Clean Run - October 2011 - 14

Dogs are not perfect in training; we just don't test their understanding of the required behavior enough.

If the dog was perfect I increase the level of distraction and ask for more of the end behavior. I give my dog his two-on/twooff cue and, as he jumps into position, I run forward toward the next obstacle. I may run back to the dog praising verbally and often I pat my dog while he remains in the two-on/two-off position. Next I run forward again and either repeat the praise and patting activity or release the dog to the tunnels or jumps. I also use other handling maneuvers as described in my DVD, Bridging the Gap Between Training and Competition. When working through this process I don’t carry any food or toys and use only my praise, pats, and the other obstacles as reinforcers. Praise and other obstacles are the same reinforcers that are available in the competition ring. For the start line I work through the process in a similar manner. I see many handlers who, after their dogs break the start line in training, replace the dog, and lead out again. And when the dog stays, they return and reward with food. In my opinion the food is yet another obstacle in the way of the dog gaining his desired reward of running; and it is arguably not a reinforcer at all in this case. After all, the dog didn’t run to the handler begging for food; he took the jumps. (A note about start lines: I am referring to dogs that break the start line and take another obstacle, not the dogs that creep forward. I own such a dog and long ago decided that it was unrealistic to fix the creep when I could not always be in a position to see her feet moving. Her criteria were “sit, stand, or down and creep a bit,” but she must take the first obstacle without incurring a refusal or knocking the bar. In her nine years of competition she has never busted the start line and taken the first jump without my release.) Here is a typical training progression for the start line:

and the handler leads out while the dog stays. If the dog stays, the handler resists the urge to return to the dog and feed him; instead, the handler gives the release cue and allows the dog to take two or three obstacles. The dog can be placed in front of different obstacles around the agility course while this process is repeated until the stay behavior becomes stronger in anticipation of the release. Sometimes instead of replacing the dog at the original start line when he breaks, I take the dog by the collar past the first few obstacles and start him in the middle of the course. By breaking, he has lost the opportunity to take those obstacles and is instead walked past them. This works in much the same way as the pet owner who picks up the food bowl if the dog breaks and the shepherd who blocks the sheepdog from playing with the sheep that he didn’t wait for permission to work. Editors’ Note: To see a video of Rachel demonstrating this training, go to the Magazine Forum at www.cleanrun.com and select Videos: www.cleanrun.com/index. cfm?fuseaction=feature.display&feature_id=176.

In Conclusion
I do use food and toys to teach sit, stand, and down, the contact end behavior of two-on/two-off (or four-on the teeter if required), and stays. It is not until my dogs are excited about agility and fully understand the obstacle performance that I reduce the use of these types of reinforcers. When working through this process I never carry food and toys with me. I’ll leave the toys and treats at the side of the training area and play after we complete the exercise. I continue to train in this way until I think that my dog’s performance is not enhanced if I have toys or food with me when we train. In my monthly maintenance training of these behaviors if I am not sequencing obstacles, I do use food and toys as reinforcers. But when we are working through this process, I put that maintenance training on hold. D

• The dog is asked to stay, the handler leads out, and the dog
breaks and takes the first jump.

• The handler takes control of the dog and returns him to the
start line. The dog is either placed into a sit or asked to sit,

Rachel Sanders has competed in agility since 1994, and with her Border Collie, Whist, and JRT, Trump, has won three USDAA Grand Prix of Dog Agility Championships and a Steeplechase Championship. Rachel and her BC Fable represented the U.S. at the 2008 IFCS World Championships in Belgium where they earned a silver medal. In addition to teaching across North America at seminars and camps, she teaches full time at her agility center in Atascadero, California. Contact her at www.fastforwarddogsports.com.

BAG your regular Pick-up bag...
and switch to the world’s first 100% biodegradable and 100% compostable dog waste bag

www.cleanrun.com

Clean Run | October 11

http://www.cleanrun.com http://www.cleanrun.com http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=feature.display&feature_id=176 http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=feature.display&feature_id=176 http://www.fastforwarddogsports.com http://www.cleanrun.com http://www.cleanrun.com

Clean Run - October 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - October 2011