Salmon Dog Treatby Sniff and Shift
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Guide

Using freeze-dried salmon to teach a watch me cue

Updated

Salmon treats for focus training pay for a look: your dog meets your eyes when you say watch me, and you hand over one small bit. Keep the bits out of sight until the look happens, make the distractions harder a little at a time, and count each payout against the day's allowance.

How do you teach focus with salmon treats?

Focus here means one cue, watch me, and one result you can see: your dog's eyes on yours. The cue is the request and the bit is the payment. Nothing about salmon makes the looking happen, and the treat only pays for it afterward.

A piece starts out medium sized, the listing says, and you break it down to the size of one look. The training line is short: "Break each piece down before you start and pay out one bit at a time." Do the breaking first, in a quiet spot, with your dog out of the way. Have the bits in your hand before you ask for anything.

Then say the cue once. When your dog looks at your face, mark it with yes, and hand over one bit. Reset and go again. There is no clock on any of this, and no count of looks to reach. End when you decide to end, with the bits you set out for the session spent or put away.

We freeze-dry this salmon from raw, so finish every watch me session at the sink. The bag says: "Wash your hands after handling it."

Where should the treat be while your dog looks at you?

Out of sight. Put the bits in a pocket or in the hand behind your back, and keep your free hand loose at your side. When the look comes, bring the bit out and pay.

A bit held up at your face is a different exercise, one for camera shots and not for this cue. For a watch me session, the bits stay out of sight until the look has already happened.

If you carry the bits in a pocket, reach in with one hand and keep the other hand loose. Leave the pouch resealed somewhere else in the room. The bag's line applies to it: "Reseal the pouch once it is open and store it cool and dry."

How do you add distractions to focus practice?

Slowly, and one step at a time. Stay on a rung until your dog is looking at you there without trouble, and drop back a rung if the looks stop. Here is the ladder, easiest first:

  • A quiet room with nothing going on.
  • A different room in the house.
  • The yard.
  • A walk.

Each rung is a new place, and each place is a fresh start with the bits ready and the cue the same. We cannot promise your dog will manage any of them, and we give no timings. If a step keeps falling apart, a trainer who can watch the two of you is the right next call.

How much salmon does focus practice use?

Treat it like a small budget. Every look is a bit, and the bits add up over a day. Our product page has a treat budget calculator that takes the daily calories you enter and returns 10 percent of them as salmon by weight. That 10 percent is the calculator's only setting, and the answer is a weight, never a number of bits.

The real number belongs to your veterinarian. If the vet's share for your dog is different, use the vet's amount in place of the calculator's. Our blog on how many salmon treats a day walks through the calorie method behind the sum, and the guides hub lists our other salmon pages.

Weigh the day's salmon once and break it up, then spend it on looks. Any other treats your dog gets that day draw on the same allowance, so leave room for them before you start.

Wild-caught salmon is the whole ingredient list, freeze-dried raw in small batches in Malvern, Pennsylvania.

$15.00
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  • Pink salmon is the only ingredient
  • Freeze-dried by Sniff and Shift in Malvern, PA
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Questions

Is watch me the same as teaching a dog its name?

No. Watch me is a cue to look at you, and a name cue is a separate cue. This page only covers the first. We do not teach name response here, and the steps above would not do it.

Can I practice focus on a walk?

Yes, as the last rung on the ladder above. Have the bits broken before the leash goes on and keep them hidden in a pocket, with the pouch resealed. The bag's hand washing line still applies once you are home.

Should I use a marker word for focus work?

You can. Say a short word like yes when your dog's eyes meet yours, then pay one bit. A click can sit in that same spot if you prefer one. The cue, the look and the bit are the only parts the steps need.

Can I practice watch me before a meal?

Nothing on the bag or the listing says when to practice. Bits count toward the day's allowance no matter when they are handed out. If your dog is on a meal plan from your veterinarian, follow that plan and ask the vet about timing.

Do focus rewards count toward my dog's daily calories?

Yes. Every bit is calories, and the bag says: "Not intended as a complete diet." The salmon is a treat counted by weight, and your veterinarian sets the daily total. The calculator on our product page does the arithmetic once you give it that number.