Paws Up

Webster and I started working with low-valued treats. You will see how much more responsive he is when I upped the treat value.

We continued to work in the parking lot on a post.

Webster and I have been adding Distance in Paws Up. We took this outside and could not get beyond 2 feet....we will continue to work on Distance.

Lots of new concepts in Level 2

Lots of new concepts in Level Two!

The DownStay is the first (and easiest) of the duration behaviors.

DOWNSTAY: Level 2: DISCUSSION

BUT, consider the DISTANCE behaviors in Level Two. This is the level where distance is introduced as well. Another new concept.

The dog goes to the mat from 5'. (GO TO MAT)

The dog goes to perform Paws Up from 5'. (TARGET)

The dog goes 2' to go around a walker. (DISTANCE)

The dog recalls from 40'. (COME)

The trainer leaves the dog and goes 20' before returning. (DOWNSTAY; SITSTAY)

In Level Two the dog (and the trainer) learn that the dog can work from a distance! HUGE foundation being built here.

We are using different behaviors to teach a single concept.

Although Cathy changes criteria during this shaping session,

notice how far Rooster travels to touch the stickie note!

This is a great example of having shaped Distance.

Jan begins the process of adding Duration to Target: Level 2.

Several things to note here:

When the distance is too far for Nad to understand, she goes "back to the beginning" and steps close to the stool again

and then changes her position in relation to the stool, thus causing Nad to do the same.

Webster and I had just worked L2 Target in my office. There was not enough room to flip the distance, so we moved it to the living room.

Duration

Using Chutes and Ladders.

Building 10 seconds of duration:

BUT, what does STEPS tell you, when divided into small criteria? Step by little Step? You may be surprised! You WILL be surprised! You just may be inspired to RE-TEACH!!!

ZEN: L1, 2

Karen uses Chutes and Ladders to increase Webster's Zen: L1 to 10 seconds.

Zen: L1 is the first time Chutes and Ladders is introduced.

Zen: L2 is the first Behavior Chain a Levels dog learns.

In L2 Webster will combine Hand Zen AND Floor Zen.

DOWN STAY: L2

Lots of new concepts in Level Two!

The DownStay is the first (and easiest) of the duration behaviors.

DOWNSTAY: L2: DISCUSSION

SIT STAY: L2

Molly maintains 10 seconds of Duration.

First we "explain" maintaining position

and then we begin adding Distance to this L2 behavior

The "Dynamic Duo": GO to MAT; CRATE

* More videos to come *

GO TO the mat.

GO TO the crate.

GET ON the mat.

GET IN the crate.

BE ON the mat.

BE IN the crate.

Nad knows to get in his crate ON CUE.

Now Jan attempts to SHAPE him to get in his crate.

Just thinking of this as a shaping exercise.

Who is learning more.....Jan or Nad?

The camera wasn't turned on Sharon when we were doing this exercise.

Sharon's challenge: "Push or shape?"

Hee. Hee.

Everyone had experience shaping GO to MAT.

Everyone was challenged by CRATE.

Helpful Hint:

Place the mat IN the crate.

Helpful Hint:

Train one behavior on one day.

Train the other behavior on the alternate day.

GOAL:

Master CRATE: Level 2 by the time of Sue's Clinic.

Karen lets the clicker tell Webster what she wants

and Webster quickly obliges

CRATE : Level 2

Step 1 Put the crate in an easy place to get into.

Step 2 Open the crate door and prop it up or remove it.

(Getting ready to train)

Step 3 Click him for looking at the crate.

Step 4 Click him for stepping toward the crate.

Step 5 Click him for putting his nose on the crate.

Step 6 C/T for putting one paw in it.

Step 7 C/T for two paws

Step 8 C/T for three paws

(Shaping to GO IN to the crate)

Step 9 Once he has gotten this far in, throw the treats in the crate instead of outside.

(Telling him to BE IN the crate)

Step 10 Begin feeding him meals in his crate after you've gotten this far with his shaping.

