting your puppy. The only way to get it to pay attention is by saying its name with so much excitement that it gets way too excited, then it is paying too much attention! Or you could pull out the treats. But your puppy just ate, and you can’t feed it anything else if that stuffed Kong is going to do anything for you later when you need to do laundry without your puppy stealing socks. Attention is now not so simple. But it can be. Let’s take a look at what attention really is and what specific behaviors you need to work on with your puppy to make attention a lot less complicated.
What is Attention?
What is attention? This question might seem like a very simple one with a very obvious answer. We all know what attention is. Or do we? When we are training puppies, it is essential that we know exactly what we want from them. In the case of attention, we are looking for eye contact. Many people wonder if eye contact is a good idea with puppies. It is a great idea, if you do it with kindness. Dogs and puppies are highly attuned to muscle movement and tension. This natural skill they possess means they can tell when your eyes are threatening, happy, or calm just by looking at them! The eye contact you will use with your dog should be “soft.” By “soft,” I mean you should not glare at your puppy, especially when it voluntarily gives you attention. You want to look at your puppy just like you would normally look at someone you love or are holding a kind, everyday conversation with. Your puppy will return the favor, especially if you teach it to do so. However, training your puppy to hold eye contact for more than a few seconds is unnecessary. Dogs naturally only hold eye contact with people for only one to two seconds. So, I like to teach a two-second eye contact hold (“two seconds” being counted out as “one, one thousand, two, one thousand).
One Behavior, Two Contexts
The behavior you will teach to help your puppy learn the skill of attention is eye contact. However, you must teach it in two different contexts with two different sets of rules, making it two distinct “behaviors” or forms of attention. A young puppy can learn both forms of attention pretty easily, with some time and practice. These two types of attention are voluntary attention and cued attention. These might seem like the same thing to us, but they are very different to puppies. Voluntary attention is often referred to as “checking in.” Checking in is when your puppy offers attention without being asked, usually in the form of eye contact or close to it. This form of attention is more of an informal version of attention. It is most commonly seen on walks or when your puppy is curious about what you are doing. This behavior is more easily taught to breeds who love social interaction and individuals who have developed a strong bond with their owners. It is often much harder to teach to breeds that are naturally very independent such as livestock guardian breeds and more “primitive” breeds, or dogs who don’t develop strong bonds (can happen in puppy mill puppies who have mental and psychological defects due to inbreeding and early isolation). The second type of attention is cued attention. This form of attention is often taught as a name response. When you say your puppy’s name, it responds by offering attention, usually in the form of eye contact. This one is important, as it is part of your puppy learning its name and how it should respond when it hears someone say it.
Tips for Teaching Attention
The simplest way to teach the “check-in” is to reinforce your puppy, from day one, for voluntarily offered attention. You can do this via treats, affection, or play. I would recommend using a combination of treats, play, and affection for this, as it can be easier for your puppy to learn to integrate it into its daily life when it is encouraged in all situations with a variety of reinforcers.
As for the cued attention, this is often taught using “the name game.” The name game consists of you saying your puppy’s name, then giving it a treat when it looks at you. Over time, you gradually change things up by adding in the distance, changing how your voice sounds (from a high-pitched playful tone to a normal conversational tone), and adding distractions. My biggest tip for this is to thoroughly teach the eye contact behavior before adding the cue. Teach your puppy to offer eye contact in a formal training session (which is different than in the real world) with a ninety percent success rate before adding on your puppy’s name as the cue. Then you can practice with distance and distractions.
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