Indy ran an errand with me today. I had to pick up a service puppy at the airport this morning. Much to Indy's dismay, the puppy didn't come home with us but went home with a volunteer instead. Sorry, Indy, this trip was really more about the lessons we could learn here.
Dogs don't generalize well meaning that, when they learn something, they don't necessarily know it means the same thing in a different location. It's important to add a lot of variety to what you do with your dog so he knows sit-stay means sit-stay at home, at the park, in class, at a friend's house, etc. It also helps us build up his ability to comply in more distracting environments.
We break stay up into three components; duration, distance, and distraction. In the beginning, we work on each component separately. It's a little too much for a little puppy brain to handle more than one component at a time and we want to set puppies up for success. The more they succeed, the more we can reward. The more reward, the more we are telling him that he is doing something right. It speeds up the learning process quite a bit. So, if we are working on distance, we walk away (maybe only one step in the beginning) and return right away to reward him. Once he is doing well and all three components separately, then we can slowly start to combine the components (i.e. walk away and wait a short time before returning to reward him).
Working in a new environment gives us a chance to work on Indy's attentiveness (even though he would really like to visit with everyone). This was a nice environment to start out in. There weren't too many distractions so it wasn't overwhelming. I can start out in an easier environment like this and work our way to more challenging environments as we build on his successes.
But, oh man, that mini Kong on that lady's key chain was just too tempting...
Oh, and let's not forget the lesson on patience. We all know he would rather be back playing with the puppies but he was being a very good sport.
So, everything is a lesson, right? Walking to the back gate is a challenge. It's where he goes to play with the other puppies so he wants to get there FAST! In a situation like this, I don't need to use treats to reward him for nice positioning. His reward is getting to move forward and, in order to move forward, he needs to walk beside me on a loose leash. It takes time in the beginning but he'll soon figure out that it pays off well when he walks nicely beside you. It will actually get him there more quickly than if he forges ahead.
Once inside the gate, we can work on our next lesson. We can practice sit-stays with the reward is Indy running free. But taking the leash off is not what gives him the freedom to run.
Instead, he waits until I release him before he runs off to play with his friends.
That's a pretty powerful reward!
After a busy day, I can also capture behavior that I like and reward him for behaviors he naturally offers. It can be as simple as praising him and smiling at him when he quietly curls up at your feet when you are working at your desk. He will repeat behavior that works for him so, the more you reward behavior you like, the more you will get a nice, settled dog who is happy to do things like stay.
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