hi all, I am getting in a muddle with my release cues. Currently I have about a million different ones and think I am over complicating things. So currently: ‘Yes’ is my mark/click, so that generally releases her for a treat from my hand. ‘Free’ is when I throw a treat for her to chase and eat (otherwise I want a default leave-it) ‘Take it’ is when we play tuggy ‘Ok, go sniff’ is when I release her from a position (a sit, heel, close lead walk) so she can disengage with me a bit, go explore off lead or relax and roam about at the end of the lead. And ‘back’ is release to dummy as a formal retrieve. This seems rather a lot of release cues, but all these situations are rather different so it seems strange to use the same one. What do others think?
That does sound like quite a lot of cues, but as long as you, and she, can remember and differentiate, I don't see a problem. I only really have two similar cues with Merlin. One is 'back', for a retrieve, and the other is 'go on then' for an actual release - which therefore means a lot of things, such as go and sniff, or fetch the ball without waiting, or grab the treat I've thrown.
The first and the last are not release cues. "yes" is your marker word, so not a cue, even though it might mean the end of the exercise. "back" is not a release cue, but a cue to retrieve, i.e. run out, pick up, return, deliver to hand.
That seems a lot more sensible and to be honest I am sure all mine are fairly interchangeable as far as the Pig is concerned. I was just worried that if I used one generic release cue, what would it actually mean? ‘Move towards or take the thing you want/start to do the thing you want to do/ stop the thing you are doing that I’ve just asked/ switch off from me now’? It seems quite abstract a concept? Do dogs intrinsically understand what it means in all these different contexts?
Ah yes sorry I am using the wrong term. I mean a signal from me that permits her to break a held position, either to go towards and take something she wants or go do her own thing. I’m happy to keep ‘back’ as the retrieve cue, I shouldn’t have put that in the list. Just wondering if she needs separate words for ‘release to sniff and do your own thing’, ‘release to thrown treat or food bowl’, ‘release to take toy’? They all seem to involve quite different behaviours on her part, but perhaps not conceptually different?
I would say, try and make it as simple as possible. It works for us, and the release cue works for any situation when he (or Poppy) is released from a restriction. I suppose I use a slightly different tone of voice, depending on the situation, and also often a corresponding hand signal. But I think if I had five different cues for Merlin, he'd either get confused or else just lump them all into one 'go on then' kind of release cue in his head anyway...
For finishing training I say ‘All done’. For taking a toy or food I say ‘Take it’. For free running ‘Go free’. For feeding we use the whistle, however old they are.
I have similar to you, but they are all pretty specific cues with different meanings. "OK" breaks a behaviour such as a sit but the dog has to stay engaged. This can also mean they're free to pick up a treat I've thrown on the floor. "Go play" releases them to go and do their own thing. "Go sniff" means they can put their heads down and mooch around, but stay close because it's only for a short while, then we're working again. I tend to use "get it" with a tug in my hand or something at a distance because I view it more as a cue than a release, even though the dog wants to get whatever it is.
I think that what you’re doing is fine. Dogs can learn many different cues with no problems. In fact it’s really best to have distinct cues for different behaviours. This is much easier for our dogs than using the same cue when we are really expecting different behaviours. That’s what’s confusing for them. Sounds like you’re using each cue for a distinct situation/behaviour, so the meaning of each of your cues should be pretty clear to your dog. He’ll soon tell you if they’re not clear, by not giving you the behaviour you’re expecting.
Haha, so there you are Lara!! Different opinions from different people! Hope that has clarified things for you!!!
I have "finished" which means the exercise is done and you can settle/relax. I then have "free" which means you're free to go and behave like a lunatic, run like a nutter and feel free to throw some bum tucks in there So, two different release cues with two different meanings. Not at all confusing hehe
We use 'say go' which is our general cue for 'you're free to do your own thing'. We deliberately picked a phrase that we were unlikely to use in normal conversation.
