Impulse Control
Unlike my prior dogs, Lyra has had almost no impulse control training. That's because she rarely wants anything badly enough to experience the conflict between cooperating with me or taking what she wants directly. The things that Lyra wants badly enough to create conflict are things I do not wish to build her interest in by allowing her to indulge - examples are chasing dogs and squirrels.
Lyra's cooperative nature is a problem. Since she is naturally cooperative and compliant, I don't have opportunities to show her that it is in her best interest to cooperate with me. Then when I do find myself in a training situation that creates a high level of arousal, such as herding (which I'm contemplating for her), I'm setting myself up to fail when I ask her for control.
For a trainer who wants to use positive reinforcement techiques (R+), developing internal self control in exchange for access to motivators is absolutely essential, especially when the sport you are interested in allows the dog to be self reinforced even when they are uncooperative. Herding, field work and protection all come to mind - the dog works at a distance from the handler; normally off leash and close to the thing they want (decoy, birds or sheep). They can easily ignore the handler and still be gratified by whatever it is that they wanted. Use of artificial aids such as leashes or compulsive devices such as e-collars work great - when the dog is wearing them. I'm not interested in controlling her; I need her to control herself.
Contrast this with agility or obedience, where the handler can simply remove access to the food and toys. It is much easier to control motivators in performance events than in working sports.
Now, those are extremes; all sports have elements that are easier or harder to control but you should be able to get the basic picture.
Last week I saw the beginnings of an opportunity.
Lyra's interest in playing in the pool area has been growing dramatically; so much so she is beginning to scream uncontrollably when she realizes that it's time to swim. My opportunity has arrived; I can control access to the pool through the pool gate, and I don't mind if I'm building her love of swiming. Bingo!
The rule are simple and cumulative.
1. Lesson one. Sit/stay and look where you wish, and I'll open the gate. Unfortunately this one is not on tape. This was the most dramatic lesson of all since it took several minutes to get the first sit. That's ok; I'm patient.
The following four lessons are on tape, in their entirety, including a major mistake on my part in the second lesson. By the fourth lesson, the amount of thinking and self control that she is expressing is self evident.
Note that the total training time is only a few minutes here, plus a few additional minutes on the first day.
If I want to take this further (which I will), I will work this program with each dog separately, asking them to wait for their name to go through the gate. When each dog can do this individually, I'd bring two dogs to the gate together, and release them one at a time.
You can apply this method - patiently waiting for the dog to make the right choice, anywhere you need it. It beats hitting, yelling and shocking, and has much better long term results, since each time the dog performs correctly the training is reinforced. Methods based in punishment erode over time because the dog isn't experiencing the punisher unless they are wrong - all animals learn much faster by being right than by making mistakes. Methods based in reward (access to the pool) become stronger over time since each success reaffirms to the dog that their decision was rewarded.
Note: In the first video, I take Lyra by her scruff to prevent her from going through the gate. This is not a correction; it's simply management - I need to get one dog in and it's the easiest method for keeping her out. If you can't tell if this is a correction or not, simply watch for her response. She could care less.
And...strictly for entertainment...this is what Raika does when she gets into the pool. This never ceases to amaze me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CC__dVAj9eY
12 comments
Aren’t you glad CO didn’t work out? you wouldn’t have the pool to work with…And I love the diving style….
IPO is my sport, lots of ecollar use in the protection sports, and I’ve seen misuse of the ecollar screw up a lot of dogs. Too many people don’t know how to use them and think they are the means to an end, get dependent on them and use them in place of thinking through the training. To me, that’s what Denise was talking about. And even the best of e trainers hit it on accident when they shouldn’t sometimes, or have it set too high by accident, and then have to fix something. I believe +R trainers are just trying and finding kinder ways to train dogs, both physically and mentally, and in doing so, are getting more lasting results in many situations.
Seeing someone jerk jerk jerk on the collar right before going into the obedience ring and then take first place has made me uncomfortable. To me, that behavior is not winning, and that’s not good training, it’s threatening the dog with physical discomfort. I think compulsion tools are a crutch in many situations. They may be effective, depending on the dog and trainer, they may or may not work when off, again, depending on the dog and trainer, but for me, I’ve discovered that I’d rather have the joy of working with a happy, thinking dog in a positive manner than correcting with pain and having a dog who’s always just a little worried about what might happen next.
FYI, Denise isn’t just a good trainer—she’s a great trainer. With dogs and people.
hi Denise…been reading your blog since you came up here to AK long ago….and you always have intriguing ideas….. One comment in here though, that, geez….. There are some dogs who are less motivated by agility (say sporting breeds and terriers) just by nature….but if you get a herding breed, and channel that instinct into the sport, you can get a dog that lives for it. Obedience and conformation may not be intrinsically valuable for the dog without the toy or treat; but agility is every bit the rewarding work for the proper dog. That’s exactly how I create drive for my border collie: impulse control = play until the former is as fun as the latter as they are woven together. Stray animals, kids, other dogs, etc. are of no consequence when he’s running…it’s not performing or a show, it’s his career….. Watch competitive dogs in agility and you’ll find plenty of intensity….
Two things on this. The E-collar works great if one knows how to use it, whether the collar is on or not – negative comments on tools/methods you don’t know isn’t the hallmark of a good trainer.
Also, removing access to food and toys in agility generally doesn’t remove all motivators in agility, since running the course tends to become self motivating for most dogs.
Interesting idea Denise. In the beginning I just wanted impulse control – which is by my way of thinking the foundation for everything else we want. They do have to control their impulses to listen and comply at all.
I just did a test to see what Gimme would do if I asked for a “down” while I was holding her ball on a rope. Actually she got it, but it took a few seconds for the cue to register… However, in all honesty we haven’t worked the impulse control with the ball for many months – so I don’t know if that is an adequate gauge of where she is in this skill set. I’ll try it tonight for the front door and tomorrow with breakfast – since we practice those more often.