Teach
Your Dog Tricks
Article by Ani
The FOCUS ON ME trick
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Foreword:
In order to teach your Rover tricks and have
Rover perform them, Rover must have his attention
on you! Imaging, a perfectly attentive Rover,
both eyes on you, alert and ready for the slightest
trick signal from you! It is possible, yes,
even for the super hyper Rover. Okay, let's
focus!
Directions:
There are a variety of focusing tricks out
there, here are just two basic ones.
Look at me: Here you get your Rover to focus
on you for a limited time, and then reward him
with a treat. Make sure your hands are hidden,
so he won't be inclined to look at them instead.
Start with sitting on your knees (easier for
a little Rover to look at your face, but you
can also stand for more authority), calling
the Rover over to you, making him sit and saying
"Rover, focus." Now when you have
Rovers attention, make him hold it for a couple
of seconds and reward. You can then slowly lengthen
the time to 5 seconds and beyond. If Rovers
concentration breaks and Rover stops looking
at you, call him again "Rover, focus"
and shorten the time you have Rover focus.
Ball catch:
This is a fun activity for regular playtime,
yet it also improves Rover's coordination and
focusing skills. This 'game' evolves out of
the regular ball throw and retrieve. Start by
having the ball in your hand, and Rover sitting
in front of you. Hold the ball and let Rover
take it out of your hand. Play around with this,
giving Rover the ball, and taking it back again.
After a while start rolling the ball into Rovers
mouth, and then throwing it from a really short
distance. The purpose here is to not simply
throw the ball and have poor Rover get hit on
the head, consequently dodging all balls being
thrown at him for all eternity. So, start slow,
and throw the ball really slowly, in a nice
upward curve. Once Rover gets the basic catch
down, you can make it more challenging. The
ball catch can even be the basis for fancier
Frisbee throws.
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