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Lack of focus

8K views 55 replies 18 participants last post by  Jag 
#1 ·
I know Grim is young (and male, and Czech) which all contribute to his lack of focus. However, I think that he's also losing drive because of all of that energy is going all over the place. When we were in Bass Pro, he was taking in his environment. He was looking all over... up, down, around... not nervous like, just slowly... taking it all in and absorbing it. He's a thinker to be sure. When we're out on walks or whatever, he's also looking at different things (even though he's nose to the ground most of the time). If I could take all of the energy that's going into his wandering mind and pack it down and direct it into what I *want* him to focus on, I'd be a VERY happy person!! I know he loses some with leaking, too.

Is there a way (besides trying to gain his focus through treats and food...which so far has been a huge failure, as have toys) to get this? Will time just be the answer? Am I right that he's also losing energy through his wandering mind and eyes? He can be intense when he's focused on something, but that focus is so short lived. It's like living with a kid with ADHD. In fact, ADHD was mentioned as for how his focus seemed when he was evaluated. He's everywhere... and into everything....until he finally tires of his 'exploring' and settles.
 
#2 · (Edited)
Honestly do you think you are over reacting? I have been reading your threads and it sounds reminiscent of myself, 3 months ago. Fast forward to now and I feel like I wasted a lot of time, concerned and worrying about my dog's personality. How to get him to pay attention. What is good or bad for the training.
You will be able to concentrate his energy. Last night at a brand new training facility, I had my pups attention 90-100% of down time, with a few treats and a ball on a string. And 100% focus on myself while we were doing all the basic OB commands. Around 7 new dogs, in a new facility, I tell you! That was impossible to attain 1 month, 2 months, 3 months ago, IMPOSSIBLE I tell you.

I am not one qualified to give advice. I will say to give it time, he is a puppy. And undoubtedly from one of those lines that I hear and read about (or at least he sounds like it.) I think that both of you will soon understand what the other one wants.
 
#4 ·
Jag,
I can understand your frustration and have been there with a crack puppy (maybe not as high energy as Grim) but I not too long ago took a class the was based on Patricia McConnell's book, "Control Unleashed". Much of the class was based on getting focus from your dog/puppy.
I've provided a few links that are exercises that we did with our pups. I don't know if it will help Grim, but it doesn't hurt trying :)

Lesson 3

www.dogdaysnw.com/doc/OverallRelaxationProtocol.pdf

I hope these links work, you may have to copy paste the Relaxation Protocol.
Keep trying, you'll get there!
 
#6 ·
Thank you for the links! The last one is actually what I'm now trying to teach him. He sits, but then gets up. So I started trying to teach him to sit and stay there until I tell him he's released. I ultimately had to keep talking to him the entire time to keep him there. I haven't had a pup that I've tried to sit or down until released... didn't ever attempt that until they were adults and it was with varied success. So thank you!
 
#7 ·
Jag - when dealing with a crack puppy you have to rejoice in the little things. Don't expect so much from your pup.

Think of what would have happened if Van Gogh's mom said, "Oh no, Vincent. You must paint like this! What you're doing now makes no sense to me!"

Give Grim time. Help build drive. Take focus and give it back. I spit food out at my crack puppy. When I tell him 'look' he gives me full eye contact until I spit food out of my mouth. Then I let him go (focus) back into his own world. Lather, rinse, repeat.

My crack puppy is a year old now. I can get him to focus 100% of the time now. But I STILL give him is focus back so he remains highly driven.
 
#8 ·
Watch what you are feeding him. Some commercial treats have sugar, extra carbs. I would run him, track him, play fetch or tug before you begin an obedience session. He may be settled enough after that to be able to work.
W/ some pups, the more you try to put control in their being, the more leaky they get. Work with his temperament and don't try to go against who he is.
At this age, I'd just continue with your strong leadership, shape his manners and social skills so when he does start maturing, his Czech serious side is more in balance/try to keep the goofy in there some!
 
#10 ·
Toys are best for this, especially because its technically a training opportunity and not just a stroll through the store. I also didn't realize that you could take a dog into bass pro...nice to know.

If you need to have a toy of some sort in the other hand in order for him to pay attention...then do it. At this age he still has to learn to be attentive and if that's the way you're choosing to do it than you have to have it on hand until he's older, and has learned what you want from him.

Just also read about how toys haven't worked for you...my suggestion is really start building his tug drive at home. Start acting like its the greatest thing in the world to play tug with you. Make him want that tug more than anything else (you just started Schutzhund and I think they'll teach you that anyways). I just watched a video by Ivan Balabanov who uses the tug as a reward, the first thing he does is really get a dog to be solid with loving the tug, then they work on other stuff once the dog makes the connection that the tug is awesome.

The thing is...without using corrections and forcing him to focus on you in a negative way, if he's not into treats or toys it will be very difficult to get his attention from everything going on around him. He sees you every day, all day, and he knows you'll always be there. That cool new thing outside/in the store is something he's never seen before so of course he wants to check it out.

I'd really start concentrating on building tug/ball drive.
 
#11 ·
That's another thing we're working on right now... getting his love of tug built up. I ordered a softer ball on a rope since the one I have he doesn't seem to care for. I think later a harder ball would be OK, but right now he prefers the softer things to grab onto and tug with. I've already seen an increase in his want to tug, so I think that taking *that* toy with us would help.

Right now, we're actually using his kibble as 'reward'. I'm not feeding him from is bowl anymore. He's having to work for everything. He seems to enjoy it a lot more than what I thought he would. I thought he'd be frustrated with it. I haven't spit treats at him yet, but have heard about it. Maybe that's something I need to give a try. We did find out that he barks more when on lead than when off. I tried to have my wife work with him last night. When she told him to 'sit' (which he knows very very well) he vocalized at her, then came over to me. I thought he blew me off.... I don't know if she'll work with him any more or not. It became obvious that it could be much, much worse with him. He's got no respect going for her at all.

We'll keep on going, and hopefully time will take care of some of this.
 
#16 ·
That's another thing we're working on right now... getting his love of tug built up. I ordered a softer ball on a rope since the one I have he doesn't seem to care for. I think later a harder ball would be OK, but right now he prefers the softer things to grab onto and tug with. I've already seen an increase in his want to tug, so I think that taking *that* toy with us would help.
I made a tug toy for Bear using an Orbee ball (they seem softer) I bought the earth one, it has two holes and I braided some old flannel scraps together in the length I wanted and threaded it through the ball. It worked out great as a tug toy.
 
#15 ·
at that age we used a planet dog ball on a string that was squishy instead of the hard elte k9 knobby ball, then we progressed to the elite k9 ball, now moving into harder tugs because we are having some disagreements on outing the ball that I don't get with a peice of hard hose.

I have used food as a reward when I went calm because it does not amp mine up as much.
 
#17 ·
Orbees are like crack for Halo, so I did the same thing - made her a custom Orbee tug for flyball:





She finds the squishiness of the ball completely irresistable.
 
#21 ·
No, this is actually from a fleece tug I ordered awhile back that had tennis balls on it. One ball had already been pulled off, and a second one was hanging by a thread, so I knew it wouldn't last much longer, and there was just one more ball left after that. So I unbraided the fleece, looked up how to make a 4 strand braid on youtube, and re-braided the tug with Orbees instead of tennis balls.
 
#23 ·
I found the right one (that looks like Halo's) on a rope and ordered it. Thank you!! I have found it frustrating to find a ball on a rope that's not a hard ball! I'm also going to have to find some squeakers. I know that whips his head around... I just keep forgetting to look for them.
 
#24 ·
That other one would work too, I have one of those too. They're the same size, and the same kind of squishy rubber. The continents can come off the kind I have, but it hasn't been a big deal for me. Sometimes I find pieces on the floor, or on the grass at flyball, and once there was a piece in Halo's poop, lol! If you're worried about that you can pull the continents off with pliers. The ball itself is very sturdy, and they stand up well to my powerful chewers. Halo will lay on the floor in the evening while we watch TV and *squish squish squish* an Orbee for hours.
 
#25 ·
The continents can come off the kind I have, but it hasn't been a big deal for me. Sometimes I find pieces on the floor, or on the grass at flyball, and once there was a piece in Halo's poop, lol! If you're worried about that you can pull the continents off with pliers. The ball itself is very sturdy, and they stand up well to my powerful chewers.
I have two of the glow-in-the-dark Orbee balls from Leerburg, and the continents came off mine after 6 months or so. I just pulled all the continents off after I saw them peeling up, Rayne still loves them anyway.
 
