Category: Common Problems ¤
  Author: Shirley Chong ¤
   Title: Using the Distraction as Reinforcement ¤

> At Shirley's seminar,
> she discussed using the distraction as a jackpot. I did that this
> morning. After one great set of weave poles, I let her chase the cats.
> However she is wearing 30 ft of check cord so that had to be all
> untangled from the weave poles before we could go "get em". Every thing
> we do, I have to untangle the check cord, get all reset, cord spread out
> over the first couple of jumps. It's all just such a hassle.

   I'm still getting caught up but this caught my eye, so I decided to
take some time out and respond.
   First off, I didn't give you a thorough enough answer at the seminar,
Helix--my sincere apologies.
   The easiest way to use a distraction as a jackpot is to TEACH the dog
what you're going to do. Show the dog what your training strategy will
be. So, first step is to pick out a behaviour that is very well learned
(to maximize the chances of success) and one that doesn't require a lot
of equipment. In this case, I'd make a short (30 inches or less) leash
out of clothesline or some other type of smooth cord; just attach the
leash to the collar and have nothing on the other end to get tangled (no
handles or knots). If Brady knows the automatic sit for heeling, this is
a perfect behaviour to try this out on. So is doodling around with
fronts or finishes (practicing making small changes in position). Wrap
the cord around your hand so she can't get away and do a couple
whatevers (I'll assume an automatic sit is what you're using). Pick out
a criterion to work on--speed, straightness, whatever. When you get one
sit that fulfills your criterion, click, drop the leash and take off
after the cats WITH Brady.
   Have yourself a good chase (really, chasing cats or squirrels is fun!
am I the only person in the world who watched JURASSIC PARK muttering
"well, sheesh, if you acted that way around me I'd bite you too!!!"?).
Then catch Brady, wrap the leash around your hand and go back to
automatic sits. This time go for a two-fer (remember, this is supposed
to be a very well learned behaviour that you are using to teach a new
idea--you aren't really trying to teach the behaviour, you're teaching
the concept). On the second success, click and chase.
   Then start mixing in other treats after the click. Go to two-fers and
three-fers by actually clicking after each sit but only offering chasing
every second or third click. By this time, chasing cats will have lost
some of it's allure for Brady (at the very least, she'll be tired) and
she'll also start to be curious about just what on earth you're doing.
Keep working on sits, using your other (food) treats after most clicks
and moving the chase opportunities further and further apart.
   The next training session, use a different but equally well learned
behaviour and go over the whole sequence again.
   Although it takes a couple training sessions, this is IMHO a very
valuable and worthwhile concept to teach the dog. If you do it
thoroughly, your dog's response when seeing something they particularly
want will be to look at you to see if there's something they can do to
get what they want. What better response could you develop?

M. Shirley Chong
The Well Mannered Dog