The term engagement gets used often in the dog training space, but so often when I am explaining the benefits to my clients; I am often met with the response “I wish I knew about this sooner.” Building engagement with your dog is teaching your dog that listening to you is rewarding. We are building value over you and what you say to your dog. This is such a simple concept and sometimes people think dogs automatically come wired this way. However, that is not true. Dogs need to learn that listening is not only important but it is rewarding for them as well. Dogs that don’t learn this at an early age can develop nuisance behaviors such as leash pulling, incessant barking, and leash reactivity.
Dogs are one of the few animals, besides humans, that make eye contact with other species. This quality has been bred in dogs to establish a stronger connection with their human. However, this trait needs to be encouraged and doesn’t happen automatically. Trainers will encourage this through a variety of different games like “Look At Me”. The “Look At Me” game is when you reward your dog for making eye contact with you, through a reward-based system. One way is to put a treat in front of your dog's nose and bring the treat right between your eyes and as soon as your dog makes eye contact you reward them with that treat. Eventually, adding the cue “Look At Me”. Another way to pay this game is to show your dog that you have a treat or a toy in each hand, hold out your arms in a T, and then cue your dog with the “Look At Me” and when your dog makes eye contact with you instead of looking at your hands for the treat or fun toys, you reward them.
If you have a puppy, another way to build engagement with them is to hand feed them. Hand-feeding has other benefits as well, especially with a puppy. It helps build the bond between you and your puppy as well as help work on your puppy's bite inhibition. Hand-feeding is when instead of putting your dog’s food in a bowl for them to hover over and eat; instead put their food in your hands and feed your puppy one kibble or bite at a time.
Hide and Seek isn’t just for kids. Playing Hide and Seek with your dog while you are walking them or playing with them in the backyard helps condition your dog that you are the reward. You can play this by hiding behind a tree or bush and then calling your dog’s name. When your dog finds you, make exaggerated movements and give them lots of high praise. Playing Hide and Seek is also helpful if you have a dog that likes to run away from you as a game. If you become the object of play; you can condition them to stop the urge to run away from you.
One of the best ways to build engagement between you and your dog is by doing trick training. This is especially helpful if you have a dog that is part of the working breed families. Dogs that are working breeds have a high drive to learn and have a job. By training them to do specific tricks, like “Take a Bow” or “Twirl”; helps fulfill your dog's desire to have a job as well as have fun with you which strengthens your bond.
These are just a few examples of ways to build engagement with your dog. As a dog trainer, when I see dogs with leash pulling behaviors or are highly reactive, more often than not, these dogs have a low level of engagement with their owners. If you’re noticing that your dog isn’t very engaged with you, I recommend contacting a dog trainer or dog behaviorists to help you build that engagement with your dog. You will notice a big difference in your relationship with your dog as they learn to trust and focus more on you.