Lesson #4: Touch Me!
As you advance in agility work, you'll want to have the ability to send your dog to obstacles at some distance from you. You'll also want to be able to get your dog to come back, often specifically to your left side or your right side, and to come in close. With this lesson, we lay the foundation for your dog to come to your side, by teaching him or her to touch your hand. This can be easily taught with or without a Clicker. I hadn't learned about clicking when I taught Viva to touch my hand, and I still tend to reinforce this exercise without a Clicker due to force of habit.
Clicker-Free Version:
For this, you will need your dog, and your dog's favorite treats. Remember to keep the treats small -- no larger than the size of the fingernail on your pinky -- and to do the exercise before, not after, you feed your dog. With your dog close by, preferably just behind you, place a treat in your left hand (ideally between two fingers, unless your dog will chew your fingers off when going for the treat), and place your left hand at your side, with the palm of your hand facing behind you. You are essentially using food here as a lure. Your dog will likely approach your hand, and lick/eat the treat. Repeat. Repeat again. Take a break. Repeat again, this time with the treat in your right hand, and your right hand at your side. Repeat twice using the right hand. Later the same day, repeat the same exercise. By this time, you should have a dog who comes quickly to your hand when it is down at your side, and touches it. A nose touch would be ideal. When your dog is consistently doing this, begin to say, "Touch," "Touch me," or "Here" -- whatever word you would like to use when asking your dog to run toward your side when you're racing through an agility course a few months from now. After several days using the word with the treat, try asking for the behavior with only the command. If your dog touches your hand, treat and praise! Once your dog is consistently touching on command, you may begin to "ping-pong" your reward -- reward randomly, rather than every single time.
Clicker Version:
For this, you will need one additional tool: your Clicker! Hold the clicker in the hand that is not holding the treat. Perform the exercise as above, only when your dog comes to lick your hand, click. Repeat as above, clicking when your dog touches your hand. Add a verbal command, continuing to click for the successful touch. Shift after a few days to command only (no lure), click, treat, etc. For the Clicker geniuses among you, it is possible to do this exercise as a completely shaped behavior, without any luring at all. I will state for the record that I am not remotely a Clicker genius. We'll get into some shaping with future exercises, but for this one, if you'd like to shape the behavior rather than lure, head to your favorite Clicker website for help. Karen Pryor's website can get you started, if you're curious but haven't done much shaping.
Advanced Version:
Once your dog is running to touch your hand every time you have it at your side and say the word "Touch" (or whatever word you elected to use), try the command when/where there is a mild potential for your dog to be distracted. This is known as "proofing" the command. Dogs don't generalize. A "sit" in an empty living room is different than a "sit" when you have company over, or a "sit" in the kitchen when someone has dropped a piece of cheese on the floor, or a "sit" outside while a squirrel is making a mad dash ten yards away. Ideally, we want all of our commands to be fully proofed, so that our dogs will respond anywhere, under any circumstances, to our commands. Proofing doesn't happen overnight. Add one distraction at a time. Set your dog up to succeed. If you don't think your dog is at least 70% likely to succeed, you've set too great a challenge for him or her. So don't go from the quiet of your living room (if your living room is quiet) to rush hour at your local dog park. The first step to proofing this exercise might be increasing the distance between you and your dog. I'd aim to get my dog running from the other side of the room to nose-touch the palm of my hand before I proof this exercise outside in Squirrel Alley, or in the kitchen while my beloved is making pizza and Viva thinks it's raining cheese.
Trouble-Shooting:
If you plan to pursue obedience training and trialing, avoid using the word "Come" as that will take on a different meaning.
If your dog appears oblivious to the chicken/cheese/peanut butter dangling from your hand, make sure you're not too far away from your dog. Also, make sure your dog is at least a little bit hungry, and really likes whatever you're attempting to use as a lure. I'm all for using Viva's kibble to reward her behavior, but if we're working on something tricky, I know we'll both be better off if I'm using a high-value lure -- something she really goes crazy for (without chewing off my fingers, since I need them).
Happy Training!
Clicker-Free Version:
For this, you will need your dog, and your dog's favorite treats. Remember to keep the treats small -- no larger than the size of the fingernail on your pinky -- and to do the exercise before, not after, you feed your dog. With your dog close by, preferably just behind you, place a treat in your left hand (ideally between two fingers, unless your dog will chew your fingers off when going for the treat), and place your left hand at your side, with the palm of your hand facing behind you. You are essentially using food here as a lure. Your dog will likely approach your hand, and lick/eat the treat. Repeat. Repeat again. Take a break. Repeat again, this time with the treat in your right hand, and your right hand at your side. Repeat twice using the right hand. Later the same day, repeat the same exercise. By this time, you should have a dog who comes quickly to your hand when it is down at your side, and touches it. A nose touch would be ideal. When your dog is consistently doing this, begin to say, "Touch," "Touch me," or "Here" -- whatever word you would like to use when asking your dog to run toward your side when you're racing through an agility course a few months from now. After several days using the word with the treat, try asking for the behavior with only the command. If your dog touches your hand, treat and praise! Once your dog is consistently touching on command, you may begin to "ping-pong" your reward -- reward randomly, rather than every single time.
Clicker Version:
For this, you will need one additional tool: your Clicker! Hold the clicker in the hand that is not holding the treat. Perform the exercise as above, only when your dog comes to lick your hand, click. Repeat as above, clicking when your dog touches your hand. Add a verbal command, continuing to click for the successful touch. Shift after a few days to command only (no lure), click, treat, etc. For the Clicker geniuses among you, it is possible to do this exercise as a completely shaped behavior, without any luring at all. I will state for the record that I am not remotely a Clicker genius. We'll get into some shaping with future exercises, but for this one, if you'd like to shape the behavior rather than lure, head to your favorite Clicker website for help. Karen Pryor's website can get you started, if you're curious but haven't done much shaping.
Advanced Version:
Once your dog is running to touch your hand every time you have it at your side and say the word "Touch" (or whatever word you elected to use), try the command when/where there is a mild potential for your dog to be distracted. This is known as "proofing" the command. Dogs don't generalize. A "sit" in an empty living room is different than a "sit" when you have company over, or a "sit" in the kitchen when someone has dropped a piece of cheese on the floor, or a "sit" outside while a squirrel is making a mad dash ten yards away. Ideally, we want all of our commands to be fully proofed, so that our dogs will respond anywhere, under any circumstances, to our commands. Proofing doesn't happen overnight. Add one distraction at a time. Set your dog up to succeed. If you don't think your dog is at least 70% likely to succeed, you've set too great a challenge for him or her. So don't go from the quiet of your living room (if your living room is quiet) to rush hour at your local dog park. The first step to proofing this exercise might be increasing the distance between you and your dog. I'd aim to get my dog running from the other side of the room to nose-touch the palm of my hand before I proof this exercise outside in Squirrel Alley, or in the kitchen while my beloved is making pizza and Viva thinks it's raining cheese.
Trouble-Shooting:
If you plan to pursue obedience training and trialing, avoid using the word "Come" as that will take on a different meaning.
If your dog appears oblivious to the chicken/cheese/peanut butter dangling from your hand, make sure you're not too far away from your dog. Also, make sure your dog is at least a little bit hungry, and really likes whatever you're attempting to use as a lure. I'm all for using Viva's kibble to reward her behavior, but if we're working on something tricky, I know we'll both be better off if I'm using a high-value lure -- something she really goes crazy for (without chewing off my fingers, since I need them).
Happy Training!
posted by Kathryn Owens at 1:25 PM
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