Sometimes I actually want Mort to stop paying attention to me, crazy as that sounds. He gets so incredibly focused on me and the toy that he doesn’t do other things in these amazing environments that we try to take the dogs to from time to time, like the beach. I know he appreciates the beach, but I’d love him to actually do something else than chase the ball. But he’ll do whatever I ask with the hopes of getting the toy, a treat, some attention, whatever it might be. Because in his books just about anything is fun. Our other dog is a bit more work, often she is paying close attention to what’s in the environment as she’s nervous of some things (and getting attention above fear is almost impossible, for good reason). So then it’s distraction > attention.

Great topic, and good question!