Keep Calm and Click On: Positive Gun Dog Training Seminar in MN Part 3

One thing that I have been very grateful to find in ready supply from my own local community and the vast resources on the internet, is information on Positive Training and/or Clicker Training. I have been fortunate enough to work with Kate Wilson, Jane Wolff and Zeke Askew through their Canine Information & Workshop group. This was something I came into the seminar, already having a grasp on, but to ensure that we were all on the same page, Inga covered the basics of positive training and the nuts and bolts of what we would need for work that weekend.

First we covered rewards and the importance of thinking of them in terms of not just food rewards, but also affection, play, “life rewards” (which refers to the act of hunting, and certain other behaviors are self rewarding, I have a lot more to learn about this: Premack Principle). We were instructed to make and keep a running list of as many things as we could that would be rewarding for our particular dogs. Each dog is different and so will have a different list. Ideally we will end up with upwards of 20-30 rewards for each dog we train.

        Here are Pippie’s Top Ten Rewards (right now, these things change):

    10 - Retrieving a bumper from water

     9 - Verbal Praise: “Good Girl” with Eye Contact

     8 - Costco Hot Dogs

     7 - Tug O’ War

     6 - Ear/Shoulder/Butt Rubs or Scratches

     5 - Big Knuckle Bone

     4 - Bully Stick

     3 - Any Opportunity to Play with another Dog

     2 - Poached Chicken

     1 - Deli Roast Beef

Pippie with one of her giant meaty knuckle bones

Inga covered the use of clickers or marker words and their function as a promise of reward to come. Clickers have been used in animal training for a long time, in the training of marine mammals for shows and with horses, big cats, etc. The interesting thing to me about them, is that, when paired closely with a reward, they are able to bridge a communication gap with animals in a way that virtually nothing else can. With dogs in particular I have noticed that it only takes about 3 clicks directly followed by rewards for (what appears to be) the light bulb coming on in the animal’s mind, suggesting that they understand that the sound of a click means good things are about to happen. This may sound simple, but it is really a very powerful tool.

Ultimately clicker training can look a little like this: Say you want your dog to touch your hand with her nose, you offer your hand (maybe you rub a little roast beef on there before hand to give her a head start) and click/reward when she offers any motion toward your hand (or even just a look if your dog is a bit shy), after repeating this a few times, your dog will begin to do the action that elicited the click and then look to you in anticipation of a reward, if you wait to click until she offers better and better examples of the behavior you are looking for, soon your dog will offer a little more here and there looking to you to see if it was enough… And this is where the real surge of excitement comes for me, it really feels like I am talking to her in a language she truly understands, in a way I never could before! It is an amazing feeling! One that I think it is worthwhile for anyone to try, whether they want to be a trainer or not… with their dog, cat, chicken, whatever… it is such a thrilling thing to experience first hand. It is very difficult to describe with words, but one trainer that Inga referenced (and local positive trainers also referenced), Donna Hill has a great video showing how shaping works with a dog learning to flip a light switch, linked here.

My favorite clicker and treat bag

In relationship to clickers we did an exercise with each other that illustrated just how critical timing is to the use of a clicker. We were asked to partner off with the other humans in the class and use the clickers to “Free Shape” each other to a predetermined behavior. We were not permitted to speak, gesture or make noises other than the click of the clicker. We were permitted to use eye contact and glance to offer a clue about the direction we wanted the other person to go. We quickly discovered how frustrating it can be from the trainee’s perspective if the timing is off at all. If you click just before or just after a behavior occurs, you are rewarding the exact position or behavior the dog was in/doing when you clicked and this can quickly lead to confusion as to what you are actually wanting the dog to do. I did learn that I could certainly use some practice on my timing. Often training problems originate with the trainer & not the trainee.  To help us develop better timing, we were taught an exercise where we tried to click each time a tennis ball hit the ground, while this sounds simple, it is rather difficult and helped us all realize just how much work we needed.

A lot of what I learned from this seminar overlapped things I had been learning from the positive trainers locally and from various sources online. In reviewing the things we covered, there was not a huge amount of new knowledge added, but the emphasis on attitude and reasonable expectations, especially coming from a source that was interested in the same final outcome as me, went a very long way to setting my mind at ease. In the US a huge emphasis is placed on getting dogs into the field, on live birds as young as possible.., but the positive gun dog community is more in line with the European model of training for very strong obedience prior to introducing dogs to the field and live birds. Since Pippie and I are still very much working on obedience skills and I have been a bit reluctant to hit the fields just yet, it was comforting to know that there are others out there doing it the same way and having success at later stages. One of the members of my sportsman’s club has one of Pippie’s sisters and has had her out in the field already and she is hunting just fine, for such a young pup. This news left me feeling a little sheepish about being so far “behind” until it dawned on me that they had been working together for much longer than Pippie and I, and may be using aversive methods. Sometimes you think you are going 14 hours away to learn new skills and really what you needed was an attitude adjustment. New skills were learned, but the most valuable thing for me was getting my expectations in line with reality.

In my next post I’ll go over the process of Training a Chain of Behaviors for Retrieving and Scent Work. ‘Til then, keep calm and click on!

