One of my students and I have been playing a "new" game! Don't tell Stormi, but it's really the same thing, just asking her to adapt, and rewarding slightly different behaviors. This method is called "shaping". Any behavior whether it is desirable or not, can be shaped by rewarding the changes you like, if you time your rewards correctly and consistently. Stormi has already mastered her basic commands. I chose to build on her "Lie Down" command, since I want to encourage her to relax. She naturally will choose to tuck one front foot, or another when she is lying comfortably. I rewarded (I used her kibble from meals since she is very food motivated) her for lying down when I looked at her first, so there was a default behavior to start with. Her entire first session was simply rewarding her for lying down and staying down. No words, since I would be adding the commands later, when she was performing the actions I wanted.
The next time I worked with her, she automatically lay down as soon as I brought out the food. I began to reward her when she shifted her front feet, either one. Over the next two sessions, she was very willing to move her feet, it almost looked like she was swimming backwards! Very cute. I began to label her right and left as she moved them, rewarding each time. If I stared at one foot, she would move it automatically to tuck. Many dogs are much more observant than we give them credit for, it helps them to tie in a visual cue along with the verbal.
The next session, I began asking for "Right" or "Left", looking at the paw I wished her to move. At this point, she was comfortable with the exercise, and would sometimes just guess, and swing a paw back without paying attention to which one I asked for. I never rewarded her for moving the wrong paw, simply waiting, staring at the one I asked her to move until she performed correctly. Soon I decided I wanted both paws to "Tuck". Since Stormi is very responsive to my eye movement, I knew she could figure it out! And she certainly did not disappoint. We began the session easily, I called a "Right", "Left", "Left" (and rewarded one kibble for each) and then just waited. I stared at the paw that was closest to me, which she tucked. But instead of rewarding, I shifted my gaze to her other paw. She switched, and tucked it. I shifted my gaze again. Stormi was confused, and stood up and walked in a circle. I simply waited. We went through the same motions again. After she lay down again with a sigh, she tucked the first paw, I shifted my gaze again... she huffed, and shifted her weight awkwardly.... then moved her other foot! I quickly dropped several pieces of food and praised!
From there she proceeded quickly to moving both feet back immediately but they were still not fully tucked. I "jackpotted" (gave several pieces as reward) many times in a row to encourage her. Then I began to wean back on the reward until we were at just one piece at a time again. What had been holding Stormi back is that she had been startling herself by tapping her back foot with her front foot when she "swam" her second paw backwards, because of the way she was laying. Once she figured out how to maneuver her body to where she could tuck both paws comfortably, she had it!
The next session, I labeled "Tuck" when both paws were folded. After that session, it was just a matter of putting it all together- going back to review and strengthen the labels I had already set in place for "Right" and "Left".
For this particular dog, I like this position because it takes a bit longer for her to jump up should she be startled. Stormi and her people are still working diligently on her impulse control. Teaching this position makes her more aware of what her body is doing, and shows her that she can control each part. And of course, any training that requires thinking, and strengthens the bond between her and her people is not only fun, but a benefit for the dog!
As always, if you have any questions of comments, please feel free to contact me!
Happy Training!
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