"do As I Do" Training Approach

[4My2Greys]

I just read about a new training approach that seems pretty neat. There is a great video in the article demonstrating the method. Looks like it could be a lot of fun for both trainer and dog.

 

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2014/05/02/dog-training.aspx

[krissy]

Interesting. I'd be curious to see how you start teaching this. The point they show in the video could have been trained in any way with the owner's actions simply becoming a cue. For example... Kili's visual cue for "wave" is my raising my hand... so it is basically mimicry. Except she wasn't trained to mimic in the actual learning process.

 

The nice part of this method is that it promotes attention and focus on the handler. The part I don't like is that it requires absolutely no "thinking" on the dog's part. The dog just does as it is shown.

 

As the article states though, most of us use multiple training techniques. I use a clicker to train some things but not others. And as the dog becomes adept at learning I tend to use less clicker, and less luring. I rely more on shaping and the dog offering behaviours and actively thinking and trying things.

 

This could be an interesting addition to the training toolbox... but as I said, I'm curious about the very beginning stages of a dog learning to learn this way.