Category: Common Problems ¤
  Author: Shirley Chong ¤
   Title: Barrier Training ¤

   This is in response to Bego Aguilera's question about how to keep 
the dogs out of the kitchen when he doesn't particularly care if they 
go to their mat.
   I trained Bidge (my Belgian Sheepdog) to stay out of my computer 
nook using the clicker and a target stick, but I have since realized 
that the dog doesn't necessarily need to know targeting in order for 
this to work.
   So! Get or find something that acts as a visible barrier to the 
dog. It can be a dowel, a yard stick (metre stick?), a piece of heavy 
cord, a leash, a board, anything that is about a yard or metre long 
(the width of the doorway, in other words). So long as the dog can 
see it and it's fairly easy to move, it doesn't really matter just 
what it is. 
   Lay the barrier object on the floor or ground somewhere. Don't put 
it against the kitchen door yet. Maneuver things so that you are on 
one side and the dog is on the other side. When the dog approaches 
you, click when they are near but still on the other side of the 
barrier. For greater efficiency in training, I'd toss the treat 
across the barrier and in back of the dog. That way the dog is 
automatically set up to approach the barrier and you can do another 
trial again immediately.
   After several clicks at the barrier, the dog will be hesitating 
there, probably wondering WHY you are clicking. Keep clicking the dog 
for being on the other side of the barrier until you see that the dog 
is definitely slowing down and waiting to hear you click.
   Now start clicking the longer hesitation/waits. Actually, what is 
most successful is to STOP clicking the very shortest hesitations--
the lowest 10% of responses. Amazingly quickly, you will have a dog 
that waits on the other side of the barrier for quite a few seconds.
   Now, move the barrier to another location. Go all the way back to 
kindergarten--your dog probably won't recognize the barrier in a new 
location. When you are working in an old location, work on extending 
the amount of time the dog waits before you click. When you move to a 
new location, go back to kindergarten and re-build the wait (it will 
happen faster each time).
   When you've worked the dog up to thirty seconds or so of waiting, 
start incorporating your own moving around (yes, you'll have to go 
back to kindergarten the first few times you move around--new 
criteria).
   At some point, the dog will fidget, turn, may even move away from 
the barrier. THIS IS GREAT! Keep track of your time schedule and 
click/treat even if the dog wasn't at the barrier constantly. After 
all, is this not the goal behaviour you want? Dog can do anything as 
long as dog doesn't cross barrier.
   Eventually, start practicing with the barrier across the kitchen 
doorway. Treat it exactly as you treated any other new location: go 
back to kindergarten and then build duration.
   Now, if the dog DOES enter the kitchen, what to do? I would 
develop a signal to mean "the cookie is being withdrawn." Do this as 
a separate exercise. Pick a signal (a sharp "ah-ah" or wooden beads 
rattling or yes, Fisher Disks). You can work alone or with a partner. 
If you work alone, you drop treats on the floor and say "okay" as 
each treat is dropped (or the Catalan equivalent). Drop the treats 
unpredictably so that the dog isn't quite sure where the next one 
will fall. 
   Once the dog is absolutely and positively convinced that they have 
figured out this game (and it's well on the way to being their 
favourite game of all time), drop a treat, make the sound you picked, 
and then either slap your foot over the treat or pick the treat up 
with your hand (depending on how fast you are). Ignore the dog for a 
few seconds, then pick up that treat and go back to dropping treats 
and saying okay. When the dog is relaxed and focused on hunting the 
next goodie, repeat the sound and withdrawal of the treat.
   If you are working with a partner, have your partner do the above 
while you sit in a chair 4-8 feet away. When the partner makes the 
noise and withdraws the treat, then YOU coax the dog over and give 
the dog treats.
   Now you have created a Conditioned Negative Punisher (CNP)--a 
signal which means "you're missing out on the cookie." Use the CNP 
when the dog's front foot crosses the barrier--don't wait for the 
whole dog to cross, use the CNP for that first reach of a foot over 
the barrier.
   As for the targeting question--yes, putting food on the target 
stick will work. Another, subtly different, technique is to rub the 
end of the target stick with something fragrant, like a cut clove or 
a piece of fatty sausage so that the end of the target stick smells 
wonderful but does not actually provide the reward. When the dog 
sniffs the target, click and treat. I prefer this one because I want 
the dog to learn as quickly as possible that it is their action in 
OPERATING the target stick (bumping it with their nose) that is 
inspiring you to click and treat. The target stick is not the reward 
in and of itself, it's just a means to an end.

M. Shirley Chong
The Well Mannered Dog