AG325: Do I Turn or Do I Go Now: Cue Clarity for Jumps & Tunnels

To make sure that we get the most out of our verbals, we are going to proof each of them at each step before advancing on. We are going to do this with handling cues as well for each type of jumping effort and exit on the tunnels. 

Okay, back to this lecture specifically…

We are going to work proofing our tight turn on a jump verbal in two stages: in-hand reinforcer and on-the-ground reinforcer.

IN HAND:

We are going to start our proofing with a reinforcer in your hand. The reinforcer should be very obvious, so either a toy, a food toy, or a food bowl. We want your dog to be very aware that the reinforcer is in your hand!

Begin very close to the wing or cone. Your dog should be being held in one hand and your reinforcer should be in the other hand. You can hold your dog by the collar, harness, or even a very light leash that will not get caught on the wing or cone.

Your hand would be reinforcer should be raised and held close to the wing or cone, but with enough space for your dog to easily pass by it.

Start saying your tight turn verbal, but do not release your dog until they are looking and trying to move in the direction of the wing or cone instead of the reinforcer.

If you think your dog will have feelings about being held back, begin so close to the wing or cone that they cannot make an incorrect choice.

Keep repeating your verbal until your dog has passed around the cone or wing at least 2 to 3 times. When they have, cue them to get the reinforcer out of your hand. 

When they are doing this easily in both directions, take a step back and repeat.

Continue to work this, adding a step every so often, until you are able to get at least 5 to 8 feet back. 

Keep all of these session short and successful! 

ON GROUND:

Now we are basically going to repeat the same exercise as above, except we are going to Have the reinforcer readily available on the ground.

Unlike the first exercise, we are going to start with your dog close to the wing or cone and your reinforcer at a right angle from the cone and at least five feet back. 

Begin by holding your dog right in front of the wing or a cone. Again, do not let go of your dog at the start until they are looking and or moving to the wing or cone.

Keep repeating your verbal until your dog has gone around the wing or cone at least 2 to 3 times. When they have, cue them to run to their reinforcer that is on the ground.

When that is easy for your dog to do in both directions, take a step back and repeat. Continue over several reps or sessions to move further and further back until you are about 5 to 8 feet away and your dog can perform this exercise just as easily as when they were up close

The second stage of this exercise is to move your dog further back while moving your reinforcer closer to the wing or cone. Just as you did with moving your dog back, move the reinforcer slowly over several repetitions or sessions.

Throughout both of these, again, I’m going to repeat myself, but go slowly!! Much better to build success without error than have lots of errors that we have to undo

ADDITIONAL ADD ON:

If your dog is finding both of these to be very easy, try mixing in only asking them to start to wrap the wing or cone with your verbal and then immediately cue them to go to their reinforcer. This will make it so that they’re not always expecting to wrap the wing or cone every time and in turn must engage their listening skills even more!

Here is an example of the final step of the previous exercise and this additional exercise mix in: