Helping our dogs to return focus to us can be done in many different ways. One of those is using some of the Pattern Games from the Control Unleashed Program by Leslie McDevitt. We introduced the Up Down Pattern Game in another post. In this post, we introduce you to the Ping Pong Game.

My number one request might very well be helping dogs to listen when “distractions” are present. That might pretty much cover just about everything I do as a dog trainer!

Helping our dogs learn how to focus on us, or to refocus on us after a distraction, is something I spend a lot of time helping clients do. It happens in just about all situations. Is your dog struggling with leash manners? Distractions! Is your dog worried about strangers? Distractions! Is your dog not coming reliably when you call? Distractions!

The goal is NOT to keep our dogs focused on us all the time and never notice distractions. That's not realistic nor advisable.

We want our dog to notice distractions, but sometimes not get quite so caught up in them! Notice but not engage.

Leslie McDevitt's Up and Down Pattern Game is just one way to help teach our dogs how to return focus to us. She discussed this game in her book Control Unleashed Reactive to Relaxed. If your dog has already practiced the Up Down Game and needs a new challenge, then the Ping Pong Game is a good next step.

We work on this exercise in some of my classes, especially my Juvenile Delinquents Class. I also teach it to many of my students in private training.

Here's how it works.

You can be sitting or standing. Your dog can be sitting or standing.

It's best to warm up with the Up Down Game first. Once your dog is doing well with that, we can transition to the Ping Pong Game.

When your dog focuses up on your face, toss a treat to your left.

Once your dog takes the treat, hopefully he turns attention back to you. When he looks back up at your face, toss a treat to your right side.

Again, wait for him to focus back on your face.

Toss another treat to your left side.

Each time your dog focuses back on you, toss alternating treats to your left and your right so you get a pattern going.

Sometimes your dog will not look back up at you right away. That's ok. If he notices a distraction in the environment, it's ok if he looks at it. Hopefully, he will then turn away and look back at you. Reward with another treat tossed in the opposite direction of the last one you tossed.

The goal is for him to notice distractions and be able to look back at you without you having to prompt him. He notices the distraction and makes the choice to look back at you.

Depending on the distraction, some dogs will need longer to watch and process it before turning back to you. Give him as long as he needs, as long as he's not trying to move toward the distraction, or bark at it, or otherwise engage with it.

If he does react, then you need to either move farther away from the distraction or reset and find a lesser distraction someplace else to work on this game first.

Remember, you are NOT prompting your dog to focus on you. You need to wait for your dog to offer focus.

Since your dog is moving away from you to get the treat, focusing back on you might just be him turning and looking at you from where he is. It might mean he returns to you to focus on you. It might mean he sits and focuses on you. At first, the only requirement is that he focus back on your face. The other stuff is fine, but not required.

As your dog gets better at the game, you could challenge your dog by tossing the treats farther away.

As he gets better at the game, you could challenge your dog by increasing your criteria. You might decide that now, you do want your do to return in front of you and focus on you. You might decide that you want your dog to sit and focus on you. You can add other criteria in as you work on better focus. But you don't have to.

If you make it more challenging and your dog is struggling with returning focus to you, make things easier. Do not toss the treat as far. Do not require a sit or return to you. If you really need to back things up, go back to the Up Down Game.

There are other variations that can be added in depending on how difficult or easy this is for your dog. There are other pattern games that can be incorporated. But this is a good next step after the Up Down Game.

Try it out and let me know how it goes!