With most commands that we teach, the teaching starts well in advance of the final objective. We need to make sure that we take small baby steps that never put a lot of pressure on the dog, that are easy for the dog to understand, and that allows us to win along the way.
So how do I teach remote sit?
If puppy didn’t sit even with repeated verbals, there are two options. One, did you take shortcuts on steps 1-3? If so, you may want to slow down a bit and make sure that puppy is very comfortable up to step 3. If you truly feel that puppy is ready for step 4, then at this point I will pick puppy up, put him back where I originally gave the sit command, give the sit command again, and then immediately praise and reward. I may need to repeat this several times for puppy to understand the concept. Note: make sure you are starting out close enough that you can quickly pick puppy up and move him to the area where you first issued the command. A lot of people start out with too great of distance, and that creates issues.
Once puppy is sitting reliably inside of the imaginary 10’ circle, I you can then begin to increase that distance. Never too much at once...just gradually ask for the sit farther and farther away from you.
5. If you followed steps 1-4 carefully, you should now have a puppy that will sit sharply at a distance. Step 5 would be to remote sit with a distraction. While puppy is sitting by my side on a Cato Board, I will throw a retrieve and send the puppy (I’m making the assumption that by this point they have been taught to wait until sent). Almost immediately after sending the puppy, I will give a sit command. If your timing is right, puppy should immediately sit and look at you. I then issue a verbal praise and the reward is to be sent for the retrieve. I don’t want to overdo this drill as it can cause the puppy to begin stopping on retrieves in anticipation of the sit command. However, I do like this drill because it shows me that puppy understands that when I say sit, it means to sit regardless of what other agenda puppy might have had in mind.
You might choose to use other distractions besides a retrieve (a dog in an adjacent yard, a bowl of food across the house, etc). Whatever distraction you use, be sure to make sure you start out asking for the remote sit at a close distance before you stretch it out. Remember, we want to win every time!
General Notes:
Teaching remote sits doesn’t have to be difficult, but it definitely takes patience and a good game plan. Take your time, enjoy the process, and before long you’ll have a companion that has a strong remote sit and is ready to move on to more advanced training!
]]>Before I describe how I introduce dogs to the Cato Board, let me first say that I want my dogs’ first experience with the Cato Board to be POSITIVE. I don’t want them to feel any pressure, or in any way feel that it is a negative object/place. This is so important because later on I want them to view drills off of the Cato Board as enjoyable experiences, not as something they are being forced to do against their will. It all starts with seeing the Cato Board as something they WANT to be on.
In my experience training dogs, the concepts I use almost always have a direct correlation to human behavior. In the case of the Cato Board introduction, let me correlate it to youth sports. I have two boys that are very enthusiastic about their sports, so I’ve spent a large amount of time at sports practices over the last several years. During that time, my boys have had some incredible coaches as well as some coaches that were, well, frustrating. One thing that I’ve noticed from the great coaches is that they made it FUN right from the start. They made it so that the boys wanted to be there; to the point that it was the highlight of their week. As the boys get older, the practices have become increasingly more demanding and technical, but they certainly didn’t start out that way. Instead, the coaches created a joy for the game when they were young that is carrying them through the more demanding practices as they get older. If this process had been reversed, the results would have been, without a doubt, much different. Burnout, frustration, lack of effort, and eventually quitting would have been the much more likely result if the boys had coaches that were demanding early on. This concept is crucial when we look at a dog’s early introductions to the Cato Board.
Once the previously mentioned concept is understood, the application is quite easy. I like to introduce the Cato Boards early in a puppy’s life (although it’s not hard to introduce it for the first time with an adult dog as well). In order to make the Cato Board fun and exciting, it has to be associated early on with something that the pup likes. Typically, that’s either eating a treat or retrieving a toy. It’s up to you as the trainer to figure out which will work best for the particular puppy that you’re working with. If the puppy doesn’t particularly get excited about retrieving a toy, it may be best to start out with a treat.
If using the Retrieve Method, I like to kneel next to the Cato Board and encourage the puppy to chase the toy around in a small figure-eight on top of the Cato Board. When the puppy is enthusiastically trying to grab the toy, I’ll give the toy a little toss so that the puppy can retrieve it. I almost always start out in a hallway for this game, and I keep the retrieves short. Remember, we’re working on making the Cato Board exciting, not on lengthening retrieves.
While initially the puppy might not even notice that he is on the Cato Board, within a few sessions he’ll likely start to associate the Cato Board as the starting point for that fun game he gets to play with you. Before long he should start jumping on the Cato Board of his own accord, trying to start the game. At this point, it’s time for you to introduce the “place” command. As the puppy is about to hop on the Cato Board, use the “place” command. Again, initially he won’t understand what the word means, but before long he’ll associate it with the action of hopping on the Cato Board. At this point, you can also start to ask for a little more by waiting to throw the retrieve until his bottom touches the Cato Board. By doing this, the puppy will very quickly learn to jump on the Cato Board, sit, and then focus his attention on you. That is exactly what you want!
