Using Target and Clicker to Teach the Swimmer's Turn

Dog Training: Swimmer's Turn
Box Turns: Introduction

When you put the target on the box... won't the dog just touch the target with both front feet? How do you get the back feet up there too for the swimmer's turn?

-Cynthia Blue

My short answer to the comment above was that it depends on how you set up the dog. When I thought about it, I realized that there are a lot of factors to consider about how to set up the dog for this exercise and what you must do to achieve a four-footed swimmer's turn.

Factors to consider:

1. Dog size. Big dogs have a harder time getting their back feet up on the box than little dogs. In between "big" and "little" there is every size imaginable! If your dog is medium to small build, the easiest swimmer's turn amounts to pouncing on the box and planting all four feet onto the pedal simultaneously. If your dog's build is too large for all him to actually "fit" all four feet up there comfortably, then you are going to have to teach him a two part swimmer's turn which will involve kicking off the box with the back feet after the front feet have made contact.
2. Temperment. Some dogs have a high energy level coupled with high "prey drive". They may be so motivated by the prospect of reward that it may be problematic to slow down their path on and off the box enough to pattern the back feet for a proper swimmer's turn. Others may have such a low energy level that they treat approaching the box like a walk in the park.
3. Maturity level. A puppy or a young dog may have a short attention span. You can't work very long before they are looking for something else to do, especially if they do not understand what behavior will get them their reward.

Every dog is unique in their genetic behavioral make up. I'm sure there are more factors then the ones I've listed above but I consider them to be the major factors.

Now, how do you set up the dog to illicit the swimmer's turn on the box?

• First, we assume the dog responds to the clicker.
• Second, we also assume you know which way your dog naturally turns.
• Lastly, we assume dog has learned to put his feet on the target with a word cue.

You will need at least two assistants for this exercise. One person stands on the box. Of course, there is no ball involved. However, the box will need bracing against the force of the dog jumping on it and also, you want to teach the dog to expect a human to be standing on the box.

The second assistant will be holding your dog for you until the proper time to release the dog.

If your dog turns to his left, have your assistent hold your dog on the right side of the lane. (Dog's right.) You should have your left foot planted in front of and center of the box. You should find you are semi-facing your dog. You should have your dog's "motivator" ready to guide his path on to and off of the box. Your dog should only be one step away from you as a starting point. You should have placed the target onto the box where you want your dog's front feet to make first contact with the box.

When the dog is released, you must be prepared to use your body to help guide the dog from your right side, onto and then off of the box, and then back down the lane on your left side. You will do a "half pivot" right in front of the box with your dog jumping onto and then off of the box in a half circle around you. You shouldn't need to move more than one step away from the box while doing this exercise. Your dog should get a click every time both his front and his rear feet touch the pedal. It might be helpful to have your box assistant do the clicking so you can concentrate on guiding your dog's path.

If your dog turns to his right, you will set up the exact opposite way. Your dog will begin from his left side of the lane. You will place your right foot in front of and center of the box, etc.

Anyway, when you, your dog and your assistants are ready, offer your dog's motivator (food or toy), call your dog's name and use your word cue for "target". (Could be "PUSH" or "HIT IT", whatever you choose) Your assistant should release the dog the moment the dog is focused on you, the target and the motivator. In one smooth motion, pivot in front of the box and guide the dog up and then off while using the motivator. Lavishly praise your dog for any effort to get his feet on the box. Eventually, raise the criteria for a click and reward only the best turns.

What if your dog consistently "misses" putting his rear feet on the box?

Then, it is time to use a "jump board" in your training as part of your set up. A jump board is a training aid designed to guide your dog's feet onto and off of the box. It is placed a few inches in front of the box. It is usually 6-7 inches high with only one upright to hold it in place. The distance between the jump board and the box is determined by what will make the dog clear the jump to reach the box.

A jump board is especially helpful for the big dogs who have a "two part" swimmer's turn. You can use the jump board even in the "introductory phase".

That's how I set up introducing the swimmer's turn using clicker and target. Does anybody have a different method? Tell me about it! ....and, in the meantime,

See you at practice!

Teaching "Catch" ....Dead Ball Retrieve

Do you have any suggestions on how to teach a dog to catch the ball from the box? In my case, my dog started out not able to catch anything out of the air. I ended up teaching him to catch food when thrown to him. He is getting better about that and working his way to catching the ball reliably (he's at about 50% now) but, hasn't yet made any attempt to catch the ball from the hole. Any suggestions of exercises would be greatly appreciated.
-Susan

Dog Training:Dead Ball Retrieve
Flyball Box: Introduction




This is a GREAT question! This exercise should follow after your dog is pretty good at jumping on & off the box and developing a good swimmer's turn style.

The first lesson for catching a ball is "dead ball retrieve". You may use jumps or not depending on your dog's age and development. You do NOT need a box or a slantboard for this. You also don't want a lot of speed with this exercise. Your dog is simply picking up a ball off the floor.

