THE CLICKED RETRIEVER

The

Clicked

Retriever

Lana Mitchell       CLICK! for Success Dog Training

The Clicked Retriever

Lana R. Mitchell

Distributed by:

Dogwise Publishing

A Division of Direct Book Service, Inc.

PO Box 2778

701B Poplar Wenatchee, Washington 98807

1-509-663-9115, 1-800-776-2665

website: www.dogwisepublishing.com

email: info@dogwisepublshing.com

© 1997, 2006 Lana R. Mitchell

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission except in the case of printing brief quotations for reviews in articles. Written and printed in the United States of America.

Limits of Liability and Disclaimer of Warranty:

The author and publisher shall not be liable in the event of incidental or consequential damages in connection with, or arising out of, the furnishing, performance, or use of the instructions and suggestions contained in this book.

Photos by Lana Mitchell

Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request from the Library of Congress.

ISBN: 1-929242-31-X          Printed in the U.S.A.

FOREWORD

I was taking a traditional obedience training program for AKC open class with about 20 other students over several weeks. Things were going okay for me until we got to the retrieve exercise. The instructor started to explain to the class that we would be using the ear pinch method. I was not feeling very good about this and it got worse after he explained the details.

I was determined to find another approach that did not require an aversive. I found a couple of great trainers certified by APDT that helped me hone my clicker skills and then one of these trainers told me about the book The Clicked Retriever by Lana Mitchell. I found what may have been the last used book on the market since it was out of print at that time.

I began following Lana’s detailed step by step approach to teaching a retrieve based on using a clicker and positive reinforcement. I was very impressed with Lana’s logical and detailed approached. It was also amazing to me that as I would read and practice a question would come to mind and in the next paragraph she anticipated my question and provided an answer. It is quite clear that Lana has done much research and taught this method before committing it to book form.

I felt it would be a terrible loss to the world of dog training for this work to remain out of print; not only because of the specific example of a positive retrieve method, but also because of Lana’s great instructional writing style (I wish more books were available in this style.) Anyway sometime after myself and other Lana Mitchell fans asked Dogwise to bring back this wonderful book I was excited to hear that they had decided to publish it. So I have to add that I was impressed that Dogwise really listens to their customers!

My dog ended up doing his retrieve as well as the top 3 or 4 dogs in our class and didn’t have his ears pinched.

Thanks Lana and thanks Dogwise!

Wes Anderson & TD

Click! for Success student and dog

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FOREWORD

INDEX OF FIGURES

INTRODUCTION

SECTION 1

1 — 1 GETTING STARTED

RECOMMENDED TRAINING EQUIPMENT

OPERANT CONDITIONING — EXPLAINED

THE CLICKER

1 — 2 THE SHAPING PROCESS

SHAPING IS -

YOUR DOG -

1 — 3 THE TEN LAWS OF SHAPING

FROM DON’T SHOOT THE DOG!

THE LAWS OF SHAPING, EXPLAINED

ADDITIONAL RULES

1 — 4 THE TRAINING GAME

HOW IT WORKS

BE PREPARED

DOGS THAT QUIT

THE PRIMARY REINFORCER

ABOUT TRAINING WITH TREATS

JACKPOTS

THE TRAINING W

HELPING THE DOG

1 — 5 RAISING CRITERIA

WHY RAISE IT?

