Won't look you in the eyes?

[riffy]

Something got me thinking... Loki rarely ever will look me in the eyes and I've always thought it was because he was cross eyed. His normal look is at my feet or hands, and almost never at my eyes. I talk to him and he's usually looking downward. It's a pain to get him to look up from the floor for pictures! Sophie (lab) I trained to "watch me" so she looks at my face when I say her name.

Is this normal?

 

[M & M]

Your dog is feeling challenged. Or something happened in the past, that he keeps his eyes on hands & feet?????
If Loki looks away it probably knows it has been defeated and that you are the boss..... A dog should look at you when you are giving commands etc but they never should stare you down, if they are it's them saying they are alpha.... My boyz, never stare me down, they used to but one day all of sudden I became leader, Alpha.....

 

[ruthcatrin]

Looking directly into someone's eyes, or the eyes of another dog, can be taken as a challange and "inappropriate behavior". Which doesn't mean that you can't train him to "'look at me". Train him to look at your chest instead of your face since he's uncomfortable with that.

 

[mx5055]

When I first got Bella at 13 weeks, she would never look me in the eyes...but she was from a rescue and had a lot of fear issues. It wasn't until I started getting on the floor at her level, and treating her there that I was finally able to get her to start focusing on meeting my eyes (and this took a long time). She is 6 1/2 months now, and I still hit the floor (or grass if outside) once a day to "connect" with her. When I am at her level and she is "focusing" on me I treat her, talk to her lovingly, brush her, etc. Now when we work on commands and training and I am standing over her she has no problem "meeting" my eyes. Maybe this might work for you...it did for me. Good luck

 

[NeSaxena]

Ditto to what's been said above! Maybe a high value treat nearer to your chin would help with the "focus" or "look at me" command.

 

[M & M]

I told ya Riffy, these guys & gals are the go to peeps for Mastiff's..... They adore their wooferson's LOL......
If they don't know the answer, they will find it for ya......

 

[musicdeb]

Titan and I have been working on "look at me" for about 3 months. When I command to look at me, I count to keep his attention. He's up to 30 seconds. I add 5 seconds every couple of weeks.

 

[musicdeb]

Forgot to add, when Titan does the "look at me" I clap my hands and in a high pitched voice I tell him, "good look, good look."

 

[riffy]

Maybe something happened to him with his previous owners. He will almost never look at my face. He'll watch my hands but he almost never looks at me face. I just thought it was odd. I even whisper Sophie's name and her head spins around to look at me. Loki just won't do it. He's usually looking downward.

 

[riffy]

Oh... he's got a stray eye too. Doubt that changes anything but forgot to mention that.

 

[mx5055]

It's always hard dealing with an issue when you don't know where it originated from. Every puppy I've ever had was just a wiggleworm and a cuddlebutt....until I got Bella from the rescue when she was 13 weeks old. She was afraid of everything...me included. She didn't want me to hold and cuddle her...she liked it better on the other side of the room on a dog bed where she could watch my every movement. I knew she had issues, but in mind I had thought "How many or how bad could her issues be at 13 weeks". I was in for an education! Without going into the rest of the story, I really think if you want to establish an "eye bonding" with Loki, you're going to have to go beyond the normal training. I would get down to his level and treat like crazy whenever he looks at you, and build from there. Once it's working there, try it on your knees so you are not quite so high above him. Eventually you should be able to progress to where you want to be if you are committed and willing to spend the extra time and effort. Good luck

 

[riffy]

Oh he's a big cuddlier! I hug him a lot and he seems to enjoy it. Not to mention all the times he's in my lap. But if I get down and I'm going to just get my face licked! I'm always trying to get him to look at me since day one. It's just odd that he won't look me in the face but he's really affectionate in every other way. Using him as a foot stool right now. hehe

 

[riffy]

Funny I brought this up last week... Loki has gotten into a lot of trouble this week and he's been looking at me more now. His default is still to look down though. I'm starting to think it's just part of his personality.

 

[mx5055]

Could be part of his personality, but it sounds to be like you're making progress

 

[riffy]

He's such an odd dog. Some times I don't know if it's him or the breed. So I ask silly questions at times. Some of it I know is just off. Like he barks & growls and tucks his tail when he wants to play with another dog. Drives me crazy! He's also never done the doggie bow in his life. Makes him hard to read at times. Just odd stuff he does...