Pose as Cookie
Drop – Teeth off On Cue Makes the Pose Happen
teeth off after the Drop Cue makes the Pose happen. if this is true then the dog must carry the disc until the Drop cue is offered which means that teeth off on cue is the clear path to the cookie. can you say Cued Drop as secondary reinforcer?
When the cued Drop makes everything happen the dog learns rather quickly that you can’t drop it if you ain’t carrying it… this is a tremendously powerful backchain.
If things are working, this is how things will work. If things are not working, this will not be working. Instead you might need to use the Pose to make the teeth come off after the cued Drop. In terms of operant conditioning this is, technically cheating, and it can be a crutch, but if it’s done purposefully as a Prompt Switch well that is a different story.
Use a Pose to make the cued Drop happen or to reinforce the cued Drop.
Pose – Throwing Pose is the Promise of a Throw
a Throwing Pose is a position you hit during a throw. if you pause and “pose” in this position, the dog knows the type of throw and the likely location before the release. a dog that watches the throwing pose sees the disc leave the handler’s hand.
A Throwing Pose is a better than a throw. It is loaded with potential and drama. The dog is still wanting it to happen. Reinforcing the cued Drop with a purposeful Throwing Pose is a powerful cookie.
The Throwing Pose is so powerful that it can be used to help the dog complete the cued Drop by making the teeth come off after the verbal cue. If you notice this or think it might happen, check out the Prompt Switch triad and read up on the Prompt Switch.
Be sure to choose which one you are doing. Are you paying the dog for teeth off with the Pose? Or are you using the Pose to get the teeth to come off? And keep these methods separate on a session by session basis.
Throw – The Buck Stops Here Kind of Anticlimactic…
by this time all the work is done. let the toss rip. it’s funny that the handler’s put so much value and focus on this point in time, as if this is all that happened. this is the finish. make your throw, accept your glory. the work has been done.
Once you’ve cued and marked the Drop and given the Throwing Pose as a cookie, it’s over. The dog is on it. That’s it, a rush of adrenaline during the chase and a rush right before the catch and we’re ramping up for next again.
You might need to place some focus on the Throw if your Pose is weak. You could offer the Throw as a cookie for looking at the Pose, that’s always a good way to increase the value of your pose, but other than that and testing to make sure the dog doesn’t break before you throw, the throw itself is rather anticlimactic.