When Pico and I were talking our service dog training class, our instructor told us to talk to our dogs all the time. She said that if we told them what we were doing as we did it, named items and otherwise just talked to them conversationally, they would pick up words and phrases. I did this with Pico and she picked a vocabulary of hundreds of spoken and ASL words and phrases. She knew more ASL than I did because other people used it with her and she had a better memory.
I have done this with my subsequent dogs as well and while they haven't picked up as much vocabulary as Pico, they certainly have picked up quite a bit. Remember that they didn't spend 24 hours a day with me like Pico did as a Service Dog.
Having a large vocabulary isn't just a dog party trick. It allows you and your dog to communicate wants and needs and builds your relationship.
Showing posts with label Pico. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pico. Show all posts
Non-Acknowlegement Signals
A non-acknowledgement signal (or NACK) is a way of letting your dog know that they didn't do what you are asking for. It is also called a no reward marker. It should absolutely not be used as punishment, rather as clarification.
With Pico, I would tell her "Not what I asked for" if, for instance, I asked her to wait (stay behind a boundary like a door frame) and instead she would heal. I did the same thing with Hero. With Max, I have started to use "oops" when either he or I make a mistake. I have actually found this to be more effective than just marking his behaviour. For instance, if we are walking and he is in the informal heel position we use most of the time and I step in front of him, I say oops because I messed up. If he gets me tangled up in his leash, I say oops because he messed up. He learned the marker much faster and it seems to make him think about what went wrong. We use "oops" when I use a command inappropriately or when he doesn't follow my command. I started doing this without thinking about it, but it has worked much better with Max than I have ever seen a no reward marker work with other dogs.
With Pico, I would tell her "Not what I asked for" if, for instance, I asked her to wait (stay behind a boundary like a door frame) and instead she would heal. I did the same thing with Hero. With Max, I have started to use "oops" when either he or I make a mistake. I have actually found this to be more effective than just marking his behaviour. For instance, if we are walking and he is in the informal heel position we use most of the time and I step in front of him, I say oops because I messed up. If he gets me tangled up in his leash, I say oops because he messed up. He learned the marker much faster and it seems to make him think about what went wrong. We use "oops" when I use a command inappropriately or when he doesn't follow my command. I started doing this without thinking about it, but it has worked much better with Max than I have ever seen a no reward marker work with other dogs.
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