Post by Aussienot on Apr 30, 2006 1:34:33 GMT -5
It's really simple.
Step one – get yourself a Golden Retriever and throw something.
Step two – wait for the dog to bring it back to you
Step three – repeat.
Just kidding, sort of. If your dog is a natural retriever, you will find many of these steps unnecessary and wonder what all the fuss it about.
If your dog is not Lassie, exhibits absolutely no instinctive carrying behaviors (ie, a sight hound) or it just of the attitude ‘I don't need no stinking dumbbell’ (ie, a sight hound) here is one way to teach a spectacular formal obedience retrieve. Just be prepared for a very long training process if your dog is 'retrieve-resistant'.
The foundation: Step one is to build desire. You must convince the dog that he wants the dumbbell. I found the easiest way to do this is to tether the dog, and play with the dumbbell just out of his range. And I mean just ½ inch outside the circle he can reach with the tether. Don’t look at the dog; look at the amazing highly desirable dumbbell. Play with it, throw it in the air, move it around, be happy playing with your dumbbell, the best toy ever. After a few minutes, put the dumbbell away, and with no words put the dog outside or in another room or crate him – in short, ignore him for a while afterwards.
Do this several times a day. Stop when the dog starts to get excited as soon as you bring out the dumbbell. With Finn, this step took about three weeks. Only play the dumbbell game with your dog while you are teaching the retrieve. Make this the most fun he has all day.
The connection: Step two is teaching the dog that the dumbbell has something to do with rewards. Play the same moving the dumbbell around game, but occasionally put it within the area that the dog can reach. Play ‘keep away’. Don’t let him reach it but, tease him with it as if he could grab it and see if he tries to snap at it. Have some really good treats and reward every attempt to get the dumbbell with a food treat. Play this way, exchanging a treat for every honest attempt to grab the dumbbell until he knows the game and is consistently trying to grab it. This is the step where you put the command of fetch, or get it, or whatever word you choose.
The mouth touch: Step three is to un-tether the dog and start playing for real. Continue to play the ‘keep away’ game, and whip the dumbbell around in the air as quickly as possible. Always push the dumbbell away from the dog (never push it towards the dog) and really try to pull it back before he can grab it. Anytime he does get his mouth on it, praise and reward. Most dogs will be most successful at grabbing it if you hold it slightly above their heads.
You need to separate you the keep away player who wants to win from you the trainer who wants the dog to win. Letting him win will destroy your retrieve in the long term.
End the session when he has had three mouth touches that the dog honestly worked for; or when three minutes has passed, which ever comes first. Each game should only last three minutes, as you want to stop the game while the dog still wants to play Enthusiasm is built by drive which is enhanced by frustration.
Context: Step four- Once the dog understands the game of mouth on dumbbell = treat, and knows the fetch command, shift the context of the game. Sometime hold it very low near his feet so that he has to bend down, sometimes hold it slanted so that he needs to cock his head to hit the bar. Only reward touches to the bar, not the bells. Make him move toward his left and right. Make him move forward to get it. If you’ve only been playing inside, move outside. This is the stage where you can actually drop the dumbbell and get the dog to pick it up off the ground.
The Hold – Step five. The hold is one of the hardest behaviors to build. Traditional training says stick the dumbbell in the dog’s mouth and hold it shut. This really doesn’t work for the non-retriever. If your dog would hold a dumbbell you wouldn’t be taking this long to teach the retrieve. So a lot of patience is needed here. Time spent on this step is a good investment.
I built a hold by simply delaying the time between his mouth touching the bar and delivering the treat. This is one time that a bridge such as a clicker is very helpful. You can click, or mark the mouth grab with your bridge, p a u s e .., and treat.
Gradually, and I mean in nanoseconds, increase the pause between the mouth grab and the treat. If your dog starts dropping the dumbbell, you’ve delayed too much too quickly. Back up a step. You need to skirt that fine line between the maximum time he can hold the dumbbell and the time that he drops it. When you are exchanging the dumbbell for the treat, always push gently towards the dog to remove the dumbbell. This will incite his opposition reflex, so that he starts pushing the dumbbell towards you.
If he does drop it, do nothing. Stare at the dumbbell. Quietly wait to see if he picks it up again. If he doesn’t, leave the dumbbell there and quietly put the dog away by himself to process what just happened. The new rule is dumbbell drops, game ends and he loses your attention. From now on the dog is responsible for picking up. Of course, the next time you play, go back a few steps on how long you want him to hold it.
