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josie · Posted: Mon Apr 23, 2007 8:50 am Post subject: CAP3

Well, on Saturday Slate and I went on the Learning About Dogs' CAP3 workshop.

(For people who don't know what CAP is about, it stands for Competency Assessment Programme (I think) and it is an assessment scheme for people who clicker train - assessing you, the handler, and your clicker training skills, not the dog).

We began in the morning with some micro-shaping. Shaping the dog to perform tiny behaviours. The one we were all assigned to work on in class was standing on a small carpet sample with both front feet at the front edge of the sample and the dog's body in line with its front. The uses of this are many - once the dog knows to stand on the mat in this way, you could use it in agility for contact points, or in the show ring to stack a dog without it moving its feet about. I can't think of a gundog application for it, but hey it was interesting anyway! This exercise was very hard because we had to shape the dogs for a location (on the mat) a specific position on the mat (standing, feet at front, body in line) and a movement onto the mat which would ensure the right position when they were on it. If that makes any sense. It wasn't possible to shape all these things at once, so not many of us made much progress on the finished behaviour in class, but we can see the way forwards!

After lunch we worked on chains of behaviours. We discussed the learning theory behind chains. For the CAP3 we have to have a series of behaviours which the dog will perform just for one click and treat at the end. The idea being that each behaviour is rewarding the preceding behaviour. (I won't go into this too much because it's a bit complex!)

We discussed the ways in which chains work in real life situations - you get home from work, dog jumps up at you, you tell dog to sit, then you reward the dog. The dog learns to jump up _in order_ to be told to sit, in order to be rewarded. So you are actually strengthening the jumping up, not weakening it. We then discussed how many behaviours away from the unwanted behaviour would you have to be before you were no longer rewarding it? Ie - if the dog jumped up, then you asked for sit, down, twist, roll over and speak, and then rewarded, would you still be rewarding the jumping up at the beginning of the chain??

To try this out we experimented with our own dogs, asking for a series of 6 behaviours for a click and treat at the end. If we noticed a deterioration in the first behaviour of the chain after repeating this a few times, then it looks like the chain is long enough not to be rewarding the first behaviour any more. Well, Slate and I had a chain of Twist, Woof Woof (speak), Sit, Down, Flat (lie down on side), Touch (palm of hand) and Reverse and our Twist behaviour wasn't deteriorating!!! LOL!!!

Anyway, that is a bit of a shortened version of things!

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Slate and Grey

Hairy or not, it's got to be grey!

Greyghost · Posted: Fri May 25, 2007 10:47 pm Post subject:

I love to use clicker training with Holly. Whilst at my brothers the other week a friend freeshaped her to stand with two feet on a stool. She was a lot more patient that I ever would have been. We stopped and started a few times if she lost interest or lost the plot.

In the end she was up there every time to the command 'box'. She loves it.

I usually use clicker training for tricks. The latest is pulling out the hanky to a sneeze. I should do more and would love to do the week's course one day at LAD's.
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Lesley & Holly (Age 7.5 - re-home)

Holly & Abbie

cressy · Posted: Fri May 25, 2007 11:52 pm Post subject:

Les, you should give it a go - very hard work but the insight it gives is great.

Despite the fact Freddy is still anxious training, Mugi came to clicker training very late and although Brice is very good he is limited by his hound attitudes and physical capabilities I have learned loads. The most important aspects are getting in tune with your dog and honing observation so I do feel clicker training gives a very holistic approach to building relationships.

Chase has made the connection to click = correct = reward very easily and now my plaster is off (although rather a disappointing verdict from physio today on how much function this wrist has) I hope I can get into training him mostly with the clicker as the ability to mark the correct response is so much easier than trying to get the reward (or 'punishment') spot on.

Add in the fact the Cotswolds are a lovely place to visit you could have a great (although tiring) week.
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Sue

Greyghost · Posted: Sat May 26, 2007 8:52 am Post subject:

For some reason I thought it was further North. Rolling Eyes

I doubt Alister will drive me all the way up there, go home and collect a week later and as I don't/won't do motorways or anywhere near the M25 I'm not sure when I will get myself up there.

Apart from that I have all the time in the world and a holiday away just the two of us would be great. It would also do Holly the world of good to socialise a bit more under controlled conditions. She is still a bit jerky on the lead around other dogs but at least knows what 'no' means now. Confused

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Lesley & Holly (Age 7.5 - re-home)

Holly & Abbie