(VICT) Re: New Member and Basic Clicker Lessons

  • From: "kitty hevener" <khevener@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <vi-clicker-trainers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Tue, 6 Feb 2007 10:09:05 -0800

Ann and Sandy, great lessons.  I do have one question.  For targeting other 
objects, you mentioned using tape.  Why do you use tape and do you use a 
specific kind (scotch, maskin,)
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ann Edie" <annedie@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <vi-clicker-trainers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, February 05, 2007 10:38 PM
Subject: (VICT) Re: New Member and Basic Clicker Lessons


Hello, Cindy and Everyone,

Cindy, welcome to the group.  This is a great place to ask any questions you
may have about how to use clicker training as a blind person.  I have
appended below the series of beginning clicker training lessons provided to
this group by Sandy Foushee.  These lessons have proven very useful to many
of us, and I hope they will get you started on the right path as well.

For those who have read and used Sandy's lessons in the past, the version
below is recently edited by myself and approved by Sandy.  You may want to
reread the lessons just to brush up and perhaps find some useful hints for
further enhancing the relationship you have with your working partners.

Best to all,
Ann

SANDY'S BASIC CLICKER TRAINING LESSONS
By Sandy Foushee

(Originally posted to the VI-Clicker-Trainers e-mail list)

Edited by Ann Edie, January, 2007

INTRODUCTORY LESSON:  Clicker Basic Concepts

Supplies needed:

1 Dog--Any breed or mix, any age or color, any hair length, with or without
tail!

1 Clicker or a distinct voice cue
     The reason many use a clicker is that it is a sharp, distinct sound,
one that is unique to the dog and easily heard.  Does this mean that you
HAVE TO use the clicker to employ the principles of clicker training, or as
it is more accurately called "Applied Operant Conditioning"?  NO, you can
use a distinct word with a distinct inflection if you want.  Voices are a
little less precise, but most dogs learn to compensate.  And with folks
whose timing isn't perfect, as many of us with VI are, the only consequence
of a late marker is that you might teach something you hadn't intended.

20 tiny treats--Treats should be the size of a pencil eraser or small pea
for a Lab sized dog and smaller for a tiny dog, and should be counted out
exactly.
 Treats should be soft and "gulp-able" without need for chewing. They also
should be high value treats--the kind you have to count your fingers when
they take them, figuratively speaking.  The reason for the tiny size is to
not fill your dog up with food or upset his normal diet.  The reason for
them to be soft and gulp-able is so that they don't get so engrossed in the
treats that they forget what it was they got the treat for.  After a week or
so, once your dog has the idea that a click means he did something you
liked, you can start substituting his regular food when he is in a low
distraction area, like at home.

Some basics on this type of training:

The Primary Rules for Clicker Training

One click equals a reward.  Even if you accidentally click for a wrong
behavior or too late, give your dog a treat. When we first start training a
dog, it is not his fault that we goofed. If our bosses trained us wrong, we
would still expect the paycheck, (our reward).

DOGS DO WHAT WORKS.  Repeat that several times to yourself. If jumping up
and down on you will get you to pay attention to him, then he has
effectively taught YOU to pet him when he jumps up and down on you. For
every behavior that a dog does repeatedly, there is a reward. Sometimes it's
attention, sometimes it's a treat, and sometimes it's a toy, or maybe it's
just that the door to go out opened. When your dog is doing something you
don't like, stop and think about what his/her reward truly is. And then
think of something they could do that you like instead of the behavior you
didn't like. They will soon figure the new behavior out!
Dogs do what works. We just teach them to do the behaviors WE want instead
of  the ones they make up themselves.

Behaviors that are rewarded will happen more frequently, and behaviors that
aren't rewarded will decrease. An example of this is young children in a
grocery store asking for candy. If they ask and their parent says no, many
times they will try another
behavior, that of whining or crying. Many parents will succumb to this
behavior, because they may be embarrassed or just don't want folks to think
they are a mean parent. The problem comes into play when the child realizes
that screaming and crying work. After all , he got the candy, right? In the
future he will repeat that behavior. The parent who calmly ignores the
child's behavior from the beginning will end up with a child who may ask
politely, (and receive candy), but who will most likely not do the screaming
thing.

Which leads us to another dog training tip....?

