Connecting with Lyric started with simply knowing what I wanted - that way, I could tell her clearly what I desired. Using the clicker at precise moments and delivering treats purposefully helped us stay "on the same page" about what we were trying to accomplish. That's really what "connected" is all about - having the same purpose in mind which starts with clear communication.
With Rusty, missing this step caused us 10 minutes of frustration. After working with Lyric, I honestly should have had a clue. But when I started with him, I forgot what my goal was. My clicks were in the wrong places, and the treats were lazily delivered more as a lure than as a reward. I just wanted him to get it right after wonderful success with Lyric. I had to back up, and make sure that he understood what I wanted. So rather than jumping into the pivot, I should have started with rewarding him for standing with his front feet on the phone book target. How did I know we weren't "connected"? He was dancing around, offering all sorts of behaviors, was not focused, and wasn't consistently working towards the goal of pivoting.
"Observant" could be my dogs' middle name...especially when dinner is involved! With their part of the team on board, I brought out my own observation skills to compliment them.
With Lyric, it was about observing her confidence through how she approached the trick. With her tail high and mouth in a wide smile, I knew that I was offering rewards close enough together to keep her enthusiasm high. As soon as her tail dropped, even just a notch, I immediately knew that we needed to make the criteria just a bit easier to keep her happy go lucky!
Observing Rusty's body came in handy today as I watched the way his spine moved as he circled his perch. Understanding how dogs' bodies move has been so important and valuable in all of my training. As I watched him bend his body to move his hind feet, I noticed that the position of his head was the ONLY problem that prevented him from spinning comfortably around the phone book! Simply changing the position of the reward completely changed the outcome of our session, giving us the success we desired.
Reliability was also a defining factor of our session for both dogs.
As I worked with Lyric, I had a definite process in mind and I understood what the next step in our shaping process was suppose to look like. I reliably rewarded the next behavior, and was consistent in not rewarding any behavior that would not be a part of the end result. She tried only a few other behaviors on the phone book because I consistently rewarded the foundation of this behavior - I rewarded her standing with both front feet on the phone book, rather than her pawing it or touching it with her nose. By having definite reactions on which behavior was better, it eliminated any guessing that could have slowed down our process.
With Rusty, I had to be conscientious about clearly rewarding the correct behavior. Even one miss placed click can start him down the wrong path. We had so many behaviors happening so close together as he offered one after another. I had to make him pause often to slow him down so that I could click at the appropriate time. Sometimes we have to make adjustments in our training not only for our dogs, but for ourselves. I had to make it easier for myself to be correct! By setting the standard, I corrected our course making it easier for him to decipher which behavior I wanted.
Energized is the fun part! With food, a clicker, and a happy tone, my dogs were ready to have some fun. Controlling that energy can sometimes be hard, but if you have "C.O.R." already in place, the "E." falls in line fairly well.
Lyric had no trouble bringing an energetic outlook to training today. Often times she deals with having low confidence, so I was pleased to see her working with such enthusiasm. Keeping the other fundamentals in place gave her the confidence she needed to train freely and happily.
Rusty struggles to keep his energy under control. He was bouncing around, trying so many things, anxious to please. I had to continually remind myself to be happy and relaxed to help him relax himself! Rewarding easy behaviors also helped him focus in. Keeping the criteria not too difficult kept the anxiety at bay.
C.O.R.E. can be applied to every behavior - when there's a problem, one of these fundamentals is missing. I will admit - sometimes it's easier at times than others. It's also easier with some dogs than others at times. For Lyric and I, we started with this foundation in place fairly early in her training. It was as she was growing in puppyhood that I formed the vision of C.O.R.E. With Rusty, it's not always as easy. Him and I have trained so many ways. But using C.O.R.E. to find the missing links made all the difference in our training tonight! It may take more effort at times, but it's worth it. So I keep at it...
Applying C.O.R.E. one behavior at a time!
