Teaching the Utility Go Outs - The Touch Based "GO BOP"
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I started teaching my go outs using sends to a ball both long distances in the field and then to the baby gates through the 2 Utility jumps. Myst did very well with this approach. In fact her sends to a ball in the field were quite impressive even when she did not see the ball being dropped. She was able to go over 100 feet straight. I used a variety of objects at the stantion for her to go to: a ball, a small cap with a treat, a dowel, a smaller ball and a zip tie around a pole or stantion with a treat. All this went well until I tried to do the second send without replacing the reinforcement which was there for the first send. Myst seemed confused and started offering an alternative behavior of going over the jump on the way out but always looking back at me confused as to what she was to do.
I gave a lot of thought to this problem she was having with the second go out and realized that since I have done so much shaping with her for behaviors and training that she was confused about what her second job was going to be. Then I remembered what Laura Romanik taught us at a seminar a few years ago of going out and touching the stantion or pole. Bridget Carlson also when showing her go outs at a recent seminar had her dog touch the stantion on the go out.
I then went back and read the handouts that Laura Romanik had given us at a seminar I attended. She wrote
“ You must teach a job for the dog to do at the go out location (GOL)… Typical jobs fall into one of two categories:
This fit perfectly with Myst and why she was having trouble with her second go out: she did not understand the job. While many dogs are very successful with the first method of retrieve based jobs, this was not working for Myst. All dogs are different in the way they respond to our training, much of which seems to come from how they have interacted with us and what they have come to expect. Clearly Myst was expecting a job and I needed to change my method of teaching the go out.
Below is Laura Romanik's latest information on "Steps to Teach Go Outs".
Reprinted by permission from Laura Romanik.
Video below on the use of the broad jump chute and a less visible guide when teaching the touch based GO OUT.
Laura has an excellent book soon to be released, describing her highly successful method for teaching a touch based go out. The book has excellent step-by-step instructions, photographs and solutions to common problems. Visit Laura's web site to order and learn more.
http://lauraromanik.com/
We have been using this method and it has been going very well. I do a lot of shaping to teaching behaviors to Myst and what has been interesting is that I found placing the reward ON THE STANTION makes a huge difference in the final behavior and also the attitude to perform.
Laura Romanik's "Steps to Teach Go Outs"
Excellent for those who have used or like to use a clicker.
1. Step 1: teach the bop. You may have to start with the stantion on the ground and C>T any touching or interaction with the stantion.
2. Very soon when the dog touches the stantion with their PAWS, stand the stantion up and ask for the bop.
3. When they do this, then put between the baby gates and stand very close and ask for bop.
4. Very quickly move to standing close with dog on left and ask for bop.
5. Remember when dog LIFTS PAW AND TOUCHES STANTION to do your verbal or clicker marker with a TREAT ON THE STANTION.
6. Very soon add the SIT after the paw touch to stantion.
THE PICTURE IS: dog on left, you only use verbal of GO BOP or BOP, and when dog lifts PAW TO TOUCH STANTION, mark it with your VERBAL OR CLICKER, (this is a CONDITIONED REINFORCER) BUT then say SIT. When the dog is sitting go in and deliver the treat ON THE STANTION. This ENTIRE STEP is CRITICALLY IMPORTANT. Usually with conditioned reinforce, you give reward immediately after the marker but in this case NOT. What you are reinforcing is the TOUCH TO STANTION, not the SIT.
7. Very soon you are going to add the broad jump as chutes to keep the dog from turning wide and to know the correct location of the GO LINE for the BOP. The chute is perpendicular to the ring gates and the chutes are parallel to each other. Look at which direction the dog turns and place the chute touching the ring gate wider on that side. The other chute should be very close to the stantion, again perpendicular. See picture at top of this page. Begin your GO BOP very close about 10 feet.
8. The next steps are moving back further and further from the stantion but the picture should always be the same as described in STEP 6.
REMEMBER: never ever reward for an almost touch, a missed touch or any behavior other than PAW TOUCHES STANTION. PAW TOUCH OR BOP to stantion is the DEFAULT BEHAVIOR!!!! Laura emphasizes this over and over. She compares it to the recall. The default behavior is come to front unless I tell you differently.
If the dog starts missing the stantion touch, then go back to only asking for a BOP or touch and stop the SIT temporarily.
When the dog again starts touching then add back the sit.
DO NOT WORRY ABOUR STRAIGHT SITS at this time. This will come and the SIT before the BOP is taught at a separate time after the dog has a solid understanding of the GO TOUCH/BOP.
9. Add the PRE-CUE: PRE-CUE is what you say and do in a show as you set up for the exercise (before the judge says, "This is the directed jumping exercise.... ")
Choose a word not used for any other work with dog. For example, I have used "THERE IS YOUR MARK" and "LOOK" for other work with Myst. For her GO OUTS, the new word is "LOOK STRAIGHT." THE BODY POINT MUST BE DIFFERENT FROM WHAT IS USED IN THE GLOVE EXERCISE to avoid confusion. We all have seen dogs in go outs going to where the glove was if the glove exercise is first. It is important to make a clear distinction between each exercise.
Advancing:
SEE BELOW FOR MY INTRODUCTION TO THE GO OUTS AND TEACHING MY 6 MONTH OLD PUPPY TO BOP AND OBJECT.
Happy Training and Thank you Laura for sharing this with us.
I gave a lot of thought to this problem she was having with the second go out and realized that since I have done so much shaping with her for behaviors and training that she was confused about what her second job was going to be. Then I remembered what Laura Romanik taught us at a seminar a few years ago of going out and touching the stantion or pole. Bridget Carlson also when showing her go outs at a recent seminar had her dog touch the stantion on the go out.
