So last Saturday at training, we had a 1-to-1. Trainer was playing with Coco, saying "bow" and bowing to him - Coco looked blank. Trainer says "you can train them to bow you know", yes, I said, I know. "bet you can't" he said. Oh yes I can! Fast forward 6 days, and Coco can do a lovely bow, when I say "bow" and I bow to him....I've only done, say 4 sessions of no more than 5 minutes each day (the power of the clicker), so why is it so so hard to train the important things?
Oh how I can empathise - Ripple has also learnt to bow, he can recognise and tidy away his toys, twist and twirl to command, and all sorts of other odd things. But the important things - half the time he hasn't a clue .
I think, maybe, they sense our fun attitude. When we get serious they find it less enjoyable. Like (for me) the difference between art and maths.
HeeHee - because it's easy to train in your kitchen! Charlie is the most delightful dog in the house and garden. He is steady in the garden, we can do 3 card tricks and everything. Put him on a training field with other dogs and that's an entirely different matter!
I think this has lots to do with it, I just don't know how to transfer the 'fun' element to serious things.
It's because the difficult thing about training is not getting the behaviour, it's proofing the behaviour. Can you get the behaviour of your dog walking perfectly at heel in your garden? Of course you can. Can you then get that to happen for 500m down a new, smelly, exciting path? Er....that takes somewhat longer.
Proofing, yes! Coco has been "bowing" all around the house and all around the garden. He couldn't do it this morning in a field full of rabbit poo, I had a tennis ball in my hand too, which probably also distracted him. He did manage it yesterday in the plantation. Hoping he can manage at training tonight....Don't let me down Coco
Coco. I don't think we should take your word for it though. I think we need to see this bow in a video. I think @SteffiS has a good point. We're more relaxed when we don't care as much. That's why you always do so well in the job interview you really don't care so much about and get all tense and nervous in the one you really, really want. Well I did. LOL We were to train a salute or wave in our puppy class. It's easy, stick a sticky note just above an eye, they raise a paw to wipe it off, you click, put it on cue, voila. They all swiped at their sticky notes except Oban. He was actually the funniest, he just sat there with his eyeballs rolled up in his head trying to see the sticky note but he never swiped at it to get it off. So sorry, but Oban will never salute Coco's bow.
So Coco didn't let me down at School. He bowed. He bowed for me. He bowed for OH. He bowed for Andy the trainer. Coco you're a star. He also conquered the Flappy Tunnel (he was very wary of this last week)- a big well done Coco. He is now exhausted.
