Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Handling Drills

Summary. In the morning at the neighborhood lacrosse field:
  • Series A. Handling drill (Lumi only)
  • Series B. Handling drill (both dogs)
Series A. MTD with no Q1/Q3, 70-50-60 yards. Time was short, and Lumi seems to need more confidence on her handling, so I just ran Lumi on this series.

Series B. MTD with no Q1/Q3, 70-50-60 yards.

Laddie's grade: B. Excellent lining, WS, casting, returns. Only problems: He dropped one dummy during a delivery, and he started chewing grass when he got to the 4th pick-up.

Lumi's grade: A-. Excellent lining, WS, returns (galloping, not trotting). Casting was accurate but sometimes hesitant. Whereas Laddie appears to view the cast as a release, Lumi seems to think about it before she responds.

In addition, Lumi slipped one whistle, when she had overrun the flag, then spotted it as she turned when I whistled. I blew WS again, insisting that she sit even though she could see the blind in front of her, then whistled come-in to the pick-up and return. I wonder whether that was the appropriate way to deal with the slipped whistle.

Building Motivation with Food. I seem to fluctuate back and forth between training with versus without food. I don't know what the right answer is with Laddie, though I suspect that food is no longer a useful reinforcer for his field training. In fact, it may well be counterproductive, leading for example to dropped articles as he anticipates the treat.

But with Lumi, I think I see it differently. Lumi has trained nearly every day of her life, often for hours per day, and for the first three years of her life, I primarily used food for reinforcement. Over the last year, it seems that each time I fade food from our field training, on the grounds that it's not helpful with Laddie's training, Lumi gradually becomes less motivated, especially on land retrieves. Then something makes me decide to bring some high value treats out, and within a few sessions, Lumi's enthusiasm improves dramatically, without any noticeable drop in quality of performance (such as dropped articles).

My tentative conclusion is that I should use treats with Lumi but not with Laddie.

3 comments:

AiSpeak said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
AiSpeak said...

Hi, Lindsay. I noticed that too with food. Finn seems to be both food and toy motivated; with the case of retrieving, he is retrieving/play motivated. Finn holds the dummy/object and it has been our experience that working w/o a treat has been more effective in our retrieving training, retrieving itself has been a great reinforcer. But when I bring out the treat as he is coming back holding the object in his mouth, Finn comes back in front of me and drops it on my foot as soon as he sees me taking out a treat before returning heel position.

As I was assessing the situation, it made me reconsider what I was doing, maybe it would be better for me to mark it when he finishes on my left with object still in mouth... then I bring out the treat? Hmm...

Would you please illuminate the cue words you actually use for training Lumi & Laddie on the retrieving? In training Lumi (Retriever Zen video) I noticed that you use "Back" and "Give it" but what is the importance & difference of the two cues? You use "here" as the cue for recall, mark it, then let her get the treat with a high value treat.

Thank you!
~Aiko & Finnegan

Lindsay, with Lumi & Laddie said...

A: Maybe it would be better for me to mark it when he finishes on my left with object still in mouth... then I bring out the treat?

L: Hi, Aiko. A marker, such as a click or "yes", is a secondary reinforcer, which in turn is a bridge to the primary reinforcer. But as you point out, the primary reinforcer is the retrieve itself, in this case, the next retrieve. The only reason for a marker is for precision, to make it clear to the dog what he is being reinforced for. It is an invaluable tool when needed, but you may find that Finn is equally motivated and responsive whether you use a marker of some sort in this situation or not. The same goes for the treat.

Some dogs have trouble giving up the bird. It can be so serious that it can ruin the dog's career, so if that problem starts to develop, address it quickly. Others tend to let go too soon and the article drops to the ground before you have a good grip. You can address that with a training technique I call a walk off. Please let me know if you want more detail.

A: Would you please illuminate the cue words you actually use for training Lumi & Laddie on the retrieving? In training Lumi (Retriever Zen video) I noticed that you use "Back" and "Give it" but what is the importance & difference of the two cues? You use "here" as the cue for recall, mark it, then let her get the treat with a high value treat.

L: I am still learning, and may not have used the same terminology on older videos that I'd use now. During a retrieve, I think these are the terms you'd use:

* At the line, "heel" and "here" are typically used to line the dog up.
* When the dog is lined up, "sit, mark".
* To release the dog to a mark, the dog's name, for example: "Finn".
* When the dog has the article, a whistle recall.
* To cue the dog not to drop the bird while coming to heel: "hold"
* To cue the dog to release the bird and pull his head away: "out" (some people say "give")
* To cue the dog to pick the bird back up if he drops it prematurely: "fetch" or "fetch it up". My dogs have a quirky cue for this, "give it".
* To send the dog from heel toward a blind, "back".
* To handle the dog (change his direction): whistle sit, then a cast consisting of a visual cue with arms accompanied by "back", "over", a recall whistle, or silence.
* During training but not in an event:
-- To call the dog back from an wrong initial line: "no, here". This tends to be demotivating to the dog, so it may be better to just WS and cast.
-- For a partial come in after 2-3 refused casts: "here".

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