Emma likes to carry things, and has no problem holding stuff on her own terms. Me asking her to hold is another matter. If she brings me something, she wants to drop it at my feet immediately. So we are working on holding, as it is essential for water work
Someone on the Dog Trek group suggested teaching her to take and hold my finger. That didn't work for us. Emma has never been scolded for putting her teeth onto human skin; she grew up with bite inhibition training involving plenty of hand play. But nonetheless, she did not want to take my finger in her mouth. It seemed pointless to try to teach that, so instead I cut a wooden dowel for her to hold.
Emma takes the dowel readily when I ask her to. My touch on her muzzle may appear to be a very firm grip at times, but actually it is not a firm grip, only a light touch to give her the message that I would like her to steady.
Early releases were never punished, just used "uh uh" as an NRM; there's lots of debate about NRMs, and whether they are actually mild punishment, but I do use them some. There is one early drop where you'll hear me say "oops, uh uh." Progressively longer holds were rewarded with a C/T. The click sound I used this time is not the mechanical clicker, but rather a tongue click matching the rhythm of a clicker. Emma made the connection right away several years ago when I began using the tongue click for convenience. She understood right away that the sounds are similar and mean the same thing. It seems to cut through to her brain more reliably than a "bridge word".
I think we made some good progress here. The session was long, but she did not seem to tire of the game. By the time we stopped, she was holding, and letting me repeatedly touch and remove my hand from the dowel before release by the click. She already knows the word give, so it should be easy to add that once the hold is firm.
Kathy, Emma's 2lggd mom
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
That's a pretty fancy stick ...
I've got plenty of sticks right outside the front door. Mom didn't need to cut one special. This clicker game was pretty easy ... just hold the thing, right? It made Mom happy, and it made my tummy happy ... Yum!
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3 comments:
hey Emma,
welcome to www.dogswithblogs.com.au - it is great to meet you, and I am sure you will make lots of new friends here :-)
Love
Opy
Hey there Emma! You're doing well with the 'Hold it' command. I've already learned that coz I'm already in the Intermediate level but I'm not that very good actually. I don't really like holding stuff in my mouth except tennis balls. My mommy don't teach me with a clicker. In Malaysia, we all still use the old method. Using choke chain & jerking method. She has a clicker tho but it doesn't seem to get me excited or anything when I hear it so she doesn't use it anymore. I don;t fancy treats that much either. I'm more motivated by my tennis balls...But you don't seem to mind taking that stick. That's good! At least you're eager to take it. Me? Neh...Hey do come & visit my blog ok? Oh I forgot to tell ya, I'm a dancing dog living in Malaysia. I do lots of tricks, more than 20 to be exact including rollover. If you have probs with that trick, I don't mind helping you out a bit. I also do Agility & Flyball(oh my favorite sport!) & OB ofcourse. Oh & check out my new post, I think it will give you the shivers. Heeheehee...
Love licks,
Solid Gold Dancer
Nice. I'm trying to train our dog too, but I need some discipline myself! You've just motivated me, thanks.
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