Comments on: Training Tuesday: Batboy begins

By: Stress-Free Dog Training: A Chat with (The Original) BATwoman

Stress-Free Dog Training: A Chat with (The Original) BATwoman — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 14:29:59 +0000

[...] of posts on the protocol written by Irith Bloom of The Sophisticated Dog and approved by Grisha: Batboy Begins; Batboy Continues, Batboy Forever and BAT Calming Signals, Some [...]

By: Training Tuesday: Batboy Continues

Training Tuesday: Batboy Continues — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 22:33:28 +0000

[...] by Grisha Stewart, and is being discussed here by her fellow trainer and BAT expert Irith Bloom. Last week we covered some basic theory and techniques. Here I continue to grill Irith about how BAT [...]

By: Training Tuesday: A BAT Landmark

Training Tuesday: A BAT Landmark — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 22:22:39 +0000

[...] to chase the offender around the property. So Crystal and Winnie have been doing set ups (see the first in the series of BAT posts by Irith Bloom of the Sophisticated Dog for an explanation) with Frankie and me. Winnie has been [...]

By: Hilary Lane

Hilary Lane — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 17:38:44 +0000

I have a dog-aggressive dog (Frisbee), and after Grisha’s great discussion about BAT on #dogtalk, I tried a few of the techniques, but without someone showing me, I’m not sure Frisbee changed anything in his behavior. I think I need to sign up for the web training, as it’s difficult to know what to do w/o seeing it. This is a great series, Edie and Irith–can’t wait for the next one.

By: Edie Jarolim

Edie Jarolim — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 21:20:23 +0000

Toes that move in the night, indeed! Glad to be of service

By: Mary E Haight

Mary E Haight — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 18:37:02 +0000

I am so excited about this series – I’m with Kenzo, I can’t wait for the next one! We all get a front row seat:) We’ve had the fearful/aggressives come through the shelter, dogs who want to attack men in general, men in leather coats, toes that move in the night–the value of the very close reading of body language that is developed is incredibly useful and serves the dog and their person for a lifetime. Huh, I can learn something I’ve really wanted to get into while reading one of my favorite blogs – I feel so…efficient – thanks! ;-D

By: TheSophisticatedDog

TheSophisticatedDog — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 16:31:58 +0000

One thing you might want to do between now and whenever you find a new instructor is practice a cheerful turning away and leaving behavior, which will serve you really well once you try the training. Also, you could try to isolate stressors. For example, find an open field without agility equipment and do BAT there. If you have access to agility equipment, put a single piece of equipment somewhere and do BAT with just that, etc. At any rate, best of luck, and feel free to contact me at any time for assistance.

By the way, I would like to thank you publicly for making MP3s of the Dr. Overall’s RP available on your blog. Thank you!

Irith (Eereet)

By: Roxanne @ Champion of My Heart

Roxanne @ Champion of My Heart — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 00:00:28 +0000

Thanks for the ideas. I really appreciate it. She hasn’t been to a real agility field in several years, so I probably won’t give this a try until we are ready to try a new agility trainer (who is better keyed into Lilly’s fear issues). I had hoped that would be this summer, but it’s slipping away.

By: TheSophisticatedDog

TheSophisticatedDog — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 23:21:36 +0000

I obviously can’t see exactly what you did with Lilly, but given your description above, I would suggest you set up a “flag” of some sort – a cone, your car keys, or something else that will be clearly visible – at whatever distance Lilly can handle, and walk up to it matter-of-factly. Stop at the flag, and wait for Lilly to offer an acceptable behavior. Then mark (click say “yes!” etc.), turn, and walk away a few yards. When you walk away, be sure the leash is loose. If Lilly has a cued “turn and go” behavior, feel free to use it.

Wait a few seconds, and then walk back up to the flag again. Again, wait for Lilly to offer an acceptable behavior. Assuming she offers one really quickly, which seems likely, don’t mark the first behavior she offers. Instead, wait another moment and see if you can get a second, different acceptable behavior and mark that one (and then walk away).

Bear in mind that I am not there, so all this advice must be taken with a grain of salt, but I would work at the same distance for about five to ten repeats, and then take a longer break. After the longer break, move (or get an assistant to move) the marker a few inches closer and go through the same process again at the closer distance. Accept anything good for the first repeat or two after you change the distance. If Lilly is offering acceptable behaviors very quickly, hold out for variety in the acceptable behaviors in the later repeats. As always, take a few seconds breaks between repeats, and give Lilly praise, treats, petting, or the opportunity to play with a toy at a safe distance between sets.

When Lilly is offering a variety of behaviors at a given distance, it’s time to move closer and get a similar variety at a closer distance. Every once in a while, stop far short of the marker, so Lilly gets an easy repeat, and if you see Lilly is getting really stressed, take a long break or stop for the day.

Dogs usually start to get fatigued after about 45 minutes of BAT (though some are OK for longer periods, and for some 45 minutes is too long). I would keep your first session shorter than 45 minutes, if anything. Less is often more in training, as you know.

In case you’ve read the other comments… As Edie mentioned, we will be discussing bonus treats in the next installment, but the goal in BAT is to use bonus treats sparingly, and I generally don’t recommend using them in setups.

I hope that helps! Do let me know if I can clarify anything.

Irith (Eereet)

By: Edie Jarolim

Edie Jarolim — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 20:02:44 +0000

As you’ll see, it’s not necessarily an either/or choice between the treat and the thing the dog wants… but you’ll have to wait for the next installment. Even more exciting about the next installments: the way that BAT gets you to observe your dog’s body language. I’m getting more fluent in Frankie than I ever thought possible!