Totally Fetching - Part 4

Here is the final installment to teaching your hound or non-retriever to retrieve.

Part 1 - Click Here

Part 2 - Click Here

Part 3 - Click Here

At this point, I was satisfied that Seven understood that she should pick up and put the toy in my hand.  So I switched toys on her.  I switched to my favorite toy, the Zanie Flyer.  The stuffy disc is not easy to pick up so it is not ideal for early training, but its very easy to throw a good distance so it was important for me to eventually make the switch.  This video is an awesome illustration of how dogs do not generalize.  Throw down a Zanie Flyer and suddenly Seven's brain turns to mush and she has no idea how to proceed. 

With a new toy, I have to take a few steps back to remind Seven what we are doing.  The dog should progress much faster with each new toy.  The more toys and objects you work with, the more your dog learns to generalize.  Eventually, you can point to anything and your dog will pick it up for you.  Katie was especially good at generalizing and would pick up anything I asked her to.  In this video, one of the dogs had dragged a toy out into the yard.  I was barefoot and did not want to get it myself so I asked Katie to get it.  It was not something we had practiced, but we had worked with such a variety of things she knew what I wanted.

In this video, I run Seven through all of the steps with the Zanie Flyer.  I start by dragging the toy with a leash and C&T the pick ups.  Then I C&T for pick ups when the toy is motionless.  I start to grab the toy.  Notice that I run through all of these steps in just one minute.

In our next training session, Seven quickly started to offer to pick up and put the toy in my hand again so I started to add some distance.  I am sorry the video is so dark.

Now we have a finished "play" retrieve.  At this point, you do not need the clicker anymore.  You can just trade the toy for a treat.  I tend to continue using treats for play retrieves since it keeps my food motivated hounds very motivated to retrieve.  I sometimes will reward every other retrieve depending on the dog.  I also do not use high value treats once the game has a lot of value.

Happy Training!  Please let me know if you have any questions.  I know this seems like a lot of work, but it is only because I broke it down into so many steps.  This entire process only took about a week for Seven.

Totally Fetching - Part 3

Let us get back to teaching your dog (especially hounds or other non-retrievers) a "play" retrieve.  If you are new here, be sure to check out Part 1 and 2 first.

Part 1 - Click Here
Part 2 - Click Here

The goal before the holidays was to teach your dog to pick up the toy and for the trainer to grab the toy and click & treat (C&T).  I want to remind you about a few things. 

First, you must give frequent, positive feedback so your hound stays interested.  So lets say twice in a row, your hound picks up the toy and you try to grab it, but your hound drops it before you can reach it.  Therefore, your hound has done two things without any positive feedback.  Immediately take a step back and C&T for the dog just picking up the toy again.  Make sure you are standing up tall so your dog will pick up the toy and tend to bring his head higher up towards you... versus you looming over him and the dog keeping his head lower to the ground.  C&T for when the dog brings the toy up to a nice high position. 

Once your dog is back to picking up the toy, start trying to grab it again and C&T.  The first few times you succeed, C&T, but give your dog 3 treats and really let him know that putting the toy in your hand is super special.

If you are training a small dog, you may need to sit or kneel on the floor so you are not bending over him at this stage of training.

Shorten your training sessions if your dog is losing interest.  End each training session with your dog wanting more.

Remember to restrict access to the toy when you are not ready with your treats and clicker.

In this video, Seven is showing more propensity for moving the toy towards my hand and turning towards me with the toy.  Remember that retrieving is simply teaching the dog to put something in your hand.  Once you have that, adding distance is the easy part.

Here we start adding some distance.  Seven shows that she knows to put the toy in my hand because she quickly recovers the toy when she drops it on the ground and tries for my hand, but she still is clumsy.

Happy Training!

Totally Fetching - Part 2

Part 1 - Click Here

At this point, your dog should be very interested in his toy and offering teeth grabs. If not, keep working at it. Do you need a more attractive toy? Maybe you need to drag the toy faster and further to stimulate prey drive. Are you clicking & treating (C&T) frequently? Do not let too much time pass between clicks or the toy's value to the dog will not grow. Make the dog feel really awesome about all silly interactions resulting in a C&T. I did not show much of that with Seven in Part 1 because she was quick to offer the teeth grab so I focused on that.In this video, I raise my criteria for Seven. I am no longer satisfied with teeth grabs as I want to her to pick up the toy. So I C&T when the toy is lifted up off the ground. Secondly, I would like for her to pick up the toy without me having to move it. I want her to pick it up just because it is in front of her. Gradually, I reduce the amount of movement until the toy is sitting still, but the dog is still motivated to pick it up. At the end of this video I remove the leash from the toy.

If at anytime, your dog becomes confused. Take a step back. Continue to drag the toy and C&T for touches or teeth grabs. Do not let even a half a minute pass without C&Ting your dog for some success. Continuous positive feedback is important. It is what gets your dog excited about participating and playing with the toy.If your dog is doing a great job of lifting the toy up off the ground, start trying to put your hand on it. C&T as soon as you grasp the toy that is in your dog's mouth. Again, do not allow for a lot of time to pass between C&Ts. If you miss grabbing the toy a time or two, go back to C&Ting teeth grabs and pick ups. You do not want your dog to lose interest in the game.

