Operant training in agility
Jo
Hayes is a ‘crossover’ trainer in every sense of the word. With every dog that she trained she
improved her methods, forever looking for a better way to train. Two years ago she was
privileged to be introduced to Clicker training in Obedience by Joanna Hill, one of the
pioneers of clicker training in the UK. She soon discovered that this was a fantastic way to
train, with huge implications to the world of Obedience. But how do you apply it to Agility?
It's known as
Clicker training, operant conditioning
or positive reinforcement. To me this means manipulating the situation so that your dog
naturally offers the behaviour that you require without any assistance from the trainer. You
then reward it, shaping the desired behaviour, and when the dog offers it voluntarily, you give
it the command that you will use in the future. It’s as simple as that!
Dolphins are trained with the same principal. How would you
train a dolphin to jump through the air? You can’t shout at it and make it do it! However, if
every time the dolphin jumped through the air as part of it’s natural behaviour you blew a
whistle and threw it a fish, it would take a surprisingly short time for the dolphin to make
the connection:-
-
Whistle
-
Jump
-
Fish
Click those contacts!
My current agility dog, who wasn’t clicker
trained for agility, slows down visibly when approaching the down contacts, especially on the
dog walk when he has longer to think about it. He knows that I’m going to stop him or slow him
right down, and he just can’t see the point at all. He sees the contacts as a
negative thing.
With my young dog I wanted to turn this around and make the
contacts a very positive
thing. I ultimately want him to run across the contact equipment with confidence and lay down
on the contact no matter where I am. I know even at this point that I’ll mostly be behind him!
How
to do it
The first step is to get your dog used to the clicker method. It’s amazingly easy to
teach things such as sit, down, stand, wave, target an object etc. I decided that for my young
dog Kyp I want him to lay down at the end of the contact equipment with his front paws just
touching the ground. My other dog Woody stops half on/half off, but as I can already see that
Kyp has a huge stride. This position would later cause him problems backing on to the
equipment. The best way to teach a sequence, such as going over a dog-walk and laying on the
contact, is to back-chain it - teach the end bit first so that the dog always knows what is
coming next. This is an excellent way to build confidence and a positive attitude.
Having decided exactly what contact position I wanted from
the dog, I set about achieving it. With clicker training you make it as easy as possible to
begin with, and when the dog is doing that confidently, you up the criteria. To start Kyp off,
I used a contact plank lying on the grass. I sat on the ground at the end with my legs either
side of the plank I know it sounds a bit strange, but it works!.
Without
any commands I waited for him to step onto the plank towards me. I then clicked and rewarded
this. When this was being done confidently I didn’t reward him for just stepping onto the
plank. I kept my hands low and waited for him to lie down, which he eventually did. Jackpot
reward! And yes, my neighbour thinks I’m very strange when I run round the garden shouting yes,
yes YES! My legs made sure that his body was straight on the plank and I gave him enough room
so that his front paws were just on the grass.
I gradually upped the criteria until he was lying down on
the plank with me standing either side. The hardest part for me is keeping my mouth shut and
not giving any commands until the behaviour has been learnt! I then added my command ‘lay down’
with a release command of 'Kyp.' Eventually Kyp would run happily down the contact plank and
lay down at the end. I then applied the whole procedure to the A-frame.
What next?
We both have a long way to go yet in our training. I need to train myself to make sure that he
does the contacts exactly the same every time, even in the ring. I know I will find this hard,
as I always want to go faster!
There are many other ways to train
contacts with or without a clicker. I’m not saying that this is the best method only that it
has worked for me, and I will definitely use it again. You could train your dog with a clicker
to go to a send away mat and then place this at the bottom of the contact points. Apparently
the Americans do this with a square of clear Perspex!
The
main points to remember when doing any training are: -
-
NEVER loose your temper with your
dog. The only thing that this teaches them is that you are unpredictable!
-
DON’T train your dog if you don’t
feel like it! You will not be successful!
-
IF your dog doesn’t ‘get it’ go
back a step and build the confidence back up. Your dog is never wrong. If he offers the wrong
behaviour just say ‘no good – try again’. Think about how you are approaching the situation.
Never be afraid to take a step back!
-
REMEMBER to always make it good
fun. A positive attitude is the most important quality in your dog.
Clickers can be used for many other
things in agility; Weaves, waits, recall, directional work, in fact the only limit is your
imagination! If you hit a problem use a clicker and clarify the situation! Kyp may not end up
with fantastic contacts, but then this will be down to me. All I know is that in training we
have developed trust and confidence in each other and above all have had FUN!
GO ON, GIVE IT A GO! If I can do it
anybody can.
You are the weakest link! Goodbye!
Jo
Hayes first became involved in agility in 1994 with a local pet dog club with whom I
was an obedience instructor. Originally I just did agility to occupy my mad red merle's mind,
but soon my competitive nature took over and later that year I entered a few shows. My only
achievement with this dog apart from staying sane was winning out of Elementary with his only
ever clear round! Known locally as the ‘speckled torpedo’ Robbie was, and still is, completely
bonkers!
I didn’t return to agility until 1997
after becoming a bit disillusioned with the obedience world, and the following year began
competing seriously with a four year old red and white bitch, Maisie, and my first 'proper'
agility dog, Woody. Within a few months, they both won out of starters on consecutive days!
Woody has since become Senior,
qualifying for most Novice Finals on the way. He was third in the Agility Club ‘Novice Dog of
the Year’ awards last year, which was a huge achievement as I broke my wrist last Easter
(running at agility of course!) and spent the first half of the year competing with my arm in
plaster! Woody was also a member of the Tunbridge Wells team that came second in the Pedigree
Chum Team Relay finals in September.
The youngest member of our family,
Kyp, will hopefully follow in his brother Woody’s footsteps when he starts competing later this
year.
I admit to being a complete agility
addict and long may it continue!
Photo of Woody jumping: Action Shots
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