Well, as his owner and I suspected, Oscar is a superstar. Like most well-bred, healthy labradors he is a spirited, smart animal who can learn pretty much anything. He has taken to his training very quickly and is retaining it well. His owner and I discussed really pushing his heel work and he has risen to the challenge. He now heels well at almost any speed and is keeping his place even when on a 20 foot leash. This means he will hold a heeling position even if he has 20 feet of rope to play with. He isn't perfect but when he makes a mistake while heeling it only takes a quick verbal "no" or a flick of his leash to remind him where he goes. We have increased the distractions and heeled up by the horses and we went on a long hike through the big pasture on Sunday. Even when a rabbit shot out of the brush he only trotted a few steps forward (and got a strong verbal "no!") before coming back to where he was supposed to be.
He really thrives on balanced training. He needs praise when he gets it right but he also needs direction when making a mistake. He is so happy and goofy that he will not learn anything if bad behavior is just ignored and redirection feels like a reward to him. But if he makes a mistake and he gets a fair correction he immediately switches tactics to try to get praise.
He is also doing well in his other commands. He was always good at Sit. Down is going fine. The cold is not helping. He pouts a little and acts quite put upon when asked to lay down on the cold gravel or in the snow. But he will do it. He is much happier if I ask him to lay down in the grass. He is doing well with Come and Sit. The Implied Stay is really hard for him. He really wants to stay right with me and so when I walk away he usually needs a few corrections before he will stay where I parked him.
He thinks that as soon as he hears "good boy" he is done and can get up. This comes from the popular "click and treat" concept of training which does not focus on self restraint in the basics. So we are trying to rewire Oscar's thinking to understand that praise means he got the right answer, not that he is done working altogether.
We introduced the electronic collar today and he did great with it. We won't be taking the leash off for another few days but so far he is understanding the collar and it is not confusing for him. I hope to schedule some field trips for him into town later this week.
Tomorrow we are working more with the electronic collar and really pushing the Implied Stay. I also want to start teaching him to approach calmly and wait to be leashed or to have his collar put on. Right now he gets a bit excited and it can be kind of a circus.
For day 3 I could not be happier. Go Oscar go!
He really thrives on balanced training. He needs praise when he gets it right but he also needs direction when making a mistake. He is so happy and goofy that he will not learn anything if bad behavior is just ignored and redirection feels like a reward to him. But if he makes a mistake and he gets a fair correction he immediately switches tactics to try to get praise.
He is also doing well in his other commands. He was always good at Sit. Down is going fine. The cold is not helping. He pouts a little and acts quite put upon when asked to lay down on the cold gravel or in the snow. But he will do it. He is much happier if I ask him to lay down in the grass. He is doing well with Come and Sit. The Implied Stay is really hard for him. He really wants to stay right with me and so when I walk away he usually needs a few corrections before he will stay where I parked him.
He thinks that as soon as he hears "good boy" he is done and can get up. This comes from the popular "click and treat" concept of training which does not focus on self restraint in the basics. So we are trying to rewire Oscar's thinking to understand that praise means he got the right answer, not that he is done working altogether.
We introduced the electronic collar today and he did great with it. We won't be taking the leash off for another few days but so far he is understanding the collar and it is not confusing for him. I hope to schedule some field trips for him into town later this week.
Tomorrow we are working more with the electronic collar and really pushing the Implied Stay. I also want to start teaching him to approach calmly and wait to be leashed or to have his collar put on. Right now he gets a bit excited and it can be kind of a circus.
For day 3 I could not be happier. Go Oscar go!
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