Class tonight was very good. I made it a point to get to class really early so I could talk to Joyce without being rushed, about what I'm doing and when and why. She did agree with the assessment that it was a strong possibility that Gimme loves the hunt more than "regular" treats. I think she really "got" what I was saying, so I think we are more on the same page and hope that having that conversation will be helpful in the future..
Now the report on the peanut butter as a reward. First, for the most part Gimme did take a little longer waiting for me (persisting) at the hides. It wasn't as pronounced as it is when I practice at home, since I don't pair them with food and Joyce pairs most of them in class. Still, it was enough to be noticeable.
More exciting - Gimme paw whacked two hides. The very first one, she knew where it was from the start line (the breeze was blowing right over it) and got there well ahead of me... so while I was coming in she paw whacked it. You gotta know I loved seeing that right off the bat - clearly she retained that from our lesson on Sunday. Then on our third search, there were two hides and one was hard for her to find. She found one right away and got rewarded. Then later when she hadn't found another one, decided to go back to the first one to see if she could make me pay again. Ordinarily I wouldn't pay a second time... but when I didn't come in right away, she paw whacked it, so I rushed in and made it worth her while. Doncha know those wheels are always turning.
I think when I don't know where they are and am slower to respond, that she's going to be more likely to paw whack them... which is great. Likewise, when they aren't paired, she'll be more likely to persist.
I am going to have to thin the peanut butter more to use it in nosework. Its great to have it thick when I'm using it for classical conditioning with the horses and such, but its too thick in class. She gets a bunch in her mouth and then spends a lot of time licking her leg to get her tongue unglued from the roof of her mouth. <G>
When I told Joyce about my mistake in the ORT, she replied that its those kinds of costly mistakes that stick with us the best and make us smarter trainers. I told her I'd rather be dumber and more successful...
2 comments:
It's interesting that you have such success with peanut butter. My boy doesn't like it at all. A while ago I tried your suggestion of using pb in an empty toothpaste tube and squishing it out as a reward, but it was a no-go. I thought perhaps there was some toothpaste residue that he didn't like the smell or taste of, but it was the pb. He won't even take off my finger straight from the jar. But home-made fish treats - now, that's a whole other story. He can't get enough of 'em.
Not every dog loves peanut butter - I'm lucky that Gimme does because it doesn't have to be refrigerated. My friend actually uses those little packages of cream cheese that sell at Costco - snips off a corner and just squeezes. You could also fill the tube with baby food meat. Gimme has low standards and would eat anything, but its peanut butter she loves the most.
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