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Posted by Pat B! on February 1, 2009, 12:30 am, in reply to "For sure - msg"
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is that when you're breaking down a behavior into small pieces to teach, you can always find a way to break it down even more.
Why is this so important? Well, if you're trying to work a dog through an issue, and you just don't seem to be getting anywhere - the dog keeps tipping over the edge into his fear or anxiety response - chances are you're STILL asking for too much, and you need to break whatever you're asking for down into even SMALLER pieces that the dog can succeed at before asking him to start putting it all back together again.
This is a learned skill - for YOU, the TRAINER. Oftentimes things that seem so obvious and simple to US are NOT to the dog. And a clicker trainer constantly keeps this in mind. If it's not working, break it down some more. Because it doesn't matter what YOU think is easy. What matters is whether your DOG is getting the idea.
When I work with teaching people how to "think like a clicker trainer", I will often hand them a piece of paper and say "Can you make this any smaller?". They look at me, puzzled, and I take the paper, tear it into two smaller pieces, hand it back to them, and say "Now, can you make it any smaller?".
"Ah", you can see them thinking. "THAT'S what she meant!" as they tear one of the pieces in half.
Again I ask "Can you make it any smaller?"
So they tear one of the pieces in half yet again. And again, and again.
And when the pieces get too small to hold, I pull out an X-Acto blade. Because, you see, there is ALWAYS a way. When you're a clicker trainer, your job is to figure out how to keep breaking things down - setting your "student" up for success. It becomes a whole new way to think about training.
One of the BEST people to read for ideas on this is Debi Davis who has clicker-trained service dogs who help her in her wheelchair. She has a number of articles at:
http://www.clickersolutions.com/articles/index.htm#author
Scroll down until you reach "Debi Davis".
Pretty much EVERYTHING she writes is worth a read, but out of this list, the ones that focus most on helping work a dog through fear-based behaviors are:
Diffusing Aggression
Socializing Pets in Public Places
Using CIrcles to Regain Lost Attention
Nailtrimming for Sensitive Dogs
Desensitizing Dogs to Other Dogs
DIffusing Aggressive Behaviors
Retraining Manic Alert Barking
The Tale of the Vomiting Comet
You'll see her return again and again to common themes. "Breaking it down", of course, and "Rewarding for small successes". But equally important are the themes of becoming an astute observer and student of your dog's behavior. Learning not only to see and respond to the very earliest signs of fear and stress in your dog, but learning to go even one step earlier, and ANTICIPATE those behaviors in the moment BEFORE they occur. Because if you can catch - and reward - your dog for non-fearful behavior JUST BEFORE the fear kicks in, your dog will gradually learn to face previously fearful situations with more and more confidence as you build him back up - step by step.
Anyway, give Debi's articles a read, and see if they don't get you started thinking of some ways you can break things down for Dirk so that you can set him up for success in working through his fears.
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