And the winner is...Nose vs Paw Touches, part 3
Lance wins! Today marked the first day that Lance got 100% on his paw vs nose target discrimination. (Part 1, Part 2) Previously both dogs had been hovering close to the 100% mark but always managed to screw up once or twice. Today's test involved random switches between the two behaviors and at one point I tried to trick both dogs by doing 3 "touches" in a row and then asking for "whack it." Both dogs passed the trick, but Vito failed another switch a couple trials later. So Lance is the winner :)
I am still not willing to bet with real money that either Lance or Vito could get it right the first try, but I think that's true about most tricks that I train. Overall I am confident that both dogs have a really good understanding of the verbal discriminations.
Step 4 (5?6?10?) in this project will be trying their new cues out on brand new objects. What good is their behaviors if they can only do it on a target?! My goal is to go into Hearing and Service Dogs of MN and have them test their behaviors on an actual handicapped push plate. Well at least with Vito, Lance might need a stool :)
Oh and as far as I know only one of you guys have tried this discrimination with your own dogs. Check out The House of Misfit Dogs where Ninso tries this with her foster Elo. She adds the brilliant idea of quitting her session if Elo gets the first one right. This is done in order to prevent the dog from learning to offer what was just previously rewarded and make the transitions easier in the future.
Update: go to part 4
Oh my gosh those pictures of Vito are sooooooooooo cute!!!! I love how that dog sleeps.
Oh and forgot to say CONGRATS Lance!!!!!
Vito - you sleep in our style!
These images of Vito just made my day! They're adorable!!