#26 ·
You guys just reminded me I need to fix Nikon's flyball tug. The tennis ball is about to come off. I make it like Debbie's except there's just one ball at the end and I use a Chuck-It Whistler ball (I think it's a little stiffer than an Orbee and comes with the size hole I need).
 
#27 ·
I like the pillow type of tug that is used in Schutzhund...you can get them smaller and they have nice little handles on the ends. Dog doesn't have to bite down on the ball if they don't really like the ball that much.

Mine loves tennis balls but doesn't like to play tug with a ball for some reason. So I have these types of tugs.
 
#29 ·
I don't know how I missed talk of these balls. I'm grateful to hear of them now, though! Grim has a LOT of new stuff on the way!! I guess UPS came when I was still asleep with a package from Bridgeport (already??!?) but they wouldn't leave it. They're supposed to come again tomorrow to deliver, and I'll be ready! :)
 
#31 ·
Thanks, I may be ordering him more Orbee balls in the near future. I ordered the planet one on a rope so far. Since I just spent about $200 on toys and equipment, I think I have to take a break before my wife kills me, LOL!
 
#32 ·
I have a couple of the Planet Dog Diamond Plate balls too - they're the same diameter as the medium Orbee, and they're the same chewy rubber.
 
#37 ·
Thanks for letting me know that! When I can order more toys (without my wife killing me) that will be first on my list. He has a Kong ball that's plastic that squeaks when you squeeze it, and it's one of the balls he likes. It's not soft, though. We have some Cuz toys, but not like that. He's got 2 of them that have the crinkley stuff inside them, because he loves chewing on bottles. :)
 
#33 ·
Is there a way (besides trying to gain his focus through treats and food...which so far has been a huge failure, as have toys) to get this? Will time just be the answer? Am I right that he's also losing energy through his wandering mind and eyes? He can be intense when he's focused on something, but that focus is so short lived. It's like living with a kid with ADHD. In fact, ADHD was mentioned as for how his focus seemed when he was evaluated. He's everywhere... and into everything....until he finally tires of his 'exploring' and settles.
I think you need to slow down like someone else said..

For me when I'm teaching focus, it's in a quiet setting in the beginning, then over time I'll add in more and more distractions.. But what I also teach in the very beginning with my dogs is, I'm the most fun and important thing, so that way it's easier for them to start focusing on me and they want to..

And like you said, he needs to explore his environment, so let him, let him take it in and then start asking for behaviors.. reward the good behaviors, even if they last a split second, because you can always build on them..

I also have no problems correcting my dogs back into me and then rewarding heavily.. Especially when they're distracted..

I'm sure with maturity your dog will settle, as I've seen a difference in my male as he's growing up..
 
#34 ·
As G-burg said, I KNOW you are trying to move to fast. Trying to do too many things. Go to your training classes absorb what they say (and no more), and LET him be a puppy. You are talking about balls, tugs, focus, and who knows what else. You are learning and the puppy is learning, not a combination for either to be going fast. Being a Czech dog has nothing to do with his focus or anything else....he is the same as any other dog with strong drives. In competent hands, yes imprinting leading to focus building and foundation would be better...but Czech has nothing to do with it, the skill and knowledge of the handler has everything to do with it. One of the negatives to clubs, is newbies see experienced handler making much faster progress with even younger dogs and they start comparing....happens all the time. Slow down! Let the puppy grow up and listen to the people in the club and you will be fine! The road to hades is paved with good intentions! Good Luck!
 
#35 ·
When I am out in stores and places with new dogs or puppies, I like for them to want to explore, sniff, use their senses to observe and watch - I think it is a "herding breed" kind of thing to do and I like to watch them learn. You could bring some nice pieces of cooked chicken or string cheese with you and when he checks in (looks, eye contact, touches your hand, walks back toward you) click and treat if that is the desired behavior. I am always afraid to have a dog neurotically checking in with me, as I tend to have/foster dogs who need some confidence building, but if he's solid, I can't imagine that would hurt.

Agree with all others who say dogs don't have watches, calendars, or to do lists in terms of when they should be where in terms of their behaviors, and this guy sounds like a nice puppy who is doing his thing.

Cuz toys are also fun! Squeaka squeaka!
 
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