Lyra - Maintaining a Positive Attitude while "correcting" a Dog
Here's a very short video of Lyra making a mistake on her "stay".
I don't ignore the fact that she breaks, but I go to great lengths to keep her engaged, even though she's made a mistake. This is particularly important in this training session because Lyra's working for personal play only - no toys or food are available, and she knows that.
Just help the dog; it's no big deal. Really. She won't take over the world. She won't think she's "getting away" with ignoring me. She WILL stayed engaged in the game, and that's the hardest thing to get back if you manage to lose it.
I put her back with a cheerful attitude. I then reward a stay. Finally, I repeat the originally intended exercise (a recall).
If she had continued to fail, I would have accepted that I was asking too much. If that is the case, ask less and start over.
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These are the moments that I learn so much from. Thank you once again for sharing.
I am just starting to teach a young, enthusiastic dog to stay; and this was a great teachable moment for me.
“If she had continued to fail, I would have accepted that I was asking too much. If that is the case, ask less and start over.”
At what point do you decide you aren’t asking too much and she just doesn’t feel like doing a stay and/or it’s never been made clear to her what a stay is?
putting her back makes it clear what her mistake was – I just don’t bother with the verbal/physical negative cues. Ending an exercise before I’ve finished something or repeating the exact same thing twice in a row both make the point pretty well.
ah, second part of your question. “what if she doesn’t feel like it”. If she doesn’t feel like it and we’re doing active work (leaving a dog to complete an exercise) then I’ve done a poor job of making the work interesting for her. I take responsibility for that part. If it’s a passive stay (like in a lineup) where I don’t really want the dog excited or in drive, then I put them back with a neutral attitude rather than a happy one.
Nice work Denise!