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Hello, I’ve had Ted for about a year now (he is a rescue) and the learning process for him has been slow but steady. Ted is so stubborn! I’m currently trying to train him to keep eye contact with us. I’ve tried this training first with treats and now with his ball. It’s very difficult because he keeps eye contact for a brief second and then gets excited and breaks. Every time I reward him for making eye contact, he immediately gets excited and breaks it. Do you have any advice/tips for us?

Hello, I’ve had Ted for about a year now (he is a rescue) and the learning process for him has been slow but steady. Ted is so stubborn! I’m currently trying to train him to keep eye contact with us. I’ve tried this training first with treats and now with his ball. It’s very difficult because he keeps eye contact for a brief second and then gets excited and breaks. Every time I reward him for making eye contact, he immediately gets excited and breaks it. Do you have any advice/tips for us?

Updated On November 5th, 2020

Pet's info: Dog | French Bulldog | Male | neutered | 2 years old | 35 lbs

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Answered By Jessica Desrosiers

Veterinary Technician

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If you're wanting him to hold concentration for longer, I would increase the time gradually between performing the behavior and reward. You can use a "look at me" and bring the treat or ball to your forehead to initiate contact, and then count to 1, then 2, then 3 before rewarding. Clicker training may be another avenue to go down as it turns the click into the indication of reward, so you can hold a position/behavior longer before clicking to release and reward. If Ted is getting very excited, working on some other concentration/impulse control behaviors such as airplaning treats while he holds a sit (to work on sitting still and waiting), settle (laying down in a relaxed position), take it/leave it/drop it, etc can also help with patience. You can find many of these behaviors on Youtube or other websites if you want a guide to follow as well.

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