How can you train your dog to make eye contact with you?

When I walk my dog and I call her name, I would like for her to look over at me and look me in the eyes and wait for my command.

When I am doing down stay and sit stay I would like for her to look me in the eyes instead of looking all over the gound, at my hands, etc for treats.

When people walk by the house and I call her to come, how can I get her to look at me, instead of being so fucused on the walker, cyclist, etc.

She is 4 months old, so I don't know if I am being too anal right now. If I am expecting too much for my girl, let me know.

If have been doing marker training ("yes"), but she still looks all over the place, then at my face last.

I feed her baked beef liver for treats. I am thinking about pieces of hot dog, so I can hold the treat in my mouth and when she looks at me I can spit/drop it from my mouth. I figure that will get her looking at my face....

I used hot dogs. When I would walk my dog when she was just 10 weeks old....I would stash some hot dog pieces in my mouth & use the command Zasha 'watch me' & when she would look up I would drop a piece of hotdog to her. It only took a couple of hot dog pieces dropping to her for her to figure out that good thing came from my mouth when she looked up at me & when I gave her the 'watch me' command. I was just a treat dispenser to her. My dogs are almost 3 & almost 4 & I still use a 'watch me' command to divert their attention away from something that I don't want them to concentrate on & over to me when I am out with them. I take them to run in a field that often has other people there as well, playing baseball, hitting golf balls, throwing footballs etc & if my start to pay too much attention to what is going on around them I refocus their attention to me with a 'watch me' command. They don't really have any interest in interacting with any of the people there they only are intested in me, but sometimes they get caught up in watching a ball being throw etc & loose focus on me for a second & I use that command to refocus them at that time. It is, I think, a very useful command to teach your dog from a young age. It is also a way to start a young dog in getting used to walking on a leash without having to pull or tug on them to get there attention back to you & their walk instead of stopping & sniffing everywhere or just to get their attention at any time. JMO

Do you just cut up the hot dog and leave it, or do you throw them in the microwave and cook them a bit?

I had a buddy that used to cook them in the micro until they were hard and crunchy. I think he was trying to cook off some of the fat.

Necessary?

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Do you just cut up the hot dog and leave it, or do you throw them in the microwave and cook them a bit?

I had a buddy that used to cook them in the micro until they were hard and crunchy. I think he was trying to cook off some of the fat.

Necessary?

Well, they are fully cooked, and unless fat actually was rendered when your friend microwaved, then he wasn't getting rid of any. He might have crisped it up......... <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

As Anne says, "look" or "watch me" can be something you teach all the time, including just playing in your home.

It can be the first behavior for marker training....... an accidental eye contact can be rewarded and named, and then asked for once the dog knows what the word means.

Then when you ask for it outside, with other commands happening, it's a well-known thing you're asking for.

I use turkey hot dogs (Foster Farms) cut into pieces a little larger than a pea (less chewing). Then, I microwave them spread out between layers of paper towels. This dries them out somewhat especially if you blot them between the towels to help remove some of the fat and moisture. My dog does not like them if they are too hard and you can regulate that by how long you cook them. I suppose there are many ways to use hot dogs, this is just what I do. And, I don't mind holding them in my mouth either if you use that method of rewarding.

Yes, Connie, as you stated you can do this in the house & while playing & marking the eye contact. I did that as well with her I just addressed what I did while walking, 'cause that is what he had asked about. I cut the hotdogs lengthwise in half 2x to make 4 long pieces & then cut then cross wise into 1/4 inch or so pieces. I usually put a handfull into my mouth & hold them in my cheek & drop them out of my mouth to my dog. I do NOT micowave the hot dogs, nor would I microwave ANY food that I feed my dogs. They are on a raw diet, but even if they were not, I still would not EVER microwave any food that I feed them. I usually use tutkey hot dogs, but if I can't get them I use the all beef hot dogs. I also use the same size pieces for tracking training. <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />