(VICT) Retrieve
- From: care4k9@xxxxxxx
- To: vi-clicker-trainers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 21 Sep 2008 17:52:06 +0000
www.clickersolutions.com
www.shrileychong.com
Sue Ailsby's web site is hard to navigate and fine the instructions for
retrieve and since Sue is very generous with her information I am putting it
below. I do recommend to look at Shirley's too and decide how you want to train
the retrieve. Christy
RETRIEVE
Dog nose-targets four different objects including a dumbell, on one cue each.
DISCUSSION: Most trainers divide dogs into "natural" retrievers, and dogs who
don't retrieve. All kinds of harsh methods have been devised to force
non-retrievers to retrieve. These methods have turned off more potential dog
trainers than any other part of training. Fear not! It is NOT necessary to do
nasty things to dogs to produce a reliable retrieve. Even dogs who have never
thought to voluntarily pick up a twig or a toy can be taught to enjoy
retrieving.
A solid retrieve always feels to me like a turning point in my relationship
with a dog. When I can ask her to reliably bring me something, it makes me feel
that we're really communicating.
The point of this behaviour is simply to get her thinking about many, many
things as objects to be touched. In agility, we need the dog to focus on
objects to jump over, go through, climb, or weave. A service dog may need to
focus on various objects to retrieve, push, or pull. An obedience dog will need
to retrieve different objects and commit to different behaviours with others. A
shy dog can target feet and hands to improve her appreciation of strangers.
Even if targeting didn't lead directly to retrieving, it would be a worthwhile
endeavour.
EASY BEGINNINGS: You've already got the dog targeting your hand and a target
stick, so getting her to target other objects shouldn't be any problem at all.
I like to keep a basket of "touchables" handy to practise on: a pop can, a
pencil sharpener, pen, rolled-up newspaper, old cell phone, a videotape,
Kleenex box, plastic cup, spoon, glove, leash snap – the more things you have
her target, the better she'll understand life as a series of objects to be
manipulated.
Of course, the dog should be able to pick up any dumbell, whether it's small
enough to fit inside her mouth, or outweighs the dog herself, but for the sake
of competition, you'll want to get one that fits her mouth properly. Be sure
her lips have room to fit comfortably between the ends, but the bar isn't much
longer than it needs to be. You'll want the ends big enough to lift the bar
well off the ground, but not large enough to be poking her in the eye when she
picks it up. All this is of little importance at this stage, but if you're
going to buy a dumbell, put some effort into the fit.
When you start having her touch the dumbell, don't worry about where she
touches it, just get her going well on the touching. Once she's eager to touch
it, start positioning it so it will be easy for her to touch the bar. Then you
can stop clicking her for touching the very outside of the bell. Click any
other touch. By changing how you present the dumbell to her, you can keep your
click rate very high, while not rewarding her for touching the outside.
When she's still eager to touch, and is aiming for the outside of the bell less
than one time in ten, you can stop clicking any touch but those that land on
the bar. You're shaping her to touch the bar, so be careful not to frustrate
her into quitting. Keep her excited about the target and gradually move to the
point where you're only clicking for touches on the bar.
PROBLEM SOLVING:
SHE WON'T TOUCH ANYTHING METAL! Ask her to touch your hand X10, clicking
for each touch, then put the metal object inside your hand, ask for another ten
touches. Then let the object stick out of your hand just a smidge, and ask for
another ten touches. Then let it stick out enough that she's occasionally going
to brush it while touching your hand, do another ten, and finally move it out
of your hand far enough that she has to touch the object in order to touch your
hand. Click for her touching the object, and reward before she has a chance to
touch your hand.
SHE'S NOT TOUCHING, SHE'S GRABBING! If this were the "Target" behaviour
section, that would be a problem we'd try to work around, but since this is the
"Retrieve" behaviour section, we'll just give a big hairy "EE HAH!", click, and
reward her for grabbing anything. Don't let go of it yourself, but click and
then trade a reward for the object.
ADDING A CUE: Don't put a cue on this yet. Just let the presentation of the
object itself suggest to her that touching it will be rewarded. You don't want
to use a Target cue, because we'll be asking for more than that in the next
Level, and you don't want to use a Retrieve cue, because you don't have that
behaviour yet.
CONTINUING EDUCATION: Get her to touch everything you come across. Big things,
little things, soft things, hard things, fuzzy things, metal things, leather
things. If you can touch it, she can touch it!
--
Christy Hill
A'Mickey
***************
http://home.att.net/~care4k9
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