Clean Run Magazine - June 2007 - 27

Step 2 Start in a familiar environment, I like to do this in the kitchen because I can see the kitchen timer. I use kibble for this training because the pup is getting so many rewards. Count out about 15 pieces into your hand. Set the timer for one minute and ask your pup to sit. Immediately mark/reward with a treat, then wait 3 seconds, mark/reward, drop back to 2 seconds, mark/reward, then wait 4 seconds, mark/reward, then drop back to 3, and then wait 5 seconds. You want to use up most of your cookies. Release your pup and play. Now evaluate your results. Being able to count to 3 or 4 while Sweep remains sitting is his baseline for a sit-stay. I rarely reward below that level unless I am working on quicker responses to the cue to sit, and not for lengthening the time he remains sitting. Sweep now needs to perform essentially above the baseline to earn rewards for staying in position. Step 3 Same drill as in Step 2, but now you will ask the pup to stay in position for more seconds before you mark the behavior. Cue sit, praise, count to 4, mark/reward, count to 3, mark/reward, count to 5, mark/ reward. Bounce around or ping-pong the interval time the pup must wait for the reward. You could reward as quickly as after 3 seconds or as long as after 10+ seconds. Do the exercise in 3 or 4 locations for 30 seconds in each place. Don’t forget to reinforce your release with a treat or a short tug game. If your pup moves when you hand him a cookie, practice the treat delivery exercise described below. Star t mixing up the stay exercises by marking at various times. You can mark quick sits then reward and start adding duration, or you can withhold the first mark when his rear hits the ground and praise/mark/ reward after a short duration of the sit. Start adding play as the reward for release at this time as well. This is a great way to switch back and forth between food and toys. Reward your pup while sitting with treats, and as soon as you give your release word, say your word to cue your pup to grab the toy. I say Get It. Just holding the toy in front of your pup should no longer be permission to grab it. It sounds like this: Sit, Yes, (food reward), Okay, Get It. Sit with Distractions The easiest way to add distractions is to have them come from you rather than outside sources. There are two different aspects to the training. One is that the pup is learning to respond to the Sit cue while you are already in different positions. The second is that the pup is learning to stay in a sit while you move or change to another different position around him. The click or mark does not end the behavior. If you mark while your dog is sitting, he should stay sitting while you deliver the treat. If he moves after you mark, then you might have waited too long to deliver the treat, delivered it in a way that encouraged him to move, or he has not been taught to wait until a treat has been delivered to his mouth. Your pup should wait for the treat to come to him rather than moving toward you to grab his reward. Really Important Stuff I kneel, stand, crouch, sit, or lie on the floor. My hands are behind me, on my hips, on my head, arms crossed, neutral at my side, pointing to the ground. These are ways that I position myself before I ask Sweep to sit. Try putting yourself in every one of the positions described, ask your pup to sit, and then mark and reward the moment your pup responds by sitting. He should sit the moment you ask; if not, you will have to train the sit from those positions longer and more carefully. For instance, if I kneel and then ask Sweep to sit and instead he lies down, then first I will wait to see if he comes up into a sit so I can praise. Next I will start over but only in a crouch, not kneeling, and then slowly move to a kneeling position after a few successful reps. Reward every single time your pup takes the position quickly after you say Sit. After you have fully trained these scenarios you should stop rewarding the slow sits or ones where the pup takes a different position before sitting. Just move your pup and ask again. Step 1 Sweep is on leash. He is on my left, on my right, or facing me. Step 2 After your pup sits, move to one of the positions described Problem solving What to do if the pup moves before the release: First, wait. Just stand there to see if your pup will sit again. If he does, praise but wait at least a few seconds before you reward. If you wait and he is totally distracted and does not sit on his own, ask him to sit but count at least to 3 or 4 before you reward again. If you can’t get that far, reward every couple seconds for a sit-stay that lasts no longer than 30 seconds. June 07 | Clean Run above. If you are kneeling, then stand up. If you are beside your pup, move behind him. Try just one new move, then mark and reward. I mark when I move to the new position and then move back to the pup to reward, or reach to the pup’s location and feed with his head facing forward, which is what I call sitting in neutral. At this point in the pup’s training I always move close to the pup again, either at his side or facing him, before I say my release word. Step 3 Cue Sit, then lavishly pet and praise when the pup is in his Step 4 Move to a few different positions during each stay. Hesitate position. Mark and reward for no movement when you are praising and petting, and then use your toy as a reward after the release. at each new position, mark and reward, take a new position, mark and reward, then move again. Your pup should stay in position after you mark and wait for you to quickly deliver the cookie reward. The click or mark does not end the behavior, nor does the food. The release word ends the behavior of sit, but don’t forget that you are using a behavior to end a behavior and that the release is also rewarded. Do all the stay exercises in the sit, down, and stand positions. 27

Clean Run Magazine - June 2007

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