Video Archives - Page 18 of 22 - Smart Dog University

Teaching Kennel from the Beginning (Video)

August 11, 2010

I recently posted a video showing Teddy's progress on learning to run to his kennel on cue. Someone emailed me and asked me how I taught Teddy to go into the kennel. They were interested in the very beginnings of the behavior.

So I thought I'd show you just how you start teaching this behavior (or any behavior).

What you'll see on the video is called shaping. Basically, you mentally slice the behavior into lots of tiny pieces. If I want Teddy to go into the kennel, he'll first have to look at the kennel, then move toward the kennel, then place one foot in, two feet, three feet, and finally all four feet will be in the kennel.

Shaping lets you teach the dog each little tiny piece of the full behavior which makes the training process a whole lot easier (and faster).

The dog needs to know what specific behavior he should repeat. That's where the clicker comes in. The click tells the dog precisely what earned the click (and subsequent treat). Dogs aren't dumb – they'll do that same thing again in order to get the click and treat. The more they're doing the behavior, the more you're clicking and treating, and the more the dog does the behavior — the cycle begins!

You'll notice in the video I don't do a whole lot of talking or moving. I call shaping the "lazy trainer's dream," because the trainer only has to observe, click, and treat. That's it! In fact, the more you move and talk, the more distracted the dog will be (and the slower the learning).

Watch as Teddy figures out what I want him to do. I click him first for just looking at the crate. I ignore anything else he does (laying down, for instance). I let him figure out what to do, what pays. Also pay attention to his tail – see how happy he is? He really enjoys training and figuring out how to make me click.

This is the first in a series of videos on the basics of clicker training. We'll get into other aspects (cues, fluency, stimulus control, etc.) in future videos. If you don't know what these words mean, don't worry – you will after this series is over. And better yet, you'll be able to use it with your dog to create a beautifully behaved canine friend! [If the video below is cut off on the right side, double click the video and it will take you directly to YouTube where you can watch [and read] the whole video screen.]

Teddy Learns to “Kennel”

July 28, 2010

Teddy's twelve weeks old and I wanted to show you some of the things he's learning. He's had this behavior [run to his crate] for a couple weeks now, but we're still working on getting it nice and polished. I'll be putting more video of Teddy up here on the blog in the next week or so, documenting his progress.

This video shows our early progress on teaching Teddy to run to his crate when (and only when) he hears "kennel." He's pretty good! The fat Rottweiler you see at the end is Copper, who belongs to my parents. She was hoping to scavenge any morsel of food she could find.

Video from Talos’ Turn-In

July 27, 2010

Talos graduated from puppy-raising into advanced training on July 23. While that means we lost the gentle giant, the good folks at Service Dogs of Virginia have gained a new friend and trainee! By all reports, Talos is fitting in just fine in his new environment.

Here's a little bit of the time I spent with Talos at turn-in. It was crazy-hot and I was trying to convince T to at least wade into the water, or maybe just take a drink. He was having none of it.

How to Teach Speak and Shhhh

June 22, 2010

Some dogs bark incessantly — at birds, at cars, at people, at other dogs — and it really annoys their owners (and neighbors). I teach all my dogs how to bark on cue and also how to quiet on cue and I don't have any barking problems.

Worried about putting barking on cue? Afraid you'll just get the barking and not the quiet? It's possible, but only if you don't train the full behaviors and put them on cue. Here's how I do it with my dogs and there's a video of Talos demonstrating the behavior at the end of this blog entry…

Have your clicker and some really tasty treats in a bowl on the table.
Make a noise and click when your dog makes any noise, no matter how slight. Give your dog the treat immediately after clicking.
When he's eating the treat, say "shhh" or "quiet" or whatever word you want to use.
Click again because he's quiet [he's still eating the treat] and feed him again.
When he finishes his treat, repeat steps 2 and 3 three or four more times.
After the fourth or fifth repetition, you'll now begin telling your dog what he's doing — you'll be adding the cue (the signal) that tells your dog to start the behavior.
So before you make your noise that makes the dog vocalize, say "Speak," or whatever word you want.
Wait for your dog to make a noise, click and then treat.
While your dog is still eating the treat say "shhh" and click and treat him for being quiet.
Repeat these steps four or five more times.
On the next trial, say "speak" and wait to see if your dog will vocalize with just the word as the cue (not the sound you've been making). If your dog attempts any sound, no matter how slight, click and treat.

