Am a the only duntz who's ever done this - -

I'm teaching my Rusty tricks... and I realize I've been teaching him
the tricks but haven't
been forgetting to include proper markers and releases...

I say... "Sit..." or atleast I think that's what I say...
he sits but pops up instantly - - almost like a spring is under him.

I say... "Down..." he goes down and pops up instantly like a jack-in-
the box.

Every trick he pops up... and I'm thinking, "You duntz... STAY...
STAY... STAY...." I even say STAY... "What is the dog hyperactive
or something?" I'm thinking...

Then last night I was listening to a podcast where the owner was
talking about markers and releases...
and I note to myself that I tend to say "Good boy!" after he does a
trick... kinda without even thinking about it or realizing it.

Today I'm teaching him to do a trick and I HEAR myself say, "Sit...
good boy!" (instantly he pops up) "turn around... good boy...
st...." POP!

So finally I decide... that's it... no more good boy - - yes, o.k. and
he get's his hugs, kisses and good boys when its all over... but
still... each time I catch myself doing it... and each time he
obeys... only I don't realize I've said it until AFTER I said
it...

I think this is a great anecdote how its not always the dog that's the
dummy...

wrote:
Am a the only duntz who's ever done this - -

I'm teaching my Rusty tricks, and I realize I've been teaching him
the tricks but have
been forgetting to include proper markers and releases...

I say, "Sit..." or atleast I think that's what I say.
He sits but pops up instantly - - almost like a spring is under him.

I say, "Down..." He goes down and pops up instantly like a jack-in-
the box.


Clicker training is a great way to teach people timing and markers. You
say SIT. The instant his tail hits the ground, you click. Don't worry
if he bounces back up. Give him his treat anyway. (The treat could be
"good boy" and pets, but I've had better luck with a tiny morsel of
food.) He'll catch on quickly to the new sound marker. (And if he
doesn't, write again, and I'll tell you how to "prime the clicker.")


After several 5 minute sessions of clicking the instant his tail hits
the ground, wait a second before clicking. Then 2 seconds. If he
bounces up before you can click, DON'T CLICK. You're both learning
patience.


--Lia

spoke these words of wisdom in
oups.com:

Am a the only duntz who's ever done this - -
When an exercise is complete i praise
When the session is complete i say Free dog

In article ,
Terri wrote:
It is an excellent catch on your part. I made the mistake teaching
my first Shep the release word of "okay".
After that I realized that my speech was literally peppered with the
word as a place holder.

I use "okay" as a release word but it's rarely a problem. I
think dogs speak a tonal language. But boy, one great way
to discover habits you didn't know you had is to have dogs.
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community

Melinda Shore wrote:

But boy, one great way
to discover habits you didn't know you had is to have dogs.

I use "okay," as well, and have not had a problem with dogs being
confused. I also use my hands to signal release.

I talk to the critters all the time, and I'm a hand talker, so it's
not surprising. I haven't consciously trained Harriet to watch my
hands, aside from a couple of obvious hand signals, but she does
watch them closely and responds well to them. I can move her
around, backwards and forwards, up and down, left and right, over
here, over there. And combined with a pointed finger, she knows
that she's supposed to go "over there" and sit.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

"Melinda Shore" wrote in message
...
I use "okay" as a release word but it's rarely a problem. I
think dogs speak a tonal language.

I also use "okay" and haven't noticed a problem - except when the dogs are
being held in a Wait position and I say "okay" talking to someone else. If
they're anticipating it, they don't care about tone.

But boy, one great way
to discover habits you didn't know you had is to have dogs.

Back with our previous dog, I had to have some nodes removed from near my
vocal cords. I wasn't supposed to talk for a couple of weeks - and that
means especially no whispering BTW. Until I had to be conscious of it, I
never realized how much I talked to the dog.

Judy

Terri said in rec.pets.dogs.behavior:

I made the mistake teaching
my first Shep the release word of "okay".
After that I realized that my speech was literally peppered
with the word as a place holder.
Not only did I clean up my own grammar act, I had to teach
him another word entirely.

I'll disagree with you on this one. My release word is "OK" and
I also use it all of the time in conversation. My Three Dog
Study indicates that the test trio contextualise this cue.

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.

Shelly said in rec.pets.dogs.behavior:

I talk to the critters all the time, and I'm a hand talker,
so it's not surprising. I haven't consciously trained
Harriet to watch my hands, aside from a couple of obvious
hand signals, but she does watch them closely and responds
well to them. I can move her around, backwards and
forwards, up and down, left and right, over here, over
there. And combined with a pointed finger, she knows that
she's supposed to go "over there" and sit.

You and Harriet would either be a phenomenal agility pair or the
worst ever. There'd be no inbetween with you.

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.

In article ,
Rocky wrote:
I'll disagree with you on this one. My release word is "OK" and
I also use it all of the time in conversation. My Three Dog
Study indicates that the test trio contextualise this cue.

I'm not sure "contextualize" is the right word here, but
your experience matches mine. I do think that if you say
something along the lines of "I'm feeling okay but am
otherwise a little sleepy" the dogs don't hear "okay" in
particular, unlike when you say "pauseokaypause". In
other words, I don't think they hear "okay" in the first
example.

Or maybe they do - dogs seem to be able to distinguish just
fine among "come," "gee," "haw," "come gee," and "come haw."
Either way, I think "okay" is a fine release word, and not
confusing to the dog.
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community

Rocky wrote:

You and Harriet would either be a phenomenal agility pair or the
worst ever. There'd be no inbetween with you.

Ha! *She* might be good at it (she's damned agile in my untutored
opinion), but I'm a total klutz.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)