I’ve been taking Crate Games from Paula Weir at Dog City. One of the fun things about Paula, is that we can discuss clicker training and honor each persons point of view. Of course, remember, the only thing that two dog trainers will ever agree on, is that the third dog trainer is doing it wrong.
Crate Games is at http://www.clickerdogs.com/crate_games.php and it’s basically a positive way of teaching control. I’ve got the DVD, but there are some things that are easier for me to get if I have instructor feedback. By the way, the instructor has a strong Canadian accent and an irritating voice. Which also makes it difficult for me to watch very long. I’m “spoiled”, I was told and it was true, that I had an irritating voice, especially when transmitted, and I spent a long time to learn how to fix it. Must have been successful because for several years I had a radio show.
It’s an interesting system and I don’t agree with it 100% (remember the above – the only thing two dog trainers ever agree about …. ).
Paula wanted me to have a release word. I don’t have one. I did, years ago, but I found that having a release word doesn’t make any sense. I usually want my dogs to do something. I’ve been analyzing that over the past couple of weeks, and it is true.
If I put a dog in a crate, when I get the dog out of the crate, I want them to do something. 9 times out of 10, I want the dog to go outside. Now, once they go outside, I might not tell them something else to do. So, an appropriate release word would be “Go Outside”. And yes, that’s what I tell my dogs when I come home and let them out of their crate.
The other 10% of the time, I want the dogs to do something with me. If they are in the car, I want them on leash so I can take them from the car to where we are going – so in that case, the appropriate command is “put on your leash”. Yes, that is a command, and I use it on the agility field, both in training and competition. It means we’re done, and I want you to hold still so I can put a leash on you.
I honestly never put a dog in a crate and then expect them to do nothing when I get them out.
My compromise is to use the phrase “Let’s Play”, since the rest of the time I use a crate, would be to alternate training between the dogs.
But seriously, when I let a dog out of a crate, I want them to do something.
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