Before I can progress with retriever training, I need to get Rachael’s delivery sorted out.
Last week, Rachael and I restarted the clicker delivery that we had begun several months ago.
We hadn’t actually got very far with this at all last year.
Not through any fault of Rachael’s, but simply because I didn’t put the time in.
Rachael has no problems picking the dummy up, on the contrary, she is madly in love with the dummy and wants nothing more than to play with it!
Her problem, or rather my problem, was that she wanted to play ‘keep away’
My main challenge was going to be to get Rachael to release the dummy willingly and consistently. Once we have passed this hurdle, things will start to progress.
High value rewards
As releasing the dummy is what Rachael finds most difficult, I knew I would have to use powerful rewards, especially at the start of each session, so that Rachael is encouraged to let go of the dummy of her own free will in order to eat the treat.
Releasing the dummy willingly is an important concept and part of this process
As Rachael is also very excitable around the dummy, I decided I would remain seated in a chair (where possible) as this seems to help calm her. Everything is kept very low key and quiet, and I wouldn’t be speaking to her much at all during sessions
Planning ahead
I planned to be doing ten to twenty repetitions in each session, and trying to fit in two to four sessions each day.[wp_ad_camp_1]I am aware that the first ‘pick up’ is always the most exciting for Rachael. She is so overwhelmed to see her old friend ‘the dummy’ again, she seems to forget that the click means a treat is coming.
I have to put the treat right under her nose (which may involve following her) and then she has a ‘eureka’ moment and will spit out the dummy to eat the treat.
This is usually only necessary on the first retrieve of each session. She then remembers the game, and I can start shaping some better lifts and holds.
In my head, I was still undecided as to whether starting with the dummy on the floor is the right method for Rachael. I was toying with the idea of switching to an approach I used to use some years ago which involves beginning by teaching the dog to pick up and hold from my hand.
For the time being though, I decided to pick up where I left off before Christmas, and work with the dummy on the floor.
Making a start
Before each session, I prepared myself by putting twenty treats ready on the table next to the dummy, and sat down next to it. Rachael immediately came to see what game we were going to play today.
I used corned beef for the first sessions simply because I had some left over in the fridge. As usual Rachael grabbed the dummy as soon as I placed it on the floor and started swinging it around. I showed her the treat and she spat it out and started to play the game on my terms. Repeatedly picking up and dropping the dummy in exchange for a treat.
I was quickly able to shape a nice head lift and two second hold. But after three or four nice pick-ups, Rachael regressed to running around with the dummy again and I had to go back to clicking as soon as she lifted it up in order to get her re-focused on picking up and letting go.
This carried on through the next few sessions. With Rachael lifting and dropping but as soon as I built any duration in, spontaneously reverting to racing around with the dummy or swinging it about by one end. I increased the value of the treats, using her favourite, roast chicken, and started leaving them out of the fridge to warm up first so that the smell and flavour intensified.
But the problem persisted in reappearing
Making a decision
It was obvious that I had a few choices. I could persist with clicking and treating the very short holds and drops for much longer and build up duration far more slowly. I could revert to traditional ‘walk away’ methods out in the field. Or teach a traditional ‘hold’ using some coercion.
Another approach for a dog that values the retrieve so highly is to keep switching one retrieve for another, and to gradually raise the delivery requirements before offering the second retrieve. Or I could switch to another clicker technique where I hold on to the dummy and teach the dog to grasp the dummy whilst I retain control of it.
I was getting pretty bored with what I was doing. ‘Walking away’ methods (you can find out more about them here) can take quite a long time with a ‘keep away’ dog too, and have the disadvantage that I cannot fit more than one field session into a day. Whereas with the clicker, I can do several sessions a day in the kitchen.
Switching retrieves requires that the dog values the ‘chase’ part of the retrieve more than the retrieve object itself, and I was not convinced that this was true for Rachael. She likes to interact with the dummy and play with it.
So I have made the decision to switch to the hand held start version of the clicker retrieve. This means starting from the beginning again. Next time I’ll let you know how Rachael is progressing with this method
Meanwhile, if you would like to see the technique in action, check out this video by Donna Hill
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