Step 11 Give him a treat in his crate several times/day

(Make the crate a good place to be)

Step 12 Once you have him going in and out of the crate by volunteering the the behavior, add the Cue, "GET IN"

(NOW.........add the cue)

NOTE: The Freedom Dogs cue for Crate is GET IN

Jan adding the cue AS Nad is entering the crate.

Before Moving On (to the next level)

Move the crate to other areas of your house.

Put the crate in your car.

Feed him in his crate and leave the room while he is eating.

Have a special toy and give it to him only when he is in the crate.

Put the crate beside your bed and have him sleep in it all night.

TARGET

* Videos to come *

We discussed how we incorporate Chutes and Ladders to teach Target.

USING Target: Level 1

to maneuver our dog

Teaching Target: Level 2

Divided into Steps

Step 1 Start with an enthusiastic nose-touch of your hand target

(Get the behavior, but DON'T use your nose-touch cue.)

Step 2 Put your hand target near a chair and keep working it

Step 3 Gradually move your hand target over the seat of the chair until he realizes he has to put at least on front paw on the seat to touch your hand.

Step 4 CLICK FOR HIS PAW TOUCHING THE CHAIR

Step 5 Pull your hand target away and give a treat

Jan and Nad work Steps 1 - 5

Step 6 Repeat this until he realizes he's being paid for touching the chair with his paw

Step 7 Start moving farther from the chair before sending him

Step 8 Reduce your hand target to a small motion toward the chair

Step 9 Work up to 5 feet from his first chair

(Chutes & Ladders for Distance)

Step 10 Cut back to right in front of a couch.

(Remember, when changing the behavior, make EVERYTHING else easier).

Step 11 Work up to 5 feet away in front of the couch

(Chutes & Ladders for Distance)

Step 12 Work on horizontal surfaces in other rooms

Step 13 Work your first chair

Step 14 Work your second chair

Step 15 Work 4 objects

Step 16 Work a wall and signal him to touch it

Step 17 Use your hand target up the wall if necessary, but realize the dog has to decide that touching the wall is what you want.

(Key words here: the dog has to decide)

Step 18 Click any motion of his paws toward the wall

Step 19 Once he's consistently hitting the wall, start working duration by 300-pecking it.

(Chutes & Ladders for Duration)

Step 20 Once he's staying long enough, begin utilizing chutes and ladders to increase duration

Step 21 If he comes off the wall, ignore it and wait for him to hit the wall again, C/T

Step 22 Begin duration again by using chutes and ladders; 1 sec C/T, 2 sec C/T etc.

Step 23 If he comes back off the wall, start back at one C/T, two C/T, building duration

Adding the Cue

Once he HAS some duration with the behavior; the cue is PAWS UP.

(So where is that? Somewhere between Step 22 and Step 23!)

Before Moving On (to Level 3)

When he is wall targeting and holding for 10 seconds, begin doing things while he's up there; put on his collar, brush him, etc.

By training Step by little Step, when we run into a problem, we can easily identify it and go back and re-teach.

And think how EASY it becomes to track our training progress.......

"This week we trained Target: L2: Steps 1 - 5". Whoopee!

Thanks, Karen, for again dividing this behavior into Steps for us.

DISTANCE: L2

DISTANCE: Level Two

Feed, feed, feed around the pole

This is your initial "explanation"

Step 1 Stand very close to a pole, or whatever you choose to use.

(Set up your training situation)

Step 2 Maneuver your dog so that he's in front of you, on your left.

(Get your dog into the proper position)

Sharon places the plunger and checks out her position:

trainer faces the object

object is slightly to her right

Step 3 Rapid-Fire five treats into his mouth. Turn a smidge so you're handing treats AROUND the pole. Put each treat right into his mouth.

Sharon begins teaching Molly to go around the pole in both directions

right from the start!

Step 4 Now, instead of putting each treat in his mouth, stop just short of his mouth so he has to walk around the pole one small step at a time to get it. When he is around the pole, Rapid-Fire another five treats.

