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Dog training terms - feed for position
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This is a term that I talk about frequently with my clients. It is really simple, but also very powerful. The more efficient you can be with your training, the more your dog will learn. So, any strategies that help efficiency are really useful to incorporate into your training routine.
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What does "feed for position" mean?
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One way to think about this term is that you are thinking one step ahead and rewarding your dog and moving her to a new location in one step. The video shows Molly moving towards a "Place". After I mark her correct answer with a 'click', I toss the treat towards the door so she has to get up to go get the treat. Then, she is away from the "Place" so I can ask her to go lie there again. If I rewarded her while she was in her place, there is a good chance she would have said, "Cool! I can lie down here and get treats!" Then, it would have been cumbersome to 1) Ask her to get up, 2) move her to another location 3) ask her to go back to the place again. Cool, huh?
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Uses for this dog training strategy
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You can use this strategy when working on many behaviors including sit, down, and stay. Each time you ask your dog to do one of these behaviors, toss the treat away so they have to go get it. Then you can ask them to do that behavior again, or another behavior if you want to mix it up.
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Example with placement cue
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In this example, I am working with my client's dog, Molly. I separately worked on a placement cue and trained her to lie down next to the stairs. Ultimately Roy, my client, wants to use this to alleviate barking near the front door when someone rings the bell. But for this example, you just need to know that the cue that I want her to do is to lie down near the stairs when I say, "Place", and the "feed for position" strategy is implemented by tossing a treat so she has to get up and go get the treat away from the "Place".
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Watch the video
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Next Steps
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Hopefully this gives you some ideas on how to make your training more efficient. You can also use this technique when you are free shaping behaviors to motivate your dog to move around a bit more if they are simply lying in front of you waiting for the treat.
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I would love to hear how you use Feeding For Position in your training routine.
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Happy Training!
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