Reward what you like and ignore what you don't. Remember, what is not
reinforced is less likely to be repeated. BUT, be aware of a thing called an
"extinction burst." This many times is where a dog will escalate a behavior
that has worked before, even though it might not be being rewarded now. It
always worked before, right? We do this when faced with a soda machine that
doesn't work when we put our coins in. We may push the button multiple times
or even try other buttons before we give up and walk away.  It's scary how
we do that, huh?

OK, the first lesson is coming up just below. Please comment and discuss
these lessons. It will make them a better resource for our archives. Do
remember that this is the way I teach, and is not necessarily exactly the
same as anyone else's clicker classes. If you poll a hundred dog trainers
you will get thousands of variations, and variations within variations!
Also, please be aware that I am primarily discussing dogs, but the methods
are not much different for other species. I have worked some with horses,
but am by no means expert at that!

OK, on to the first lesson--


LESSON ONE:  The ABC's

First we will do a quick association of the clicker and treats.
Next we will teach the dog not to mug you for the food.
Then we will start Touch cue!

A. Association of the Click with Rewards

With the dog in a low distraction place, (the bathroom is good!), and the 20
REALLY YUMMY treats, click the clicker one time and rapidly feed your dog
the treat.  Repeat for all 20 repetitions.  Quit.  Go to another place in
the house a little later.  Repeat the click/treat sequence 20 times.  Go to
another place, and repeat.

What you are looking for is a dog that understands  that the click means a
reward is coming.  Do have your dog on leash to control the surroundings, so
that you don't inadvertently reward bad behavior.  After 3 sets, you should
have a dog that is actively listening for a click.

At this point, usually the dog will start mugging your hand for the treats.
Obviously this is a behavior that we would consider unacceptable, right?
So, we will teach him that mugging your hands or pockets will never get him
the treat, but that looking away or focusing on you will likely earn one.

B. Teaching the Dog How To Earn Treats

First, have a handful of luscious treats in one hand and the clicker in the
other.  Show him the treats, but hold them in a closed fist so he can't take
them.  He will start being a pest, trying to get them.  Wait him out.  The
moment he stops, or if you can see him, looks away, click and treat.  (I
will use the abbreviation "c/t".)

Another idea is to carry food with you all the time in a pouch, but don't
give it to him, so that he never knows when he is going to get the food you
are carrying.  I find it easier just to teach him that treats come through
me and are only available when he doesn't try for them.  This is handy,
because I can set a bowl down next to me and he won't touch it.  With dogs
that serve as guides and service dogs, it is also a way to teach and
reinforce food refusal, which we will go over in a later lesson.

C. Teaching the "Touch" cue

Now that we have shown our dog what won't work to get the treats, let's show
him what will--Touch cue!

Now that your dog understands that a click means he earned a treat, we can
teach a touch cue.  The basic touch is where your dog touches his nose to
your hand.  It serves many purposes.  It focuses your dog on you and can be
a foundation for many other useful behaviors, as well as a host of tricks!

Start with your clicker in one hand and the treats in the other.  I hold a
treat folded in the 2 small fingers with the first and middle finger
together, kind of like when you make a pretend gun, only with 2 fingers
instead of one.  When he touches the hand that is holding the treats, I
click with the other hand and let him have the treat.

I will do it this way only about 5 times total, then have the treat in the
clicker hand or in a easily reached pocket, and c/t when he touches your
empty hand.  Make it easy at first for him by having your hand closer to
him.  As he starts to understand, start moving your hand around.  Practice
this with lots of variations this week--with your hand down, up, to the
side, even high enough that he has to jump slightly, and low enough that he
has to crouch.  Practice with variations of your position--sitting,
standing, lying down, crouching--any cool variation you can think of.  Then
practice in many places-at home, in the yard, in public, in the car, etc.

(TIP: those nail pouch apron things from home depot are great when I have no
built-in pockets.)

OK everyone, good luck and let me know how you are doing. And PLEASE ask
questions and make suggestions to improve or adapt this exercise!

Sandy Foushee
Infinite Pawsabilities


LESSON TWO:  Adding the Finished Cue

Have you ever thought about how much time we put into deciding what we want
to teach our dogs to do?  Usually we don't plan much at all!  This can lead
to confusion down the road when our dogs show us that we actually taught
them something slightly different than what we really intended!

