Dutch Shepherd Forum

Sorry for all the posts trying to get more information on properly handling the breed.

11 month old ds (rescue).

Does anyone have training tips on how to get more Focus out of the breed e.g. paying attention when I speak or invoke a command. When I have treats he is on 100%. However when there are several distractions e.g. on a walk his focus starts to fade. Sometimes it is on sometimes it is off etc the "place" command works 90% percent of the time. My biggest issues is if I am not standing in front of him without treats e.g. seating on the couch he won't complete a command like sit unless I repeat myself and sometimes he won't do it at all.

Also how do I get his focus when he is barking at a door? How do I get his "focus off the what he is barking at" and make him stop without having to get up and mark him, place him, and check the door myself e.g. there is no one or thing at the door e.g. a shadow passed or a person pasted. What command do you guys use to make him stop barking. I don't want him not to alert me I want him to alert me then listen to me if I tell him to "ignore it" or "enough" etc.

Training focus has many different methodologies. I used marker (clicker) and treat training on Radar.

I chose the "look" command, but make sure you are not using a command that will sound like other commands.

To start, take a treat, pinch it between your thumb and forefinger, hold it on your forehead and say look. As soon as the dog looks at you, mark then treat. You will then want to move on to holding the look for longer periods before mark-treat. You will want to practice this in many environments, and then move on to adding distractions.

You will probably see good results right away, but it needs to be practiced a lot over a long period of time. Once you're comfortable with multiple environments and distractions, you'll want to start reducing the amount of times you treat, but still mark.

This works unless your dog is reactive. That is, they go over a threshold where nothing seems to be able to gain their attention. If this is the case for you, you absolutely need professional training help.

your best bet is to find a good trainer.

centrop67 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 18, 2018 1:21 pm Training focus has many different methodologies. I used marker (clicker) and treat training on Radar.

I chose the "look" command, but make sure you are not using a command that will sound like other commands.

To start, take a treat, pinch it between your thumb and forefinger, hold it on your forehead and say look. As soon as the dog looks at you, mark then treat.

No disrespect, but the dogs dont need that much of training to Look. put the dog in a sit, and say "look" and you are to look the dog in the eye, the second the dog makes eye contact, you mark and treat ( I use toys instead of food) do that a ton of times, when the initial eye contact is quick, and this way is usually very quick, hold it a second longer, and then when that is good, hold longer etc.

do not keep saying look, just say Dogs name and "Look" and wait. at breakfast or dinner is good too, put them in a sit, and "LOOK" when eye contaact is made, mark and feed

You only have 3 seconds between "marking" and reward for the dog to make the association

do not repeat, if you say, dogs name...Sit.......... you stand there for as long as it takes , once he sits, mark, reward

for the door, He should be on a leash, this is where, down/stay should be trained first. Put him in a down/stay, step on the leash, so he will correct himself when he gets up. he is not to move until you or someone goes to the door, does what ever and comes back. all the while he is to be looking at you.

They can be allowed to alert you, Sadie alerts me when dust flys around. but then "quiet".

You do need a trainer, there are a lot of things going on here that if not taken care of, will result in a big upset

Hire a dog trainer.... I don't use a look command... I only reward the dog when he's looking at me and eventually it kicks in...

All thanks for the advice. I think I should have been more clear with my question. Either way great advise. So I do have a trainer. And instead of "Look" she taught him "With Me" since she said "With Me" can be spoken in a softer tone then "Look" either way. I do a "look" and make him focus for longer and longer periods of time. So curious how it works with just doing quick short periods. Again he is a low energy down I'm assuming since he is a rescue so he is not exploding during the "Look/Focus" training scenario. He just looks and sits there and focuses on the treat. I should not have used the word Focus in my question I should have said attention. At times it is very hard to great his attention without treats. With treats I could make him learn to drive a car lol. But without its hard to gain his attention to invoke a command unless I am standing near him.

piotrzaremba wrote: ↑Fri Jan 19, 2018 1:54 am All thanks for the advance. I think I should have been more clear with my question. Either way great advise. So I do have a trainer. And instead of "Look" she taught him "With Me" since she said "With Me" can be spoken in a softer tone then "Look" either way. I do a "look" and make him focus for longer and longer periods of time. So curious how it works with just doing quick short periods. Again he is a low energy down I'm assuming since he is a rescue so he is not exploding during the "Look/Focus" training scenario. He just looks and sits there and focuses on the treat. I should not have used the word Focus in my question I should have said attention. At times it is very hard to great his attention without treats. With treats I could make him learn to drive a car lol. But without its hard to gain his attention to invoke a command unless I am standing near him.

Honestly these are questions for your trainer... and if she can't answer them or help you then you need to look for a different trainer... as a professional trainer I get very annoyed with my clients when they are searching for answers on the internet instead of following my instructions... unless like I said your trainer sucks and can't fix the issues you are having... you need more disapline in your training and weaning off the food

So I’m still gauging my trainer. She has done a variety of dogs from small to large with working breeds consisting of eg German Shepherds, Rotts (she owns one). But I know this is a different beast. So I’m going to do a few more sessions to find out. But instructions I get for let’s say when the door rings and the dog alerts is to tell the dog to get back from the door, place him, stay him and open it. Instead of trying the leash technique that dutchshepeherdgirl mentioned. So I don’t know what’s right and how to gauge if my trainer is good or just trains differently. I’ve always owned Rotts so that is where my experience lies. Know anyone in Florida in case I have to switch? Most places here recommend e-collars and I want to stay away from them.

you get too many cooks in the pot looking for answers on the internet and groups and all over. work with your trainer. I can train my DS's and my Basset hound using the same techniques and commands, its is just who picks it up quicker.

I finally gave in and got a better trainer. Thx Dutchgringgirl and Steve for the advise. My previous trainer could not show me how to train focus on us when we were outside and how to properly teach leash pressure and direction to avoid pulling. I am taking him to a train and board center that specializes in working dogs as well as other dogs. They have a variety of training programs. They do a basic 14 day course on leash and then an additional 7 days of off leash training using long leads (20-50) foot and e-collars across several areas, open fields, warehouses, public streets etc. Each training session lasts about 8 to 10 hours with lots of engagement and focus work with breaks in between.

that sounds great !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Keep us posted on the progress

Sounds like you made a smart decision and hired a much better trainer! You'll really have a dog to enjoy once it's trained

This was a great thread.