Denise Fenzi's Blog, page 35

Advanced Heeling

Heeling is the foundation of obedience. Fortunately I love heeling, so I’m very motivated to find ways to make it beautiful, accurate and engaging for me and my dog.I also enjoy teaching heeling to other handlers, probably more than any other obedience skill.  As a result, I’ve been teaching a series of classes at the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy on this topic.

The first class was “Precision Heeling.”  The second class was “Heeling Games.”  And….this one is “Advanced Heeling and Problem Solving”.This is the class that considers those tiny, itty bitty details that cost you points or drive you a little crazy.  Over the six weeks of class, we’ll look at those details; all of the ways that we struggle in our heeling, and a very wide range of options for improving your skill.

The Gold level spots are full, but you are welcome to join the class at Bronze – and for $65, that’s something of a deal.  The prerequisites do not apply at the bronze level.  If you did not take the earlier heeling classes, then some of what is discussed will mystify you, but as long as you have something that passes for heeling then you’ll find plenty to keep you busy.  Indeed, I can pretty much guarantee you that you’ll hear ideas, solutions and lectures here that you have not heard anywhere else.  And if you’re an experienced trainer that picks up a few new ideas, well….that’s a good thing.

This particular class is composed of both lecture and skill lists that target specific issues. All of the skill lists are released on the first day of class (June 2nd) and to ensure that you can get to work on your issues right away  I’ve placed the skill list for “about turns” below to give you an idea of how the class runs.  There are four concept lectures to help you learn to solve your own problems and also ten skill lists to give you specific solutions to various heeling issues.

The students who submit videos over the next six weeks will be the demo dogs for the class as a whole.  If you find a student to follow at Gold that has similar issues to your own, you’ll make excellent progress.  This class has a nice range of breeds and temperaments represented, from a small terrier to a Rhodesian Ridgeback – with everything in between.

I hope to see you here or in one of the other classes at the school.  Class starts June 2st and “late” registration ends on June 15th; send me a note through the “People” link at the academy if you need help selecting the right class for you.Anyway, regardless of whether you take the class, try out some of the ideas below if you have issues on your about turns. Good luck!
SKILL LIST #7: ABOUT TURNS

Forging on about turns

This can either be a generic forging problem (in which case you would want to look at the topic “Forging” from the first week’s lecture for solutions), or it an be an anticipation problem.

if it’s an anticipation problem, the basic issue is the same as for forging on right turns; the dog is making assumptions about what is going to happen next, and simply does it before you want them to.

If the handler signals a turn and then completes the about turn in a predictable fashion (180 degrees) then the dog stops paying attention and completes the turns before the handler.   Dogs can also forge out of temperament; pushier and more driven dogs often forge out of temperament; they think they know more than you do, so they just beat you to it.  You’ll need to show them that they don’t know as much as they think they do!

The solution is the same if the dog anticipates because the handler is predictable or because the dog is simply very temperamental and driven.  You’ll need to make the dog think on every step throughout the about turn.  Turn slowly so the dog is processing well and then test it by alternating slow, normal or fast about turns. Do not always turn the same amount; maybe it will be 30 degrees followed by a half or maybe 270 degrees followed by a fast pace. This is the same as forging through a right turn:

When training this way, make sure you are keeping your body very straight and correct so that your dog can follow you.

It’s not fair to make a fast about turn while your shoulder hangs back!  Practice stair step heeling so the dog can never get up any momentum towards the right about turn.  Make sure that your body stays straight over your feet!  This is a good exercise to practice without a dog first and then videotape – make sure your handling is the same with or without a dog.  Here’s Raika practicing stair steps – left, right, left, right, about turn, etc.  Never more than a few steps in any direction. You’ll see how she starts to smooth out.  (This video is a duplicate):

Finally, try performing about turns followed by an immediate halt before you go in the new direction – that gives your dog plenty to think about!  If you practice indoors, most dogs can show better self control, so it’s a good place to start.  Note that I still encourage her verbally to drive through the about turn – I don’t want her to start lagging!  You can also see how I handle “less than perfect”.  It’s no big deal but I don’t reward either:

All of these solutions are basically the same as recommended above for anticipating on right turns, which is why many of the videos are the same.  Make the dog think; not just drive forward!

Lagging on About turns:

Lagging on about turns can be an attitude problem – check out the section on lagging from week 1 skill list.  This is the most challenging situation because if the dog simply doesn’t care about the work, then no cure in the world will hold up when the rewards are not right there.

Lagging on about turns can be caused by footwork that “kicks” the dog as you complete the turn.  This is particularly common with small dogs – keep your feet together on the turn to decrease this issue!

Lagging on about turns can be caused by dogs that have been worked too much to the left – the dog gets lazier and lazier until there is nothing left when you work to the right.  It can also be caused by rewarding the dog behind correct heel position, or too many halts after the turn is completed. Finally, it can be caused by a dog that thinks too much – a dog that is very careful and is expecting a right turn – they’ll get left behind as the handler completes the full turn.

Take about turns out of heeling for awhile.  Start practicing the about turn separately as a 180 degree pivot to the right.  Reward every single one by throwing the cookie straight ahead.  .  At first, reward regardless of speed or effort.  Here you can see that I’m going to throw whether Brito is there or not.  Note that my shoulder stay over my feet and I throw the cookie straight ahead – no looking back!

When the dog is driving around with some improvement, switch to alternating the reward straight ahead or offered in heel position. It’s ok if the dog occasionally shoots out of heel position or sits crooked as a result of anticipating the cookie throw.  You can deal with that later when the overall picture is better.

