Session 1, breakfast at location 2:
I’m calling Game, and immediately releasing her to the kibble with okay. This is to drive home the point that the fastest way TO the distraction is to come back first. Breakfast is a little smaller today because I’ve got a few more training goals for today, and more food will be had in other contexts later on! Also, some more neighborhood cat talk (and searching!)
A little remedial marker cue work:
Just sharing this session since I already mixed various marker cues into the earlier sessions here, and commented on them. Here, we’re doing remedial marker cue work on day #7, just using a click followed by a chunk of hot dog right after eating a single “free” treat from the floor.
Session 2, dinner at location 2:
Another evening, another round of training! Again, I follow the recall cue directly up with a release to the kibble.
In the video, I explain that this is a balancing act: On the one hand, I want Game to believe that the fastest way to the kibble is to come back to me first. On the other hand, I don’t want her to predict the release (not come all the way back). This will eventually happen if I always release her right away. I can either prevent it by alternating marker cues (recall – click; recall – get; recall – okay), or I can stick with my immediate “okay” release to the kibble for a few sessions, but switch things up again as soon as I see the self-release creep in. I think I’ll go for another immediate “okay” release tomorrow morning – but we’ll see. I might just change my mind after sleeping on it!
Wanna work on this or similar behaviors with your own dog? Join me in Out and About at Fenzi Dog Sports Academy!