Teaching "watch me"

Reading another thread, I saw advice given to teach a "watch me" command.

I can see that this could be a very useful command to have in many situations - so whilst I have no one situation in mind, and can therefore teach it calmly and at a pace my dog can cope with - would someone please tell me the steps involved to teach a "Watch Me"?

Thank you.

Do you clicker train? It's much easier with a clicker I found as the timing can be split second at first.
The way I did it was to sit Jago in front of me and everytime he looked at me, I clicked and treated. Then when he looked I added the 'watch me' command, when he did it, clicked and treated. Next I only awarded a treat when he looked at me for a longer time (couple of seconds). Using this method and the 'watch me' command you should soon have your dog looking at you for a relatively good length of time (I only ever ask for a few seconds) when asked.

Hold a treat to your eye. As soon as the dog gives you eye contact say watch and give a treat. Once you are getting consistant you can start moving the treat away from your eye.
The timing of the word watch is crucial (same with the click of a clicker) and you need to say it as soon as you get eye contact.
Becky

I used this a lot to break Daisy from the habit of eyeballing potential victims. I started by just giving a small high value treat, saying watch me, then moved the treat so she had to look at my face, then held it for longer periods, so she doesn`t break till she gets the treat. I did it massively to start with so it became an automatic response.

Might try this with Kismet.. Though she has a habit of staring at people in the eye already which some people find disconcerting. She is also no respecter of personal space

This is how I teach 'Watch me' (the same method as the others above but explained in detail )

Start in a quiet place with few distractions, take a high value treat like chicken and give it to the dog so it knows what is on offer . Now take a treat and hold in front of your eyes and ask your dog to 'watch me' and his gaze should fix on the treat.
Keep saying 'good boy' as he watches the treat but not too excitedly (you want calm focus from the dog not excitement ), then after a moment give the treat and praise.
Extend the 'watch me' time and see how long you can hold the dogs gaze lowering your voice to a whisper saying 'good boy' all the time you have his attention.
Each time his eyes leave yours make a sound 'ahah' then go back to back to 'watch me, good boy' when he returns your gaze, now treat and praise.
Do this a number of times each day starting in a quiet place where there are no distractions (eg in the house)and progress to a place with distractions (eg the garden). Eventually you will get his attention for long periods and you can use this 'tool' to get your dogs attention in a variety of circumstances .

i have used both methods and they work just fine
also when i am teaching it I also reward every single time the dog looks at me anyway and then it becomes a defalt behaviour for any time the dog dosent know what you want