The light is dim, but it’s there....

As I packed my cooler, the urge to grab string cheese, cut up hot dogs and leftover chicken was overpowering. My first “real” trial without any cookies for my dog. I swallowed hard and filled my cooler with drinks for both of us, but snacks just for me. 

Fortunately, this test was going to be at a location my dog was familiar with. This took a little of the stress off of me, but I was still left with a feeling that I was forgetting something. I packed my gear bag with my selection of tug toys and the things I needed for the trial. Dumbbell...check. Articles and gloves...check. Leash and collar...check.  The list was considerably shorter, now that I didn’t need 5 different types of food rewards and jackpots. 

Warmup for the ring was a little stressed. Gunner wasn’t super attentive, but I was able to get some good tugging and effort before going into the ring. Once we entered the ring, we were able to get into a flow. He knew what to do and things went pretty smoothly. He wasn’t looking outside of the ring, and his finishes were a million times better, now that he wasn’t concerned about the cookies that MAY be outside of the ring waiting for him. A car alarm had him a little concerned in the Utility ring, but he worked well and pulled a nice score to win the class. Open had some impressive dumbbell pickups, but also a failure to drop on the recall. But, I walked out happy, excited about the rest of the work and the commitment of his dumbbell pickups. (Open NQ run https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDo-5Njb8Pw) 

All in all, a great first trial with our new methods. He had earned enough points with his Utility win to meet one of our 2015 goals...to have more OTCH points than any other English Springer Spaniel in AKC history. Maybe no where near the point levels in some breeds, but I didn’t care. I was ecstatic with his work and the effort that I saw. 

Sunday brought a little less effort, but I was expecting this. To him, reinforcement still meant food...which he had earned none of the day prior. Dumbbell pickups were a little worse and we had some attention issues in Utility (I think partially from the stress the day before with the car alarm). But, the finishes stayed good and I didn’t feel like I had to fight to keep him in the ring. We had skipped stays on Saturday, since we had busted the drop on recall, so Sunday was our first stay group. Traditionally, he earned a jackpot for doing stays. He came out of the ring and tried to head straight for his crate...and his jackpot, which wasn’t waiting for him. I redirected him and asked him to play with me instead. It was lackluster, but he finally played and stood for some back scratches while we were waiting for the scores to be finalized. First place and High in Trial...not bad, especially considering I had no idea of what to expect our first weekend out. 

There is no magic potion, no magic wand that can fix our problems overnight. But the light is a little brighter at the end of the tunnel. I may change the warm up slightly at the next trial. I may try to work in a few food reinforcements for some cued behaviors and some motivational pops. The jackpots need to stay gone (forever), but I also need to use the things that my dog finds highly rewarding. Practices are still highly tug related. Effort and speed are required on all exercises. Social drive is fostered and encouraged. 

I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t hard. It is easy to reward your dog’s work with a cookie, even if you make him chase it down and turn it into a little reward event. It is hard to get a dog, who has no desire to tug with you, to latch on and tug with conviction after a correction for looking away during heeling. Seemingly impossible to require a fast return on a glove pickup when you are outside working in the heat. But, requiring effort (without the promise of a cookie payout) is what is necessary to help solve our problem. I’m grateful for the friends who keep me on track and hold me accountable for my new training methods. No one ever said it would be easy, but it will be worth it in the end. 

Train hard. Play harder.
Shannon

Cookie rehab...

Does your dog view cookies as a bonus or a paycheck? I’ve had one of both. My GSD girl, Zita, loved to work with me. Verbal praise and physical petting made her wiggle with joy. She was a serious working dog and knew her job. To her, cookies were a bonus; they were simply frosting on top for doing a good job. So, when I got my Springer, I trained him the same way. If it worked for her, why wouldn’t it work for him? I’m sure you can see where this is going...

