How to Teach your Dog the Look Command

The most important ingredient in training a dog is the ability to attract and hold their attention. If they are not focused on you, they cannot learn. Using his name as a way to grab his attention can work but names are associated with all sorts of commands and are not as effective as they could be. What if you had a command that made him look you in the face when you wanted his attention? Wouldn’t you then have his attention and be able to ask something else of him without distraction?

The ‘Look’ command is just that – a command that makes him look you in the face. This is especially effective with shy dogs that will not willingly make eye contact or high-energy dogs that never sit still long enough to do more then glance in your general direction.

To begin, pick a quiet room with few distractions. And make sure he is hungry as his food drive must be high for this to work and use a treat that is especially yummy. Have him sit in front of you (you can be standing or sitting in a chair – whatever is most comfortable).

Take a piece of treat and, while he watches, put it up to the bridge of your nose (right between the eyes!) and say ‘Fido, Look!’ in an excited voice. When he makes eye contact, mark his response with a ‘Yes!’ or ‘Good boy!’ and give him the morsel of food. Do it again. Do it a bunch more times, taking a little longer each time to give him the treat and always with a excited ‘Yes!’ or ‘Good boy!’ when he makes eye contact.

Once he has that part solid, its time to make it a bit more difficult. Instead of holding the food between your eyes, now hold the food at arms length from your face. This time when you give the ‘Fido, Look!’ command, as soon as he even glances your way, mark the behavior with a ‘Yes!’ or ‘Good boy!’ and give him the treat. Keep at this step for a while until he knows that he must look you in the eye to earn the reward. Begin delaying the treat so he holds your gaze.

Repeat these steps several times a day for a week or two for him to really have the command down solid and then begin using it at other times of the day. While playing, pause the game for a second and say ‘Fido, Look!’. As soon as he looks at you, throw his ball or toy. When you give him his dinner dish, say ‘Fido, Look!’ and when he does, place his dish in front of you. While out for a leash walk, say ‘Fido, Look!’ and when he does, give him a treat.

Next try it with a few distractions such as a busy room or yard or when he is full of energy and running around like a crazy dog!

When fully trained, the Look command can have a million uses, all based on gaining his attention – not a bad command to have in his repertoire!