Quote: Brian Sheppard

I have been watching some of the clips on the site and i have downloaded some articles:

What do you actually mean when you say:

loading your marker?

Thanks

The marker is the sound made at the exact second of the desired behavior that says to the dog "Correct! Reward coming!" (It's not possible to present a reward with the kind of precision you can achieve in simply making a meaningful sound.)

Are you going to use a clicker or a verbal marker (like yes)?

Do you have tiny food rewards that the dog loves? (I recall he's not so much of a food hound, so you want something alluring. A piece of baked or boiled boneless skinless chicken or turkey breast yields dozens to hundreds of M&M-size, or pencil-eraser-size, rewards, for example. Mixing in a few shreds of cooked bacon scents it all nicely, too, for a dog who needs extra food-incentive. Believe me, there IS something for every dog. From my own to other people's dogs to shelter dogs, I always use marker training, and always find something that even a bored-with-food dog loves. )

So ..... all set with these decisions/items? Got a bait bag or little bowls of rewards set around, out of dog reach? And a way to have them outdoors, too (maybe, in lieu of a bait bag, a baggie in a big pocket)?

This thing is awesome and I would not give mine up for anything: http://leerburg.com/736.htm

But of course you can work around it.



Edited by Connie Sutherland (10/01/2012 03:15 PM)
Edit reason: ps

Here is how I do it:

http://leerburg.com/markers.htm

Scroll down to
"The first step is called CHARGING THE MARK"

I say my marker and then produce the reward. I don't reach for the reward at the same instant, but I do it right away. (I don't telegraph with the reward hand.) I say the marker (or click) and THEN produce the reward.

I know the dog has made the connection when, when I make the maker sound, he looks for the reward. He has made the connection. He now knows that the marker sound means "reward coming!" and that the marker sound is something he wants to make happen.

This is done before training anything using markers.

Thanks for your time Connie, i will get straight on it

BTW, i will be using verbal prompts, as in YES

One thing that's important with a verbal marker is to choose one that you aren't already in the habit of using when talking to the dog.

I made that mistake early on. lol

Thanks Connie

I have also now downloaded the article from this site on Marker training.

Many Thanks