The crate is very aversive to Buddy. He knows that going in his crate means his people are leaving for a long time. We have begun counter-conditioning Buddy to his crate by feeding him his meals in there, and tonight we began to cue him to go into it on his own. Because his aversion is so strong this will take some time, but we have made great progress thus far. Sable learned how to Sit and Down on both a verbal cue and hand signal. She had been previously taught Down, but her owners had to actually touch the ground for her to do it. Now they can stand up and say "down" or use the hand signal and she responds! TIP #1: BUILD MOTIVATION Having trouble getting your dog’s attention? Be sure you are using the right motivators for the challenge. Kibble can’t compete with a treed squirrel. Find that ultimate trump card - something your dog just can’t resist - then limit your dog's access to it. Have a ball-crazy dog? Instead of leaving balls around the house at all times, carry them with you so you can whip one out as a way to reward your dog when he is getting something right. Simply handing a dog a toy isn’t nearly as fun for either of you as shaking it about, playing peek-a-boo with it and then, at the height of excitement, asking for a behavior and rewarding it with a toss of the toy. TIP #2: GO TO YOUR SPOT A very useful exercise involves teaching your dog to go to a specific place, like a mat, to lie down and relax. This can be a fixed location in your home (in front of the fireplace, by the toy box, etc.), but you may find it more valuable to use a portable carpet square, mat, or dog bed of some sort. This gives you the flexibility to send your dog to her spot wherever you are; you just have to take her mat along with you. This behavior is very useful for a dog who tends to "bug" you (or your guests) for attention. - The Whole Dog Journal Today we taught Buddy how to Come When Called and the 3-Bark Rule. His recall training went well, which is important for the bark training because he will be called away from the door or window prior to being given the quiet cue. Well done. River learned how to Come When Called by playing recall games with her, using high-value reinforcers, and employing the Premack Principle. We could even call her back in the middle of a sprint after a tennis ball! Very impressive for a young dog. Being a young, impulsive Border Collie, Ripley likes to chase (herd) things, like the cats that he lives with. Today we taught him Leave It and, like Border Collies are apt to do, he learned it quickly. He learned it so well that we were able to bring out the family's rabbit and he was able to take his attention away from it when we asked. TIP #1: THE 3 WAYS TO TEACH, PT. 3 To teach your dog to do something specific on cue, you get your dog to do that particular behavior, then reward it. The tricky part is getting your dog to do the behavior. There are 3 ways to do this: Luring. Shaping. Capturing. Capturing. This is the organic way to train dogs. Basically, you wait for the behavior to occur naturally and then reward it. Say your dog is getting up from a snooze and does a yoga-like doggie stretch. If you get your treats ready in time and reward that stretch every time you see it, you will soon have a nice bow you can then put on cue. What to use when? Luring, shaping, and capturing are all fine training methods, and you can mix and match depending on your personal preference. Lure if you want the behavior to happen fast. Shape if you want to give your dog a brainteaser that will wear him out. Or use capturing if you want to sit back and train from the couch. TIP #2: TO TUG OR NOT TO TUG, PT. 3 The "tug might make him more dominant" argument is extremely lame. The implication is that dogs or wolves ascertain rank by grabbing the ends of an object and tugging to see who "wins". If anything, the best description of tug is that it is cooperative behavior. It's not you vs. the dog, it's you and the dog vs. the tug of war toy. When you're playing tug of war with a dog and he "wins," i.e. you let it go, a tug addicted dog will try to get you to re-engage in the game rather than leaving and hoarding. You have control of the supreme, ultimate reinforcer here: the ability to make the toy appear to resist, to feel like living prey. The dog learns this. - excertped from The Culture Clash Today we met Sable, a 3-year old German Shepherd Dog. She has only been in her new home for less than 2 weeks but is adjusting nicely. We are going to help teach her her basic manners. |
AuthorJeff Dentler, CPDT-KA, IAABC-ADT, FFCP, CTDI Archives
April 2024
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