Teach Your Dogs to Listen to You

Amber Higgins
Aug 7, 2016
4 min read

Getting a dog to listen to us is one of the easiest and most important training task we can do. How can we ask a dog to do anything if the dog isn't listening to us ?

Many dogs develop selective hearing, in that they do hear us but they rather not listen, just like some people dogs know how to get out of doing things too ! A dog who does not pay attention may be listening but choosing not to respond. Every dog is an individual of its own mind, just like us they too have to be treated as such and what works for one dog may not work for another.

Here are some ways to get your dog to listen to you and pay attention when you speak or act.

If your dog is not responding and you need to get its attention , try making small noises to get the dog to wonder what is that? Such as tapping on a surface to make a noise or clicking with your cheeks like for a horse and why the clicking noise does work also for a horse.

When dogs are barking outside the window I often can get them to stop by simply tapping on the window at the exact moment they bark. Why does this work ? Because it takes the dog's mind off of what it is doing,,,barking. And, the dog does not know where the noise is coming from because I'm inside and they are outside hearing tap,tap,tap. When they hear tap,tap,tap they stop barking and wait. I wait too. If they resume barking for no reason, I tap,tap,tap and they stop again. They wait in quite and I will usually say "quite" at that moment and " good dog" out the window or go outside to say so. This distracts the dog from barking and stops the barking then praises the response when the dog is quite and reinforces the action with my approval and the dog forgets all about barking. I may have to repeat this a few times with very determined barkers. Always keep in mind not to overdo the tapping or distraction or the dog will get use to it and not respond.

Now that we have quite dogs let's get back to getting the dog to pay attention.

Whispering also works much better then screaming or hollering at the dog to, "come back here and listen to me ! "

If you whisper at the dog then give the dog time to consider the noise and how to respond, they will more then likely come in closer to investigate. Another whisper or noise brings the dog closer and on the right track to do what you ask because you are getting its attention.

I always train my guard dogs in a whisper because nobody else would think of doing this which keeps others from being in control of my dog, plus the dog will not respond to normal tones in everyday life making the dog safer in a family or crowd situation.

For instance, children playing with a ball and saying "get it" to each other in excited tones could set off a family guard dog trained to attack if the dog is trained using the command "Get It" and overhears the children at play.

I learned this from a Doberman long ago when she went off on full attack mode out the window of a house and over the fence to get a man walking down the sidewalk when a friend's three year old child in the house said "Get 'em" . We were all very surprised to say the least and nobody was harmed.

These pups below are paying attention and waiting to see whats next

Also a whisper is heard better in loud surrounding so are small noises so if you are trying to control a dog in a noisy location and the dog is distracted or not listening, try making an usual or unexpected noise to get the dogs attention back on you.

Snapping your fingers works with some dogs, and using your hands to direct the dog or get its focus can work in close quarters as well as a small noise. In loud outdoor locations if the dog is far away, you may have to wave your arm or whistle loud, especially if it is a windy day. Clapping your hands works and will often bring a dog in closer if they are far away.

Using food does not work on all dogs unless the dog is very hungry or its a favorite food. I don't use food as a reward in training, I use love and praise because I don't want to carry food in my pocket and there will be a day when you don't have the treats. Plus search dogs often have to work in trash or situations where there is debris with food scrapes and we don't want the dogs stopping to eat everything or distracted.

Toys work well to get the attention of some dogs who like to play. Squeaky toys, balls and clicker training aids work too.

Also moving away from a dog will often get them focused on you. Any movement usually gets a dogs attention then you ask them what you want them to do. Pick up a stick or leaf, drop a few pebbles to the ground and see how fast your dog looks at you to see what your doing.

If you make and keep it interesting then the dog will be paying attention and interested too.

Keeping the focus is much harder then getting the dog to notice you which is the first step to gaining the dog's to focus on what your doing together.

Good Luck !

Amber

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