Have your "box loader" at one end of a lane. You and your dog at the other end. Have the box loader draw your dog's attention to them by calling your dog's name and waving or bouncing the ball. Once your dog's attention is on the ball, let him go to retrieve it. The box loader should place on the floor a ball for the dog to retrieve. Since there is no "box" your dog has to slow down to pick up his ball. Once the ball is picked up, both you & your box loader need to note which way your dog turns. Although your dog is learning to retrieve balls, you must prepare for his next lesson as well as the one he is learning now.

When your dog is 100% consistent doing dead ball retrieve AND is well developed doing the swimmer's turn, it is time to combine the two behaviors into one smooth dead ball retrieve with a swimmer's turn. For this introduction, remove the jumps. Using a piece of sticky velcro on the plunger, have the box loader place the dog's ball on the the hole that your dog will learn to catch from. The velcro will hold the ball in place with the sticky side keeping the velcro in place on the plunger. At close range, (close enough to allow the dog to jump onto the box and off again) release your dog. As soon as your dog picks up his ball, "mark" the behavior with a click. Lavish praise for retrieving off the box, especially if your dog manages to maintain the swimmer's turn while retrieving the ball.

Practice this combined box turn/dead ball retrieve several times at close range before re-introducing the jumps. In fact, wait a few days before bringing back even one jump. It's OK to practice restrained recalls over the jumps or even drag race but, while the dog is learning to retrieve a ball while doing the swimmer's turn, it's best to leave the jumps out of the picture.

Gradually, bring back the jumps one at a time. If the dog shows any regression, remove one jump at a time until the dog is successful again. Catching a ball out of the box while manuevering the swimmer's turn is a relatively complicated behavior and one you do not want to rush, unless you want your dog to "bobble" the ball alot during a real race.

When the dog is consistently jumping all four jumps, retrieving the "dead" ball from the hole of the box AND doing a decent swimmer's turn, it is time to "load" a ball for real. Give the dog three or four "warmups" with the dead ball and then load the box. If you have properly prepared your dog for this step, the ball should just "pop" into your dog's mouth as he does his swimmer's turn. He may be a little surprised at the "help" the box gives the ball as it shoots forward. Lavishly praise your dog for his efforts, even if it is not picture perfect. You want the transition from "dead" ball to "loaded" ball to be as seamless as possible.

What about a trained flyball dog that has difficulty catching? The dead ball retrieve will work for them, too. If your dog is willing to pick up a ball and bring it to you off the floor then, he can learn to catch the ball out of the box. First, determine if your dog has a preference for a smaller ball vs a full-sized tennis ball. A smaller ball is less consistent in flight and sometimes, a little bit harder to catch. After determining the proper sized ball for your dog, begin with the steps outlined above and treat your dog as though they have never played flyball before. This is re-training and you must go slowly and be patient. The problem may be that the dog learned the jumps and learned the swimmer's turn but, never really learned to catch. Using the dead ball retrieve teaches your dog to open his mouth to grab the ball wherever it is. Once your dog is consistent doing that, catching a "loaded" ball isn't really catching at all. It is having the box help the ball into your dog's mouth since he should already preparing to retrieve the ball while doing the swimmer's turn.

Box technique is a series of behaviors that, if introduced or retrained in the proper sequence, chained together should appear to be effortless. Don't be afraid to retace previous steps if your dog's technique should start to fall apart. Quite often, regression is part of the learning process. Dead ball retrieve from the box itself is the best way to insure your dog will catch consistently.

See you at practice!

Teaching Clicker and Target

Dog Training: Clicker
Flyball Box: Target

"Click and treat, click and treat! I got something good to eat!"

If one is involved in dog training in any fashion, you are going to hear the term "Clicker Training". It is a popular way to refer to classical conditioning.

Clicker training is simply a way to use positive reinforcement to illicit a desired behavior. The clicker portion pinpoints for the dog the moment the desired behavior occurred. The learning takes place when the dog displays the desired behavior in order to receive the positive reinforcement. The reinforcement comes when the dog actually displays the desired behavior. Reinforcement can come in a variety of "rewards" such as food or toys. It could simply be play interaction with the trainer.

Before you can use the clicker to pinpoint desired behavior, you must teach the dog that hearing a "click" is a good thing. For this introductory lesson, it is desirable to have a hungry dog. Do this just before feeding time. Take a portion of their kibble or, if you do not feed kibble, bite size pieces of cheese, hot dog or liver. Have these tidbits right at hand. Bring in your "student" and have your clicker in one hand, the treats within easy handling of the other. Now, click the clicker and if the dog reacts to the sound indicating that they heard it, give your dog a treat. Click the clicker, treat the dog. Before five minutes have elapsed doing this over and over, I guarantee that you will have a dog looking for a treat at the instant they hear a click.

It only takes two or three short click and treat lessons to condition your dog that the click is desirable and means "food". Now what? We use the clicker to pinpoint desired behavior and the "food" reinforces this desired behavior.

