Category: Advanced Stuff, Performance Events ¤
  Author: Shirley Chong ¤
   Title: Teaching a Foot Whack ¤

In my beginning competitive obedience class today, we had such a cool
seqence of shaping, it was just magical.
   Katy Rottweiler and Deb (her owner) were beginning the foot whack to
indicate the target on go-outs. Deb pretty much did the whole thing by
herself while I sat off to the side and offered an occasional suggestion
or help with the next step.
   Deb started out sitting on the floor. She used food to lure Katy into
whacking her hand (closed her hand around the food and then moved the
food back and forth in front of Katy's feet). Katy tried to nuzzle for
the food at first, then got frustrated and used her foot ("come back
here!!!") and was clicked. Very rapidly, within two or three trials, Deb
got rid of the food lure and was clicking Katy for foot whacking her
hand/wrist area. Then she got onto her knees and clicked Katy for foot
whacking a hand held a bit higher. Then she got on her feet (I know, I
know, this is not in the Recliner Trainer's Credo, but I reserve that
for the Advanced Training Classes--class equipment: one dog, one
clicker, bowl of popcorns [bonus points for buttered popcorn], one
recliner...). Deb crouched and had Katy foot whack, then stood in a half
crouch, then straightened her knees and bent over.
   Then we set out a folding chair and Deb held her hand over the
folding chair. At first Katy whacked her hand and Deb moved her hand so
that Katy's foot fell off--click! Very quickly (two or three trials)
Katy was whacking the chair on her own and the hand movement had turned
into a stylized gesture that Deb used as a cue.
   Then I set a small PVC baby gate in front of the chair, so that Katy
would hit the gate as well as the chair. In a short time (three or four
trials) the baby gate was moved progressively backwards so that Katy was
just foot whacking the gate (which, amusingly enough, squished out
flat--that Katy is a pistol of a dog, but sublty and light touches are
not in her character <LOL>). 
   Took the chair out of the picture and Katy was whacking the gate for
the stylized hand gesture. Deb tried fading the hand gesture--three
trials, no success, so we switched tactics. Deb stood up straight (in
the classic handler position), said "Foot!" then moved to make the full
stylized hand gesture. Within five trials, Katy was anticipating the
hand gesture when she heard the word Foot!
   We quit there. It was just sooooooo cool, to see the two of them
working together, in a dialogue, to see it all happen as smoothly and
easily as if it were just meant to be. I only wish I'd gotten it onto
videotape. They were talking to each other, Katy was asking questions
and Deb was answering. Deb was raising her criteria at just the right
rate and it just all went sooooo perfectly.
   This is an untrainable Rott, yep, you bet... <evil cackling laugh>

M. Shirley Chong
The Well Mannered Dog