Encouragement for amateurs and pos. trainers in field trials

[Steve Amrein]

I once judged a 10 year old dog that was running a Q. The dog handler did not start until the dog was later in life before getting involved with FT game. The dog was trained by the owner and only run by the owner. The guy was a very nice person. Of course they were running against all the new crop of up and coming prospects. The dog made it though all 4 series and jammed. The guy was happy as a clam and thanked me and let me know it was the dogs last trial. Funny after sitting in a chair watching 1000's of dogs butts I remember a Q jam.

I guess what I am trying to say is good for them. I hope they are having fun and keep going.

[John Robinson]

I once judged a 10 year old dog that was running a Q. The dog handler did not start until the dog was later in life before getting involved with FT game. The dog was trained by the owner and only run by the owner. The guy was a very nice person. Of course they were running against all the new crop of up and coming prospects. The dog made it though all 4 series and jammed. The guy was happy as a clam and thanked me and let me know it was the dogs last trial. Funny after sitting in a chair watching 1000's of dogs butts I remember a Q jam.

I guess what I am trying to say is good for them. I hope they are having fun and keep going.

Nothing to add other than say that is a great story and wonderful sentiment...

[John Robinson]

John, I do competition obedience with my dog. I use the clicker. You would be surprised at the speed something can be taught by marking the behavior. It is precise and if done properly the dog learns that it can succeed. And in many cases it can speed up the learning process. As stated earlier I ridiculed it at first. Not now. I might add that I have trained other ways. I have added the clicker to my toolbox.

I just have to add that I have used it for what I call "field obedience". I cleared up many issues. The only one that remains to be cleared up is the misunderstanding my training partners have about my methods. I will be clicking their behavior, too.

I don't know anything about this, so forgive me if my question is crazy, but could the clicker technique be transfered to the "tone" button on an e-collar?

[Jennifer Henion]

I don't know anything about this, so forgive me if my question is crazy, but could the clicker technique be transfered to the "tone" button on an e-collar?

Haven't tried it yet, but it is my plan for the near future. One would have to program the dog to recognize the tone the same way as a click.

When we first teach dogs what the clicker means, we call it "charging" the clicker. Simply means having the dog in a room with clicker and treats ready. click, give treat or throw treat to get dogs attention. click, treat, click, treat. Pretty soon - sometimes it takes as much as 4 minutes - dog is staring at you and your hand waiting for the click.

At that moment, dog knows click means treat. Now you set a platform on the ground. Dog walks to it, you click and treat. dog figures out if he repeats this behavior that got a click before, he'll get another click/treat. Soon you will have shaped the dog's behavior to get on the platform and sit squarely using your clicks and treats. Later you can ditch the treats and use a bumper/retrieve as the "treat".

I'm simplifying it here, but you get the gist. Now you can imagine that you can do the same thing with the tone on the collar. My plan is to use this for distance work, holding the line and to shape proper water entry (no cheating), etc. The treat will be the bumper or bird. But it's a work in progress. Not sure how Lindsay did that stuff. Plan to read his blog to get an idea how he did it and then I'll determine what mods to make for my own training. I think his male dog is a bit more headstrong than my female, from what I have read.

And Thanks to Steve for that story!! Nice addition!

Jen

[Mary Lynn Metras]

I know the pager or buzz works well on my Dogtra collar!! when doing long blinds and you want a fast sit??

[gdgnyc]

[QUOTE=John Robinson;1041117]I don't know anything about this, so forgive me if my question is crazy, but could the clicker technique be transfered to the "tone" button on an e-collar?[/QUOTE

I don't know how your dog perceives the tone. If it is not uncomfortable or annoying, I don't see why not. It would be nothing more than a secondary reinforcer once it is conditioned. I have had that same thought myself but I would really like to talk to someone who has done it.

[Bubba]

Mike Tierny uses the tone button some in this context and it seems to be really successful.

He uses the other buttons as well regards

Bubba

[badbullgator]

Well congratulations. That is a big deal for a golden trained with a clicker. Must be a special dog.
I do wonder if some of those JAMS might have been wins or placements with this special dog and conventional force training.....

[Judy Chute]

Purchased an e-collar that also had "clicker" tone on it. This purchase for my first Golden Retriever, "Andi". When I pressed the clicker button, he would run back to me for his treat. Used only for the field. One day, sent him in the river for a quick reward swim while doing drills..forgot to take it off. Very expensive and this was about 12 years ago. Have it somewhere as it stopped working after the swim. Innotec, (sp?) maybe?

Will have to dig it out..

[John Robinson]

Well congratulations. That is a big deal for a golden trained with a clicker. Must be a special dog.
I do wonder if some of those JAMS might have been wins or placements with this special dog and conventional force training.....

We went through that about five pages back. I had the same comment, only I wasn't as tactful as you...