Journey #4

One thing to remember when training is that we're always training the dog in front of us, not necessarily the dog we left off with last time. Our previous session is a starting point, but we also need to consider what's happening right now. Today was different from session #3. Neighborhood dogs were barking, rain was moving in, and I'd been gone most of the day. Every other day Journey had been here, I'd been working in the same room, so she may have been hungry for attention, too. I mention this because she appeared to take a step backward in understanding "Search." Journey is still learning how our training sessions work and the different ways she can receive reinforcement. "Search" means I'm tossing a treat for her to find on the ground. "Cookie" means I'm delivering a treat directly to her mouth. Reward placement and delivery style can have very different effects on behavior. Vito's Thinking Game Journey started out great, moving back and forth between the buckets! However, she was still struggling to hear "Search" and look for her reward on the ground. She is SUPER fast! Sometimes she's heading toward the next bucket so quickly it might look like I'm leading her with my hand, which I'm trying to avoid. My reward timing was definitely challenged. I'd wait to be sure I wasn't directing her, only to toss the treat on her head because she was already at the bucket! I started watching for the moment she committed to a direction while still in the middle, then tried to get the reward out ahead of her. Easier said than done! I introduced the orange cone because she was doing well moving between buckets. Eventually, we can move it farther out so she has to go around it, and later add a jump. At home, you could create a similar course with pillows, tunnels under chairs, or other household objects. Pedestal Work – Finding the Stand Next, I wanted Journey to stand on the equipment or at least put her front feet on the pedestal. I experimented with different positions and techniques, but we weren't connecting smoothly. I tried asking for a down to slow things down and help her refocus. Journey still needs practice understanding different reward delivery methods. She's also not particularly enthusiastic about working for food. I'd love to see whether she might enjoy tugging, although I suspect we'd have to teach that behavior. Tugging can bring a dog's energy up, and right now Journey needs help bringing hers down so she can focus rather than offering a quick guess and a wag of the tail! We took a step back to work on "Search" again, giving her an opportunity to succeed and build confidence. She also did a great job getting her front feet onto the pedestal! Platform Work – That Automatic Sit! Journey's rear-end awareness is still developing. She tends to put her head wherever she thinks I want it, and then her butt splats into a sit, regardless of where her back feet are or whether they're even on the platform! She's so convinced sitting is the right answer that it's difficult to get her to consider anything else. I experimented with guiding her over the platform and delivering rewards low to encourage her to remain standing rather than immediately sitting. And we started getting somewhere! She began offering a stand over the platform instead of that automatic sit. Nice progress! Building a New Standing Behavior Next, I tried positioning her with her back feet on the platform and front feet on the pedestal, thinking this might help teach a reliable stand. I'll probably use a different verbal cue. I suspect "Stand" may have some confusing training history for her. Sometimes it's easier to develop the behavior without words and add a new cue once the dog understands what we're asking. Eventually, she slowed down and began standing over the platform. With a little gentle repositioning by her collar to shift her weight, she could hold the stand. I think this approach has potential as she becomes more comfortable with this style of training. Finishing With a Little Heeling We finished with some heeling, and I thought she did great considering this was only our fourth attempt! Journey clearly knows how to heel on leash, so this isn't entirely new. What's new is working with me through positive reinforcement, without the leash, and learning how to earn rewards from my hand. I was really pleased with her effort! Today's Takeaway Not every session picks up where the last one ended. Sometimes we need to go back, simplify things, and help the dog find success again. Journey is enthusiastic, fast, and has strong ideas about what she should do. My job is to help her slow down, think, and try other behaviors. We had some messy moments, including my own reward timing, but we also made nice progress. And that's training! It's not always pretty, but there's a lot to learn from watching what the dog is telling us.