Let's use our "touch" cue as an example.  First we need to decide exactly
what we want our dogs to do.  Do we want them to touch the palm, the
fingers, or a particular finger?  Do  we want them to do a big, mushy bump
or a feather-soft, whisker touch?  Do we want  them to touch the front or
back of our hand?  Do they need to be in front of us, or beside us, or
behind us?  Will we be standing, sitting, lying down, or standing on our
heads?  How long should the touch last?  Will he need to do it right next
to you, or far away, or both?  Will it be in light or dark, on a staircase,
in an elevator?  Will there be dogs or other distractions around?

With clicker training  you could even teach all of these variations!  You
could even teach him to touch  different parts of your body!  I have a dog
that was taught to touch my chin in  response to the cue, "Who loves you,
Hope?"  Useless, but fun!

To your dog, each of these is a different "picture", and only when we
understand  that, can we break the training down to get from where we are to
where we want to be.  By recognizing and setting up training for a variety
of circumstances, we help the dog to generalize exactly what he is being
rewarded for.

Now for adding the cue!  Drum roll, please!  But wait!  There's more!

How will it be cued--by voice, by hand signal, by an environmental cue, or
even by an eye blink?!  Folks often laugh, but how many times have you
heard, "but he does it perfectly at home!"?  Further questioning reveals
that the trick is often done in the kitchen only!--a perfect example of an
environmental cue!

All of these are factors in our dog's ability to learn and generalize a
behavior.  So, when you are willing to bet 50 dollars that the behavior is
exactly what you want--and don't forget that cushy dog bed he wants when you
lose!--then we add the cue.

I usually add the cue by doing a dozen repetitions while saying the new cue
AS the dog does the behavior.  Then I start using the cue BEFORE the
behavior.  Within a few repetitions the dog will start associating the
behavior with the word and you are well on the way!  Start practicing touch
in all the different places that you can think of!

And for those anxiously awaiting the food snatching lesson, I will write it
tomorrow night, since it is 11:00 p.m. now and I have to be up in about 5
hours for a full 9 hour day of work--with 5 hour eyeballs! Grin! Or maybe
growl!

Sandy Foushee
Infinite Pawsabilities
APDT # 63899
Centennial, CO
303-794-4924


LESSON THREE:  Preventing Scavenging Behavior

Here is the long awaited scavenge-proofing lesson!

We have been working with the two behaviors of touching a target hand
and "no mugging", right?  You have been practicing, haven't you?!

OK, first, what is it we want the dogs to do?  I will assume the answer is
to
ignore dropped food or not pick up "found" food.  So let's set
this up where we can help the dog to realize that it is way more profitable
to
ignore the food and pay attention to you.

You need:
One dog on leash
Clicker
Really awesome treats or other reward
Some really non interesting boring food item--if your dog thinks everything
is steak, try plain lettuce to first teach this
Shoes on feet

First, have the dog on leash so you can keep track of him during the
sessions.  Have your food or other rewards available and easily accessible.
By now you
may be able to have the bowl of treats in your lap without your dog mugging
you.  If not, repeat the no mugging sessions with your hand over the bowl to
prevent thieving, or put the bowl on the counter.

What we will do is teach the dog that you ALWAYS have better things than the
floor, and that ignoring the boring things will earn wonderful stuff!

Start by sitting in a chair and placing the boring food item on the floor,
right by your foot.  If the dog tries to get the food on the floor, slide
your foot on top of it.  Do not say anything.  Make sure he cannot get it.
As soon as he stops trying to
get it, click and reward with the awesome treats.  Repeat as many times as
necessary until the dog no longer tries to go for the food on the floor.
Soon he
will realize that he will not get the boring treat under your foot, and that
only
from your hand do the good treats come.  Essentially, this is a variation of
the mugging game.

Once he is reliably ignoring the food on the floor when it is
under your foot, try uncovering it a bit.  But be ready to cover it up again
if he lunges for it.  Work up to having the food lying next to your
foot and having him ignore it.

Once he is ignoring the really boring food, start adding various value
treats, but nothing as awesome as the treats you have!  Slowly work up to
"the good stuff".  This can take a while, sometimes, and sometimes they
understand it overnight!

Once they are ignoring the food beside your foot, try dropping it from a few
inches, being ready to cover it with your foot, and slowly work up to a full
drop from sitting height.

I had an idea that might help control where the treat drops--What about
using a plastic plate or pie pan with edges and using another plate attached
to a broom handle or
stick?  The edges of the plate will keep the treat from rolling, and the
cover
would be big enough that you wouldn't need to be very accurate to cover the
boring
treat.  Be sure to click and reward ANY time the dog makes the right choice
by
looking to you for the food.  A bell on his collar may help to tell where
his
head is too. A Gentle Leader also would help in determining if he was
putting his
head down to grab food.

