In this session, the presenter will go over some of the ways she sees good trainers tweak their shaping sessions using completely different strategies depending on context. She will discuss:

• Why the 80% rule is problematic.

• Bold shaping.

• Cautious shaping – pingponging.

• How the 10 Laws of Shaping evolved into the Modern Principles of Shaping.

• Some common shaping mistakes – and how to address them.

Shaping is the sharpest tool in the animal trainer’s box…theoretically. Practically, it can be hard to execute, and many trainers get stuck. Hopefully, this lecture will provide you with some ideas of how to get unstuck.

Level of difficulty: Intermediate

WEBSITE LINK:  https://petprofessionalguild.com/event-4300677

This is Part Two of a two-part webinar on working with “atypical” dogs. Both webinars are stand-alone webinars covering a different aspect of this topic, but they combine to cover the topic more broadly.

When we train our dogs, we are constantly asking them to solve puzzles. We are asking them to connect the dots between the cue (context cue or human initiated verbal / visual cue), their subsequent behavior (action), and the reinforcement. As our dog becomes more confident about the connection between these elements, they can respond more rapidly and with improved accuracy.

During the learning process there will be moments of frustration and confusion. Typical dogs deal with small amounts of frustration and confusion in a way that helps them find a solution to the puzzle. This leads to the dog attaining reinforcement, which results in them putting in the same or greater effort on future learning-oriented tasks.

Atypical dogs however do not respond in the same way. For a range of underlying reasons, the training puzzle itself may cause an excessive spike in arousal in these dogs. This is commonly referred to as the dog “stressing down” or “stressing up” depending on the observable behaviors. “Stressing down” behaviors may include shutting-down, stalling, looking away, appearing disinterested, freezing, moving slowly, or performing avoidance, escape, appeasement, or displacement behaviors. “Stressing up” behaviors may include barking at the human or at the task, whining, performing rapid sequences of random un-cued behaviors, anticipating cues, spinning, doing zoomies, lacking focus, and attempting to guess at the solution with little thought.

Beyond training pressures, these dogs may also struggle more than usual with environmental pressures. All dogs need a certain amount of desensitization and distraction training in order to successfully function in bigger environments, but the atypical dog may be extremely aware of stimuli in the environment. This requires additional training steps and more detailed monitoring.

In this “Part Two” webinar we look at a wide range of specific examples from a variety of different sports. Including:

• Object retrieve (moving slowly, displacement sniffing at the object before picking up or instead of picking up, dropping the object or stalling on the return)
• Retrieving incorrect articles in scent article exercises or in directed retrieves.
• False alerts and missed hides in nose work.
• Arcing in straight line exercises such as recalls or retrieves.
• Breaking start line stays in agility.
• Missing position change cues at a distance.
• Inconsistency, slowing, stalling, or avoidance in weave poles.
• Needing repeated cues or wandering off during rally, obedience, agility.
• Performing zoomies or “visiting” ring crew, judges, stewards, spectators, other dogs during training / competing.
• Hesitating on the approach to contacts or blowing through contacts in agility.
• And more!

For each example we discuss the varied reasons these behaviors may occur, along with solutions for resolving these issues.

WEBSITE LINK:  https://www.fenzidogsportsacademy.com/index.php/self-study/webinars

This is Part One of a two-part webinar on working with “atypical” dogs. Both webinars are stand-alone webinars covering a different aspect of this topic, but they combine to cover the topic more broadly.

When we train our dogs, we are constantly asking them to solve puzzles. We are asking them to connect the dots between the cue (context cue or human initiated verbal / visual cue), their subsequent behavior (action), and the reinforcement. As our dog becomes more confident about the connection between these elements, they can respond more rapidly and with improved accuracy.

During the learning process there will be moments of frustration and confusion. Typical dogs deal with small amounts of frustration and confusion in a way that helps them find a solution to the puzzle. This leads to the dog attaining reinforcement, which results in them putting in the same or greater effort on future learning-oriented tasks.

Atypical dogs however do not respond in the same way. For a range of underlying reasons, the training puzzle itself may cause an excessive spike in arousal in these dogs. This is commonly referred to as the dog “stressing down” or “stressing up” depending on the observable behaviors. “Stressing down” behaviors may include shutting-down, stalling, looking away, appearing disinterested, freezing, moving slowly, or performing avoidance, escape, appeasement, or displacement behaviors. “Stressing up” behaviors may include barking at the human or at the task, whining, performing rapid sequences of random un-cued behaviors, anticipating cues, spinning, doing zoomies, lacking focus, and attempting to guess at the solution with little thought.

Beyond training pressures, these dogs may also struggle more than usual with environmental pressures. All dogs need a certain amount of desensitization and distraction training in order to successfully function in bigger environments, but the atypical dog may be extremely aware of stimuli in the environment. This requires additional training steps and more detailed monitoring.

In this “Part One” webinar we discuss:

• The underlying factors that contribute to the development of an atypical dog, including genetic traits and the impact of prior learning.
• Ways to identify the difference between a simple training gap, and a more complex problem.
• When to use classical conditioning versus operant conditioning.
• Methods for measuring the proportional impact the environment is having on our dog’s behavior.

We also look at a range of solutions that can create a more focused, happier, and more consistently successful training partner.

WEBSITE LINK:  https://www.fenzidogsportsacademy.com/index.php/self-study/webinars