This is a reply to a question I got off list that I think others might also have so I included my reply to the list. I don't think you need the actual question to understand my answer...
Did you print their list/pages of the basic behaviors? It should be on the disk. If not, it was on the web link that was provided before the Expo. That will help keep you on track, as it's also a record keeping sheet for each level.
To teach them, you are going to pick a behavior, say you want to start at the beginning and will work on 'eye contact.' Have your clicker and treats ready and then start looking at your dog/pup. Click any eye contact the dog gives you while they are in front of you. You could play the eye contact game too (hold treat to the side and wait for the dog to look away from it and give you eye contact.) When you get that, you can move to a new low distraction location and do it again. Repeat this in many locations and then work on duration (dog maintains longer eye contact before you click.) You can work on duration with distance from you ('stay') as well. Then start adding minor distractions and click for eye contact with the dog still in front of you. Then get duration with distractions, then distance with distractions. Then increase the distraction. When the dog can hold eye contact for quite awhile (you determine how long is enough) with major distractions, you can check off level 1.1 and move on with that behavior.
Next level of eye contact is to work on moving eye contact- dog still in front of you. Start walking backwards away from the dog and go through the various steps above to get duration and distractions as the dog moves with you while maintaining eye contact. When the dog can maintain it while moving, you can check off level 1.2
To transfer that to heel position, turn your body slightly to your right and maintain that angle as you move backwards away from the dog. The dog continues on it's same line of travel. As you get solid eye contact with a slight turn of your body only (your head still faces the dog) then gradually increase the amount of angle your body turns away from the dog. Be sure you are building in multiple steps of duration before adding more angle to your body. You will get to where you are moving sideways (side stepping or doing a cross over step) away from the dog and you are looking over your shoulder at the dog. A bit more angle and shaping the dog forward and the dog is now beside you in heel position! And he has learned to walk many steps with eye contact, so now moving in heel is easy. I'll add some diagrams of this to the photos section.
Now you can work on duration of eye contact while moving in heel and build duration, then add distractions, then add duration with distractions.
You can follow these steps for almost all the behaviors that will need to be done in heel. Just substitute the words 'eye contact' with the word target, or sit or stand or down.
oops, I just looked at the notes and they don't add motion in heel position till they get the back end control (which was an awesome method!) I'll explain that below.
SO, the big question, when you have started working on more than one behavior, how does the dog know what behavior you want to work on at the moment? Simple. You wait for it to be offered when you start that training segment/session. Go back to the very beginning of the email and imagine you have worked with eye contact, targeting, sit and down and they are in various stages of perfection (though all still in beginning stages.) If you are about to start a training session, and the dog is in front of you, what is likely to happen?
If the dog sees a target presented, it will know it's working on targeting. If no target is present, it is likely to give eye contact, that's great but might not be specifically what you want to work on. The dog quickly figures out that standing there staring at you isn't generating a click so he sits. Nope, that's not what you want to work on so don't click. The dog tries down and gets a click. Aha! The dog now knows this particular session will be down practice and offers more downs.
I have a feeling it won't take the dog very long to start trying behaviors it knows have worked in the past for that 'training picture' when a session is started. Then you can click when he gets to the behavior you want to work on at that time. The dog will learn quickly that the first behavior clicked is what will be focused on. Once you get fluency, the dog won't be offering the behaviors at random because the behaviors will have cues and you'll start the session with a cue you plan to chain to another.
Want to switch behaviors before you have cues? Have a play session or short break and start a new session. This time, click a different behavior from the dog's initial experiment.
Rear end control- this might be hard to explain without a photo. I'll draw some up and add them to the photo section. But trying to explain it in words... Have the pup put his front feet up on a low stool or box or whatever is low and will support him and not slide around. You are on one side of the box, the dog's back feet are on the other (dog's front feet stay on the box.) The dog has learned that maintaining eye contact is good, so as you move a small step to your right, the dog will move his rear feet to his right to maintain a straight alignment in front of you. Do this multiple times and click the movement of the back feet to the dog's right. Then stand still and see if the dog will move a back foot to the right- click that. Soon the dog will be moving on his back feet on his own to his right while you stay still, which you click. First click one step, then two, etc. so you can click after multiple steps. Eventually, the dog will move so far to his right that he has moved next to you in heel position! That is now where the click happens. Take a step to your right and click the dog for again moving his body into heel position by also taking a step to his right with his back feet. Shape it so you are clicking for close to you but not touching. When the dog is confidently following you with his body by moving his back feet in a circle around the box to get the click in heel position, take the box away and see if the behavior will maintain itself. Dog should pivot on his front feet to swing his rear end into heel position toward you as you step away from the dog in a circle. Then try straight lines to see if the dog understands heel position and finding alignment with his rear end.