In the case of "target", we take a round piece of plastic or heavy cardboard or paper to use as our target. The lids used to seal coffee cans work excellent or you can cut out part of a disposable plate to use. It doesn't matter. You simply want a size that is small enough for you to handle easily but large enough for the dog to see and identify. Hold the target with a treat under your thumb. Your thumb should be on top of the target so that the dog can see and smell the treat. You should hold the treat firmly under your thumb so that the dog cannot get the treat unless you release the pressure of your thumb. Present the target with treat to your dog. You are looking for any moment when the dog tries to use their feet to get at the treat under your thumb. At the very moment your dog paws at your thumb "click" your clicker and release the treat to your dog. It may take a minute or more for this first attempt. Do this 5-10 times in a row. It is still the same "click and treat" lesson from above but, we have raised our criteria to only rewarding the dog when the dog touches the target with their paw.

Repeat this lesson two or three times a day for two or three days in a row. At some point, offer the target without hiding the food. If your dog touches the target without seeing or smelling the treat as a prompt, make sure you click right away, go heavy on the praise and give the food reward to your dog right away. Since the food is not under your thumb, your dog will have to wait a moment or two before receiving it. That's fine for now. You are teaching that the click is what the dog wants and the treat simply reinforces that the click is something good.

Every two or three days (depending on your dog's ability to learn) raise your criteria for reward. If you click for one foot on the target, later click for only two feet, not one. If you click while holding the target, try putting the target on the box and clicking when your dog touches it away from you. Also, gradually increase the time frame between the click and the treat. Eventually, you will click your dog a few times before giving the food reward. You will reserve a large food reward or "jackpot" for a particularly complex behavior that your dog succeeds at learning.

Once you have your dog touching the target wherever you put it, you need to teach your dog a swimmer's turn on the box using the target to tell your dog where his feet should go. DO NOT use the target over the hole! This is a common mistake that first time flyball trainers make. The hole must present the ball to the dog. The dog won't try to catch the ball if he has been conditioned to put his feet there! The target should be placed (taped) to the box slightly below the hole and towards the center of the pedal. You should determine which way your dog turns before this lesson. Refer to the previous article, Which Way Does My dog Turn?" before putting the target on the box. If you still aren't sure exactly where on the box the target should go, try box judging at a tournament. While you are judging, observe where the best turning dogs put their front feet on the box. It will vary according to breed and size but it should give you the general area you should be teaching your dog to put his feet on the box.

You want the dog to jump on and off the box rapidly. Stand on the side of the box next to the lane in the direction your dog turns. Encourage your dog jump on the target and then back towards you. Be picky about when you will click for this behavior. Use your hand or a toy to guide the dog onto and then off of the box. Do not reward "double stepping" or you will have a dog that double steps on the box all the time. This causes bobbles, loses time and defeats the purpose of the swimmer's turn. You want a clean jump onto and off of the box. Eventually, your dog will learn how to approach the box so that he is always in position to catch the ball and push away from the box simultaneously!

See you at practice!

Which Way Does My Dog Turn?

Dog Training: Box Turns (Introduction)

Before you introduce your dog to the box, you need to know which way your dog turns. Does this really matter? Yes, it really matters. In order to teach the "Swimmer's turn" on the Flyball box, it is crucial to know ahead of time which way your dog naturally turns since the swimmer's turn puts the dog at an angle on the box in the direction of his "turn".

More races are won or lost at the box than any other element in the race. A swimmer's turn not only saves "time" at the box but, decreases your dog's chances of injury at the box. A properly taught and properly executed box turn dissipates the energy built up by a dog's speed and inertia hitting the box. A "straight on" approach puts a lot of stress on a dog's front musculature, particularly the neck and shoulders. A lot of dogs also suffer "impact" injury to their face and mouth with a straight on approach. Once a dog learns this approach, it is nearly impossible to re-train proper technique so, our goal is to never allow your dog to hit the box the wrong way!

Some dogs always turn the same direction no matter what and its easy to determine if they are lefties or righties. Others are more "ambidextrous" and may require some experimentation to learn if there's a preference.

The test is simple. Use a room with lots of floor space. While holding your dog, get your dog's attention on a ball or some other toy. It should be something they like alot so they are not thinking about how they turn. Roll or toss it a few feet away and then let your dog get it. Observe which way they turn. If after several tries, your dog seems to turn both ways, keep a score. Try this over several days. Eventually, one side will win out over the other.

A more formal approach is the dead ball retrieve. You may use jumps or not depending on your dog's age and development. You do NOT need a box or a slantboard for this. You also don't want a lot of speed with this exercise. Your dog is simply picking up a ball off the floor.

Have your "box loader" at one end of a lane. You and your dog at the other end. Have the box loader draw your dog's attention to them by calling your dog's name and waving or bouncing the ball. Once your dog's attention is on the ball, let him go to retrieve it. The box loader should place on the floor a ball for the dog to retrieve. Since there is no "box" your dog has to slow down to pick up his ball. Once the ball is picked up, both you & your box loader need to note which way your dog turns. Although your dog is learning to retrieve balls, you must prepare for his next lesson as well as the one he is learning now.

When is your dog ready to learn the box? I usually think about introducing the box when my dog is doing dead ball retrieve consistently over jumps and a dog is working in the opposing lane.

See you at practice!