Session 2 ā¦ starting to take our new skills outside! This lovely working lines Labrador boy is learning how to learn ā¦ with predictable outcomes! Keeping arousal levels down and frustration out of the equation is achieved with patience, understanding and having the right ātoolsā in the tool box ā¦ aka positive reinforcement. We should always be mindful not to reinforce undesired behaviours accidentally. On session 3 we are planning to take this to a low distraction but (for this boy!) exciting environment to develop his focus and help him practise some self regulation ā¦ calm exposure to the exciting things requires us to work at a distance from triggers to start the process off. Setting our dogs up for success helps them make good choices with our guidance and help. Such a good boy he is a quick learner š
New Year, New Venue! Next start date 10th January for puppies and 11th January for adolescent classes! Please enquire re availability and ongoing dates š
This is a great video as after just a couple of assessment walks and then a couple of half-hour training sessions with me to assess what is motivating for this boy to start to develop more engagement, a suitable training plan was then demoād to this lovely boyās dad ā¦. this sweet natured, fully fired up adolescent who struggled with engagement and inability to pay attention (read: typical teen!) when outdoors, including getting very excited at the sight of other dogs ā¦ we have much calmer behaviour, ability to pay attention and developing engagement. Walking back to the van after this session we stopped to take in a passing dog at a fairly close distance (close for Wilson, he calmly had a glance, disengaged and chose to look to me instead ā¦great progress in just a few half-hour sessions, first with me then dad picked up the reins to continue the plan.
- changing the environment to less exciting areas is key to getting enough focus to begin to train alternative behaviours. Adolescents can be easily stimulated by the environment so we need to think about where we are asking our pups to learn wanted habits .. rather than setting them up to practise unwanted habits! Such a good boy š
What we do and donāt do with our new puppies shapes future behaviour
Why waste time pairing a new recall word with rewards š a history of R+ (systematic desensitisation and differential reinforcement of alternative behaviour) means itās really easy to apply some self regulation to a situation that was once ā¦ well a bit intense! As adolescence started so did selective hearing, bird obsession and given an opportunity full flight chase of birds 1/4 mile away on the ground. Anyway we got through that phase using reward based training. She was in the beating line age 17 months - rock solid. Birds flying up under her nose, hares up and off and deer flying past in the woods. Solid. R+ training works to desensitise to the intrinsically motivating excitement of the chase and DRA offers an alternative to satisfy that natural behaviour.
I thought Iād just try the word randomly after encouraging her to chase a pigeon I said the random word just as she was revving up and she responded as if it was well rehearsed conditioned cue. Itās not the training to recall from a āpredatory chaseā (this is a predatory chase - itās just under stimulus control and she has learned to self-regulate), itās the training for the situation. Why wait until your dog is a confirmed chaser - prevention is far safer. So funny - that word - Banana! Good girl Juno š
My Juno age 6 months ā¦ a real live wire. Daily practise of core desired behaviours, such as loose lead walking, help our pups understand what is expected. We start with LURES then quickly move to SHAPING using Mark then Reward ā¦ a high rate of reinforcement (Mark then Reward *every single step forward* is needed to start the process). Then we can start to Mark then Reward every two ā¦ three ā¦ five ā¦ ten ā¦. steps as our pups start to learn the concept ābeing by your leg is a good place to beā. This then simply becomes a good habit once our pups are mature. Practise makes Permanent š
š. ā¦ no associative learning needed at all it seems!
Juno was obsessed with birds in the sky & on the ground 1/4 mile away from around 6 months old ā¦ her prior puppy learning was on holiday š adolescence can really ramp up predatory motor patterns. We spent several months working on systematic desensitisation and using differential reinforcement of an alternative behaviour. By 17 months she was in the beating line never put a paw wrong - dozens of pheasant flushing in front of her nose first shoot first drive and she was rock steady. She either carried on hunting or responded to my whistle cues never chased once not even a flushed hare and totally ignored a deer in the woods that ran past fairly close. Little star. Mission accomplished.
