Simms Rottweilers

Someone else wrote this but it is absolutely correct. I just had to repost it. Engagement vs. Attention. What’s the difference? In the old days we wanted “attention”. Basically, we wanted the dogs to look at us. The dogs “paid attention” because they were taught not to look away. But quite often the dog was conflicted. It WANTED to look at something else but knew it shouldn’t. The dog’s focus was split. Which means their response to the cue was affected. The dog didn’t respond, or their response was slow, or they didn’t meet criteria.

Over time I realized I don’t want the dog to just “look” at me. We all know that doesn’t mean the dog is mentally there. We’ve all experienced talking to someone that is looking at us but NOT paying attention! We’ve also been in a situation where the dog is looking at us, we give a cue, but the dog doesn’t respond at all. Or performs the wrong behavior, or the behavior doesn’t meet criteria. Looking does not mean mentally focused.

When a dog OFFERS engagement (i.e. it’s THEIR idea), the dog is fully committed. The environment ceases to exist. The dog is aware of distractions, but they feel good about ignoring them. They know their job! You can’t fool them!! The dog is confident and empowered. Is this easy to achieve? No! Why?? Well, let’s be realistic. A dog has different motivations than we do. Much as we love them…and they love us…. that’s often not enough. When they see something that reminds them of prey, that may be more valuable to them. For some dogs, nothing is more meaningful than food. Some dogs are enamored of the environment. Others love people or dogs. Some dogs are nervous and insecure. All dogs instinctively orient to smell, motion and sound. It’s just how they are wired. We are asking them to ignore everything that makes them feel safe, that’s natural for them…and perform random, meaningless behaviors on cue. It’s not impossible, it’s just challenging. We need to be empathetic and understand what we are asking. If we do, we will be better trainers.

It's our job to make the work SO REINFORCING that the dog WILLINGLY chooses the work over the environment. Part of that is clarity. Clear, consistent information is highly reinforcing. Part of that is success. Personally, I think making mistakes is an important part of learning. BUT if the mistakes outweigh the successes…well, you wouldn’t find that fun either. Success is reinforcing. Success builds confidence. It’s VERY important to keep track of the error/success ratio. Many people are not good at this. If your dog makes two errors in a row, it’s a red flag. The dog doesn’t understand what you are trying to communicate. Rather than continue, change something!! Not sure what to do? Abort…get help, think about it… Doing the same thing over and over expecting to get a different result is the definition of insanity  I remind myself of that often!!

Part of teaching engagement is not overfacing the dog. I.e. don’t ask the dog to do something that’s to challenging for their current skill level. Humans make assumptions. All the time. THEY think the dog SHOULD be able to do “x” work in “y” environment. That’s great. But just because YOU think it, doesn’t mean the dog can. Just because the dog can do it at home, doesn’t mean the dog can do it at a show n go, or at the park, or at a new training building.

If you are struggling with engagement, it’s not because you are a failure, you’re not interesting enough, you’re not trying hard enough, or your dog doesn’t love you. It’s because your dog doesn’t understand. Let’s be clear. Engagement is a TAUGHT skill. We must teach it piece by piece, step by step. We must teach it in environments that have little to no distraction. And slowly over time build on that until the dog can work in busy, challenging environments. Sustained engagement is a skill. We must build it like a muscle. At first the dog can maintain engagement for only a few minutes. Little by little we build mental endurance. Until the dog can maintain active engagement for long periods of time.

As with all taught behaviors, initially we use a very high reinforcement rate. We help the dog. A lot. But as we progress, we need to fade our help. And we need to reduce the amount of reinforcement. Not in every training session. But often enough so the dog can comfortably work without the reinforcer on you.
When I watch dogs at trials, I can tell that most of them understand the exercises. What they are missing is engagement. I can see the frustration and disappointment on the handler’s faces. And I empathize with them. Because getting and maintaining engagement is easily the hardest aspect of dog training.

If your dog is struggling, there is a hole in your training. Your dog doesn’t understand what you want. Maybe you did a great job teaching engagement and your dog has trialed successfully for a while. But suddenly things are falling apart. Why?? Engagement requires constant maintenance. I go back and review fundamentals a lot!! Throughout my dog’s entire career. Just because I taught it, doesn’t mean I’m finished.

Personally, I find nothing as exciting, satisfying and rewarding as working a fully engaged dog. It’s an amazing feeling. We are deeply connected; the dog responds quickly and eagerly to subtle cues. The dog can work comfortably and with full focus in very distracting environments. So exciting! And incredibly rewarding. Achieving this requires patience and, quite literally, years of hard work. Remember, engagement is a skill. It must be taught, just like an exercise. It must be nurtured and fostered and maintained. If we don’t have it, we didn’t teach it.

🏆🏆NEW CHAMPION 🏆🏆
This past weekend Vegas hit the tables at the Mt Baker cluster.
Went up against some high rollers.
She went all in against 4 special's
And On the flop, she picked up another Major,taking the pot.
The road to a Championship isn't always easy.
Sometimes you gotta know when to hold them and not fold them.
Much thanks to Teresa Bradley, our Handler.
Sherri Thompson from TNT Rottweilers.