From Start to Dog Show with your Superstar Competition Dog!

From Start to Competition!

How much do you know about setting up training sessions so that your dog has the greatest chance of retaining the information and moving into competition with minimal stress? Let’s take a look at how FDSA approaches it, for all sports.

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* 1. You want to teach your dog a new behavior. Which environment is ideal?

A quiet room in your house

A nearby park with modest distractions

The local dog training club

Whatever is most convenient for you!

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* 2. Wow; your dog is a superstar! Your dog can do a shiny new behavior when you lure it. Now you want to put that behavior on a verbal cue only. What is the correct order?

Lure the behavior and when it is completed give the verbal cue within a second or so.

Lure the behavior and simultaneously give the verbal cue.

Give the verbal cue and follow it up with the lured behavior within a second or two.

Give the verbal cue and simply wait. Eventually the dog will do it.

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* 3. Your superstar dog has the new behavior on a verbal cue, but only in non-distracting environments. What might you want to do next?

Practice in a different location from where you taught the behavior but with no distraction.

Practice in the familiar location but with the addition of a distraction like another dog nearby.

Practice in the familiar location but change your own position from standing to sitting.

Any of the above are fine.

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* 4. Out in the world and with a variety of distractions your superstar dog can perform five different behaviors! What might you want to do next when you return home?

Ask for two different behaviors before handing over a reinforcer.

Add scary distractions like dropping pots and pans nearby.

Stop using any motivators when you practice the known behaviors.

All of the above

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* 5. In the world and under a variety of distractions, your superstar dog can perform entire behavior chains as long as you reward them quickly with a cookie from your pocket! What might you want to do next?

Perform two behavior chains (or one chain and a bit more) before a cookie from your pocket!

Remove the cookies from your pocket before performing (and rewarding) each single behavior chain (or bit of a chain).

Either of the above is fine.

Neither of the above is fine.

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* 6. Your superstar dog can perform entire behavior chains without cookies in your pockets and in a variety of environments. There’s only one little problem….your behavior chains are sloppy and lack precision! I mean, whatever happened to your super-straight sits? You’d like to get them back. What should you do?

Continue with the behavior chains and only reward the ones that you like the best.

Stop working on behavior chains that includes straight sits. Instead, work on the foundation behavior of sitting straight out of the chain. When you feel confident that your dog is back to a straight sit, put that behavior back in the chain.

Your dog will improve with experience. Don’t change anything!

Continue with the same behavior chains, but only work in low distraction environments.

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* 7. You take your superstar dog to class, and everything goes wrong! It’s like he’s forgotten everything you taught him. What you notice more than anything is that he just doesn’t want to be there - he’s not engaged, even with his favorite exercises. What should you NOT do?

Go home. It’s not his night.

Work through it. It’s important that he be able to work under all circumstances.

Give him a few free cookies for being your best friend, snuggle up on the couch, and watch TV.

Go out with your friend for a consolation drink. Make sure she understands that it’s all over and it will never ever ever get better. The end is near.

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* 8. Your dog is back! This week in class he’s fantastic. All of his behaviors are rock solid. You’re seriously thinking about going to a dog show. But how do you know if you’re ready? Which of the following might be a reasonable test of trial readiness?

You head to a nearby training club and have a stranger put you through a formal run-through. You have no cookies on your body, and you expect your dog to finish all of the exercises.

You head to a nearby training club and have a friend put you through a run-through. You reinforce each exercise with a cookie from your pocket.

You head to a nearby training club and have a stranger put you through a formal run-through. You ask the person to pressure your dog in a variety of ways, some of which stress your dog but you expect him to work through it. Because you are given several opportunities to enter the ring, you repeat this randomly throughout the evening.

Any of the above is a fine test of trial readiness

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* 9. You did it! You entered and you qualified! As you leave the ring, your friends run over to congratulate you. At that moment in time and in the following order you:

Cry, hug all your friends, hug your dog, find a cookie for him, and put him in a crate.

Cry, hug your dog and give your dog a cookie (or ten), put him in a crate and hug your friends.

Talk to the judge about your handling, talk to your friends about your performance, and put your dog in a crate.

Work with your dog on any poorly executed exercises outside the ring.

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* 10. You stuck with it! Soon you have your first title and you’re very proud of this! As an expression of your appreciation, it would be appropriate to:

Volunteer to help at the next trial.

Send a thank you note to the trial secretary for hosting a well run trial.

Thank your trainers and training buddies for all of their support

Buy your dog a McDonald’s hamburger on the way home

Any or all of the above

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* 11. Would you like to be added to our FDSA mailing list? We send information about twice a week and always include free content such as podcasts, blogs, games and contests. If online education is not your interest or if you're already on our mailing list, just skip this question and click "done" to see your results!

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