Preparing Becky for her BH - Page 1

Well, supposedly, we will have more time from next week to devote ourselves to the actual training of our girl. Next step beyond the x-ray will be the BH (to start).
Anyone have tips?
Becky is very good to work with, she loves recognition, we have to improve our reward, she tends to lose fierceness with only emotional reward, we know that is mainly because it still be young and because we also do not yet have the experience needed to know exactly how and when to reward. Because we know this, we heard the advice we were given here, and we have been using a toy or something from time to time to keep her enthusiastically.

She is very good in basic commands, there is nothing particularly that she does not do at all ...
However the last time the club made a demo to the public, she had a tendency to be distracted, she did absolutely everything, and well, but sometimes with a "delay"...

How can we improve this issue? She is spectacular, we love her and everyone at the club also adores her too. She is strong-willed, intelligent, motivated to guard, we have been working hard on her bite and her grip is improving very much (I will try to film soon), she has tons of personality, but it's not too stubborn.

Any tips will be welcome

Thanks, Ana

Work on more focus and engagement work.
Forget the emotional reward, either use a toy or treat. Would you rather work for $1 an hour or $100 an hour? If the motivator isn't motivating to her, she isn't going to work best for it.
Some *claim* emotional is enough. I haven't seen it work nice once. Maybe for pet dog OB its ok, but for competition, no.
If you use a toy, make sure she is 100% clear on the rules of having a toy, such as outing, or else you will create conflict with the reward.
I stick to food with new behaviors, or if the dog is more intense with food. You can get wayyyyyy more repetitions in a session with food.
If your timing for a reward is poor, I would take a short break from training and regroup. You can do a lot of damage to your hard work in OB by rewarding too late, early, or at the wrong criteria. Make sure when you go out to train, you know where she is at in the training progression, what you want, and the baby steps to get there.
If you provide some more specific examples, I can help a little on that.

hntrjmpr434 thanks! Will talk to Flavio and make him listen! I agree 99% with you. For 'basic' work emotional works great and with my Isa for example toy or food gets her focus on that and not on Flavio. But I really think that Becky is better with phisical reward... thanks a lot for the tips! Will have knews soon :)

You should associate the reward with a marker word or clicker, that way you can mark the precise moment in time that the dog has earned the reward.

Timing and appropriately adjusting criteria is crucial. I do agree with marko, use a marker of some kind. But even still with that, timing must be correct.
I have a link that I will try to look for that has some games to help with timing and mechanics. They are super silly, but they are helpful for those who struggle. I can't emphasize enough how important timing is.

To get the most out of your dog you must know what turns your dog into an animal that wants to work for you...For instance...Does she like to EAT...Is she a very good eater...Will she eat out of your hands...Then feed her with a food that is a High Value...For instance Hot Dogs...or Cheese...anything that she will "jump thru hoops" to get to...
Does your dog Love to play with a toy...like a Ball...Kong...Stick...etc...Will your girl play and really want to possess any toys...? You can use anything and everything...such as pieces of Garden Hose...I will cut pieces of Garden Hose about 10" long and play with them...Learn to play "2-Ball"...ALWAYS use 2 of the same toy...Balls...Kongs...Sticks...etc...
There are exercises you can use to encourage your girl to really Want to chase and play with a toy...

One thing I see too many times is that when people go out to work with (train) their dogs...They go out and train for too long of periods of time...You should do (say Obedience) for 10 minutes at a time...NOT go out and train for 30 to 40 minutes...Your dog and you will get bored and your dog can feel it and tell that you've lost the excitement...
So when you go out to train be sure to be in a happy mood and really show excitement...Show a willingness to put everything you have into it...Your dog will pick up after you and follow suit...

Be sure to ALWAYS quit (stop) when your dog is at the highest level...ALWAYS quit with your dog wanting more...This will ALWAYS leave them remembering what they did and ready and willing to start another session...

~Bob~

Hi, thanks everyone, Becky likes to eat but is much more a tug lover...
She have a small tug, it has turned almost to a rag (because of it's age and bite work when she was a puppy), that she loves! she have progress to larger tugs on bite work but she still loves more than anything that filthy old thug, I will film her with and without the tug for you guys to see the difference... She works well with food too but she and Flávio works better with the toy/tug.

I think it was Susie (sorry if it was someone else) that once told me to work both ways, work toy, toy, toy, emotional, toy, toy, toy, emotional, and so on... We have been doing that at home and it is working very well on her OB but the school/club only works emotional (we do what is call around here "classical" training, and for some dogs it works very very well, but we don't have sport dogs, just Alfie and Ana (not me) have the BH, no one else) and the classes are about an hour long with a break in the middle, in those classes she does OB and "agility" she really likes it, but I think its just because she likes working, we see in the "stay" for example that she gets really bored, and are having trouble with that...

Soon Flavio will go to Porto to work bite work with Paolo Picariello and his crue, he works with food the OB and he will ask him for help with is training

Will make Flavio aply all your tips (will hit him if necessary), will have news soon

Yes, it was me, and I suggested to do it your way, not according to the club, because otherwise she´ll get bored and uninterested.
The older and the more trained Becky becomes, the bigger should be the time frame between work and play. At the end it´s fine for a complete obedience.
But, again, always change the routine, the lern effect is better, and she will stay attentive.

Thanks susie, yes we are trying to "married" both type of work (don't want to have problems with the only club we have acess to, so at the classroom we do it there way, at home we do it our way and it is working very well even in the class she is getting much more focus, bue the tug is the tug eheheh, the loves of her live: Flávio and the small smelly tug... Going to post some clips films last night ;)

Well training last night, at the beach, at night and then started to rain! So the visibility is not the best in the movies...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhpJr95c18c

round one, no tug, basic heeling, fast heeling, slow heeling, and turns:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqQmaKQdVWg

round 2, no tug, basic heeling, sit and down:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aehL44dv44

round 3, WITH TUG, basic, fast and slow heeling, sit, down, stay, call, and turns:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-MQmKETDGs look at the tail... she still needs a lot of work, she keeps trying to steel the tug for example, but I think we are doing ok

I think she looks so diferent with and without the tug, at the end of each "round" he plays and plays and plays a little bit more, and she loves it... She does everithing without the tug, but not with that happiness... Bekcy is very serious all the time, she is not the type of dog allways cheerfull and "smiling" like my Mic for example, but working with the tug she transforns in this happy puppy eheheh

Hope you guys like it, we did, constructive critics are welcome