We are having trouble getting Mikos to focus on playing when we are outside. When we go outside whether it is in the yard or at the park he tends to focus on everything else around him rather than playing ball or trying to fetch etc. In the yard we try and get him to play soccer which Brie loves, but as soon as she chases the ball he runs and is all over her while she is trying to play with the ball. He tries to get Brie to chase him but so far she hasn't caught on to that. Unfortunately we can't seem to keep his interest with all of the neighbourhood sounds etc. and he is usually off checking sights or sounds. We tried the dog park but I am not a big fan because he just runs sort of to the outside of all the other dogs trying to herd them. He is so focussed on this that he won't listen to us and return when we call. We like to go to the local baseball diamond because it is completely fenced and we can drop the leads and play. We can engage Mikos for a couple of minutes but then he either sits where he is or goes to the fence to watch for other dogs, people, birds etc. I recently started playing tug with him after reading the article that was posted here. It took a couple of days but now he loves playing tug in the backyard. Will this help me to work up to other activities and increase his attention span? We did a herding instinct test and he had a strong herding drive but the place to do this is quite a drive and not very workable at the moment. We have started to teach them 'touch' so that we can try herding with the exercise ball in the backyard but so far Brie uses an open mouth on the ball and the game ends real quick with a popped ball. We continue to work on his obedience, he has his CGN (Canadian version of CGC) but his come still tends to be his weakest area (he walks over slowly never runs). Any advice would be gratefully accepted. I would like to try Treibball at some point but here it is done in an open field and I can not trust him off leash.
Trying to Get Mikos to Focus on Play
- Thread starter nbrard
- Start date
Toffee's Mom
Forums Sage
Tugging will DEFINITELY help, don't give up on it, it takes a while to transfer to other environments...
I would use his chasing instinct
for training! When you call him and he saunters you could RUN RUN RUN the other direction away from him, wanna bet he will start running towards you instead of meandering? THEN when he catches up to you fast, he gets to have a HUGE party!
Call his name, in high pitched mommy voice and RUN the other way, don't say come here, etc... yet. Just his name and boot it to the other side of the field, when he comes running you can say Miko, come.... and then party party party, treats galore from your hand.. go on your knees and rough house AND tug and treats too!
Every time he comes to you and you didn't call he gets a treat, he will learn that you are the most valuable thing around, in Susan Garrett's speak it is when YOU become the COOKIE..
Never chase him, and don't let the kids chase him... only he gets to chase you guys, to start making you wayyyyyyyyy more fun than the environment can offer... that means HUGE jackpot treating with his highest value treat!
At this stage, ALWAYS reward when he is near you on walks, etc. When he makes the choice to be near you instead of checking out the environment, reward.. and that can be pet, play, treat, or even here check out this tree and he gets to sniff.. but always a reward... and voila a couple of weeks of that I bet you can let him off leash in the park, I am pretty confident!
Also welcome to having a teenager
I would use his chasing instinct
for training! When you call him and he saunters you could RUN RUN RUN the other direction away from him, wanna bet he will start running towards you instead of meandering? THEN when he catches up to you fast, he gets to have a HUGE party!Call his name, in high pitched mommy voice and RUN the other way, don't say come here, etc... yet. Just his name and boot it to the other side of the field, when he comes running you can say Miko, come.... and then party party party, treats galore from your hand.. go on your knees and rough house AND tug and treats too!
Every time he comes to you and you didn't call he gets a treat, he will learn that you are the most valuable thing around, in Susan Garrett's speak it is when YOU become the COOKIE..
Never chase him, and don't let the kids chase him... only he gets to chase you guys, to start making you wayyyyyyyyy more fun than the environment can offer... that means HUGE jackpot treating with his highest value treat!
At this stage, ALWAYS reward when he is near you on walks, etc. When he makes the choice to be near you instead of checking out the environment, reward.. and that can be pet, play, treat, or even here check out this tree and he gets to sniff.. but always a reward... and voila a couple of weeks of that I bet you can let him off leash in the park, I am pretty confident!
Also welcome to having a teenager
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Thanks Toffee's Mom, that sounds great! I'll have to make more of the liver treats that were posted on here because he loved those. I can't wait to get home from work and start trying your suggestions! Just what I needed a 4-legged teenage boy to go with my two 2-legged teenage boys