Clean Run - June 2015 - 49

or a clicker. Initially the reward should
immediately follow the marker and
should be placed near where the behavior is to occur. In this training, all rewards should be placed near the cone.
To begin you need the cone, your dog,
and many small cookies that are visible
on whatever surface you are training
on. I do not want my pups hunting for
food; they should be able to see the
cookie and immediately pick it up.
Place your cone on the ground. You
and the pup assume a position a foot
or so away from the cone.
You should be looking at the cone
while keeping your dog within your
peripheral vision. The first approximation should be something as simple as
the dog looking at the cone. When this
occurs, mark the behavior and toss the
cookie near the base of the cone.
Next I would be looking for my dog make
a motion in the direction of the cone,

not steps, just a head motion can be
enough. Mark the behavior and throw
the cookie near the base of the cone.

cone to dog wraps the cone. There will
be many steps or approximations to
the finished behavior.

Next I expect some motion in the direction of the cone, a small step. Mark the
behavior throw the cookie to the base
of the cone.

It is completely up to you what the finished behavior will be. Do you want to
shape a 180° degree turn around the
cone? A full 360°? It is a personal decision. I generally only push the behavior
as far as I need it in relation to what I am
ultimately using the behavior for. So
I will shape my dog to go 180 degrees
around the cone, as I am primarily looking for recognition and understanding.
All of the other things that I will be using
the cone for are going to involve some
sort of motion or handling on my part.

Different dogs are going to progress
at different rates of speed. You may
also see a bit of stagnation at a certain
point. Do not be discouraged and never be afraid to back up a step.
A common mistake in shaping is to
continue to mark and reward the same
approximation too many times, thus
creating an undesirable behavior. We
are not looking for grand gestures; the
smaller the pieces, the faster the behavior will be learned!
Do not "lump" behaviors while training
either; i.e., do not ask for a sit before expecting the dog to look for a cone and
do not expect to go from dog looks at

I cannot stress enough the value of
this training tool and encourage you to
have fun with it. Make a game of it and
enjoy the process!
Next month we will be putting multiple cones together for more fun and
games! D

Stacy Peardot-Goudy has been teaching, competing, and generally living agility since 1989 when she was bitten by the bug while competing in obedience with her
Boxer Jazz. Stacy's first Border Collies, Jack and Secret, are two of the pioneers of agility and accomplished many firsts. Most recently Stacy has earned a spot on the 2015
IFCS World Team with SoBe, marking the fifth World Team appearance of her career. She has been on a World Team seven times with four different dogs. Stacy is also a
multiple-time national and regional champion, and has been a national finalist 16 years in a row with multiple dogs. You can contact Stacy via email at agiljack@aol.com.

June 15 | Clean Run

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Clean Run - June 2015

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