HOMEWORK, Week 1: LL Understanding Drives, Thresholds, and Buffers (homework)

 Week 1: Understanding

Longe Line (LL)

Drives, Thresholds and Buffers

There are 4 primary drives dogs operate from.  They are as follows:

Social (relating to maintaining the pack/family unit)
Prey (relating to the acquisition of food)
Defense (self-protection and self-preservation)
Fight (the willingness to stay engaged in battle long after the sense for self-preservation should have removed the desire)

Tony Ancheta, head of Koehler Dog Training, states, “There are very few dogs exhibit fight drive anymore, the exception being a few lines of battle-bred Pit Bulls.  The chance of any of you having to deal with a battle-bred bulldog, unless you are known in those circles, is slim to none.  BUT, the latent potential is nearer the surface in the breed, and it is latent in all dogs ... so don't totally discount it (as many trainers do).”

You will be using the other three primary drives, Social, Prey and Defense to train your dog during Week 1, Lesson 1, the Longe Line workouts. 

Here are some recommendations of competing distractors (competing for the dog's attention):

Competing social
a family member sitting in a chair while watching the training
the pet cat (caged to keep it in one spot)
a familiar and friendly dog staked out in the area

Prey
a chicken on a tie-cord pecking around (surround with an ex-pen if needed )
bunnies in a crate large enough to allow them to move about (a great Dane size wire)
a hamster, mouse, rat, or gerbil playing on a tread wheel

Defense
a menacing dog in a crate
a black 33 or 55 gallon trash bag, stapled to a pole that is stuck in the ground, flapping and blowing around
someone pushing a shopping cart or wheel barrow toward the dog
an umbrella open and staked down, but able to move if there is wind

You can alternate your training set-ups by using three competing distractions of the same quality. Here are some examples:

Day one: use all competing social

Day two: use all prey

Day three: use all defense

Day four: use a combination of the three drives

Day five: use a new combination of the three drives

Day six: use another combination of the three drives

Keeping distractions safe

Start collecting various cages, tie-out stakes and tethers, and ex-pens.  They come pretty cheap at yard sales, flea markets, and estate sales - so keep your eye open.

Thresholds for behavior change: Time/space.  How long can the dog keep notice without acting out? How close can the dog be taken to the planted distraction before acting out?

Buffers: Space and Time.  At what distance does the distractor not motivate any change in behavior?  Once at the threshold, how long does it take for the dog to act out?

Removing buffers and widening thresholds is not done abstractly, it is done systematically by progressing along the line of travel and creating successful trials. 

Use the 80/20 rule.

Example:  Let's say you have a correct response of moving past a familiar dog stacked out in your training area located 20' of the line of travel.  Let's say you can Longe Line your dog past this staked out dog 10/10 without the need for a correction.

THIS BECOMES YOUR BASELINE FOR THIS QUALITY OF DISTRACTOR. 
It is now time to bring the staked dog closer to the line of travel. So move the staked out dog to within 16'.

Then Longe Line your dog past the staked out dog (@16’) on the line of travel. If your dog is less than 8/10 times successful, then too much buffer was removed too soon. So, move the buffer (staked out dog)  to ½ the distance or @ 18’.

Again, Longe Line your dog past the staked out dog (@18’) and if you can LL your dog past the distractor 8/10 without the need for a correction, it is time to move your buffer (staked out dog) another 20%.

What is 20% of 18’?

X=20%(18’)
X=.2(18)
X=3.6
X = approximately 4’

So move your buffer (staked out dog) to 14’ on your line of travel.

Please note that when you are on your line of travel and no corrections are needed, your dog has chosen to remain close to you (within 5’) regardless of that distraction.  Find another distraction and repeat the same process.

Carry-over: Often the success of working the first distractor may allow you to start the next distractor (of the same drive) at a distance closer than your first baseline. However, 'may' is no guarantee - so work the dog in front of you at whatever distance the dog can manage. 

 

Pre/Post-Training Session protocol

IMPORTANT: Always kennel your dog for at least an hour before working it. The dog should have NO food at least 4 hours prior to the workout and NO water an hour before the workout. When you are done with your LL workout, do a cool-down time of approximately 12-20 minutes. This is done by giving your dog their release word, dropping the LL on the ground (you may hold on end for safety, but not in the Ready Position used for LL, your hand should be beside your body and moving naturally as you stroll home. The cool-down is a casual, non-working, non-playing time, just a casual stroll home.