In this video, you’ll see I lose Brito’s attention.  He is trying but he’s young and a bit fragile about heel position, so I give him some verbal help and I move the food down low to help draw him in,  but I do not look backwards or twist my shoulder backwards:

Be prepared to do this for weeks.  With my young terrier, he had a tendency to lag quite a lot and it took several weeks for him to understand to stay up in position and that food would be tossed straight ahead.  I did not offer cookies in position until the overall issue was resolved – I threw them straight ahead.  And I suspect that for maintenance I’ll be doing this for many more months until he’s a stronger worker overall.  Other dogs will figure it out very quickly and will develop an anticipation problem so…think balance!  Once the dog is more enthusiastic about the turn when it is isolated, you can return the about turn to regular training and see if you’ve gotten the desired improvement.  Here is Brito working on heeling – note that the reward comes for the about turn and the cookie is tossed:

In addition, take a good look at your own body language!  Lagging is often caused by letting your left shoulder hang back as you complete the turn.  Don’t look at your dog on the about turn if your dog lags; look where you are going!  I often focus on my right foot as I complete the turn.I’d strongly suggest practicing without your dog first and then add your dog.  Then videotape so that you can be sure that you are not contributing to the problem.  If your handling has contributed then the cure won’t be instant!  Your dog will have to adapt to your new behavior.  Be aware that it is common for dogs to cross behind you and end up on your right side when you first practice your new, correct handling.  Simply drop your left hand down to help them target around your body as they learn.  Note that in all of the above videos, I look where I am going, keep my feet together and keep my shoulders over my feet!

Wide on about turns

Dogs can choose to move wide on about turns for several reasons.  Sometimes it is simply an attention problem; if the dog isn’t paying attention and does not see the turn, then they will end up wide.  The solution is to increase your expectations for attention (see skill list week one for thoughts on attention).

Dogs also heel wide when their handlers struggle to hold a straight line; little dogs are at particular risk of getting stepped on or kicked and will quickly develop the habit of heeling wide on about turns.  While the about turn does not cause the wide heeling, it does make it particularly obvious.  See the skill list for week 1 to deal with generically wide heeling.

If you find that your dog is avoiding your feet, make a point of keeping your feet together on turns.  This makes it much less like that you’ll step on your dog.  In addition, be extremely careful about not drifting into your dog when moving and especially on turns.  Pick a line and stick to it!   It might help to put a line on the ground and make sure you are going out and back on the same line.   Outdoor tennis courts and basketball areas are great for practicing walking straight; just get on a line and use it!

If your dog makes a wide about turn and then quickly moves back into position, try adding a halt right on the corner after the turn is completed.  If your dog knows where they should be when you halt, they often begin to anticipate that and pull in closer on the corner itself

Finally, you can do some special footwork for training that makes your dog anticipate pulling in.  After completing the about turn, immediately pull to the right for a step or two before continuing back in a straight line.

and…more engagement

Tired of this topic yet? Search this blog to better understand if this is a new idea for you.

I’ve become convinced that a solid plan for engagement is truly critical if you have a dog that was not born with a lot of working drive, who has who a lot of notable alternative interests,  or who has a strong “show me the money” set of behaviors.   Your dog must 1) start the work by indicating with his behavior that he truly wants to do so, 2) be willing to work without knowing what you might have to offer for reinforcement, and 3) be able to flip back and forth between work and engagement, accepting play or physical interaction for some breaks from the work. If your dog does not accept this naturally and leans away when you try to use physical interaction (common!) , then go ahead and teach it!  The stronger your dog’s natural working drive or desire for classic motivators, the less critical this is because you can emphasize a final reward outside the ring.

Here is a video with Brito.

The first 1:50 seconds is acclimation.  This piece is critical for Brito.  Even though I am not training I want you to see what acclimation looks like.  Not much!  I am allowing him to wander around and explore on his own while I set up.  This is his free time and he can do what he wants, short of running off.  If running off were a strong possibility then I would have held his leash and walked with him but I didn’t think it was a concern on this day.  You can see that Brito mostly follows me around, so I know that he’s really more interested in working for me than in making mischief – today anyway.

Acclimation allows Brito to fully weigh his options – working with me or finding other things to do.  It is critical that you select working areas where your dog will choose you over the environment within a few minutes.  It has taken two years for Brito to begin to consistently choose me over the environment in this training area because there is a healthy squirrel population in the trees and lizards on the ground.  We worked up to practicing here – until now we have learned a lot in the house.  Start acclimation and engagement where you can win, not where you will have huge competition with the environment!  Acclimation and a dog that chooses the handler should be a baseline expectation for all handlers in all sports.

I have him on leash because I want him to make the association between work starting on leash – then removing the leash – and then continuing with work.  This will give me a much easier entry into the competition ring than what I have done in the past when my dogs were almost never on leash.  The leash also allows me to acclimate him in areas where it would be unwise or unsafe to let him be free.

From 1:50 to 2:15 I let him convince me that he would rather interact with me than find something better to do.  I have shown him no classic reinforcers – no food or toys, though he knows from experience that I have access.  He must engage with me personally and willingly to start work.  From there, his experience can only get better and better as I add classic motivators to the options.

I remove his leash at 2:15 and I continue with more active engagement until 2:25, at which point I allow him to work.  His energy is good and I like what I see.

At 2:30 I use a bit of opposition reflex – he accepts this as a game and continues to work with me on heeling until 2:35.

His reward for good heeling is a chance to earn his first classic reinforcer – at 2:50 he gets a high value cookie. Note that I back up that cookie with my voice.

