Clean Run Magazine - March 2010 - 60

Remember: it is only the beginning of the command that is important for the dog, in this case “and so.” If you just say Tunnel to a dog that has been taught And So, Tunnel, the dog will probably not understand, because it is only the beginning of the command that has stuck with him. In our brains it is logical, because the name of the obstacle is Tunnel. But if you have repeated And So, Tunnel every time in training, that is the name that has stuck with the dog. Talk about unintentional learning! hatever Comes First Sticks A superb learning rule is “What comes first sticks.” It applies to both dogs and people, by the way. As a child, if you learn left and right incorrectly, you will have trouble with it the rest of your life. Our training is making a pattern for the future by what and how we first train and what we familiarize the dog with. That’s why there is a danger with going too slow in our training progression; if left on the first level too long, the dog can become stuck there and have trouble developing further, because he thinks the only correct way is the way he first learned the behavior. But more than anything else it is about unintentionally steering your dog in a certain way, maybe by position or by your behavior; then the dog believes he should always get as much assistance as he has been taught, as in the examples above of weave entrances, contacts, and starts. earning Words The learning rule “whatever comes first sticks,” also forces us to think about the order of teaching a behavior. The word must come first and the body language a second later. If it’s the other way around, the body language will be the thing the dog takes notice of and learns. Many dogs don’t know the word Sit, even though their owners think they do; but a hand raised over the dog’s head makes most dogs understand what to do. The reason is most people without thinking of it, lift their hand with a treat over the dog’s head to encourage him and say Sit right after. The hand signal is what comes first, and the dog learns what comes first. Try turning your back to the trained dog and see if he still responds to the word when no body signals are available; then you know the truth about what your dog has learned. If you use several words in a sentence like the “and so, tunnel” example, you have to be prepared the dog mostly learns the first words “and so.” If you then should happen to say And So, Jump or And So, Tire, you have a problem, because you’ve used the same words for different behaviors! here are many bad habits in training that have unintentionally been learned, and those tend to stick with the dog. Most common is that handlers change to act “safely” when in competition to qualify. elf-criticism and Friends What can you do to avoid the trap of unintentionally steering the dog toward something you don’t want? First, start thinking about this advice and be aware of how easy it is to create an involuntary pattern. Be selfcritical to see what you really do. It is also extremely valuable to have training buddies who check on what you do. To see the whole behavior from the outside is always easier than to discover it yourself. If you take a class, you hope the instructor is observant and can tell you what you really are doing. A video camera is also very helpful. Occasionally repetition of a special pattern may be intentional, but other times it is not; therefore repetition can be burdensome and prolong your training time beyond your expectations. D Marie is a dog psychologist after a special two-year education course. She introduced agility to Sweden in 1985, has educated judges and instructors, and trained competitors in every level. She has written 10 books about dog training, and six of them are about agility. The books are read and loved by all Scandinavia. She has won many titles competing with her dogs and been on the national team for seven years. 60 Clean Run | March 10

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Clean Run Magazine - March 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run Magazine - March 2010