Offer your dog water when home, then kennel up again for a minimum of 30 minutes and/or do The Quiet Time with the dog for 30 minutes.

FOLLOW THIS PROCEDURE EVERY TIME YOU WORK YOUR DOG.

Longe Line protocal

TRAINING SESSION LENGTH : 60 minutes total each day. You can break up the training sessions in two 30-minute sessions or four 15- minute sessions.

TRAINING SESSION AREA: Pick a Point B (approximately 40-50’ away on a straight line). When you step off your left foot head towards the Point B with intention and with purpose. DO NOT WANDER ABOUT AIMLESSLY.

RULES FOR LONGE LINE: Start at your Point A, step on the LL with your left foot close to the snap bolt approximately 12” so dog is close to you until you are ready to begin. SAY NOTHING to your dog. Get your safety loop, approx. 3’, have  the LL loop on the right thumb, stack your hands on your belly button, have the remainder of the LL on the ground between you and your dog, fix your eyes on your Point B and step off with your left foot.

The dog can only go 1 of 4 ways, ahead of you, away from you, go to their left or come up beside you on your right side.   You are to help your dog succeed as this is all new to them also. If your dog goes ahead of you, do an immediate Right About Turn away from your dog, let out your safety loop, and take a few running steps. Remember to close your right hand back into a fist after letting out the safety loop.  As dog comes back towards you, with your left hand pick up the slack and make another safety loop and continue towards your intended Point.

IF dog goes to your left, you go right. If your dog goes away from you (reverse direction) or flops on the ground or refuses to move, take a couple of running steps. To maintain/restore comfort, the dog will choose to get close to you.

The hardest way to help a dog succeed on LL is when the dog comes up on your right side. To help your dog understand your left side is the safety zone, when you see your dog on the right side. do a small left turn around and behind the dog so you come up on your dogs’ right side. So take responsibility to help your dog succeed by you choosing to put the dog on your left side and continue on to your intended Point.

IF your dogs legs get tangled in the LL (and they all do initially), simply take a step or two back towards your dog to release any tension. The dog will naturally step out of the LL and you continue on to your intended Point.

THE GOLDILOCKS PRINCIPLE: Watch your dog. If your dog is getting a glazed look in its eyes, you have worked the dog too long or against too hard a buffer without understanding your dogs threshold at this point in its training.  This is  “TO MUCH”, back off until your dog can succeed on LL against a much smaller distraction and end the session. 

If your dog is still needing correction after correction despite moving the buffers where the dog can succeed, this is “TO LITTLE”. Then the corrections are not  corrections, but rather gentle tugs. These is ineffective, unfair to the dog and creates confusion in the dogs mind.  Let the dog choose, let the dog learn that a wrong choice equals consequences (corrections), and end the session when the dog chooses correctly 8/10 times against a planted distraction.

What you want to see is that your dog has understood the lesson, chosen to do the right thing (by staying close to you within 5’ radius), on your left side, despite working on a line of travel with planted distractions. This is the “JUST RIGHT” place of training you should always strive to arrive at with your dog. This sets up your dog to learn the lessons. 

Week 1: Days 1 & 2- Longe Line

Start with very low levels of distractions at the farthest distance away. Point of LL is to have training sessions where dog learns that your left side is the safety zone. Dog gets to choose where it goes as you travel from Point A to Point B to Point C, etc. When dog chooses to be anywhere outside the 5’ radius, do an immediate Right About Turn (180 degrees away from the dog), let out your safety loop, and take a few running steps. Remember to close your right hand back into a fist after letting out the safety loop.  As dog comes towards you, with your left hand pick up the slack and make another safety loop. Continue towards your intended Point.  

Always end on a high note with your dog and follow the Pre/Post Training Session protocal.

Week 1: Days 3 & 4- Longe Line

These days have medium levels of distraction planted as you want your dog to notice the planted distractions, but not be consumed by the temptation of the distraction. Days 3 & 4 give the dog time to learn that turning away  from the distraction to move toward you is the correct choice to make and maintains or restores comfort for the dog.  This is why understanding the thresholds and how much buffer to allow is critical. Why? Because you are staging the training area so your dog easily can choose to make the right choice of behavior – moving towards you.

Always end on a high note with your dog and follow the Pre/Post Training Session protocal.

Week 1: Days 5 and 6-Longe Line

Now is when you can start to remove the buffers, while concurrently working to widen the thresholds.  Your dog should be working closer to you by Day 6 – within a 2-3’ radius.

Always end on a high note with your dog and follow the Pre/Post Training Session protocal.