Training an Auto-Watch
Glindy and I went to the trainer's
again today. On our last few business trips, Glindy has been
getting a rambunctious on-leash around other dogs, so I decided to
bring in the "big guns" before things got out of hand.
Robin (the trainer) and I both agreed that having Glindy learn to
focus on me, even in highly-distracting environments, was likely to
be the solution to a number of problems. So, we all worked on that
this evening.
Part of my problem in training this behavior on my own is that I
don't think my rate of reinforcement has been high enough. Several
books recommend that a behavior be reinforced upwards of 40 times
per minute in order to really take root. So, Glindy got a ton of
Buffalo
Bites in tiny, pea-sized portions this evening while Robin and
I discussed other training issues.
At one point, Robin brought out a dog named Bob who was very
dog-aggressive, but had an exceptionally reliable response to the
"watch" command. After a few moments of lunging and growling at
Glindy--and Glindy growling right back--Bob turned his back on
Glindy to focus on Robin's face and earn his treats. I was very
impressed, and felt that if Glindy could master similar behavior, a
lot of our on-going issues would go away.
From now on, I'll be carrying a bait bag with me in public, filled
with Buffalo Bites. I'll make it a point to reinforce Glindy as
often as possible, every time I catch her making eye contact with
me.
Maybe next time I go to Petco with Glindy, I'll come home with an
empty bait bag instead of a sore shoulder. I'll let you know.