Please come visit us there.

-sam

-sam

Week 1 Day 1

There are really only two practical ways to obedience train a dog: you can teach through compulsion, where the dog is physically positioned or made to perform a behaviour; or you can use inducive methods, where the dog is induced or coerced to perform a behaviour. In compulsion, the dog has no choice but to perform the action. In inducive training, the dog makes a choice to perform, because he wants something the trainer can provide.

Compulsion means force, but it doesn’t have to mean harsh corrections and severe collars: placing the dog in a sit by pulling up on the collar and pushing down on the butt is compulsion. The dog has no choice.

In inducive training, the dog is somehow lured or coerced into performing a behaviour, and then rewarded. The dog has a choice in whether or not to perform. The trainer’s job is to find something the dog wants enough to make the right choice.
In compulsive training, the dog learns that when he yields or complies, the force goes away. When the dog sits, the collar pressure releases. Proper timing allows the dog to “beat” the pressure. The trainer gives the command SIT, pauses momentarily, and then pushes the dog into a sit. The dog quickly learns that he can beat the pressure by moving into a sit before the handler can manipulate him. The trainer can further reinforce the sit by saying “good sit”, praising the dog for sitting. But the dog is still working to turn off the pressure.

Compulsive training is effective. It is the method traditionally used by military and service dog trainers. Many trainers feel it is the only method that results in a consistently performing obedience dog. Some dogs, and particularly some breeds, are happy, upbeat workers through compulsion training.

Commonly, though, dogs trained through motivational, inducive methods are more engaged workers. They’re willling to try things while searching for the key to the reward, and unafraid to make “mistakes”. A dog trained to a high level motivationally will show a balanced combination of precision and enthusiasm. In the last few decades, thinking trainers have become more and more adept at motivating their dogs to perform and keeping them motivated over time. And, as trainers have become better and better at communicating with their dogs, judges have recognized that dogs can be both precise and exuberant in their work, and this is the picture that is being rewarded with high scores in both Schutzhund and competition obedience. In Schutzhund, a dog is said to have “Arbeits freude” or “joy of the work” when he works with a happy, willing attitude.

Using food in training
Inducive training depends on finding something the dog wants enough that he’s willing to work for it. The dog has to be motivated by food or toys or play.

Food is the easiest thing to use initially when teaching a new behaviour. Food is easy to present, and it can be presented over and over again while working on repetitions. Toys are difficult to use while rewarding repetitions — every time the dog gains the toy, the handler must play, then take it away from him again, thus disrupting the flow of the exercise.

Food can be used as a lure initially to help the dog find the correct position. And, most dogs like treats and are willing to take them as a reward. If you have a dog that’s not interested in food treats, then the only food he gets is during training sessions. No more free meals. It’s a rare dog that would rather starve than take a food treat. If the dog is not interested in treats or toys, then the only choice left is compulsion.

Many dogs love to play tug or fetch a ball. For those dogs, the chance to play with a toy is an exciting, motivating reward which can be used in training. Generally, toy driven dogs often find the toy so exciting that they can’t think when the toy is present. For these dogs, food is used in the teaching phase; then toys and games are used as rewards once the behaviour is learned.

Thinking in pictures
“But he only does it when I have food” is a common and accurate complaint about food training. When a new exercise is introduced and the dog is lured into position, the food is visible and available. The dog stares at the food, and is not aware that he is being manipulated into a SIT. He passively follows the food, and somehow ends up in a sit, but he has not been taught to SIT.

Luring shows the dog that an action is possible, but it does not teach the action. The dog is not thinking when he’s following a food lure. He’s merely reacting. “Follow the food follow the food”.

For learning to take place, the dog needs to understand that it’s his behaviour that causes the treat to appear. The dog must learn that there is a connection between his action and the food. For this, the food must be out of the trainer’s hands and no longer visible.

The latest research suggests that dogs think in pictures. The pictures the dog forms are very precise and context oriented. Imagine an index file with cards and pictures. On the SIT card is a picture of the dog’s owner slightly bent over, holding a piece of food over the dog’s head, smiling and making a repetitive noise. In the background is the kitchen counter and refrigerator.

Now imagine the owner saying “sit, sit” to the dog outside. The owner doesn’t have any food, but is standing up straight with the leash in his hand. As he says “sit”, he’s jerking up on the leash. In the background is a distracting group of people and strange dogs.

The picture the dog has formed of SIT is nothing like what is now happening. While the owner is thinking “my dog is blowing me off — I know he knows this!” the dog is thinking “I have no idea what you want, I want to go meet that dog!” The dog isn’t being disobedient, he is reacting to a picture he’s not familiar with.

