 Barked: Sat Dec 1, '12 7:39pm PST |
 | |  | | Augusta,- CGC, RN wrote, "The description of the training recall . . .. dog is stimmed until he moves toward the handler, i.e. the right direction . . .. sounds very much like the kind of "pressure" John Lyons talks about in what he calls conditioned response training for horses."
While I know nothing about training horses, I've heard this sort of thing before. Just as this "pressure" work with horses is "kinder and gentler" when compared to older methods, so is my use of the Ecollar.
Augusta,- CGC, RN wrote, "I did use that with my horse and never had to carry a crop as a reinforcing threat again . . .. it was gentle and effective and it was very interesting to see how little pressure the horse was happy to seek relief from. The key was there HAS to be a clear relief (as opposed to the rider who never leaves the horse alone with cues, heavy holding hands, niggling legs) . . .."
Many people don't understand how this low level discomfort can work with a dog. Some even have the audacity to claim that it won't, as if what I and others have been doing for decades, really hasn't happened. You've explained it very clearly in your work with horses. It's "annoying" and so the animal wants to make it stop. It's not painful, just "annoying." When the animal is clearly shown how to make it stop, they go in that direction.
Augusta,- CGC, RN wrote, "I can relate to that concept . . . and further it's easy to find the lightest touch with a horse because you are on him . ..it's pure bio feedback, your quiver of a muscle matched by his response. The horse can therefore teach his rider about how light the touch can be because it's so direct."
It's almost as easy to find the level of stim that a dog can first feel, but it requires the right tool. Not every Ecollar will work with my methods. You need one that has at least 15 levels and more is better. I highly recommend one brand that has 100 levels and another that has 1127 levels.
One starts from the 0 setting and turns it up one number at a time. Pausing at each number and pressing the button while watching the dog. Tiller has already posted a video of what it looks like when the dog first feels the stim, but I'll do so again for those who missed it. CLICK HERE TO SEE IT.
Augusta,- CGC, RN wrote, "Another question I have, if at some point in recall training, you are aiming for a dog with this protocol, a velcro response--where "out there" is some hot zone and right next to the handler is the place to be . . ..
Does this confuse the dog when he needs to work out away from the handler as in herding, SAR, drug detection, tracking?"
What a GREAT question. This is covered in a short article on my site. Here's the first part of that article. "Search dogs need to be in balance. That means that there's a balance between their work and their commands. The recall is often the biggest problem, because a poor recall is one of the most common reasons that people come to the Ecollar. Because they're afraid of "losing their dog," they work only the recall or work it for too long. This throws the dog out of balance and he may stop ranging. Some dogs may not even want to leave their handler's side! If you work the sit-next-to-the-handler too much, the dog may run to the handler to sit, even though the sit command may have been given with him at a distance.
"This is obviously a problem for most types of search dogs. It's usually a problem that's been created by the handler who's put his dog out of balance by working on the recall too much, or not working other movements with the Ecollar at all.
"Fortunately it's easily overcome. If your dog stops ranging, or isn't ranging as far as he used to, it's a sign that he's out of balance. (It could also be a sign that your level of stim is just a little too high). But if you've been following these articles, this will be apparent."
The full article can be read by CLICKING HERE.
Regards, Lou |  |  | |  |
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