- Today we're gonna talk about the importance
of using a pinpoint marker word, or even a sound,
in order to select when your dog is doing something correct.
Now you could use something like the word Yes,
or you could use something like this called the clicker
(click)
that makes a clicking sound when you press it.
Both of those things indicate to her
that she's doing something correct.
Now with using those pinpoint words,
I'm gonna teach Funkee a new behavior today
to show you how this process works.
This is Funkee Monkee, I'm Kayl.
Welcome back to McCann Dogs.
(guitar strums)
(barking)
So the first thing that I need to do
before I teach her a new behavior is to make sure
she understands what the word yes
or the sound of the click means.
So what I'm gonna do is pair it
with getting a reward,
and that pairing needs to happen within one second
in order for her to comprehend the timing.
So if I'm using the word yes, it would look like this.
Yes.
Then feed.
Yes.
Then feed.
Or if I'm using the click, it would look like this.
(click) Good girl.
(click)
So she hears the sound, whether it be my word or the click,
followed one second later by food.
Now the word yes or the sound of the click
is what we call a conditioned reinforcer,
which means over time,
when she's had hundreds of repetitions
of hearing the word yes and then being fed
or hearing the click and being fed,
those words or the sound of the click
becomes the reward itself
because of all the positive associations she's had with it.
Now I just want to speak a little bit about the word yes
in comparison to the click,
because there's some people that prefer one over the other.
I prefer to use yes in most situations
because my voice is something I have on me all of the time.
I can use it freely for everyday things.
I often find having a clicker in my hand
can be very difficult,
if I have a toy, and I have a leash and I have food
and all these different things.
This can be a bit annoying.
However, if I'm working on something very detailed
that requires me or it allows me to have food
and the clicker in my hand,
I do find I can have very specific
spot on timing with my clicker.
And from a teaching perspective,
I often notice a lot of students
can change how they say the word yes
or can be a little bit off with their timing,
so they can say (sharply) yes
or (drawn out) yes
and change the inflection of their voice,
which does affect your dog,
so being specific in how you say it
and when you say it is gonna make a big difference
for your dog's ability to learn something new.
Now I have this exercise cushion here beside me
and my goal is to teach Funkee
to do something with the exercise cushion.
Now she knows to get on top of it,
but she doesn't know how to do a specific behavior
because I make her do a whole bunch of them.
So I'm gonna start off by using the clicker
to reinforce her when she's correct,
and then as we go forward,
I'll use the word yes as well
so you have a chance to see how both things work.
So the method I'm gonna be using today
to teach her something new is the method of shaping
and we have a video on shaping.
We'll make sure that we post that link below,
so that if you're not sure about how that works,
we'll be able to show you in that video.
So I have a bit of food here,
I have my clicker ready.
What I'm gonna do is just sort of
turn my attention to the cushion,
and anything that Funkee does in relationship to the cushion
I'm gonna "yes" and reward her for,
and I'm gonna make sure I feed her
somewhere near the cushion to make sure
she's thinking about it.
All right, try something new.
(click) Good.
So she touched the cushion and I can reward her for that.
Okay, try again.
(click) Nice, good girl.
So I'm getting two feet.
(click)
And I want all four feet.
(click) Almost.
Good girl, okay.
Try again.
(click) Nice, almost.
(click) There.
I can't see if that last one's up.
(whining)
(click) Okay.
So she's getting a little bit frustrated,
so I have to go back to rewarding
something a bit more simple now.
I thought I was gonna get all four feet,
and see how she was sort of scrambling
and going all over the place,
so I'm gonna try and calm things down
and reward smaller increments now
to make sure that she doesn't get too frantic.
Okay, try again.
(click) Almost.
That last foot there.
(click) Yay!
Oh, so close!
It's slippery, try again! (barks)
(clicks) Oooh!
We're close!
Good girl, try again.
(click)
Good.
(click) Yay!
We need to use something less slippery, this is hard work.
(click) There we go.
Okay, good girl! (barking)
So we're getting there.
So next time, I'm gonna practice with the word yes
so you can see how the process
of the timing works exactly the same way.
All right, we're gonna try the exercise again
but this time I'm gonna use the word yes,
so watch carefully.
I'm gonna try my best to "yes"
when all four feet are up on the cushion.
If I have any legs down and I'm yessing at that point,
I could create a bit of confusion
or some gray area for my dog.
It's really important that when you're training dogs,
you try to be as black and white as possible,
so I'll do my best here to see
all the flying legs at the same time.
Okay, try it.
Yes!
Yes! Good girl.
Yes!
Good, yes!
Very nice!
You're balancing so good this time.
Okay, try again.
Yes!
Good.
Yes!
Good girl.
Yes!
Whoops, I missed a leg there.
(whimpering)
Try again.
(Funkee groaning)
Yes!
Good girl, yes.
Good!
Yes.
And see how I'm feeding her in a way
that's helping her stay on the cushion?
You are so good.
Okay! (barking)
What a smarty pants.
Good girlie.
Now you may have noticed when I was practicing with Funkee,
there was a few times where her back leg
would come off the side,
or she would come off altogether.
And if she does something wrong,
it's important that I don't scold her or tell her no.
I want her just to be encouraged to try again,
so my most important thing I'm focusing on
is when I'm going to be using my yes or my click.
Now in saying that, it really doesn't matter
whether you use the word yes
or whether you use a clicker.
It's really completely up to you.
I find, like I said before,
that there is certain times when I find
the yes is much more convenient to use.
That's probably what I use most of the time.
And then ever so often, if I'm looking for something
more detailed, then I'll use a clicker for that.
So I think that there is a time and place
for both applications.
What I think is most important, though,
is when you are saying the word yes
or when you are clicking,
because that's really what resonates with a dog
and they're understanding the most.
Now we use the method of shaping
to teach our dogs all kinds of really fun dog tricks,
and you can check out our YouTube page
for a lot more ideas and give some of those a try.
Now if this is your first time with us,
we post brand new training videos
every single Thursday
from a really wide range of dog training topics,
whether it be puppies or tricks
or basic behaviors,
so make sure you check in with us.
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you can give us a thumbs up as well.
Now this is my nine year old All Canadian dog,
Funkee Monkee, my name's Kayl.
For now, happy training.
See you soon.