Clean Run - December 2011 - 49

cannot possibly reward your dog appropriately and you cannot possibly get the dog back into position fast enough. I guarantee you can find enough distractions to work on within just a few feet of your dog to keep you busy for weeks. You also want to work these in all types of environments from inside your house, to the back yard, then the front yard, at your local training class, the park, the beach, the shopping center, anywhere and everywhere! Here are some ideas besides the It’s Yer Choice game basics we have already talked about:

· · · ·

Feed another dog next to your dog Call one of your other dogs Drop toys next to your dog Have the cat come in and rub on your dog’s legs while he holds still

er step or move both legs forward and reward again if he maintains criteria. Once the dog has a clear idea of maintaining his criteria no matter the distraction and in any environment, you can begin to add in the distance. This will also lead into working with the duration before reinforcement, because it will now take you longer to get back to the dog to reinforce. Just like all the above steps, you want to move forward in small increments. You would not leave him and go 20' away from him. Instead, you might go 5', then 7', then 10', then 12', then 15', then 20'. With this distance progression, I release the dog at varying times (careful not to move while giving his release word). He should drive to me for his reward and when he gets there I play a good game of tug with him. Your ultimate goal before ever working with start lines in front of equipment is to throw the most challenging distractions at the dog that you can come up with. For our dogs, one of their top joys in life is to run and chase each other on our daily walks. So, our final test for our youngsters to determine if their understanding of start lines is solid enough to move on to equipment is to have them on a start-line position while calling our other dogs to run past the dog on the stay and blast up the field. Once we know that this is not a problem, we progress to equipment and we can be fairly certain we will not struggle with start lines during our dog’s agility career.

You get the picture. Every time the dog holds still, you pop in the treat.

How to Work a Distraction
To help you further understand how your training should progress, we will pick one of the distractions and walk you through how to reward and what to do if the dog breaks criteria. Let’s say you have progressed to stepping in front of the dog by one step, and as you try this new move he reacts by moving one paw forward. The decision is yours—you can either quickly move him back to a point close to his original position, or even put him a bit farther back. Or you can wait him out if you know he will voluntarily move a bit back, but you need to know this will happen quickly. At this point, many people want to now reward the dog for just holding still. But instead, you want to try that distraction of stepping forward of the dog again, although you might take a smaller step this time or only move one of your legs forward to lessen the distraction just a bit. Now if the dog maintains criteria, you can reward. Immediately, you take a little larg-

· · · · · · · · · · ·

Step laterally to the dog on either side Step in front of the dog Step behind the dog Step behind the dog and cross to the other side of him Act like you are going to sprint away from the dog Add psych-up verbal cues like Ready, Steady Sit on the ground Lie on the ground Throw a toy Have other dogs running about next to the dog on a stay Someone plays tug with a dog next to your dog

Positive, practical training solutions for the most challenging canine behavior problems!
TACT, Touch Associated Clicker Training, is an innovative new training methodology that creatively combines the science and art of learning theory, clicker training, and massage therapy. This unique approach is used speciically to rehabilitate and prevent shy, fearful, reactive, and aggressive behavior in dogs and puppies. TACT incorporates ritualized protocols designed with safety, structure, and predictability. This 5-DVD set and the 115-page companion PDF workbook teaches both pet owners and experienced canine professionals how to:

• Build conidence and coping skills, while changing the emotional response in fearful dogs • Provide structure, bringing predictability to the dog’s life • Implement an eﬀective home and real world management program • Provide a plan for healthy self-care through the TACT Caregivers Fatigue program
®

• Desensitize a dog’s fear of people and new environments

www.cleanrun.com
49

December 11

| Clean Run

http://www.cleanrun.com http://www.cleanrun.com

Clean Run - December 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - December 2011