Teaching the motivational retrieve, part two
In the opening installment of this article, I covered a very detailed plan for teaching the first step in the clicker retrieve: taking the dumbbell. This installment gives a brief overview of the rest of the training process, followed by a somewhat more detailed training plan. Part Three of this article will conclude with troubleshooting/ Q&A.
Clicker retrieve training: overview
Step 1: Teach the dog to take the dumbbell in his mouth.
Step 2: Teach the dog to pick the dumbbell up off the floor.
Step 3: Teach the dog to bring the dumbbell from a short distance.
Step 4: Teach the dog to bring the dumbbell from a short distance and deliver it to your hand.
Step 5: Teach the dog to sit in front and wait for you to take the dumbbell from him.
Step 6: Teach finishing touches such as getting the dog to go out further for the dumbbell, using the heavier Schutzhund dumbbell, retrieving, straight sit, etc.
Training tips
This part of the Motivational Retrieve article will challenge you more as a trainer than the last, because I am providing only a step-by-step plan rather than a detailed description of what to do. Play around with it. This is a training guideline, not a method set in stone.
If you think you can change it to help your dog, please do so (and by the way, if this works, send me your ideas!). This is only one of many possible methods for teaching the retrieve with a clicker.
If you are interested in teaching the exercise this way, my personal recommendation is to work on taking and picking up the dumbbell until the dog develops the habit of gleefully snatching it at every opportunity; then proceed to the other steps of the exercise. If your dog knows he always loves to pick up that dumbbell, the exercise will be much less likely to fall apart during its later stages should you make a mistake or lose your temper. As with all training, your goal is to slowly shift the picture for the dog, not to change your requirements so suddenly that he stops working out of confusion. Don t be too demanding; if your dog has trouble with something, back up and help him out. Chances are that plain and simple confusion is at the root of the problem.
Be patient and don t panic or use force if your dog makes a mistake. If the dog does something wrong, simply withhold the click and treat, then restart the exercise. When I first started to use motivational training, the most difficult thing for me to learn was how to correct problems without using compulsion.
I have found that the best course of action if you start having trouble is to quit for the day. This prevents you from making rash decisions, and it shows the dog that if he messes up (by dropping the dumbbell in the middle of the retrieve, for instance), he loses the chance to play the game with you. If the dog suddenly stops working, end the exercise and try again tomorrow.
Avoid even verbal corrections, with one exception: if you have a fairly hard and enthusiastic dog who is not at all timid about the exercise, and he suddenly does something really bad that he s never tried before (i.e. running away with the dumbbell), a voice correction gauged to the temperament of your dog can be effective.
Don t correct any other circumstances. Doing so will hinder, not help, your training program.
A good guideline for reinforcement in the early stages of training for any exercise is: if the dog does much better than usual, jackpot (give a large handful of treats). If the dog s performance was average, reinforce. If the dog s response was poorer than usual, don t reinforce.
The next step: picking up the dumbbell
So, your loyal pooch will take the dumbbell in his mouth for a few seconds when you hold it out to him. You re starting to feel like a hot dog vending machine and your dog is going to kill you if you don t come up with a little variety, pronto.
Well then, it s time to introduce Rover vom Spot to the idea that he may have to go to the dumbbell; it won t always appear magically in front of his face for the taking. Do you do this by throwing the dumbbell down and expecting him to run and get it? No, you build this behavior brick by brick, just as you did the first.
Start with a simple variation on what the dog is used to doing, which is grabbing the dumbbell while you hold it: simply hold the dumbbell a few feet away from him so that he has to walk towards it in order to take it and earn his C&T (click and treat).
Then, when he will walk up to the dumbbell in your hand in order to get the C&T (remember, YOU don t ever let go of it yet), practice the following exercises, one by one, until you have built the behavior of picking the dumbbell up off the ground.
1) Get the dog to jump up and grab the dumbbell.
2) Hold the dumbbell out to the left and the right and get the dog to walk up and grab it.
3) Hold the dumbbell at his nose level and move it away from him, making him chase it down .
4) Sit down and hold the dumbbell low, maybe a foot off the floor, getting him to reach down and take it.
5) Gradually hold the dumbbell lower and lower until you are actually placing it on the floor but not letting go.
6) Place the dumbbell on the ground in front of you and the dog and let go of it, but keep your hand close to the dumbbell (within a few inches) while he grabs it.
7) Place the dumbbell on the ground and move your hand a little further away each time the dog grabs it for his C&T, until you can simply place the dumbbell on the floor and remove your hand.
Drop the dumbbell on the floor and C&T when he grabs it.
9) Have the dog grab the dumbbell twice for one C&T.
10) Start clicking (and treating) only when he lifts the dumbbell off the ground slightly before dropping it. Jackpot whenever he lifts it higher than usual.
NOTE: The dog will drop the dumbbell as soon as you click, or sometimes even before that. This is totally normal at this point, albeit scary to see if you haven t trained this way before. Don t worry about it. The dog will learn to complete the retrieve without dropping the dumbbell.
11) It s time to change the rules a little; you are no longer going to C&T every time the dog takes the dumbbell. Instead, C&T every time the dog lifts the dumbbell a respectable distance off the floor before dropping it. If he lifts it higher than usual, jackpot. If he gives a substandard performance (doesn t lift it as high as usual), don t reinforce him. Simply ignore him and wait for him to try again.
Bringing the dumbbell
1) Start tossing the dumbbell a few feet away from you and waiting for the dog to pick it up. Only C&T when the dog runs toward you with the dumbbell in his mouth; don t click for walking away with it or picking it up and dropping it in place.
2) When the dog will pick the dropped dumbbell up off the ground and walk towards you with it, start clicking only when the dog brings it all the way to you before dropping it. Remember, at this point don t throw the dumbbell more that 4-5 feet away from you. Distance will come later. If at any time the dog drops or plays with the dumbbell before he gets to you, simply encourage the dog to pick it up again and bring it to you, but don t click and treat. Teach him that that behavior never gets reinforced.
3) Once the dog performs the above exercise consistently, begin to vary your reinforcements a little. Try rewarding one repetition with food, and another with play and praise; start getting the dog to do two retrieves for one C&T. Surprise him with a jackpot now and then.
Delivering the dumbbell to your hand
This is the stage where you teach the dog to place the dumbbell in your hand before dropping it. NOTE: if your dog still drops the dumbbell upon occasion, make sure that you never reinforce him for that behavior. Simply take the dumbbell and repeat the exercise.
