 Roxie is very over-stimulated once she steps outside, which makes walking without pulling
nearly impossible. We began our training by teaching her how to Heel, with the goal being she pays more attention to us. However, the results were mixed. We then moved on to clicking and treating her for either looking at us or walking with slack in the leash but, while there was some improvement, we just weren't getting the focus on us that we needed. Why not? We weren't as interesting as the squirrels, birds, and people. We then adjusted our plan and broke out the spray cheese and almost instantly the playing field was not only leveled, but maybe even tipped in our favor. Roxie began walking right by us, watching us instead of scanning the environment. By using a reinforcer she was actually willing to work for made all the difference.
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 Either he has never been taught, or he has had negative experiences when he did, but Fred
doesn't Come When Called. So tonight we started from scratch by associating the word "Come" with really good stuff, playing fun recall games, and letting him go back and sniff or play so he learned the fun didn't end when he came to us. All this resulted in him coming to us when he was in the middle of barking at someone coming down the driveway! A great start.  Before working on Shiloh's leash reactivity we taught her how to walk without pulling. First, we taught her how to Heel so she would pay more attention to us. Then we made sure to use a high rate of reinforcement so she wanted to walk with us instead of pulling us.
 Charlee already Sits pretty well. Impressive for just 10-weeks old. She was also starting to learn Down, but you had to have food in your hand and touch the floor for her to do it. But today we taught her the "back saver" method - i.e. standing straight up while we give the verbal cue and hand signal - and she did it! Because of her age we had to take some play and potty breaks, but our goal was accomplished.
 When I arrived Speedy's anxiety kicked in and she barked and barked at me, only settling when I sat down. But anytime I stood up the barking would start over. As our session
progressed I was able to teach her Down and Stay, and by the end of the night she was no longer barking at me, but soliciting petting. Positive reinforcement at its best.  Every behavior follows this pattern: something prompts the behavior (Antecedent), the dog responds (Behavior), something positive or negative happens as a result (Consequence).
In a training environment, some examples of antecedents are a food lure, a physical prompt, a verbal cue, or a hand signal that causes the behavior to occur. Then you have the behavior (the Sit or Down or Come), followed by the consequence of that behavior (food reward or life reward or other reinforcer). While the antecedent helped the behavior to happen, it’s the consequence of the behavior that will affect the dog positively or negatively and cause the behavior to increase or decrease. Behaviors that are reinforced will be repeated, even if they’re unwanted behaviors. Remember to think about training from the dog’s perspective. What’s in it for the dog? Will the consequence more likely increase or decrease the behavior? Keeping the consequence in mind is a great way to think of solutions for solving unwanted behaviors. If your dog is counter surfing, what’s in it for the dog? You left a sandwich on the counter (antecedent), the dog jumped up on the counter and ate the sandwich (behavior), and the dog filled his belly (consequence). Because the dog surely enjoyed the sandwich, the behavior of jumping up on the counter is more likely to increase because it was reinforced. By recognizing and controlling the antecedent and/or the consequence you can change the behavior. Using the example above: Recognize the antecedent and/or consequence: food on counter. Control the antecedent and/or consequence: remove the food from the counter so it can’t be eaten, and reinforce the dog for being on his bed so he is not counter surfing. Result: The behavior will eventually cease because staying on the bed is more reinforcing than getting on the counter. If you’re attempting to teach your dog new behaviors you definitely want those behaviors to increase, so the consequence should always be something that’s reinforcing to the dog. Managing antecedents to make the desired behavior easy, and controlling consequences to make the desired behavior worth performing are the keys to dog training. It’s as easy as ABC!  Of the hundreds of dogs I have taught Leave It to, none have picked it up as fast as 17-week old Daisy. In just 15 minutes she had it down pat! And learning Drop It she was just as fast and flawless! We practiced with food, socks, shoes, the kids' toys - all things she likes to take - and she would either leave it or drop it Every. Single. Time!
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AuthorJeff Dentler, CPDT-KA, FFCP, CTDI Archives
December 2018
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