when I say a comand to Pisa and she dosen't do it, I've always said nope and no treat.
Recentley she has been complying after nope....
example with sits, I say it, she the odd time starts to wander,
I say nope and then she sits. and the touch as well

I have been marking that sit or touch with a yes, then treat and a party
Am I doing right by rewarding as if it were the origional command??

As I understand marker training, you did it right.
No treat for the negative marker and then 'Yes for compliance of the command with a treat for the positive marker.

I am working with markers too and once I found the high value treat they love, I am getting really great responses now.
It is really fun to get them thinking and learning.

As long as you're pretty sure she understands the meaning of the command word and the marker word. Otherwise, it could be adding confusion.

From the pup's perspective:

"Sit" (I don't do anything because I'm waiting for him to say the next word)
Pause
"Nope" (Now I sit down)
"Yes!" (that must have been correct, I got the treat.)


It's kinda like pups who don't sit on the first "sit," because their owner always repeats it: "Sit. sit. Sit sit sit." (dog finally sits because they think they are supposed to wait until the fifth repetition of the command. They always do it that way and are always rewarded for it.)


When I'm working with a puppy, I say the command once, then wait for them to do it--even if it takes a few seconds to comply--then immediately mark (with click, word, or reward) so they understand that the act of butt touching floor is the "thing" you were looking for. Give them time to think if they need to (or think about not complying, more likely) and simply hold your ground saying nothing until they decide that sitting is what they wanted to do all along.... then throw the party.


You can always work on faster response. But first, they have to clearly understand the meaning of the command word.

I'm very confident that she does know the comand and understand that repeating a comand will just make it a "word" that becomes bla bla bla.
The theory behind marker training is straight foward, but applying it is a skill I am still trying to figure out

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but shouldn't the word "no or nope" be used in the same manner as "try again"? That's to say that if the dog incorrectly performs the command, you tell it "no" or "try again" as a way to give it a chance to get it right.

With our dogs, as I've been trained to apply marker training, if the dog just sits or stands there and fails to do anything after being given a command, I just look or glare at her, saying nothing, until they comply. I may offer a "ahem" (throat clearing sound) or an "excuse me?" as a way to let them know I'm waiting and they always then get the message I'm waiting for them to respond to my command. Once they comply, then I mark and treat. I've never needed to wait too long and they always get it if I show the least impatience with their failure to comply.

There are positive and negative markers. The word for a negative Marker is "NO" or "NOPE." It is important to mention that a negative marker is not a correction. It is simply a way of communicating to the animal that he just made a mistake and if he expects to get that high value reward he needs to redo the behavior correctly.

It would be very refreshing if we tried reading the information freely available on this website before giving advice.

Oh good heavens, I wasn't giving advice. If you check my post, I was asking a question because what I read from the OP didn't seem to track with what I actually did read in the Leerburg e-article on Marker Training. I then went on to simply offer what technique I used as a way to apply NO MARK, a concept contained in the e-article that no one seemed to address which I thought actually applied here. My mistake was in not correctly saying that "Nope" was, in fact, a negative mark, for which I'm deeply sorry.

Being new here, I am fully aware that it's inappropriate to be offering advice and I intend to be very careful about that. Hopefully, that doesn't mean we newcomers aren't welcome to share experiences and to question comments we don't think are on the mark. In this case, I thought a No Mark was a more appropriate action than a Negative Mark and I thought I'd ask the question. Sorry if I came across as given inappropriate advice. Won't happen again. Didn't need to shout.

Must be a full moon out.

Ahem... excuse me...

That is a very nice and clear article, it will be very good for you to read it, Greg.

Greg, no need to apologize - you did absolutely nothing wrong. I read your post as a question to clarify something and perfectly appropriate.

If you have any questions about marker training, whether you've read the article a hundred times or twice, I hope you'll feel comfortable posting. That is supposed to be the purpose of the forum.

Ha ha. Welcome Greg.

Excellent dog knowledge around here.

People skills? Eh, sometimes not so much.

Thick skin. Helmet. Chin strap. Teeth guard.

Keep asking questions. Take NOTHING personally.

(If you ever get a chance, watch a video by Ivan Balabanov for the "no reward" marker. He uses a "huh uh" that almost sounds like Flipper (the porpoise). It's a very distinct, sharp sound and obviously he makes it work. It's not the word that's important. It's the context and timing.