Dog training can be a tough to crack if you’re clueless about where to begin.
However, one expert has taken to TikTok, sharing her secret sauce to capturing your canine’s attention.
Taylor Cezanne, who enjoys a hefty following of 827,600, let slip the “one training tip” that’s a game-changer in her wildly popular post.
In the footage, which raked in a whopping 357,700 likes and 1,100 comments, she communicates with her dog, flaunting treats in hand, instructing him to lock eyes with her.
Termed ‘focus training,’ this nifty technique is essentially about achieving eye contact from your furry friend when it’s lured by something appealing.
She said: “When your dog is able to do this, take his eye off a distraction and then put them on you, you’re able to call your dog away from him barking at another dog, chasing a squirrel and pulling on a leash.”
To nail this trick, Taylor advises keeping a stash of treats and a leash handy.
“Your dog’s eyes and nose are going to be a magnet to the treats, so we’re going to use that to our advantage and pull them up to make eye contact with us,” she continued.
“This right here is the most beginner step that you can do, if your dog is already doing this well, then I want you to start to move this behind your head, then when your dog’s doing well at that, you can move it to the side completely.”
Sharing the one mistake most pet parents make, Taylor claimed it’s when people “wait too long to mark the eye contact”. She continued: “If you’re just starting out, please make sure you mark immediately when they look into your eyes, even if it’s a split second.
“So now we’re adding a little bit of noise distractions with the treats that I’m shaking, but I want my dog to understand that if he wants something, which in this case is the treats, then he looks at me first for it.
“The idea is you want to try a bunch of different things inside the house to get your dog to focus back on you and then start practicing this outside.” Since she shared the video, many people parents rushed to the comments section to praise her.
One said: “Yesss I started this when my girl was three months old and it has helped me so much.” Another added: “Great tip,” while a third commented: “Love this, I’m going to try it!”
