# Focus and Attention Training



## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

I think that the best trick of all is how you keep cheese in your cheeks, don't swallow it, and talk at the same time! That is really going to keep his attention focused on your face!
I wonder if I could do that - the pieces for my girls would have to be so tiny...
Maybe I could keep a chunk in my cheek and pinch off a little bit for them?
PS, I am drooling over that space you have to practice in, really hope to visit you soon!


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Tiny Poodles I actually really don't like the way string cheese tastes. It seems very salty to me so I am not so tempted to eat it myself. It is a bit problematic since it tends to get mushy in your mouth, so if I thought I was going to need it over time I would take about a third of a stick of it and hold it in my cheek and bite off little bits as I needed them. 

I actually prefer using my turkey brownies since they stay firm in your mouth for a longer amount of time even with relatively small pieces. It is also possible to put a few larger pieces in you cheek and bite off what you need. The problem there is I like how they taste and if I am hungry sometimes I eat them. The good thing is that you can chew and swallow if you are called to the ring sooner than you expected since you can't have food in a trial ring. Someone I know once gave her dog the last bite of hot dog she had just before going into a trial routine. The dog didn't swallow it properly and hacked it out onto the floor just before she started to heel. That gets you excused, so I don't like giving the food to the dog too close to going in for a trial.


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

lily cd re said:


> Tiny Poodles I actually really don't like the way string cheese tastes. It seems very salty to me so I am not so tempted to eat it myself. It is a bit problematic since it tends to get mushy in your mouth, so if I thought I was going to need it over time I would take about a third of a stick of it and hold it in my cheek and bite off little bits as I needed them.
> 
> I actually prefer using my turkey brownies since they stay firm in your mouth for a longer amount of time even with relatively small pieces. It is also possible to put a few larger pieces in you cheek and bite off what you need. The problem there is I like how they taste and if I am hungry sometimes I eat them. The good thing is that you can chew and swallow if you are called to the ring sooner than you expected since you can't have food in a trial ring. Someone I know once gave her dog the last bite of hot dog she had just before going into a trial routine. The dog didn't swallow it properly and hacked it out onto the floor just before she started to heel. That gets you excused, so I don't like giving the food to the dog too close to going in for a trial.



Interesting. I think that turkey brownies or anything meat based would make me queasy, but sting cheese might be doable.
FYI, weight watchers sting cheese has less fat, thus is a bit dryer in texture, thus might not mush as easily as regular, you might like to try it for training. Think that is what I will use for my first attempt! I like the way that having the food in your mouth keeps the focus on your face instead of your pocket.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Keeping the dog's focus at your face is really important since it is the core of the connection to the dog while working. I am not good at it, but many people I know spit the treats to the dog. I also have to say Lily was never good at catching the treats when I tried that technique either. String cheese in her TK and ear feathers was never very rewarding for either of us! I will have to try reduced fat cheese and see if that is better. Thanks for the suggestion.


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

lily cd re said:


> Keeping the dog's focus at your face is really important since it is the core of the connection to the dog while working. I am not good at it, but many people I know spit the treats to the dog. I also have to say Lily was never good at catching the treats when I tried that technique either. String cheese in her TK and ear feathers was never very rewarding for either of us! I will have to try reduced fat cheese and see if that is better. Thanks for the suggestion.



Haha, Cheese in the topknot and ear feather would not be rewarding - doubt my aim would be any better.
I think that Trulee will be really good at focus on my face, in all the videos that I have seen she frequently looks up to see what is going on in the world above her level ?


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## Myleen (Apr 30, 2016)

Hey Catherine!

Thank you for the video! I agree with TP .... very nice place to work!!!!

Javelin watches you quite well!

I will be watching this again and the other videos you have uploaded as well.  I know I will not spit the treats out of my mouth. Neat trick!

I have apple TV...put the URL in youtube search and find you...this way I can watch on a very large TV.  

Except the one video on the side --Javelin novice match 3/13/16. I had to watch on my laptop so I could turn it like a book to watch it. lol I was able to see the tug you made at the end of the video as well! 

So far in the past 7 weeks of our current class the trainer cancelled 3 weeks...so Toby has had only 4 classes.  That is not very good and I've decided not to go back there after we finish this class -2 left to go.
I signed up for at a new place only a few miles from me which start the middle of September some time. I'm hoping this works out better for us.

