Problem: Tyler gets superexcited when he sees certain activities (like kids running, kids playing ball, dogs walking past him)
Goal: Teach Tyler refocusing skill
Theory: My theory is that if I teach Tyler to look at me when I say "Tyler watch me" it will break his concentration on the activity he is obsessing about and will be able to refocus and pay attention to other things
Training plan and result:
Day 1 - New learning: On our walk I gave the command "Tyler watch me". As soon as he did I clicked and treated. We repeated it 5 times in a row. We repeated the session 8 times during the day. By the end of the day we achieved 80% success.
Day 2 - Each session consisted of:
Part A, Reviewed Day 1 new learning 5 times
Part B, New Learning: I let Tyler sniff the ground a little and then called "Tyler watch me". When he looked at me I clicked and treated. We did this 5 times in a row.
We did 8 sessions during the day. By the end of the day we achieved 90% success with Part A and 60% success in Part B
Progress note:
A week later and Tyler is doing well with the re-orientation skill. He sure caught on fast. He now thinks this is a game.
Reorient from super focusing on an activity - Day 4
Day 4 - Each session consisted of:
Part A, Reviewed Day 3 review 3 times and new learning 5 times
Part B, New Learning: On our walk when I noticed a dog walking in a distance I paid close attention to Tyler's body language. As I saw him noticing the other dog, I said "Tyler watch me" when he looked at me I clicked and treated. We did this 5 times in a row.
We did 8 sessions during the day. By the end of the day we achieved 70% success with Part A and 50% success in Part B.
Reorient from super focusing on an activity - Day 3
Day 3 - Each session consisted of:
Part A, Reviewed Day 2 review 3 times and new learning 5 times
Part B, New Learning: I waited until Tyler was involved in sniffing and then called "Tyler watch me". When he looked at me I clicked and treated. We did this 5 times in a row.
We did 8 sessions during the day. By the end of the day we achieved 75% success with Part A and 60% success in Part B.
Observation: No problem fitting in the 8 sessions during the day. Each session lasted about 10 minutes.
Plan for Day 4 - change location couple of times during the day.