Clean Run Magazine - June 2007 - 44

Beat the Heat & Power Up! Improve •Hydration •Heat tolerance •Mental focus •Energy The key to dealing with these types of issues is to find creative ways to imitate some of the factors that make showing different from training. If you are training alone or with a small group you can add intensity and distraction by loudly playing a video of agility runs or a training DVD while you are working. You can ask observers (family, friends, and neighbors) to play judge and stewards. This job is particularly good for children as some dogs are highly distracted by them. Scatter dog toys around the ring (but be careful not to trip over them). Put out containers of treats, making sure that the lids fit tightly. You can open a container when your dog is working well and give him a cookie. But, if he tries to take them on his own, he gets nothing. While you won’t have this distraction at a show, teaching your dog to continue working no matter what tempting things are on the ground can only be helpful. We have a dog that is highly excited by the sound of the vacuum. For this dog, being asked to work while ignoring a running vacuum would be a good exercise. With all these ideas, it is important not to throw too much at your dog at once. If you overface your dog by putting him in a situation that is too much for him to handle, you will decrease his confidence and ability to cope. Be sure to add challenges slowly, starting out at a mild level and increasing intensity as your dog learns to work through them. You don’t want your dog failing repeatedly. You want him learning how to ignore yet another distraction. Too much failure will cause him to give up and tune you out. Increasing successes will keep him interested and enthusiastic for more. It is also important to highly reinforce your dog for success. We use what we call “baby jackpots” for those successes that were particularly difficult for the dog. A baby jackpot is a larger amount of the usual reinforcer. Instead of 1 or 2 cookies, the dog gets 8 to 10. This jackpot makes it very clear to the dog that extra effort pays off well. Eventually, your dog will look forward to distractions and strange events because they mean that he will have the opportunity to earn reinforcers for ignoring them. Don’t Blame the Dog If you find yourself saying, “But he knows how to do this” or “He always does it right in practice,” stop and consider the information presented here. There are many predictable reasons for the learning/performance distinction. Don’t blame your dog because you haven’t done a complete job of training. Determine where your weaknesses lie, and get to work turning them into strengths. A good rule is to expect your dog’s performance at a trial to be at about 75% when compared to his behavior in training. You will need to work hard to earn that extra 25%, but it is definitely worth the effort. D Decrease •Recovery time •Lactic acid build-up ® www.cleanrun.com 44 Deborah Jones, Ph.D., an assistant professor of psychology, specializes in social behavior and learning processes at Kent State University’s Stark Campus. Having written several books on clicker training, Deb helped develop and produce the “Clicker Fun” video series. She is co-author with Judy Keller of In FOCUS: Developing a Working Relationship with Your Performance Dog, and a series of DVDs based on the book have recently been released. Deb is currently enjoying agility with her clicker-trained Papillon, MACH2 Copper UD, and with Smudge, the wild blue Sheltie. Contact her at www.k9infocus.com. Clean Run | June 07

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Clean Run Magazine - June 2007

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