Category: Crossing Over ¤
  Author: Dani Weinberg ¤
   Title: Starting a Crossover Dog ¤

Hi Julie,

Your tale of starting to use OC and the clicker with a crossover dog is 
sad, funny - and not a surprise!  Many of us have struggled with how to 
move our dogs (and ourselves) from waiting to be told what to do to the 
much more proactive and creative stance of a purely clicker-trained dog.  
Don't worry.  We have some answers for you!

>>I have read with great interest this list for about 3 weeks, and have
enjoyed the feedback you give each other as well as the stories. Last
weekend at the Houston Astrohall show, I bought Karen Pryor's
Dog&aDolphin and 2 clickers, read the book, visited her website, and
thus began our venture into C/T.... Help!!>>

Good start.  Next thing you might want to look at is Helix's Keeper Page 
on the web at:
http://www.phys.unm.edu/~helix/Keeper

She's been maintaining this page on which she posts "keeper" posts from 
the list on  a variety of topics - including how to train a crossover 
dog, how to get started, etc.  I think you'll find some help and useful 
ideas there.

>> Gosh, it seems like everyone
else has this breakthrough the first day, or first session, and then the
dog is spinning in circles, and knows what is causing the treats to
happen!! I feel like, Duh, why can we not make a connection here?>>

Yes, it does seem that way, but, remember:  people are more likely to 
post their success stories, so those are over-represented.

>>He seems not really excited about all of this, (maybe
he's thinking?) and I can't believe he hasn't gone through his learned
behaviors to try to get treats.>>

That's because he's working out of an entirely different model.  He 
thinks the game is to wait for your command and then perform it as well 
as possible in order to get his R+.  But to play this new clicker game he 
has to initiate the process by experimentally offering behaviors from 
which you choose those that are reinforcable.  

>>Should I be talking at any time during these sessions? Someplace I read
that you should be quiet during this initiation period. >>

At the beginning, it might be easier for you and your dog to concentrate 
on learning the new game.  OTOH, if you're already a very serious kind of 
person, then I'll take that back and suggest you relax and have fun with 
this - chatter away, if that helps!  Just try to reserve your talk for 
*after* he's gotten his c/t (though you're permitted to smile at any time 
- in fact, the more the better!).

>>Does it take
longer to unlearn the former ways of training?>>

I think it's more useful to think of this as learning something new 
rather than unlearning something old.  If you've ever studied a foreign 
language, did you have to "unlearn" your native language?  No, of course 
not!  We're adding something here, not subtracting.

>> Should I lure him into the
behavior I am trying to get at this stage, or should my goal be to
create this behavior (chase tail) by letting him discover how to get the
treats??>>

Whether you like it or not, what he needs to learn is how get those 
treats!  So a discovery method will be much quicker and more effective.

>> This could take a lifetime!!>>

It won't!  Though it will probably seem to start very slowly, because, 
after all, you're learning something new too.

Instead of getting stuck (along with your dog) on a predefined behavior 
(like turning the head), try these 3 things.

1)  Teach him to target a touchstick (or some other object).  There are a 
few articles about that on the Keeper page.  I like starting this way 
because targeting is so different from any of the obedience exercises or 
household manners that the dog has already learned.  You won't be so 
serious or concerned about it - after all, it's just a silly trick - and 
he'll learn very quickly and start to enjoy this new method.

2)  Shape a spontaneous behavior that he offers frequently - like an ear 
twitch, blink, yawn, stretch, body shake, paw lift, etc.  Get your 
clicker and a bag of treats and make yourself comfortable in a nice easy 
chair.  Then start watching your dog.  You'll notice things that you 
probably never saw before, and that's part of the fun.  Pick any one of 
those behaviors and start clicking and treating every time he does it.  
Don't even think of this as "training a behavior" but, instead, as 
playing the game, with both of you having fun.

3)  When you're in a training session with your dog and he just sits 
there looking at you - DO SOMETHING!  Anything!  Move around, laugh, lie 
on the floor, dance, play with one of his toys...Your movement will 
certainly get him moving - and then you'll have something to c/t.

And finally, please do let us know how you're doing.  We're here to help 
- and to celebrate your successes.

Dani  


Dani Weinberg
Albuquerque, NM and
Crested Butte, CO
71044.3715@compuserve.com