Blizzard conditions (a slight exaggeration) started late this afternoon… the laneway, which was clear of snow, is now a whiteout. But think! We are nearing the end so I’ll try to keep that in mind as I stare at the swirling snow.
Meanwhile, for the last few weeks I’ve been gorging on dog training videos… some if it is ‘do this then do that’ but by far the most content is about the theory of learning and training. The why and how is slowly settling into my brain. At the beginning of the program I thought the exercises were so simple and easy, but as the weeks have gone by I have a new appreciation for WHAT is being taught by those simple skills.
Let’s start with the first game: ‘search’. It seems that I am basically just throwing food on the floor, but wait! It’s actually building a release word which will eventually bring clarity to the dog about when to stop doing something. It also tells the dog that they can eat something off the floor. And it’s not just throwing it - it’s important that you add the word, pause, and then throw… it’s all in the science of learning. From there we build the ‘break’ cue which just releases the dog from a behaviour that I’ve asked them to do, like a sit.
Think of Pavlov’s dog - ring the bell, pause, give food… after a few reps the dogs salivate. What happens if you reverse it: give food, pause, ring the bell? Nothing. Or nothing that you want anyway. It works this way for every fish, bird, dog, person. I’m learning how to use this conditioning to train other behaviours.
I’ve got a lot to learn and a long way to go, but what fun to be learning new things!
I’ve come to understand that one of the biggest holes in my training in the past is a lack of clarity for many cues. When I ask them to ‘sit’, what exactly does that look like and when does it end? How were they supposed to know and be sure(!) when they can move? When can they dive into their dinner bowl, when can they go out the door, when when when… Lupa has the release cues reasonably certain in her head but Adia has a ways to go. When I started this program I didn’t understand the importance of this and skimmed over some steps. I know I should go back to the basics with Adia but my old ‘lets get results’ habit stops me.
It all appeals to the geek in me!
On top of the training videos I’ve been watching, I’m also deep into an eye opening book about mindset. I can see where I’ve had a fixed mindset for some things while I have a growth mindset for others. How can I grow that good mindset into the areas that are more problematic? For example, there have been times in the past that I’ve given up on doing things (that I love) because I’m not a ‘natural’... a fixed mindset. In fact, it’s been a bit of a struggle these last few weeks throwing away what I know (and what I thought I was good at), to embrace new ideas - to start back in kindergarten with my dogs.
I’ve been having trouble with motivation lately which I’ve attributed to the season and my historical mood issues, but could it really be that I am no longer an ‘expert’ and so my confidence is shaken? I’m trying to switch my mindset to be more towards growth and to embrace learning but it’s not easy!
Luckily the dogs aren’t going through this angst and instead come to each training session excited and ready to play. It seems that they are starting to be faster learners, which is either because they are learning how to learn or maybe I’ve gotten a little better with my mechanics ;-)
It is strongly encouraged to video our training sessions which at the beginning I only video’d once we were good (or better than at the beginning) but I’m finally figuring out that watching the ‘in progress’ videos where we are struggling is actually very helpful (well, duh)!
I’m excited for it all to come together.
Awesome!
“dogs running fast down the hall”
“the dog joy about training time - who knew that a brick could be so exciting”
