A while ago I taught Harv how to walk backwards (of limited practical use but it was more of a training exercise for us). The action is on both a verbal cue (Reverse) and on a hand cue. He does it very well, if a little enthusiastically at times. OH sometimes takes Harv to dog gym - basically a sort of indoor agility with jumps, balance beams, weave poles etc. Last night OH and the trainer were trying to get Harv to reverse around a cone - this is tougher than it sounds and involves some over-steering movements from the handler. Anyway, it was proving to be a bit of a challenge (he said with typical understatement!). I know that just because I've taught Harv an action with me doesn't necessarily mean that he will do it for anybody else but I was surprised at how unwilling he was to do something that he can do very well. Then the trainer noticed that OH is left-handed (I'm a rightie). "Try the hand cue with your right-hand" she suggested. Harv reversed instantly and OH steered him perfectly around the cone. Then again. And again. So, although to us it seemed like we were doing the same hand cue, to Harv it was clearly different! Left is left and right is right! Just thought I'd mention it in case anybody else encounters a similar situation.
That's a really good point. I'm a rightie, OH is a leftie. I do most of Coco's training and there ARE things OH struggles with that Coco can do for me - maybe something for him to look at - thanks.
Very important point, UncleBob! It's essential in training that we make our cues all distinctive and non-overlapping (so each cue is different from and can't be confused with any other cue). And it's also important that we use them in a very consistent way (trying to make them the same, each time we use the cue). We also need to try to reduce any 'white noise' with our cues (reduce, minimise or eliminate any other movements that are not the cue). Dogs are highly aware of our movements and pay a lot of attention to what our face, hands and body are doing - much more so than our voice I think. If our cues aren't distinctive, crisp and consistent this makes their job much harder.