Once you can drop food and have him look to you for a
better treat, try changing the circumstances.  Drop food while standing up.
Generalize it to lots of locations.  Have someone else drop the food.
Eventually you
could enlist someone to help by dropping food for you while you continue
walking past.  Or set up piles of food in known locations, and reward when
he walks past them.  The variations are endless!

Any ideas to make this lesson easier?

Sandy Foushee
Infinite Pawsabilities Training and Service Dogs
"A Pawsitive Canine Experience"


LESSON FOUR:  Targeting with Different Body Parts

I hope your dogs are targeting your hands great!

I thought I might begin this lesson by teaching our dogs to target our hands
with different parts of their bodies, for example, to lay a chin in our
hands so that we could check
teeth, or to put the top of their head to our palms, to place paws into our
hands as the prelim for nail trimming and so we can get snowballs or
stickers out if they get caught in between their paw pads, and to teach them
different
body parts so we could teach tricks like spin.

So far we have the dogs touching our hands to the cue of "touch".  What we
want to do now is again have yummy rewards available in a bowl nearby--here
is
where "no mugging" starts to pay off! Do a few of the "touch" cue.  C/t when
they have
it right.  Then we want to have the clicker in one hand, and reach a cupped
hand for the dog's chin.  For the first couple of times all you want is just
to be
able to touch his CHIN with a cupped hand.  Click and reward.  After the
first
few, ask for a count of one before the c/t.  Gradually start  adding time
until he
will hold his chin in your hand for several seconds.  Work on this until he
will
hold it still for several moments.  Good Dog, Great Trainer!

Repeat the same steps with each cheek, each shoulder, each paw--You can even
name each foot as an individual cue, which helps when they get tangled in
the
leash!--each hip, the butt, and the tail.  Once they start learning each
one, they will start to actively press the body part you ask for into your
hands.  Your vet will love
you for this!

After he is fluent with these, it would be a great idea to have him learn to
do it for strangers.  It is also a really awesome trick, and proves to folks
just how smart our dogs really are!

Sandy Foushee
Infinite Pawsabilities Training and Service Dogs
"A Pawsitive Canine Experience"


LESSON FIVE:  Teaching the Right Amount of Pull in Harness or Pressure on
the Leash

"A friend here in Italy asked me how she can get her guide dog to slow down,
and not pull too much when in harness/on leash."

Let's look at it from the dog's point of view.  Dogs do what works.  (Are
you tired of hearing me say that?)  So for her dog, "getting there" is the
reward.  Or she may just LIKE pulling.  What we need is pulling ON OUR
TERMS.

What I would do is set it up in a safe place.  Then, EVERY time she starts
to pull hard you would STOP.  Remember the saying, "Practice makes perfect?"
Well, it applies to dogs too!  If she is practicing pulling too hard, she is
perfecting pulling too hard.  Make sense?

Another important thing is to let her know when she is doing it exactly
right, too.  Click and treat her when she does it very well, nice and
smooth.  This is also a point where I personally feel that verbal praise can
help immensely, especially in a place where she is doing it well, but you
cannot stop to let her  have a treat.  You can verbally praise the nice pull
across the street, and then after you are on the curb again, you could c/t
and have a mini puppy party for the nice job!

I am working on this with Alex right now.  She starts out pulling too hard,
but is learning that if she pulls nice and steadily, and does the curbs
well, she might, just might, get a puppy party!  She has improved a lot!

I also worked on no pulling on leash in the same way.  Because I have more
vision in my left eye than in my right, I chose to train her to work on my
right, to "protect" that side better.  So I also had to teach this cue on
both sides.  I highly recommend that, too.

I use a different cue for loose-leash walking than I do for guiding.  When I
am heeling her, I expect a totally loose leash.  When I have her leash
guiding, I want her to pull.

Once she knows each of the cues separately, I will start alternating them.
It seems to help
them differentiate between cues.  And it helps them pay more attention to
the cues themselves.

Comments, ideas?