Step 5 Start Again, only now Rapid-Fire three. Turn and make him come a step or two around the pole to get the next one. Help him around the pole ten times.

Jan turns and then waits and Nad goes around the plunger on his own!

He needs more reinforcement when he reaches the other side

for him "to be sure" and Jan can add the click to reinforce the behavior.

No cue yet, though.

Step 6 Start him out, turn, and wait to see if he goes around the pole by himself. Rapid-Fire another five treats.

(Here is where we added the click).

(We began joining the cue with the click when she is VOLUNTEERING the behavior).

Step 6a. If he doesn't, go back to the beginning and re-teach.

Cut down your body language and the lure as soon as possible.

STEPS: Distance: Level 2: Adding a Cue

Step 7 Once he understands he has to go around the pole, gradually add distance by stepping back. (Using Chutes and Ladders moving inches at a time.)

Step 8 When she can go around a pole, a stool and a laundry basket you're ready to try a walker.

Remember that when you change anything about a behavior – like changing the object she has to go around – you have to make everything simpler, so go back to the beginning, stop using your cue, and build her back up through volunteering to the cue again.

DownStay L2: What's Wrong Here?

DownStay L2/ What's Wrong Here?

There's nothing wrong here. I am working on DISTANCE and DURATION with Web during one of our mentoring sessions. Webster is doing well in spite of the other dogs working in the room.

Webster: STAND: Level 2

CHOICES:

Change the Cue

When we want to substitute a verbal cue for Webster's STAND behavior. We use the formula.

How to Change the Cue:

New Cue + Old Cue + Behavior + C/T

Adding a faster Rate of Reinforcement

And working on eliminating the lure and the body cues.

For a voice cue, either get her volunteering the Stand and tell her what the cue is,

or use the voice cue first, FOLLOWED by the hand signal,

until she starts anticipating the hand signal when she hears the voice cue.

STEPS: STAND: Level 2: ADDING A CUE

OR

Shape the Behavior

Click here and take a look at Sheila shaping Boon from a Sit to a Stand. Pure shaping with no cue. Instead she is luring Boon into a Sit and letting Boon think and offer the Stand on her own. By trying this with Webster, Karen will have completed teaching Stand using all 3 methods: Capturing, Luring, and Shaping.

Very nice work on this behavior by Karen, following Steps....one little step at a time.

Brava!

Jan and Lily: LEASH and ZEN: Level 2

Here Jan and Lily demonstrate on leash Doodling

single focal point ZEN

and a little OOS

Jan and Lily: Off leash Doodling at PetCo

Jan and Lily working together for the first time. Jan is working Lily on her RIGHT side, the same as Dale.

LEASH: Level 2: Step 2

The leash is to keep the animal from getting hit by a truck,

not to control, punish or teach.

STEPS: TRAINING RULES

Webster: LEASH: L2: Solving a Collar Pressure Problem

Karen and Webster have been working on Leash: L2: Step 1 to both sides, forward and back. Now we put it to a "real" test and present Webster with a problem. Then we show him that he has been learning how to solve it.......and he does!

This was totally new to both Webster and to Karen. They have a new default Leash behavior to work on! Karen: remember to mark (click) BOTH those times when Webster solves his problem by releasing the pressure on his own collar AND when he THINKS and stays on the correct side of the pole or the tree. Nicely done, Karen AND Webster!

First, Lynn "explains" both to Webster AND to Karen, who is watching

You can almost SEE Webster thinking this through!

Now Karen presents Webster with a more difficult problem. More difficult? Yes. He has more smells to entice him. He walks on a grate AND there is about a 12" area around the tree trunk where there is no grate.

The first time by the tree, Webster becomes overwhelmed. Jan helps by luring him out of his dilemma. Webster is a quick learner. He doesn't get himself in that situation again.

Lessons well learned.

Karen will remember to RE-TEACH the next time they are out.

AND.......she will continue "explaining" how to release collar pressure by more Step 1 sessions and by playing the Got Leash? Game in public. What a useful exercise.

Webster: STAND: Level 2: Lure & Capture