Clean Run - December 2011 - 13

This dog is training a running contact with a target placed ahead for forward focus and correct rewarding.

Rewarding from the hand trains a curl back to the handler so this would be incorrect and not conducive for good contact performance.

Again, this is incorrect rewarding and will not train independent contact performance.

Correct rewarding for training a tight turn: The reward is placed close to the upright.

There is another aspect of failure that needs mention. I often hear that dogs should not be allowed to fail more than three times. I am unsure where that magic number originated. It simply does not make sense. Have you ever personally had to make multiple attempts to learn a handling maneuver? What if you did not get it right in three attempts? Would it be better if your trainer gave you a treat for failing or perhaps changed the handling to make it easier for you? You would leave the lesson rewarded, but not any better than you were when you started. Let the dog rise to the challenge and teach him to be a problem solver. Dogs that learn to think and problem solve are the easiest to train because they have learned to never give up. They do not shut down. They get excited to figure out what you want. I often let my dogs fail multiple times to assist their learning. Many times I end our sessions on failure. However, I do not allow them to fail to the point of frustration. I end the session with my dogs still wanting to try and a smile on my face. I do not make a big deal of it because it’s not a big deal, and I know my dog will come back with some new thoughts and possibly get the behavior correct on his first attempt. Failure is how people and dogs learn. Earning the reward makes failure intriguing because the reward is as it should be—a celebration of success! Ending on failure gives the dog time to think about what he needs to do to earn that reward. In addition, it gives me time to reflect on the lesson and decide if I need to make some adjustments to my training plan. I may have missed a piece that needs to be broken down for my dog to have a clear understanding. Remember: Break the behavior into smaller pieces of behaviors that build on one another. With that in mind, if I decide to continue with my training plan and my dog failed again in the next session, I would repeat my last successful session in my training plan because my dog obviously was not ready to progress. He did not have a clear understanding of what I wanted him to do. If you are unsure about taking a step back in your training, a good way to decide if you do need to is if you become frustrated when training. If you become frustrated you are most likely having too many failures in more than one session. If the progression of training is clear to your dog, there will be little if any variance of behavior later on. Therefore, simplify your training sessions to make them attainable and still be challenging enough to create a thinking dog.

This is incorrect rewarding for a tight turn: The reward is tossed away from the upright on the landing side of the jump, which encourages the dog to land long.

To train a Go, the reward is placed ahead after the last obstacle so the dog learns to drive ahead of the handler and not to head-check or curl back.

In Closing
Let rewarding correctly make the difference in your training. Study the key points we have covered here and write out your training plan, including what the desired result should look like. Know your dog and what motivates him so you can transfer the value of the reward to the behavior. Your plan should include how to break the training of a specific behavior down to understandable increments that can easily progress to the next level. Decide when to reward for each increment of training. Define what you consider successful behavior for each stage of the training plan. That will dictate when you should reward. Also, where to place your reward and how quickly you deliver the reward will ultimately assist in achieving the desired end result. Be flexible and make adjustments when necessary. Training varies from dog to dog and often from day to day. Keep it simple for the dog, make it fun for both you and the dog, reward the dog in the position or location that assists him in understanding the behavior you are trying to achieve, and make training worth it to your dog with big celebrations for a job well done. D

Jubie Rueschenberg, a certified dog behavior consultant and dog trainer, owns and operates Club-Doggie in Queen Creek, Arizona. Jubie has been competing in agility since 2005 with her dog Squeeky and has been a two-time USDAA National Finalist. In 2009 Squeeky won the Rocky Mountain Regional Performance Grand Prix, and became the DOCNA National North American Challenge Champion. Squeeky was also ranked USDAA Tournament Top 10 for 2009. December 11 | Clean Run

Let rewarding correctly make the difference in your training. Study the key points we have covered here and write out your training plan, including what the desired result should look like. Know your dog and what motivates him so you can transfer the value of the reward to the behavior.

Clean Run - December 2011

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