Out of motion exercises

[gagsd]

Does anyone have good training videos for the sit and down out of motion?

[BlackPuppy]

No video, but I've heard of this method called "blocking".

Schutzhund-Training.com - Motion Exercises

[JanaeUlva]

I don't have anything video-wise but I've always trained the behavior while playing ball. So eventually I can do a down or sit at distances as well as when the dog is in motion. Then tacking it on to the heeling is fairly simple. The stand in motion is a little harder due to the fact the dog is already standing but I have it trained so they really know what it means to stand from a sit or a down. Currently I'm working on getting the stand at a heel. Not as easy in my mind.

So in agility I have to make sure I tell Minka to hup on to the platform before giving a down or sit command because she will drop like a rock where ever she is at.

[JanaeUlva]

I guess I should say, that like many other behaviors I like to train it away from the final behavior so in this case the heeling.

[gagsd]

I have the sit/down pretty much... but would like to add speed in. With this particular dog, compulsion is not the best choice. I do not use electric.
So I am working the speed by rewarding.

So I guess what I am asking is.... when/how do you reward the out-of-motion exercise to build speed?

[JanaeUlva]

With Minka I do a variation on the two ball play where I get a fast game going over a short distance. Meaning sometimes I throw the ball to her mouth or away from us but not to far in order to keep the pace up. Then cue a sit or a down, periodically. In the beginning I would give her time to figure it out and reward with a ball. Now if she doesn't go to position fast enough I say OK instead of marking it and don't throw a ball. I encourage her to run a few steps cue again. Fast performance gets the ball. Also the down must be correct meaning no sit to a down. I want a straight drop into a down. Anyhow that has worked for me. Hope this helps.

[Fast]

I don't believe that a mark and reward works very well to speed up positions. There are too many associations the dog can make that are not related to speed. How does the dog know why you are rewarding or withholding?

I think that if the dog is in the correct mindset the positions will be fast. The elements are:

• dog feels comfortable and attentive with handler
• dog feels confident
• dog understands the exercise
• dog is in drive

If you can get those elemnts together the dog will will be both fast and accurate. And keep in mind that accuracy is waaaaaay more important than speed. The most common screw up in schutzhund comes from handlers trying to squeeze .05-1 out of an exercise. They have a dog that is almost perfect but in their quest for perfection the whole thing blows up.

[JanaeUlva]

Originally Posted by Fast

I don't believe that a mark and reward works very well to speed up positions. There are too many associations the dog can make that are not related to speed. How does the dog know why you are rewarding or withholding?

I think that if the dog is in the correct mindset the positions will be fast. The elements are:

• dog feels comfortable and attentive with handler
• dog feels confident
• dog understands the exercise
• dog is in drive

If you can get those elemnts together the dog will will be both fast and accurate. And keep in mind that accuracy is waaaaaay more important than speed. The most common screw up in schutzhund comes from handlers trying to squeeze .05-1 out of an exercise. They have a dog that is almost perfect but in their quest for perfection the whole thing blows up.

That makes sense so what I'm really doing now, since she knows the game, is building the drive and focus so the majority of the time she responds quickly. Thus, I'm building habit? Because outside the game, in agility or while heeling or anywhere (so far) she drops like a rock on cue, I would say 99% of the time.

[Fast]

Originally Posted by JanaeUlva

That makes sense so what I'm really doing now, since she knows the game, is building the drive and focus so the majority of the time she responds quickly. Thus, I'm building habit?

Yeah, that's pretty much the way I see it.


I also make sure that my dog knows what's coming. Before the build up, while the dog is in basic, I tell him that the sit is coming. That way he feels confident about the position.

[hunterisgreat]

Properly introduced and used used electric is a great tool for building speed... Keep in mind you are not frying the dog, and the whole thing relies on the stim being well low enough as to be ignored if you haven't taught the dog that the stim means the exercise is incorrect