I’m careful with using cookies. I’ve heard (and seen) the trouble that arises from being dependent on treats. Yes, in the beginning, they are visible lures to help me develop muscle memory and shape specific behaviors and positions. But, they quickly turn into rewards. And, this reward isn’t simply handed to the dog. Instead, the dog is asked to “work” for the cookie in most cases, by doing a spin or a bounce, or even chasing the cookie down in my hand. So why was my ring performance starting to suffer? Finishes were getting slower and my dog was looking towards the ring gate. He wasn’t stressed in the ring (we’ve gone through that in the past), in my opinion, he was looking for his crate and his cookies.

About a year and a half ago, I started jackpot work with him. Wow, he thought that was wonderful. Give me effort and earn an exceptional jackpot. It worked, and worked very well...for awhile. Then, while I got sporadically great work in the ring, at other times it was (what I considered) subpar. I’d lost the crispness that I loved with this dog. However, when I exited the ring he was back to his “over the top” self. He’d offer spins, perfect heeling, perfect halts....because he knew the jackpot was coming soon. But in the ring, he was lackluster. He did well. Still won nice sized classes, still pulled some nice scores, but what I loved about showing this dog was not there. He wasn’t working for me, he was working for his jackpot. I knew things had to change. 

Enter “cookie rehab”...I reached out to Linda Koutsky, who is an exceptional trainer in Michigan. She has published work on rehabbing this particular problem and she believes in the dog working for the relationship with the handler, not for the cookies. She helped me walk through my problem and confirmed my belief that Gunner felt the cookies were the paycheck, not the bonus that my GSD had seen them as. So what does this cookie rehab involve? No food...EVER. Well, not really EVER, but no food was to be given for ANY formal component of an exercise. What?? No more spitting a cookie to my dog for a good front? I’m not sure who this was harder on....Gunner or me. Instead, I was to move to highly reinforcing “bridge” behaviors - like spins, through the legs and up into heelwork position and hand touches. The food could be used here, but no more jackpotting and no more rewarding exercises with food. This was to help change my "dog’s expectation about the jackpots and being fed” (Linda Koutsky). Food could come out on motivational behaviors or compulsion exercises and corrections, but that was it. Wow, this was a completely different method of training for me. It was a difficult concept to wrap my head around and I read my notes over and over again. (The tug toy, as well as personal praise and play, was also to be used liberally throughout this process, both as a reward and during compulsion exercises.)

A little background on Gunner....he is a pretty environmental little dog. He will tug like a demon at home or at places where he feels very comfortable, but these places are few and far between. So, how do I get this dog to tug, when he is unable to block out the environment to tug with me? I have to make him mad. Actually, sometimes VERY mad. I grab at him, I push him, I tell him that I’m going to “get him” as I’m going towards him with my hands out. I get him growling. (I actually have growling on command as a trick.) When he got mad, he would tug. Yes, he probably wanted to rip my arm off in the beginning, but he knew the tug was a better decision. Fortunately for me.

Oh my gosh, this was a lot of work, for BOTH of us. Training sessions were short, but a lot of hard work. But, I’m determined and the cookies stayed put away. I tried a couple of different styles of tugs. I tried a few different ways of making him mad. And, guess what? It’s working. He's forgetting about the cookies. He thinks tugging is fun, so much fun that I very rarely need to get him mad to tug anymore. 

I tried bringing the cookies out to work on some compulsion games the other day. His behavior changed immediately. He was 100% fixated on my mouth where the cookies were. He was springing at my mouth, anything to earn a cookie. I tried two compulsion exercises, I looked at my training partners, said “this isn’t going to work” and I ate the cheese in my mouth. Back to the tug. 

While I’m hoping I can bring a few cookies back into training at some point, he’s not ready yet. And, honestly, neither am I. Maybe when we get over the “hump” and he’s back to being committed to working with me, I’ll try again. But, maybe not. Maybe by then, I (and Gunner) will be so happy with the tug work that I won’t feel the need to reach for a cookie. 

There is no such thing as a quick fix. I am not going to be able to change this dog’s behavior overnight, but I do think we’re on the right track. The first few shows will be hard. There is too much background of jackpots and cookies to be erased overnight. But, I can see the glimmer in my dog’s eyes again....and I love it. 

