[Stacey]

Hi Cory,

Is she trained on duration for the look command? I have a reactive dog as well and I have her sit and then do a very strong look command to let dogs pass us. I have trained her to hold it out for a long time first indoors where it’s very clear until being released and then outside before introducing any distractions, and dogs are the highest distraction for her. I found for my dog, training for things like focus was more effective as a separate training from her neighborhood walks. There wasn’t enough consistency in results on her walks to have the active training be conditioned there. Training in long periods of duration before distraction may help if you aren’t already doing that, but it’s harder for them to learn both at the same time off the bat. I also stand in front of her facing her when I put her in the sit since she will do the look command and then just stare at me until released. The duration on look will take away the buildup or fixation from visual stimulation of the trigger and timing on when to cue the look command is everything. This is just what I’ve found success with and have trained a lot on the look command. There are a lot of trainers that say passing by a dog fast is easier than having them sit and focus like a sitting duck, but it’s the only thing that works for my dog, at least for now.

[Stacey]

Good luck! Also with any command, when training duration, gradually increase it similar to when training strong stay commands.