How Do You Teach The 'go Out/ahead' Command?

[Rilla-My-Rilla]

How do you teach the "Go Out" or "Ahead" command (like the one used in Agility events)? I've heard of using a 'target' and target sticks to teach the dog the command, but haven't actually been able to find anything useful on teaching this command.

edited typo

Edited February 6, 2012 by sjp118

[megan_]

IS this for agility? It would depend on the handling system you chose. For some systems, the handler running/accelerating = go as fast you can (ie acceleration and decaleration queues). Other systems use a word, although I think that is considered a bit old fashioned these days (could be my complete misunderstanding though)?

I learnt go at one club using this method: take a chair/barrel and lure the dog around it (you could also free shape this with a clicker). Repeat until the dog is doing this independently. Then move a teeny bit back. Repeat. Build on this until you're botha few meters away and add the command "go".

That said, I have never had to use go. He just goes - it is his job to do that until I tell him otherwise :). If I want him to slow down, I'll slow down.

[sheena]

Here is a little video of me teaching Cricket the "Go" & the "Out", but before this I taught him without jumps to Go to a target, starting off close to the target & increasing the distance. Good to have someone loading the target for you, You release him with "go" cue & as he reaches the target, you say "get it", then call him back for another treat. Friend reloads target & you repeat at a greater distance, till you have him driving to the target from about 20 meters or more. Then introduce the jumps & backchain. Ie start with one jump before the target, then two etc., until you can stand at the end of the line & send him "Go" keeping your arm up & he will do all the jumps to get the target. Then to teach out, gradually move the middle couple of jumps out of the line until you have quite an arc.....does this make sence. Anyway here is the video

Another exercise in Out is to have 4 jumps in a cartwheel formation. Start off with them close together & gradually move them out. You use your body to put "pressure" on the dogs space, stepping out & raising your arm & saying "out" between the jumps. Not sure if I have explained that all that well. But you must keep your arm up & the pressure on till he has taken the jump...if you drop your arm, it is a signal for the dog to come into you. An excellent distance DVD is Dial Up the Distance available from Clean Run.

[Rilla-My-Rilla]

Thanks for your replies :)

I am assuming you let the dog see you put food on the target?

[Vickie]

I have a verbal Go on, that I support with motion/accereration and a verbal out that I support with my arm.

I tried the food target thing with my old dogs, but found it totally fell apart in competition as they damn well knew there was no food in the ring.

[megan_]

Sorry to go OT, but what handling system do you use Vickie?

I belong to two clubs and one uses a hodge-podge of things and the other uses Derrett, so I've settled on that. I'm going to have to get a lot more fit though because there is a lot of running! Taht said, we he explained his acel/decel queues it made a lot of sense why my boy was putting the brakes on even if I didn't want him to.

[The Spotted Devil]

I use a verbal "go" and physical "running motion" (i.e. arms pumping) which means take every obstacle in front of you - I teach it by throwing cubes of cheese along the line of straight jumps - the second Zig commits to the final jump I throw the cheese and he just gets faster and faster :D If I'm parallel to the obstacles I'll hold my arm out but if the dog is in a loop running away from me I just keep my mouth shut and meet him at the other end. Every time I use it on course I'm surprised at how well Zig understands it :laugh:

[Kavik]

I've taught a verbal 'Go' cue by teaching focus forward and throwing a toy (on the flat then over a jump etc) but I don't think I actually use it on course :laugh: Mostly just use acceleration. For lateral work I've only done obstacle focus exercises and this seems to translate well for distance challenges in Open.

[canine fun sports]

Sorry to go OT, but what handling system do you use Vickie?

Hi Megan,

I hope Vickie does not mind but I will sort of answer for her. She uses basically a Ronda Carter style, which is based on the Linda Mecklenberg early cues for turns, etc. She can be more accurate in her descripion of her handling style.

I use a system similarly based on Linda Mecklenberg, although one of my differences is my VERBAL forward cue.

