# Better response time to commands?



## Olive'smom (Nov 21, 2012)

Hello folks!
Mr. Olive is almost 7 months old and pretty we'll behaved. I started doing clicker training with him almost immediately after we got him at 11 weeks old. He knows lots of tricks - sit, down, roll over, high five, dance, spin, come (still a work in progress), and we're working on stay. I make him lie down before feeding him, before taking his leash off, and before allowing him on the couch. My question is this - how can I make him respond to commands more quickly? He'll usually do the command eventually but sometimes needs to hear it twice, or will wait for me to give the visual cue (hand signals) even though he knows the command. With 'come' he often waits to see if I have a treat in my hand before coming over. Anyone have any advice about this?


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

the ideal way is to say the cue/command once only. If you repeat it ,you are giving the dog a choice to ignore you, they learn quickly that they can wait. Wait it out a second and the key is to get the response before you do anything else. A consistent visual cue also helps as dogs are more visual communication based. Have to go , back later with more.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Yup. What Dave said. He's training you at this point.<g>

You can decrease response time by doing a BUNCH of sits (or downs or whatever right in a row, with a very well timed click/treat Say the cue once (or use the hand signal) and wait for his response. REALLY wait it out. As soon as his bottom hits the ground, click and drop a treat at your feet. As soon as he reaches (and takes) the treat, cue him to sit again... wait for it, click and repeat. Time yourself, and see how many sits you can get in a minute. Over time, you want to increase the number you can get in that time period.

Most dogs really enjoy this game. They catch on fast, and it's high reward. It conditions them to respond to your cue FAST. It is important, though, to make sure you use small, soft, treats that are easy to swallow quickly, without chewing, or you'll end up with a lot of wait time as the dog deals with the food in his mouth.

You only need to do a minute of this exercise at a time, but if you do it 2-3 times a day, you will see his response time increase remarkably.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Well said Karen. Practice makes perfect . I also have another take on this,by Ian Dunbar. This is a quote from DSD. 
"Without a doubt, Non-Aversive Punishments are the way to go. Indeed, it is possible to effectively reduce unwanted behavior by using voice-only feedback AND by only using a soft and sweet tone. Gentle insistence is the name of the game.
If a dog does not comply when asked to sit in a play session, for example, simply insist that she does so. Continually, repeat the command in a gentle, insistent voice, “Rover Sit, sit, sit, sit…” and when she eventually sits, say, “Thank you” and now that you have the dog’s attention, ask her to come-fore and sit once more. When the dog sits following a single command, profusely praise, offer a food reward and say, “Go Play”.
The first sit, required five repetitions of the sit-command. However, with each repetition, the number of required commands progressively decreases with each trial until eventually, the dog sits promptly following a single command. The secret to success is to never give up. The dog learns that she has to sit following a single command before being allowed to play once more.
This technique is extremely effective, works surprisingly quickly, and prevents the need for physical restraint or aversive punishment. The dog learns that she has to pay attention and follow our instructions to sit promptly following a single command before being allowed to resume playing. And once you have voice control, your dog can safely enjoy off-leash romps" .


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## Zarika (Dec 16, 2012)

How did you teach roll over? Hobbes is pretty good and fairly reliable at the basics. I'd like to teach him a few more "party tricks"


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

davetgabby said:


> Well said Karen. Practice makes perfect . I also have another take on this,by Ian Dunbar. This is a quote from DSD.
> "Without a doubt, Non-Aversive Punishments are the way to go. Indeed, it is possible to effectively reduce unwanted behavior by using voice-only feedback AND by only using a soft and sweet tone. Gentle insistence is the name of the game.
> If a dog does not comply when asked to sit in a play session, for example, simply insist that she does so. Continually, repeat the command in a gentle, insistent voice, "Rover Sit, sit, sit, sit&#8230;" and when she eventually sits, say, "Thank you" and now that you have the dog's attention, ask her to come-fore and sit once more. When the dog sits following a single command, profusely praise, offer a food reward and say, "Go Play".
> The first sit, required five repetitions of the sit-command. However, with each repetition, the number of required commands progressively decreases with each trial until eventually, the dog sits promptly following a single command. The secret to success is to never give up. The dog learns that she has to sit following a single command before being allowed to play once more.
> This technique is extremely effective, works surprisingly quickly, and prevents the need for physical restraint or aversive punishment. The dog learns that she has to pay attention and follow our instructions to sit promptly following a single command before being allowed to resume playing. And once you have voice control, your dog can safely enjoy off-leash romps" .


I don't know, Dave. I think you'd have to be an awfully good, observant and patient trainer to make this work, and THAT kind of trainer isn't going to ever let this type of problem develop.

BTW, Ian Dunbar is doing some seminars in this area soon, and I'm signed up for a day-long session. So I'll get to see your hero in person!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Zarika said:


> How did you teach roll over? Hobbes is pretty good and fairly reliable at the basics. I'd like to teach him a few more "party tricks"


A lot of people teach it by cuing the dog to down, then using a piece of food, lure them into the roll by luring their head back and to the side, then taking it across the body.

Other people capture the behavior with a clicker.

Be aware that some dogs get very nervous about being on their back when it's not THEIR idea, so it may be hard to teach them. Kodi didn't like it at all, and since he learns other things very quickly, and "roll over" was FAR down on our priority list, we just haven't bothered with it. Lots of dogs don't mind it at all, though, and learn it very quickly!


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

krandall said:


> I don't know, Dave. I think you'd have to be an awfully good, observant and patient trainer to make this work, and THAT kind of trainer isn't going to ever let this type of problem develop.
> 
> BTW, Ian Dunbar is doing some seminars in this area soon, and I'm signed up for a day-long session. So I'll get to see your hero in person!


maybe a little tricky for some people, but sounds good in principle. Yeah he's touring more than ever, glad he's postponed his "retirement" .


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## sprorchid (Mar 30, 2010)

Tips I learned in trick class:

1) not all treats are created equal. so find a very high value treat, and use that only when you do tricks.
2) when teaching a new trick always pay well, 1:1. so if you are teaching sit, every time he sits he quickly gets the treat.

also, yes, give the hand signal or verbal command only once. If your dog does something in appropriate, or not what you wanted, I personally turn my face away, or my back to them, or you can take 2 steps away. then come back and ask for the trick again, once.

If he's taking to long, but is paying attention, you can let him lick the treat, to encourage him.

Also, when the dogs are young, you show them you have treats so they know you want them to train. after a while you want to fade that, b/c you don't want them to be a 'show me the treat dog, or I ain't working (my boy is totally like that, my bad)'... 


Roll over: tricks in general, you can use two methods - capture - wait till it happens naturally and reward it on the spot. or shaping - take an existing behavior, or trick and mold it to the behavior you want.


my third method, which is me, being naive, is manually showing them want you want them to do and then giving them a treat.

So for roll over that's what I did. had him lay down and I rolled him like a log. gave him a treat. eventually he got it but he's smart and very food motivated.

so for waving hello, I took the shake command and shaped it into a wave.


for capture, to teach him to play dead, there is a behavior does when I groom him, and he's had enough, yup, he rolls on his back with his paws to the sky and turns rigid, so I can't roll him over. so one day I thought, hmm, that looks a lot like he's dead, lol. next time he did it, I gave him a treat. then I did something he wanted to avoid, like pulling ear hair, and he did the target behavior again, and I gave him a treat again. about 10 times, and he got it. 

good luck.


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