LOOK AT ME!!!

As I mentioned in a previous post, Ender's dog walker once likened us to tree stumps, based on the amount of attention he would give us when we were outside. He generally walks well with no pulling, but game over if he sees a squirrel, cat, dog, or person that looks like they are considering petting him. Then it's the pull, tug, whimper, lunge routine.

First of all, what a shot to the ego when you realize that your dog doesn't give a crap about you. (And that you might be far less interesting than a tree.) Then, complete and utter despair because really, how do you get your dog to pay attention to you when you personally think you are far more interesting than a tree?

His dog walker started us on clicker training and exercises where we would reward him for just looking at us.

Exercise #1:
Hold Treat to Face
Click when Dog looks at Treat (and Face behind Treat)
Treat to Dog
(This was a serious wtf moment, as in..why am I giving my dog a treat for looking at me when uh, he's SUPPOSED to be looking at me?)

Exercise #2:
Hold Treat to Face
Move Treat to Right/Left of Face
Click when Dog Looks at Face, not Treat
Treat to Dog

So after our initial wtf moment, we committed to the clicker training (because hey, we had nothing else) and Ender has gotten better at paying attention to us when we are outside. (Holy Moly, it frickin' works!)

We still have our moments, where he sees the squirrel before I do, before I get a chance to catch his attention. During those times, I literally have to place the treat in his mouth and let him lick it, and then bring the treat up to my eyes before he looks at me. And yes, sometimes that makes me feel like a crack dealer (first hit's for free!) but hey, they must be doing something right if the drug industry has lasted this long.