Hi guys, this is my first post so a little intro. I am a 35 year old Hubby and Father of 3. I have owned dogs all of my life, but never really trained any of them.

I have just purchased an American Bulldog pup out of Lem Miller's Joshua line. 'Rosco' will be 13 weeks tomorrow.

I would like to take Rosco all the way through personal protection training for my family and include tracking.


I ordered "Raising a working puppy", "Basic Obedience", and "Bite Training Puppies," while waiting for my videos to arrive I have been devouring articles on Leerburg.com as well as other websites. I was anxious to get started so I got a tub of liver treats and started teaching Rosco to sit.

HE DID GREAT!!! 2 days (about 15 minutes each day) and he has it down like a champ. He now sits on command, sits to have his leash attached/removed, sits before and after going through a door, and sits to be fed.

Totally stoked about my success I started on the "down" command. I am having equally wonderfull results.

My problem is when I got the videos I found out that I had missed the part about loading the marker. I have been using the word "good" as a marker, but I tend to say it more than once.

So my question is should I go back and try to load a new marker?
Should I start using "good" just once as if it is the loaded marker?

Thanks in advance,
Allen

Hi Allen, and welcome!
Yes, you should go back and load the marker. It will be up to you to decide if you want to keep the word 'good' as your marker, or switch to a different word.

This will not take you very long to do, and will ensure that the dog knows that 'good' means a reward is coming...

Whatever you decide, you only want to mark once. As Ed describes, marking a behavior is like isolating a moment in time, and if you have said your marker word more than once, the dog will become confused about which moment in time he's getting the reward for.

Thanks Lynne!!! That is what I thought. I think I will use a different word, so I can still say "Good boy" alot. LOL

Allen, have you watched the Michael Ellis lecture available on free streaming video here at Leergurg? He explains just what you are talking about with the word "good" (for us english speakers anyway)in Part 2- http://leerburg.com/playem.htm?name=flv/Ellis-2.flv starting at 50 seconds in.

Thank you Leerburg for the Ellis lecture series! It even drove home some points I learned from The Power of Training Dogs With Markers!

I had not watched the Ellis lecture... WOW that is powerful stuff. Thanks Ingrid.

You're welcome. Keep your eye on the Leerburg weekly newsletters for more new stuff.

I'm a novice, not an expert. On Ed's videos he makes an argument for using "Yes!" as a marker. I started out that way. I also purchased some clicker books, two of which Ed recommends, both good books as far as I am concerned. I also have now "loaded" a clicker as a marker. The books make a good argument for using a clicker instead of a verbal marker. So I use the verbal marker, especially in obedience class (the trainer directing the class is corrections based, but I use the marker technique with lots of treats and have much better success too! Other dog owners are constantly saying "No!" and giving corrections while I'm saying "Good" for duration and using praise.) In other venues I use the clicker, and especially with my half blind Irish Setter, I think the clicker is more effective.
According to the books, timing of the clicker is more important because the click is more precise than a verbal marker.
Maybe Ed or one of the mods can comment on this: In the video, the timing of the marker on sit is when the butt hits the ground. In one of the clicker books the advice clicking during the movement. Michael Ellis in the video says that could train a dog to hover his butt slightly off the ground.
You can have two markers and have them both work. At least that is my experience as one who is learning along with my dogs.
Have fun! Your dogs will too!

"Maybe Ed or one of the mods can comment on this: the timing of the marker on sit is when the butt hits the ground"

I agree with that.

(In other commands, there might be an intermediate bridge during the movement, as the desired behavior is being done, as you mentioned with your "good.")

Allen, you would love the new Michael Ellis video http://leerburg.com/220.htm

It is a wonderful continuation from http://leerburg.com/markers.htm

I can't say enough about either one; they will be a huge impact on your training (forever!).

I guess this is just a "me too" to Connie's post. I recommend the investment in the two videos and have my card number ready and waiting for the next release!

I am working with new dogs as I lost my two older dogs this year. I was rusty on the creating the proper relationship and shaping the basic obedience skills. Just in time, the first Michael Ellis DVD came and training just took off with both of my dogs.