Here Pippie is playing with a Springer Spaniel friend at the seminar

Inga’s 9 Tips to Successful Positive Gundog Training: Positive Gun Dog Training Seminar in MN Part 2

    Inga From, the trainer, leader, instructor for the Positive Gun Dog Training Seminar I went to in MN is a font of valuable information. Much of what she shared with us pertains to all dog training and not just hunting or field dogs. Here are 9 of her main tips for us to have a successful experience, not just at the seminar that weekend, but in our training work in general.

The group from the Positive Gun Dog Training Seminar (courtesy of Positive Gun Dogs of Minnesota fb page) Inga is farthest left in the front row

1 - Set reasonable expectations for your dog’s current level:

We were asked to set expectations and to keep them reasonable, since this was a beginner seminar, our expectations should be kindergarten level… a common mistake with beginning trainers is to set “college” level expectations for a kindergarten dog. For Pippie I was most interested in training her to recognize that the whistle had meaning and hopefully actually learn to respond to at least one whistle command. I also really just wanted her to gain some impulse control by attending to me in this very distracting environment & she was able to soar beyond those expectations & pick up a few other things along the way.

2 - Know when your dog is “done” and stop at or before that point:

Early on in the first day’s workshop Inga told us to keep a close eye on our dogs, looking for signals from them that indicated that they were “done.” It is not uncommon for people working with their dogs in a long session like this seminar to ask too much from their dogs. Especially when it comes to things like training for scent work, it is very easy for a dog to work beyond their threshold if rigorously attending to scenting for more than 5 minutes… We all found rather quickly that frequent breaks, were vastly more effective than attempting to “push” our dogs.

   

Pippie is “done” here, she fell asleep in the middle of class surrounded by other dogs

3 - Don’t put your dog into a situation where you know they’re gonna fail:

    It can often be difficult to know where to begin training, or when it is appropriate to train versus when we need to employ behavior management. If we know our limits and our dog’s limits, we can prevent behaviors we don’t want while we are working on training. You probably, already know many of the things your dog is not ready to do, it is up to you to only ask of her behaviors you are fairly confident that she can already do, and guide her toward new behaviors in a slow enough pace that she can continue to succeed all along the way. Sometimes, despite our best intentions we ask for more than they are ready to give and failures do happen, the most effective way to handle failures is to go back to the last place you had success and move forward very slowly from there.

4 - Keep good training records and refer to them often:

We also got into the importance of keeping good records of training and the circumstances surrounding each training session, such as weather and distractions. A lot of people overlook the importance of humidity and wind speed in dog training, but especially for hunting dogs since this controls the way scents are experienced, it can be the difference between a successful or not so successful day of training. There are also, all kinds of distractions, my favorite example from class, was a random fish carcass discovered in the field… I don’t know any dogs that wouldn’t be distracted by that! Another very important consideration we learned, is to wait to determine the success of a training session until the following day, dogs often need to “sleep on it” and today’s rewards will yield tomorrow's behaviors. How you handle failures can have a huge impact on how positively you & your dog look at training in general, if you always end on a successful note you will both be more eager to come back to training the next day, or session. Good record keeping will aso help to keep you from falling into the common trap of repeating the same training over and over, the success feels good, but success at making strides in the right direction feels even better.

5 - If they do not have solid obedience it is too early to head into the field:

    This tip follows directly from #3, solid obedience is what allows us to trust that our dogs can be safe in the field. If your dog comes when called 90% of the time, responds to a down command remotely, has strong steadiness and can attend to you in very very distracting environments you might be ready. Only you really know, by the relationship you have with your dog, what limits are needed, but err on the side of caution. Before being fully ready for open field work, you can of course use fenced in areas and long line or check cords to ensure that your pup can’t run off. Training for this field work is valuable because it is fun and gives your dog a good foundation for when you do eventually graduate to the field.But it is ultimately more important to focus on getting those obedience behaviours solidly reliable so that you can both focus more completely on field work. It is certainly worth the wait to take your dog out on an actual hunt until you are certain that you and her are fully ready for that challenge, a bad experience hunting could take a long time to recover from, for you both.

6 - Keep your hands off the dog:

This doesn't just mean, don’t hit, push, pinch, etc your dog. It really means, keep your hands off the leash, and the dog. If you control by pulling, modeling, scooting, etc, it gives you a crutch that you will continue to revert to. If you are  forced to use other means you will get more creative, have to get your dog’s attention, begin to think more like a dog and will have to train with voice, whistle, or hand signal commands. This is another way to help ensure that you have voice/signal/whistle controls down and reliable. If your dog knows that you will revert to physically moving them, they may just wait for you to do that, rather than engaging their brain to attend to what you are asking of them.

7- Train with your brain, not with pain:

    Do not be afraid to get creative & have fun. Your best training asset is between your ears. Inga made a point of reminding us that we are supposedly the “higher functioning” creature when it comes to mental functioning. If this is indeed the case we should not feel the need to resort to physical punishment to convince a dog to do what we want or not do what we don’t want. If we cannot think ahead enough to prevent the “bad things” from happening or cannot come up with a compelling reason (in the dog’s eyes) for them to do the “good things” the trouble isn’t with them. It is up to us as the thinkers in this relationship to work smarter, not harder.

