Impulsion control: Crate Games

Susan Garrett pioneered Crate Games, where you teach the dog (using positive training only) to like his crate, to enter upon command, and to have impulse control. Mac lacks big time in impulse control.

See, the thing is, Mac is like a cat: very independent. He has to have a really important reason to do anything you ask. Like food. Thus far, Mac will only work for food. I wish I knew his background! I'd like to know if he's always been as independent of people and as food motivated as he is now. Who taught him to come (which he does when he thinks there is something in it for him)? Did they call him to them and then punish him? Is that why he only comes when he feels like it? I wish I had a professional trainer to help me figure this out, but with the costs associated with the new pup, I can't afford a professional's help.

Anyway, I tried the very basic crate game to day: just entering and turning around and not immediately exiting. At least I got him to the point that he'll down (spot) when he turns around. We'll have to wait to work on duration. Just getting the beginning behavior is enough for now.

So here's the plan:

Cue:     Verbal cue "go in"

Description:     On cue, dog will enter his crate, turn around and either lie down or sit and will await further instructions.

Elements:

Behavior specifics:      Enter crate; turn around; lie down; stay.

Duration:      Behavior terminates at remaining in crate until released (come out).

Distance:      Up to 40 feet.

Latency:      Immediate.

Position:      Dog should go into the crate on command no matter what my position is relative to him or to the crate.

Locations:      Everywhere.

Distractions:      Anything and everything. Especially distractions common in a dog show or performance environment.

Training Plan: (Accomplish each level in multiple locations of gradually increasing distractions.)

1.     Enter the crate.
2.     Turn around and lie down.

3.     Add cue.
4.     Exit crate.
5.     Add cue.

6.     Remain in the down position with the crate door open while I am near the crate.
7.     Close the crate door.
8.     Upon opening the crate door, dog should wait.

9.     Remain in the down position with the crate door open while I move around.

10.  Enter the crate from a distance with cue.
11.   Exit the crate from a distance with cue.

I'll detail what exactly I do to achieve the desired behavior and document it here.

Instructions for crate training Mac:

1. Ideally, Mac will show interest in the crate on his own.
2. If Mac shows any interest in it (looks at it, moves toward it) - Mark and Reward!
3. If necessary, lure him in with rewards. 
4. Give Mac the cue for down (spot). Mac should lie down in crate facing door. Mark and Reward.
5. Allow him to exit on his own. Do not mark or reward exit.
6. Repeat many times, rewarding extravagantly when he goes in, turns around and lies down.
7. Add cue for entering (go in)
8. Add cue for exiting (come out)
9. Mac should wait until given the exit cue before leaving crate. Mark and reward.
10. Build enthusiasm for returning to crate with treats and cue.
11. Send Mac to his crate from a few feet away. Mark and reward.
12. Increase distance. Mark and reward.
13. Mark and reward when Mac comes to me when I give him the exit cue.

Date:               Criterion:                                                 #R/E   #R/E   #R/E

9/8/13              Enter crate                                               15/0   15/0     15/0
                        Turn around in crate and lie down           12/3   13/2     15/0

Let's try "stand"

I decided to use the new clicker to work with today, but Mac's afraid of it. Apparently my treats don't have enough value, because he'd rather leave the room than hear that clicker. I lured him to the clicker (on the floor) and put one of his treats on the clicker, and I even wrapped it to make the click softer, but he's having none of it. So I went back to the old clicker.

Cue:     Verbal cue "stand"

Description:     On cue, dog will stand from any position at the cue "stand" or the hand signal

Elements:

Behavior specifics:      Stand.

Duration:      Behavior terminates when he stands evenly on all four feet.

Distance:      Up to 10 feet.

Latency:      Immediate.

Position:      Dog should stand regardless of the my position relative to him. I should be able to be in any physical position.

Locations:      Everywhere.

Distractions:      Anything and everything. Especially distractions common in a dog show or performance environment.

Training Plan: (Accomplish each level in multiple locations of gradually increasing distractions.)

1.     Lure stand from sit or down (spot) position

2.     Add cue.

3.     Add hand signal.

4.     Say "wait" for dog to remain in standing position

5.     Add distance to cue and hand signal.

6.     Release with cue "okay"
7.     Use hand signal alone close to Mac.
8.     Use hand signal alone adding distance, until I reach 10 feet away.

Instructions for training Mac:

1. Make the reward interesting to him! Let him sniff it as I hold it in my fingers without releasing it.
2. If Mac stands from any position - Mark and Reward!
3. Lure him into a standing position. Mark and reward!
4. After a many rewards, let Mac do it a few times without being rewarded. Then reward again many more times! 
5. Now try it without the lure - Mark and Reward!
6. After a few rewards, let him try it a few times without being rewarded. Then reward again a few more times!
7. When he is reliably standing  (8 out of 10 times at least!) then...and only then...I can add the verbal cue - Stand!
8. Use the verbal cue right before he stands. Mark and reward the next good response. Repeat several times!
9. Present it again, but do not say Stand! Do NOT reward him if he stands. 
10. Repeat steps 9 and 10 until Mac reliably stands only at my command!

