When you first explain a behavior, say nothing. Let the dog concentrate on learning what you want. Get the behavior first.
2.
Then wait for the dog to offer you the behavior on her own.
3.
Once you can predict that you'll get the behavior you want, just the way you want it, you can start using it WHEN THE DOG IS GIVING YOU THE BEHAVIOR.
4.
You're not using the word to tell the dog to do something; you're merely saying the word so she can associate the word with the behavior she's offering you.
5.
Do that enough times, then test her understanding by saying the word and see how she responds.
6.
If she hears the word and gives you the behavior, great, click and treat.
7.
If she hears the word and does nothing or gives you a different behavior, go back to pairing the word with the offered behavior for another few days.
8.
And of course, once you have the cue attached to the behavior you want, use the cue to get the behavior.
9.
If you use the cue and DO NOT get the behavior – well, in my book, once is a fluke. Twice is a problem.
10.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment