Fenzi Dog Sport Trainer Certificates

Knock Knock/Doorbell Cues

Cue transfers: When we change cues (or add a new cue), we always offer the NEW cue first, then the old cue. That way, the new cue predicts the old cue, which results in the trained behavior. Then we just eliminate the old cue. 

1. Get the mat pattern going by rewarding the dog laying on the mat, then tossing a cookie. 

2. As soon as they eat the tossed cookie, Knock or Doorbell (new cue) followed by "Mat" verbal cue. Reward in position on the mat. 

3. Toss a cookie and repeat cycle several times. 

4. When your dog seems to be in a groove and there are no delays in their response to the cue package, eliminate the old cue. So you'll only knock or doorbell-  no verbal. 

5. Repeat a few more times and end the session. 

Repeat the game a few more times using the predictable on and off mat pattern and only using the knocks, for another 2-3 short sessions. 

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Now the knock knock needs to be put on stimulus control. This means that we want our dog to go to the mat when we knock, not only as part of a pattern. So, we'll use some other known behaviors mixed in with our knock knock to help solidify this understanding. Make sure that during this session you are also rewarding the other behaviors. An example of how this might look-  you may need to experiment with how far you need to stand away from the mat with your dog, so that they can easily access it- but arne't likely to just dart over to it while you are asking for other things. 

1. Cue sit

2. Dog sits- use room service marker and reward

3. Cue down

4. Dog downs- use room service marker and reward

5. Knock/Doorbell noise

6. Dog runs to the mat and lays down - use room service marker and reward.

7. Cookie toss

8. Repeat in different configurations (Down, knock, toss, sit, down, sit, knock, etc)

9. End session 

*** Sit, and down are only suggestions as alternate behaviors here. They could be anything else that is not on the mat. Shake a paw, chin rest, spin in a circle- it doesn't matter- as long as your dog knows what you are asking, and they are simple enough to do in the training space near, but not on, the mat ***

Exercise B - Knock Knock/Doorbell  Toy Grab Version

This is a cue transfer exercise. You've already worked on "where's your toy?" or the cue used to solicit a toy grab. Now you'll just use new cue, then old cue, then behavior to transfer this. 

***Because we want the action of holding the toy to be calming, it's really important that this doesn't just devolve into a game of fetch. Go slowly, take your time with the greeting once your dog has the toy, and limit the repetitions to just 2-3 at a time so that your dog is not beginning to attach arousal with a more fetch-like game. 

In my demo, you can hear me say 'ding dong' rather than using a doorbell noise. We strategically do not have a doorbell at our house so this is entirely for demonstration purposes so I'm not too worried about matching a doorbell sound. 

You'll see a couple of repetitions where I say Ding Dong! and then "get your bunny!"- and in the last rep, I use only the ding dong. My body posture at this stage, and the orientation, helps to direct Leroy to the bunny as well. 

Also- before I ring my fake bell, I'm asking Leroy to do a few other things here. He's a bit over ready to go grab that bunny but I want to make sure that he's able to function around it, even when it's reachable.... and that the doorbell cue is what makes it available to him. In real life, it wouldn't matter if he wanted to play with the toy at other times (assuming he wouldn't eat it!) but for the purposes of training the cue, we need to be able to control his access to it. We can't cue him to get the bunny if he's already got the bunny.