Recall this in Part 1 - My dog is extremely interested in the toy and tries to run off with it. Skip Part 1 training. Your dog can start at a later step that I will point out in Part 2... Here is me pointing out your starting point.

Put your dog on leash so he cannot take off with the toy. Drop the toy and as soon as he picks it up, put your hand on it and shove a treat in his mouth. If you are super organized, feel free to use a clicker, but it is not necessary with a super toy motivated dog that is picking up the toy as soon as you drop it. Its more important that you use your hands for holding the leash, grabbing the toy, and shoving a treat in his mouth so he has a reason to let go. You are basically teaching him to trade the toy for a treat.

If my greyhound is a toy snatcher, I will yelp and make a big fuss if he touches me with his teeth. I do not wait till it hurts. I do not tolerate and will disagree with carelessness. He has to be careful around my skin.

At this point, the goal for everyone is to teach the dog to put the toy into your hand. You should start to notice your dog holding the toy if you are slow with your hand. Or if the dog drops the toy, you may notice him immediately pick it up and try again.

Hopefully this will keep you busy over the holidays. I will finish this series once the hustle and bustle is over.

Totally Fetching - Part 1

Hounds are not usually known for their retrieving abilities. Few exhibit it naturally. Travis was a freak of greyhound nature with his retrieving especially in the water (Click Here if you never saw his dock jumping post). Except for Travis, I have had to teach the other five greyhounds how to retrieve. And even Travis had to go through a similar process for a formal dumbbell retrieve.I have been wanting to do a post on how to train your dog (especially a hound) to retrieve for a very long time, but it is much easier to show if I have videos of the process. I have them now thanks to Seven. Initially, she showed some retrieving tendencies, but her toy drive turned to mush when she tasted the goodies in my pocket.In these videos, I am teaching Seven what I call a "play" retrieve. I think it is easier to teach a play retrieve with a fun toy first and then move to other objects or a dumbbell if that is your goal. Otherwise, a play retrieve is a great way to exercise the hounds and is a lot of fun.

First, you will have to find 5 - 10 minutes a day to train. I am going to give you a lot of information, but this is not rocket science or an attempt to cure cancer. This is just teaching a dog to retrieve 5 - 10 minutes per day. Yes, you do have time.

Step one, you must teach your dog the clicker training concept. If you and your dog are not familiar with clicker training spend a few days working on this exercise - Click Here. Once your dog can touch an object with his nose for a click and treat (C&T), you can begin teaching your retrieve.

Let us get started. Pick a stuffy toy that is very easy to pick up. Not too big and not too small. With greyhounds, you have to consider the long nose. You do not want something that the greyhound smashes his nose into the ground as he picks it up. The toy in my video is a good example.

Step two, teach your dog to touch the toy. You can do this several ways, but I really like the method I am going to show you. I attached a leash to the toy so I could stimulate her interest by moving it around. Use the smallest amount of movement it takes to generate any interest from your dog. It might just be a head turn, a nose touch, pouncing, or a grab. C&T for all forms of interest and interaction with the toy. You want to add value to the toy and make it very special because it causes so many C&Ts. I was lucky with Seven because she has a high prey drive and offered a grab with her teeth almost immediately so I focused on that. Ultimately, you want a teeth grab, but make sure you C&T for all interest in the toy initially.

Take your time at this step. You really want your hound's interest in the toy to increase significantly. Once you complete a 5-10 minute training session, put the toy away. The toy should only come out for training or retrieving sessions for now on. Now for some troubleshooting.

My dog has no interest in the toy even if it is moving. Clicker train your dog to touch the toy with his nose. I am assuming you have already taught your dog to touch a cup with his nose... do the same exercise, but use a toy. Put the treat on top of the toy and C&T as your dog takes the treat or you can touch the toy right to his nose and C&T.

My dog is extremely interested in the toy and tries to run off with it. Skip Part 1 training. Your dog can start at a later step that I will point out in Part 2.

My dog does well at first, but then loses interest in training. Shorten your training session. You want to end your training session while the dog still wants more. One way to accomplish this is to put 5 treats in your pocket. Once you have given them out, your training session is done. You may also need a better treat. Use real meat and cheese.

Happy Training! Let me know if there are any questions.

Intro To Clicker Training

I introduced Seven to the clicker weeks ago, but I captured it all on video. For those unfamiliar with clicker training or operant conditioning, it is a very positive method for teaching animals all sorts of things. A clicker is a small, handheld, plastic box with an opening (see above). When you press your thumb into the opening and depress the metal strip, it produces a “click” noise. The dog is taught that the “click” means “That is what I want and you are getting a treat for it.” The clicker is used to mark desired behaviors offered by the dog that you then reward with a treat. It is a very sharp and clear way of telling the dog that she is right! I always explain the clicker training concept to my greyhounds by teaching them to touch a cup with their noses.

