Best methods for teaching focus? - Page 4

jackal - i have to commend you ..most people ..just simply give up on their dogs ! you are admirable. !! for some dogs i have to really ,  really dig deep down into them .  very very easy when you have a stable pup .. very hard with an young dog to accompish things .. you are on the right tack :-)    .. it takes as long as it takes. .. for some dogs we may not get them to 100% but we always better ourselves as we bring out the best in them . time effort and patience  are the corner stones . dog interaction is art and science... it as a left and a right .. there is no 'ONE' way . e.g some dogs when i walk them i am animated an give them encouragement .. others .. i don't even say a word .. i just go my way    and it's up to them to follow.  i have to read into the dog's mind , heart , emotion , needs,  thoughts and motivations and i really study / observe thier behavior. i might try  : with him a walk when he is extraordiarly hungry .. [ even if i have to allow him to become extremely hungry ] ... for instance. 1. when walking don't give him to much distance. .. probably no more than 2 feet. ... have some roast beef ...i would go to the most distracting places [ maybe no dogs at first .. toooooo distractive perhaps at first].  TWO EXPERINCES i would work on ... but not at the same time . first the walking and the second, having him staying aware of you and connecting with you .  !.     as i walk him : i won't ask him  , HE must decide.. so   ..  every time he comes close to me ..  i will say great and give a tidbit of roast beef .. i will never ask him to come close.. he must choose to do that ... no whistles ..no asking. sometimes i will pat him or play a bit with him .. whatever lights him up. release him and repeat .. time after time .. day after day ...  same scenario :i will also work on during the walks:  if i turn and he turns then immediately i will say "great , that's it, " and offer him a treat etc.  . i don't  ness.  walk straight sometimes a walk in cirlces .. the walk is not a pattern one. 2. the second -- as i take him out and about i satnd still.  [with distraction] .. i purposely have the dog distracted , e.g the dog is smelling the bushes.. i never ever say a word... the exact instandt the dog's eyes even touch upon mine , i mean a millisecond . i will say 'great and give him some roast beef' , pet the dog be animated and let the dog be on it's business again . two moments later if it looks at passing car .. again .. the moment it looks back .."great a bit more roast beef'/ petting /play .. what ever ..WHATEVER the dog NEEDS you fulfill. [ i don't know what he needs without seeing him.]... i will then do the same routine but each day i legthen the time the dog glances into my eyes from amillisecond all the ay up to 30 seconds before i give the treat ..just ALWAYS GIVE THE TREAT BEFORE HE HAS A CHANCE TO LOOK AWAY .  I will then do the same but with walking now.   TIME ... I mean TIME .... and your LOVE .. will have this dog seeing you as the apple of it's eye walking. last comment. Dog's are not ROBOTS .. it is normal for them to think and smell - some are more dependent others independent... so we may not be in their agenda evewry single split miment of their lives . they have instincts.... BUT Love /trust /safety/ endearement / loyalty  etc. can always grow. ...no different as the wolves , wold animals attatched themselves to us.  ps - they influenced / aided in our evolution ... we did not influence their's as much

roxy .. another thought .... when you learn to drive a car... you learn to STOP and not to proceed at a red light . YES ??  the learning  implies that you always hold your position even if the other car next to you moves in it's lane . Correct?  You are held by that Red Light . which is a command / cue to sit /stay  perfectly  still ... ...  well .... no mater what happens .. you don't move until either the 1. light turns green [ie, another cue  or command ]  tells  you to go ... or if the light is red and suddenly a green arrow pointing to the left comes up -- you may now go left . or if the red light suddenly shut off you are free to move about. CORRECT ?  Because a car next to you may turn right on red does not realese you ! NOR do you ned to be told to hold you position.  So you are under the jurisdiction of the RED light until the command is released  or until you get another command. therefore if you leave your dog you need not give it a command to stay .. if you said ' SIT' it should know as implied by the learning of sit .. to keep still.

 Thanks ALPHAPUP and mobjack.  I do intend to follow the advice you've given, and keep working with the boy.  He's getting better, it just takes time I guess.  

Falco has come out of his shell and is warming up steadily if slowly.  The dog who used to ignore me except for frantic hyperactive outbursts is now quiet and well behaved around the house.  He follows me from room to room, and will bring a toy and come be near me if I'm somewhere for longer.  Sometimes he'll come and sit beside me and just rest his chin on my knee.  With other dogs that sort of closeness isn't that big of a deal, but for Falco to do it is huge.  I'm also not about to give up on him.  Since my career got busier I unfortunately don't have time to volunteer for dog-related work, so my goals for training Falco are all tied to having him be well enough behaved that he can come with me to as many places as possible.  If he's not perfect I'm not going to fault him for it.  Someone let him down and abused him in the past, so it's time for someone else to try to do the right thing by him now.  I feel like I owe it to him.