Remember in step four you taught him to pick it up from the ground. Eventually, if he does drop it and he spontaneously picks it back up, jackpot reward and rejoice. A recovered drop keeps the game going.
Stay on step five for as long as it takes for the dog to able to hold the dumbbell 20 -30 seconds.
Hold and move – Step six. Teach the dog to hold onto the dumbbell while moving. Simply take a step backwards before you take the dumbbell from the dog. Most dogs will open their mouths when they start walking, and most are surprised when the dumbbell falls out. This is why you teach the pick-it-up-when-you-drop-it first. Keep taking steps backwards until the dog is carrying the dumbbell a few steps.
Sit in front – step seven. At this point, your dog is grabbing the dumbbell from your hand or from the ground, holding it, walking a few steps and pushing the dumbbell toward you in expectation of reward. Now is the time to ask for a sit before taking the dumbbell.
Repeat this step for as long as it takes to become a pattern. This is 90% of the difficult part. If you can have the dog enthusiastic and reliable up to step seven you are well on your way to having the perfect retrieve.
The run out – step eight This one is surprisingly easy and quick. Instead of holding the dumbbell, toss it a foot or so and let your dog jump on it. Once he’s good at that, throw it two feet, then three . . . . Etc. Once he’s going a bit of a distance, start running backwards yourself to trigger the chase mode in your dog. He should already be bringing it back pretty quickly, but a rocket retrieve looks better.
The stay- step nine. This one is also easy. Simply tell your dog to stay before throwing the dumbbell. You may want to gently hold the collar the first few times, but if you don’t have a solid stay, work on that separately from the retrieve. The retrieve is always positive and you never ever correct any step of it. If the dog fails, your training missed a step somewhere. Back up and fix it before trying again.
Putting it all together – step ten. This is where you see the finished results of your hard work. Work on extending the time he sits in front of you with the dumbbell. Walk around him in a circle before taking it. Put him in a sit stay, walk to the end of your long line, and drop the dumbbell half way between you. See if he will ‘come-fetch’. Do retrieves in different places and weather conditions, and retrieve different items - balls, other toys, your hat or gloves. Retrieve on flat surfaces, in tall grass and on dirt and sand.
Congratulations, your non-retriever is now retrieving.
Step one – get yourself a Golden Retriever and throw something.
Step two – wait for the dog to bring it back to you
Step three – repeat.
Just kidding, sort of. If your dog is a natural retriever, you will find many of these steps unnecessary and wonder what all the fuss it about.
If your dog is not Lassie, exhibits absolutely no instinctive carrying behaviors (ie, a sight hound) or it just of the attitude ‘I don't need no stinking dumbbell’ (ie, a sight hound) here is one way to teach a spectacular formal obedience retrieve. Just be prepared for a very long training process if your dog is 'retrieve-resistant'.
The foundation: Step one is to build desire. You must convince the dog that he wants the dumbbell. I found the easiest way to do this is to tether the dog, and play with the dumbbell just out of his range. And I mean just ½ inch outside the circle he can reach with the tether. Don’t look at the dog; look at the amazing highly desirable dumbbell. Play with it, throw it in the air, move it around, be happy playing with your dumbbell, the best toy ever. After a few minutes, put the dumbbell away, and with no words put the dog outside or in another room or crate him – in short, ignore him for a while afterwards.
Do this several times a day. Stop when the dog starts to get excited as soon as you bring out the dumbbell. With Finn, this step took about three weeks. Only play the dumbbell game with your dog while you are teaching the retrieve. Make this the most fun he has all day.
The connection: Step two is teaching the dog that the dumbbell has something to do with rewards. Play the same moving the dumbbell around game, but occasionally put it within the area that the dog can reach. Play ‘keep away’. Don’t let him reach it but, tease him with it as if he could grab it and see if he tries to snap at it. Have some really good treats and reward every attempt to get the dumbbell with a food treat. Play this way, exchanging a treat for every honest attempt to grab the dumbbell until he knows the game and is consistently trying to grab it. This is the step where you put the command of fetch, or get it, or whatever word you choose.
The mouth touch: Step three is to un-tether the dog and start playing for real. Continue to play the ‘keep away’ game, and whip the dumbbell around in the air as quickly as possible. Always push the dumbbell away from the dog (never push it towards the dog) and really try to pull it back before he can grab it. Anytime he does get his mouth on it, praise and reward. Most dogs will be most successful at grabbing it if you hold it slightly above their heads.
