On November 20, 2016, I wrote about the Free Shaping dog training method using a clicker. In the video that accompanied that post, Kaboom a Belgian Malinois was clicked and treated for going to a NePoPo Klack Klack board and an Alley Oop free standing target.
In today’s video, I free shaped Kaboom to pick up a toy bone without cuing him to do so. At first I clicked and treated for him going close to the toy. Later, he only got clicked if he touched it and finally only if he picked it up. To take it further, I would expect a pick up and hold and once he had that, I would name it by saying “fetch” or “bone” (so he could later differentiate between the toy bone and other items that may also be present to pick up) just before he was about to pick it up so that it would be on cue.
For more information on dog training and clicker training, contact Michigan Dog Training in Plymouth, Michigan at 734-634-4152.