Drop on Recall Part V

Apparently I've already written about  Drop on Recall. More than once.  More than twice.

• I looked at the parts of the exercise. 
• A year ago, I tried a lot of different techniques for the behavior (mats, food placement, tethering). Interestingly, at that time, food/toy behind Griffin was not successful.   I don't remember what happened and the descriptions in that post are not specific enough to give me feedback.  The post led to the video below, where I looked at how a dog will Down....playing the video very slowly.   Per the advice of many people, the type of Down supposedly doesn't matter as long as it's fast.
• And then I did another technique, dropping my dog just after calling and adding a new cue.  I don't really remember doing this. I also don't remember who the "instructor" was.   That's what I get for trying to keep everyone anonymous....
• Lastly, the most-simple tips I could give a 4H parent on teaching this exercise. 

Onto the new parts!

Griffin has been learning a (slow and painful) front-feet-still down to use for our signal exercise.  It's incredibly slow going. He's still not offering it reliably.  But he is offering it more frequently. We have, essentially, no distance.  However, in the week we've worked on this behavior, the morphology of his DropOnRecall has changed dramatically.  

Look at the weight shift back! Much fewer forward motion steps to slow down! It's fascinating.   I wish I could find a before-video to compare with this.  This video was from Sunday or Monday night.   And yesterday he was even better!  Running faster, only stopping if I cued, only slowing when I asked for a stop. 

During training group, we would do parts of the exercise. I would release Griffin to a toy at different parts. Sometimes I would feed him in position (at the stay or at the drop or at the front or at return to heel).  We only did the whole thing through once.  Sometimes I would turn at the last second and he'd run off to get a treat/toy I would throw.  My favorite part was that he would respond to his "back" cue (turn 180* and go get a toy).  The toy was not placed ahead of time, it was thrown after I sent him back. He didn't question me, and just ran back towards the start area.  

Behavior chains are wonderful!

Quick Notes on the "Drop on Recall" Exercise

I have not trained this for a million dogs.  Probably only about ten.  This is not a complete training guide.

Yesterday I was helping to judge a county 4-H dog show.  Afterwards, I was asked questions by some of the kids and parents. One parent really wanted to know how to train the Drop On Recall.

I paused....trying to figure out what to say that could make the biggest difference.  These are the few tips that I thought would be most key.  Note that a majority of the dogs were trained....very differently..... than things I would recommend to begin with.

1) I will come and help. Call, email, set up a clinic.  There are a LOT of steps to this behavior and for success.
2) We want the Down to be fluent, that means that the dog should lie down on just the word or signal, without the handler having to bend over, without the handler having to repeat it, the dog responds right away, and with immediacy.
3) Focus on distance, have a parent hold the dog on leash. The person is to not say or do anything but stand completely still.  Kid asks for a Down. Reinforce. Kid moves a step away. Down. Reinforce. Two steps away. Down. Reinforce.   Up to about twenty steps or so.  Teach the dog he can lie down far from the handler.
4) When you go to reinforce the dog, always toss the treat behind or throw the toy behind the dog. This will help to discourage the dog from keeping forward.
5) Consider teaching the dog to lie on a bed.  Then you can put the bed between the dog and handler. Ask for the down.  Reinforce.   Do a MILLION repetitions. Most people get rid of the mat before the behavior is strong enough.

I really hope I get to go do a clinic in this area. It was THE most enthusiastic group I've judged for.  A TON of kids. A TON in Novice!  Many kids showing in brace!  (which I had to judge!).  Many teams!   Many kids with multiple dogs. It was really really impressive.  And many of them do agility as well!

It was also interesting that while everywhere I judge 95% are not showing in buckle collars.... this was teh first time I felt I had to intervene (more than once) in the crating area when I saw things that got a bit too rough.  "Hi!  One of the really important things at dog shows is showing the public how we interact with animals.  They want to see everyone having a good time and good human-dog interactions.  It's really embarassing and hard when your dog does XYZ...  How about we don't give him a chance to practice that... lets (cover the crate, let him stand instead of down stay, walk him instead of standing here in the busy area).   Remember, the public is watching.  And if the judge thinks you are being too rough with your dog, it could impact your sportsmanship score as well.   Do you have any questions about that or how we can help your dog?"

Despite all that, I really really do like working with the kids.   It's going to be a long few months until we start up again in January/February!

The Magic of Cues

Cues mean more than a history of reinforcement if a specific behavior occurs.  Cues can give so much information to the animal!

Griffin and I have been working on and off on his "Drop on Recall" obedience exercise.   We do a session. It goes poorly. I come back to it a few months later.  But something has happened and now he -gets- it.

And not only does he understand, but the behavior is NOT contaminating our regular recall in any way.

If Griffin is on a SitStay and I cue Front....he runs up and sits in front of me.   If he's in a SitStay and I cue either Dog or Here, he will trot forward and drop when asked.  Sometimes on the Here/Dog he will anticipate and drop on his own (I walk to reset).

The really cool part though.... no matter how many drops we do in a row, if I cue Front, he NEVER slows, he NEVER makes an error, he NEVER thinks about dropping.  We've kept that cue clean and the criteria is so clear to him that the similar drop behavior is not impacting the straight recall.

It's amazing!

(A video from last year when I was using a slow motion feature to look at how dogs lie down:)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDrb9QpYxcg&feature=channel_video_title

A close look at the Drop on Recall

A few weeks ago I was really wondering about how exactly the dogs move for the drop on recall. And then I thought about all the other parts. Unsurprisingly, the answer I got was, "It depends." Different dogs have different ways of dropping and there is more than one way to correctly drop. I haven't gotten any feedback as to whether there is a more efficient, effective, or preferred way.

I was unable to find any drop on recall videos in slow motion to look at how the dogs move. Thanks to the technology I didn't know my computer had and my new camera, here are some Downs with my dogs. Some of the Downs were from a standstill, others were in motion.

There are about 4-6 drops for each dog, the clip is about two minutes long. What parts do you see drop first? Do you see movement indicating the dog is about to halt? Watch the heads. Watch the placement of the legs. Watch how the dog stops. Watch how the body (and not the legs) moves as the dogs drop. I've watched this about twenty times already and I still don't know everything I'm seeing.



I would love to see slow motion videos of other dogs lying down, and especially any drop on recalls.