Taking What He Gives - And Running With It
May 12th 2009 05:14
I've been able to teach Wally a decent number of behaviors, and we go through them at random times to keep them sharp in his mind. Some, like sit, are all but automatic unless he's really, really distracted/nervous (and sometimes that makes him actually sit faster) while others, like speak, are still relatively new to him and can be a bit difficult. Yes, it was difficult for him to learn how to bark on command. Go figure. Either he's seriously not a barker, or I just suck at training!
Anyway, after getting these behaviors down to the point he'll do them on cue, I've noticed that he take a behavior he knows how to do and then just make up another use for it. I remember when I taught him nose-targeting (i.e. touching an object/certain spot with his nose) and when he got it down, he started doing other things with that behavior. The one that stuck with me (and he still will do) is touch my leg when he wants my attention, or to "let me know" he's there. For example, he'll go sniff and explore and come back - I might be looking at something else or just waiting for him. When he comes back, he'll touch my leg and sit down. When he did it, I rewarded him handsomely.
Now that he learned paw-oriented behaviors like shake, wave, and give paw (shake is another that took For. Ever. for him to learn - again, either he's a weird dog or I suck) he'll paw my leg to get my attention, most of the time to start some play or in hopes that I'll give him some food that I'm eating.
I didn't teach that, but I did reward it. Combined with shaping, these impromptu created behaviors by Wally can be rewarded and put into his mind as ones to try. He basically created and taught himself his own tricks.
That's what the title of this post is about. I took what he gave me with a known behavior and rewarded it. To me, this does a few things:
-Promotes problem-solving. He saw some problem that needed to be solved. Getting my attention so we can keep walking, or get a piece of my lunch, and came up with a use for the behavior in an attempt to solve that problem. Encouraging and developing problem-solving skills can come in handy for teaching complex behaviors and playing more challenging/mental games.
-Promote creative thinking. Who knows what he'll come up with next! Pawing my leg can be turned into paw-targeting (or vice versa). Nose-touching could be turned into pushing a ball or box. Picking things up can be the start of a retrieve, or carrying objects and putting them in a box (which Wally can't, yet, do, but we're building up to it - hopefully...)
-Builds confidence and initiative. Both of these are big for me, given the issues Wally's had to deal with and is trying to overcome. I remember when he first came here, Wally wouldn't do anything unless told. Some might not see the problem with that, but for him it seemed to hold back any personality/curiosity he had. Ever since I started getting him into the idea that thinking and acting on your own isn't a bad thing, he came more and more out of his shell.
Besides, it's fun to see a dog teach himself new things. All I had to do was watch him and reward the behaviors I liked and show him that behavior can work on a consistent basis. Once that's done, he'll file it away as something to try when confronted with a problem that needs to be solved.
Anyway, after getting these behaviors down to the point he'll do them on cue, I've noticed that he take a behavior he knows how to do and then just make up another use for it. I remember when I taught him nose-targeting (i.e. touching an object/certain spot with his nose) and when he got it down, he started doing other things with that behavior. The one that stuck with me (and he still will do) is touch my leg when he wants my attention, or to "let me know" he's there. For example, he'll go sniff and explore and come back - I might be looking at something else or just waiting for him. When he comes back, he'll touch my leg and sit down. When he did it, I rewarded him handsomely.
Now that he learned paw-oriented behaviors like shake, wave, and give paw (shake is another that took For. Ever. for him to learn - again, either he's a weird dog or I suck) he'll paw my leg to get my attention, most of the time to start some play or in hopes that I'll give him some food that I'm eating.
I didn't teach that, but I did reward it. Combined with shaping, these impromptu created behaviors by Wally can be rewarded and put into his mind as ones to try. He basically created and taught himself his own tricks.
That's what the title of this post is about. I took what he gave me with a known behavior and rewarded it. To me, this does a few things:
-Promotes problem-solving. He saw some problem that needed to be solved. Getting my attention so we can keep walking, or get a piece of my lunch, and came up with a use for the behavior in an attempt to solve that problem. Encouraging and developing problem-solving skills can come in handy for teaching complex behaviors and playing more challenging/mental games.
-Promote creative thinking. Who knows what he'll come up with next! Pawing my leg can be turned into paw-targeting (or vice versa). Nose-touching could be turned into pushing a ball or box. Picking things up can be the start of a retrieve, or carrying objects and putting them in a box (which Wally can't, yet, do, but we're building up to it - hopefully...)
-Builds confidence and initiative. Both of these are big for me, given the issues Wally's had to deal with and is trying to overcome. I remember when he first came here, Wally wouldn't do anything unless told. Some might not see the problem with that, but for him it seemed to hold back any personality/curiosity he had. Ever since I started getting him into the idea that thinking and acting on your own isn't a bad thing, he came more and more out of his shell.
Besides, it's fun to see a dog teach himself new things. All I had to do was watch him and reward the behaviors I liked and show him that behavior can work on a consistent basis. Once that's done, he'll file it away as something to try when confronted with a problem that needs to be solved.
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