velmadobe said:
He is really coming along! I think your matching green scrub shirt and booties are really so fashionable - LOL!!
my tech for the day also had the green scrubs (full set) so we were quite a set!
Lexus said:
Very cool video Kim! LOL, I do the same happy play reward with Lex of grab the leash
Very nice to see the rah-man in action!
thats actually sedate for him - he typically pulls me almost off my feet and goes for a lOOOOONG time (its how we made it through agility class). but thanks
K9Jarko said:
Wow he is so big and yes very good lookin' - definitely would not want to meet him in a dark alley. His heeling looks very nice as does his turns.
The only problem that I have seen in alot of dogs when food is used this way consistently, great for when first teaching the watch command, is that unless the handlers timing is really great - the dog is rewarded when in the incorrect position. It tends to cause sign tracking as well (as does a toy placed under the armpit) - which in turns causes forging or crowding of the handler (not seeing this at all with these two, great job) . But when the handler uses spitting food to inititally teach the command and then switches to a verbal praise (Good watch) or as the case may be a correction (No Watch) and then a release command (Okay, Free) before rewarding it changes the whole picture and it's easier (for the handler) to reward for correctness and the dog to know exactly what will earn him his reward. Just a thought for those doing competition.
well, thanks for the comments, except im not sure where you get that "food is used this way consistently" - my dog is trained for food, physical and verbal praise, tug, fetch, stuffy toys, and even just a raise of my eyebrow or a smile from me (yes, that is a reward for them when we work, i can communicate with those methods without saying a word and no judge can mark me off for that!). is he working for food in this video? yes, for part of it - if you notice, he also got rewarded with a pat (or maybe that was the other video, where i grabbed his face and smushed it), he got rewarded with tug at least twice and being allowed to jump up on me, and if you can hear the sound (im not sure google video transmits the sounds, to be honest), im also telling him what a good man he is when hes looking at me and for one of the awesome turns he had where his hind end completely tracked. do i use food? absolutely - hes very food motivated and he learned a finish in 4 tries using food. what i dont have here is a clicker, which allows me extremely precise timing whenever i need it - however this isnt a teaching session, this is using behaviors that he already knows - i dont click for this anymore - he gets one (food) reward at the end of completed behavior. i do click still for fast sits when we work on speed with accuracy. i never click his platz as its a default behavior now, but he gets rewarded in other ways for a platz.
my dog isnt watching my mouth, he isnt watching my hand, he isnt tracking my hands as they move (i can heel with either my hand against my stomach as proper for the AKC ring or with the arm swinging as i will need for bite sport). he is pure and simple making eye contact with me - the same eye contact i ask for and reinforce when hes in a front, when hes fussing, when hes in stationary attention, when we are "ready" when he is in his stays, etc. eye contact is above all the most reinforced behavior this dog has, and yes it started with clicking - the minute he looked at me, i clicked. i can hold cookies, toys, you name it, out in my hands and he watches my eyes - because reinforcement only comes when you do what i want - which is LOOK at me. spitting food isnt used in teaching a command - its used to reinforce a final behavior because i dont like holding food in my hands and its easier.
in addition, i never ask for a watch. i have no word for "watch me". i say his name, and he looks at me. its default. i will correct say his name to regain lost attention if he is distracted, if he looks away he is rewarded the minute he looks back. i rewarded for 1, 2, 5, 10 seconds - and increased the time. he rarely NEEDS a crrection for this behavior, buut i will use a short pop once he understands what the pop means. but right now, he doesnt need it.
this dog is 90% positively trained by both my competition obedience trainer and his bitesport trainer when we have worked with him (a third private trainer who is very well known specifically within the dobe community, is less positive but has similar methods - rah responded well to him as well, but at this point it is my choice to focus on training him positively until he NEEDS the corrections).
