Clean Run - June 2015 - 53

Training Open
Tunnels

1

When teaching my dog the open tunnel,
there are a couple of things I want my
dog to know:
„For a straight tunnel, my cues as the
dog enters should indicate whether
or not the dog is to turn or continue
forward on exit. If there is a turn, my
motion and/or location indicate the
direction of the turn. See Figure 1.
„For a curved tunnel, although the
tunnel itself will dictate the lead
my dog must be on to navigate the
tunnel, my motion and/or location
also indicate the direction of the
turn when my dog exits, which may
or may not require a lead change.
See Figure 2.
The way I use the Treat & Train is very
similar for each. In both instances, I want
to give my dog incentive to go forward
through the tunnel without me, so I start
by positioning the Treat & Train near the
exit of the tunnel as in Figures 3 and 4.
Each time my dog moves through the
tunnel, away from me and toward the
Treat & Train, I move the Treat & Train
just a little bit closer to my location, so
eventually, the Treat & Train is right beside
me. At that point, my dog is moving away
from two objects that represent a large
history of reinforcement: me, and the
Treat & Train. If he can move away from
all of that reinforcement, take the tunnel, and return, I can dispense with the
Treat & Train and switch to treats from
my hand or a toy.
I also use the Treat & Train to teach my dog
to go to the "backside" of a tunnel; those
situations where my dog must switch
leads to get in to the tunnel and then
again when he comes out of the tunnel.
This can be a difficult concept for dogs to
master. They must remember where you
are located and in what direction you're
moving, as they figure out how to navigate through the tunnel, which requires
at least two lead changes. When teaching
this skill, I first work toward changing my
location and then I work on changing the
location of the Treat & Train, until again,
the Treat & Train and I are together and
it can be faded out in lieu of a hand-delivered treat or toy reward. See Figure 5.
June 15 | Clean Run

For a straight tunnel, my cues as the dog enters should indicate whether or not the
dog is to turn or continue forward on exit. If there is a turn, my motion and/or location
indicate the direction of the turn.

2

My dog must be on
his left lead to
successfully
navigate this tunnel.
My dog will need to be on his left lead
to successfully navigate these tunnels,
even if he was previously on his right
lead. He will need to change to his right
lead again on exiting the tunnel.
My dog must be on
his right lead to
successfully
navigate this tunnel.

For a curved tunnel, although the tunnel itself will dictate the lead my dog must be
on to navigate the tunnel, my motion and/or location also indicate the direction of the
turn when my dog exits, which may or may not require a lead change.

3
T&T
T&T
T&T
T&T
T&T
T&T

Training progression with a straight tunnel

53
Clean Run - June 2015

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