Targeting with the nose is straightforward for most dogs, because dogs do nose
nudges anyway. You can shape it, capture it, the dog gets it.
Paw targeting is trickier for a lot of dogs, but usually goes OK.
Sue or Vicky may have a better method, but if the dog is a natural leaner, I've
found you can do a capture to teach a shoulder or hip target, but it feels to me
like a different class of skill.
1. FLY BY
We start with a fly by. Call the dog over and, again, if it's a dog that likes
leaning on you anyway, put your hand out as the dog goes by and and lean into
the shoulder (or hip, whatevr you're training) just a little, so it will feel to
the dog like it leaned against you. Click when you get the solid contact. Let
the dog keep moving.
Chances are the dog is going to be really surprised, but intrigued.
Note: for me, this is definitely not a beginner skill. The dog has to
understand training, understand clicks, understand splitting, understand
distinctions. I'd guess late Level 2, early Level 3, depending on the dog.
This requires serious body awareness as well as awareness that very fine
distinctions may be needed to get a click. But maybe I'm all wrong on that, Sue
or Vicky will let us know, I hope.
2. HUMAN-INITIATED CONTACT
If the dog stands still (but don't cue it to stand still) and is looking at you
trying to figure out what just happened, lean into it again, firm contact, click
again.
If you're lucky, you have really quickly established to the dog that the walking
movement wasn't required to get the click, the contact was.
Now you have a choice of two protocols.
A. You continue to initiate the contact for another 20 or 30 reps across 4 or 5
sessions. Whenever the opportunity arises, you make the contact between your
hand and the shoulder lean in, and click.
or
B. If you can already see the dog starting to think about initiating a lean, you
can start shaping for moving towards your hand, leaning in, making contact
shoulder to hand, all that.
I suspect B is the "purer" protocol, but I'm not that good at shaping, I usually
go with A.
OK, now I've got a dog who understands clearly that shoulder to hand gets a
click. Standing, sitting, lying down.
3. DOG-INITIATED LEAN
I have the dog sit comfortably next to me if it's a tall dog, or lie on the
couch next to me if it's smaller. Put my hand in position, but about a half
inch away. Wait. If the dog is a natural leaner, it will probably (hopefully)
lean in, make contact, click! First dog-initiated shoulder target.
4. FOUR D'S
Continue reinfocing that with all of Sue's usual four Ds--solid in one position
one place, then different position (sitting instead of lying, or standing
instead of sitting). Facing a different direction. Me in a different position
(bed instead of chair). Different room. You can follow the Level 1 Sit
protocols for all that if you like. Definitely use chutes and ladders.
5. ADD CUE
Eventually dog will do a shoulder lean ito your hand pretty much anywhere. Put
this on cue. Get the cue solid.
6. TRANSFER TO NONHAND TARGET
At that point it becomes something like paw target. You maybe put a piece of
paineter's tape on the wall, hold your hand up next to the tape, cue, then fade
the hand and leave the tape as the target.
You can try a target stick, but I never did, I was afraid the dog would fall
over. I only had him lean into doors and walls and my knee and my hand.
And more chutes and ladders and four Ds work. At this point you're at the
equivalent of the Level 3 Sits.
This is my thinking, and again, hopefully Sue will let me know if I'm off base.
But it seems to me that with nose touch and even to some extent paw touch the
dog is doing a find it/touch it. But the shoulder target is a lot more like a
sit or a down--I really just want the dog to move its body to a particular
position. I'm not going to be varying the height of the target like I do for a
nose touch or a paw touch. I'm not likely asking the dog to zero in on a small
target. I just want it to lean when I tell it to and continue leaning until it
feels a solid contact with its shoulder. Body awareness is more important than
target awareness in that sense. Honestly, for what I want the dog is going to
be able to do it with its eye s closed. So I would train it as a variation on
the Level I, II, and III Sit protocols, rather than any of the (Nose or Foot)
Target protocols.
In my human mind it's a Target, but I think from the dog's point of view it's a
change in body position. At least that's how we use it. I just have the
personal feeling that that keeps the task safe for the dog, he's not going to
overextend himself that way. I also definitely don't want him to do a body slam.
Just a natural lean.
Well, those are my thoughts, hopefully the experienced trainers will have more
to add.
Robin J.
Re: Setting up success for new target behavior
"I'd like to teach them to target my hand with their shoulder area."
That sounded like fun, so Stitch and I worked it for supper last night.
At first she was so busy nose- and paw-targeting my hand that we couldn't do
anything, so I thought I'd explain that we were doing something else. I found a
fairly stiff leather collar I use to tie the llamas out.
First I shaped her to put her head through it. That involved waiting out several
attempts to nose-target it and several more to take it from me, but once she
realized she wasn't going to get clicked for any of that stuff, she tried
branching out. Very quickly after that she put her nose inside it, then her
muzzle, then her eyes, and finally her whole head.
Then I put the collar on the floor and shaped her to put her right front paw in
it. That took 3 or 4 minutes. She was really In The Game, but thought I might
want her to bat it around the room. We stopped as soon as she figured out that
putting her paw squarely inside the collar was the clickable action. This had a
very positive result - this morning when we went to the car and I spread out her
car harness, she stepped right into it instead of me having to lift her paws
into the holes. Sweet.
Then, since she'd had some luck targeting the middle of the collar, and no luck
at all targeting or retrieving the collar itself, I held the collar near her
shoulder and lured her forward until her shoulder touched it. Did that about 15
times before she realized what was happening and started moving toward it on her
own. I didn't work on having her target my hand at all.
To end the supper session, I started shaping her to put one back paw up on a
stair. We didn't get to one paw, but she very quickly figured out that I wanted
paws on the step, and I occasionally got both back paws on and no front paws as
I withheld the click and she started to walk off the step. Then she'd stop in
that position and I'd click/treat several times, each time tossing the treat a
little further away from her until she finally walked her back paws off the step
as well and I'd stop clicking. Hey! What's the matter? Oh, oh, right - paws on
the step!
Fun
Sue Eh?
Donna and Lucy demonstrate shoulder targeting in 30 clicks:
1.
2.
3.
Eileen and Summer demonstrate chest targeting