Cannot get his attention

There is a dog that I have tried to get his attention to train him. He is not food motivated. If I use a toy, he becomes so fixated on the toy, that I cannot get his attention on me. When I have gotten a glimmer of eye contact and he hears a distraction in the distance... game over, the focus is gone. He is a cute little guy and has a loving home. I really want to help his family. Right now, it is a matter of patience and boundaries, but I am looking for something a little more creative. Any ideas?:confused:

Goodness, I don't know. Could you change the venue to somewhere with less distractions? What type of dog is it?

This may be a silly question, but are you sure that the dog can hear you?

He hears me, just mention the word "ball" and he comes running like he just hit the lottery! We train with distracted surroundings so when you are able to get their attention and focus there, you will be able to get it anywhere. I tried giving his family a bell and suggested that they ring the bell each time before they give him the ball, hoping that he will begin to focus more at the sound of the bell. After just a few times, we were able to get him to look at us. (smart little guy) and that is where it all starts. I can't wait until they get to class next week to see how it is going!

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Originally Posted by PetParent

We train with distracted surroundings so when you are able to get their attention and focus there, you will be able to get it anywhere.

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Yeah, but you can't get it there. You are doing the opposite of what you should do. I'm not surprised you are having these problems under those conditions. Get the dog in a distraction free environment. A room with just you and him is ideal. Stay calm and keep the dog calm. THEN you can teach him what you need to. After he is reliable in this environment, move to a place with SMALL distractions and over time keep increasing distractions. When you get to the point the dog gets out of control, lessen distractions some for a while before increasing them again.

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I tried giving his family a bell and suggested that they ring the bell each time before they give him the ball, hoping that he will begin to focus more at the sound of the bell.

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Let the family work with him alone in a room in a calm environment. Increase distractions as is possible.

What Bill says makes a lot of sense, I did much the same with my dog, it took time but it was worth the effort.

I agree with you that is why I sent them home with the bell. But the training center is distracting. Between all of the other dogs and the clickers, it is hard to keep the attention of a food motivated dog. In a perfect world, I would love to do a private class with this family. But I didn't know what to do other than to suggest reversing things. So my thought was bell focus click ball. I could not just get his attention with the ball alone. I just need to get his focus in class enough to give his family the tools they need to work with him at home. I also think he needs to learn to control his impulses, so I suggested that they leave the ball out of reach, but still in his sight when play is over. And to reinforce "all done" until he calms down. I told them that it would be a good idea if they could separate the dogs for training. I would really be grateful for any help that I could get.

I didn't realize you were in a classroom situation. In that case, as much as possible isolate him from the other dogs. I don't know how big the room is you are teaching in but if possible, keep him as far away from other dogs as possible and work fast. Get his attention for a secondd the quickly give a cue for a behavior. Stress on the parents how important it is to practice in a distraction free environment. If other dogs live there, work with each seperately. Maybe it would be better if they brought another dog to class so they can more easily learn to work with them then work with the other dog alone at home.

Thank you. I appreciate your help. I have read a lot of your post and I really like how positive your perspective is about how dogs learn. Sophia Yin is a great person to quote.

I agree with Bill - I started in the hallway...close all the doors to the bedrooms. get his favorite toy and just throw it down the hall...there isnt anywhere he can go but back to you - call his name and praise him like he just won the doggy lottery when he brings the toy back to you.

I like that idea. It's so simple that we wouldn't think of it normally. I'd like to see if it works.