How do you get your dog to check in on walks?

Get the right tools – a leash, a harness, a clicker, high-value training treats, and a treat pouch. Reward eye contact – take your dog for a walk in a calm, controlled environment or start a training session in your house. Without prompting, reward your dog every time they look up at you. Practice consistently – practice this enough times that your dog initiates looking at you in hopes of a reward. Be sure to pair the treat with a clicker sound or a word “like ‘yes!’” to eventually be able to phase out treats. Add distractions – once your dog consistently checks in with you, add some distractions like other people or animals, or cars passing by. Keep marking and rewarding whenever your dog initiates eye contact with you. Change the environment – when your dog gets really good at checking in regardless of distractions, you can take them to new environments and unpredictable surroundings. If you encourage your dog to check in with you frequently, you’ll start to notice it becoming a habit. Further encouraging check-ins to take place whenever a situation changes helps your dog understand that they should check in with you whenever something changes.

To start to make it fun for your dog to look back at you outside, begin by tossing some treats in the grass away from your dog and then back away from your dog. Simply wait while your dog sniffs to find the treats, you want them to make a choice to come to you. When your dog comes to you, mark and reward. You can start to actually run away from your dog when they head toward you to build more speed and enthusiasm. Turn distractions into cues for your dog to check in with you, this game relies on a simple out and back pattern where your dog is always returning to you. If your dog notices something before they turn to you, it can become an environmental cue to check in with you as you repeatedly reinforce them for noticing that distraction and coming back to you. If you make looking back at you and choosing to come to you behaviors that pay, you will see more and more of them without having to nag your dog.