Category: Performance Events ¤
  Author: Lana Mitchell ¤
   Title: Holes in Teaching the Retrieve ¤

Whether or not training is being pushed too fast will show up (like a bad 
penny) at intervals through the shaping processes of each behavior. Small
but 
consistent failures at some simple portion of a behavior should set a
caution 
flag for the trainer and prevent him from going on to the next step.

When a dog retrieves reliably, but mouths the dumbbell for instance, this 
indicates to me that there was a hole in the shaping process of one of the 
behaviors in the retrieve chain.  A dog that mouths should never progress
to 
the actual retrieve chain, but should remain at the hold level until he is 
proficient at holding and carrying without mouthing.

Likewise, dogs who are not performing a dead stop and drop on the drop on 
recall exercise were not taught the drop portion of the chain before it was

put together.

One can sit outside obedience rings at trials and matches and witness first

hand hole after hole after hole - I believe every one of them is the result
of 
going to the next step in training without shaping the previous step until
the 
dog understands. I've actually heard people say things like "He'll get it 
later" - this most commonly said with regard to heeling.

Hopping down off the "get it right the first time so you don't have to 
re-train it" soapbox.

Lana Mitchell, cashmerek9@msn.com
Tualatin, OR
'CLICK' For Success (c)