I'll add some drawings that will hopefully help clarify. The brown circle in the diagram represents a low foot stool.
Additional follow-up:
Yes, there is a cue to the dog "we are working now- figure out what I want" but it's used for all the behaviors, so it's not going to elicit a certain single behavior that might not be fully understood yet (sloppy behavior.) It's very general, so it doesn't get "attached" to any certain behavior as a cue.
Of course the dog has to know when he is expected to work and when he can relax. The dog is getting cues all the time! When you go toward the feeding area, it could be time to eat. When you get out of bed, it could be time to get up (unless you just sleepily head toward the bathroom.) When you go near the treat jar, the dog knows the likelihood of a treat is greater than when you are sitting on the couch. So, when you stand in front of the dog after you have prepared your training gear (treats, clicker, props, record keeping stuff) and you simply stand there looking expectantly at the dog, he knows the game is on.
I think the click is information for the dog, but since it happens after the behavior, I wouldn't consider it a cue.
When it is said "no cues and no luring" what is meant is that you aren't trying to use a verbal signal and aren't using hand/arm cues until the dog is fully fluent. By that time, the dog knows EXACTLY what behavior the cue you choose to use is being attached to. The dog doesn't have to guess which sit you want when you say "sit." He knows that he should sit where ever he is as soon as he hears the cue and that it will be a nice square sit on his haunches with eye contact. Because that is the only thing that verbal or hand signal cue has ever meant.
More:
The 19 behaviors are:
1. Look at you
2. Targeting (forms of targeting fall under 2.1 - 2.6)
3. Sit
4. Rear End Control
5. Sit at heel
6. Gallop towards you
7. Walk and look up (heeling)
8. Down
9. Stand
10. Stay
11. Doggie Zen (Leave it)
12. Hold
13. Let Go
14. Bark (most non-protection work dogs don't need this)
15. Jump
16. Scent discrimination (might not need this)
17. Tracking (Might not need this)
18. Go to person (might not need this)
Behavior #19 is crawl, which they need for competition in Norway, but we don't need it in the U.S.
As far as a dog that is not as enthusiastic about offering behaviors, they said if the dog is slower moving, work only on the moving behaviors for quite awhile till the dog gets more motivated to offer moving behaviors. Don't focus on behaviors where the dog is stationary. So you could start with the moving eye contact, then moving targeting, then morph that into heeling, etc. Wait a long time before you start work on stay and down.
Their first slide was about choosing the right puppy and I get the impression that they always start this with puppies, not dogs that have prior baggage- but I could be wrong about that. They said anyone can compete with any dog, but if you want the top titles, you need to start with the right puppy. So these methods can work for any dog, but you'll get the best results from a dog that has a natural desire to work and puzzle solve.
My personal perspective (they didn't say this) is that this type of training can increase that motivation in any dog, but not all dogs can take it to the same finished level. Also, that unless you have had a good deal of practice with shaping, watching your dog, recognizing behavior, having good timing, etc. this could cause frustration in the dog because you aren't clear to them what you want. Your communication skills need work. If you don't have the needed skills, either practice without the dog, start with behaviors that are just for fun and very easy for the dog and/or you might need to help the dog understand what you want in other ways (such as luring.)
Morten and Cecilie's training schools are for competition people, not pet people. So that's where their focus lies. I'm interested in precision and perfection (as close as possible) with my next dog. My previous dogs have been "for fun." Am I going to be all serious with my pup- absolutly not! It HAS to be fun for him and me! But my GOAL is different for him than it has been with my previous dogs.
Chris Puls 'Scoutdogs'
Troop Leader for Dog Scout Troop 107 (OH-KY-IN tri-state)
www.DogScoutTroop107.com
Captain of the Dearborn County Animal Response Team
www.TriStateCART.com
My K9 boys: www.Dog-GoneHappy.itgo.com
My book: www.SafeHomeVisits.com
My art & action photos of my dogs: www.PictureTrail.com/scoutdogs
