(PRIVATE INFORMATION FOR RESCUE VOLUNTEERS: SPCA, CBBR)

SIT - DOWN - STAND

POPPING A BEHAVIOUR ON CUE

A cue you're teaching such as a verbal "down” should always come before a prompt, such as an already-learned hand signal. This is because we want the cue to be the tip-off for the prompt so that the prompt can eventually be faded. And to serve as a tip-off, it must come first and separate.

We have used a lure in class for the Sit, Down and Stand. Now, obviously we don't want to have a dog that will only perform those behaviours if we have a treat at their nose. So, we quickly need to get rid of the lure and introduce the cue. As soon as your pup performs the behaviour reliably, you start using the same hand movements as before, but there is no treat in the hand. You then mark the right behaviour with your ‘YES’ and bring a treat out to reward afterwards. Your pup will learn there doesn't need to be a lure at its nose because the reward comes anyways. Once this behaviour is reliable you add the cue, so the word 'Sit' or 'Down' or 'Stand' in this case. You say the cue before the routine of making the hand movement and then ‘YES’ and reward. You repeat this until you see that your puppy starts going into the desired position without thinking about it. You can now start raising your body in order to eventually stand up completely straight. Keep the routine up of saying the cue and showing the hand movement. We want the pup to know both as a cue, the verbal and the body language. 

Do I have to keep giving my puppy treats for every time they do as I ask them to?

Treats are great to use when teaching a new behaviour! You want to start with a Continuous Reinforcement schedule which means EVERY TIME your pup responds correctly they get a reward. Continuous reinforcement allows a high rate of reinforcers to be presented which keeps the pup highly interested and the frustration level low. Continuous reinforcement makes the newly learned behaviour resistant to change. Once the behaviour is offered in a timely and CONSISTENT manner in response to the cue, you can change the Reinforcement Schedule. Again, we do this once the pup is FLUENT in the behaviour (10 out of 10 correct responses in different environments). You can now start rewarding just the best responses (criteria could be speed or preciseness for example), BUT you need to make sure your standards are right. Be aware that if you do not maintain a high enough rate of reinforcement for the MAJORITY of the time, the behaviour will cease to be offered by the dog. So, make sure to raise your standards slowly. Find out what your pup finds rewarding. At the end of the day, that doesn't just have to be treats. Toys are my favourite and I hope you work on getting your pup super duper keen. But pats and praise also cut it for some pups in certain situations. The higher the distractions, the higher value the reward needs to be. It is recommended to keep the reinforcement for the Recall, your 'COME' cue, incredibly high!

Please note: We only say "YES" in training context, not in everyday life. If we do say yes a treat always follows, but we can of course also treat without having said yes if we are with our dogs outside of training context.

A quiet body means there is no unnecessary extraneous movement by the trainer. This allows the dog to most readily catch the movements that do matter: prompts, cues and reinforcer delivery. So, start off very calmly.