Something I've been thinking about is the value of training the dogs to follow cues when they're aroused. Of course, an ideal situation would be to keep them calm at all times, but that's not always feasible with two excitable young Labradors So, the last week or so, I've been having great fun with them. We've been playing a game which I've snappily named "sit-floor-touch-heel-front". Basically, I run around with them to get them wound up and then throw one of those (easy) cues at them. If they respond, they get to chase a pine cone (best reward ever). They've become considerably stronger following these cues in the time we've been doing it. At first, they were too over-aroused to concentrate, but they've learnt that good things happen when they listen. I'm not sure if this actually has any value in "real-world" applications, but we're all having an absolute blast and it's making their responses to the cues super-snappy. I've started to link a couple of cues together before rewarding, especially for Shadow, and he is jumping from behaviour to behaviour as fast as he can. I need to think about how or if I can extend this to be more valuable in the wild...
Well, just thinking about this - I doubt that this is a dog in the same state of arousal and moving from not being able to follow a cue to learning to do so without its state of arousal changing. It might be: a) the dog is actually not in the same state of arousal when it can follow the cue - it is less excited even if it doesn't appear so, it has become a bit more desensitised to the excitement; or b) the dog was never incapable of following the cue due to arousal, just a distraction (you jumping around and things being really exciting) and what has happened is they have learned to cope with that as a distraction - that's proofing. B) seems a bit more likely, you have proofed your cues against them being delivered in a super exciting way. But both a) and b) seem critical elements of training generally.
You're probably right, that it is just proofing. Even if a) is the case, they are definitely more aroused than they normally would be when I'm training them, so there may be an element of proofing against their own feelings as well as the environment (me bouncing around). For Shadow, I've been mixing up having a cone in view and not when giving the cues. We've discussed this before where he focusses so hard on the cone/ball, he becomes deaf to even the simplest of cues. I've not done anything on it since then, really, so mixed it in with these games, and he's getting better at responding first time, although, when he can see the cone, he's quite sloppy at the moment with positioning for heel/front and hovers on sit/floor, which means working on increasing my criteria before he gets the reward. I'm trying to think of where to go with training at the moment. They love to learn, to retrieve etc but I don't have a suitable area to do this in at the moment, which is very frustrating. I feel like I have nothing to focus on. I'd like to be doing more control at distance, but with nowhere remotely open and flat that I can get any real distance while it's daylight, I'm rather restricted. With walking by myself, I can't do any desensitisation to bangs (party poppers) with Willow. So, thinking forwards to May, when I'll be back in the UK, I don't know if there's any value in having any more gun dog training when we're no further on than we were in November. So, do I look at doing a couple of days of agility, flyball or tracking with them? But, again, the first two aren't things I can do at home, so I'm not sure there's any point; how far are we going to get in a couple of lessons? Anyway, pity party over, the evenings are slowly getting longer, so I will be able to get out onto the pistes to do some training in the evenings soon, and I'm sure my mojo will start to come back. I'll read through Clicker Gundog etc again to get some more ideas. And maybe I'll eventually get around to working on a good delivery to hand
I do this to get Oban to focus when he is distracted. For some weird reason yesterday at my Aunt's nursing home he was woofing at men who walked by. Not women. It's not something he normally does. Maybe it was because Sis and I had things to discuss and were ignoring him, and we were sitting way off in a corner where people going by could not easily pet him. Anyway, I ran him through some sit, down, stand, beeps (back up) front and made sure to vary the order. I also put in a couple of immediate repeats to see if he's really listening and understanding. Works great. Only failure is I then went back talking to Sis and ignoring Oban so he woofed again. Guess we can safely call that failure mine.
You have to enjoy the journey, not the destination. It doesn't matter what you train, so long as you are training. If you need a focus, set a goal. Choose something with exams. Do the gundog grades - no shot involved, so it doesn't matter that Willow might need time to get over the bangs. Or, do tracking exams. Whatever gives you the target you need.
I know, I'm just being an eejit! I keep meaning to do the gundog grades, but it can't just be me that gets really bored with the long sit-stays? I don't mind walking a long way away and then back again, but standing there and twiddling my thumbs is just duuuulllllll
I use it for good steadiness training - bang/dummy thrown - and ask for a spin at my side or a down or even a backward circle round me - anything to show they are really listening when they are aroused. I also do it with food piles(or toys) on the floor - ie can they still do a spin in the right direction beside a food pile, but I'm going to try your more energetic version !! ideas to train is hard because I don't know where you're at or what space you have - hand delivery work is always good - different shaped dummies - rabbit - feathers - going over jumps with dummies - perhaps work on distractions before, during and after short retrieves. (we had one working test where they threw a marked retrieve and then a rabbit dummy was dragged along the path in sight and then vanished into the bushes(mesmorising) and then you had to send your dog for the seen)
This is one of the reasons we got rid of the bath when we bought our new place and put in a massive shower instead. I can't do baths. I like the concept, and every now and again I'd give it a go, but I'd get in and start thinking about all the things I could be doing with the time instead. Not relaxing at all!
We should have a special board on the forum "talk to me I'm on my phone killing time while my dog is in a stay". Then you can have one post stays, two post stays....
Oh I totalling agree! Standing there just waiting for the end of the stay is the worst! I find I start convincing myself that I'll make Ella break the stay if I look at her/don't look at her/shift my weight/stay completely still etc. Luckily at training we sometimes move around when the dogs are in a stay (e.g. Stand behind them, then to the side, then infront but turned around) and this helps get me through haha!
Me too! I finally get the water temperature right, get in and two minutes later I'm thinking "now what?"
I'm more than happy to do sit/stays with them when I'm moving around. Because I do this more, they're a lot stronger at this and would sit there for ages. So it's better if I fidget a bit when I'm stood out in front of them. But, man, it's boring. It's amazing how long even a minute is when you're doing nothing. Sadly (and I know this is alien to most of you who live in proper countries with proper telecoms companies), I don't have roaming data, so I can't even check out the forum when I'm away from wifi areas! Maybe I should play hangman or something
I've largely stopped doing the sit - carefully walk away - time 2 minutes while doing a funny walk - drills. I try to just work sit/stay into whatever I'm doing. Today I left Charlie outside in a sit/stay while I went to make the tea. He says he was left outside in the cold and rain while I was comfy in the warm house and he's calling LabLine! make the tea by julieandcharlie julieandcharlie, on Flickr
Ella is horrified and tells Charlie to report this immediately, or at least try to use the information as a way to manipulate his way into getting more food
Yes, it wasn't raining, it wasn't cold, and I sat him on the dry bit of gravel in the sun! Otherwise the Lambies would murder me in my sleep.....
