Oh, things are going well around here. Very well.
Here's a video - Lyra has had three or four training sessions since my last post.
Things Lyra has learned in that last three sessions:
1) Work from the training yard can be rewarded with a trip to the pool. She learned the phrase "let's go swim in the pool" in three efforts. It takes me about ten seconds (at a run) and twenty seconds (at a walk) to pony up.
2) Work might be more than "sit" or "down". The rules are the same; cooperation causes the pool gate to open.
3) There just might be a quality or a speed component to the work. Today when her elbows didn't go down on her "down" I did not accept it. On the next repetition her elbows slammed to the ground. Heck, I didn't even know she could slam her elbows down.
Things to watch for: She's vocalizing. Under the circumstances, this is no problem whatsoever. There are no swimming pools at dog shows, so this is extremely unlikely to become an issue. If the noise was generated by food or a toy then I'd need to do some serious thinking.
The quality of her stand/stay (I say "wait" for stand, by the way) is really shaky. I don't care - I'll deal with the quality when the time is right - to do so now would raise her frustration level too high.
She's offering behaviors without being asked (note that in the beginning of the video when I ask for a recall I get a down and a sit instead). No worries - that will go away as soon as she realizes that offering won't pay. Ever.
Her heeling quality has suffered -she's trying so hard that she's throwing herself all over the place. That's just fine too - an easy problem to solve when I want to take it on.
In the meantime, let me just say I've never had so much fun.
Motivation is a very complicated topic. Too much or too little? Temperament of the dog? Skill of the handler? Prior training history? Goals? A frustrated/highly motivated dog is no more trainable than a bored/unmotivated dog. So much to consider before even starting your training plan! A book's worth, as a matter of fact. Might have to write it.
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When she offers the down, rather than the commanded “sit”, you return to her and say “good girl”, and break up the behavior. I use “good girl” and reward when the dog is correct. Is it that she didn’t get released to the pool that she knows she was wrong? She obviously performed it correctly on the 2nd trial with no verbal “god girl”, but just a release to the water.
When Lyra offers a down after you commanded a “sit,” you return to her to break up the behavior and say “good girl.” I typically use this phrase when my dog gets it right. On the 2nd trial she performed correctly and was released to the pool with no “good girl.” Is the verbal praise used to keep her engaged, and the reward alone her information as to correctness of behavior?
If you struggle with getting a release off of toys or bite objects, or if you just want a sophisticated look at a dog‘s motivation around toys via fight, possession, prey (chase) behavior, and getting cooperation (release or toy return), watch this video. Obviously,...
I know, I said I'd do a better job keeping up my blog. What can I say? I suck. Anyway, Xen is coming up on his one-year birthday! He's making really nice progress in his training. The following video shows training for "object guard". His job is to prevent me from...
I haven't written on my blog in many months. What happened?! All is well! I stopped running day-to-day operations at FDSA, and that freed up time to do what I am seriously passionate about - education. Free education, for the most part, because I spend a very high...
Lots of fun to see her working this high!!
Lyra came with only slight hesitation when you called her out of the pool area. How would you have handled the situation if she chose not to come?
probably would have stopped the action of other dogs and if that didn’t work, brought all of the dogs out.
Thanks, Denise. I’ve rarely had a dog say “No way” when asked to do something – but I want to have strategies to use when it does happen!
When she offers the down, rather than the commanded “sit”, you return to her and say “good girl”, and break up the behavior. I use “good girl” and reward when the dog is correct. Is it that she didn’t get released to the pool that she knows she was wrong? She obviously performed it correctly on the 2nd trial with no verbal “god girl”, but just a release to the water.
I generally don’t answer questions on my blog – better to ask on FB!
When Lyra offers a down after you commanded a “sit,” you return to her to break up the behavior and say “good girl.” I typically use this phrase when my dog gets it right. On the 2nd trial she performed correctly and was released to the pool with no “good girl.” Is the verbal praise used to keep her engaged, and the reward alone her information as to correctness of behavior?
Please do write it!!!!