Circumstances had us training at my house once again, so we decided to take advantage of the quiet and Dale trained Lily IN the house in "her" training room.
It was a good opportunity to introduce Dale to shaping and to begin teaching Watch. We realized that this would be the first time training in the house and in a truly controlled environment.
This training process - a trained dog and a new trainer - is quite interesting to watch. Lily IS re-learning. But at a much faster rate than an inexperienced dog. So often we are able to cover several steps in one session, which would be WAY too fast under normal circumstances.
Also, Dale's contact with Lily is twice a week at our mentoring sessions. He doesn't have the benefit of daily interaction and training sessions (or the responsibility). So although the videos demonstrate steps and how to train them, our sessions should be acknowledged for what they are and not used as a guide for how quickly to introduce new concepts.
SHAPING
We had briefly introduced shaping Go to Mat at Tidelands Park in the parking lot. Dale quickly saw the benefit of controlling the environment and training in a place free of distractions.
Go to Mat
Teaching Lily to GO TO the mat.
While Dale hesitated, trying to determine whether his criteria was going to be 4 paws On the Mat or for Lily to lie down on the mat, Lily decided for him.
This is not free-shaping. The trainer needs to clearly understand his criteria before he begins.
Everything remains the same: same location, same distance.
Only the mat changes. Now Dale is shaping Lily to go to the towel.
He is re-teaching from "scratch".
Dale begins the first step in weaning away from the treats by having the treats bag on the counter beside him.
See how this slows down the Rate of Reinforcement?
Lily is not getting enough information, so we realize that we changed too much too soon.
Two important lessons learned.
Re-teaching Go to Mat on the towel.
Crate
Crate and Go to Mat are found next to one another in Steps. They are basically the same behavior and they are introduced the same way.
Dale's timing is excellent and Lily is very clicker savvy.
A great example of "What you click is what you get".
Watch how Lily responds to the click.
Crate and Go to Mat are truly companion behaviors.
We have made Lily's crate a very welcoming place.
Look closely and you will see that her mat is inside the crate.
Both behaviors are trained the very same way.
CHUTES & LADDERS
Down Stay
In DISCUSSION of this behavior, Sue says, "The DownStay is the first (and easiest) of the duration behaviors."
First. And easiest. So this is where we will begin.
Duration
First Dale reminds Lily that she knows her Down cue.
Then he begins laddering her time.
He has his criteria clearly in mind.
Only Lily's head and tail may move.
Distance
Now Dale begins explaining to Lily that she is able to stay in the Down position no matter what Dale is doing.
That he will not always be standing in front of her or beside her or looking at her in order for her to remain Down.
Again, he ladders his distance and when Lily makes a mistake, he returns back to the beginning and starts again.
Sit Stay
The second duration behavior introduced in Level Two. See what happens!
Shayla, upstairs in her crate, has started telling us she wants to join us.
I leave to go upstairs and release Shayla.
My departure and Shayla's whining prove to be too great of a distraction for Lily.
Although she responds to Dale's "Come", she has forgotten how to Sit!!!
What a wonderful opportunity for Dale to learn this important lesson:
When you find yourself repeating a cue, or you cue a behavior and get something else or something even slightly not-right, STOP USING THE CUE!
Go back, retrain the behavior, reattach the cue, and go on from there.
(Steps: Introduction: CUES)
Watch
It's not In the Loo, but it IS a quiet, controlled environment. Lily was born with great eye contact and I have encouraged it since Day 1. So Lily will be a fun dog for Dale to work with when it comes to teaching EYE LOCK. He will know what Sue means by that term by the time he finishes working with Lily!
Dale has really good reflexes and his clicker timing is extraordinary.
Good thing! Because as he Clicks for Contact timing is really really important.
What you click is what you get!
And Dale gets eye contact.
We began "Two-fers" in Level 1, so the concept is not new to Dale.
Prior to laddering for duration, Dale waits for TWO glances before clicking.
Dale and Lily both know this game!
Dale knows his criteria and sticks to it.
His long term goal is not merely duration.
He wants total EYE LOCK and he settles for nothing less from the beginning.
Dale's patience will result in a beautiful behavior.
Dale does not get bored!
He is a baseball coach. He understands drills.
EYE LOCK
Sit
and
Kisses
All at the same time.
The eyes never waiver.
Target
In Level 2 Target, as performed in Level 1, becomes a briefly used lure and is quickly dropped as the Target behavior takes an entirely new direction. In Level 2, Target teaches Paws Up.
First we review L1 Target, including all the Before Moving On challenges.
The timing of the click is critical in this behavior.
First it marks one behavior, but very soon we are marking a DIFFERENT behavior.
Note the one instance when the click is slightly delayed,
Lily thinks that maybe Dale is waiting for a third foot to go up on the chair.
Lily and her enthusiasm keep training fun!
NOTE: We are continuing to break each behavior into steps, which we discuss before training.
Here we discuss where we are headed with this behavior
and what the next steps of training will be.
DEFAULT BEHAVIORS
Something to think about. When is a default behavior truly default? Does it happen no matter who is at the other end of the leash?
I want Lily to know this behavior "in her soul". So, although it's an advanced Retrieve behavior, Dale and Lily work it together.
Default Pick Up a Dropped Leash While Walking
One GREAT mentoring session, wouldn't you say? Good job, Dale! Thanks for all you are teaching Lily.
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