Undulation and Pitch of Verbal Markers

[cowboy17]

Hi all.

Looking for comments on voice undulation when using verbal markers.
I'm not really a fan of clickers, but may find that I need to resort to one as I'm a little worried that I am missing the mark, or not making my mark clear enough.

As example, it could be a quick and short "Yes", it could be an excited "YESS!", could also be a drawn out "YEEEESSS".

I guess that the pitch and undulation of my marker, is directly related to how well he pulls of what I am asking him to do.

If it's a real easy one that he knows eg, Sit = "Yes" quick and unexaggerated.

If we are working on something new and he gets it it's a more animated "YEEESSS!!!!"

what are your thoughts on this? Does the verbal marker need to be consistent and exactly the same each time for best results? (take timing out of the equation for now)

Thanks,
will

[MaggieRoseLee]

YOU just hit the nail on the head about why our dogs learn faster when WE learn how to use a clicker.

It's really hard for us to not put emotion in a word, even when we think we won't! PLUS when we pull out a word and make it longer, we lose the precision that a short/fast marker gives us (and the dog!).

Why Use Clicker Training

A clicker works better than a verbal command or a word because it doesn’t change. Your voice changes, your inflection and tone change and quite honestly you can forget the word and then your poor dog is confused. Additionally, when your dog is conditioned to the clicker sound, anyone can train them.

http://www.clickertraining.com/files...S_EFFICACY.pdf This is neat article showing study of verbal vs clicker

The difference in effectiveness of the two bridging stimuli was most apparent at the onset of each new task component. It appears that use of the clicker, by providing a more precise marker than a verbal bridging stimulus, is responsible for superior acquisition of complex behaviors such as that studied here.

ClickStart

· The clicker accurately identifies correct behavior. Because the clicker is faster than verbal praise, it is more precise. In the time it takes to say "good boy" an animal may perform the desired behavior and then move to an unwanted response, before the praise has time to register. In this scenario, the animal can't tell if the trainers liked the "sit" or the "jumping up on the trainer" that occurred a split second later.

[cowboy17]

could expalin a lot of my frustration over the last 15-20 years.
Always used verbal "yes"....

I'll really read that article, very interesting so far.

Just feeling a little awkward about making the switch.

Thanks so much for the links and your feedback.

[Stosh]

I have a friend with a deaf dog and she gives a hand signal of a peace sign for 'yes' and a thumb's up for good job. We were in an agility class together for the last 8 wks and it was interesting to see how fast all of the dogs in the class picked that up. Now I'm giving Stosh a thumb's up at a distance while we're herding.

[MaggieRoseLee]

Originally Posted by Stosh

I have a friend with a deaf dog and she gives a hand signal of a peace sign for 'yes' and a thumb's up for good job. We were in an agility class together for the last 8 wks and it was interesting to see how fast all of the dogs in the class picked that up. Now I'm giving Stosh a thumb's up at a distance while we're herding.

That's great info, and a hand signal can be fast so it's easy to see why they would work..... course the dog has to be looking at us!

[cowboy17]

So further to this....

When working on distance, can I use a whistle in the same manner as the clicker?

I would have to charge the whistle as the mark of course (whistle - treat, whistle - treat, etc)