At 2:55 he gets the ball for the first time.  Now he knows what reinforcers are on the table and we go into training mode.  Note that I am constantly backing up the cookies and toys with praise and personality.  That is what I have in competition so I’m beginning to think that way in training.

At 3:10 we do a bit of proofing.  This was not a planned part of the session.  Note that I do not get upset with him for going for the cookie – he really doesn’t know better since it is on his target.  He’ll learn and I work hard to keep his energy and confidence up as we work through it, using blocking and a form of cheerful interrupter/engagement to redirect him.  With most dogs I would block the dog from the cookie but I wanted to build Brito’s energy and connection so I tried something different.  It worked.

3:35 more active engagement.

From here forwards we blend engagement and classic rewards along with work.

My goal is to seamlessly blend these options – food, toys, engagement and work, so that eventually he can’t even tell anymore what he is working for.  If I can do that, then we can compete effectively.  I need to get that engagement/work up to five or ten minutes before competition is possible.

For those of you who benefit from a bit of hands on help with topics like Engagement and Focus, take a look at the class schedule for instruction beginning June 2nd at the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy.  I am teaching a class on Engagement in August, and the “Get Focused” class with Deb Jones would be an excellent course to take first.  Our schedule can be found here.  Registration starts May 22nd and many classes fill extremely quickly:

http://www.fenzidogsportsacademy.com/index.php/schedule-and-syllabus

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bits and Pieces

Brito’s left turns are not ideal in his heeling.  He’s fine if I give him hand help to keep him back in position; otherwise he tends to forge through the corner.

I’m in no hurry to deal with forging with him, so I mostly ignore the errors and help him when training in flow (I will discuss this idea of “flow” later), but at some point he has to learn to make the corner without help, and this seemed like a fine time to start looking at it!

Here’s what I’m doing:

1) Hand help to keep him in position when working in flow where I don’t want to mess with training details.

2) Separate from my flow training, I’m working on left turns as a drill, where I reward every attempt with a cookie.  I’m doing a pile in a row to create a pattern and a habit of staying in position.  In particular I’m watching for Brito to pull his rear end in, and I work hard not to stop moving until I believe he’ll be correct.   Note that within drills, my hand position is “correct” and I’m not helping him.  Instead I will use body movements (such as pulling sideways, or making more than a 90 degree turn or backing up with a left turn) to get him thinking about his butt.

3) I return those left turns to the chain of work and see what we have.  This is the testing phase.

This pattern of training looks like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1dyt6OMq0g&feature=youtu.be

First I do some basic engagement to get him into a training frame of mind.  Then at 11 seconds and 17 seconds you can see how I change my hand position to help him stay back and make it around the corner without forging.  I do that because we are doing heeling in flow here and I don’t want to disrupt that.

To help the precision issue, we work from 29 seconds to 50 seconds on drills that remind him about his rear end.  I try not to stop moving my feet until I’m pretty sure he will sit straight, which works reasonably well.

At 53 seconds we try heeling again.  He loses attention on the corner at 56 seconds so I re-engage him and we try another time.  He does reasonably well on his left turn at 1:14.  Then we play a bit more with drills from about 1:30 to 1:42.  Then I re-engage and we try another turn within a heeling chain.  I’m happy with his left turn at 1:52 and even more happy with his turn at 2:02.  and…we’re done!

 

Handling Punishment – examples

This video is clipped out of a 15 minute long session with Brito.

You can see two errors that I handle in two different ways; one with punishment (-P) and the other with additional training assistance.

20 sec:  The first error takes place at the retrieve over high jump; Brito anticipates the exercise before I have a chance to send him.  I choose to let him complete the exercise and since we’ve been struggling with taking the high jump on the return, I do reward the incorrect chain.  I repeat the exercise at 55 seconds and he anticipates again.  Two errors in a row?  We have a training problem.  Stop testing and start training.

To work on it, I take the problem area away from the high jump altogether and work the anticipation issue (2:15 seconds).  To make it clearer for him, I step out of heel position to throw the dumbbell.  This is setting up training for success.

I choose not to attempt the exercise over the high jump again during this session because I need to address the anticipation issue more thoroughly before returning it to the retrieve over high jump.

Handled in this manner, I did not punish the retrieve over high jump at all – indeed I chose to reward the first incorrect retrieve over high jump because on many occasions he does not send at all when I cue him, and I’d rather have anticipation than any more loss of enthusiasm for work.

The second error takes place in heeling.  Brito loses attention as he approaches the about turn at 1:45 seconds

The error is caused by our movement towards an edge – “Squirrel territory”.  I choose to use a cheerful interrupter (a reset) and I stop the chain (-P) because ending the chain (however cheerfully I may do it) also ends his chance for reinforcement.  Breaking the flow of training is a punishment that he understands.

I “cheerfully” back up several steps after a bit of engagement and we repeat exactly the same sequence again at 1:55 seconds.  This time he succeeds.  I verbally praise him as he completes the challenging portion and I give him a cookie soon thereafter.

I handled these two errors differently because he is at different stages of training with these two exercises.  Alternating anticipation with missing his first cue to send over the high jump is a common issue and suggests a general issue with lack of attention and enthusiasm for the task – under those circumstances any punishment at all, no matter how minor, is likely to make the matter worse.

I handle the heeling error with a cheerful interrupter.  I felt that he was strong enough in this training session to tolerate the punishment (-P) and the cheerful interrupter reaffirms that we’re still having fun together, gives him a reset so he can try again, and keeps his attitude up.

Thoughts on Punishment

Punishment is used in training to change behavior.  It is a consequence the dog wishes to avoid.