Linda Mecklenberg:

If forward movement was the only thing Linda Mecklenberg was communicating to the dog she would cue with:

1. Movement - she would be moving in the direction she wanted the dog to go.

2. Shoulder - facing forward

3. Location - ahead of her dog, and preferably ahead of the next obstacle

4. Arm / hand extended in the diection she wanted the dog to go

5. Verbal Cues - she would be using the obstacle command of the obstacle at the end of the sequence (e.g. a line of jumps to the tunnel, she would be saying "Tunnel"

6. Eye contact - she would be focusing on the obstacles, and only have her dog in her peripheral vision

Personally, I do not use obstacle commands - I am always calling the "tunnel" an "over", and the "weaves a "Walk-on" so I would have my dogs permanently confused. I simply use a "Go" which means "go and do the obstacle in front of you." (I am equally dyslexic about lefts and rights, so I use the dogs' names to turn to me and back to turn away from me.) To teach the go is very simple. Simply say the word "go" (or whatever work you wwant to use) and throw toy /treat/ whatever the dog wants out in front of you. The dog learns that the word "go" becomes a reliable predictor that the reward will be ahead. You then start to randomly reinforce it, and this is how you avoid the "What if I do not have the toy /treat/ whatever the dog wants with me to throw. You can do this with obstacles or without.

On course this is always accompanied by body and hand language, which the dog takes more notice of, anyway. So the verbal cue is only useful to support some of the other 5 methods of communicating with your dog.

Cheers,

[megan_]

Thanks CDs. I might start another thread on handling systems and why people follow the ones they do - I find it fascinating

[canine fun sports]

On course this is always accompanied by body and hand language, which the dog takes more notice of, anyway. So the verbal cue is only useful to support some of the other 5 methods of communicating with your dog.

I just thought I had better clarify one thing. Linda Mecklenberg does not consider her verbal commands to be as important as other means of communication. She would be putting more emphasis on the the verbal commands when she wants forward motion when she cannot use her other means of communication, for example, when her dog gets ahead of her (which means her position is suggesting the dog should slow down but she wants him to keep accelerating), when she is starting to move laterally to indicate a turn is coming up (but the dog must complete the jump ahead before he turns) or, I suspect she might also use her verbal commands if she found she was getting too close to the line in a distance handling sequence. (She does not talk about distance handling in her book or CD's) She NEVER uses one means of communication is isolation.

Cheers,

[Rilla-My-Rilla]

Thanks everyone!

Tried the target thing with my sister's dog - he just doesn't seem to get it! Guess I'll just have to keep running past the obstacles with him :)

[Agility Dogs]

I don't teach a go on cue as such. I just want my guys to understand that if I am running hard forward then they should be accelerating. If I am slowing/stopping then they should be thinking about decelerating or actually doing it and then turning back to me.

I teach this on the flat by starting to have them run with me and throwing a toy/lure out in front of me. Once I have them consistently running past me while I'm on the move I put a toy out and ask them to drive to that. I'm not yet at the point where they are able to keep driving without a toy/reward, but we are working on it. They will drive past me, but not really keep driving hard on the flat - down a line of jumps they will. (OOPS!)

I don't really want obstacle focus - I want them to understand that they are to run the straight line regardless of what obstacles or open spaces there are to take. ie: If I run a straight line they should be able to run past a jump so they can come back over the jump if I ask them to. The only reason I want them to deviate is if I ask them to - they should not swerve off their line to take an obstacle.

All this is only an issue when I can't get in front of my dog though - fortunately this doesn't happen too often, especially on more technical courses. :) Will have to become a better dog trainer as I get older!

[Rilla-My-Rilla]

I don't teach a go on cue as such. I just want my guys to understand that if I am running hard forward then they should be accelerating. If I am slowing/stopping then they should be thinking about decelerating or actually doing it and then turning back to me.

I teach this on the flat by starting to have them run with me and throwing a toy/lure out in front of me. Once I have them consistently running past me while I'm on the move I put a toy out and ask them to drive to that. I'm not yet at the point where they are able to keep driving without a toy/reward, but we are working on it. They will drive past me, but not really keep driving hard on the flat - down a line of jumps they will. (OOPS!)

I don't really want obstacle focus - I want them to understand that they are to run the straight line regardless of what obstacles or open spaces there are to take. ie: If I run a straight line they should be able to run past a jump so they can come back over the jump if I ask them to. The only reason I want them to deviate is if I ask them to - they should not swerve off their line to take an obstacle.

All this is only an issue when I can't get in front of my dog though - fortunately this doesn't happen too often, especially on more technical courses. :) Will have to become a better dog trainer as I get older!

I'll have a try of this method - sounds pretty good. Thanks x :D