Your dog will soon be speaking and shhhhing only when you ask for it. If you get some volunteer barking, simply ignore it. Don't talk to, look at, or otherwise interact with the dog. In fact, I usually get up and immediately leave the area the very first time the dog barks. The dog will learn very quickly that only those barks that are cued (asked for) will get rewarded.

Here's a quick video of Talos showing off his newly acquired skill. We'd only trained this for two three-minute sessions. Happy training!

Talos Doesn’t Like Sharing the Bed

May 27, 2010

I was never allowed to sleep with a specific stuffed animal when I was a kid, which probably explains why I now sleep with Puppy every night. No matter what.

Puppy is 26 years old. He travels with me whether I'm working, going camping, or traveling to Europe.

Puppy has survived eight real-life puppies. He's very important to me. Curiously, I've been finding Puppy on the floor a lot lately. Thinking I was just being sloppy, I took the blame for poor Puppy's position on the floor.

Until, that is, I walked into the bedroom one evening and saw Talos rooting and digging. And throwing Puppy over the edge.

I couldn't believe it. It just couldn't be. Talos was giving Puppy the boot! I've now seen Talos perform this maneuver several times.

Last night I got it on video.

Talos Rocks D.C.’s Metro Train

April 3, 2010

A service dog needs to be comfortable in many different environments. They've got to be ok with lots of different noises, locations, people, surfaces – nothing should surprise them when they're out in the world working with their partner.

Talos and I ventured to D.C. at peak cherry blossom time. And we went on the Metro system. I was a little apprehensive. Trains were new to Talos. They make a lot of noise. The stations are dark. They're a little like riding a roller coaster, pitching left and right.

Talos went through the card-reader gate (a narrow contraption with guillotine like gates that slide shut between passengers so only one person can get through at a time) without a hitch. Didn't even look crossways at it.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

Time to board the train! We got on with a few families headed down to see the cherry blossoms. Thankfully, there were two little girls. There's nothing that Talos loves more than small children. As the train departed the station, he looked at me, his face concerned. I spoke softly, gave him a few pieces of cheese, and he decided it was not worth panicking about.

Another sigh of relief.

A few more stops and he'd completely forgotten he was on the train. The little girls, captivated by the big dog sitting right in front of them!!, decided to baby-sit Talos. For which I'll be forever grateful. Here's a picture of one of them telling Talos a story. He was paying close attention.

We had to change trains at Metro Center. For those not familiar with the Washington, D.C. Metro system, Metro Center is the station where all four Metro lines converge. It's the central hub. It's huge. It's loud. It's crazy. It's dark. I was scared because I didn't know where to go or how to catch my next train. Thank goodness for the kindness of strangers – the mom of one of the girls held my hand through the entire trip, went out of her way to find (and ride) the elevator with us (Talos can't do escalators yet), and got us on the right train. Her five-year old daughter continued to baby-sit Talos – soothing him when the loud trains whooshed past us, frightening Talos.

Finally we made it to the correct stop and I bade my new friends farewell. I think the little girl would have had just as much fun sitting with Talos as seeing the cherry blossoms! Talos was sad to see her go, as was I.

We met up with three other dogs in training from Service Dogs of Virginia. Here's their blog about the day. We saw cherry blossoms. We saw loud, exhaust spewing buses. We were crushed in crowds of people. We saw the Washington Monument (Talos was unimpressed). Here's a quick snippet of our ride down, the cherry blossoms, and the ride home:

The ride home on Metro was a crush of people. The crowds were phenomenal. At one point, I couldn't see Talos' head because there were so many people packed into the train. He didn't even notice. Or if he did, he didn't care. It was if he did this trip everyday. On the way home, I swear he was bored.

The people traveling on Metro couldn't have been kinder. Not one person complained, squealed, or shied away from riding the train with a dog. He, in return, was a gentleman, although at one point he did lay down on a man's feet. I didn't realize it until it was the guy's stop and he politely asked Talos for his feet back. Like I said, the other train riders really helped us have a fantastic experience.

Another successful socialization trip for Talos and I. I think T's got the makings of a fantastic service dog. He's steady, even-keeled, and solid as a rock. I'm as proud as a mom when her child takes it's first step.

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