Let’s use crooked sits as an example.  If your dog performs a crooked sit in heel position, you’ll want to make that behavior less likely next time. How might you use punishment?

You can with-hold (-) something that the dog wants like cookies, toys or praise when your dog sits crooked. You are using -P.

Or you can add (+) some sort of physical discomfort technique for the same purpose (collar correction or other physical manipulation).  Your dog won’t want you to do that in the future so straight sits become more likely (+P).  Or you can verbally harass the dog (mental force) to make him uncomfortable, so next time he will try to avoid that by sitting straight (also +P),

If it makes you feel better you can actually straighten the dog (maybe give a hand signal/cue or pull on the collar to make the dog “fix it”) but that’s not training – the dog already did the behavior wrong (coming into a crooked sit out of heeling), so it’s somewhat irrelevant.  Go ahead and fix your dog if you want, but recognize that at best you’re teaching your dog how to correct a crooked sit (useless in the ring) and at worst you’re teaching your dog not to want to sit near you at all.

I’m not a fan of punishment in either the + or – form, so I try to avoid it.  Instead I prefer to isolate problem areas when they crop up and work on them away from my “flow” training.  More often than not I don’t say much to the dog to let them know when they’ve made an error, and if I do punish I normally use a cheerful interrupter along with withholding reinforcement (-P). Whether I continue with an incorrectly performed chain depends on the dog.  I consider temperament, hardness, experience level, and what I think caused the error.  Lack of attention or effort is treated differently than a startle, which is treated differently than a proofing exercise that I set up on purpose, and each of those is considered within the context of the dog’s temperament.

I don’t dwell too much on quadrants – they make my head hurt. I just ask myself if the dog likes what I’m doing or does not like what I am doing.  I try to do things that my dog likes so that he wants to be working with me and I try to avoid things that my dog does not like so he won’t find training stressful or unpleasant.

What happens if you punish a dog for an error, and you attempt the behavior again with no additional training?

It will depend on your dog’s understanding of the exercise.  If they understood the punishment and are capable of performing correctly, then hopefully they will change their ways.  You would then want to “mark” this correct attempt in some manner to cement their understanding; possibly using praise, a reward, or the continuation of the chain.

What if your dog fails again?

Two in a row suggests a training problem; your dog does not know how to win.   And since training problems are your responsibility….

Stop testing and start training.

If you insist on allowing your dog to fail while you continue to punish, one of three things will happen.

1.  Nothing.  If your dog is generally stable and doesn’t care too much about what you’re doing, he’ll just stick it out and maybe figure it out or maybe not (dogs often learn in spite of us, not because of us).  In this case your dog compensated for you – super!  Stick with stable, easily motivated, clear headed dogs and you have a lifetime strategy, but somewhere in your head tuck away the fact that your dog is doing more than his fair share of the thinking.

2.  Your dog will become distressed.  What your dog does next is a function of temperament.  Low energy or lower drive dogs tend to give up – they don’t know how to win so they opt out.  That might look like wondering or sniffing or just working so slowly that you can’t stand it anymore.  High energy or higher drive dogs that aren’t winning show frantic or frustration behaviors, such as whining or barking in work, or showing hectic, hyper, or zooming energy. Sometimes those behaviors are misunderstood, so I want to be clear; those hyped up behaviors are not your happy dog delighted to try harder after being punished (that’s not logical), that’s how your dog looks when agitated from either +P or -P.  Like the first group, these dogs may or may not figure out what you want, but if you manage to condition your dog to either stressing down or stressing up in work or under unsureness, you’re going to have a heck of a time getting rid of that reaction any time your dog realizes that work is going to be hard or stressful.  If you create an unpleasant CER to work (even if it looks “happy”), you’ll pay the price in competition when your dog’s brain freezes up, and it can be a very hard problem to solve. Been there, done that.

3.  Your dog will become careful and methodical.  If this is the case, you may well get very good scores in competition, but then you’ll want to know why your dog shows so little energy in work.  Because they can’t; they might make an error and it’s just not worth the punishment.  So they will give you exactly what you have trained for and not an ounce more.

Here’s a better plan.

If your dog fails, pull the behavior out of any flow training or chains that you might be working on.  Whether you tell your dog that they have made an error and how you communicate that is up to you – depends on the dog.

I don’t even bother to work on the error at that moment if I don’t want to – I just make a mental note to work on it at some point.

Now figure out a way to communicate what you want so that your dog can practice perfect.  This is the hard part because you might have to do some creative thinking to find another way to explain what you want that is more clear to your dog.  Sometimes that even involves teaching the same exercise many ways until you find one that makes sense.

Now, at some point put it back in a chain or flow training and see what you have.  Don’t be in any hurry – the more you focus on a problem area the more you’ll sensitize your dog, and soon they really will be neurotic.  Just add it in a bit here and a bit there….

Looks good?  Great!  Reward it at the end of a very short chain a couple of times to make your dog even more enthusiastic about their competence and then reintroduce it into your regular training behavior chains.

I try hard not use intentional punishment very often because there are side effects.  This includes punishment that is withholding an expected reinforcer or withdrawing my attention (-P) as well as punishment that is adding an unpleasant physical or mental correction (+P).  In all cases punishers work because the dog wants to avoid them – that is the definition of punishment.  The more things your dog finds that they want to avoid, the less fun they’re going to have in training and dogs that aren’t having much fun with the training experience have a way of running into endless challenges as a result of their low confidence levels.