I'll be sure to keep you updated with his progress. :)

Bringing attention back to a good, dog-oriented thread. 

Sorry, double post.

When he is first in your midst, ensure it is a closed area with distractions but not a situation where he can bolt,  do not greet him (no name, no petting, etc.) and just sit on the ground with no directional eye contact.  When he finally comes to you and gives you a nudge or or places himself to give you eye contact then reward him richly.  Give him plenty of time to succeed but if it doesn't work simply walk away and ignore him by going about your business.

On a similar note, in an enclosed area, take him for a walk off leash.  At a point when he is distracted, you must vanish.  Hide behind something until he comes and finds you.  Reward him richly.   Give him plenty of time to succeed.  Bring a book if you have to but do not give in.  He will ultimately want to re-find his meal-and-shelter-provider.

The watch command giving eye contact, in my opinion should come later, after he is first conscious of your body placement. 

I don't think this dog realizes you are his master.

You might try some of the methods used in the "Control Unleashed" program.  You mentioned agility was too stimulating for your dog.  Some of the agility people near you may have used these methods, so you could check with them.  These excercises are specifically for teaching a reactive or easily overstimulated dog to learn to deal with these things and learn to work and focus with a lot going on around him. 

There is a book, and a DVD if you can't find anyone to work with.  There is also a Yahoo group (e-mail list), of people using this method with their dogs.  It takes time, patience, and the handler being willing to really look at what's going on with the dog.  But it sounds like you're not afraid of putting in the work. 

Cheers,
Dash2

2moons....Koehlers method with the long line is excellent...I use it with all my pups. You can learn something from everyone!

 "I don't think this dog realizes you are his master." (freemont)

This grew very slowly.  At first he didn't really seem to process that his actions had consequences, and was almost completely withdrawn from the world.  Then he gradually became more mentally present, and now he's normal most of the time (though he can still be sent over the top if the appropriate stimulus is present).  Likewise I had resigned myself to the fact that he probably couldn't bond properly -- likely because of too much isolation during critical growth periods.  While I don't know for certain I'm reasonably sure that whoever had him left him shut up alone in a very stark environment -- he had to learn what toys were and what they were for, and also that if he asked nicely others would play with him.  Again, that has slowly changed.

In the mean time he's becoming very attached to me and I have vital proof.  A while ago Falco spotted a rabbit almost underfoot as we were leaving the house.  Neither one of us had seen it right away, and I was turned around locking the door when he suddenly leapt off the step.  Normally he couldn't get the leash away from me, but this time the suddenness and strange angle (yanking my arm behind my back) meant he pulled free and dashed off after the rabbit.  They ran quite a distance, out of my sight, and I followed, but I never expected him to come back and was getting ready to call our local Animal Control for help. Less than three minutes later (presumably after he lost the rabbit) Falco turned and came running back to me of his own volition.  It doesn't sound like much, but with this dog it's a huge deal and he was lavishly praised for it.  He's also started seeking out attention and affection on his own (which I encourage but don't allow to become pestering), and will preferentially pay attention to me if there's a ball to throw for fetch even when he's playing offleash with canine friends.  We're making progress, it's just *slow*.  Thank you for the suggestion of the exercise freemont -- we'll try it when the weather isn't quite so severe.  I don't know how wintery it is where you are, but here we recently had -46C.  Even the dog isn't too keen to spend more time outside than absolutely necessary!

Thank you for recommending Control Unleashed Dash2.  I actually have the book (which is *excellent*), and we've attended a reactive dog class though actual C.U. one's aren't offered here.  We did make good progress, but haven't yet mastered calmness in the face of big triggers.  In the mean time the bond between the dog and myself has grown considerably, though, and we're going to try the same class when it gets offered again.  We've got the rough rudiments of LAT down, and it works very well for some things (like rabbits, which can be less than 3 m away and the boy won't react), but other things (other dogs, cats, people running/rollerblading/skateboarding) are still a work in progress.

And thank you to Micky D for pulling this thread up from the grave.  I had made notes on what everyone said, but seeing it again has given me the opportunity to copy the information here directly.  It's not like this process is a one-shot, so it's very helpful to periodically go back through and refresh my memory for a multitude of things to work with.