Teaching "watch me"

[MrsBoats]

Hi everyone,

I have a couple of questions on successfully teaching "watch me". Sam isn't great when focusing on me when heeling...he sort of does "heel by feel" as our trainer at the obedience club calls it. She told me to raise my left leg up higher as I walk but it doesn't really phase Sam. He's just as content with my knee smacking him in the head. He does a great watch when we're a post during figure eight's for people. I tried string cheese in my mouth. But he focuses after we halt and he sits.

I can say "watch" but I don't think he gets it outside of being a figure eight post. He sometimes looks up and most of the time doesn't. I don't think he's not listening....but he doesn't really get the command. This is something relatively new I've been trying to work on so...it's not that Sam is copping an attitude. I don't think he know's what I want from him. I need advice on how to teach it correctly. :)

What should I be doing to get a solid watch me?

Thanks in advance!

[Muckdogs]

Couple of questions- how old is Sam, and are you training for any obedience titles(AKC), sport (schutzhund) or general companion-type manners?

[DNeff]

I teach "watch" using lots and lots of food. I hold the treats in my hand and wait for the dog to offer eye contact. Most dogs will figure out that you are not just handing out treats and will look at you puzzled when you don't start producing the food. As soon as the dog makes the tinniest bit of eye contact. Use a word that means he was correct, I use "yes" or click if you clicker train and hand over the treat. Repeat, repeat, repeat. If your dog starts offering eye contact easily, begin to gradually increase the time before producing the food. Build up to a minute or more. It helps to start out with your dog in front of you and gradually to having them in heel position. Do this gradually and reduce the amount of time you require eye contact once you move them over to sitting in heel position. When your dog is reliably offering eye contact pair it with a word "watch" or "ready" are both good ones. It helps if you start require eye contact for all the things your dog likes. To get out of the crate, go out to play, eat dinner, etc.... Your dog will quickly learn that eye contact is the key to everything good and fun.
There is also a way to teach eye contact using a lure, i.e. bringing the food to the dog's nose and then up to your nose to get the dog to look at you. I prefer not to use the prompt since it is one more thing to wean off of. If you are interested I can detail that for you as well.
Once you have very solid eye contact sitting in heel. Command "watch" give your heel command and step off. If the dog maintains eye contact for the 1-2 steps, release with lavish praise and treats. It does help to keep food in the mouth and then remove and treat with your left hand. The key is to keep it short, upbeat and fun. Step off briskly and be animated. If you dog does not watch you, say "ooops" and start over. I use totally correction free heeling, and have found it produces a wonderful upbeat heeling machine. I highly recommend Dawn Jecs "Choose to Heel" method. I've had lots of success with it.
Hope this at least gets you started. Be warned attention heeling takes lots of time, patience, work, more work, praise, fun, and a good humor.The key is to keep if fun and upbeat at all costs.
Dawn

[Judy Chrusch]

I make my 15 month old male watch me alot. I make him wait for his meals and at that time I also use the "Watch Me" command and he looks at me square in the eyes, I love it!! It didn't take him long at all to learn that and I did it first with a treat in my hand then put it up to my mouth and gave the command then. He looked up and saw I had a yummy treat hanging out of my mouth, LOL, from that moment on he watches me everytime I ask him too. I'll also use that command when I know he's not paying attention to me and I want him to do something, so I'll say it then too. So try using the command throughout the day for different things and you'll see how fast he picks up on it:D. I forget, how old is Sam? I hope this helps.

Judy

[Lindsay and Lyn]

Hi

I have read that looking into a dogs eye is a challenge to fight, and isn't a good idea.
Also if you share food as a treat you are suggesting that the dog has the same rank as you and you are saying you should both eat together.
If you find things getting a bit tense, or your dog suddenly biites you for no reason you may think about why...
But then I read a lot.
We have a 11mo Rottie and I am still learning, and would rather have him obey when he is a big boy because he is trained really well now.

Does anyone else have an opinion?

[Judi W]

Well, that is an old saw the disregards the fact that dogs are very perceptive as to what kind of eye contact. Dogs read the difference between hard/challenging eye contact and soft and friendly eye contact very well indeed. They are most adept at understanding all forms of body language including posture, facial expression and eye contact. This is one of their main communication tools used within their own species as well as with their interrelationships with humans. They are very hard to fool in this regard and their skills outstrip our's by miles.

Food is an excellent motivational tool for operant conditioning and has time honored use in behavioral studies.

[WorkinDogz]

MrsB...

Are you planning to compete in obedience with Hammer Head?

If you are; I suggest forgetting the "watch me" command and instead condition him that heel is not only being in the correct position but being there with attention. He shouldn't take his eyes off of you throughout the heeling pattern.....at all.

Food is the way to get it done. :)

Remember; if you're competing; you have to concern yourself with "double commands" so it's kind of counterproductive to not teach the attention heel as the "correct" heel from the beginning.

"Heel" is a position; not an action and attention is part of that position. Just condition it to be :)

[RottiMomCT]

Teaching Ben the 'Watch me!' command was tougher than I thought. After all, his girlfriend is in our class and he LOVES to stare at her!

