Think of capturing like taking a perfect sunset photograph \u2014 not before or after it sets, but rather at the moment the sun touches the horizon. The sun is setting on its own, you are just capturing the perfect photograph of it happening.<\/p>\n
Much like capturing that perfect photograph, you can capture your dog’s behavior when he does something that you want to help him learn (like the cue \u201cSit\u201d) when he does it on his own, if you are prepared to mark and then reinforce the desired behavior with a food reward. That\u2019s the simplicity of capturing.<\/p>\n
Everyone who has ever had a puppy (or a dog of any age \u2014 seniors rock!) has used capturing and may not have even known they were doing so. When their puppy went to the bathroom outside and they said, \u201cGood puppy,\u201d they were capturing that desired behavior and reinforcing it with praise. Hopefully, they even called it something like \u201cGo potty,\u201d or \u201cHurry up\u201d and then gave the puppy a food reward.<\/p>\n
Start simply<\/h2>\n
To use capturing, begin with something your dog naturally does on his own, like sitting. Dogs sit on their own all the time, so be prepared to mark the moment he completes sitting down on his own using a loaded marker (either a click or the verbal marker \u201cYes\u201d) and reinforce that with a pea-sized food reward. Mark the moment when he is completely sitting \u2014 not before or as he starts to sit, but exactly when his butt hits the surface of whatever he is sitting on.<\/p>\n
Mark the completion of the behavior of sitting on his own a few times. After your dog is getting the hang of it, shift to marking when he sits with the verbal cue \u201cSit\u201d and then reward. There is an expression in dog training: \u201cName it when you love it,\u201d and this means what I just mentioned \u2014 when the individual dog starts to get the hang of it and to understand, then you can move on to naming it as you capture it, in this case \u201cSit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reinforce known behaviors<\/h2>\n
Another way to use capturing is to reinforce something that your dog already has begun to understand, like when he is pretty good at sitting most of the time and you know he can be a rock star at sitting but could use some improvement. Since you know your dog is going to sit at some point during your day, be prepared with food rewards. When your dog sits on his own \u2014 at the moment he completes sitting \u2014 mark that with the already associated verbal cue \u201cSit.\u201d<\/p>\n
You get what you reinforce. By including capturing when your dog sits on his own and marking and
\nreinforcing that naturally occurring behavior, you will increase the reinforcement history, and turn \u201csitting\u201d into an ever-more reliable behavior, when requested.<\/p>\n
Capture with jackpots<\/h2>\n
To keep the focus on capturing a behavior \u2014 let\u2019s continue to use \u201cSit\u201d \u2014 combine it with something else, like if your dog jumps onto others during greetings. During those moments when your dog does not jump up and instead sits on his own, capture that moment and give your dog the jackpot of rewards (like making a big deal with lots of praise and a high-value treat). Celebrate him making a great decision on his own.<\/p>\n
Although capturing behavior is great on its own, it also has some pretty good beneficial side effects:
\n\u27bb better timing with cues
\n\u27bb saying yes more often to your dog
\n\u27bb having a dog who learns when he gets things right
\n\u27bb a longer reinforcement history of each behavior you capture
\n\u27bb increased amounts of fun when learning a cue that associates to the things they naturally do on their own<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.dogster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/GettyImages-157374693.png\")
<\/p>\nPhoto: carebott | Getty Image<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Mark this<\/h2>\n
To effectively capture behaviors, it is helpful to use a marker. Markers are signals that are auditory (like a clicker) or verbal (like saying \u201cYes\u201d) that allow us to mark specific moments when our dogs are getting it right while learning or are doing something already learned.<\/p>\n
To \u201cload” or “charge” a marker (generate an association of a pleasing outcome to the marker), prepare 10 pea-sized food rewards and hold them in your hand. Say Yes\/click, and immediately give your dog one piece of food. After he finishes the piece, repeat the sequence of saying Yes\/clicking until all pieces have been given.<\/p>\n
Do this on three separate occasions. (Note: Include food rewards into dog\u2019s total daily rations.)<\/p>\n
At some point in the day after the exercise, when your dog is not looking or paying attention to you, say the word \u201cYes\u201d or click the clicker. If he looks toward you \u2014 success! You will then have a known loaded marker to use. Reinforce this marker throughout life with your dog by saying \u201cYes\u201d\/clicking the clicker sometimes before you hand him a piece of food.<\/p>\n
Using capturing is like being a game-show host narrating spectacular key moments and giving out prizes in the form of food rewards. That\u2019s fun for both you and your dog!<\/p>\n
