Written by a CP Volunteer
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| Teaching "Look at me!" is easy, essential, and Forever! |
So
you find yourself trying over and over again to get your stubborn Cairn to
listen to whatever command or instruction you're attempting to give him or
her. And your voice gets louder and
louder each time you repeat, with increasing urgency, your futile attempts to
get him to respond. Does this sound
familiar?
"Buffy... Sit! ...Sit!
Buffy.. SIT! ...SIT ..SIT ...SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT!!!!!!!!!" And there he stands, oblivious to your
demands. What's wrong with him anyhow? Is he deaf?
No,
let me assure you his hearing is great.
In fact, Cairns'
hearing is incredibily acute. He hears
you alright. But he isn't listening to you at all! Why?
Because there's nothing in it for him to do so, and because, well,
because he's a Cairn Terrier, with all the stubborn, independent, mischievous
attitude that implies.
So
what can you do? How do you get them to
listen to you so that you can get them to do what you want, and sometimes
absolutely need them to do? I've found a
very effective technique, that is very simple to teach. It's the "Look At Me!" command.
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| OK, I'm looking! What's next? |
You
see, before you can get most Cairns
to do what you want them to do, you have to get their undivided attention. Not an easy task, as we all know how easily
distracted they are and how focused they can become on heaven knows what...but
certainly not on us. The "Look At
Me!" command is what I like to call an "interim command," in
that its purpose is to redirect their attention from whatever they are focusing
on in preparation for whatever follow-up command you want to issue to
them. It can also serve as a very
powerful "luring" technique (more about that later). What the "Look At Me!" command does
is gets Buffy to, as its name states, LOOK at you. That's half the battle with a Cairn Terrier. And it's one you can win easily, I assure you.
Here's
how to teach this simple, and very effective, command:
- Gather some
"high value" treats (small bits of cheese, freeze dried liver,
etc., something the dog LOVES that you reserve for training). Have them readily available in your
pocket or the palm of your hand. Pick a quiet time, where there are no
distractions and get Buffy to SIT.
- Once he's
sitting, place the treat between your thumb and index finger, so a portion
of it is showing, but the majority of it is firmly grasped between your
fingers.
- Stand up
reasonably straight, with just a slight bend at the waist (do NOT bend
down at the knees, you don't want to be on his level)
- Place your
fingers (with the treat, of course!) just beyond the tip of his nose and
draw it STRAIGHT up to the tip of your nose from his. As you do so, say, in a firm and deep
voice, "Buffy LOOK at ME!"
(emphasis on the LOOK and ME).
[A small aside here, females make the mistake of issuing commands
to dogs in a high sing-song voice rather than a DEEP authoritative
one. Become accustomed to giving
commands in a LOW, deep voice...imagine your voice if you were a
male. It's far more effective than
our higher pitched voices. Also, if
you reserve that voice register for commands, it sounds different to the
Cairn and will arouse his curiousity if nothing else!]
- Because you've
drawn the treat (which Buffy wants desperately) directly from his nose to
yours, by necessity, his eyes will follow the treat toward your face. That's what you want to happen. As soon as your fingers with the treat
touch your nose, and assuming his gaze has followed your fingers, tell him
"GOOD BOY!" and give him the treat!
- Do this 3 times in succession, 3 times per day
to begin. A total of 9 repetitions. Most Cairns will be so eager for the treat
that they will begin anticipating the command by looking at your NOSE as
soon as you begin to draw the treat from his nose to yours. THAT'S GREAT! But remember to say (in your low, deep
voice), "Buffy, LOOK at ME!" as you're drawing the treat toward
your nose. When he focuses on it,
hold it there at the tip of your nose for a few seconds. Tell him "GOOD BOY!" and give
him the treat. Your goal is to get him to anticipate the command by following it
immediately AND to lengthen the time he focuses on your nose before you
treat him. Ideally, you can
hold the treat at the tip of your nose for at least 3 seconds (count,
1-1000, 2-1000, 3-1000) and he'll focus on your face. He's looking at you!
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| Judy Garland and Terry practice "Look at me!" |
Now
that he looks at you almost immediately AND he watches you intently for 3
seconds, it's time to begin treating him randomly rather than every single
time. Give him the treat 2 out of 3
times (or 4 out of 5), and gradually reduce the number of times you treat him
until you no longer have to SHOW him the treat at all to get him to "LOOK
at ME!" This will take a week or so
of work, but believe me, it's worth every single 90 second interval that you do
it. Always POINT at your nose, however,
even if you don't have the treat. It
will become sign language to him.
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| As all Cairn lovers know, "Look at me!" can work both ways! |
When
the command is firmly established in his or her repertoire, you should be able
to get him to sit and LOOK at YOU simply by pointing at your nose (if he's
already looking in your direction). And
if he isn't, by simply saying the command (in your best low register voice!).
Now,
here's how you use this command after it's entrenched. LOOK at ME! is what I refer to as an
"interim" command. In other
words, it should be used as a bridge between a dog's not paying any attention
to you whatsoever and the command (or direction or behavior) that you WANT him
to perform. It can be used to calm an overly excited dog. And, as I indicated earlier, it's a GREAT way
to "lure" a Cairn.
What
do I mean by "lure" him? Well,
here's a true story. My Cairn, Max,
began exhibiting strong signs of wanting to chase cars at a very early
age. He'd tug and lunge on his leash
whenever a car would approach us on our daily walks through the
neighborhood. I tried all the
"tried and true" training techniques for breaking a dog's car chasing
tendencies. His obedience trainer
instructed me to use the "leash correction" on him. I did.
It not only didn't stop him, it made it worse. I tried the alpha roll. Another dead end. I tried verbal corrections, again to no
avail. I had friends drive by and pitch
coin-filled soda cans out the window as they passed Max and me. They thought I was crazy, the neighbors were
sure of it, and Max was more determined to lunge at the passing cars than ever.
His behavior was escalating rather than
diminishing. Frankly, I was
desperate. So, in the true spirit of
desperation, I changed courses entirely.
I decided to change from negative training, which all the other techniques
were, to a positive approach. In other
words, I decided, out of sheer desperation, to REWARD good behavior rather than trying to correct/change unwanted
behavior.
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| Keep it positive! Reward good behavior - Positive training works! |
I
resorted to the LOOK at ME! command I'd taught him as a very young puppy. I loaded up with high-value treats and we set
out for our walk. Since we live in a suburban
neighborhood with many winding streets, you can hear cars coming before you can
see them. As soon as I'd hear a car
approaching, I'd give Max the LOOK at ME! command and I'd move the treat from
the tip of my nose to approximately 1/2 way between his nose and mine. As the car came closer, I'd repeat,
"Max, LOOK at ME!" with the treat closer to his nose. As soon as the car passed, I'd exclaim
"GOOD BOY!!!! and would give him the treat immediately. The trick, I soon learned, was to gain his
attention with the "LOOK at ME!" command, hold his attention by
showing (luring him with) the treat, then REWARDING him immediately through praise and the treat when he did NOT lunge at
the car. Rather than having him continue
to SIT while I was "luring" him with the command and the visible
treat, I began really luring him with it as I kept walking while keeping the
treat out in front of him. I kept
PRAISING him as he continued to focus on the "lure" of the treat rather
than lunging at the car. And, as before,
I'd give him the treat as soon as the
car passed us.
To
my amazement, it took only about 4 or 5 cars worth of high-value treat luring
before I saw how a Cairn mind works! I
heard a car approaching and I immediately gave the "LOOK at ME!"
command, with the treat at the ready. I
saw Max quickly look toward the car and then back at the treat... and I could
see he'd made his decision. The treat was worth more to him than was
the car. We were over the hump! Within 2 or 3 days, Max would immediately
LOOK at ME! as soon as he heard a car in the distance. I began gradually (and randomly) reducing the
times I gave him a treat, until, in a few more days, he didn't get treats at
all and he was no longer interested in trying to chase cars.
I
have since used the same technique to redirect his desire to lunge at and chase
bicyclists and motorcycles. I also use
it to distract him from other dogs while we're out on walks.
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| Even a rambunctious little boy can learn "Look at me!" |
I
have taught this command to every one of the 10 Fosters I've had, and they've
all learned it quickly and effortlessly.
It's truly a wonderful training
technique for your Cairn and can be used for so many things. I use it all the time when I want to teach
him a new behavior, or when I simply want to gain his attention. Every now and then, when I issue the LOOK at
ME! command, I'll surprise him with a treat, just to keep the command
interesting to him.
Try
it with your Cairn - and Good Luck!
Michele
CRM
2/5/05
