Creating Drive

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3Stars

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I'm looking for some hints/tips on creating drive. We train on our own, usually for about 15 minutes at a time (sometimes less if it's hot). My pup likes to jump and is very confident on all obstacles, but he seems to get bored easily, and as soon as he becomes bored he slows right down. I've tried treating him, tossing a toy, and tugging - he likes all of those options, but it doesn't really speed him up - he associates the reward with doing the appropriate behaviour, as opposed to the speed he does it with (I hope this makes sense). I would love to hear any suggestions anyone has :winkgrin:
 
3Stars said:
I'm looking for some hints/tips on creating drive. We train on our own, usually for about 15 minutes at a time (sometimes less if it's hot). My pup likes to jump and is very confident on all obstacles, but he seems to get bored easily, and as soon as he becomes bored he slows right down. I've tried treating him, tossing a toy, and tugging - he likes all of those options, but it doesn't really speed him up - he associates the reward with doing the appropriate behaviour, as opposed to the speed he does it with (I hope this makes sense). I would love to hear any suggestions anyone has :winkgrin:
Click to expand...

My Instructor says the shorter the sequences the better, you can repeat more often, but we do 5/10 min tops at a time. I do a lot of tugging which gets him revved up and then for accuracy I switch to treats. Toffee really loves to chase the ball; when I want him to go faster through the weaves he gets rewarded by a ball throw at the end if he he did it right and with drive...
Seems to work for now, I have definitely noticed a great increase and also confidence seems to build a lot of drive as well
 
Cosmo Is much like this as well, keep you sessions short, especially if working alone, I usually do a run maybe 2 then, break and relax or play on the floor or ground Cosmo's favorite as his only other interest besides me is food, and if I kept feeding him he would be 25lbs and unable to run. For short sequence repetition I like to do the rep say 3 times- 2 min Break, then switch it up for a different one,2 min break then go back to my original one ( The one I am actually training for) then take a good 5 min break break play ,goof off cuddle, do whatever the pup has fun with chase ball, tug, ruff house, catch me if you can ( another Cosmo favorite. I rarely train for more then 45 min to an 1hr and that includes setup & teardown time unless we are getting ready for a comp and have something to really concentrate on before the trial,then I might extend it out to 1 1/2 to 2 hrs . and I try not to ever practice
him within 4 days of a trail if possible to make sure he rested and not sore or stiff,kinda like tapering before a big race for a runner.
 
As Susan Garrett says, if you are looking for "sexy" answer there is none.
From what it sounds you dog does not have value for obstacles or agility. It could happen for various reasons. Unless you happen to have BC that is totally self motivating you gotta work on it:biggrin2:

Another famous SG saying "Food builds reinforcement, tugging builds drive"
http://www.clickerdogs.com/createamotivatingtoy.htm

here is some food for the though and no I am not being paid to promote SG/ I wish:razz: I just happen to think she is brilliant
http://susangarrettdogagility.com/2009/02/crate-games-it-is-not-just-for-breakfast-anymore/

here is list of articles that might be helpful.
http://www.clickerdogs.com/articles.htm
 
SheltieChe said:
As Susan Garrett says, if you are looking for "sexy" answer there is none.
From what it sounds you dog does not have value for obstacles or agility. It could happen for various reasons. Unless you happen to have BC that is totally self motivating you gotta work on it:biggrin2:

Another famous SG saying "Food builds reinforcement, tugging builds drive"
http://www.clickerdogs.com/createamotivatingtoy.htm

here is some food for the though and no I am not being paid to promote SG/ I wish:razz: I just happen to think she is brilliant
http://susangarrettdogagility.com/2009/02/crate-games-it-is-not-just-for-breakfast-anymore/

here is list of articles that might be helpful.
http://www.clickerdogs.com/articles.htm
Click to expand...

You are correct on Susan Garett being brilliant but so are the Erin Schaefers, Linda Mecklinburgs and the Cranks,Daisy Peels,etc.
 
Honestly I think part of the problem very well could be that you're not in a class. I know that my guys get SUPER revved up by watching the other dogs. I don't think if I had just had Maverick train at home that he'd be half the dog he is now. Going to classes shows them how much fun the other dogs are having and makes them want to do it too :wink2:
 
3Stars said:
I'm looking for some hints/tips on creating drive. We train on our own, usually for about 15 minutes at a time (sometimes less if it's hot). My pup likes to jump and is very confident on all obstacles, but he seems to get bored easily, and as soon as he becomes bored he slows right down. I've tried treating him, tossing a toy, and tugging - he likes all of those options, but it doesn't really speed him up - he associates the reward with doing the appropriate behaviour, as opposed to the speed he does it with (I hope this makes sense). I would love to hear any suggestions anyone has :winkgrin:
Click to expand...

I have heard of some people that only reward the faster/drivier repetitions, especially if the dog is particularly pokey. I've never tried that, though.

One of the things that worked for me in speeding up my first dog was to figure out what he loved. Yes, he loved to eat, but he got that regardless of how fast he went. I figured out that he loved to jump on me and herd me. I usually discourage that kind of behavior, but I started using it as a reward when he went quickly through a sequence or exercise. It kept him riled up from start to finish. I made a video where I sort of showed what I mean (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o05xM-dBbzg) that might help.
 
I think your attitude is very important to get a dogs drive.

The homepage of Silvia Trkman is very informativ about that (www.silvia.trkman.net)

She says for example "9. dogs work best when they work for themselves. Don’t ask them for a favour to work with you. Make them ask you for a favour to work with them."

So you have to go a lot of small steps to get there, but I think it really makes a difference for the dog.
 
I really like Janice Demello's approach of using games with your puppy to encourage drive that works for any performance sport. She uses a combination of toys and treats. The goal is to make playing with YOU the highest value reward, and it absolutely works. There's a DVD of the games, Pup Start 101. Even though the description mostly references Janice's success in obedience, these games work for agility as well, and are what my instructors use as reference material for their Puppy Drive classes.
 
As I learned years ago in horses- quit while you're ahead. Never let the horse... or in this case dog, get to the point that you know they are no longer going to be successful. If you know after a few runs your dog is going to start slowing down and quitting, make the session shorter. One or two runs done fast are better than ten mediocre runs. Some dogs just aren't capable of doing as much and staying engaged. You never want to reinforce what you don't want... which if you are constantly having mediocre, slow runs, it kind of becomes habit. Only run when you KNOW you have your dog.
Also, there's the chance some of this is your handling. I'm going to assume this is still a fairly green dog (a green dog may know the obstacles and run sequences, but isn't necessarily as experienced), and I would suggest running with ALL forward cues. People like Linda Mecklenberg generally don't start asking for a lot of collection and turning cues on course until their dogs are in excellent B. At this point, I wouldn't worry about being tight and collected. I'd spend my time working on speed... do landing side rear and front crosses, don't run sequences where you need to crank on the dog a lot. Be in front of the dog, run hard, make your dog chase you.
It could also very well be stress, and not so much boredom coming into play. A stressed dog isn't going to run fast. Be consistent with your handling. Keep things short.
If your dog gives you a fantastic, fast run the first and second run, quit. Reinforce the fast runs. You may also want to look at Susan Garrett's Shaping Success. I believe there is a game in there about getting your dog to chase you, and learning it is fun and rewarding. You may want to look into it to teach your dog it is fun to run and chase you, and transfer that love of the chase to the agility field.
 
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