You need to separate you the keep away player who wants to win from you the trainer who wants the dog to win. Letting him win will destroy your retrieve in the long term.
End the session when he has had three mouth touches that the dog honestly worked for; or when three minutes has passed, which ever comes first. Each game should only last three minutes, as you want to stop the game while the dog still wants to play Enthusiasm is built by drive which is enhanced by frustration.
Context: Step four- Once the dog understands the game of mouth on dumbbell = treat, and knows the fetch command, shift the context of the game. Sometime hold it very low near his feet so that he has to bend down, sometimes hold it slanted so that he needs to cock his head to hit the bar. Only reward touches to the bar, not the bells. Make him move toward his left and right. Make him move forward to get it. If you’ve only been playing inside, move outside. This is the stage where you can actually drop the dumbbell and get the dog to pick it up off the ground.
The Hold – Step five. The hold is one of the hardest behaviors to build. Traditional training says stick the dumbbell in the dog’s mouth and hold it shut. This really doesn’t work for the non-retriever. If your dog would hold a dumbbell you wouldn’t be taking this long to teach the retrieve. So a lot of patience is needed here. Time spent on this step is a good investment.
I built a hold by simply delaying the time between his mouth touching the bar and delivering the treat. This is one time that a bridge such as a clicker is very helpful. You can click, or mark the mouth grab with your bridge, p a u s e .., and treat.
Gradually, and I mean in nanoseconds, increase the pause between the mouth grab and the treat. If your dog starts dropping the dumbbell, you’ve delayed too much too quickly. Back up a step. You need to skirt that fine line between the maximum time he can hold the dumbbell and the time that he drops it. When you are exchanging the dumbbell for the treat, always push gently towards the dog to remove the dumbbell. This will incite his opposition reflex, so that he starts pushing the dumbbell towards you.
If he does drop it, do nothing. Stare at the dumbbell. Quietly wait to see if he picks it up again. If he doesn’t, leave the dumbbell there and quietly put the dog away by himself to process what just happened. The new rule is dumbbell drops, game ends and he loses your attention. From now on the dog is responsible for picking up. Of course, the next time you play, go back a few steps on how long you want him to hold it.
Remember in step four you taught him to pick it up from the ground. Eventually, if he does drop it and he spontaneously picks it back up, jackpot reward and rejoice. A recovered drop keeps the game going.
Stay on step five for as long as it takes for the dog to able to hold the dumbbell 20 -30 seconds.
Hold and move – Step six. Teach the dog to hold onto the dumbbell while moving. Simply take a step backwards before you take the dumbbell from the dog. Most dogs will open their mouths when they start walking, and most are surprised when the dumbbell falls out. This is why you teach the pick-it-up-when-you-drop-it first. Keep taking steps backwards until the dog is carrying the dumbbell a few steps.
Sit in front – step seven. At this point, your dog is grabbing the dumbbell from your hand or from the ground, holding it, walking a few steps and pushing the dumbbell toward you in expectation of reward. Now is the time to ask for a sit before taking the dumbbell.
Repeat this step for as long as it takes to become a pattern. This is 90% of the difficult part. If you can have the dog enthusiastic and reliable up to step seven you are well on your way to having the perfect retrieve.
The run out – step eight This one is surprisingly easy and quick. Instead of holding the dumbbell, toss it a foot or so and let your dog jump on it. Once he’s good at that, throw it two feet, then three . . . . Etc. Once he’s going a bit of a distance, start running backwards yourself to trigger the chase mode in your dog. He should already be bringing it back pretty quickly, but a rocket retrieve looks better.
The stay- step nine. This one is also easy. Simply tell your dog to stay before throwing the dumbbell. You may want to gently hold the collar the first few times, but if you don’t have a solid stay, work on that separately from the retrieve. The retrieve is always positive and you never ever correct any step of it. If the dog fails, your training missed a step somewhere. Back up and fix it before trying again.
Putting it all together – step ten. This is where you see the finished results of your hard work. Work on extending the time he sits in front of you with the dumbbell. Walk around him in a circle before taking it. Put him in a sit stay, walk to the end of your long line, and drop the dumbbell half way between you. See if he will ‘come-fetch’. Do retrieves in different places and weather conditions, and retrieve different items - balls, other toys, your hat or gloves. Retrieve on flat surfaces, in tall grass and on dirt and sand.
Congratulations, your non-retriever is now retrieving.