Clean Run Magazine - November 2007 - 36

Black and White Part 2: The Weave Poles By Elaine Coupé Being Last month we learned that we must be very clear in what we reward. The more black or white we are, the easier it is for the dog to know when he is right. We saw that only one behavior on the table earned a reward, while a list of other behaviors were to be ignored. How can we now use our knowledge of “black or white training” to train the weave poles? Again using my dog Trip as an example, let’s look at what should be rewarded and what should be ignored. Trip was trained using channel weaves. Other methods work equally well; this is simply the method I used. Because we were using channel weaves, we started out with 12 poles. At first the channel was very generously spaced.Trip was on a sit-stay until released and was called through the poles. Let’s look at our rewardable behavior: when released, run through all 12 poles. Simple. Now, let’s look at a list of non-rewardable behaviors: starting before released (even if he then followed that by doing all 12 poles correctly), running through only some of the poles, or stopping in the poles for any reason. Because I was using channels I don’t need to add “start with the first pole to the left shoulder” because there is no other option. If Trip is doing the weave poles in a way that earns a reward, he will always start correctly.Again, our list of nonrewardable behaviors is much longer than our list of rewardable behaviors. If I have defined the behavior I want, if I know what I should reward, then anything that isn’t that specific behavior cannot be rewarded or I will violate my black-or-white rule. My dog is either right, or he’s wrong. Wrong earns no reward. Simple. 36 As the channel weaves get closer together, Trip actually starts to experience the “wiggle” behavior. Still, the reward behavior remains the same: wait until released, and then go through all 12 poles. I do not reward if he did 10 or 8 or any other number of poles “because he did that many poles well.” My defined behavior is 12. No other amount is acceptable because I do not want to introduce a different behavior. I don’t want that shade of gray. It’s at this stage of training the weaves that I think inexperienced trainers inadvertently train their dogs to pop out of the poles.Yes, I did say that some people train their dogs to pop out of the poles.They don’t realize they are doing that or of course they wouldn’t. But referring to the third operant principle in the sidebar (you get the behavior you reward, not the behavior you want) let’s look at a fictional handler/trainer and see if we can understand why some dogs are trained to pop out of the weave poles. Our handler is training her dog to do the weaves. It’s her first dog and she is learning as is the dog. The weaves have been a bit of a battle, but finally she sees that her dog is starting to “get it.” She is elated and has her dog do another set—but the dog only does 7 poles. Still, her dog did them fast and with enthusiasm. She wants to reward her dog for completing 7 poles successfully, so she does. But unwittingly our handler has now introduced a shade of gray into her dog’s weave pole training. The dog now knows that always doing 12 poles isn’t required. Sometimes the dog can do fewer poles (a different behavior) and still get rewarded. If you were the dog, what would you do? Whether our handler realizes it or not, she is rewarding popping out, a different behavior. You can avoid teaching your dog to pop out by asking yourself if completion of fewer than 12 poles is the behavior you want. If the answer is no, don’t reward it. Let’s now go back to training Trip in the weave poles. As the poles get closer together to form that straight line, the entry does indeed become an issue. I still only pay if I get all 12 poles with a correct entry, but I also help my dog out by working just the entry away from the set of 12 channel poles. To do this, I use only three poles and I work all kinds of approach angles. While working three poles, there is only one behavior that gets rewarded: entering correctly. Going Clean Run | November 07

Clean Run Magazine - November 2007

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run Magazine - November 2007