DiscDog Mechanics: Predict & Cue for the Cued Drop with Otto

A nice little cued Drop lesson with Otto, @Kris ‘s German Shepherd. Kris gave it a go later in the day. It was a productive session. Kris & Otto have come a Long way in a few weeks. Kris has obviously done his homework. Otto is turning out to be a fine young gentleman.

Boom Pow – Boom Pow! That’s a Jam!

The goal here is to make the game move – Boom – Pow – from successful cued Drop to successful catch. From cued Drop to fun Team MovementTeam Movement is how dog and handler move, as a team, out there on the field. It is a judging category in some organizations and certainly is a focus of many judges, players,... More to a successful catch. Cued Drop… RollerThe Roller is a great throw for reinforcing a dog with a disc. Instead of flying through the air like a wing, the Roller rolls on the ground like a wheel; a fast,... More. Cued Drop… Bite… Awesome, go do dog stuffGo Do Dog Stuff... Dismissal means that the handler is off limits. It doesn’t mean the dog has to go, or that work is finished, or stop doing that behavior, it just means... More! All drops on cue at low latency leading to more jam.

Once that kind of exciting play is established, success being contagious and all, both dog and handler want to play the game and dog and handler playing the game successfully becomes the norm.

So often when we work with our dogs on mechanical skills, the game comes grinding to a halt, and then we wonder why the dog does it hesitantly or has trouble with the skill. Endeavor to make success happen and reinforce it in order to make the next attempt at the target behavior happen. When the whole game is reinforcing, the dog will do whatever it takes to keep the game rolling.

Cued Drop vs Carry It Further

The focus of this session is on the cued Drop. Notice that I’m cuing it right away. I’m attempting to pair the cued Drop – “Aus > Teeth Off” in order to turn the Throw/Bite/Hookup/NEXT into a cookie. If the cued Drop “Aus>Teeth Off” happens to precede every instance of NEXT and game, then it stands to reason that one would want to carry it.

This distinction is key. The focus on getting reinforcement on a quick and compliant Drop cue is critical. We are not trying to get the dog to carry it. We are trying to cue the Drop. As soon as you start looking to cue Drop you wind up prepared, on time and ready, and you can leverage that steady mindset into successfully cuing the Drop. Which is followed by successful teeth off – on cue. Teeth off on cue makes NEXT happen.

This mindset allows you to leverage your mechanical weakness, an early drop into creating and exciting game that your dog LOVES to play. Once this game is Established we can use it – NEXT and the energy level of play – to reinforce the cued Drop.

Punishing the Early Drop

First off… punish yourself. You had one job and it was to cue the Drop, and you knew darn well where and where that Drop was going to happen. And that is only meant to be partly funny. With the right mindset, cuing the Drop before it happens is easy. Just look to make it happen, you can do it.

If you happen to miss one here and there, it’s cool. It will simply serve to punish the dropping of the disc without a cue. You don’t want this to happen a lot, as the goal is to create an exciting game, and you can’t do that if your always stopping, as a handler, dog, and team…

Focused application of thoughtful play will make punishment an exception or an intentional or thoughtful lesson. If you wind up stopping a lot, look to solve that problem.

Throughout this session I struggled with throwing. I was looking to solve that problem right away. By the end, Otto and I got it dialed in and we didn’t have time for punishment, we were too busy making YES! happen and being successful.

On Fetching It Up

I have little doubt that Kris could make Otto fetch it up. In a less fatigued state I could most likely get Otto to fetch it up. But that isn’t the point we’re trying to get across to him.

The point is that the dog goes to fetch it up, because the Drop cue wasn’t given. This internal motivation by the dog is rather key to truly owning the Drop as a team. Once the dog knows that the cued Drop makes NEXT happen they know they have to be carrying it or NEXT ain’t happening.

When you make the dog fetch it up, the dog learns that the handler will make them fetch it up if they make them. Making them drop becomes your responsibility. You have other things to worry about, let the Drop be the dog’s responsibility.

To prove that Drop is the key to the game and makes NEXT happen, when the dog fetches it up, immediately cue Drop. The dog doesn’t really want to be carrying it anyway at that time, and you need to communicate to the dog that teeth off on cue makes NEXT happen. It’s a no brainer – cue it and leverage that towards developing a strong connection between hearing the Drop cue and teeth off and amazing action.