Sandy Foushee
Infinite Pawsabilities Training and Service Dogs
"A Pawsitive Canine Experience"


LESSON SIX:  Targeting Other Items

Several folks have asked about targeting other items.  What I usually do is
set up a training session at home first, using a piece of tape stuck on my
palm.  Do a regular targeting session with the tape on your target hand for
about 10 touches.  Then put the tape on a really nearby surface and
encourage the dog to touch it.  If she does, c/t.  Slowly start moving the
tape around.

(Make sure to teach this separate from retrieving.  I didn't, and Alex
thought she should retrieve the tape!  It was a pain!)

Once they are reliably touching the tape on nearby objects, you can take it
to other places, and start fading the size of the tape, until you are just
having to point in the general direction of an object, and the dog will
target it.  You can also start naming the items to touch, "Touch, (name of
item)!"  So, for example,
"Touch, button!" would eventually fade to a simple "Button!" cue.  Make
sense?

Sandy Foushee
Infinite Pawsabilities Training and Service Dogs
"We are now a team.  Together everyone achieves more."
"A Pawsitive Canine Experience"


LESSON SEVEN:  Indicating or Finding Named Items

Your dog will need to know targeting and targeting other items to do this
lesson.  First, do a quick review of both targeting and tape targeting.
Stick  the tape to a new object such as a can of food.  Hold it in your hand
and do some touches.  Then start using the name of the item.  Say, "Can,
touch!"  Then fade the "touch" part of the cue, so that you are only saying,
"Can!"

Once they are reliably touching the can, move it around to different
positions around you, but always in your hand.  Then set it on the floor
with your hand on it, then all around you on the floor.  Then remove your
hand and repeat the various positions.  Then try different positions on the
floor, and other surfaces, like couches or chairs.  Then softly drop it from
just a few inches high, varying the surfaces that it lands on.  Then roll it
close to you on the floor.  Then increase the distance from you that it is.

This is an exercise where I think a head halter might help you to determine
where the dogs head is.  Also, a couple of jingle bells on a rubber band
would help with identifying if he touched the object, and where it rolled
to, if we tried to advance
too quickly!  (But we NEVER do that, do we?)

Then set a can in the middle of the floor, or have someone else do it.  Then
walk in with your dog, and cue, "Can!"  Reward him mightily if he goes to it
and touches it.  Good dog! Good Trainer!

Once you have a reliable "Can!", attach a name to a different object in the
same way.  Then start working on having them indicate the article you ask
for, just by not clicking for the "wrong" object, and by praising and
c/t-ing for the one you asked for.  This can take several weeks to go
through.  Some dogs will have trouble with this.  To help the dog, make the
objects really different.

Lots of objects can be named this way, just by using targeting and
c/t--buttons, stairs, elevators, doors, car door handles--and this behavior
is the basis for
discriminatory retrieves, too.

Let the list know how it is going!

Anyone with ideas, thoughts and most especially, questions to clarify?

Sandy Foushee
Infinite Pawsabilities Training and Service Dogs
"We are now a team. Together everyone achieves more."
"A Pawsitive Canine Experience"


LESSON EIGHT:  Accepting and Helping Put On Equipment

Many folks have told me that their dogs run or hide when they get out a
harness or a head halter or a collar or a cape.  Some even point to this as
evidence that their dogs no longer want to work and as a reason for retiring
them from service.

For a dog that doesn't like to get dressed for work, I would investigate
several things before throwing in the towel.  First, is the gear
uncomfortable?  Check all padding, leather or nylon edges, and make certain
that the gear is in good shape.  Run your hands over the INSIDE of the gear,
while holding it in dog position.  Make sure there are no rough spots or
places where buckles might pinch.  Make any needed repairs or consider
replacement.

Next check out another part of the team, your dog.  A trip to your vet can
make certain that there isn't a physical reason that the harness or collar
or head
halter might cause pain.  A simple tooth infection could make a head halter
unbearably uncomfortable, and bad hips, arthritis, and many other
conditions, including skin problems, might make wearing or using a harness
or cape painful or
uncomfortable.

If your dog is all clear on that, then go on to the next section!

Take a careful look to see how YOU are using your harness/cape/leash/collar.
Are you using it in the manner it was designed for?  Is your dog able to be
pain free when you have a leash in your hand?  We need to be careful to not
put tension on a piece of equipment unless it has been designed for that.
Can we, as handlers, keep a loose leash, even as we have tension on the
harness?  Do we tense up or pull on the collar when we get nervous or upset,
or when we venture into stressful situations?  Do we ourselves regard the
gear as bad, ugly, or anything negative?  How we feel about a given piece of
equipment travels directly down that leash to our dogs.  If our friends told
us a dress we liked a lot was the most hideous rag, I doubt we would eagerly
don it again! Especially if the friend made us wear it every time we went
out!