Top photograph: nd3000 | Getty Images<\/em><\/p>\n Read Next: <\/strong>Yes, You Can (and Should) Teach an Old Dog New Tricks<\/strong> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The post Capturing\u2009\u2014 The Key to Easy Training<\/a> by Paul J. Kearney<\/a> appeared first on Dogster<\/a>. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n The post Capturing\u2009\u2014 The Key to Easy Training<\/a> by Paul J. Kearney<\/a> appeared first on Dogster<\/a>. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.<\/p>\n Think of capturing like taking a perfect sunset photograph \u2014 not before or after it sets, but rather at the moment the sun touches the horizon. The sun is setting on its own, you are just capturing the perfect photograph of it happening.<\/p>\n Much like capturing that perfect photograph, you can capture your dog’s behavior when he does something that you want to help him learn (like the cue \u201cSit\u201d) when he does it on his own, if you are prepared to mark and then reinforce the desired behavior with a food reward. That\u2019s the simplicity of capturing.<\/p>\n Everyone who has ever had a puppy (or a dog of any age \u2014 seniors rock!) has used capturing and may not have even known they were doing so. When their puppy went to the bathroom outside and they said, \u201cGood puppy,\u201d they were capturing that desired behavior and reinforcing it with praise. Hopefully, they even called it something like \u201cGo potty,\u201d or \u201cHurry up\u201d and then gave the puppy a food reward.<\/p>\n To use capturing, begin with something your dog naturally does on his own, like sitting. Dogs sit on their own all the time, so be prepared to mark the moment he completes sitting down on his own using a loaded marker (either a click or the verbal marker \u201cYes\u201d) and reinforce that with a pea-sized food reward. Mark the moment when he is completely sitting \u2014 not before or as he starts to sit, but exactly when his butt hits the surface of whatever he is sitting on.<\/p>\n Mark the completion of the behavior of sitting on his own a few times. After your dog is getting the hang of it, shift to marking when he sits with the verbal cue \u201cSit\u201d and then reward. There is an expression in dog training: \u201cName it when you love it,\u201d and this means what I just mentioned \u2014 when the individual dog starts to get the hang of it and to understand, then you can move on to naming it as you capture it, in this case \u201cSit.\u201d<\/p>\n Another way to use capturing is to reinforce something that your dog already has begun to understand, like when he is pretty good at sitting most of the time and you know he can be a rock star at sitting but could use some improvement. Since you know your dog is going to sit at some point during your day, be prepared with food rewards. When your dog sits on his own \u2014 at the moment he completes sitting \u2014 mark that with the already associated verbal cue \u201cSit.\u201d<\/p>\n You get what you reinforce. By including capturing when your dog sits on his own and marking and To keep the focus on capturing a behavior \u2014 let\u2019s continue to use \u201cSit\u201d \u2014 combine it with something else, like if your dog jumps onto others during greetings. During those moments when your dog does not jump up and instead sits on his own, capture that moment and give your dog the jackpot of rewards (like making a big deal with lots of praise and a high-value treat). Celebrate him making a great decision on his own.<\/p>\n Although capturing behavior is great on its own, it also has some pretty good beneficial side effects: Photo: carebott | Getty Image<\/p>\n<\/div>\n To effectively capture behaviors, it is helpful to use a marker. Markers are signals that are auditory (like a clicker) or verbal (like saying \u201cYes\u201d) that allow us to mark specific moments when our dogs are getting it right while learning or are doing something already learned.<\/p>\n To \u201cload” or “charge” a marker (generate an association of a pleasing outcome to the marker), prepare 10 pea-sized food rewards and hold them in your hand. Say Yes\/click, and immediately give your dog one piece of food. After he finishes the piece, repeat the sequence of saying Yes\/clicking until all pieces have been given.<\/p>\n Do this on three separate occasions. (Note: Include food rewards into dog\u2019s total daily rations.)<\/p>\n At some point in the day after the exercise, when your dog is not looking or paying attention to you, say the word \u201cYes\u201d or click the clicker. If he looks toward you \u2014 success! You will then have a known loaded marker to use. Reinforce this marker throughout life with your dog by saying \u201cYes\u201d\/clicking the clicker sometimes before you hand him a piece of food.<\/p>\n Using capturing is like being a game-show host narrating spectacular key moments and giving out prizes in the form of food rewards. That\u2019s fun for both you and your dog!<\/p>\n Top photograph: nd3000 | Getty Images<\/em><\/p>\n Read Next: <\/strong>Yes, You Can (and Should) Teach an Old Dog New Tricks<\/strong> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The post Capturing\u2009\u2014 The Key to Easy Training<\/a> by Paul J. Kearney<\/a> appeared first on Dogster<\/a>. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nStart simply<\/h2>\n
Reinforce known behaviors<\/h2>\n
\nreinforcing that naturally occurring behavior, you will increase the reinforcement history, and turn \u201csitting\u201d into an ever-more reliable behavior, when requested.<\/p>\nCapture with jackpots<\/h2>\n
\n\u27bb better timing with cues
\n\u27bb saying yes more often to your dog
\n\u27bb having a dog who learns when he gets things right
\n\u27bb a longer reinforcement history of each behavior you capture
\n\u27bb increased amounts of fun when learning a cue that associates to the things they naturally do on their own<\/p>\n<\/p>\nMark this<\/h2>\n