ADVICE FOR RAISING CRITERIA

SUCCESSIVE APPROXIMATION

CLICKING GHOST BEHAVIORS

VARIABLE REINFORCEMENT

1 — 6 THE TRAINING GAME

TRAIN OFTEN

REMAIN QUIET

REMAIN CALM

MOVE AHEAD

MAINTAIN GOOD TRAINING HABITS

LATENT LEARNING

CORRECTIONS

CONSEQUENCES

DEALING WITH DISTRACTIONS

1 — 7 TARGETING

THE HYPE ABOUT TARGETING

GET IT GAME

1 — 8 CLICKER TRAINING TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

SECTION 2

2 — 1 RETRIEVE BASICS

REQUIREMENTS

CONSTANT RETRIEVE COMPONENTS

VARIABLE RETRIEVE COMPONENTS

SCORING THE AKC OPEN CLASS

RETRIEVE ON THE FLAT EXERCISE SCORING

RETRIEVE OVER HIGH JUMP EXERCISE SCORING

2 — 2 SIZING UP THE DUMBBELL

ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL

2 — 3 RETRIEVE CHAINS

THE LINKS

DETAILED RETRIEVE COMPONENTS

2 — 4 UNDERSTANDING THE RETRIEVE BEHAVIORS

THE TAKE

THE CARRY (HOLD)

