# Focus and Distractions



## Chris Michalek (Feb 13, 2008)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoVRF5v-x1A

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAlqrQiqm3A

Gerry, I know what you are thinking....[-X


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## Jonathan Katz (Jan 11, 2010)

Nice work!


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## Julie Blanding (Mar 12, 2008)

When you released your dog in the 1st video, why did he go after the kong instead of the sleeve? Is that something he holds as a higher reward?

If he had bit the sleeve that would of been okay too, right? If not, why not?

Thanks,
Julie


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## Chris Michalek (Feb 13, 2008)

Julie Blanding said:


> When you released your dog in the 1st video, why did he go after the kong instead of the sleeve? Is that something he holds as a higher reward?
> 
> If he had bit the sleeve that would of been okay too, right? If not, why not?
> 
> ...


Because he doesn't care about the sleeve and I didn't tell him to bite.

Packen = Bite
Yes = Toy

I was just explaining to somebody earlier today that I think people often make the mistake of of always using the toy that has the highest value to the dog. I have four levels of rewards. 1. Kong 2. Sleeve 3. Tug 4. Frisbee

I almost always train with the frisbee and when I want to see more intensity I graduate to the next toy. The kong is the highest level reward, he would climb a tree for it. He likes to bite too but I can still control him with the kong. I purposefully spent time building drive for that one object and we use it rarely. In the case of the video, those are heavy distractions and without a physical correction mechanism but I can still get him to perform the way I want because I have the item that means more than anything to him and he will do anything for it.


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## Tanya Whelan-Velasco (Mar 21, 2010)

wow nice work nice focus!!!


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## brad robert (Nov 26, 2008)

nice work, nice dog


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## Max Orsi (May 22, 2008)

Nice work Chris.

How old is the dog?

Happy training

Max


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## Julie Blanding (Mar 12, 2008)

Thanks for the explanation. So, based on what you said, if you told him packen and threw the kong, he would bite the sleeve. It's good that his motivation for the kong is that high, probably makes coming back to you pretty fun and easy.


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## Chris Michalek (Feb 13, 2008)

Julie Blanding said:


> Thanks for the explanation. So, based on what you said, if you told him packen and threw the kong, he would bite the sleeve. It's good that his motivation for the kong is that high, probably makes coming back to you pretty fun and easy.



yes, if I said Packen he would go for the sleeve. In the vid, I think you can see him think about the sleeve first, I know saw him look at it when I was training.


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## Chris Michalek (Feb 13, 2008)

Max Orsi said:


> Nice work Chris.
> 
> How old is the dog?
> 
> ...



He's 16mo.


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## Steve Strom (May 25, 2008)

Real nice attention Chris. Good training.


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## Gerry Grimwood (Apr 2, 2007)

Chris Michalek said:


> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoVRF5v-x1A
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAlqrQiqm3A
> 
> Gerry, I know what you are thinking....[-X


I thought the training looks good and that's all that matters.


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## Max Orsi (May 22, 2008)

Chris Michalek said:


> He's 16mo.


Very Nice!!

Always enjoyable watching good training.

Happy training

max


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## Chris Michalek (Feb 13, 2008)

Max Orsi said:


> Very Nice!!
> 
> Always enjoyable watching good training.
> 
> ...


Thanks Max, I like your vids too.

I could have played with him more but I was really just demonstrating to Jeremy (http://www.workingdogforum.com/vBulletin/f20/hello-mesa-az-14823/) what real focus is and what he should strive for in his dog. 

Focus is something that is difficult for green handlers to fully grasp until they see it.

Most people correct the dog for moving its head. I watch the eyes and I correct any glance away from my eyes.


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## brad robert (Nov 26, 2008)

Chris Michalek said:


> Thanks Max, I like your vids too.
> 
> I could have played with him more but I was really just demonstrating to Jeremy (http://www.workingdogforum.com/vBulletin/f20/hello-mesa-az-14823/) what real focus is and what he should strive for in his dog.
> 
> ...


chris could you elaborate on that a bit when you say you correct when they look away what do you do and how?do you reward straight away when eye contact is made? thanks


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## Chris Michalek (Feb 13, 2008)

brad robert said:


> chris could you elaborate on that a bit when you say you correct when they look away what do you do and how?do you reward straight away when eye contact is made? thanks



I only reward when he looks me directly in the eyes. If he glances away, I just give and UH UH and as soon as he looks back at my eyes, I reward.


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## Jeff Oehlsen (Apr 7, 2006)

Quote: Focus is something that is difficult for green handlers to fully grasp until they see it.

So you are not green anymore ??


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## Dave Cartier (Dec 2, 2009)

Chris Michalek said:


> Because he doesn't care about the sleeve and I didn't tell him to bite.
> 
> Packen = Bite
> Yes = Toy
> ...


Hey Chris,

Very nice job on the focus work. Just a couple questions. I'm just starting my Mal out and working on just focus exercises.(8wks).

Did you build the initial foundation focus work with just "watch me" targeting games marking the behavior with food or was it taught more with the toy/tug/frisbee? And if so what order if any?

And do you use your value reward system as an intermittent/random reinforcement on each exercise, (Platz,Fuss, etc) or was it used when you saw some diminishing focus and used it to build drive in that exercise?

I hope I explained my question correctly.

Imagine you did all that with out an e-collar Very nice.


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## Chris Michalek (Feb 13, 2008)

Jeff Oehlsen said:


> Quote: Focus is something that is difficult for green handlers to fully grasp until they see it.
> 
> So you are not green anymore ??


Not sure about that.... Not super experienced but I'm not being told what to do like a totaly noob. I tell the helper what I want and that comes with experience, knowledge and thought.


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## Chris Michalek (Feb 13, 2008)

when he was a puppy I played with him and the kong all the time. I would bring him out with my three rotts and they would all chase and compete for the kong. Eventually when he was fast enough he would be the one to get to the kong first and the other dogs would chase him. I would only praise the dog that brought it to me. 

I've always been in the habit of playing with different toys with the goal that literally anything could be a reward. ex: if I'm at a park and don't have a toy, I should be able to use a plastic bottle, box, or whatever I could find.

I discovered his level of drive for each toy. I did most of the initial foundation with a tug and then would move to the kong where he would work even harder. He works hard enough for a frisbee and it's easier to tired him out with all the jump. I use one of those chuck it fabric frisbees because I can play tug with it too. The frisbee is what I train with most of the time now and then will go to the tug or kong if I think there is a higher level of distraction (like the video) or I want more intensity out of him.

Focus is one of the very first things I taught him as a puppy. WATCH - he looks at my eyes and bam reward comes and then I worked on duration.



Dave Cartier said:


> Hey Chris,
> 
> Very nice job on the focus work. Just a couple questions. I'm just starting my Mal out and working on just focus exercises.(8wks).
> 
> ...


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## Chris Michalek (Feb 13, 2008)

here's a vid of when he was a pup

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBrn4JH1MkI


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