If you are following along the classroom blog for either foundations and/or reactivity here is what we will work on this week!

FOUNDATIONS:

More on Marker work! So last week we talked about using a clicker to play the box game. This week we are going to talk about using Reinforcement Markers and what that means!

Above you see the examples of using a clicker or a word as a marker.

• A marker is not the same as praise. Praise is what comes after the marker as a type of reinforcement.

• A marker is to pin point behaviors! So if for example you asked your dog to lay down, and they lay down but before you can get their cookie to them, they pop up, they might actually be learning to believe the game is to quickly pop up after a down, when what we actually want is to reinforce the down. So a marker allows us to catch that moment with that sound before they have a chance to move.

• Remember for a marker to work, it must first be conditioned!

• In these examples you see me: cue a position, mark with either a click or a “yes” then reward and praise.

Here is an exercise we are going to work on together in class. Doing our “puppy push ups”: sits, downs & stands. Focusing on marking and rewarding each position.

We will be working more on bringing play into our training as both a reward and a tool to use to work while our dog is excited! So keep playing with those toys and have a few ready for using in class! If your dog doesn’t play with toys see what you could use that could hold some food. Maybe a little cloth toiletry bag, sunglasses case, small plastic container.

PUPPY PUSH UPS:

If your pup does not yet know sit, down & stand here is a video demo showing me Luring Leo into each position.

Notice my hands:

• They stay in contact with his nose the whole time

• The move slowly and fluidly so he can keep contact with my hand

• For the sit the hand raised up above his nose

• For the down the hand lowers to the ground where his front paws will need to be to lay down, note my palm rotates so the palm is towards the ground so his nose is pushing under my hand which helps his head tuck more.

• For the stand my fingers curl up as I raise my hand so he is pushing his nose over my hand, this arches his neck creating the stand. if that doesn’t work you can also move your hand up and away so they need to walk to follow it.

If you struggle with the down be sure to visit the Foundation modules for more details. This video might also help as it shows many different ways to get a dog down:

Reactivity:

• We will be focusing on teaching our dogs the management skill of flow feeding (continuous reinforcement, magnet hand) for when we need to redirect our dog away from a trigger.

• Use a handful of small easy to dole out treats. Kibbles work great. Small round is the easiest shape to feed out your fingers.

• The goal is to keep your dog’s nose in contact with the hand the whole time, if they pull away be sure to give treats more quickly.

• Practice until you can walk around your house inside without losing contact with their nose and then add in a verbal cue to stick to your hand.

• It seems simple, but it actually takes some practice to sort out how to do it without dropping all of your treats or having the dogs eat them all at once.

We will also be talking about different ways to help you the reactive dog handers decompress and get centered!