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Creating reliable behavior

1. Get the behavior using:

• Luring- Have the dog follow a treat or toy.
• Shaping- Reward small behaviors, continue raising your expectations until you achieve the desired end behavior.
• Capturing- Rewarding the end behavior when you see it happen independently of you asking for it.

1. Put the behavior on a hand signal with or without using food in your hand.

• Hand signals for sit, down, come and go ahead:  
• With the sit command, the universal hand signal is an open palm with your thumb tucked over (to hold the treat) and moving your wrist (not your fingers or elbow) in an upward direction over the crown of their head.
• The hand signal for the down command is moving your hand palm down from the nose to the toes.
• The hand signal I use for the come command is two slaps on my leg.
• The go ahead (get up and do whatever you want) hand signal is a grand gesture.

1. If you are 80% sure that the dog will do the behavior without using food in your hand, put the treat in the other hand. Make the hand signal with the hand that’s not holding the treat, praise the behavior and reward with the treat from the other hand.
2. When you are 80% sure that the dog will do the behavior with the treat in the other hand, place the treat on the counter top and give the hand signal. When the dog does the behavior praise and reward with the treat placed on the counter top.
3. When you are 80% sure that the dog will do the behavior every time you make the hand signal, begin using the word you have assigned to the behavior before making the hand signal.
4. Have your dog do the behavior with you on his left side, right side and in front of him. If you only do the behavior in one scenario, your dog will not be capable of doing it other scenarios.
5. Add duration, distance and distractions one at a time. Go back to the point your dog was successful (including using a lure if necessary) each time you add something new. Reward each behavior every time.
6. Then when your dog is successful 80% of the time, ask for more by having your dog do the behavior two to three times in a row and then giving the treat.
7. Finally progress to a “Jackpot style”, intermittent reward schedule. Reward your dog every once in a while so she never knows when the treat is coming. Vary the rewards as you go along (turkey, freeze-dried liver, crunchy treats, etc).
8. Gradually progress to rewarding only the best behavior such as speed.
9. Form behavioral chains. This means adding one behavior after another before rewarding, such as sit, down, stay and come, and then a food reward. It is very important that you vary these behavioral chains by changing the sequence of the commands that you ask for.
10. Also, remember to use “life rewards” such as going for a ride, playing ball, getting to go in and out of doors, etc.