Welcome to Week Three! Our theme this week is “how fast can you do that?” We should remember that doing it fast is only part of the equation of working in drive. We also need to be able to work accurately and thoughtfully AND stop working and relax effectively. If you need to, go back and review the one hour down stay, your frustration plan, and the Yoyo Game.
Homework:
Start and Stop
How many behaviours per minute?
CLICK, DOUBLE CLICK
Click, double click is a technique we can use to help dogs to better understand behaviours that have multiple components. A common use is to mark when dogs are both quiet and lying down if they are struggling with the long down stay and barking. It can also be used to mark ongoing behaviours such as heeling.
To Tidy Up The Down Stay If The Dog Barks
Barking is an episodic behaviour that only occurs when the dog is exhaling. When the dog inhales to begin barking again, the trainer can click those moments of silence. By clicking during the quiet part of the episodic behaviour you mark when the dog is partially correct. If the dog then lies down and remains quiet, you can double click and then return too continuous feeding in order to establish an ongoing quiet downstay.
To Gain Longer Duration Behaviours Such As Heeling
When you are working on a long duration behaviour such as heeling, you can use a single click to mark that the dog is in the correct position and then use a double click and treat to mark the end of the longer duration behaviour. It is important to work up from a single click and then a double click, and then two single clicks and a double click and then three single clicks and a double click and so on.