In this video, Seven has no idea that the "click" has any meaning. For this reason, I start her on leash (even if indoors) so she does not accidentally touch my cup when I am not ready to Click & Treat (C&T). I hold several treats in my dominant hand and the clicker and leash in the other. I place a treat on top of the cup and click as the Seven removes the treat. Anytime she checks the cup for a treat when a treat is not there and touches the cup with her nose, I swoop in quickly with a C&T. Right now it is important that I put a treat in her mouth as soon as I click. When I run out of treats, I pull her away from the cup so I can refill my hand without missing any opportunities to C&T. Also, you will notice Seven target my hands because she smells the treats. I just ignore it and let her exhaust that behavior.

I recommend using small, easy to swallow treats that do not require any chewing. After you have completed a few repetitions, do not place a treat on the cup. Instead, wait to see if your dog will check the cup and reward immediately with a C&T when she does. Try not to rush. Some folks get really frantic with trying to be organized. The second purpose of this silly exercise is to train you to work with a clicker. Use the leash to pull your dog away from the cup when you get disorgnaized. Also, resist the urge to point to the cup each time. Give your hound a chance to think about what she is doing and let her figure it out. If she does appear to be stuck, go back a step to remind her of the task.

In this video, Seven catches on that the cup is significant, but notice that she still does not respond to the "click" when I test her. Also, notice that I am still using a leash to restrict her access when I am not ready or get disorganized.

Here we have a change of scenery. Dogs do not generalize unless you teach them to so it is good to change your location frequently. You can see Seven start to recognize the "click" sound and turn to me for the treat.

Here is the final video. Once again, we are at a different location so it takes her a short time to realize what we are doing. I consider my dog well versed in clicker training when she can turn away from me, the clicker, and the treats to touch the cup and then responds quickly to my click.

Now Seven is ready to learn other things with a clicker. The point of clicker training is to make your dog an active participant in his own training and figure things for himself. I love that the clicker is an enjoyable way to point out to your dog all of the good things she is doing instead of correcting her for mistakes. Too many corrections can make a dog feel afraid to try something and they can become frozen. Clicker training gets a dog willing to move around and take risks.

Front Left

Here is a video clip of Reagan working on fronts. I am making her commit to a position by sitting. She still seems to be stuck on moving her rear end and correcting her position too much. When she does finally stand or sit straight in front of me, I click and treat several times in an attempt to convince her that its the position I want and not really the movement. She is so much fun to work with. Reagan is such a good little worker.

Next, Reagan is working on left turns in heeling. Kathryn (trainer) has me working on left turns slowly and exaggerated so Reagan is encouraged to move her rear end to stay in line.

My goal is to have Reagan ready to compete in Novice obedience at the Hound obedience trial September 18th. The trial is limited to dog breeds in the hound group so it should be a small, quiet trial to start at.

Clockwork

Here is another doodle for training fronts. You click and treat when the dog is positioned straight in front of you. Ideally, you spit out treats, but in this clip I am feeding from my hand because it was something I did not want in my mouth. :-P You then pivot as if you are standing on a clock face. Starting at 12:00, you then pivot to 2:00 or to 10:00. You click and treat when the dog moves over (especially the rear end) and regains a straight front position.

I thought Reagan was especially cute at the end when she starts to wag her tail when it became clear to her what was right. I have had an unexpected consequence though. Reagan has since then started to think I was rewarding her for swinging her rear end back and forth, so she started to offer lots of back and forth moving. I am now rewarding her for moving into a still, straight, and front position and she is getting the idea.

Get Close

On Sunday, Reagan and I attended a small, local seminar with Kathryn Willis. Kathryn has been training and competing in Dog Obedience for 15 years. Her Golden Retrievers have been nationally ranked for the last five years and have qualified for five National Obedience Invitationals. Kathryn has earned 3 Obedience Trial Championships, a perfect score of 200, over 50 High in Trials, and over 50 High Combined awards..... and best of all, Kathryn uses clicker training.

The seminar focused mostly on teaching the dog that he/she has a rear end, how to move the rear end, and where the rear end should be (something Riley, pictured above, needs a lot of help with). The difference between a nice obedience performance and a great obedience performance often comes down to straight fronts and finishes and a good heel position. With 4 legs, its easy to forget where the rear is and to let it drift off to the side. Kathryn taught us several "doodles" to help explain the rear end to the dog.

The first "doodle" (shown below) is teaching the dog to move into heel position or "get close" (dog is parallel to handler's left side). I have always been in a bad habit of asking my greyhound to sit and then positioning myself parallel to my dog (except with Katie, somehow I managed to explain to her how to move her rear end). With finishes (dog returns to heel position and sits next to the handler at the end of each exercise), it was always hit or miss. I would get credit for my dog's effort at finishing, but would lose points for the sit not being parallel or straight.

This is not the most interesting video clip, but I have to say I was quite thrilled to see how just twisting my hand with a treat and stepping back with my left foot encouraged my dog to move her rear into a more parallel position. You start by clicking and treating just a small side step, but eventually require a move into correct heel position.