I do use punishment in the form of -P but I try to make it minimal, and I consider the specific dog.  I minimize the effects of punishment through the use of cheerful interrupters (see earlier blogs) so that I can separate out loss of reinforcement from loss of interaction.  It is also extremely rare that I withdraw my personal attention (a form of -P) because I place ultimate value on keeping my dog’s attitude up, and withholding both a classic reinforcers (cookie/toy) AND my personality is simply too great a punishment for the majority of dogs.

I’ll post a blog soon to show this approach in action.

 

Observable behavior

A recent conversation got me thinking about the basic training principle:  “address observable behavior”. In short, do not make assumptions about what a dog might be thinking or feeling; work with what is happening in front of you.

I know where this well meaning advice came from.  It’s a reaction to the human tendency to place their own feelings and emotions onto their dogs; often in an irrational manner and without basis.

For example, “He sniffed on the recall!  He was getting back at me for leaving him alone yesterday.”

So should we stop making assumptions about the emotional causes of dog behavior?

No! If you don’t take the time to understand the underlying emotions that might be causing your dog’s undesirable behaviors, then you’ll also struggle to find effective training solutions.  Both approaches (an unfounded application of emotions or an exclusive focus on behavior) are going to lead you to poor decisions.  Your assumptions about your dog’s emotions should be logical – based on information that you have about the dog and the situation.

Do dogs have emotions?  Do dogs think?  Can a dog’s emotions impact observable behavior?  

Absolutely!  

Dogs could not learn if they were unable to make emotional connections between their behavior and the events happening around them.  Like people, dogs work to avoid things that make them uncomfortable (avoiding the emotions of fear, stress and the feelings of pain) and towards things that make them happy or secure.  If dogs lacked basic emotions and the ability to alter their behaviors as a response, then they would be unable to survive in our world. 

If we want to be highly effective trainers, we have no choice but to make educated guesses about what a dog might be thinking and feeling at a given moment based on our interpretations of their behavior.  Understanding a dog’s emotions often provides the only route to explaining behavior, which in turn provides a solution to create change.

As an example, let’s take another look at that dog that sniffs and wanders instead of moving towards her handler on a recall.

What should we do to change the dog’s behavior?

If you believe that only observable behavior is relevant, what is your suggested solution?  Stop reading for a moment and consider what advice you might give someone.  (the dog is sniffing as he comes towards the handler on the recall).  Then continue on.

ok; now let’s look at it:

If the handler frequently drops food in the training area, then it is likely that the dog is sniffing in the hopes of finding some food.  His likely emotional state?  Curious or hopeful.   If this is the cause of the sniffing, then the solution lies in proofing.  This dog has to learn that even if food is on the floor that this food is not for the taking. (Note:  In my training, proofing is a positive event for the dog, but for the purpose of this example how you teach is not relevant – you would “proof” the dog for food on the floor however you know to do that).

But what if the handler does not drop food and the dog is not finding anything on the floor?  What if you discover that the dog has been doing recalls, one after the other, for five minutes, and now the dog has just begun sniffing?

I’d guess that the dog is simply bored and disengaging, doing the same exercise over and over.  Boredom is not curiosity – it is avoidance.   If this is the root issue, then first figure out what aspect of the recall is really the handler’s interest; why is the handler doing multiple recalls? (speed?  Fronts?  Finishes?).  Then work on that small piece outside of the formal recall while alternating with other activities.

What if you applied the “proofing” solution to a dog that was bored as opposed to curious?  You’ll likely make the problem even worse with the additional repetitions!

What if the handler had been working that recall repeatedly and has not been rewarding any of them?  Is that piece of information relevant?  Does it matter if this is the first or tenth recall?  Might those many repetitions affect the dog’s emotional state?

Yes, because now I’m going to begin to suspect that the sniffing may be an avoidance behavior that reflects the underlying emotion of anxiety (as opposed to boredom).  If a dog is asked to perform the same exercise repeatedly without adequate feedback, then displacement sniffing is a very common result.  Stop doing all of those unrewarded recalls and see if the problem goes away.

If you misread the dog’s displacement behavior and assumed curiosity sniffing and if you then applied a proofing solution, then you can expect to make that problem worse as well.  Your anxious dog will now be both anxious and unmotivated.  He might stop sniffing but don’t be surprised if he starts…scratching.  Yawning.  Lip licking.  Or staring off into the distance.  All are problematic if you value an enthusiastic and engaged working partner.

But what if the dog has always done wonderful recalls and has no objection to multiple drills, either with or without food?  Would it be relevant to know that this same dog had been lunged at the week prior by another dog in the same area?  Might your dog’s sniffing behavior actually be an reflection of nervousness caused by the emotion of fear?

If your dog has experienced an upsetting event, then you should be dealing with your dog’s fear issues and you shouldn’t be doing formal exercises at all.  Work through your dog’s worry or fear before continuing.

Ok; let’s say that none of that is relevant!  The dog is doing a first recall, with a cookie and without anything on the floor and there has been no trauma.  Is there anything else that might be relevant which is not a part of the presenting behavior of sniffing on the recall?

Could the dog be in pain?  If your dog is sore from the prior day’s hike in the woods, it can be painful to sit in front.  As a result, the dog avoids the front position altogether.

Could it be an issue of training technique?  What happens when the dog gets to the handler?  Does she reach out and correct the dog by the collar for sitting crooked?  Could that be part of the dog’s choice to sniff rather than to come to front position?  Of course it can.  In that case the handler needs to change HER behavior – all of the proofing, reinforcement and behavior work in the world won’t solve the issue unless the handler changes her training technique.

If you offered a solution to sniffing on the recall, and all you had access to was information about the dog’s specific behavior, do you still think that your solution was the right one for any of these scenarios?