Train hard. Play harder.
Shannon

Stop micromanaging your dog

While training with someone the other day, I watched them continually telling their dog to set up for an exercise. The Golden was staring at me adoringly and was trying desperately to make his way over to say hello. The dog was completely ignoring his handler and was watching me wherever I went. Because of this team’s issue in the ring, I did what I would normally NOT do. I watched the dog and smiled at him, inviting him to me with my body language. I did not call him, I did not motion to him, because it wasn’t needed. 

After watching the frustrated handler for a couple of minutes, I interrupted him and asked him why he didn’t just let the dog leave. Of course, the handler gave me a very odd look and responded with “What?”.  This is not a green dog, but rather a dog working on UDX legs in competitive obedience. The overly friendly dog knows exactly how to set up for an exercise, he just would rather go over and say hello to the judge.  

Assuming you have laid the proper groundwork....let the dog make a decision. If the dog makes the wrong decision, simply tell the dog what was expected and ask him to try again. If he makes the correct decision, tell him how wonderful and smart he is, then break off for a quick game of tug or a few cookies. 

I wish I would have video taped the short time we worked with this dog, as he quickly grasped what was expected of him. 

To show the handler what I wanted him to do, I called in another person (who the dog loves) and I had her sit down on the ground. I let the dog know I was now working with him and moved towards the setup spot. The dog saw the other person on the ground and off he went!! I quietly walked towards him, said “oops, where did you go?”, while I took a hold of his collar with both hands and walked backwards about 10 steps while I talked silly to him. I then released him and told him how smart he was. I moved towards the setup again and off he went!! I repeated my quiet correction. When I released the dog this time, he jumped up on me for a scratch on his shoulders before we headed back towards the setup spot. All of a sudden, he ran forward...then stopped and looked at me. Yes! Same quiet correction, but less hands on his collar. Fourth time to setup and he stayed with me while we setup for the exercise. 

Next, we repeated the same drill with his owner handling the dog. He had to repeat all of the steps that I did, as the dog tried to leave him several times to go say hello to the person on the ground. The hardest part for this person was not saying anything as soon as the dog left him. No hollering the dog’s name, no saying “come” or “here”, just letting the dog go, then walking to him and communicating what the dog did was incorrect. The last setup they attempted was perfect. Beautiful attention, with an upbeat and animated dog. I told him to release him and go give the dog a reward....and then quit! Don’t try to do another one. Put the dog away in his crate and let him think about what just happened.

Obviously, when in the show ring, I would recommend that the person call their dog if the dog tried to leave them. However, if this drill is practiced and enforced consistently, he will get a much better response from his dog when he does need to use a verbal command. 

This same drill would apply to dogs who self-release themselves to run for their rewards. Let the dog go...then fix it. Even if the dog got to their reward before you did (hopefully the food is unattainable if the dog does this), simply walk to them, take the reward from them (tug toy, etc.) and drop it on the ground, take a hold of their collar gently while you walk backwards, quietly telling them how silly they are and how they are supposed to stay with you. Then release the collar, but make sure you stay engaged with your dog. When your dog stays next to you, tell them how wonderful they are and try again. 

If done correctly, your dog will not deflate or lose attitude. If anything, your dog will become pushier and more animated because they now understand exactly what is required from them. Stop micromanaging your dog and make him accountable for his decisions. But first, you need to let him make a decision. 

Train hard. Play harder.
Shannon

Setting up is an “active” position....

While training with a friend yesterday, we were working with her dog on effort regarding getting into the heel position. He is not a super motivated dog, either via toys or food, but he will occasionally work well for treats or personal praise. 

I thought some people may like to see how I require effort from my dog when setting up. I do not simply want him to move into place, he needs to hustle and get their quickly and with attention. This is the starting point for EVERY exercise you do. If you dog is slow to get into position or is unmotivated, you are starting off on the wrong foot. I also firmly believe in teaching your dog a motivational bounce and a hand touch...both of which can be used when your dog is not giving enough effort. Effort NEEDS to come from the dog. If you don’t require effort in practice, you will definitely not have effort in the ring.

