Obedience Behaviors

Question 1

Impulse control basics

Answer 1

• Stay
• Wait
• Leave it
• Loose-leash walking

Question 2

S(D)

or S^D

Answer 2

Discriminative Stimulus

Question 3

Verbal S(D)

or Verbal S^D

Answer 3

Cue

Question 4

Difficulty of verbal cues for dogs

Answer 4

Verbal cues bear no relation to the original lure/prompt for a behavior.

As opposed to a hand signal.

Question 5

Why “sit from stand” is different than “sit from down”

Answer 5

Different muscles move.
Rear going down, or pushing the front up.

Question 6

Full food lure

Answer 6

Lure held at the end of the fingers. Very obvious and accessible.

Question 7

What follows a lure, prompt, or cue?

Answer 7

Trainer freezes in final position.

It’s the dog’s turn now.

Question 8

Infinty latency

Answer 8

Don’t call off the trial unless the dog quits.

Question 9

When to position feed

Answer 9

Every damn time.

Question 10

Plan A

Answer 10

Fastest plan.

Always assume Plan A will work until proven otherwise.

Question 11

Shopping

Answer 11

Reliable behavior on hand signal.

1. Verbal cue added 2 seconds prior to signal.
2. Wait for prompt jumping >50% of the time, performing on the verbal alone.
3. Push to “full” R+ on verbal only, and only praise if the signal is needed.

Question 12

Literal

Answer 12

Lure dependent

Question 13

When to split

Answer 13

Push-drop-push-drop-push

Per OB slide 15.

Why 3rd push? In DT module, wasn’t it two drops then split? 3rd push would crash RoR further.

Question 14

Standard splits

Answer 14

• Bury lure further into palm
• Bury lure and feed from the other hand
• Lure faster
• Lure higher
• Extra splits to combine (rare)

Question 15

“Smaller” hand signal

Answer 15

Faster, higher, and less broad.

Question 16

Burying the lure

Answer 16

Holding a lure between the palm and thumb.

The hand motion stays the same as with a full food lure, but the hand more closely resembles the final hand signal.

Question 17

Feeding/paying from other hand

Answer 17

Bait in both hands. Hold paying hand behind your back.

When the dog performs for a buried lure, remove the luring hand to immediately pay with the other.

This divorces the single-minded focus on the lure.

Question 18

Sit from Stand
Plan A

Answer 18

1. Full food lure
2. Hand signal
3. Smaller hand signal
4. Shop for verbal-only Sit
5. Reinforce Sit for verbal. Praise-only if signal needed.

Question 19

Sit from Stand
Plan B

Answer 19

0/5 to sit for a food lure.

A raised head means the neck is craned upwards with the nose pointing at the ceiling.

1. Raise head for a full food lure
2. Same, held for 1 second
3. Same, held for 3 seconds
4. Raise head and bend knees slightly
5. Same with knees bent a bit more
6. Raise head and bend knees for 3 seconds (combined criteria)
7. Sit
8. Switch back to A.1

Might substitute rear dip for knee bends—either way, articulate criteria

Usual suspects are small, stiff adult dogs.

Question 20

Sit from Stand
Plan C

Answer 20

Literal after A.1—dropped twice for A.2.

1. Sit from stand for a full food lure
2. Sit from stand for a lure buried deeper in hand
3. Same, pay from other hand
4. Switch back to A.2

Question 21

Behavior before verbal

Answer 21

• Dog is anticipating the behavior needed
• Deliver verbal as soon as you’ve set up the next rep, so it comes before the behavior (correct sequence)

Question 22

Dog keeps backing up

Sit from Stand Plan B

Answer 22

• Don’t follow
• Use a wall or corner to limit movement
• Be criteria-accurate—no fishing around for longer duration within a set

Question 23

Can’t finish Plan C

No sit without a lure

Answer 23

Sleep on it.

Wait at least one night, then repeat Plan C. When you switch to Plan A, focus on infinity latency and position feeding.

Question 24

Down from Sit
first priority

Answer 24

Rear glued down!

Abruptly cancel trial (remove R+ lure) if the dog stands.

Question 25

Down from Sit
luring technique

Answer 25

• Straight down
• Once
• Infinity latency

Slightly toward the dog is better than forward/away.

Question 26

Type of Down
preference for pets

Answer 26

Any.

Question 27

Down from Sit
Plan A

Answer 27

1. Full food lure—cancel trial for stand
2. Full food lure into Down
3. Hand signal
4. Smaller hand signal
5. Add verbal and shop for jumping signal
6. Verbal only

Question 28

Down from Sit
Plan B

Answer 28

Stick the sit (no standing) but drop

Question 29

Down from Sit
Plan C

Answer 29

No Down for hand signal