Date:               Criterion:                                                 #R/E   #R/E   #R/E

9/7/13              Lured Stand                                             12/4    10/5     15/0

The Little Engine That Could

Remember the story of The Little Engine That Could? It was sure it could pull a heavy train up a mountain, and belief in itself paid off. Well, I feel like the little engine before it started. It started out saying, "I think I can, I think I can."

Mac is really good at sitting or downing, but really slow at getting the connection between lying down (spot) and sitting (sit). I know he can do it, but he seems so dense sometimes, it makes me want to quit.

But quit I won't. I have to remember that I'm ADD, and my own attention span is working against me. I must give him all the time he needs to understand the concept and be patient as I wait for him to solidify the response. He seems to have targeting (touch) down pat, and then suddenly in the middle of doing it correctly, he offers some other behavior, usually with his feet. (Hey, maybe he's ADD, too, and he's tired of offering the same behavior over and over.)

One thing I did was put in a middle step in going from the clicker stick to the target. He would do it well over and over, and then suddenly add his feet to the equation. So I decided the target (a CD case) was too easy for him to use his feet on. Instead of the CD case, that lay on the floor, I substituted a basket with a lid, that was about a foot high. Then when he put his feet on it, I simply said, "Get down." No click, no treat. Then he'd go back to the bumping with his nose.

Jeff had an idea I think I'll try. Walk around the room, touching different things with the clicker stick and asking Mac to touch it. But make it high enough that he doesn't use his feet. I think I'll try it on my next training session.

I've gotten to having a bowl of kibble on my desk with a clicker on top. At random times, I'll call him to me (Mac, come!) and then give the command to sit or lie down (sit or spot). I'm working on extending the time I ask him to remain in position, too. But not by linearly lengthening the time. Instead I'll ask for random periods of time, like: 1 sec, 10 sec, 13 sec, 4 sec, 20 sec, 1 sec, etc. That teaches him to stay in position until I release him.

By the way, I'm using "baby words" to teach him imperfect, beginning behavior. So I say spot instead of down, and I'll transition him to down when his downs are secure. Right now, I'm happy if he'll down (spot) and stay for mere seconds of time. Once I start leaving him in the down position (again transitioning from wait to stay), I'll start using down. He's really good at waiting, but I never ask him to wait more than a few seconds. He'll wait at the door, wait at his food dish, wait to greet visitors (although for really short periods of time, because he knows that all visitors have come to visit him). I think I'll have some friends help me with that, coming to the door and helping me teach him to wait longer before being released to greet visitors.

And all along, I keep reminding myself, "I think he can, I think he can!"

How long does it take an intelligent dog to catch on?

Mac is an intelligent dog. I mean, intelligent. But he's as independent as a cat. (He also grooms himself like a cat!) Anyway, I can only persuade him to do anything by offering him a treat. Otherwise, he can't believe you'd ask him to do something. He's completely mercenary. The person with the treat in their hands is the one he works for. No loyalty!

Well, I'm trying to teach him "touch" with a clicker stick and some high-value treats. And he will touch the end of the stick without fail wherever I happen to hold it. So I've given him a target, and he'll touch the target if the clicker stick is there, but doesn't seem to get it when the stick is removed. Maybe I just haven't given him enough time with the exercise. I know he's intelligent, so the question is, am I?

On Monday (Labor Day) we are going to visit my puppy. She's been moved from the house to the nursery, where she is learning to use a doggy door. This is the stinkiest place on the ranch, because the puppies don't understand the doggie doors at first, and so are relieving themselves on the floor. Of course, the "floor" in this case is a concrete slab that has four runs on it. While we're out there, we'll take some pictures to show you. I'll upload them Monday night.

I'm glad we're going, because I need a  puppy fix!

Mac (right) and Tosh in their winter "pajamas."

A Journal Begun

Right now— after the passing of my beloved Tosh— only Mac lives with us. Mac is an eight year old miniature pinscher that we rescued six years ago. He's starting to gray a little in the face, especially on his muzzle, which makes me sad. I watched Tosh's little face go completely white; but she was gray when we rescued her, six years ago, too. We got them together and enjoyed these dogs immensely.

So last weekend, we drove an hour and a half to a nice little ranch in Blue Ridge, Texas, where I chose a red tri-color toy aussie. My new puppy will be named Sweet Paprika, but her call name will be Sadie. I get to bring her home in two and a half weeks from now. I'm dreaming of puppies!

Mac and Sadie need their own blog because from day one with Sadie, we will be documenting their training. Mac is rather mercenary, only willing to do what we ask if we have treats available. I plan on changing that through clicker training. And Sadie will be learning clicker training from the ripe old age of eight weeks. I'm really excited to see how the training  progresses with both dogs. And though I've owned many dogs throughout my life, this will be my first time clicker training. Up until now, I've used old fashioned methods that mostly used punishment for bad behavior, not rewarding good behavior. (I cringe as I write this!)

Mac understands the clicker, and knows to try different things to see if he can get the thing to click so he gets his reward. Thus far we've worked on come, sit, spot (down), sit up, touch and watch me. He's doing pretty good for a dog being trained by someone who doesn't really know what she's doing! (I plan on reading and studying a lot between now and the time I bring Sadie home. After that, when she's old enough for puppy class, we'll probably put Mac in a class to help him learn to focus through distractions.)

Meanwhile, as I said, I'm dreaming puppies and training and clicking and rewarding...

'til next time!