SDiT Puppy TEAM Wk 5 - Focus Games

This week we worked on several foundations that build up to teaching our young dogs how to focus around distractions. Once fully understood, these games are often used while playing other games to train new skills to older SDiT's.

Look At That - Commonly referred to as LAT

Look At That "LAT" gives the dog something to do. It's also the start of desensitizing to triggers no matter what they are. Timing is important and as the dog starts understanding the game and is able to look without a reaction, you can add duration and then eventually, you can reward your dog when they choose to look at you in the presence of a trigger. This is a great way to continue building deference to you when you are outside, in the world where it can be difficult for your pup.

Go slow, have fun, train in small intervals, take breaks, use high value rewards especially when you are starting out, be mindful of trigger stacking (multiple triggers at one time) and stay in your training bubble. Always create distance when you're not sure if your dog is comfortable with the environment. Always see the environment from your dog's point of view.

To prepare

• Use high value treats

• Practice U-turns to put distance between you and an object.

• Watch for stress signals and stop before displacement behaviors begin.

Level 1:Engage

Start at a safe distance away from the trigger, where your dog is not reacting.  Be quiet and still so your dog notices the trigger on their own.

At the same time as your dog looks at the trigger, mark or click, offering a reward. 

Repeat, dog looks at trigger, mark, reward.

If your dog doesn’t look back at you for a treat after you mark, you may need to mover farther away.

Level 2: Disengage

Let your dog notice the trigger again, but now wait for 1-5 seconds to see if they will turn away from the trigger on their own.  If they don’t, move back further and repeat Level 1.

At the instant your dog looks away from the trigger turning to you, mark and reward.

Repeat 3-5 times.

Level 3: Engagement with you

This level is when your dog chooses to maintain engagement with you instead of looking at the trigger this comes after mastering level 2

You can mark and reward for maintaining the engagement with you or choosing not to look back at the trigger 

Blending the Games 

I like to practice this game with moving distractions that are not necessarily triggers for my dog.  For example, with a young dog sitting outside a store in a parking lot.  Every time a person walks by, I say “people” and my dog can look in the direction I point, then gets a reward for staying quiet and looking back at me.

By playing this version in environments where your dog is easily not stressed and only mildly excited can help them learn to play the game better and also make your timing better.  

Then when you are ready to work on something that triggers your dog, you both will know exactly how to play the game.

LATTE - Look At That Then Enrichment 

This variation of the game works really well to expand training around distractions. You have to teach LAT (directions above) first, using very mild distractions before building to more difficult distractions. 

Where LAT uses most food as the primary reinforcement, LATTE uses a mix of food and environmental reinforcers. Enrichment can be anything your dog loves such as sniffing the grass, chewing on a stick, calm pattern games, or a lickmat. 

To get started, it's often easiest to use scatter feeding in the grass as your enrichment. The dog sees a distraction, looks back at you, and you toss a mix of treats and kibble into the grass for the dog to sniff out. Then you create a pattern of the dog looks at the distraction, then you, then toss cookies & repeat.

This works best when you are at the right distance for your dog. If you're too close & your dog won't be able to play the game. If you're too far away, you're dog will totally gobble cookies without ever looking at the distraction. Start farther away, then slowly move closer ending before your dog has a huge reaction. Keep it positive & happy!

Find It Games

This is a great way to teach your puppy to problem solve and learn how to use their nose. It's my starter game for any puppy that will later be trained to do medical alerts or compete in scent work. You can find the directions on the Yooper Paws Blog.

Hide & Seek

This game is great for teaching recall and longer distance check-ins and is an absolute must if you plan to ever have your puppy off leash, even in a larger fenced in area. Hide & Seek is also the starter game for teaching SD Tasks such as Take Me To Your Leader. You can find simple directions in the Play with Purpose Collection or on the Yooper Paws Blog.

Obstacle Courses & Mazes

These are great for generalizing skills that you have already started teaching as well as building your puppy's confidence. Practicing things like "sit" several times in a row can get very boring, but having your puppy sit on a station at the start and stop of an obstacle course can give you that practice of a much needed skill in a fun way. You can learn more about setting up obstacle courses in the Play With Purpose Collection or on the Yooper Paws Blog.

Movement Puzzles

These are another great way to generalize skills in multiple ways at a faster rate. I will often use a movement puzzle to teach puppies how to go away from me, accomplish a goal and then come back to check in. That goal might be as simple as chase the treat and come back or might be go around an object and come back, etc. This is also a great way to build in other types of reinforcement to help you learn how to make the environment more reinforcing then the food you would typically use to train a new behavior. Again, these games reinforce behavior that you've already taught with positive reinforcement methods and by adding them to puzzles, it becomes more fun. This too is in the Play With Purpose Collection and on the Yooper Paws Blog.