I then went back and read the handouts that Laura Romanik had given us at a seminar I attended. She wrote
“ You must teach a job for the dog to do at the go out location (GOL)… Typical jobs fall into one of two categories:
- Retrieve based jobs (e.g a dowell or toy, each cheese of the stations or a target)
- Touch based jobs (e.g. wall bop, nose touch, shoulder touch).”
This fit perfectly with Myst and why she was having trouble with her second go out: she did not understand the job. While many dogs are very successful with the first method of retrieve based jobs, this was not working for Myst. All dogs are different in the way they respond to our training, much of which seems to come from how they have interacted with us and what they have come to expect. Clearly Myst was expecting a job and I needed to change my method of teaching the go out.
Below is Laura Romanik's latest information on "Steps to Teach Go Outs".
Reprinted by permission from Laura Romanik.
Video below on the use of the broad jump chute and a less visible guide when teaching the touch based GO OUT.
Laura has an excellent book soon to be released, describing her highly successful method for teaching a touch based go out. The book has excellent step-by-step instructions, photographs and solutions to common problems. Visit Laura's web site to order and learn more.
http://lauraromanik.com/
We have been using this method and it has been going very well. I do a lot of shaping to teaching behaviors to Myst and what has been interesting is that I found placing the reward ON THE STANTION makes a huge difference in the final behavior and also the attitude to perform.
Laura Romanik's "Steps to Teach Go Outs"
Excellent for those who have used or like to use a clicker.
1. Step 1: teach the bop. You may have to start with the stantion on the ground and C>T any touching or interaction with the stantion.
2. Very soon when the dog touches the stantion with their PAWS, stand the stantion up and ask for the bop.
3. When they do this, then put between the baby gates and stand very close and ask for bop.
4. Very quickly move to standing close with dog on left and ask for bop.
5. Remember when dog LIFTS PAW AND TOUCHES STANTION to do your verbal or clicker marker with a TREAT ON THE STANTION.
6. Very soon add the SIT after the paw touch to stantion.
THE PICTURE IS: dog on left, you only use verbal of GO BOP or BOP, and when dog lifts PAW TO TOUCH STANTION, mark it with your VERBAL OR CLICKER, (this is a CONDITIONED REINFORCER) BUT then say SIT. When the dog is sitting go in and deliver the treat ON THE STANTION. This ENTIRE STEP is CRITICALLY IMPORTANT. Usually with conditioned reinforce, you give reward immediately after the marker but in this case NOT. What you are reinforcing is the TOUCH TO STANTION, not the SIT.
7. Very soon you are going to add the broad jump as chutes to keep the dog from turning wide and to know the correct location of the GO LINE for the BOP. The chute is perpendicular to the ring gates and the chutes are parallel to each other. Look at which direction the dog turns and place the chute touching the ring gate wider on that side. The other chute should be very close to the stantion, again perpendicular. See picture at top of this page. Begin your GO BOP very close about 10 feet.
8. The next steps are moving back further and further from the stantion but the picture should always be the same as described in STEP 6.
REMEMBER: never ever reward for an almost touch, a missed touch or any behavior other than PAW TOUCHES STANTION. PAW TOUCH OR BOP to stantion is the DEFAULT BEHAVIOR!!!! Laura emphasizes this over and over. She compares it to the recall. The default behavior is come to front unless I tell you differently.
If the dog starts missing the stantion touch, then go back to only asking for a BOP or touch and stop the SIT temporarily.
When the dog again starts touching then add back the sit.
DO NOT WORRY ABOUR STRAIGHT SITS at this time. This will come and the SIT before the BOP is taught at a separate time after the dog has a solid understanding of the GO TOUCH/BOP.
9. Add the PRE-CUE: PRE-CUE is what you say and do in a show as you set up for the exercise (before the judge says, "This is the directed jumping exercise.... ")
Choose a word not used for any other work with dog. For example, I have used "THERE IS YOUR MARK" and "LOOK" for other work with Myst. For her GO OUTS, the new word is "LOOK STRAIGHT." THE BODY POINT MUST BE DIFFERENT FROM WHAT IS USED IN THE GLOVE EXERCISE to avoid confusion. We all have seen dogs in go outs going to where the glove was if the glove exercise is first. It is important to make a clear distinction between each exercise.
Advancing:
- Add your jumps for this exercise (high jump and bar jump).
- Continue to add distance until you are at the entire ring length.
- Change the very visible broad jump chute to smaller guides like white poles on the ground (see picture above); then the not visible (green wire chutes).
- The dog soon learns that the use of the PRE-CUE means they are going to do go outs. Begin to start using the pre-cue as soon as possible.
- Continue advancing your distance again until you are at 50 feet.
- When the dog does his go out reliably at 50 feet, remove your guides on either side of the GO LINE stantion.
- Change the picture of what the ring looks like. Rings may have wooden stantions, metal stantions, poles with linked chains, and indoors the picture is very very different. Each of these can cause confusion with your dog since the sight picture has changed. It is very important to make as many different pictures to your dog that he might encounter including people standing in front of the GO line, chairs, poles or things draped over the gates.
- Go to different locations. Dogs must do thousands of go outs before they can reliably do these at shows in new and unfamiliar locations.
SEE BELOW FOR MY INTRODUCTION TO THE GO OUTS AND TEACHING MY 6 MONTH OLD PUPPY TO BOP AND OBJECT.
Happy Training and Thank you Laura for sharing this with us.