SO … Oh My GAWD! Training this behaviour was going perfectly UNTIL it wasn’t! lol – After a seamless start, our training completely fell apart & I had to switch to brainstorming mode HARD! You can watch my original session from May the 11th below;
What happened after this was that Fibi increased her latency in offering me the “lie on your side behaviour” & sometimes didn’t even want to come & participate! Here’s how I problem solved this below;
- I was worried she had injured herself & maybe the behavior was painful! So I observed her in all kinds of locomotion & I couldn’t see anything wrong.
- I thought maybe the kibble I was using was not a strong enough motivator… so I switched to big chunks of chicken! To no avail.
- I thoughts maybe we had to take some steps back… so I went back to the start – to no avail.
- I thought maybe it was where I was positioned or how I was delivering the food. So I changed where I was, I threw the food each time, I used my manners minder (remote feeding device) & tried to change these aspects – to no avail (although I was on the right track somewhat here)!
- So I thought I would do a session just getting her to sit and go into a (sphinx) down! But she didn’t even want to do this!
- I did flowcharts and mapped out the whole session! Was great for upping the rate of reinforcement in the sessions but she still had significant latency on some of her behaviors. (You can learn more about flow charts in this past ATA blog post here >>> http://bit.ly/ATA_Flowcharts)
One thing I did notice though was that frequently throughout the last 1-2 days she was actually offering me the “on your side behavior“ randomly throughout the day … AND when she did I quickly offered her ziwi peak (as I always have some ziwi peak on me).
So I thought… Hmmm… maybe it is something to do with the antecedent picture of the training session after all. So I changed into a different position. A position I was in earlier in the day & where she had walked up to me and just offered the behavior – AND BOOM we got this! (watch specifically at 0:35 – for what we have now aptly named this the “Fibi-flop” lol).
I don’t know what it was about the other antecedent arrangement that changed her behaviour… but seemingly it did! WOW what a huge learning opportunity Fibi has provided me over this week to work on my troubleshooting skills! – Thank you little dog! SO SO grateful ?
How do you problem solve when you hit challenges in your training? I would love to know & you can leave your comments below – we look forward to hearing from you.
Ryan Cartlidge – ATA Founder/Connector/Facilitator
Could the Fibi-flop become her default paper to get rewards, e.g. my Great Dane stares at the drawer the treats are in and does a perfect Sit, expecting her reward. Is that what we want ?
Did you add a Cue (flop) ?
Hey Kee 🙂
Thanks for your comment! – & yes I feel that it has a potential to become a default behaviour.
And when I use the word default behaviour what I mean is a behaviour Fibi might do in the absence of information about what is required in the present moment to earn reinforcement.
It’s not my intention for this behaviour though… and I feel that once it’s on cue and I stop reinforcing her un-cued offerings that she will likely revert back to what I would label as some already established default behaviours. Mainly a sit but also a “sphinx” position. Time will tell…
And yes I am working on adding a verbal “Flop” cue now.
Once again thanks so much for your comment!
Ryan
maybe in the first video your head moving forward has become the cue (0.05). And in the second video, has you r hand position become not only a cue but also a signal for duration? there is also another response to being on her side when your head moves… I may be wrong…
Hi Jill! 🙂
I’m grateful for you taking the time to watch through my video and post this comment!
Yes the head nod was a salient antecedent in the first video & before the training “fell apart” Great observation! And I think the hand where the food is – is a very important source of information for Fibi in the second video! Agree !
Am working on adding a verbal cue now! SO exciting 🙂
Thanks again so much for your interest!
Ryan
Hei, I also try to notice as fast as possible the latency and then as a cure I once read your fengshui article, and most of the time I can make it easier to give a reinforcement by changing the setting. So, mainly it is about noticing little cues in setting or my self, that mislead the dog. If I am a pressure to the dog, that is seen easily if I take a video. But that is the same, I am also part of the environment with my position.
Thanks for taking the time to share with us Hanne ? ? ?
Hi Ryan,
In the first video Fibi only reacted to your forward movement with your hands behind your back. When she got her treat her head stayed up until your hands went back to the start position; behind your back. You stayed in a forward position throughout the rest of the video and only your hands moved.
In the second video it seemed more obvious that your hand position was the cue. Every time your hands went back to start position Fibi dropped her head to the floor and waited for the treat. Once she got the treat she had her head up until your hands moved back to start position.
Thanks for sharing your observations Jenine ??