TAKE FROM THE FLOOR

THE SITTING TAKE

PROOFING THE HOLD

THE GIVE

FRONTING WHILE CARRYING

2 — 5 CHAINING

BEGINNING THE CHAIN

STRENGTHENING THE CHAIN

STIMULUS CONTROL — WAITING FOR THE COMMAND

BEHAVIOR CHAIN PITFALLS

2 — 6 THE WORKBOOK

RETRIEVER COOKBOOK

WORKBOOK LESSONS

SECTION 3

3 — 1 SHAPING THE ‘TAKE’ BEHAVIOR

GET THE LOOK — LESSON 1

TOUCH — LESSON 2

REACH TO TOUCH — LESSON 3

WALK TO TOUCH — LESSON 4

LICK — LESSON 5

OPEN MOUTH TOUCH — LESSON 6

BITE — LESSON 7

UP & DOWN, LEFT & RIGHT, WALK, BITE & HOLD — LESSON 8

ADDING THE COMMAND — LESSON 9

3 — 2 TURNING, HOLDING, CARRYING

SHAPING A GOOD HOLD — LESSON 10

GETTING A TIGHT TURN — LESSON 11

THE DOG’S FIRST CARRY — LESSON 12

TURNING AND CARRYING — LESSON 13

THE RETURN, ADDING DISTANCE — LESSON 14

BREAKING THE MINI-CHAIN — LESSON 15

3 — 3 WORKING THE RETRIEVE CHAIN

MAINTAINING THE GAME — LESSON 16

TAKE FROM THE FLOOR — LESSON 17

TAKE FROM THE FLOOR, ADDING DISTANCE — LESSON 18

SHAPING A FAST RETURN — LESSON 19

ADDING THE THROW — LESSON 20

STIMULUS CONTROL — LESSON 21

SHAPING THE FRONT — LESSON 22

SHAPING THE GIVE — LESSON 23

3 — 4 RETRIEVE PROBLEMS

IN THE RING — LESSON 24

TRAVELING BEYOND THE DUMBBELL

NOT PICKING UP THE DUMBBELL

INCORRECT THROWS

FUNNY DUMBBELLS

BAD TAKE HABITS — LESSON 25

MOUTHING THE DUMBBELL — LESSON 26

SLOW RETURNS — LESSON 27

3 — 5 DIRECTED RETRIEVE

SCORING THE UTILITY CLASS — DIRECTED RETRIEVE

THE MARKING GAME — LESSON 28

SHAPING THE HAND SIGNAL

INTRODUCING THE GLOVES

THE PIVOT

SENDING THE DOG

GETTING THE CORRECT GLOVE

PROOFING THE DIRECTED RETRIEVE

SCORING THE DIRECTED RETRIEVE

3 — 6 SCENT ARTICLES

SCORING THE UTILITY CLASS — SCENT DISCRIMINATION

PUPPY SCENTING GAMES — LESSON 29

ADDING THE FIND IT COMMAND — LESSON 30

BUILDING DRIVE TO SCENT AND RETRIEVE — LESSON 31

FINDING THE CORRECT ARTICLE — LESSON 32

METHOD #1

METHOD #2

THE ARTICLE PILE — LESSON 33

PROOFING FOR SCENT DISCRIMINATION — LESSON 34

WHEN THE DOG IS WRONG — LESSON 35

SCENT DISCRIMINATION POINT DEDUCTIONS

3 — 7 RETRIEVING FOR FLYBALL

3 — 8 RETRIEVING FOR SERVICE DOGS

OBJECT DISCRIMINATION

3 — 9 GOOD NEWS

CLICK! FOR SUCCESS CONTACT INFORMATION

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

INDEX OF FIGURE

Figure 1 — Holding the Dumbbell

Figure 2 — The Look

Figure 3 — Turn and Carry

Figure 4 — Take from the Floor

Figure 5a — Proofing the Hold

Figure 5b — Proofing the Hold

Figure 6 — Fronting while Carrying

Figure 7 — Waiting for the Throw

Figure 8 — Waiting for the Take Command

Figure 9 — Walking to Perform a Touch

Figure 10 — Small Step Forward

Figure 11 — Short Hold, Turn, Carry

Figure 12 — Giant Step

Figure 13 — Take Back the Step

Figure 14 — The Front

Figure 15 — First Take for the Floor

Figure 16 — Taking a Dumbbell on End

Figure 17 — Directed Retrieve Hand Signal

Figure 18 — Glove Placement Graphic

Figure 19 — Working the Scent Article Pile

Figure 20 — Scent Article Retrieve

Figure 21 — Service Dog Retrieve

INTRODUCTION

This book in its earlier editions helped a lot of trainers not only shape a reliable retrieve chain, but also helped solve many retrieve problems. This newest edition is more concise, with a totally revised Clicker Training Introduction section.

The Clicked Retriever is really three books in one. Section 1, Clicker Training Introduction, contains information for a novice trainer to learn about operant conditioning training and how to effectively use a behavior marker—usually a clicker. It explains the advantages of using operant conditioning over some of the more popular and better-known training methods, and why a behavior marker helps a dog and trainer team reach their full potential.

Section 2, Understanding the Retrieve Elements is as much information about the many behaviors that are included in the retrieve chain as anyone can possibly absorb. It explains the necessary elements for the AKC Retrieve on the Flat and Retrieve over High Jump classes and how the exercises are scored. There is a chapter on sizing dumbbells and the importance of choosing the correct size and type for your dog. It contains a study on how chains are formed, and many photographs showing dogs executing the individual behaviors and explanations of how they should be shaped.

Section 3, The Retrieve Workbook, Shaping the Retrieve Elements explains in depth how to shape each behavior in the retrieve chain. The workbook section is a step-by-step guide to teaching the retrieve from the first look at the dumbbell to executing front and gives behaviors. It contains detailed chapters about shaping your dog to perform all required behaviors in the AKC Directed Retrieve and Scent Discrimination exercises. Also in this section is information on applying the techniques taught in this book to the sport of Flyball and to retrieving skills needed by Service Dogs.

The Clicked Retriever will help you and your dog enjoy the retrieve training experience, and you will enjoy watching, as your best friend becomes a clicker-trained dog.

Lana Mitchell

SECTION 1

CLICKER TRAINING INTRODUCTION

1 — 1 GETTING STARTED

RECOMMENDED TRAINING EQUIPMENT

A well-fitting non-correcting collar — the soft cloth type with a plastic clip closure is an excellent choice.

Lightweight leashes of 2’, 4’and 6’lengths.

A lightweight long line if needed. Retractable leashes are not recommended since they make a clicking sound when the brake button is depressed and confusion between the clicker and the brake is possible.

Two dumbbells made of lightweight wood. An exact description can be found in Section 3.

Favorite treats — wieners (hot dogs), liver, lunchmeat, or anything else the dog will work for that can be quickly swallowed with minimal chewing.

A Clicker — the wrist and finger clickers are convenient and always close at hand.

A sense of humor, an open and creative mind, a distraction-free work area, and a hungry, alert dog.

OPERANT CONDITIONING — EXPLAINED

Since time began, operant conditioning has been the