As he was sitting in the heel position, before we start walking, I say 'Ben, Watch me!' and if he looks up at me, he gets a 'Good Dog!' and a small treat. if he doens't look, I take said small treat and wave it past his nose and immediately bring it up to my chin. When he looks at me, he gets the treat and praise.

NOW, the hard part...when I started weaning off of treats each time he 'Watched me!'...I started giving him a light tap on the top of his head...to redirect him to me...like reminder..."HELLO there....!!"

It's tough to get their attention when there is so much going on, but once you do...it's priceless.

Once in class, Ben was paying atttention to me during a heeling exercise, trotting happily at my side...he didn't see that he was headed towards a chair that was at the corner! BAM!!..right into it...I saw it and tried to avoid it...but he walked right into it...he got me back tho...herded me into it when we did about turns and walked me right into it!! :)

We're working on attention heeling, now with food...slowly weaning him off food rewards each time he gets it right.

[MrsBoats]

Well, that whole response I just typed out got all screwed up when I tried to submit it and I don't feel like retyping the entire thing as it was long. GRRRRRR....

well, for those who asked; Sam is almost three years old. He was a rescue so I didn't have the opportunity to train him as a puppy. Uh, we started obedience at Petsmart last January. We completed both of their programs and went on to train with a private obedience club. I've been going there since Sept of last year.

Muckdogs, yeah, I would love to do competition obedience (AKC) somewhere down the road. I'm not into personal protection....that's why I have a gorilla for a husband. I point at the guy who pi$$ed me off...Mr. Boats would go break him in half for me. He could inflict more damage than Sam ever could!:D I realize I'm not going to run next week and enter myself in a competition. It may be another year of two before I feel Sam and I are ready for that step.

PetsMart didn't even give the indication that there is something out there called attention heeling. So, WD, I missed that step in learning the correct way to heel. They were more concerned that the dog got the basics and didn't drag you all over the place. Remember, this is the place that told me that the CGC was a really difficult test and my former trainer only passed one dog in her travels.

I went to the club and all the dogs in my weekly walk-in novice class where focused on their handlers. I thought cool, we're going to be able to do that too. I thought doing the classes here , Sam would pick up on the focusing thing. I didn't know attention heeling existed until almost 2 months into going to the club. My novice trainer just touched on it one night when there were a handful of people in the class. I took some mental noties and figured "okay....that will be something we work on". I still was under the impression that Sam would figure it out since every single dog did it there....."yeah, right" I looked into an attention heeling walk-in class on another night. But, I got highly frustrated with that class. Most of the dogs in there are utility dogs and I'm the only novice person in there. So, we do intense heeling for an hour and they don't teach you how to do attention heeling. But, at least I did find out Sam can do a five mintue down stay! :) I kind of feel like the parent who's first grader can't spell his name and all the other kids in the class can write complete paragraphs.

So, WD, should I start from scratch and try to re-teach the correct way to heel from the foundation up? I know now, that it's going to take a long time to get where I want to go with the attention thing and it's not going to happen in an afternoon. :)

Once in class, Ben was paying atttention to me during a heeling exercise, trotting happily at my side...

That's my goal....that is what I want from Sam when he's heeling.

Thanks so much as always!

[WorkinDogz]

Ahhhhhh MrsB you make me so proud :)

"So WD should I reteach the correct heel from the foundation up?"

That's where you teach it :) I'm so happy that you've come so far in your training knowledge I could just cry!!

You....are my prize Cyber Student!!!!!! :D :D

[MrsBoats]

That's where you teach it :) I'm so happy that you've come so far in your training knowledge I could just cry!!

You....are my prize Cyber Student!!!!!! :D :D

I just burst out laughing when I read that! You've just made my day!!! :D:D:D:D

[Judi W]

We're proud of you Mrs. Boats! Just a few nudges and off you go! Of course we're also a bit jealous of your Mr. Boats. I had a girl friend whose husband was a pusher on an off-shore rig (BIG guy) and she used to do the same.... she'd say "you all be nice to me or I'll tell Andy"...... everyone treated her real nice.

[MrsBoats]

Oh thanks...Judi :)

You just need to give me that nudge and I'll listen to you all. Jeez, after all....I'm the one with the hammer head dog! I don't see any of you posting that your dog won't or can't do "x", "y", and/or "z"

Heheheh...yeah having a biggie sized coastie hanging around definitely makes my life a whole lot easier. But when he gets under my skin....I'll rent him out to you.

For rent: X-large swede; 6'4" 250+lbs. Highly food motivated; may need firm corrections when in Home Depot, Best Buy, and CompUSA due of tendancy to lose manners; could use some attention work...responds well to food or positive reinforcement; slight dominance issues but can be worked with...see food motivation; plays well with other males; very low energy...sleeps most of the day when you are at work. Ask for Mrs. Boats after 4pm

[WorkinDogz]

ROFLMAO!!! :D :D

"highly food motivated" LMAOOOOOOO! Hey...you can teach ANYTHING when there's ample food drive...LOL :D

[MrsBoats]

I forgot to add....

will do ANYTHING for alcohol and/or Jimmy Buffett tickets..save those for when you really need him to be on his best behavior