February 1, 2016

Klutzy Trick Training

Ruby's paw target - her precision is far better than mine!

I have always been a klutz. I knock my elbows and knees into things, I drop stuff constantly. Once I managed to drop a quart of paint in the middle of a Home Depot aisle and it came open and splattered all over another customer's shoes and pants. I believe the color was Mortification Taupe. I am frequently apologizing to my poor timid Ruby for my incoordination and bad timing. She cowers whenever I drop something noisily on to the floor, and as the last person picked for team sports in school, I've dealt some pretty terrible throws when playing fetch with a ball or her Frisbee. She's stuck with me, though, and we muddle through clicker training together, something that requires good timing and on-the-fly finesse.

One of the most challenging things we've been working on lately is holding/hugging a toy while sitting up ("sitting pretty."). The first step in this process was to teach Ruby to leave the plush toy alone - as a novel treat for her since I allow very limited play with plush toys, this was tough for her. I decided we would use one specific toy for this, one she had never played with, and conditioned a "leave it" for the toy before we started shaping the new behavior. In conjunction with the toy training, I started capturing the motion of wrapping her front legs around something while standing on her hind legs - in this case, my arm. Once we had those two separate elements down, I began asking for her to clutch the toy. In hindsight, the toy was not a great choice as it's rather large. I don't keep many plush toys in the house so I need to seek out something more appropriate. This is a clear case of failing to set my dog up for success by making a behavior more challenging than it needed to be. Ruby is such a good, game girl, and she really seems to enjoy this trick, reaching out for the toy as soon as she knows what we're doing. In the video below - which I would have deleted in embarrassment if not for the theme of this month's Positive Pet Training Blog Hop: Training Confessions - you can see exactly what Ruby has to deal with in her klutzy training partner.

In my effort to position the toy so she can better grasp it, I pull it away from her and clobber her in the face with it. Side note: I did actually mean to record the much-maligned vertical video so I could capture Ruby head to toe. What did my clever girl do to deserve such a bumbling handler? My "clicker finger" is usually too early, too late, or just completely off. I'm going to take this soapbox opportunity to point out how atrocious an aversive training device would be in the hands of someone like me. I am so lucky to have such an enthusiastic, forgiving dog like Ruby who shines despite the shortcomings of her graceless guide. It's remarkable that we've been able to master things that require both of us moving at the same time, like our leg weaves, below:


One of the things I love most about positive reinforcement training is the high standard it sets for honesty. You can't hide from your mistakes, because they will come through in your dog's behavior. The beautiful thing about dogs is that despite this, they keep trying. They get bopped on the head with a giant zebra and they forgive you in the time it takes to click and treat and they offer to do it again. I think we can all take away something from that boundless generosity. Own your mistakes, confess that training mishap, get over it and move on. Because right after you screw up, you just might have the best attempt yet.


This post is part of the Positive Pet Training Blog Hop, hosted by Cascadian Nomads,Tenacious Little Terrier and Rubicon Days. This month's theme is Training Confessions and the next hop begins on March 7th. The hop happens on the first Monday of every month, and is open for a full week - please join us in spreading the word about the rewards of positive training!



13 comments:

  1. Best ever! I swear, I can't stand it, Ruby is too cute!! I love her smile. She's trying so hard!!

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  2. She is so cute! I agree that PR keeps you honest.

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  3. Ruby is so cute! I just love her! <3 She's doing so well!

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  4. What great advice to own our mistakes, get over them and move on, Lara. Thanks! I do think the honesty in "opps! I screwed up" and the creativity in "how do we do this better" are truly the best parts of positive training with out pets. That, and the enthusiasm so perfectly displayed by Ruby here. Thanks for sharing your "oops!"

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  5. Ruby is super forgiving lol! I think Mr. N would demand some treats to make up for bonking him in the head. That is a cute trick!

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  6. Oh boy we are not going shopping with your mom
    Lily & Edward

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  7. Dogs are SO forgiving, it is one of the best things about them. I love how hard she works to give you what you've asked for. :-)

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  8. I'm so glad that I'm not the only klutzy one! Our trainer constantly reminds us that the quality of our training depends on the quality of our rewards--I gave up on clicker trainer long ago because I am not coordinated enough in class to hold a leash, give verbal praise and click, and give a treat. Luckily, Barley accepts me the way I am ;)

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  9. Aw, Ruby is so adorable in the video! I'm kind of a klutz too, so don't feel bad. We're so blessed to have sweet dogs that are very patient with us. :)

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  10. Oh my gosh, that video! Ruby just looks like so much fun. Thanks for sharing your training videos--I love to watch her be a dog.

    I'm pretty clumsy, too--I've never been able to be coordinated when I have to deal with more than my own body. Poor Nala!

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  11. I loved the paint story!!! You had me laughing.

    I often mess up when training tricks but, you're right, dogs are incredibly forgiving. They keep trying to figure out what I want them to do even after I've been so confusing that their heads must be spinning! My biggest error (consistently) is increasing the difficulty too fast. I am truly realizing that as I am taking a Fenzi nosework course. As I await a new lecture to be posted, I think about what *I* would do next. It's almost always a far bigger leap than our instructor has us make!

    I do love that some of the top trainers encourage humans to practice their "mechanics" before trying a training step with their dogs. Even though it often feels silly, it helps me a lot.

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  12. I can totally see myself dropping a can of paint. I have jars that contains supplements I buy in bulk. I keep telling myself to be careful about picking them up, because I will drop one of them one day.

    I've become more graceful in the kitchen. I have at least 2 dogs supervising meal prep time or raw feeding "cooking" days and I have to maneuver around paws and tails while I'm making food.

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