Doggie Zen

The zen game rewards a dog for looking away from something interesting.  I.e. hold a treat in your hand, the dog looks at you instead of the treat, the dog gets rewarded with a treat. Its great for helping dogs with impulse control.


From "Quick Clicks" by Cheryl Smith and Mandy Book

"Put a bunch of treats in one hand and your clicker in your other hand. Hold the hand with the treats out to the side, perpendicular to your body. Your dog will probably stare at your treat hand, waiting for a CT (or maybe just waiting for the treat!). .. Watch for the dog’s eyes to leave your hand. Even if he looks at your knee or your foot or your elbow or the floor, CT the instant he looks away from your hand holding the treats"

From Leslie McDevitt's "Control Unleashed: The Puppy Program

"I teach..Zen as the introduction to leave-it... This game entails holding up a treat (or a toy) and waiting for the puppy to "break" from it and turn back towards you.. If he is having trouble breaking from the treat or toy, put it behind your back and reward eye contact.  Then, just let him see a little bit of the treat or toy from behind your back, so that he isn't seeing the whole enchilada..."

Watch how quickly this puppy catches on the game