Thank you again for sharing your videos and I look forward to seeing your next one with Lily!


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## Raven's Mom (Mar 18, 2014)

Thanks so much, I started following your You Tube. I am really going back to fundamentals like attention. I know Raven knows the individual tasks but it does no good if she loses all concentration in the ring. That is my big fear for the upcoming trial on the 13-14th. At least for what I entered she will be on leash.... But it still scares me that I can't talk to her in the novice ring. Oh, well, I am at least happy to finally see where we are and what needs the most work at this point. I have one more week to take her lots of places for distractions?


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Raven's Mom you still have time to make progress before your trials. Remember Raven is a poodle and she will pick things up quickly given that she knows the exercises. Don't make big changes in things like how you give your orders, but you can work on improving your heel pace and pace changes a bit. Remember she will respond to how you feel so stay as calm and relaxed as you can. I wish you the best.

Myleen that video that starts on its side was done by a friend who wasn't quite sure how my tablet worked. I am not savvy enough as a video editor to know if or how to fix it!


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## Myleen (Apr 30, 2016)

lily cd re,

_Myleen that video that starts on its side was done by a friend who wasn't quite sure how my tablet worked. I am not savvy enough as a video editor to know if or how to fix it!_

You have Mac? If so...
Duplicate your video. (So if mistake is made you still have original)
Open your video in Quicktime -->edit-->rotate-->export. Then upload the new version. 

If not I'm sure your software on your laptop or desktop computer has quicktime or something similar. Open the movie --_go to edit and check to see what your options are._ If you duplicate your movie you can experiment all you want with no worry of losing the original.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Myleen, thanks for that suggestion. I do have a Mac, but the problem is that the video in question starts on its side and then flips upright. My friend turned the tablet after starting the recording but didn't pause it or stop it. Is there a way to fix that?


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## Myleen (Apr 30, 2016)

lily cd re said:


> Myleen, thanks for that suggestion. I do have a Mac, but the problem is that the video in question starts on its side and then flips upright. My friend turned the tablet after starting the recording but didn't pause it or stop it. Is there a way to fix that?


You could do it using iMovie maybe. 
Duplicate the movie and rotate. Then insert both of them into iMovie. While the clip is in iMovie you can select ONLY THE PORTION you want on both. Then you export that modified movie.  Hope that makes sense to you.


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## Raven's Mom (Mar 18, 2014)

Do you have an approximate amount of time you work attention and focus per day? While I have been home this summer I could sprinkle it through the day but with school starting I will pressed for training time in the evenings. Besides her fear of men we are working through, the attention was the biggest issue in the beginner novice ring this weekend. I knew it would be challenging for her with all the sights and sounds of the trial. However, it was surprisingly quiet most of the time. There is an agility class in the ring next to us some nights where I train so this was much quieter than that!


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I try to fit in short rounds of it several times a day separately for each dog and also in groups. For each individual dog it may just be two or three minutes. for example I have Peeves near me right now and although he is on a settle (relaxed down) I do want him to engage with me so he doesn't decide to break and wander off. He has been there for almost five minutes now so I will release him before I finish writing here. He needs some impulse control refreshers for dealing with his issues with Javelin.

For Lily and Javelin I do more formal attention work. they have to correctly be at heel and they really aren't allowed to look away at all. Lily does her attention with high level distractions like favorite toys nearby. She also does duration stays this way. For her probably three five minute sessions a day. Javelin does his with low level distractions, but I am working on increasing his duration of eye contact and teaching him to take treats while maintaining heads up eye contact. If you want to know more about how I am doing this look at my post from today about our private lesson and the five cookie method. It is in this thread. http://www.poodleforum.com/24-perfo...-hunting/205393-javelins-road-ring-ready.html This exercise takes just a minute or so and I will be doing it at least three times a day until he learns not to drop his head to eat a treat.

I am also looking at the calendar and thinking about how little time I have left before our fall semester starts on September 1st. Once classes start I will do a session with each dog before I leave in the morning and again when I get home and then one more before settling down for the night. On my shorter class days I will try to squeeze in a couple more.


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