@Lara I don't think any of yours are release cues as they all direct to another action or confirm an action. Well maybe the click is but we often say YES instead of clicking, and we call it marking the action. My word is FREE, as per a training class. It means whatever I asked you to do, it's finished, and now you can do whatever you want.
I have "OK" to release from a sit, stay, wait or end of a specific training. I have "Go play" which is after an uncued behaviour such as heel and to do what you like. "Take it" for tug games, "leave it" obviously. Hand signal only for "place" and retrieving. I keep it simple coz I will forget x
I had a similar question a while back (if I remember) but thete have been that many posts who knows. I might just be dreamin. Anyhow back to your question, We have a few all for different things. But originally we had to many, so cut them down. Know have about 4, Go play to interact with other dogs, Go sniff, Off you go used to be released from a sit, leash or pretty much anything that I feel needs it (this is the one that got merged from a lot of others), then have a fetch for toys and now working on the retrieve cue. Glad I read this as was not sure what others use and would have posted a question soon.
Yes I think I misused the term release cue here for some of these. I have ‘yes’ for my mark which releases her but is always followed immediately by a reward from me. Perhaps ‘take it’ to grab a tuggy is not a release, and neither is ‘back’ for the retrieve even though it’s allowing them to break a position to go towards a thing that they want. But surely a word to tell her she can leave position and go do her own thing (‘ok, go sniff’, for me) is a release cue? If not, what is?
I have a simple release cue "OK", it means I am finished and go do your "thing". As this is outside on walks 90% of the time, it is a powerful cue in itself, especially for Bramble. For Bramble, it means she can let go and hunt in woods, or enjoy a sniffing trial. It also allows her to make good choices, which then I can reinforce. With Benson and Casper it just means bimble on a bit, then they both check-in in the hope of another treat. I tend to use the release cue on walks, as to use my release cue in training in the main would be confusing. But sometimes I do. I tend to rely on a clicker or verbal marker in training, especially with Benson as sometimes his rewards are a tuggy or ball. I don't want to release him for the ball, but to use them as primary reinforcers, so mark...(yesss!!!) then throw the ball.
So if for example you’d told the dog to go lie on their bed and then at some point want to release them (without a treat), you’d use your ‘ok’ that you use on walks? What would you use if they were in a sit stay and you had put their food bowl down for them and you want to let them go to their bowl? Would it be your mark in that situation? Thanks, it’s very useful to find out what other people use, hopefully I will get clearer in my head about mine!
Good question... I don't tend to work much with boundary games, well maybe the odd settle outside, or a heel position with Bramble. The release though in those scenarios would be in the form of another cue. For example, in a heel position, (sat quietly by my side) my cue would be "walk". I have a separate cue for food games which is "take it!" Using my "OK" release cue in this scenario had caused confusion, I think because meaning of the release cue "OK" is deeply ingrained with my dogs to mean just that, go off and do your own thing, especially with Bramble who likes her cues to be very specific. There again I don't really do any obedience work as such, all my training revolves quite simply around basic gundog stuff and being able to walk more than one dog, so my experiences are probably a bit different.
Ah ok I am getting clearer now - I think I realise what my specific confusion is, at least. I think the actual question is, should I just use my mark (yes) to release the dog to a treat, regardless of whether it is from my hand directly, or thrown, or already on the floor? So if i said ‘leave it’ and threw a treat on the ground, or put her food bowl down, could I just then use my ‘yes’/click to mark the ‘not running to take the treat’ behaviour and that would tell the dog to go ahead and take her treat from the floor? I think part of my problem is I was trying to come up with different words for taking a treat from the floor/chasing a thrown treat/going to her food bowl and perhaps that is unnecessary...I think I am clear now thanks to this thread that some sort of ‘go sniff’/disengagement cue is necessary for ending a training session or allowing a period of free running, but the other ‘end the behaviour and get a treat’ cue(s)/marks I am not so sure still!
