Michele Pouliot: Step up Your Training for Dog Sports (DVD). I haven’t watched a lot of DVDs geared towards freestyle training so I wasn’t sure what to expect from this DVD. I just knew I liked Michele Pouliot and platforms (or mats) seem to offer a lot of possibilities for training new behaviors. I thought she would just jump right in and talk about using platforms, but instead she spent the first 30-40 minutes talking about what it takes to train a dog to be a great performer. I think this is VERY relevant to horse trainers because her point was that if you are going to compete in a sport where the rules prohibit food or toys in the ring, you have to plan for that and use everything you know about reinforcement to create a dog that will perform under those conditions. Not surprisingly, the foundation for this comes from the trainer’s “knowledge.” Knowledge includes technical skills, observational skills and planning. She mentioned a few key points for each of these: Technical skills: timing of click and start of food delivery must be correct. It should be click -> brief hesitation -> reach for the food. We all get sloppy and reach for the food before we click, or as we click. Keep each step clean. Observational skills: You should constantly be evaluating your dog’s behavior. You should know what behaviors are strong, so-so, and weak or non-existent. She keeps a chart so she knows where to put her time and energy. Don’t waste a fresh dog by practicing behavior they know well. Use the “beginning of session enthusiasm” to work on weaker behaviors. Planning: Plan your sessions. Sessions work best when they are short and well thought out. Use your observational skills to note what needs work and then plan accordingly. As part of your plan, consider how to make your training sessions so that they are about teaching behavior AND preparing your dog to perform in public. She had some tips about how to create cues (which are reinforcers) that will function in the show ring in the absence of other forms of reinforcement.
Posted on: Thu, 26 Sep 2013 01:00:00 +0000
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