Workin' for the champagne, drugs and fun

[lizblackdog]

I have started training Squish to point out a particular cat when I name it. You would think Spike would be the dog for this, but Spike is so cat fixated that attempting to reward him for staring at a cat is just a distraction and annoyance to him - it's actually quite hard to get him to notice that you're waving a meatball in his face, and when he does notice he doesn't care, the cat is SO much more compelling.

Squish, however, did a beautiful job. Half an hour and a bag of meatball chunks and he's dimly starting to grasp that "Where's Cassie?" means "I will get meatball for looking at the biggest cat".

On the one hand, he's frustratingly slow on the uptake compared to Spike. I was using the same indicators that I used to teach Spike "find your ball/toy/whatever object we're using as a toy and bring it closer to me" - flicking my eyes onto the desired object, which is how wolves and wild dog packs (not having pointing fingers) indicate things to each other. Spike always understands that instantly but Squish isn't nearly as attentive to body language, I don't think he registered what my eyes were doing at all.

On the other hand, Squish is a much more straightforward dog and doesn't cloud operant training with his own quirks and agendas the way Spike does. Plus, he's a dog bred for the express purpose of finding and indicating things; that ought to count for something, no?

I ran out of meatball, but I'll have another go at it when the next batch defrosts. Yayy Squish!

Comments

[cottonmanifesto.livejournal.com]

maybe he needs a stronger cue? like your whole head facing in that direction?

squish is cute.

[lizblackdog.livejournal.com]

That's a good idea. I'll do that. He really isn't a stupid dog; I'm just so used to Spike, who can read my mind and leap to the right conclusions at a single bound, that I find it very hard to have to break the whole process down into small steps, even though this is what proper dog training is usually like.

With Spike I usually just need to make vague suggestions and he'll work the rest out on his own, or he'll invent his own behaviours and if I want to keep them all I have to do is add a cue word.

He is utterly adorable. He makes me go mushy inside :)

[cottonmanifesto.livejournal.com]

yup, charlie and maggie are the same. it really is kind of a let down trying to train the stupid dog. :)

[lizblackdog.livejournal.com]

I'm trying to look at it as good mental discipline!

[cottonmanifesto.livejournal.com]

exercises in frustration generally are. :)

[lizblackdog.livejournal.com]

there is a reward for it: he's so bouncy and grinny and pleased with himself when he finally gets it! Spike just takes it for granted, he already knows he's a clever boy. With Squish it makes his whole day.

[kiss-kass.livejournal.com]

Squish is going to get fat learning this lesson. LOL

[lizblackdog.livejournal.com]

Ahh, but I'm clever too, I reduce his meals if he's getting lots of treats!

[kronob.livejournal.com]

How long before he figures that out and decides to play dumb while training to get more meatballs? ;)

[lizblackdog.livejournal.com]

He only gets meatball when he gets it right. Squish is a highly sneaky character but I can out-sneak him.

Just.