Every time a training "premise" presents itself, why am I so surprised?
Yesterday Dale was here for a mentoring session with Lily. He had seen the video clip that I had published of Lily performing Distance: L7 from Steps to Service and wanted to witness it first hand.
"No problem", I said.
But there WAS a problem. I found myself repeating the cue. Lily couldn't remember the behavior.
Well, duh! DALE was there! Talk about a distraction..... I was asking her to make the leap from training location (the same) where I was controlling the environment to training location with a distraction.
And, because Dale WAS there and wanting to see the behavior, I kept pushing the issue.
Distance: L7 is something that Lily performs dependably when we are home alone, just the 3 of us. But, I hadn't begun to generalize it. I hadn't begun to add distractions.
Of course, my odds were 50/50. Either she could do it or she couldn't.
Thank goodness I stopped. But I must admit. It took me 2 or 3 more tries before I remembered Sue's adage: "Once is a mistake; twice is a problem".
Duh! And I say again, Duh!
STEPS to SERVICE: DISTANCE: Level 7
Dog goes 15 feet away from the trainer to go through a door or gate, at least 15 feet along a hedge or fence, and comes in a second door or gate to trainer. Dog to carry her leash in her mouth.
