This is something I've been wondering about lately. When I'm choosing cues to add to actions, I'm trying to think of things that are less likely to become poisoned by other people and, inadvertently, ourselves. So, I chose "floor" instead of "down" because it's very easy for that to sneak in when she's jumping up, reaching for work surfaces, putting her paws on the coffee table etc. But, of course, people are still going to hear us using our cue words - and we've stuck with the all-too-common "sit" cue. And that's where the issue comes - other people seeing you're training your dog, not understanding the process and trying to get the dog to respond to just the cue before she's ready. When we have someone look after her for an hour, or a day, they're bound to do the "sit, sit, sit, SIT" thing at some point, even if they're politely asked not to. So, herein lies my question. How relevant is the combination of cue word and the person saying it? Will another person repeating the word irrevocably damage it, or will she make the association that when I say it, it means something more than when Joe Bloggs down the street says it?
Re: When cues go wrong... Happens to the best of us, for sure! But I have found that dogs are very good at ignoring commands given by people they feel they don't have to listen to, such as the neighbour's kids, for example. The danger of "poisoning" the command is always there, however. It's a tricky one to be sure.
Re: When cues go wrong... I think it's a really good idea to have your own special cues and the more common ones (which people can mess up without ruining your special cues). That said, I agree with Lisa that the dog does factor the cue-giver into the equation. My dog's 'stay' has been seriously damaged by his dog walker/day care people using stays for group photos where the dogs do a group sit stay in funny places for a photo. It's very cute, but as a result my dog now breaks his stay. I should re-teach it with a new cue...
Re: When cues go wrong... It's really difficult. I give OH his "own" cues - so he can say "stay, stay, stay" as much as he wants without using a release. : Trouble is, he hears me saying "wait" (which works, of course "stay" does not) so he starts saying "wait, wait, wait". The best thing is try to rely on "context" cues. So my walk at heel is "close". OH tries to nick it, but it doesn't work because Charlie's real cue is the difference in how I hold the lead for "close" and "go sniff". My hand signal for "wait" is still a secret too...
Re: When cues go wrong... I don't have a choice with Gypsy - every cue word is there in writing for us. But I do agree with you. Especially with the 'down' - and it tends to be me who gets it wrong and uses it when she puts her paws up! It was funny seeing a friend saying sit sit sit sit sit sit to Gypsy yesterday and Gypsy ignoring every word, hehe! I haven't found it spoiled her training 'tho.
Re: When cues go wrong... [quote author=Lisa link=topic=8598.msg121358#msg121358 date=1415042920] Happens to the best of us, for sure! But I have found that dogs are very good at ignoring commands given by people they feel they don't have to listen to, such as the neighbour's kids, for example. The danger of "poisoning" the command is always there, however. It's a tricky one to be sure. [/quote] Absolutely, and for this reason we had to curtail our neighbours children from playing with Benson as they were inadvertently teaching him to jump up for toys, balls, etc..they would hold the ball up, then excitedly call Benson, running backwards at the same time....took a while to sort that out! ;D
