Teaching your puppy to "work for a living"
We'll start simply: looking at your face will earn the click. Use your mouth to make a certain noise if you don't have a clicker. The click noise tells the puppy that he earned a treat. The click predicts that the treat will immediately follow.
What is a treat? A treat will be anything your dog is willing to work for. But if he doesn't know how to work for a living yet, then the treat is the only thing on his mind, which means he doesn't see "working" as a means to that treat.
Until the dog understands the zen of working, he can't take his attention off of the treat directly.
How do we teach him how to work? We'll show him through well-timed clicks and treats that a counterintuitive action will cause the treat to happen, whereas trying to get the treat directly will not cause it to happen. You want your puppy to look at your face even though that is the opposite of what nature tells him to do.
This concept of using behavior ("work") to get treats in life will be one of the cornerstones of good manners, and fundamental to any sport we want to play with our dog. And the "treats" of your dog's life will expand from the simple cookies we will use here. This game is simply a useful starting point to help your puppy learn to operate effectively and cooperatively in our human world. He already studies your face on his own time. Let's show him the value of focusing on your face in order to make good things happen.
Your pup by now is experimenting with many behaviors in life. In this game, the winning behavior consists of looking at your face. You will always be glad that you have established value for your face. So we'll begin by clicking that, and following with a treat. The treat is what the puppy wants. Whether that thing is a cookie, a ball, greeting a friend, or going outside... You can play this game with all sorts of treats. Start with something simple like cookies! That way you get many repetitions quickly, and the dog has only you and the cookies to process, rather than a complex environment.
THE ZEN GAME OF FACE: Steps and Hints for Success
SET UP. Set up the situation with your treats, and let your pup see the treats. No secrets here.
WAIT! Hold still and be quiet. Let him think, and ignore any whining or antics. If he's wild, then begin on leash and start with a lower value treat. The more independent he is, then the more cooperative he will be later IF you can resist the urge to "make him mind" now.
Step on the leash if need be. But do not order him about. Instead, let him discover how to train you to give him the treat. He is learning the value of his mind. Don't do that for him, or he won't learn to do it for himself. You will need his working mind on your team.
CLICK/TREAT. When your puppy looks at you, even if by accident, click! Then give him the treat. Using a clicker for this game will make it much clearer to the dog which of his many possible behaviors will get him what he wants. His first attempt at looking at your face might be no more than a glance! Or you might even need to start by rewarding just eye movement to your face, without the head movement. You be the judge of the first reinforceable behavior from your dog.
Know what you are choosing and why. The first winning behavior should be easy for your dog to do! That's the beauty of this process that we call "shaping" a behavior. The first step might be far removed from the final product. But the finished behavior will take shape as you keep practicing. Even if you click only eye movement at first, that will soon lead to head movement. Wait for just a bit more each day until your pup is turning his whole head to look fully at your face.
IMPROVE. Repeat this game for about two sessions per day. Gradually increase the behavior required to earn a treat. The more disconnected your dog is, the more gradual your increase in requirements will be.
Begin with a treat that is quiet and quick, like a cookie, rather than a treat which takes a long time, like chasing a ball. Work up to a couple of seconds of focus on your face. This may take a few minutes or a few days! Keep it fun! Don't rush the steps, because we want the puppy to love this game, not just accept it.
After your dog can look at you for a couple of seconds, start to mix up the amount of time it takes for him to earn the click.
In other words, sometimes a brief second's attention will earn a click. Other times it will be two full seconds. Dogs are experts at time sense, and you do not want your time interval or duration of focus to be predictable.
GENERALIZE. When your pup is in command of this game, he looks immediately from the treat to your face. He cannot be fooled. He doesn't waste time trying to get the cookie directly. So you'll know when he "owns" the game.
Then it is time to take your show to more distracting environments, or to use more challenging treats, such as chasing a ball or greeting a friend, or going outdoors. Expect a setback in the pup's concentration each time you complicate the environment or the reward. So begin at the beginning again when your elements of difficulty are more challenging! Start easy, and stick to the system. Click, and then release. Celebrate success! This is a game, not a chore, so keep it fun!
The zen approach can be used to teach other counterintuitive behaviors, too, and we will get into that as our class gets going. This game is just a simple and basic start. Consider this game to be a prerequisite to the focus and self control games we will be playing in class.
This is tough stuff! It's simple, all right, but it's not easy! Your puppy has to look away from the cookie in order to look at you. Looking away from the treat in order to get the treat is not natural to him.
But if you introduce the concept with this win-win and dog's choice game, you will be on your way to building teamwork, which will enhance your relationship.
If you want it, let it go. Zen at work. This is a fun place to start. Enjoy the process!
Julie Daniels won her first award for writing in the fourth grade, and she was training dogs long before that. Today Julie Daniels is one of the foremost names in dog agility in the United States. She was one of the early champions of the sport and helped many clubs throughout the country get up and running. In 2015 Julie moved to Deerfield, NH, where she has opened a new business called Kool Kids Agility. Julie also owns White Mountain Agility, a 90-acre dog heaven in North Sandwich, NH. That school has operated since 1993, and Julie developed many theme camps there, including Wild Child, Speed-Em-Up, Novice Genius, Jumping Genius, and the world-renowned WMA Instructor Certification Course, which has honed the skills of hundreds of teachers and thousands of dogs worldwide. She is well known as a premier teacher at all levels of play, and she loves all kinds of dogs.
She has titled and won with all sorts of dogs through the years, including two Rottweilers, a springer spaniel, a cairn terrier, two corgis, and four border collies. She is the only person to make USDAA Grand Prix finals with a Rottie or a springer, and she did it two times each.
In IFCS international competition, Julie is a member of two gold-medal-winning teams. She is a two-time USDAA National Champion as well. She has won many televised events, including the Purina Incredible Dog Challenge and the ESPN Great Outdoor Games. Three of her border collies, Spring, Clark, and Sport, have made the Challenger’s Round at AKC National Championships. Julie and Spring are the only team to win the International Class three years in a row at Springfield, the largest agility trial in the US. Julie and Spring also made an appearance to promote agility on Good Morning America.
Julie’s current competition dog is MACH2 MAD Sport, who is a few legs from his ADCH in limited showing. He is a soft dogjdaniels2 who started off “slow and thoughtful.” Now he pumps himself up to run and shoots off the line like the champion he can be. Motivation is everything! Julie now has a young border collie, Koolaid, who is already a dynamic presence in several FDSA classes.
Julie is well known worldwide as the expert commentary voice of Cynosport agility, doing the livestream video broadcasts seen all around the world.
Julie is an expert in the art and science of operant training, and her approach works! She has always taught “dog’s choice” games as a way to develop agility partnerships. Her first agility book was published in 1991 and the “dog’s choice” games were actually controversial at that time! But she was nominated for a Dog Writer’s Award nonetheless and has never waivered in her philosophy. Julie is the author of three DVDs and four agility books, including an update of her award-winning foundation training book, Enjoying Dog Agility.
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