Clean Run - May 2020 - 44

So, give the verbal cue, trying hard
to ensure the same tone of voice each
time, wait a fraction of a second, and
then reward. If you're throwing a toy,
try holding onto your coat or other
clothing with the throwing hand to
prevent the automatic movement. If
you're using food, put the hand you're
going to reward with behind your back.
This is simply to make it easier for the
dog to focus on the verbal cue and
make the verbal cue salient.
Looking at tone, think about breathlessly running with your dog and don't
train something you're unlikely to be
able to replicate!
Now that we have a rewarding verbal
cue, it's time to test it. Sit your dog facing you and praise. What happens? If
your dog looks happy and moves towards you, well done! A click, after
all, is a terminal marker, or in other
words, it signals that the dog needs do
no more to earn his reward. Celebrate
and then build a verbal reward marker that is also a "keep going signal,"
which is very useful when you want to
celebrate the fact that your dog made
the entry to the weave poles, but you
want him to keep weaving.
Next, have a look at a video of yourself in the ring. Are you smiling, or do
you have a fierce frown of concentration on your face? It is perfectly possible to train handlers to smile at their
dogs, and it does two things: smiling
can possibly lift your mood, but it will
almost certainly influence your body
language. For most people, their shoulders will drop away from their necks,
and they will relax slightly.
Nicholas A. Coles, Jeff T. Larsen,
Heather C. Lench, in a meta-analysis
44

dog can build a vocabulary of perhaps
20 verbal cues; most will have additional associations such as location or
time of day. Dogs are masters at reading body language. By the time puppies are a few months old, they know
happy faces, sad faces, angry body
language, and joyful body language.
When you're training verbal cues,
that's well worth remembering.

of the facial feedback literature, found
that the effects of facial feedback on
emotional experience are small and
variable. However, that small chance
is well worthwhile, and, more importantly, most dogs react positively to
their handler smiling at them. Try it.
Frown at your dog, then smile. What
happens? A bold dog focused on the
opportunity for reward will, in all
probability, not notice; however, a shy
or nervous dog will pay far more attention and react accordingly in my
experience.

Using Trained Praise at a Trial
Now picture a shy, nervous dog left at
the start line with a crowd of overexcited dogs behind him. If your dog reacts positively to verbal support, you
can use those carefully trained words
to assist him. I've been known to chat a
stream of praise in a happy voice with
a big smile on my face to a dog left on
a start line. The noise coming from my
mouth provides a connection between
us; it also provides reassurance. "Good,
that's what I want. You're making the
right choice."
I start this verbal encouragement before my dog shows any signs of being
worried or anxious. If at any point, I
see that body language from my dog, I
will go back to him. Maybe I asked for
too much and overestimated his confidence; perhaps being closer will provide more support. It's worth remembering that the dog you have on the
start line accurately predicts the dog
you will have in the ring. I don't like
doing agility with worried or anxious
dogs, so I'd return and see if being

close would cheer him up. If not, we'd
leave the ring.
The difference between this and
cheerleading is the starting point of
the verbal support. It is being given
to continue and support the happy
mood, not in response to a change of
mood. If your verbal praise has been
trained well and is rewarding for
your dog, as you leave him, the praise
should ensure the happy body language that we want.
So now, what do we do when your
dog is on the start line, and something
scary happens outside the ring? Your
dog is cringing, his tail has tucked, his
eyes are wide, and his ears are back.
Will praising your dog reward this?
No. You can't build fear operantly. Fear
is an emotion that occurs in response
to a perceived threat. So, the question
becomes, do you want to waste the associations that you've built up with
your now carefully trained praise?
I wouldn't, but I would chat to my
dog to see if he was okay. If not, once
again, I'd leave the ring.
It doesn't matter how much you've
paid for an agility round, or how
much is resting on it. If your dog really is scared, you need to get him
out of the scary situation and let him
recover. You need to let those stress
hormones dissipate. You do not want
your dog to make a scary association with an agility ring. If your dog
has reacted because another dog has
lunged at him from outside the ring,
I will do the same. But I'd also ask the
judge to make a note of it, and when
I'd taken care of my dog, I'd go and
report it to the show secretary. Dogs
that snarl and lunge at others working have become far too commonplace in the UK, and it really isn't
acceptable.
Now let's have a look at weave poles.
Your dog is ambling his way through
them painfully. What should you do?
Firstly, I'd look at how the dog weaves
at home in his safe, comfortable environment. If he weaves the same
way, invest in a good trainer to help.
Fix the problem at home before you
Clean Run | May 20

Clean Run - May 2020

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