Almost every observable behavior problem should be considered within the context of the dog’s prior training, experiences, temperament, and physical well being, because all of these affect the dog’s emotional state.  Ask yourself ; does the dog feel safe in the environment?  Is the handler pleasant? Is the work pleasant?  Does the dog know how to meet expectations?  Is the dog being inadvertently rewarded for incorrect choices? And…how might he feel about all of this?  Stressed?  Unsure?  Anxious? Hectic? Excited?

Can you see why it’s easier to come up with effective and workable solutions if you consider the dog’s emotions as part of the causes of behavior?

The more you practice thinking holistically with behavior as more than an observable event, the more quickly you’ll find yourself coming to accurate conclusions.  And when your first conclusion proves to be wrong, the more quickly you’ll be able to change direction and try a new path.

Creating lasting change in dog behavior requires more than the ability to accurately observe and describe what a dog is doing at a single moment in time.  Change requires the ability to identify and interpret the possible underlying causes of the dog’s behavior, often rooted in their emotions, and to select appropriate solutions that are logical for that specific challenge.   Because dogs cannot talk to us, interpreting their behavior in the language of underlying emotions is often the fastest way for a handler to come to a workable solution.  The risk, of course, is when we attribute emotions within the context of power dynamics and calculated behavior.  That will get you into trouble every time.

Fronts with an object. Oh dear.

Why is it that dogs can nail fronts when they aren’t holding something – yet add an object to their mouth and it all goes away?

I have some theories so here we go:

1)  We do millions of fronts without objects in our dog’s mouths, so when they are not carrying something they perform on auto pilot.  But when you add an object, you change the dog’s feelings about the exercise – either to more or less enthusiastic, depending on the dog.  And when you change how the dog feels about an exercise, you change their muscle memory as well.  If a dog has learned to nail a front moving at one speed, and then holding a dumbbell they are working at a dramatically different speed, then they will have little to no practice performing correctly.  End result? cooked fronts.

Solution:  Practice just as many fronts WITH an object in the mouth as without, and use all of the same aids that you used in the first place.  If you work on teaching your dog to find front by running around a cone and then coming back – throw a dumbbell into the picture and give it a try.  If you practice fronts while pivoting on a spot, try that with a dumbbell too.

Here Raika is working a common ‘front’ exercise (pivots and lateral movement) while holding an object.  (If you’re curious about how I deliver food to her….Raika sometimes holds her head at an odd angle so food placement counteracts that and balances her.  It looks a bit odd but it works.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSca1J1t3UQ

2) Some dogs have to really concentrate to nail a front, and finding front while sitting, walking, or carrying an object at the same time is not easy for them!  The issue is one of multitasking, and they struggle to perform with precision.

Solution:  Time! Practice!  Eventually dogs can do both things without thinking about keeping their mouth closed and then they will have energy left over for thinking about body position.  You can make that happen more quickly by teaching your dog to perform a variety of exercises while carrying an object, since the issue isn’t so much the front as the act of carrying and “doing” all at once.  Instead of stressing your dog about trying to hold on to the dumbbell while nailing a perfect front, teach them to hold the dumbbell while going to a platform, or while doing signals.  What you do won’t matter as much as giving the dog practice with multitasking.

Here’a a video showing Brito’s first lesson carrying a dumbbell while working on other behaviors. He struggles!  He munches a bit!  None of that matters; he’ll work it out with the confidence that comes with time and practice. We worked on a variety of things including heeling, hand signals, go outs and platforms.  As a bonus, I left in the last 10 seconds of the video.  I figure someone out there needs to see it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etnWP7tZe8U&feature=youtu.be

3)  Some dogs are in avoidance of their handlers.  To be blunt, they do not want to sit in front position when carrying an object because that experience has been made unpleasant.

Solution:  Make the object hold in front an incredibly pleasant experience.  If you have a habit of clamping your dog’s mouth shut to create a calm hold in front position you’ll create head tossing, sits that are too far away, or a dog that chews the dumbbell in front.  Stop doing that.  If you make your dog sit there for a long time while you stare at them, then you’ll create nervous munching. Stop doing that too.  Work stationary duration holds (if you think you need it – I don’t teach that) separate from your fronts.  The solution is simple – stop making front position unpleasant.

There are many additional reasons why dogs don’t sit straight in front with an object, but most of those are actually about the straight sit and not about the object at all – if a dog sits crooked without an object you’ll see the same issues when you add one to the equation, only magnified.

 

 

 

 

 

Rewarding Engagement and Effort

So…what does it look like?  Rewarding errors?

I taped Brito’s scent articles today.  We have been able to progress from about four metal articles to seven in less than five sessions – simply by allowing him to make errors with support.  Support is a euphemism for a free cookie:).

For Brito, the trick appears to be not rewarding an error more than twice in a row because while it is true that he’s happy, it’s also true that he is not getting trained!  If he fails twice in a row then I need to do something to help him succeed – with articles I just pull most of them out of the pile and work up again.  It’s working for him.

I “mark” correct choices with a combination of personality and throwing the food.  I am much quieter when he makes an error but the actual cookie is the same.

I try to start so that he’ll be correct – whatever that might mean for your dog.  Most important – if errors begin to crop up then change something.

Here’s a video of a session with metal articles – errors and all:

(Note that on the last attempt, I accidentally clicked before he had actually picked up the article so he didn’t complete the retrieve – that’s not a problem.)

I started rewarding errors with leather articles too, but I quickly realized that Brito does not understand leather articles. I went back to two articles, placing them extremely close together (so that he can compare), removing incorrect choices (spit on) and….I do not reward errors.

