Guest hankodie Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 A couple of days ago I was playing with Hank and getting him to do some tricks. For fun I thought I'd teach him to "woof" on command, not really thinking he would get it so fast but he picked up on it straight away and I was a little too enthusiastic about it as he picked up on it so quickly. Anyway, problem is now when we train/do other things he eagerly offers the "speak" behavior when I don't ask him too I know I can use a "quiet" command, but what is the best way to go about this? I feel like its a bit too much of a grey area if I just reward him for not barking, or is this what I should be doing? The command I taught him is for one loud bark so it's not like he's barking his head off at me but I must say he has a huge bark and it catches me off guard if I'm not prepared for it!!! Help... Please? :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huski Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 Do you have a no reward marker? (Like oops, nope, whoops etc). I would NRM him as he barks and end the session (I would crate my dogs or put them outside). I would also check your timing. Is he offering the barking all the time or only if he starts to get frustrated as he isn't sure what you want? My dogs offer previously rewarded behaviour at rapid fire speed if I start shaping something new or if I'm not being clear with what I want from them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hankodie Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 Do you have a no reward marker? (Like oops, nope, whoops etc). I would NRM him as he barks and end the session (I would crate my dogs or put them outside). I would also check your timing. Is he offering the barking all the time or only if he starts to get frustrated as he isn't sure what you want? My dogs offer previously rewarded behaviour at rapid fire speed if I start shaping something new or if I'm not being clear with what I want from them. Thanks Huski, the barking is happening usually when we're using a tug toy which he loves and is quite excited about. When I ask him to release the toy and then ask for a behavior is when he usually barks. I don't think I've taught him a proper NRM, i do use "nope" which I think he gets most of the time but for some reason he's just resorting to barking as a default behavior. Should I end our play next time he does this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huski Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 (edited) I would, if you want to drive home the point that barking will end in no reward. How often do you reward him outing the tug by letting him get it again straight away? Edited March 26, 2014 by huski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 I had Em in a sit one day and was throwing a few dummies around her in preparation to practice some handling. She was feeling rather feral and impatient and produced a loud, high pitched BARK! Now, barking is taboo for a gundog in the field and I honestly don't think she would ever try it in that situation but I wasn't going to cop it. Lack of impulse control in one scenario can bubble over into another. So... I quietly said "ah well", slipped her leash on and walked her away. She was rather horrified. After 5 min I gave her another chance to "play" and she hasn't barked during training since. I rarely use a serious verbal NRM and prefer to laugh when they make a mistake (stops me getting tense and them from worrying). Similarly I used it in a retrieving trial recently when she crept out of the hide - hasn't tried that again either! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hankodie Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 I would, if you want to drive home the point that barking will end in no reward. How often do you reward him outing the tug by letting him get it again straight away? Quite often I must say Should I be offering something else as a reward or just asking him for more behaviours before I let him have it again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 I would, if you want to drive home the point that barking will end in no reward. How often do you reward him outing the tug by letting him get it again straight away? Quite often I must say Should I be offering something else as a reward or just asking him for more behaviours before I let him have it again? Shape another behaviour - start with a sit! Then tug! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hankodie Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 I would, if you want to drive home the point that barking will end in no reward. How often do you reward him outing the tug by letting him get it again straight away? Quite often I must say Should I be offering something else as a reward or just asking him for more behaviours before I let him have it again? Shape another behaviour - start with a sit! Then tug! So ask for a behaviour -> quick game of tug -> ask for a release -> ask for a few behaviours before giving it back to him? I should also add that our games are quite unstructured and informal so I apologise in advance if these are stupid questions :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 I would, if you want to drive home the point that barking will end in no reward. How often do you reward him outing the tug by letting him get it again straight away? Quite often I must say Should I be offering something else as a reward or just asking him for more behaviours before I let him have it again? Shape another behaviour - start with a sit! Then tug! So ask for a behaviour -> quick game of tug -> ask for a release -> ask for a few behaviours before giving it back to him? I should also add that our games are quite unstructured and informal so I apologise in advance if these are stupid questions :p No questions are stupid! Start by asking a single behaviour, short duration but mix up the whole game so....behaviour - quick game of tug (can be really short < 30s) - release - tug - release - behaviour - tug - release - behaviour - tug - release - tug. Does that make sense? When I'm starting this game I don't actually ASK for a behaviour but shape a sit. Super short duration to begin with and gradually ask for more and more impulse control as I tempt them to break the sit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hankodie Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Thanks TSD! I' practiced this a couple of times, the barking without asked has improved but he has done it a couple of times for attention. I just ignore him/walk away from him, I think I somehow inadvertently gave him permission to bark at me whenever! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 (edited) Sounds good! Keep us updated please and don't forget to video your training! I find barking is more frustration with Em and a lack of impulse control. Like breaking from the hide!!! Edited March 29, 2014 by The Spotted Devil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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