Clean Run Magazine - August 2007 - 37

Introducing New Skills Go On, Bucket Game In last month’s issue, in my “Power Paws Patterns” article on pinwheels I demonstrated how to teach a Go On around a bucket or post. We recently started this training with Sweep. I won’t introduce the jumping part of that drill for a few more months; we will just perfect the Go On part of the drill. Walking Backward Sweep is learning to walk backward. I usually train this between the couch and the coffee table, but you can also train the skill between any two barriers, like ex-pens. I started with Sweep facing me between the barriers. I took a little step toward him and he took a small step backward. As soon as he stepped I clicked and treated him under his chin as quickly as possible. I want to deliver the treat fast before he gets a chance to move forward toward me. Then I stayed there and waited for him to move again so I could click and treat. If your pup just stands and stares at you, take a little step toward him to get him moving again. I watch the dog’s rear end or feet and that is what I am marking when he moves. I move toward the pup quickly after I click, and I deliver the treat in a way that the pup almost has to step back to get the cookie. Soon I will start to throw the treat or a toy to the dog, so I can stay in my position and the reward arrives to the pup without my moving. for as far as you want. I count steps as I progress in this training. I reward the first step a few times, then wait to see the pup take two steps, then three, and so on. If you only reward the pup for taking a couple steps back over and over, your pup will be patterned to do that many steps and then wait for a command from you or even move forward toward you. I don’t put a command on this behavior until I get the pup to move back about four or five steps. My verbal cue will be Walk. Positioning yourself and the dog between two barriers helps to get the pup started when you want to train the skill. Walking back is a handy skill and you will find many ways to use it. It is also a great rear-end strengthening exercise. him. I place the target under his chin and that is the only cue he will get right now to touch. We are working to get strong nose touches to the target and those are the only ones I reward. The way I know that the nose touch is strong is by the intensity of the sound. I do not feed him when I hear a weak beep. You can also pair the clicker with the beep. The dog touches the target, it beeps, and you click and treat. I make sure to position myself on both sides of Sweep while practicing. Right now I have covered the speaker so the beep is not very loud. I want him to hear it, but I do not want the sound intensity to be a concern. Two-on/Two-off Contact Position I am teaching Sweep the two-on/twooff contact position but he will not be introduced to the target yet from that position. I taught him to step off a short stool (or step) and hold that position while being treated or tugging. I encouraged him to step off the stool and then marked and treated and began to move around while feeding him. I am tossing the cookies to him on the ground so that he is being encouraged to keep his head low. As he steps off I click, then very quickly toss in the treat and repeat the reward if his head stays low. Nose Targeting Sweep has had minimal training sessions on nose targeting. I am not in a rush to teach this behavior because I feel that some dogs get bored with all the nose-touch practice if the training goes on for many months without giving the game a purpose by building up some movement and speed while also applying it to some form of board training. We have decided to use an electronic nose-touch device. If you are following along with the training, you do not need to use this device. You can use a plastic target and a clicker as a marker. The nice part about using the electronic nosetouch device is that the machine beeps as the dog’s nose touches so you can eliminate the use of a clicker, which also frees your hands to hold the target and deliver cookies. You will notice in the photo the position in which I am holding the target (under his chin) and the location where I am feeding What happens beyond getting your pup to take a step or two backward will be up to you. You could continue to do it the easy way and get the dog to move back when you step toward him. Or you could have a loftier goal of getting the dog to move very quickly backward in a straight line Next month one of the new behaviors we will work on is teaching left and right to Sweep. Till then have a great time with your pup—we are sure enjoying ours. D Nancy Gyes and her husband Jim Basic run Power Paws Agility in San Jose, California. She is the AKC World Team Coach for 2006 and has been on the AKC World Team seven times, four years with Scud and three with Riot. Nancy and Riot finished 1st in 2002 and 2nd in 2001 in Individual Agility classes at Worlds. Nancy also won the USDAA Nationals four years in a row, 1998 to 2001, with three different dogs, Scud, Riot, and Wicked. In 2001 and 2002, Nancy and Riot were the 24" jump height AKC National Champions. Scud retired in 2001 after winning the USDAA Veterans Championship. Contact Nancy at www.powerpawsagility.com, where you can also view other articles and videos. August 07 | Clean Run 37

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Clean Run Magazine - August 2007

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