Separately we are working with two metal articles far apart (2 feet) so that he can learn to find the correct option without comparing two choices side by side.  I do not reward errors there either, but I’ll simplify the game if needed.

So much interesting stuff!

 

 

The Problem with Perspective

“Perspective” means the ability to see from another’s point of view; to recognize another’s feelings and experiences, and to acknowledge that they might differ from our own.  Perspective is an amazing quality!  It requires putting aside our interests as the sole consideration.  When exercising perspective, we take a moment to consider an alternative viewpoint and possibly, to alter our actions as a result.  That means that you might choose not to “get your way” because another interest wins.  Wow!

So what’s the problem?

Perspective adds ethics to your decision making.  Once you acknowledge that another point of view has validity, then your conscience becomes involved, and suddenly it’s not all about you. That leaves room for guilt or mental discomfort – cognitive dissonance.

Having the ability to take another’s perspective doesn’t necessarily mean we do so.  Some people do not choose to make perspective a part of their lives because it’s uncomfortable – it invades our happy bubble.  Others do not use perspective because they are are ignorant; they don’t know how to consider another point of view, especially if the “other” isn’t verbal or isn’t choosing to communicate.  And some people simply lack the maturity or social skills to make the leap.

Our desire to take another’s perspective tends to be in proportion to how closely our interests are aligned with the “other” under consideration.  When the gap is wide perspective seems to go away and rationalization takes it place, which is a basic human coping mechanism.  There is no guilt or mental discomfort if we never ask ourselves if what we are doing might be wrong or unkind from another’s point of view. And we like it that way!  Our happy bubble remains intact.

You want your child to play football because you love football yourself.  But your child is more of a chess player.  The more you wanted a  football player, the harder it is to accept your child’s cerebral interests.  But if you don’t care that much for contact sports, then suddenly your ability to identify with your child and take their perspective gets a lot easier, because it aligns with your own point of view.  Chess is awesome!  Shame on those parents that push their children into football!  But the parent who wants the football playing child?  Exercise is awesome!  It’s important to get out in the fresh air!  See?  Rationalization.  Same situation but different points of focus.  We all do it.  More happy bubble!

It’s not that you’re a better person than the hardcore football parent; you just don’t care as much so perspective is easier to come by.

And dog sports?  We can consider our dog’s perspective too, but we’ll have to make an effort since dogs are not verbal  We have to watch their behavior for clues.   I cannot count the number of times someone has said something along the lines of, “I don’t want to stop competing because he loves it so much!” Yet, nothing that I can see in the dog’s behavior supports their conclusion. Indeed, sometimes I see a dog that is bored to tears and going through the motions in a thoroughly mediocre fashion, because the handler is determined to train and compete with their dog.  The dog may be getting some exercise and fresh air, but having a good time?  Not so clear.

How might we keep perspective?

After your next training session or competition, ask yourself two questions:

1) Did your dog have a good time? What behaviors communicated this conclusion to you?  Did you go away from your session feeling even closer than before you started?  If you didn’t feel very good about your dog when you were done, why not?  How often does that happen?  Are you ok with that?  How about your dog – is she ok with that too?  And if you’ve decided that you really don’t care if your dog enjoys working (a valid possibility) – have you asked yourself how unhappy your dog can be before you will stand up and take notice?

Most of us do dog sports for fun.  If you’re trying to convert your chess player into a football player and progress seem slow to non existent, then take a moment to ask yourself how far are you willing to go with this activity if your dog is an unwilling participant.  The more vested you are in your point of view – your perspective – the less you’ll appreciate this question.  Which is fine.  Sit on it a bit.  Wrestle with yourself.  That’s normal.    It’s a bitter pill to swallow, when all of your hard work has been wasted on an unresponsive teammate.

Or maybe not.  Maybe you just need to reconsider your training plan and come up with a completely novel approach.  Maybe there is a way to change the training itself to make the training or competition more worthwhile to your dog

And here’s the second question:

2) Did you really ask the first question?  Take another look at you and your dog together.  Ask yourself one more time – does your dog’s behavior suggest enjoyment of your dog sports?  Or might you be rationalizing what you are seeing?

That’s perspective.  Not ignoring the question.  Not answering it without an honest evaluation of your situation.  Perspective requires taking a hard look and trying to put yourself in your dog’s shoes – and allowing yourself to face the reality that you you might not like what you see.

Maybe we need to check in with our dogs regularly and make it a habit.  Before trying a new training method, take a moment to think about how your dog might feel about that. Before pushing harder and harder, ask yourself….would you want to be your dog?

And if you don’t like the answer, can you come up with a plan for making it better?  And if you have no solution – then what?

Today I only have questions.

Now what will you do?

Heeling Games – Horizontal Movement

If you’ve been following this blog for awhile, you know I’m a big advocate of finding ways to make work enjoyable for both members of the team.  Heeling, while much loved by some handlers, is often not the preferred obedience activity for the dog.

“Heeling games” are a series of things that I do with my dogs to make heeling fun; maybe you’ll want to think about them too!

Starting April 1st at the Fenzi Academy, I’ll be teaching a six week course on this topic.  If this intrigues you, I’d love to have you join at the Bronze level ($65), or  ask for a scholarship if this is a hardship.  You can check out the Heeling Games class here:  http://www.fenzidogsportsacademy.com/...

I’m also teaching Bridging the Gap; a very popular class designed to help you reduce your use of reinforcers, generalize your dog’s behaviors to new locations and introduce proofing to your ring ready work in order to make your dog stronger!  This is a special 12 week long class, so if you decide to go forward you’ll want to get settled in.  This is the class for you if you get nervous at the idea of competing without a cookie in your pocket: http://www.fenzidogsportsacademy.com/...

