Clean Run Magazine - June 2008 - 73

properly socialized humans will remove themselves and their dogs from the flow of the class while they answer an important phone call. Occasionally you will have students who are oblivious to their surroundings while on the phone. If they use a wireless earpiece it may not be clear to whom they are speaking. Unfortunately, subtlety in the form of stern looks is usually lost on these individuals, so you will need to interrupt their call to ask them to step to away from the training area. If the person is a chronic cell phone user, ask that she put her phone on vibrate and take the call outside of the training area. Do not interrupt the flow of the class to wait for chronic users, nor should you allow them to perform any exercises they missed while they were on the phone. Trainer Speak: Manage students’ behavior with a brief separation. The Negatively Nervous Learning a new skill is extremely challenging. In beginning agility classes it is common to find an inexperienced handler working with a no vi c e d o g . I f a handler deals with her frustration over her progress by making disparaging remarks, then you are not rewarding her enough. Find some aspect of her performance to praise and make a mental note to check on that team more often. Naturally, if the handler is complaining about her dog’s behavior and there is room for improvement, then help her address the problem. Handlers who continually speak pessimistically about themselves or their dogs should be politely ignored while they are complaining. Just like any other extinction burst, it is possible that the negativity will get worse before it gets better. Do not make the mistake of engaging handlers when they are being negative. Wait until they are done talking and then change the subject. This kind of negativity often stems from insecurity or uncertainty about learning the new skill, so it should disappear if you are able to help your students be successful and appreciate their own progress. Trainer Speak: Don’t reinforce negative statements. Reduce frustration by increasing the frequency of rewards. The Human Tick When every question involves a story or is followed by another question that is only barely related to the task at hand, then you may be dealing with someone who wants to be the center of attention. Attention is a powerful reinforcement, and some people seem to have an unquenchable need for the attention of a person in authority. It can be exhausting to deal with students like this, and as an instructor you need to find a way to provide them with the attention they need without neglecting your other students. This is relatively easy to do in agility class because you can always redirect them back to training their dogs. In a pinch, have them run several sequences to interrupt their clingy-ness and give you something agility-related to discuss. Be aware that these students are likely to hang around before or after class to ask you questions or talk to you about their dogs, your dog, or anything else they can think of. Be polite, but always have an exit strategy or you may be trapped until you are sucked dry. Trainer Speak: Attention-getting behavior is self-reinforcing. Ask for an incompatible behavior by redirecting the handler’s focus on her dog. The Wanderers If your students wander off while other dogs are working, their activities can become a potent distraction for a novice dog or handler. The wandering dog and handler teams could be bored, thirsty, or looking for a discrete place for a potty. If so, the entire class may need a quick break. Sometimes a particular team has difficulty dealing with downtime. It is great to have your students watch and learn from each other, but students need to have strategies for working quietly with their dogs to keep the dog engaged without generating a lot of movement or excitement. Trainer Speak: Determine if the team’s physiological needs are met. Show students appropriate ways to keep their dogs engaged. D Diana manages the education department at a zoo in Southern Indiana. She has taught a variety of audiences for 15 years, including university undergraduate classes, basic dog training, and agility classes. Diana competes in agility and herds with her Standard Schnauzers, Nico and Ziggy. She is currently the director of training for ACE, the Agility Club of Evansville, Indiana, and is, on occasion, disruptive. You can reach Diana at irondogs@earthlink.net. 75 June 08 | Clean Run
Clean Run Magazine - June 2008

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run Magazine - June 2008
