I was walking down the street with my dog when I saw it. A squirrel. I crossed my fingers, hoping that she would not see it. I tried to get her attention so I called her name. But it was too late, she saw it! ?. She started to whine and lunge on her leash. I called her again and tried to entice her to come back to me, but there was simply no way to get through to her. There we were, standing, both upset and frustrated, her because she could not get to her squirrel, me because my dog was completely ignoring me. I’ve rarely felt so powerless, with my lunging dog, my cookies and my ridiculous attempt to calm my girl and get her attention back.
That was a few years ago. Last season, I was walking one of my dogs at sunset. Because it was late in winter and it was twilight out, hungry deer were also present looking for food. My high prey drive border collie wanted only one thing, to let her inner-wolf out. Suddenly, my leash broke! My dog was free and there were deer a couple of meters away from us. We had both seen them a second ago. And what did my dog do? She instantly looked at me! I did not have to ask her anything, I calmly told her to sit and she instantly obeyed. I walked the meter and a half that was separating us, gently grabbed her collar and made a make-shift leash with the two broken pieces. We continued our walk as if nothing had happened. Her eyes were still on me and she pranced around a bit, trying to get me to play with her. I smiled and decided to indulge her, afterall, wasn’t she the best girl?!
Both these stories happened. They are both true. So what changed? It’s simple! I started to play attention games with my dogs! Today, when I walk down the street, my four dogs, two border collies, one shiba inu and one pembroke welsh corgi ranging from 11 months to 6 years old, all have their eyes on me. They want to engage, and ask me to play with them. If they are sniffing and doing their doggy things, I know I’m always in the corner of their eyes. They wait for one thing, that I call them. If I do, instantly they are at my feet, wondering what I want and what fantastic games we are going to play.
Attention Games for Dogs: In the Street is the class for you if you want your dog to beg you to engage with them, if you want to transform your dog from a squirrel-obsessed tractor to the calm and behaved pooch you always dreamt about, or if you want to have fun with your dog and see that sparkle in her eyes each time you ask for her attention. The games are so easy and simple that you won’t even realize that you are training. Whether you are a beginner who just wants to have fun with your dog, or if you’re a savvy dog trainer looking for new ideas, you’ll have a blast playing these games!
Don’t beg, just play!
“Having a shiba inu, you know you're going to have to work hard to have it's attention. Eve's lessons really helped me and my young shiba to bound closer and I can now have much of her attention outside, with still some work to do.” - Aude Provost and Ahsoka, 1 year old shiba inu
“My dog used to look at everything except me. With Eve's attention games, I achieved to get a terrier who looks at me, listens to me and has a good focus, while having fun!” - Eve Goulet and Peanut, 8 month old welsh terrier
“Eve's class really helped me with my high prey drive dog. I worked hard on her lessons with my dog and it paid off. He is now more focused and more engaged with me !” - Léane Bossé and Chekov, borzoi, and Loki, greyhound.
