katiek0417 wrote:I agree with putting them against a barrier...
However, what are you using to reward? If it's a toy, what side do you reward from?
maberi wrote:katiek0417 wrote:I agree with putting them against a barrier...
However, what are you using to reward? If it's a toy, what side do you reward from?
Right now I'm using food while Kayden learns what I want. A tug or ball is too high value for him and using these during the learning stages tends to interfere with his thought process.
mnp13 wrote:The only problem with the barrier, though it does work (and I've used it) is that it only shows the dog what not to do. Knowing what not to do is very different than knowing what to do.
What you need to do is teach where heel is, not teach where it isn't.
katiek0417 wrote:How are you using the food? I mean, are you luring him? Are you dropping the food to him? If so, how?
maberi wrote:katiek0417 wrote:How are you using the food? I mean, are you luring him? Are you dropping the food to him? If so, how?
Initially I was luring him into position with the food. Now that he understands where he needs to be when we start the heel, I just motion with my hand and give him the heel command (planning on phasing out the hand eventually).
After a few steps (we are very early in our training) I've been treating him from my hand (sometimes the left hand, sometimes the right hand) in position. I had problems with Earl years ago bolting his eyes back from mine to where he thought the food was going to come from, so I'm trying to prevent that with Kayden.
I'll also say I screwed Kayden up a bit because the first year of treating him was done with him sitting in front of me so now he assumes every time I mark a behavior he needs to come in front of me to receive the reward.
Also is the box method shown on Balabanov's "The Game" DVD or is this something totally different?
maberi wrote:I'll also say I screwed Kayden up a bit because the first year of treating him was done with him sitting in front of me so now he assumes every time I mark a behavior he needs to come in front of me to receive the reward.
katiek0417 wrote:But basically, I teach heel as a position for the dog to come to no matter where I am. So, if I start with the dog in front, I get him into heel, and I reward. Then I move perpendicular to the dog, and I get him into the heel position, and reward. It's important that the dog is always sitting 100% straight when it gets rewarded. So this way the dog learns that being straight at my left side is the correct position...
mnp13 wrote:Do you find that you end up having trouble with the dog going straight to the heel position instead of to "front" on recalls? Or do you not train fronts?
DemoDick wrote:I forget, have you done any foundational clicker training with him? This wouldn't take long to fix at all with a clicker.
Demo Dick
maberi wrote:katiek0417 wrote:I agree with putting them against a barrier...
However, what are you using to reward? If it's a toy, what side do you reward from?
Right now I'm using food while Kayden learns what I want. A tug or ball is too high value for him and using these during the learning stages tends to interfere with his thought process.
katiek0417 wrote:What kind of food are you using? I always treat my dogs with them sitting in front of me b/c that's how I teach them to catch food....
I would start teaching Kayden how to catch food from your mouth. This will keep your hands out of the picture entirely, and keep Kayden's eyes on your face (where they should be). I have the dog sit in front, and I use the command "watch me" then the dog gets rewarded for making actual eye contact. And I spit the food down at them...once I move the dog into the heel position, I put a piece of food in my hand and bring it up to my face, to reinforce that I want the dog to watch me, and I say watch me...then I treat the dog for looking up at me.
I don't know if it's the same as what Balabanov has in his video. But basically, I teach heel as a position for the dog to come to no matter where I am. So, if I start with the dog in front, I get him into heel, and I reward. Then I move perpendicular to the dog, and I get him into the heel position, and reward. It's important that the dog is always sitting 100% straight when it gets rewarded. So this way the dog learns that being straight at my left side is the correct position...
furever_pit wrote:I have also been trying a new technique to teach Dylan where his back legs are...I use a low stool and have Dylan put his front feet on it. I then treat from my center and move around the stool. Dylan has to move his hind end around so that he stays straight in front of me in order to get the reward. I must say that he seems to be much more aware of his back end after having done this a few times. And it has inadvertently improved his flip finish as well, but definitely helped with positioning in the heel. There is a video of it on my youtube page if you want to see what exactly I am talking about.
Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDslB2U_KP4
TheRedQueen wrote:I've been playing around with Score with the platform (about 2-3 inches with rubber matting) to help with his hind-end awareness. He's very good, but it's a fun thing to do. I've been working on him moving his back legs onto the platform, without getting his front legs on...he's got to back up and put them up. He's really having to concentrate...fantastic!
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