In scent work class this week, Jackie and I learned a new cue, "Look up!" Used when finding source that is hidden two feet, or higher, above the ground. In preparing for trials, measure on your body with a tape measure and mentally mark on your body two, three, four, and five feet.
Circus dog? Nope, just searching a high hide!
For example, if after measuring, your knee on your mental note is about two feet above the ground, while you're searching novice hides, you know that anything below your knee is in play, while anything above your knee is notin play.
If your remembered mental measure says your knee is two feet above the ground, your waist is three feet, your chest is four feet, and your neck is five feet, you'll know by that height on your person to search for in play hides at trials in novice (two feet and lower), advanced (three feet), excellent (four feet), and master (five feet), respectively.
If you walk up to an end table, for example, that is above your knee while doing a novice search, you know that tabletop is not in play. However if you walk past an end table that is below your waist while doing an advanced search, you know that tabletop is in play.
Yep, that's about four feet, so I'm prepared to tell Jackie "Look up!" if I see this object while doing an Excellent level trial search
By measuring and mentally marking where on your body two, three, four, and five feet are, then you easily know what is and is not in play during the search.
The "Look up!" cue tells the dog to search up over their head. Rather than pointing at everything in the search area, instead teach the "Look up!" cue so your dog learns to search high hides as well.
Jackie understanding the "Look up!" assignment!
To first teach the "Look up!" cue, have the dog walk past a series of small, adjustable-height hanging buckets set at about your dog's nose level. Point to the bucket and say "Look up!" then pay when the dog touches the bucket with their nose.
The second time walking past the row of hanging buckets, refrain from pointing and instead just say the verbal cue "Look up!" and mark then pay each time the dog touches the hanging bucket with their nose.
Practice the "Look up!" cue at home on very sturdy items. Hiding food treats on exterior window ledges of varying heights is a good way to practice the "Look up!" cue.
In Jackie's nose work class we played four hides. We practiced for our upcoming Odor Recognition Test (ORT) trial where Jackie will find birch, anise, and clove to qualify for competing at further National Association of Canine Scent Work (NACSW) trials.
In novice level NACSW hides, any of these three odors may be used, while in AKC novice birch is the only odor used until the team reaches advanced level where birch and anise are used.
Today Jackie played interior containers, and interior buried for both sand and water, with good success.
Always allow your dog to lead the search. Don't lead the search if your dog can't find the hide, do a happy exit and then go re-set the hide so it's easier for your dog to find.
Move naturally with Jackie through a search; avoid being rigid. Follow her and rotate on an imaginary person-hole cover with smooth, natural movements.
Keeping your leash taught while searching becomes a signal to Jackie to continue searching, that the search is still in progress. Hold the leash as though it were coming out of the middle of your chest, no higher.
Keep enough positive tension in the leash so the clip stays up off the dog's back and there is a definite pressure as Jackie leans into the harness to search.
Continue to play the cat food bowl game at home, so that Jackie continues learning that searches sometimes have six hides, sometimes, four, occasionally one. Never play the same number of hides twice in a row. Instead, each search has a different number of hides so Jackie never finds a pattern to follow, and each search is fun and fresh.
Jackie searches containers, buried sand and water, and practices for her ORT:
For day three of our 30 day scent work challenge Jackie and I played the cat food bowl game, but with a twist: I hid the bowls so they were not directly visible to Jackie at the start.
On day four we played a simple interior search.
Video clip of Jackie's searches on days three and four of our 30 day scent work challenge:
Jackie is doing a great job playing containers and interiors. Sometimes I hide one odor, sometimes three, sometimes two, sometimes four. Don't over-hide; in other words don't hide every scent every time.
While learning foundation searches, set odors further apart so each odor source is distinct to the dog. Vary the location, number, and how far off the floor for every hide, so that you're not just placing the hides only on the floor. Foundation training hides are placed two feet above the ground or lower. Chairs are a great place to set foundation hides.
It's a good idea to do two to three hides per week. It's acceptable to search every day for periods of time, such as a month-long period, while practicing for an upcoming trial.
Especially while training solid nose holds at source, have treats in your hand during the search, ready to reward as soon as the dog alerts the hide so you are reinforcing the nose hold.
This video clip shows Jackie in two interior searches: one in my spouse's office and one at our training center. While reviewing the office clip, I realized I set the hide close to a bench made of solid cypress. The hide I set was birch, and Jackie is also trained to alert for cypress. Is that why she was so interested in the bench at first, because it's made entirely of cypress?
Bucket games, using dollar store popcorn buckets with source scent hidden inside with double sided sticky tape, are a fun way for the dog to take a break from trialing or regular training and still do something fun with their nose. A bucket is a great way to reinforce solid nose holds at source.
The first game Jackie plays is a row of eight buckets, and she is allowed to search each time independently from the handler. The source is hidden in a different bucket each time, going from the first bucket, to some in the middle, back to the first, then the bucket at the end of the line, then back to the first bucket. This teaches the dog not to arbitrarily skip items, but instead teaches the dog to search every item.