The ability to understand that SIT means the same thing both in the kitchen and in the dog park is called generalisation, and the dog only learns to generalise by learning SIT in many different places and circumstances. In the beginning, every time you go somewhere new, you have to teach SIT all over again. As the dog starts to learn SIT in many different environments, he begins to understand that SIT is SIT, regardless of where you are or what is happening. The index card SIT now has many different pictures on it.

Using food correctly in training
Only lure with food visible for a few times. Then put the food out of sight in your pocket or bait bag, or in a bowl on a table. You can continue to lure without food for a few more times, using the same hand or body mtions used previously with food. But now the marker word becomes important as we tell the dog “YES, that was right, here’s your reward.” Use your body language to help the dog find the position; mark the moment the dog finds the position, and reward. Now the treat becomes a reward after the dog performs a behaviour rather than a lure to cause the behaviour.

The dog’s action causes the treat to appear; the treat does not cause the dog’s action.

Using a clicker or marker words
This is where having the dog understand a marker word is very effective. Removing the food from sight allows the dog to think and problem solve. The marker word tells the dog when he is correct.

Dogs learn when an action is rewarded. The closer the reward comes to the action, the more clear it is what’s being rewarded. But now, since food is in the pocket or otherwise out of sight, there’s a delay between the action and the reward. A marker word bridges the time between them. YES tells the dog that:

• the thing he was doing the moment he heard YES is the thing being rewarded,
• YES promises a reward, the dog will never be cheated,
• and the exercise is now over. The dog doesn’t have to do anything else to gain the reward.

Now food can be out of sight and the dog will still understand immediately when he is correct.

Body language always overrides verbal
Once the dog is understanding the physical cue and responding correctly most of the time, it is time to “put the behaviour on cue” or name it. All that means is that now we’ll use a word or command to ask for a specific action.

But because body language always overrides verbal, if we say SIT at the same time we give the physical cue, the dog will only see the physical and not hear the verbal.

We need to separate the verbal from the physical. Give the command SIT, pause momentarily, then help with the physical cue.

Again, because body language always overrides verbal, if we say YES at the same time we reach for the reward, the dog will only see the physical movement. And the thing he was doing the moment he heard YES was watching the trainer’s hand reach for the bait pouch. You will know if you’re doing this because the dog will start looking at your hand. You MUST say YES without moving your hand to present the treat or toy:

• YES…
• pause…
• then get the treat out and give it.

Putting it into practice
BACK. Teaching the dog to back up on command will be used to micro-manage the dog’s heel position. Exuberant dogs often learn to forge in heeling. Forging allows the dog to see the trainer’s eyes and puts the dog into a better position to quickly gain the reward. If a toy reward is used, the trainer must be absolutely consistent in where the toy is presented, which is nigh on impossible. Otherwise, the dog, who understands that the reward is coming, tries to put himself in a position where he can get to the toy quickly and efficiently. This leads to forging.

Being able to tell the dog BACK and then to mark and reward correct position helps the dog understand just what that correct position is.

• NO tells the dog that what he’s doing is not correct and won’t be rewarded;
• BACK tells the dog how to be correct,
• and YES marks when the dog is correct.

This allows the trainer to fine-tune heeling and make the information very clear and understandable.

To begin teaching BACK, start with the dog in front. It’s easier if he’s standing up and not in a sit. Hold a treat with both hands (this prevents one hand from floating around or otherwise confusing the picture) with the hands held together at the height of the dog’s point of chest.

Use the magnet effect: touch the dog’s nose with the magnet (food) then slowly move the food down and lightly push both hands into the dog’s chest. Take ONE step forward with the left foot. If the dog even leans away, mark YES and open your hands to reward.

No command is used at this stage. Be quiet, and allow your body pressure and your hands to push the dog back.

1. Food held in both hands.
2. Food put in pocket, but both hands together as before.
3. Count out ten treats and put them in your pocket. Practice moving your dog back ten times in a row. Is he beginning to get it? Does he start to move back as soon as you move your hands together and before you have to push?
4. When the dog starts to show understanding and willingness to move before you have to step into him, you can “name the behaviour”. Say BACK, pause for a moment, then move hands together and step into the dog. Do not say BACK and move simultaneously. Remember: body language always overrides verbal. If you move at the same time you give the command, the only picture the dog will form is of the physical movement. Likewise, if you mark YES and move your hands simultaneously towards the treat pouch, the dog will only see the physical movement. He won’t remember what else he was doing the moment he heard the word YES because at that moment he was watching your hands move.

