Don't Dig Holes

INTRODUCTION

I call my approach to retriever training "discovery training". It's based on the idea that performing a high-quality retrieve is deeply self-reinforcing for a retriever, so training consists of giving the dog ample opportunity to experience that reinforcement. The result is an ever stronger history of reinforcement for the high-quality retrieve, and ever more fluent performance.

A crucial corollary is that the dog NOT experience reinforcement for performing incorrect versions of the retrieve. Doing so would dig holes, actually setting the training back. Unfortunately, executing this corollary is more difficult in field work than in other sports (meaning, other sports that I have experience with).

Several reasons account for the increased difficulty. Most important, because those incorrect behaviors occur in the dog's natural setting — the field, as opposed to, for example, an obedience or agility ring — the intrinsic value of those incorrect behaviors is likely to be extremely high to the dog, compared to the temptations for incorrect behavior in other sports. Secondly, distance erodes control, and field dogs work at greater distances from the handler than in other sports. Thirdly, a phenomenon called "instinctive drift", described by the Kellers in the landmark 1951 article "Misbehavior of Organisms", seems to be more prominent in field work than the other sports. In all sports, the dog has a tendency from the beginning toward certain undesired behaviors, such as flaring at heel in obedience, or leaping over contacts in agility. But in field work, the more the dog retrieves, the more she becomes aware of her instincts to divert from the correct version of the behavior in certain ways, and senses the great pleasure available from such diversions. The result is that a trained behavior that once seemed fluent gradually unravels, because even the intrinsically self-reinforcing correct response is not as valuable as some of the possible alternatives.

Difficult or not, it remains essential that the dog not rehearse self-reinforcing incorrect responses. The dog must learn that any attempt to intentionally divert from a high-quality retrieve will ALWAYS be unsuccessful. Failure to prevent rehearsing such diversions can set your program back months, years, or even permanently. And the problem is more serious for a 2Q dog than one trained with traditional methods, because traditional trainers have powerful +P and -R training tools -- most notably the ecollar -- that the 2Q trainer does not use. The moral: Don't let the dogs learn to perform those incorrect behaviors in the first place.

Let's get to some examples.

DON'T DIG HOLES

The general rule is straightforward: Don't allow the dog to repeatedly self-reinforce on incorrect versions of the retrieve. Here are some specific examples of behaviors that can rapidly become entrenched and a nightmare to correct. I've also included suggestions for how to prevent the dog from rehearsing these undesirable behaviors:

No refused recalls on open land retrieves: Recall may be the single most difficult skill for a 2Q retriever. An open land retrieve is the easiest recall situation. If the dog doesn't immediately pick up the article and come straight back, the retrieve is too difficult for one reason or another. Could be distance, could be distractions, could be the novelty of the article, could be microclimates, could be shadows from trees, could be many other possibilities. Immediately go out and get the dog, take somewhere she can succeed, and throw some marks for her or have someone else throw. Use a gradual, incremental approach to work back to where the problem occurred, in such a way that by the time the dog is asked to perform that retrieve, she's ready to perform it correctly.

No refused recalls in everyday life: Though everyday recalls are generally easier than field recalls, training even an everyday recall is a major challenge. Published programs include Susan Smith's "90 Days to a Rock Solid Recall", Leslie Nelson's "Really Reliable Recall", and Shirley Chong's "Recall Redux". I've had excellent success with my own program, "Walking Recall".

No keep-away: If you can't get the dog by going after her, because she goes into Keep Away mode, have her wear a long line attached to her yard collar. Don't use it to jerk her, just to create a "long dog" that you can catch. Make the line as long as necessary to assure that she won't succeed at Keep Away.

No refused recalls returning thru obstacles such as high cover: Sometimes a dog who can return well on open return path will stall if she needs to go thru high cover, wetland, into a depression, into headwind, etc. If that happens, pick her up immediately (that is, go out to get her), give her some successful easier retrieves, and then work on the issue she had a problem with at shorter distances and without distractions.

No refused recalls returning across water: Returning across water can be much more difficult for a dog than other returns. One reason is that the dog may be accustomed to leaping into the water in order to avoid the feeling of having the ground drop away from her as she wades out, and she may not be able to do that when carrying an article, or it may hurt her mouth if she does leap. Even if none of those apply, dogs can be intimated by whatever distance is "big water" for that particular dog's level of experience. This can be significantly more of a problem for 2Q dogs than traditionally trained dogs, because the mental/emotional barrier may be high one, and 2Q training tools are weaker than traditional ones. To avoid this happening, never send the dog on a retrieve where you won't be able to reach her if there is any possibility she will get marooned. If she does maroon, pick her up immediately. One method with which I've had excellent success is to pick the dog up and bring her back to the start line, but leave the article back where the dog stalled. Then send the dog again, and see whether she brings the article back the second time. If not, don't keep trying this. However, it may work. Retrievers do not like to leave the article behind, and if they believe that stalling will cost them the chance to complete the retrieve, they may rapidly learn to stop stalling.

No slow pick-ups: Most retrievers naturally have soft mouths and can carry a live bird without killing it. But some dogs do kill the birds by biting down too hard while carrying it, or even by killing it for sport or out of nervousness before picking the bird up. This cannot necessarily be cured, or it may only apply to certain game. If it can't be cured for your particular dog, don't train with birds the dog cannot carry without killing them. To try curing it, run out behind the dog after sending her, urge her to fetch the bird immediately when she reaches it, and take immediate delivery. Then run back to the start line together. As soon as possible, take the dog and the live bird to a field where you can work and throw it for her a few more times. Give her the opportunity to learn that the fun doesn't stop when she brings the live bird to you, and give her an opportunity to learn how to pick the bird up and carry it without killing it.

No slipped whistles:

No breaking from the start line:

No breaking from honor:

No head swinging:

No running banks:

AN EXCEPTION: Delivery to hand

To wrap up, I'll also mention an exception to the rule of not rehearsing incorrect responses: IMO, it is neither necessary nor even desirable to require the young dog to perform a correct delivery to hand at the end of a retrieve. Instead, the dog should be permitted to keep the article as long as she wants once she has returned to the handler. She must remain fairly close to the handler, and might even crawl up into his lap if he chooses to sit on ground and welcome her. Eventually she will lose interest in the article and drop it, perhaps when called to heel for the next retrieve.

I have the following reasons for this exception. Most important, I believe that delivery to hand is somewhat aversive to at least some young retrievers, and creates the opposite reinforcement history required to train a high-quality pick-up and return. Also, I think that the problem is relatively easy to correct once the dog's habit of returning is well established, so why waste time training it when the dog's not ready? The corrected behavior will be taught during the Trained Retrieve, typically after the dog has finished teething. As the dog comes to associate delivery to hand as predicting the next opportunity to retrieve, it's relatively easy to build higher reinforcement value for the correct response than for dropping the article, and the problem tends to take care of itself.