Comparatively, here is a dog that knows what “place” means (heel position) and he knows what a bounce is, but yet he doesn’t really want to give much effort. 

I am going to REQUIRE that he give me effort, even if it is lacking somewhat in the precision department. If your dog feels like this hands on work is a “correction”, you need to really up the rewards and/or verbal praise to counter balance the work. Your dog’s attitude should not deflate when you put your hands on him!!

I do not like to “pop” my dog to get him quickly into heel position. I like to use my hands either through oppositional work (like at the beginning of Gunner’s clip) or directly in their collar. I will also use random “call to heel” drills, either with a toy or a cookie, whatever the dog will work harder for. The dog can be set anywhere for this drill, but it is easier for the dog in the beginning if he is behind you or slightly off to the side. 

So, make sure this exercise of moving into heel position is something you teach your dog how to do correctly. It sets the tone for the entire exercise you are about to do and puts both of you into the correct frame of mind to work. Insist on effort from your dog EVERY time you train or work. It doesn’t matter if you are outside throwing a frisbee or if you are doing formal obedience work. What you “accidentally” train in relaxed playtime WILL carry over to the ring. Take every opportunity to instill engagement and teamwork with your dog and you will both reap the benefits. 

Train hard. Play harder.
Shannon

Foundation work...something that NEVER goes away

I’ve been a little lax on training lately...no specific reason, just busy with work, kids and life. I have a couple of weeks before my next trial, so there has not been any pressure.  Gunner, however, never takes a break and demands that we do something at least once a day.

Even though it was a cold (for Florida) morning yesterday, I decided to head to the dog club to train. Our “building” is basically a covered concrete slab, but it is better than nothing, and we have a good group of people in the club. So, we bundled up and headed out.

Since Gunner had a couple of days off of “formal” training, I decided to just work on a few foundation skills...go-outs to a target, rear end awareness and dumbbell pickups. Here is a dog who has over 400 OTCH points, doing go-outs to a target, while someone in the next ring did complete exercises from start to finish. If you know me, the devil is in the details. I work small pieces of exercises, trying to improve each detail of our performance. That’s not to say I train those pieces perfectly, but we do train them. :)

I want to make sure Gunner's go-outs stay fast and straight, so we started with short go-outs and I rewarded heavily off of his target. We then worked back to full length go-outs, with me still running up and rewarding him for hitting his target. I asked him to turn and sit a couple of times before rewarding him and he happily obliged. At one point, I told him to jump....and instead, he went back to hit his target. Yay! This allowed me to correct a failure to jump, the same thing that happened at a trial a couple of weeks ago, when he decided he better go back and hit his stanchion....twice. Oops! I did not tell him to "jump" again, instead I gave him a NRM, went to him, put my hand in his collar and took him towards the jump. Then, while giving my hand signal, I told him to jump and praised him for going over the jump. To test him, I did a few more go-outs with target touches, then asked for a sit followed by a jump. He didn't hesitate before heading for the correct jump. Good thinking on his part, but this is probably a drill that needs to be repeated once and awhile. 

If I had gone to the club and only done complete exercises, this error would probably not have surfaced. Gunner's go-outs and responses to cues would also continue to get slower and less sharp. Forget the formality and train your dog, don't test him. I don't care how much "fun" you try to cram into an exercise from start to finish, if you do the same exercise over and over, you become predictable and boring. Your dog gets enough of that in the obedience show ring, don't let it carry over into training too. 

Train hard. play harder.

Shannon

Correct errors by requiring more effort

Competition obedience training is difficult, especially when done properly. Dogs do not naturally walk around with their undivided attention on you, all while staying perfectly straight in heel position. They do not naturally retrieve an object while doing a perfectly straight front, with their head up and their eyes on you. 