• Give the command…
• pause…
• give the physical help…
• Mark YES when the dog takes a step backwards…
• pause momentarily…
• reach into your pocket or treat pouch…
• give the treat.

AROUND FINISH has two components: speed and a straight sit. Initially, we’ll work on speed and not worry about the SIT at the end —  we’ll teach that later.

With the dog sitting or standing in front, lure three or four times with food in your hand, transferring food from your right hand to your left as the dog moves around behind you. When he reaches heel position, mark YES, even if he continues forward. Reward at your side, where he would be were he in correct heel position. If he swings wide every time, work against a fence or wall.

Now put the food out of sight. With an empty hand, lure the dog around behind and into heel position. Mark YES the moment the dog is in correct position.

Add the command and fade the luring hand. Give the command first, pause momentarily to give the dog a chance to respond, then help.

Continue until very little of a lure is needed. If you want to use hand signals in obedience down the road, occasionally use the hand signal without a verbal command, or use the verbal without a hand signal.

Tennis trainers are fun and extremely durable — they stand up to some tuff-tugging German shepherds and Malinois — but they’re not meant to be everyday chew toys. Unsupervised, most dogs will immediately set to work chewing the web handle off.

Tennis Trainer

Now — for a toy you can let them play with without your being attached to the other end — we’re stocking Tennis and Football Players and Fanatics. Made with natural cotton rope and durable natural rubber, they look like they’ll be lots of fun.

Zappa "I want it!" Harley "Mine"

Football Player

Tennis Player

I say “former” student, because Jeannie has far surpassed the teacher. She and her two Aussies, Paisley and Saige, not only survived the NADAC Championships in Tennessee, but placed in the ribbons consistently!

Congratulations to the three of them and to all the successful NADAC competitors!

Paisley

Saige

I now have 4- and 8-strand snap leashes and agility slip leads available in a variety of colours.

Current colours

They are available in both snap lead

8-strand snap lead

and slip lead styles,

4-strand slip lead

and 4-strand (about 3/8″ diameter) and 8-strand (about 1/2″ diameter) leashes.

These leashes soften with use and are washable.

I will send you a toy or two to test… in return, you will write a short critique of the toy — what you liked about it, what your dog liked about it, how well it held up to abuse, etc.

Most toys are “durable but not indestructible” — but how well did it last? Minutes? Hours? Days? Weeks? or more?

My own dogs are not really the best testers around. First, they love everthing. There isn’t a toy they don’t like. Of course, they’ll retrieve fluff and blades of grass, carefully placing a bit of something in my lap hoping I’ll throw it. And Harley, the malinois, always has a toy in his mouth — he even falls asleep with a toy — but he is very gentle and rarely damages it… that is, until another one of the dogs tries to steal it and it becomes the victim of  a violent episode of tug-o-war…

So if you’re a writer and photographer and have a dog who’d give some toys a run for their money, please contact me at k9fundamentals at gmail.com

Thanks!

-sam in Montana

Jumpers Round 1:

* Sophie Loeser 6th
* Brady Blue Scranton 6th
* Deena Osmun 8th
* Paisley Biggers 7th

Jumpers Round 2 (no data)

Weavers Rounds 1 and 2

* Skeeter Osmun 4th and 6th
* Saige Biggers 1st and 6th
* Brady Blue Scranton 6th in second round

Tunnelers Rounds 1 and 2

* Gadget Pollari 6th and 6th
* Derby Pollari 7th and 8th
* Saige Biggers 4th and 1st

Hoopers round 1

* Brady Blue Scranton 5th
* Skeeter Osmun 3rd
* Saige Biggers 5th
* Paisley Biggers 6th

Hoopers 2

* Deena Osmun 4th
* Paisley Biggers 8th
* Saige Biggers 10th

Reg 1

* Ace Pollari 7th
* Derby Pollari 7th
* Brady Blue Scranton 5th
* Saige Biggers 9th
* Skeeter Osmun 5th
* Kip Loeser 7th

Reg 2

* Ace Pollari 6th
* Deena Osmun 4th
* Paisley Biggers 9th
* Derby Pollari 5th
* Brady Blue Scranton 4th
* Skeeter Osmun 4th

Reg 3

* Derby Pollari 7th
* Brady Blue Scranton 7th
* Saige Biggers 4th
* Skeeter Osmun 3rd
* Kip Loeser 9th

Reg 4

* Ace Pollari 7th
* Deena Osmun 9th
* Derby Pollari 7th
* Brady Blue Scranton 3rd
* Saige Biggers 3rd
* Skeeter Osmun 3rd

Congratulations to all of you for your awesome showing at the 2009 NADAC Champs!

-sam (still) in Montana