A couple of notes regarding the retrieve method for introducing the Cato Board: (1) these retrieving sessions are SHORT. Literally only two or three retrieves per session. I like to end with the puppy chasing the toy in my hand, and then the toy going in my pocket. (2) Be sure to use a toy or object that the puppy ENJOYS retrieving. We want this to be fun!
The Treat Method is pretty straightforward. If I’m using this method, I’ll first make the puppy aware that I have a treat in my hands. If he is treat-driven, you should have his FULL attention once he understands you’re holding a treat. At this point, he may start jumping up on you. Don’t respond to the behavior, instead position your body so that the Cato Board is right in front of you. When the puppy jumps on the Cato Board to get to the treat, immediately reward him with the treat. Repeat this routine several times, until the puppy is comfortable with using the Cato Board to get close to your hand. Then, take it a step further by requiring the puppy to sit on the Cato Board until it gets the treat. Usually it takes some patience on the part of the trainer to get the puppy to sit on the Cato Board. Be sure that as SOON as the puppy sits on the Cato Board that you IMMEDIATELY mark the behavior by giving him the treat. This should go faster and faster each time. Fairly quickly, you will be able to start overlaying the “place” command with the action of getting on the Cato Board.
A couple of notes regarding the treat method for introducing the Cato Board: (1) It should go without saying, but make sure it’s a treat the puppy likes. (2) Use small treats - it doesn’t have to be a mouthful each time. (3) I don’t like to use the treat method for extended periods of time; the sooner you can move away from treats and start rewarding with retrieves, weave poles, etc, the better. Remember, we want the dog to see the Cato Board as the start of fun games, not as the final step in getting a treat.
Future blog posts will discuss how to start building on this initial Cato Board foundation, but it all starts right here. Make it fun, make it clear, and enjoy the process!
Happy training, and as always, let us know if you have any additional comments or questions!
]]>Here is a list of some of the rules I follow when creating retrieve drive in my puppies.
1) LESS IS MORE. Young dogs shouldn't be made to retrieve so much that it becomes a job. This should be an easy concept for us to understand because the same concept applies to humans. If you get too much of a good thing, it will cease to be a good thing. We want to keep puppies EXCITED about retrieving, which means they should only get a few retrieves in each session. We want to end each session with the puppy wanting more. If you end when the puppy gets disinterested, that means you did too many retrieves! Next time, make sure you stop sooner.
2) Use an object that the puppy really likes. If your puppy doesn't like a hard retrieving dummy, then don't use it. We want retrieving to be exciting and fun for them! My favorite retrieving items for a puppy are a tennis ball (sometimes a small one for a young puppy), knotted up rag, or soft canvas dummy.
3) Keep it small. For a young dog, I want the retrieves to be very short and easy. That means I usually start out in a hallway, and sometimes I use only half of the hallway. The last thing I want to do is go outside and throw a long retrieve for a puppy. That's frequently going to end badly because the puppy is going to get distracted and forget about the retrieve, or it's going to struggle to find the retrieve and lose interest. Short, easy, and FUN are good things to remember here!
4) Intelligent praise. If the objective for your puppy is to retrieve an object to your hand, don't offer praise for other behaviors. I frequently see people praising their puppy when it is not retrieving, hoping this will cause the puppy to retrieve. It rarely works this way. We want to make sure we are offering praise at the right moment, and that the praise stops when the correct behavior stops.
5) Isolated training. Before a retrieving session with a puppy, I always start with the puppy in the crate for a period of time (maybe 30 minutes), then I do the retrieving, then the puppy goes back into the crate. Trust me on this - if you isolate the retrieving session, you'll get more effort out of your puppy.
6) Don't ask for too much. Whenever we ask our puppy to do something that isn't natural, it's a form of pressure on the puppy. Demanding a perfect delivery from a puppy is most likely going to be counter productive as the pressure will sap the fun out of the retrieving. I take what I can get on the delivery, and slowly work on making it better over MONTHS of retrieving games, not in one session.
7) Don't reach. Can you imagine a 100 LB hand reaching into your face to take something out of your mouth? Intimidating to say the least. This is the perspective for a puppy when you shove your hand in its face. This frequently causes dropping the object short, or avoidance. My suggestion is to instead call the puppy back into a Cato Board, or to your knee (assuming you're crouched down to the puppy's level) and THEN take the take the retrieve. This way, the puppy isn't feeling the pressure of the hand, but is instead is being called back to a positive, inviting place.
8) Implement the Cato Board early on. Even with an 8 week old puppy, I start giving them retrieves off of a Cato Board. Initially they may not even be aware that they are on the Cato Board, but fairly quickly they will understand that when they hop onto the Cato Board, it leads to games with you. This will serve them well throughout life as many advanced games (drills) will happen off of the Cato Board throughout their life.
While each puppy is unique, following these rules will help your puppy to develop into an adult dog that loves retrieving. Good luck and happy training!
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