Part 1 - Running across the planks

Discussion

Before I started training the ‘stop’ I taught Jaidi to run over the planks with no hesitation and no stopping. Additionally there was no criteria to ‘hit it’ i.e. the contact, so in this respect was teaching pure drive and speed across the planks, as opposed to conditioning for a running contact. This was started around 8 months old and all carried out on the flat. The intention was to then join the running and stop together around 12 months old before progressing to raised planks. In this way we could have fun without worrying about accuracy and no danger of injury from excessive stop repetition / falling off raised planks.

Why not use tried and tested method of back chaining? Typically this would be how a 2O2O is taught, by conditioning the stop and then sending the dog to assume the position gradually moving ‘backwards’ along the plank, i.e. starting from the finish and ending up at the start. Well for a couple of reasons:

1. It has to be done by hands on method (i.e. positioning dog on contact before releasing), so cannot claim to be taught with complete Independence.
2. Dog is taught from day 1 to condition the position for the stop, so potentially only offering a quick release as being the ‘competition’ alighting method towards the end of the contact training (I will come to that in some months when talking about leaving contact as a taught behaviour).
3. The initial training has to be to a static reward (either NT or toy) so not making use of the dogs love to chase and be rewarded.

Planks, cones and ball launcher set up ready for training session

Method

The method was built around 2 primary motivators, reward and thrill of the chase. The initial work was all done by shaping, before working with my training partner for a couple of months, an automated ball launcher.

The steps broke down like this:

1. Shaping to run through 2 cones
2. Learning about the ball launcher
3. Joining the ball launcher and cones exercises together
4. Adding planks to step iii
5. Fading the cones
6. Fading the launcher (which leads into the earlier articles for teaching and adding the stop)

Through the next few weeks I will go over the exercises used in the steps i – vi.

Part 2 (iv) Maintaining Forward Focus

Objective

Maintain what we have trained so dog is always looking forward, regardless of obstacle in front (or not)

How?

Consistency. Now that we have trained our 2O2O position, we need to maintain this by using a reward (which is varied, and we will look at that in next post) which is always forward.

Total Time

‘Forever’ !

Discussion – Why is this so important?

One of the primary disadvantages of a stopped contact or 2O2O position, is that it must be ‘forever’ trained and maintained. Once we have taught the dog, there is the temptation, particularly in group sessions to pull the dog off from the side, reward from hand or just not reward at all. Collectively we will call this ‘losing our process and consistency’. Over time this will lead to handler focused dogs, lack of drive to contact position and worse, missed contacts. All of which will mean retraining / reworking our contact position. So what do we do?

In training one will be faced with one of two broad scenarios:

With obstacle in front of contact

This is a desired situation as we use the next obstacle as our focus. From the last article we described transferring the focus. Here is a process for using that obstacle:

1. Place the reward after the next obstacle – allowing for landing distance
2. Only release the dog when they are firmly looking forward at obstacle / reward
3. Give release command and lots of praise

Without obstacle in front of contact

Less desirable but a training fact, we will be faced with courses where there is nothing in front. The temptation here is to demonstrate how good your turns are at training and pull the dog sideways. This is counter training your forward focus. A good example is demonstrated in these images on the link below:

Click here to see example of keeping forward focus during course training

I broke this down into 2 distinct stages, (i) sending to reward (ii) setting up rest of course and starting again.

But what about turns in competition? Well that’s a discussing for future articles, but at this stage I will say for the young dog get the basics right, all the time. Secondly a well taught stop puts the handle in 100% control for alighting the contact.

Part 2C (iii) Fading the NT

Objective

Fade the NT by transferring to higher value reward

How?

When our dog is achieving high motivation NT we substitute the close target for a distance variation

Total Time

1 month

Discussion – Why NT, why fade it?

Why NT, why fade?

Jaidi demonstrating NT to forward reward

NT has been a very successful ‘final’ method of teaching a stop contact. One could argue that when achieving this stage, we have finished our foundation training (i.e. we have built our forever process).

Lets look at the advantages and disadvantages at arriving at this conclusion:

Advantages: 

•  Clear criteria
• Systematic process – definable targets, measurable results
•  Teaches independence

If you have followed the earlier posts to date, you can see that the NT has been used to take use the advantages of having a discreet objectives (i.e. systematic) with clear, measurable criteria to build independence.

 Jaidi demonstrates independent dogwalk

Disadvantages:

• Teaches down looking behaviour
• The NT becomes more important than speed or technique of the contact
• You can’t take a target in the ring

However, in addition to independence we want forward facing, a process we can use every training session and eventually something we blend into true ring behaviour.

Stages

Moving reward

At this stage we have our dog happily NT for reward placed at target level. Whether that is:

• A toy (for tugging) or
• Food (in either remote reward system or sealed Tupperware type container, which we open to give reward)

We are now going to gradually step by step over a few training sessions away from the contact. So to summarise, the target stay in reach for NT, the reward moves forward to end up some meters in front of the contact.

Jaidi demonstrates the changed position, notice his focus and body posture

 

Losing the target

You will now start to see the dogs attention move from looking down at the target to the forward reward. There will also be a less than ‘perfect’ set of NT taking place now as the dog moves from wanting to NT the target to get reward. It is worth remembering that the NT is a means to an end, and the long term goal is not the best NT but excellent contacts!

When the NT to target clearly becomes a step in the process that is inhibiting the overall contact behaviour (i.e. we are now insisting that the dog does the NT, but by losing this we would still have forward facing, reward motivated dog), take the target away, it has served its purpose.

Transferring focus

The next step is to keep extending the reward placement until we can place after next obstacle. The purpose is to build focus that reward comes after obstacle (or if there isn’t one there in that particular training sequence) some distance after the contact. Do not be tempted to pull the dog of side ways during training. It may feel good and be easier to make the turn, but you will not be training consistent forward focus behaviour.

Even in competition, particularly at early stages, if there are sharp turns after contacts don’t do them! Leave the dog in 2O2O, walk forward, praise you dog for looking and then release towards you. Remember, you pay your money to achieve your objectives on course. You don’t have to try and win every class.   

The video's below demonstrate the process in competition runs, either as quick release (extension cues) or as stopped training contacts (try and only release when forward facing)

 

Winning into G6

Today I am very happy, particularly in respect of what happened in December

Yesterday at our 3rd show at G5 we won the Agility which now makes JD a Grade 6 dog. This has come very early and I think the step between 5 & 6 is the biggest in UK Agility grading system.

A G5 dog generally shares courses with 3 & 4, so there tends to be straigther entries on to contacts and weaves and less turn / side changes for the jumps. 

Grade 6 however, tends to share with 7 so all the latest sequences can be found on these courses. Additionally, in my experience of running Matty in 6, is that as stand alone classes they seem to feature every trick and twist and are generally harder then Champ (7) individual classes. I don't know why this is? 

I am estimating that JD's first G6 class will feature going round the back on no.2 and pulling through to no.3. It always appears to me that is how G6 courses have to start!

This is why I think its such a level change. Although we train these elements, to date we have not really done them is serious competition. So for the next few months we will be competing on courses above our current ability. On the plus side is I now have a full summer season to practice, find out what we are good and not so good at, ready to formulate our autumn / winter training schedule for 2013!

Back to the competition, and here is the course plan:

Combined 4 - 5 Agility

 Unfortunately we didn't get a video of the round but here is one from an class earlier in the day. I was really pleased with our contacts and weave entries, allowing Jaidi to run through in extension up to point of being clear. As soon as we incur faults I cue a stop (2O2O). For next few weeks I will revert back to majority being stopped with occasional quick release (or for me not giving any stop command but cueing extension which means to keep moving forward.

 

 

 

Part 2C (ii) The Happy Zone

To summarise the process we have been through so far:

1. Nose touches (NT)
2. Rear end awareness
3. 2O2O as a discrete exercise (away from contacts)

We are now going to transfer this behaviour to contact ends, transfer the motivation, fade the NT and transfer that to forward focus using the following steps:

1. The Happy zone
2. Fading a NT
3. Looking ahead / next obstacle
4. Fading reward / varying reinforcement

Happy zone

Thanks to Linda Hutchinson and Janet Jackson for giving me some ideas on this part of the exercise and for giving it a name!

 Objective

Reinforce this position so the dog is motivated to assume and maintain position

How?

Transferring the work from the step and contact trainer to bottom of contact. First using NT then substituting target for play reward then moving reward away from contact.

Total Time

2 months

Stages

Transferring

Dog is now exposed to a contact (DW or AF it doesn’t matter). In my experience having worked systematically worked through the process described in previous posts one will notice:

1. Their dog very quickly investigating the new equipment
2. The dog placing rear legs on the contact, assuming the 2O2O position

When your dog freely places its rear legs on the contact area (by positive reinforcement), we re-introduce our command. Now we test this by giving the desired command (again as mentioned earlier, I use ‘there’). The dog should quickly assume the 2O2O position.

Now we are ready to reinforce this and gradually fade the foundation training.

Using the NT

Jaidi learning to use remote reward system

Arguably we could skip this part of the process, but I feel it provides a method for hands free reinforcement.

