The weather was not helpful this past training day, it was snowing so we did more inside work. I decided it was ORT day and reducing latency on the sit for all of the dogs and we worked boxes. I try really hard to do the foundation work really well, because it all carries over.
Do I like doing foundation work? I'm learning to.
But there is still NOTHING like seeing your dog work out a really hard problem and do a beautiful TFR....But unless the foundations are solid, getting that beautiful TFR might be a crap shoot.
So we do foundation work.
I train by myself. A lot. So having a dog that will sit calmly while I adjust the boxes is important. What you don't see in between each run is me working on that sit/stay with each of the dogs while I jostle boxes, move them around, shake them, make sure I have the right one in the right spot etc.
This sit/stay carries over into the TFR work. How? Part of my criteria is that the dog holds their sit until released. By training the stimulus control (I cued you to sit) off odor, it creates the history of holding that behavior and it transfers over into odor work.
Because after all, odor is a cue to sit.....
Robin Greubel MBA, ICF-ACC
Robin has been training working dogs since 2001 and educating working dog handlers and trainers all over the nation since 2008. While working in corporate America, she managed relationships and people using the same behavior principles she honed training dogs. Not only can these principles transform your ability to work at an elite level with your dog, but apply to every animal (humans too!) you work with. She is a professional certified coach and the CEO of the K9Sensus Foundation, a foundation that focuses on coaching the human end of the leash.