The second game Jackie searches buckets in front of, behind, within, and then inside a spiral of an ex-pen fence. Finally Jackie has to alert the source placed directly ON the fence in the presence of the "decoy" bucket, after spending the session searching buckets.
Jackie learns to search independently of her handler by forging ahead on her own to search the buckets. The handler stays at the start line while the dog drives the search. The dog leaves the handler at the line and searches the buckets.
It's good to playfully engage the dog before starting by playing with the buckets: "Where is it? Ready? Is it here?"
Bucket games are a fun way to add refreshing playfulness to scent work training.
The Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers uses the least intrusive and minimally aversive procedure to succeed in training or changing behavior. It is called LIMA, or "Least Intrusive, Minimally Aversive."
Why not, as a body of leaders in behavior, instead of striving for the least intrusive, minimally aversive behavior intervention, why not strive for the most reinforcing, optimally appetitive behavior intervention?
Jackie reinforcing me
I realize the ask is big. We must rely on available education, intelligence, and hopefully our desire for the best possible relationship with our dogs. Our most respected organizations, including the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB), the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), and the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists (ACVA) do not endorse using pain or fear as a standard for animal training, and have clear position statements that aversive methods are not necessary in dog training, including treating behavior problems.
Rewards Are Preferred
I want to be honest about the fact that I use punishment and know what I am doing, rather than just hoping I always use reinforcement. I also want to recognize when I am using a punishment, not just with dogs but with human students and colleagues, as I am about to do here by voicing my disapproval (a positive punishment [P+] reprimand) of the target behavior defined as "using fear or pain."
Ironic, because I am engaging in the P+ of trying to reduce the frequency of using P+ by voicing my disapproval of P+. I am intentionally trying to be self-aware, civil, thoughtful, and scholarly in tone as I do so.
Jackie looking scholarly
In general I agree with Dr. Ian Dunbar's teachings, especially that rewards are always preferred and appropriate behavior must always be taught to the dog and available to produce to avoid punishment. Dr. Ian Dunbar says repeating punishment of any kind beyond three repetitions is ABUSE. This seems a very good principle.
We learn by scholarly study and in real-life practice, that for punishment to even be effective, it must be immediate and certain. Unless one is 100% able to deliver the punishment 100% of the time the target behavior occurs, then don't bother. Otherwise it becomes an intermittent reinforcer, thus strengthening the very behavior we wish to diminish!
Punishment Has Fallout To Become Abuse
Considered in light of scholarly study, this makes me re-examine punishment. If indeed one cannot follow through with delivering the punishment every single time and not repeating beyond three repetitions, then one must strongly consider stopping the use of that particular punishment, ever. No matter how un-painful or fear-free one considers it to be.
See Dr. Ian Dunbar's eighth rule of punishment and his idea that punishment beyond three repetitions is abuse. If an educated, respected, well-known, and scientifically sound expert scholar says it's abuse, it probably is.
I strive to only use punishment that is not painful and not scary but is effective. However unless I can honestly apply it 100% of the time, and repeat it less than three times, I will consider not using punishment for that behavior.
Examples of my use of punishment follow:
Positive punishment: physically preventing my dog from performing a behavior that will hurt him by physically grabbing him (providing a consequence [a physical grab] that decreases the frequency of the target behavior [hurting himself, say getting run over by a tractor if he cannot hear me]). P+ is to be used only at the utmost end of need.
Negative punishment: crossing my arms and looking up if a dog tries to jump up on me when the dog's guardian does not want the dog to jump up on people (removing the reinforcer [my attention] to reduce the frequency of the behavior [jumping up]).
Negative reinforcement: walking away from my dog if he gets excited while in the crate while I approach to release him from the crate (providing aversive consequences [I walk away, something my dog will work to avoid] to maintain or increase the behavior [Gunner stays quietly lying down in his crate until released]).
Positive reinforcement: where I choose to spend most of my efforts.
For my part, I do not want to incur the heavy responsibility, as Sue Alexander rightly puts it in her Applied Behavior Analysis course, of using pain to teach a dog.
Confidence and Pleasure (No Fear or Pain)
I prefer to rely on the four quadrants of reinforcement and punishment (without fear or pain), as well as my intelligence, experience, and if necessary consulting a colleague whose opinion matters, to develop a plan to attain the behavior I desire that's in the best interest of the dog and our relationship.
If we find ourselves in a situation where we are considering using fear or pain, we must re-examine what we know, including what is known by respected and scientifically sound experts. When necessary, reach out to a colleague or expert peer for the appropriate help.
Appetitive is where it's at!
Yes, even for fence jumping, life-saving off-leash recall, harming chickens, and the like. Modern science and our most respected scientific communities support positive reinforcement and optimally appetitive behavior intervention.
Given enough thought, effort, and the right brain power, there is almost always a better alternative than using fear or pain.
