dotdashdot Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 My puppy Nala is still showing shyness and a bit of fear in some situations, and with a show coming up I really want her to be her happy, confident self that she is at home. I've read about how to instill a dog with more confidence, slowly getting them to interact with a new person with no help from the owner/handler. Could I possibly speed this process up by using a clicker? I've not really used them with dogs before, but I have used a whistle with other animals and have a good understanding of how it all works. Nala is quite smart, and food driven - could this overcome her shy/fear reaction? (i.e, can I have her so focused on getting that reward that she won't worry?) And just to add, she normally WILL relax in a situation if given time - she is SUPER curious, and while she might initially tuck her tail and sneak away, she will usually come back and want to sniff. And at the dog beach, she LOVES it! She will play with other dogs quite happily, even initiating play. Problem is, at a show I can't exactly say to the judge, just gimme five and she'll be happier. I'd ultimately love her to see showing as a "job", where she's happy to perform and then it's all over. Thanks :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff'n'Toller Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 Is it just stand for exam that is the problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aidan3 Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 I'd suggest teaching her to touch a target with her nose using the clicker. You'll be able to use this to tidy up her stack and gait, and also to keep her "thinking" or "operant" when she meets new people. Have her target their hand to earn a click and treat. She'll be happily going up to strangers in no time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huski Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 (edited) If it's getting a good SFE you need I would be careful not to make her have a high value for other people - if she sees other people and thinks "yes I get treats from these people" you will end up with a dog that can't do a SFE anyway, because it's been conditioned to get and look for treats from other people. I have seen this (getting other people to treat the dog) back fire for this reason heaps of times. You don't need to use a clicker to build her confidence, but I would be training a verbal marker if not a clicker. I would start by playing drive games at home and then once she's confident with the way the game works, work on increasing her confidence in new environments. It may not be something you can rush or hurry her with, and if it was me I would consider getting some professional help to learn how to use her food drive to build confidence. It can without question be done (and I've seen it achieved many times) but it is also something that can get worse with the wrong approach. Edited April 21, 2014 by huski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dotdashdot Posted April 21, 2014 Author Share Posted April 21, 2014 Yep Staff n Toller, that's when her first (and really, only) negative experience happened, so now if someone bends over to pat her she freaks. She will come back though, but i'd prefer her to be happy and look forward to it. Aidan, that seems like a great idea - targeting is something i'm very familiar with, so I would be quite confident to use that method. We just did some work on loading the clicker, then tried playing with a box - she's getting the concept! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dotdashdot Posted April 21, 2014 Author Share Posted April 21, 2014 Just saw your response Huski I think I would be the only one handing out treats - I don't want her expecting food off strangers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff'n'Toller Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 (edited) PM TSD. She has used steady feet game for this. We started doing it with some pups in her puppy games class and it was working well. I wish I knew about it 9 years ago - probably would have stayed in the show ring! Edited April 21, 2014 by Staff'n'Toller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dotdashdot Posted April 21, 2014 Author Share Posted April 21, 2014 Just to check is TSD the spotted devil? Don't want to PM the wrong person :laugh: I have Canine College (puppy obedience/foundation agility) this Saturday, so hopefully this will help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huski Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 Just saw your response Huski I think I would be the only one handing out treats - I don't want her expecting food off strangers. If you get it right you will end up with a dog that sees another person and connects that 'trigger' to the awesome game they play with you, which means seeing another person will boost the dogs confidence and drive due to what reward history tells them. For a SFE we really want the dog to completely ignore the person examining them, I know showing isn't as strict as obedience (in that the dog will lose points for moving) but the goal is really the same. Building a dogs confidence in the SFE is a really common problem, we have and do use targets but in a slightly different way, this vid may help give you some ideas; Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff'n'Toller Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 Just to check is TSD the spotted devil? Don't want to PM the wrong person :laugh: I have Canine College (puppy obedience/foundation agility) this Saturday, so hopefully this will help. Correct. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dotdashdot Posted April 21, 2014 Author Share Posted April 21, 2014 Just saw your response Huski I think I would be the only one handing out treats - I don't want her expecting food off strangers. If you get it right you will end up with a dog that sees another person and connects that 'trigger' to the awesome game they play with you, which means seeing another person will boost the dogs confidence and drive due to what reward history tells them. For a SFE we really want the dog to completely ignore the person examining them, I know showing isn't as strict as obedience (in that the dog will lose points for moving) but the goal is really the same. Building a dogs confidence in the SFE is a really common problem, we have and do use targets but in a slightly different way, this vid may help give you some ideas; I think I get you, so instead of a food reward, have a fun game to play? Is your target the yellow round thing on the ground in that video? That video shows exactly what I want basically! Plus a mouth exam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dotdashdot Posted April 21, 2014 Author Share Posted April 21, 2014 Just to check is TSD the spotted devil? Don't want to PM the wrong person :laugh: I have Canine College (puppy obedience/foundation agility) this Saturday, so hopefully this will help. Correct. :D Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huski Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 Just saw your response Huski I think I would be the only one handing out treats - I don't want her expecting food off strangers. If you get it right you will end up with a dog that sees another person and connects that 'trigger' to the awesome game they play with you, which means seeing another person will boost the dogs confidence and drive due to what reward history tells them. For a SFE we really want the dog to completely ignore the person examining them, I know showing isn't as strict as obedience (in that the dog will lose points for moving) but the goal is really the same. Building a dogs confidence in the SFE is a really common problem, we have and do use targets but in a slightly different way, this vid may help give you some ideas; I think I get you, so instead of a food reward, have a fun game to play? Is your target the yellow round thing on the ground in that video? That video shows exactly what I want basically! Plus a mouth exam. Yep The target in the video is the orange frisbee on the ground You could use a toy or food depending on what the dog has most drive for. The dog in the video above is being trained with food :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptolomy Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 PM TSD. She has used steady feet game for this. We started doing it with some pups in her puppy games class and it was working well. I wish I knew about it 9 years ago - probably would have stayed in the show ring! I agree SnT the steady feet game is a great way to teach a SFE and the dog very quickly learns the game. Sue Hogben is the guru for teaching this and has spread the method all over oz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ish Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 Could someone please point me in the direction to find out more about the steady feet game? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheena Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 Yes, the clicker would certainly help, but you use it in exactly the same way a the whistle. Some trainers like to use a whistle because it leaves them hands free as the whistle remains in their mouth, but I like to hide my clicker & the treats if possible while training otherwise the sight of the whistle/clicker & /or treat bag will act as a lure & your dog will be more focused on those items instead of you. I have something here which might be of help & will print you out a copy & bring it along next Monday night. Better still if you could PM me your email address I can send it to you. Its a six step training for duration attention which I have been doing for my canine freestyle & it trains the dog to only have eyes for you in all sorts of distracting situations, & uses the clicker of course :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 PM TSD. She has used steady feet game for this. We started doing it with some pups in her puppy games class and it was working well. I wish I knew about it 9 years ago - probably would have stayed in the show ring! I agree SnT the steady feet game is a great way to teach a SFE and the dog very quickly learns the game. Sue Hogben is the guru for teaching this and has spread the method all over oz. Absolutely! SH is da bomb! I'll never forget the first time I saw her demonstrating this and it just made SO much sense. The principles are also applicable to so many other exercises. To save me typing on my iphone here's a link to a previous thread where I put in some notes I had made on it: http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/252474-moving-feet-during-stand-for-exam/page__fromsearch__1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheena Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 DTD....not sure if it interests you, but Grafton Club (Clarence Dog Sports) run classes in Show Training :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dotdashdot Posted April 22, 2014 Author Share Posted April 22, 2014 Ok, had a read of the steady feet game, and I reckon I understand how it works. Sheena, I will PM you now. Do you know the times/days of the week that the Grafton show training runs? I wish the Coffs Kennel Club ran one. I feel confident enough in my handling, but would be fantastic for exposing my dogs to the exams (not that Cleo cares, she knows the drill) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonwoman Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 How old is she? Could be a fear period or around the first season............if I see this in a pup, they don't get any pressure like showing or training at clubs for a few weeks, they stay home, go to non-threatening places and generally are allowed to grow through it............I have seen dogs ruined by being under pressure at this age..............plus the damage to their reputation if they show fear in public.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now