If on-line study doesn’t appeal to you, then go ahead and design your own heeling games!

To see the first lecture and watch the associated videos with the Heeling Games class, keep reading since I’ve uploaded the entire first lecture here.  You’ll get plenty of ideas to get started designing your own Heeling Games plan.  Have fun!

 

HEELING GAMES: ADDING HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT

By definition, heeling is a highly precise activity.  In their efforts to be precisely where you want them to be, your dog must give a good deal of focus, energy and body awareness at all times.  To free a dog up, we need to give them permission to leave heel position as often as necessary so that they may stretch their bodies and their minds.  After these mini “movement” breaks, preferably with the dog at a run, we also need our dogs to come back under precise control almost immediately.  This tension on/tension off creates a balance that gives you beautiful, relaxed heeling without losing precision.

Allowing your dog to leave heeling – and return with energy – will be fundamental to your success in this class.  ALMOST EVERY EXERCISE WE DO IN THE CLASS WILL INVOLVE THIS TENSION ON/TENSION OFF METHOD.  The following exercises which are introduced here are the core of the heeling games.  Teaching your dog to have fun with movement is everything!  Heeling is simply one more form of movement – albeit with a lot of rules.

To create movement, we start by giving our dog permission to leave heel position on cue.  To do this, use a tunnel, an object to circle, jumps, hand touches (vertical movement) or even your own legs!   I call this approach to training obedience “games” because it blends the requirements of precision with the movement and freedom of play.

To help you grasp this idea, here is one of Lyra’s earliest lessons in Obedience games.  Note that I use movement – jumping, running around an object, and high hand touches, to try and build her interest in heeling:  

To teach obedience games:

At a minimum, your dog needs to be able to move away from you on cue.  For most dogs and handlers, circling an object such as a cone or a folded stanchion works very well – both are highly transportable and easily acquired.

FLY

To help you teach this skill, here is a video of Cisu’s First lesson in “Fly” (Fly simply means to circle an object and return) 

By using “fly” liberally in the middle of heeling, your dog may run away (moving their bodies) and then pull back into precise heeling when they return.  This creates the basis of the “tension on/tension off” between drive and control which was referenced earlier.

In this video, you can see two different ways that I get Cisu away from me so she can drive back into heel position.  One is ”fly” and the other is a food toss.   In both examples, she then catches back up to me and resumes heeling:   (cisu)

In this video, I’ve taken “fly” one step further.  In addition to sending her out and away, I asked for a ‘down’ next to the object before allowing her to return to me.  This is appropriate for very high drive dogs that need as much control in their work as possible.  Do not overuse this or you will lose your dog’s drive and energy, thereby negating the value of the game!  In this case, very occasionally adding a down or stop command, I guarantee that Cisu pays attention even at a distance; she cannot assume that she is always “flying” back to me:   (cisu)

In this video, I’m using “fly” only to increase energy into heel position.  Note that even though Cisu comes back into heel position, I quickly turn on a right circle to continue the forward momentum.  Maximum fun for the dog!  Also, note that I throw the toy straight ahead so she not only flies back and circles, she flies right by!  If your dog struggles with control this is not the best possible exercise for you – focus on getting the dog to drive up into heel position first and show some understanding of holding in position for a few seconds – and then reward in heel position rather than straight ahead.   Remember, all training should be geared to your dog’s unique needs:   (cisu)

There is no reason to start heeling with formal set-ups, or with the dog at a sit in heel position.  Try using “fly” instead of a setup, and see where it takes you!  Just enter your training area, send your dog off and around, and when your dog returns you can begin your formal work.

THRU/leg weaving:

In addition to “fly” you can add a second obstacle to create continuous motion – one of the easiest is to use is your own legs!  I call this “thru”

Here is an early lesson for Cisu in “thru”.  I start by luring with a toy, but quickly move to my hand as a target, with the toy as a reward.   You could certainly perform the same movements with a cookie (indeed it would be easier).  Just remember to get off the cookie lure as soon as possible, and use your hand as a target instead.  Cisu’s lesson uses a toy lure followed by a hard target:   (Cisu).

Here is a BIG dog and a LITTLE person learning “thru”: 

I’m teaching Lyra to continue on “thru” to both sides, which creates “leg weaving”.   Whenever you want, you can go back and forth between leg weaving and thru.  you can also alternate leg weaving to a reward with leg weaving right back into heeling.  Here’s Lyra learning leg weaving:    (Lrya).

If your dog wants to come around your legs rather than going through, watch this video.  This problem is so common I’d say 80% of handlers will run into it, so remember:  It’s important that your hand go behind your back and then down rather than wrapping around your leg where your dog will see it and want to follow!:   (no dog)

Conclusion: The purpose of this lecture is to show you ways to create movement and energy in your heeling.  Note that I never ‘set up’ to begin heeling – I simply allow it to happen.  ‘setting up’ is an important skill that your dog must learn to master precision in heeling, but the majority of the time it’s perfectly ok to start heeling without a formal start – or a formal stop!

Homework:  Teach your dog  “fly” and “thru”.  You won’t’ master it this week but let’s get started and see what we can do with it.  Send me a video of your progress (or your pleas for help)J.  If your dog “gets it” and you want to add some heeling upon the return, go right ahead.  If you struggle to regain control, offer the “pocket hand” from the precision heeling class just long enough to bring your dog into control; then back to regular heeling until you decide to throw in another game.