8 - Repeating yourself is NOT training:

Repeating the dog’s name (or a command) over and over will not help your dog learn the command, but only teach them to ignore it/you. In fact repetition of this kind is exactly the opposite of training and can go a long way to undermining what training you have done. This is so important, that you may soon realize that you need a new set of commands in order to give them the kind of power they need to have. Dogs do not have an innate understanding of the english language. They do not even begin to understand the meaning of the words we use for their commands, they just learn that they have an association with a given behavior, which has a positive association (if we’ve done our rewarding & fading appropriately).

9 - Know when you are “done” and stop at or before that point:

If you get upset, it is time to take a break. This is uncomplicated, but vitally important. Take a walk, get a cup of coffee, walk away… whatever you do, do NOT take it out on your pup. Know when to call it quits, when either one of you hits the end of your rope.

These tips will give anyone starting out on the hunting journey with a dog companion a great start. They are things I am always trying to remind myself of at every turn.

Pips resting at the hotel after a long day of hard work

Positive Gun Dog Training Seminar in Minnesota: Part 1

Recently I was very fortunate to have the wonderful opportunity to go to a Positive Gun Dog training seminar in Minnesota. This was possible due the amazing and generous support of my community and family. I really cannot thank you all enough for the awesome outpouring of support that made this adventure possible. Pippie and I learned so much and are eager to practice all of the great beginner skills and games we learned.

Before I get too far into relaying this awesome experience, I want to cover a little ground work about positive training and how it specifically applies to hunting dogs. Positive trainers begin by rewarding the behaviors they want to see in their dogs, often not ever feeling any need to use other methods (modeling, punishment: ”stimulation,” intimidation, etc). There are trainers & training instructors who are at every level of a spectrum ranging all the way from all positive to only recommending the use of aversive methods & dominance based training. I am not writing this in an attempt to tell other hunters how to train their dogs (although I do, personally find aversive methods to be unnecessarily injurious to dogs and our relationships with them), but to express my belief that positive methods work well and are the methods I am choosing to use.

Stone Mountain Pet Lodge in Minnesota, where the seminar took place

The tradition of training hunting dogs has a very long history stemming back to a time when we basically took a “hands off” approach, following dogs around hoping that, if well bred, they would lead us to game and thus minimize our hunting efforts. In Europe a tradition of training for rock solid obedience before moving into field work at a later age has developed, whereas the United States has developed a tradition of introducing dog to bird as young as possible and utilizing shock (or “e”) collars and what is called “modeling”  (physically manipulating the dog’s body into the position you want them in). Many positive trainers use tools such as “clickers” or marker words and methods such as “free shaping” (capturing a desired behavior that is spontaneously offered & rewarding it) and occasionally “luring” (where the dog is guided into position by following a treat or target object). This is just an overview of some of the basic differences between positive training and its traditional counterpart. This is a much more complex issue with a wide variety of people using methods all along the spectrum. The application of the positive methods to hunting dog training, is precisely what I went to Minnesota to learn, for many reasons, but primarily because I really do want a true companion out in the field, I want my dog to love hunting as much as I do, I never want it to feel like I am coercing her into helping me hunt.

Pippie watches a demonstration on retrieving

I found out that Positive GunDog Training of Minnesota was offering this Introduction to Field Sports for the Family Dog (or Beginning Positive Gun Dog Training) seminar through the Yahoo group: “Positive Training for Gun Dogs” which boasts over 1,000 members and growing fast, and offers a wonderful support network for this small community of gun dog trainers wanting to use positive methods. The seminar promised to cover: Field Sport Basics, Introduction to Scent Work, Positive Training of Retrieve and Field Sport Testing Level 1. The instructor for this course, Inga From, is well educated in this area, having studied under all of the Professional Positive Gun Dog trainers in the US and a few overseas as well. She helped dispel common myths circulated throughout the gun dog community, such as “never play tug with your hunting dog,” “allowing a hunting dog to live in the house will ruin its nose,” or “only use retrieving dummies to teach your dog to fetch.” Just the knowledge that playing tug is not damaging, as long as we play by good rules, like “no skin/teeth contact” “if good impulse control is not shown the game ends,” etc. Or that I can use anything Pippie loves & wants to chase to teach her to retrieve is liberating and encouraging. This seminar was rather unique in it’s combination of training for hunting and positive training methods, the fact that it was a 12-14hour drive away seemed a small hurdle given the scarcity of this resource. Positive Gun Dog Training is still in its infancy, but the interest is rapidly growing.There is only a small handful of professional gun dog trainers in the whole country using these methods.

I’m going to take a few posts to cover all of the things we learned because I want to be able to give a more in depth explanation to each section. But I’ll give you an overview of the things I’d like to cover; Tips for Trainers, Rewards & Markers(what they are and how to use them), How to teach a Chain of Behaviors (the Positive Trainer’s answer to “Force Fetch”), Scent Work, Games Exercises &  Whistle Commands, Resources & Where to go from here.

Pippie found some wonderful-smelling thing to roll around in