We’ve all heard the statement “make the right thing easy and wrong thing difficult”. But what happens in our world of competition obedience, when the right thing is already hard? You will hear me talk a lot about effort. If the dog does not put forth enough effort during training, I immediately stop working on what I’m doing and go back and work effort. I put a lot of myself into my training, and I expect my dog to do the same. My dog quickly learns that if he would have done the exercise correctly the first time, it would be a lot easier. This doesn’t mean my definition of “correctly”, is without effort, it just means that if he doesn’t do it correctly, he’s going to have to work MUCH harder. 

Let me give you a few examples...

1) I send my dog to the article pile. He finds the correct article, picks it up and trots back. “Oops, good find it, but you didn’t ‘hurry’!” I require that my dog runs back to me in practice, every time if possible. At this time, I may require that he do a couple of hand touches or bounces, something to give me extra effort. I then set up and do it again. If he runs on the next article, I may break off during his run back and give him some cookies. Notice, that I said I break off “during his run back”. Why not wait until he got to front? Because I want to reward the RUNNING. How does he know which part I’m rewarding if I wait for him to get to front. Worse yet, say his front isn’t perfect and I have to ask him to work harder on his front. I’ve now lost the opportunity to reward the run entirely!

2) My dog adjusts the glove in his mouth when he’s coming back to me on the Directed Retrieve and the glove falls out of his mouth. I say “Oops!” and I quickly walk out to get the glove. I hold my dog’s buckle collar with one hand, while my other hand holds the glove. I tell him to “get it”, as I’m keeping the glove just out of his reach (picture me spinning in a circle). Only when he’s really driving to get to the glove, do I let him jump up and get it. I do not force fetch him to the glove, that’s an “easy” correction in my opinion. Anyone can force a dog’s nose down to the glove and make him pick it up, but YOU are doing all the work. My correction gets the DOG to give the effort. The only way he is going to stop chasing the glove around in circles is if he really runs to get it. As soon as he grabs the glove, I praise heavily and tell him how smart he is.

3) During heeling, my dog is crabbing slightly or not working his rear on left turns. If that left turn is too difficult for him to put in effort, my dog will now be required to do left about turns, left 270 turns, he will be asked to spin in the middle of his left turn, etc. Anything that requires more effort. 

Don’t fall into a habit of simply “correcting” your dog for an error. What are you teaching your dog? Not much, except for maybe how to avoid a collar correction. Instead, step back and think about how you can require more effort from your dog. Trust me, after a bunch of left about turns, that 90 degree left turn will be much easier for your dog. 

Train hard. Play harder.
Shannon

Food as a crutch

When I first start training a dog to heel as a young puppy, I always use food. Actually, I use food for quite a while to develop muscle memory for a desired head position. But everyone knows that the food has to go away eventually. You may still reward with food, but the food can no longer be visible to the dog as a lure.

In times of pressure or stress, if you continually bring the cookie back out, the dog will never be able heel properly.

Examples:

• Your dog is off of a cookie lure, and while at a match, the dog gets stressed. You immediately pull the cookie out of your pocket and put it on your dog’s nose. 
• During a training class, your dog starts to give you less effort than you would like, so you pull out the cookie and put it in your hand. 
• You are getting ready to go into the show ring and you HAVE to keep cookies in your hand before going into the ring. Your thought process is that you need to keep your dog’s attitude up while waiting your turn. 

If you continue to pull out a cookie when your dog (or you) starts to wilt under pressure or stress, you have turned that piece of food into a crutch. 

Teach your dog to work through their stressors without bringing a cookie back out. This is only masking the underlying problem....a lack of confidence, a lack of commitment or a lack of understanding. Work on building and maintaining drive in all types of conditions. Reward the dog profusely when he gives you effort during difficult situations, even if the overall look is not what you want for the ring. Your reward should be something that your dog finds valuable, whether it be a toy, food or hands on praise. Better yet, teach your dog that all three things are high value rewards. 

Train hard. Play harder.

Shannon