Behavior chains are everywhere in dog training, from a 21 obstacle agility course to a heeling pattern in obedience or even training your dog to get you a nice cold adult beverage from the fridge. We tend to think of these patterns of known behaviors as a finished product, however, they can be a useful tool in reducing reinforcement as well as improving confidence and enthusiasm for each involved piece. This course will explain how to build, maintain and use behavior chains for any sport.
Gold students should have a minimum of 6 known behaviors including at least one behavior that involves sending away from the handler (go to place, wrap around an object, etc). These behaviors do not need to be advanced, simple actions such as a hand touch or sit will be sufficient.
Registration
There are no scheduled sessions for this class at this time. We update our schedule frequently, so please
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Registration will begin at 10:00 AM Pacific Time.
For answers to commonly asked questions see our FAQ page.
Silver level for this class is offered as "Working Silver". In addition to asking GENERAL clarification questions about the class lecture materials, silver students will now have the opportunity to submit two short videos, one minute each, for critique and review. You may submit two questions. Each question MUST have a one minute video attached so the instructor can actually answer a question that they can see. The question must relate to a topic in the class and the video must be a demo of the question. Please see the discussion forum for a detailed explanation - feel free to sign up at bronze, read the explanation, and then come back here to upgrade to silver if that interests you, and if space is available.
If you are interested in a bronze level subscription, you can sign up at any time during the registration period.
Syllabus
Week One
What is a behavior chain?
Is the behavior ready?
Week Two
Cues are important
Fixed chains
Developing chains
Flow between behaviors
Week Three
Flexible chains
Adding behaviors successfully
Flash card game for flexible chains
Week Four
Fixing broken chains
Why they happen
Why they stick around
Time Challenge for flexible chains
Week Five
Additional cue clarity
Advanced flash card game
Week Six
Adding in a new behavior
Build a chain with a new behavior
Prerequisites & Supplies
Gold students must have a minimun of six behaviors that are relialbly on cue. Behaviors can be as simple as a hand touch or sit. One behavior that requires sending your dog away from you (wrap around a cone, go to mat, etc) is required.
Sample Lecture
Timing is important, just as important as the timing of a mark when training a new behavior. Clicking too late during free-shaping can lead to frustration, reinforcement of unwanted behaviors and miscommunication. It can cause a dog to wander off and find something better to do. The same is true with a late cue in a behavior chain. Since this cue is reinforcement for the previous behavior, it needs to occur at the same time as a mark would. As my dog finishes one behavior, I want them already knowing what the next behavior is without any pause or hesitation.
I have an idea for a game, I think it will help demonstrate this point without risking any adverse effects on our dogs. You guys are my guinea pigs for this game, I’d love your feedback!
Grab a friend, spouse or family member who doesn’t mind being a test subject (AKA The Dog). Together with them, make a list of six different behaviors that they can easily do. You will be cueing your dog through a behavior chain using those six behaviors. There will be two rounds of this game.
Round One:
Put the six behaviors in a random order, unknown to the dog. Tell your dog that speed matters in this game, the quicker they complete the six behaviors, the better (this demonstrates your real dog’s desire to reach the terminal behavior and ultimately, the reward for the chain). Get a stop watch to signify the importance of speed. With your list, dog and stop watch ready, start the round. Say the next behavior on the list just as your dog finishes the behavior before it, trying to get through the list as quickly as possible. Reward your dog, however you see fit.
Round Two:
Same as before, pick a new random order for your six behaviors. Once again, tell your dog speed matters and that you’d like them to improve on the time from the first round. It was good, however, you know they can be even faster.
Start the round. This time, instead of saying the next behavior quickly, delay for a count of 2 or 3 before giving each cue. It would look like this:
Thank you to Nancy for playing this game with me!
Homework!
Talk to your dog. How did they feel about round one? How about round two? Which round did they feel better about? Did the delay in cue impact their feelings towards the game or you (the handler) at all? If it did, in what way? Feel free to post video of your rounds. Please discuss, as your homework, what impact cue timing had on this game.