So the dog can now perform 2 distinct exercises (i) assume 2O2O position (ii) NT a target. We now simply introduce the target and follow very similar steps to posts from November 2011.

I recommend a ‘remote reward’ but either walking back and laying treat onto the target or using a small sealed food container and releasing the lid to reveal the reward will work as well. The advantage of the remote reward is complete independence and focus on the target to deliver reward.

Distance nose touches using a remote reward system

I would avoid ‘throwing treat’. As this can build handler focus as the dog learns to understand that treats come from the hand, or worse, the pocket. This builds handler focus through a reward process of:

NT – look to hand – receive treat

Additionally how consistent is throwing a treat in respect of accuracy to achieve instant delivery?  Particularly when it is cold (one has gloves on) or the surface is uneven and the treat gets lost?

Substitution

So now we have the dog NT in a 2O2O position, we substitute the treat for a toy. Again this step is optional as some dogs just simply prefer food reward to tug or chase games. Either way the future process remains the same. But at this stage I want to describe why we start to use our toy. An example of this can be seen in the early part of this video.

We started our substitution training around a year old

The reward for the NT is transferred to the toy. We use the same criteria as discussed in earlier posts about variable reinforcement schedules. I suggest facing the dog and actually offering the toy and playing ‘tug’ game. The reason is that we want to build such high value for just being in that position as well as change focus from the target to the toy.

Some schools of thought would argue against actual interaction on the contact as potentially reducing independence. However it is a very short stage of the process and also allows precise reward for accurate limb positioning which should be:

• Straight and facing forward, front and rear leg in line
• Both rear legs firmly positioned in the centre line of the contact

Only reward when this is being achieved.

 Jaidi demonstrates NT in 2O2O position

Next post we will look at fading the NT.

PART 2C(i) - 2O2O as a discrete exercise (away from contacts)

Objective

Teaching the stop as a separate exercise concentrating on motivation and body positioning

How?

Building on rear end awareness work, using equipment such as a step and contact trainer, moving from shaped front paws to all 4 paws on to just rear end (back 2 paws).

The advantage of using small and portable equipment is ability to practice regularly and in different places. Eventually the rear end position (2O2O) position is transferred to contact equipment.

Gym step make a lightweight portable trainer for teaching 2O2O

Total Time

1 months

Stages

Shaping the front paws on

The goal is to have the dog putting both feet on the step with a high degree of motivation. Start introducing the step and without luring allow the dog to interact with it. Gradually they will move from a passing interest, to nose investigation to one paw and finally both paws. It’s important not to lure or label this behaviour (with a command), but rely on dogs natural inquisitiveness and desire to earn reward.

When they are consistently hitting 8 / 10 two paws on in desired times (see article from 10^th November 2011), move on to shaping all 4 paws.

All four paws on

Now the criteria is raised to shaping all 4 paws on, rewarding for speed and remaining in the stand position. Again don’t label the position with a command as this is an intermediate behaviour towards a final objective. Shaping achieves the higher motivation and the dog is ‘learning’.

Rear end position

The final part of this part of the exercise is to shape movement from all 4 paws on, to the 2O2O position, i.e. 2 front paws on floor, back 2 on step. Again shape this behaviour (you might find this the most difficult stage). When the dog has achieved this, now label the end result with a command. Personally I use ‘there’ but any command which is unique to the requirement for 2O2O is fine. Eventually you will find that the command signals to the dog ‘go and find a contact and put back legs on’ which is easier than lifting them on every time in the long run!

Jaidi demonstrates position on the step

Discussion

Why not just teach this position to start? Well of course one can, but in my experience a higher motivation is achieved by going through the stages as we are more concerned (with the earlier sections) of motivation and speed rather then perfecting the final position (which comes later).

Transferring to contact

Now the dog is exposed to the end of the contact. This can either be achieved with the help of a small contact trainer, or by simply using a lower height dog walk. If the previous exercises have been taught, we will find that the dog loves to put rear legs on the contact, i.e. transferring the work done at home to our dog walk (or AF if desired).

  A contact trainer is an excellent way to transfer position 

between a step and full contact equipment

Without even putting the dog across a piece of contact equipment, the ‘hardest part’ i.e. getting the contact is mostly now taught in a motivating way and at limited risk of falling and putting the dog off.

Reinforcing body position

Once we have worked through the position exercises, we can start to perfect the position which should be forward focused (builds drive and focus for next obstacle). The posts from 10 to 19^th November described using nose touches. This discipline allows us to join the 2O2O position to forward focus at distance.

 Jaidi transferring 2O2O position 

from step to contact trainer

The next posts will discuss this forward focus, reinforcing the 2O2O position and eventually fading the NT in readiness for putting the whole contact exercise together.