Clean Run Magazine - March 2010 - 51

Step 6: Finally… Training the Release Here is the ﬁnished behavior. Notice how I wait until a half-second after Zulu has broken before tossing the treat. Between frames A and B, I don’t move anything except my lower jaw. Your dog will probably not bound out of the crate with this much enthusiasm at ﬁrst. The more you practice and the more you perfect a pure verbal release with no body motion, the surer your dog will be. Once he is sure he is correct to break position on cue, you will see a huge increase in drive when coming off the stay. Now you are finally ready to train the release. Since you have invested so much time in convincing your dog that he should not move when you open the crate door, you will need a little bit of a verbal lure to get him to move. Try opening the door and saying O.K., Break, or whatever other word you want to use, in an excited, high-pitched voice, but be very careful not to use any body motion or change in posture. Unless your dog is a highly trained obedience dog, he will probably at least shuffle his feet when you do this. You want to click any movement of the dog’s feet at all; don’t wait for him to actually exit the crate. If you click him for moving one foot, you are marking the behavior of breaking position. If you click him after he has left the crate, you are clicking him for standing in front of you. Standing in front of you is a fine behavior, but not what we want to train in this instance. Throw the treat away from the crate after you click. Be sure that you are clicking, waiting a half-second, and then throwing the treat. The treat should be a reinforcer for what your dog has already done (break position) not a lure to get him to break. By throwing the treat out this way, you are encouraging him to make a snappy exit from the crate the second you release him. If your dog does not move when you use your release word, just wait it out. If he does not move after 10 seconds, repeat your release word. Eventually he will tire of standing there and move a foot. Click it. Your dog will catch on quickly, but you have to have patience at first. Remember, not only do you have to be still as you give the release cue, but also remain still until the dog has definitively broken position. The dog moves first. Visualize the release as if you are watching it from above; see your dog move first and then you move a split second later. Practice being aware of your stillness as your dog is moving and feel it. It is almost reflexive for us to move when our dog is moving, and holding still is the hardest part of the release cue for humans to get. After just a few reps, your dog should catch on to the game and start popping out of the crate when you give your release cue. You should still be clicking the very first movement you can see, and not waiting to click until your dog is actually out of the crate. If your dog has been corrected a lot for breaking his stay, or your training has been in any way muddy on this point, you may find that your dog is a little hesitant at first. Just keep clicking the very first movement you can see, and your dog will eventually relax and start releasing on cue. Stineman Ribbon Company March 10 | Clean Run

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Clean Run Magazine - March 2010

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