how to get focus from your pit bull

Getting your dog to focus on you is arguably one of the most important components of dog training. For your dog to grasp any future command, trick, or expectation that you teach them, you must first condition them to pay attention to you and check in with you periodically. Rewarding eye contact is the best method for teaching your dog to give you focus.

The best time to teach your dog focus is during mealtimes. Go to a quiet location in your house and during your dog’s breakfast, lunch, or dinner, take some of your dog's kibble in your hand. Say “watch”, “focus”, or whichever name you plan to use moving forward when you want to cue your dog to look at you. You can also use this technique to teach your dog her name. The moment she looks at you, reward her with an emphatic “yes!” and give your dog a piece of kibble or a treat. Repeat this until the food for the meal is gone. Practicing this activity repeatedly over each of your dog's meals for a couple of days will quickly teach your dog that it pays to pay attention to you. Once your dog is giving consistent eye contact when you say her name or give the focus/watch command, begin to progress to more active or less familiar areas of your home to increase distraction. Over some time and several repetitions, you will have conditioned your dog to check in with you periodically and give you focus on your command.

Have you tried the technique in this blog and still would like assistance training? Click the link to download my ebook on how to train your bully breed or reach out to us for private and/or virtual training.