[NAGDU] Using positive reinforcement instead of punishment

[Tami Jarvis]

Yiska,

I use clicker training to owner-train my dogs. Since I'm training them 
from the ground up, I use successive approximation to mold the behaviors 
for guide work over time. If the dog does mess up once he is trained, I 
just rework the obstacle, reward him for getting it right and move on. 
Both of my dogs make few mistakes. For self-rewarding behaviors like 
sniffing, I simply redirect and reward the dog for redirecting. With my 
current boy, if he's really in a sniffy mood, I get further with lures, 
then rewards than I do if I take a negative approach. Generally, I can 
just say, "Leave it, forward," to get him back on track. So "no" doesn't 
really come into the equation, since the positive command for what I 
want him to do does the trick. I also use time outs, just having him 
stand still until he's ready to get his head back on the job, then we 
move on. He doesn't like having to turn around and do something over, so 
we'll do that a time or two if he's being really stubborn. That doesn't 
happen often.

Around the house, we'll make some sort of noise if one of the dogs is 
crossing a boundary, but for the most part, I use "leave it," and so on. 
If I do use a negatory, it doesn't matter what I say, since I'm using 
tone and body language to remind the dog to straighten out. Sometimes 
the word that comes out is "no," but often as not, it's an unarticulated 
kind of sound. Just whatever comes out first.

I don't give a food reward every time I click or use a verbal marker, 
like "good," so I can reinforce positive behaviors without slowing down. 
I use actual treats Las Vegas style, meaning randomly, once the dog is 
trained. At this point, Loki doesn't need much reinforcement for doing 
the job, but he does better with a bit of cheerleading now and then.

hth,

Tami

On 12/18/2017 02:23 PM, Yiska via NAGDU wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> I am wondering about clicker training and positive reinforcement when it
> comes to guide work. How do you get a dog to do the right task after
> messing up. For example the dog misses an overhead obstacle. Normally one
> would leash correct and then rework. How would you rework if the dog does
> not get it the first or fourth time? Normally you would increase
> corrections. Also for those who clicker train do you have a disapproval
> marker like no? I am trying to use much more positive training but
> struggled with my last dog. From what I have learned from youtube there are
> lots of basic tasks for clicker but not much past that.
> 
> I get my dog in January from the seeing eye and am very excited.
> Yiska
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