So here I am in the dead of winter. The backyard is frozen, agility trials are scarce, and the dogs are going crazy. I usually try to fit in a training session each night, but to be honest, I've been a bit lazy, so we keep practicing the same tricks over and over. I decided it was time to get our brains in gear and try some new stuff.
When I was thinking of what to teach, I figured it might be a good idea to teach something useful. Why not teach the dogs to put their toys away?? Chad's always complaining that I don't clean up as much as I should, so I'll just pass that duty along to the dogs!
Trick training is a great mental workout for dogs, but it is also equally challenging for the human. Each dog learns differently and has unique strengths and weaknesses. Shaping is like a puzzle: you need to figure out how to split the behaviors just right so that the dog can be successful and maintain motivation.
I first started this endeavor with Breeze. Breeze is a workaholic and a quick learner. She generalizes well and has a very good memory. The main challenge with putting toys away is that it requires the dog to manipulate another object. So far, most of my training has revolved around Breeze moving her body. When I give a cue, it usually means to do something with her body. When I tell her to go out and jump, it means run towards the obstacle, jump over the obstacle, and come back. Not run to the obstacle, move the obstacle 5 feet away, and come back.
The closest thing Breeze knows about manipulating an object is fetch, so I started with this. I put a basket in front of me, threw a toy, and when she brought it back, I clicked for dropping it close to the basket. Now one tiny hiccup in this matter is that previously, I had trained Breeze to put her feet in a bowl. Unfortunately (or fortunately) she generalized this to the basket and whenever she came back, she put her front feet in the basket. After a few sessions, the toy was dropping in the basket along with her feet, but she wasn't really understanding that it was the toy that was supposed to be in the basket, not her feet. Finally, after about a week of training, she finally got this concept and the rest was downhill. I added distance between myself and the basket and added more toys. She generalized beautifully to other objects and this is what I got:
Zoe was a different story and challenge. Zoe is a confident but inhibited dog. She plays with her toys gently whereas Breeze tears them apart. She fetches, but only with objects that really excite her. Bring in the squeaky tennis ball! Zoe is very paw oriented and when I ask her to interact with a toy, she is more likely to paw it than mouth it. But a ball that squeaks is much more fun to chomp on, so I started with this. Zoe didn't grow up with shaping training (due to a novice trainer), so she will wait and wait and wait patiently until asked to do something. I wanted her to get the idea that a ball dropping in the basket equals treats. So I literally had to sit there with the ball above the basket, have her grab it, and let gravity drop it in the basket. Over and over and over and over again. This lasted for quite a few sessions and for a while there, I was a little worried she wasn't going to get it. But SLOWLY I moved the basket away to the side and low and behold she turned her head to drop it in. Once she made a solid connection that ball in basket = treat, it became much easier to increase the distance of the basket and have success. We are now at the point where I can throw the ball a few feet and she will retrieve it and bring it to the basket. Yay! Success! However, when I introduced a NEW object (i.e. a stuffed toy), we practically had to start over at step A and repeat the whole process. I am sure the process will be speedier, but it still demonstrates the vast differences in how my two dogs learn. Here is Zoe's progress so far:
My goal is to continue teaching new tricks regularly. For me, the hardest part is choosing a trick and figuring out where to start with the training. For Breeze, the next trick will be wrapping herself in a blanket and after one session, she is catching on fast!
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