[nagdu] Teaching Your Dog to Find Objects that You Dropped was RE: Krokus's new trick

[Nicole Torcolini]

A refresher on what clicker training is and how it is taught, as teaching
your dog to find objects that you dropped builds on this:
Clicker training is basically a time marker. Dogs live in the moment. If you
give your dog a treat or use verbal phrase, it could have been for anything
in the last few seconds. The clicker basically tells your dog that whatever
he/she did at the moment that he/she heard the click is a good thing.
Clicker training is usually taught to dogs using treats. You hold a treat in
you hand in a fist. As soon as the dog touches your fist, you click.
Eventually, you do not have a treat in you hand the whole time. The dog
touches the empty hand, hears the click, and then gets the treat instead of
touching the hand because the hand is holding a treat. A command is usually
taught for this action, which can then be used to direct your dog to you
and/or teach them to locate other objects.

So how do you use this to teach your dog to find objects that you dropped?
Find a couple of different objects that can actually have treats placed in
them, such as a change purse. It should be something that completely
conceals the treat; do not use a plastic bag.
Put a treat in the object, and place it on the floor. As soon as your dog
touches the object, click and get the treat out of the object to give to
your dog.
Repeat this a few times with the same object, then switch to another object.
Once you have cycled through a couple of different objects, start mixing
them up.
Eventually, stop putting the treat in the object; give the treat after the
click.
Somewhere along the way, start using a command to indicate that your dog
should find the object. The one that I used for Lexia was search.
Dogs are usually good at generalizing, so, after switching between three or
for objects, your dog should be able to figure out that you mean any object
on the floor.
Notes:
1. If there are a lot of objects on the floor, it may take more than one try
before your dog finds the object for which you are looking. Do not get mad
at your dog if your dog finds other objects.
2. If your dog is a scavenger, this is a good way to reinforce that food
found on the ground is not to be eaten. Drop some food where you know where
it is. Tell your dog to find it, and, when your dog finds it but does not
eat it, reward. One time, Lexia showed me a strawberry that had fallen on
the floor, but she showed no interest in actually consuming it, probably
because she knew that she would get a dog treat for showing me.

Nicole

-----Original Message-----
From: Tracy Carcione [mailto:carcione at access.net] 
Sent: Thursday, January 01, 2015 11:43 AM
To: Nicole Torcolini
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Krokus's new trick

I have a basic understanding of clicker.  I get the theory, and I'm starting
to use it a bit.
Tracy

----- Original Message -----
From: "Nicole Torcolini" <ntorcolini at wavecable.com>
To: "'Tracy Carcione'" <carcione at access.net>; "'NAGDU Mailing List,the
National Association of Guide Dog Users'" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, January 01, 2015 2:05 PM
Subject: RE: [nagdu] Krokus's new trick


>I don't know how to teach them to retrieve things, but I can tell you 
>how I  taught Lexia to point to things. Please refresh my memory; you 
>use clicker  training with him?
>
> Nicole
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Tracy 
> Carcione via nagdu
> Sent: Thursday, January 01, 2015 7:22 AM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: [nagdu] Krokus's new trick
>
> Krokus has a new trick.  When Ben's done eating, Krokus licks Ben's 
> dish, then he picks it up.  If I call him, he will bring me the dish 
> to wash.  I wonder if his raisers taught him that?
> He's such a retriever.  I want to harness his superpower for good, and 
> teach him to fetch, if I can figure out how to do it.  Long ago, I had 
> a dog who would point out things I'd dropped, and it was very handy.  
> I'm sure Krokus could do that, at the very least.
> Tracy
>
>
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