
Attention: Wait for the Questions and Answers
A quick memetic look at the Attention behavior from Ron Watson of Pawsitive Vybe.
A quick memetic look at the Attention behavior from Ron Watson of Pawsitive Vybe.
Ron & Soda Pop use the Flatwork Compass to install the Wait behavior and a reliable Trigger for action.
This is Session 4 of a series of training sessions with Motown over the course of an afternoon. It served as the introduction for the sessions and the culmination of the progression and a proof of concept for the techniques, strategy, and theory laid out in the 15 minutes of training that led up to it.
Session 3 with Motown shows a significant reduction of arousal and a marked increase in Drive. Drive is energy and action applied towards work. Building off of Session 1 and Session 2, we’re moving forward with an increased level of criteria for the target behaviors and are adding Attention, or unsolicited eye contact to the mix to add some additional structure for further reduction of arousal and increased Drive.
This is session 2 of Wait vs Stay via the Back Stall with Motown that took place a couple of minutes after session 1. In this session Motown is more calm and thoughtful and displays a bit more drive and much less arousal. We’ll be building on the stuff we covered in session 1 in this second of 4 sessions.
This is the first of a 4 part session with Motown, an 18 month old MiniAussie. Motown is easily over-aroused while working for cookies. He is Apryl’s dog and she handles him fine. He is still over-aroused, but manageable for her if she stays on top of him. I am not a fan of “staying on top” of a dog. I try to cultivate a sense of self-discipline with a working dog, which is often easier said than done and certainly easier done with a dog who is not yours.
Ron & Grasshopper work on a Dog Catch, Pedestal, and Wait vs Stay in this training session featured in DiscDogger Weekly #24. Getting a Dog Catch is a good thing, but getting a Dog Catch while clearly communicating Wait vs Stay and installing a trigger for the Dog Catch is elegant and efficient and the way that we like to do things at Pawsitive Vybe.
How do you teach a high drive dog to Wait? Teach him to Bite on cue. This bitework lesson is about creating a wait with a Bite Cue.
Attention as a default behavior leads to an immediate, automagic Wait behavior. Attention can be marked and the Trigger for a behavior employed to keep the dog in position for a significant amount of time. Just a few reps of this can lead to a strong Wait behavior.
Eye contact or Attention is often a question that the dog is asking the handler. Dog touches something and looks up at you? That is a question as to whether you appreciated the touching of the thing. Answer that question and the dog should respond.
Dog is walking around, sees something and looks to you? That is a question. Dog is bored and looks to you while hanging out? Also a question.
Knowing that Attention is often a question and responding to that question or the dog's needs that underly that question is key in dog training.
The dog looking to you can also be thought of as the Answer to the question.
It's the answer when the dog touches the thing and proudly looks at you as if to say, "Right! Got it!"
And it's also the first answer to any question or any situation that the dog encounters. "Ooo! This is new... What do I do?" Dog looks to the handler.
Understanding and cultivating this dialogue is important. Dog and handler passing questions and answers back and forth to each other with Attention and eye contact is a big part of successful cooperative work with a dog.
This dialogue and resolution of questions and answers is what creates a thoughtful dog who is content to wait for the appropriate trigger in this situation or is apt to look first to the handler when there is a distraction.
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