And finally, have we trained our dogs to LIKE their equipment?  I will break
down several items of gear, and show how we can teach our dogs to like
putting them on!

Buckle Collar--the basic gear for dogs.  How many times have you seen a dog
whose collar goes on and is never taken off because it is just too hard to
put on or take off the dog?  Well, here's a way to fix that!

You need two collars for this.  Have the dog on leash with collar number one
on, just to keep him from bailing!  Hold collar number two, unbuckle it, and
show it to your dog.  C/t any interest in the collar.  Most dogs will sniff
it.  Do this a few times until your dog starts thinking, "Hey, if I touch
that collar, I will get a c/t!"

Once he does this 2 or 3 times, open the buckle and touch the strap part to
the underside of his throat, c/t.  Just touch at first!  Once he is holding
still for you to do that, start moving your hands up the sides as if you
were putting it on.  C/t for him holding still.  At some point in here, many
dogs will start leaning forward into the collar to make you hurry up with
those c/t's!  At this point start putting the collar on and off.  C/t each
time the buckle is done up.    Once you are willing to bet 20 bucks that it
is going to happen, then give it a cue.  I use "Collar!"

Harness or Cape--In Alex's case, She has a guide harness with a cape
attached behind the back strap, so that it goes most of the length of her
body.  It slips on over her head.  So these directions will also work with
any slip collar that goes over the dog's head.  I did first teach this with
a too-big choke collar that I keep only for this exercise--poor thing would
rust otherwise! you can use a piece of rope or even a loop made with a leash
to teach it though.  you want something with a loop that you can hold open.

This is built on targeting, so your dog must have learned the basic touch
cue from the lesson files.  First, do a fast review of the touch lesson,
having your hand palm downward and fingers spread.  You can hold a treat in
the last 2 fingers.  Ask for "Touch", and give the treat with those two
fingers.  I use the other hand to click, or use a verbal marker if I must.

Once she touches my hand 3 or 4 times, I loop the chain collar over the back
side of my hand, and holding my fingers spread as before, I ask for touch
without using the cue, and c/t when she does it.  She is actually sticking
her nose into my hand under the collar, usually bumping the part of the
collar that hangs down. Then I repeat this, but slip the collar over her
head as she pushes her nose forward.  C/t, and take it off.  Do this a few
times until she is shoving her nose in and getting clicked and treated.

When she was familiar with this, I then asked myself, "OK, I can put her
collar on, BUT is that enough?"  I realized that I really want her to help
put it on.  So I backed up again.  I held the collar spread and asked her to
touch it, again c/t-ing for that.  Then I used some luring to get her to
reach for a treat through the loop.  Soon she said, "What? all I have to do
is put my head through the hole!  Sure, I can do that!"

The procedure for a  regular service dog cape was similar, but with the
added part of a belly buckle.   (See my comments below on training the
buckles.)  Her first harness was harder to put on her, because it had a
Y-shaped breastplate.  So I held it like the collar, and asked for touches
to get her putting her head into it.  Once she was good at that, I had to
teach her to pick up a paw, so that I could put the strap that runs between
her legs in place. I just touched her paw, and she would lift it and earn a
c/t.  Then there were two buckles to fasten on the side.  Believe it or not
those were the hardest thing to teach! I asked her to put her paws up on a
chair, so that I could easily reach them--I don't bend that well!  Getting
her to do a paws up is a
lesson for another time!  Suffice it to say that she was c/t-ed for holding
still, and I had some" waits" to capture the concept of staying still.  You
might not need to do this if you are the bend-able type of person.

The head halter was taught the same way as the choke collar, with the
addition of the "hold still for buckles" part.

Now all I have to do is hold up each piece of gear and she will dive into
it.  Our biggest problem is that when she gets really excited, she sometimes
hits the wrong hole--a problem that I am happy to have!  Never scold
enthusiasm!  It will evaporate much quicker than you could ever build it!

OK, it's questions and comments time!  Bring 'em on!

Sandy Foushee
Infinite Pawsabilities Training and Service Dogs
Teamed with Alexandra (Service/Guide)

The above material is Copyright 2007 by Sandy Foushee.  Any reprinting of
this material must be accompanied by the copyright information.





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