Name Game
Level 4: Increasing Duration
of Eye Contact

You will learn:

• Observation
• ​Reinforcement

Your dog will learn:

• Give attention
• Respond to cue

The goal of this exercise is to increase the time the dog maintains eye contact in response to his name.

uses for this behavior

• Maintaining focus in the presence of distractions.
• Maintaining focus while awaiting additional instructions or cues.

tips for success

• When the dog hears his name, he quickly turns and makes eye contact with you. Practice this exercise as the mainstay of your warm-up prior to any training session or activity. Your goal is that your dog learns to look to you when there is no other instruction any time you are in a training situation.​

Make it a game!

• Test it out: At dinner time, give the cue and hold the food bowl out to your left side, then to your right side. If your dog maintains eye contact, click and give him his bowl. Try it just before going outside for a walk or when releasing the dog from the crate or car.

Training Steps:

Step 1:
Say the dog's name. When he looks at you, wait 1 second, then click and treat.

Click Points

• ​One second of eye contact

Tag Points

• After saying the dog's name, the tag point is: Wait
• After saying the dog's name, the tag point is: Wait for one second

Step 2:
Slowly increase the duration of eye contact in 1-second increments. If the dog looks away, take a step or two to a new spot and start over. Mix up short (easy) times with longer times.

Click Points

• ​Continued eye contact

Tag Points

• Wait two seconds
• Treat to the mouth
• Treat in front

Step 3:
​When the dog is able to hold eye contact for a few seconds, begin to hold a treat out to your side as a new distraction. If the dog maintains eye contact for one or two seconds, click, then treat.

Click Points

• ​Eye contact
  
• One second duration
  
• Specific duration

Previous

Print

Back to Course Materials Main Page