She did her first chase here in this video location when she was around 6 months old .. which was then my cue to review our training plan. Normal developmental stuff.
She was full of beans tonight so thought Iād walk her towards the pigeon and video what she did (she had just before this set off chasing another pigeon enthusiastically and responded to my whistle recall). Normally she would ignore birds but memories can be location specific.
As she was behaving differently here tonight thought Iād let her set off again and say a completely unconditioned stimulus (the word ābananaā) and see what she would do when I said it as she set off to chase.
She has had zero pairing of any reward at any time with the word ābananaā. She does enjoy a bit of š as a Scooby snack at home but itās been a while since she might have heard me say it when asking the crew āwho wants some banana?ā I havenāt had any in for quite a few months š
Turns out you donāt need to actually condition the word banana at all - it appears to work as if by magic as a recall off chase.
Of course sheās had a couple of years self regulating around animal targets following her period of adolescent training, so it seems like her
Motivational Training: Teaching puppies the behaviours we want to see more of is simple. Itās not difficult. You just need an experienced, knowledgeable trainer to show you how! Teaching pup Loose Lead Walking can be one of the most challenging behaviours for new owners. Once we establish use of our Marker signal (I use a verbal marker signal such as Good! or Yes!), our pups soon learn to associate a behaviour they just did earned a reward, then training loose lead walking starts to become simple! We just need to then put the time in to practice. When we first start thereās a lot to think about but it soon becomes a smooth operation!
Here in the pics we see start of the process teaching pup that being by our leg is a good place to be! Using a Lure (piece of high value food to place the pup by our leg as we move around) which is released as a reward every 2 or 3 steps to start things off. Have plenty in your hand to keep it fluent ā¦ pup quickly starts to stay in place as a result of the Luring technique. When using Lures we do need to then quickly fade them which means getting food out of the way once the placement has got started - this is so the food does not become part of the behaviour. We quickly move to Mark then Reward standing up and walking forward with our pup. Once we start to Mark then Reward, in order to keep pupās focus and place by our leg we need to use a āhigh rate of reinforcementā; this means quick fire Mark from standing then bend down to deliver food reward stand back up & remove food hand but be ready to Mark again immediately ā¦ and repeat. Every single step. It quickly progresses to Mark then Reward after two steps ā¦ 3 steps... These pics show how quick we get from Lure to Mark/Reward while walking! Start in a no distraction area like your garden, progress to short sessions on a quiet pavement away from temptation of scenty grass verges/hedges. Dedicated mini sessions 1-2 minutes maximum and plenty of treats! Then start to pr
Keeping my busy bodies engaged with a couple of retrieves each out on an otherwise free run. The controlled hunting satisfies their SEEKING drive and keeps their natural prey drive harnessed. This breed is bred to scent for game and flush it out of cover - then they are trained to stop at that point so desensitising them to live moving targets .. birds, squirrels, rabbits .. is a priority from day one. My dogs do not get to chase any wildlife .. but using differential reinforcement offers them an alternative behaviour so they get to chase a training dummy or ball when young to reward a response to my trained Sit whistle and their no-chase choice. Here they are being sent out to find a training dummy in long grass and fetch it back to me. They get to scent as much as they like on walks because they are trained to either Recall or Stop on cue ā¦ we work together so they get lots of freedom to do what they love in a controlled way that satisfies their breed disposition. No chasing of other animals is necessary.
Training ā¦ when the outcomes are kindly rewarding the behaviour is likely repeated. Training my dogs to want to be in my company is done through a constant stream of likely rewarding outcomes. When young this includes managing their off lead activities ā¦ they get to run around and use their busy Cocker noses if they continue to pay attention to my cues. The environment is a potent reinforcer so make sure you use it as a reward that comes from you and prevent self-rewarding behaviour until you get those good habits established. #positivereinforcementdogtraining #positive #rewards #rewardbasedtraining #workingcockerspaniels #puppies #dogs
