Raised by Wolves

Thanks to some very patient and long suffering dressage trainers, I’ve managed to learn one or two things about horses.  When it comes to formal training of dogs however, I’ve been figuratively (literally?) raised by wolves.  

After having about a 15 year break from formal dog training to immerse myself in dressage, I started my agility odyssey again with Gunner in earnest back in Houston several months ago. Quickly I realized during my first agility lessons that I didn’t really understand any of it, but that was ok, I embraced the journey of being a beginner.  Now that I am a couple weeks into starting Jackie, I am becoming very aware of how much I know that I don’t know.  

But reader, that is precisely what draws me to the formal training, and what makes it so exhilarating! I’ve used operant conditioning with positive reinforcement to teach multiple dogs many things, including AKC canine good citizen titles on several dogs, multiple AKC trick dog titles, and training and certification of a pet therapy dog for visiting nursing homes and rehabilitation hospitals; as well as using R+ successfully to train good all-around manners to many animals, including a rat, a bunny, and several horses.

Now that I’m seeking formal training again for myself while I train my dogs, it occurs to me I’ve been using an effective, though fairly disorganized, method.  I use my own body language, noises, and made up words.  Though it is organized and understood between my dogs and me, it is definitely a roughshod method compared to the formal classroom setting in which I am currently.  Learning to use a clicker as a marker versus using a word as a marker is so much harder than it seems it should be.  And I’m teaching myself a new release word too, adding to the juggle.

Today during a discussion about Clever Hans the counting horse it occurred to me that I probably often give involuntary cues via body language.  Which of course, everyone does, but it is interesting to me to see how much effort I am having to exert to teach Jackie simple cues like “sit,” “down,” and touch a hand target, that I’ve previously seemingly effortlessly taught other animals in the past.  

No matter, I will keep striving and learning.  And frankly, this is what makes it so interesting to persue positive reinforcement and learn ever more about the fascinating subject of animal cognition.  And if I ever get to run at an agility trial or perform in the obedience ring with a dog?  Well that’s just some awesome lagniappe!

 

 

     

           

Pearls:

• Operant conditioning using R+ is so user friendly it is easy to be successful, even when one goes rogue
• I know what I know (very little), and I know how very much I don’t know.  What I don’t know is what I don’t know that I don’t know.  But never mind, keep learning
• Involuntary cues are just that, involuntary, and I’m trying to get control of my volunteers