Making eye contact with dogs is an often misused and misunderstood practice. Having your dog look up at you is taught so that your dog both pays attention to you and learns to respect you. Whether you use the command; eyes, focus, watch, pay attention or look, it is all meant to do the same thing....have your dog look UP into your eyes with immediacy. Often it is used to divert attention away from something else that is preoccupying your dog, something you would rather they didn't focus on such as a snake, cat, food on the ground or another dog. But by looking up at you it is really a form of showing you respect as well as attention. In order for it to be effective it should be learned out of respect and love and NOT out of fear. Because of that, it is best trained using positive reinforcement techniques such as verbal praise, treats, petting. You don't want your dog afraid to look up into your eyes but to think "yes, Alpha, right now, and look how he treats me when I do!" If you stare down a dog using it as a form of reprimand or as part of a negative command, you get a fear response instead of respect. In addition, with certain breed types such as terriers, it may incite them to challenge your authority by barking in your face or standing their ground. You terrier owners have all seen that no doubt. With other dogs it can even cause submissive peeing or cringing. When correcting behavior it is best to look past the dog rather than staring at them and sometimes to purposely look away. Remember that dogs, like children, respond to a lack of attention as a form of reprimand better than negative attention. When you implement your pay attention command, keep it short, but break eye contact first, then reward your dog. They will learn to respond much better and more quickly and your relationship will be better for it.