# How did you train (Wilderness)



## Karin Niessen (Feb 9, 2009)

I just got a text from Nancy Jocoy about training the recall/refind. I found the starting to be quite like I have been told to do, but then there are differences. And I wondered how you guys started your dog(s)

We first start with playing a tug game with the chosen toy. The handler starts, gives the toy over to the victim, who continues the play, lets the dog release it, runs away and hides behind a bush somewhere near. The owner then releases the dog (who naturally wants to chase his toy), giving the command and runs after it (but the dog goes first. That isn't so hard, even my tiny dog is faster then me lol). At the victim, the handler starts playing, together with dog and victim, but it's important that the play doesn't start until the handler is there.

After some repeats, the owner starts to walk more slowly and eventually halts about halfway to the victim. The dog, not getting it's toy, returns (partways) to the owner(kind of saying 'where are you, hurry up'), at that point, the owner runs bubbling with joy and a high voice 'good girl, you found it? show me!' after the dog, and again dog and owner play at the site of the victim. By this time the victim isn't part of the play anymore, only the location of the victim is, unless the dog is shy of the victim.

You start with rewarding only a small returning to the owner (getting just into sight) and you can eventually decide for yourself how close you want the dog to come to you, just by waiting before you react to the recall.

After that we really want to get this behaviour settled in, so no more additions, but a lot of practises. Some dogs start barking in enthusiasm, or start doing other things to try to make the boss hurry to the victim. This becomes your alarm (so no cueing, just see what happens and reinforce that). 

My dog didn't give an alarm, exept for one in her bodylanguage (I could read it, but couldn't say she does this and that) but she is a terrier and is mad about balls. She doesn't retrieve reliably (my ball and you're not getting it). So a bringsel (is that the English word too, it is the Dutch lol) wouldn't work. We did a variation of that. She will also jump up to a ball or toy and keep hanging in it. So I have a small ball (small dog, small ball) on a rope hanging by my side and she jumps up and hangs into it, releases on command and than dashes back to the victim.

We trained (umm are training) this by first only letting it hang down after she found the victim (using walkie-talkies to tell when), to avoid false alarms, and help her grasp the notion of having to hang into it by triggering a bit with it. The triggering isn't necessary anymore, and we are now at a point I have to let it hang down from the start of the search. Just have to think about how I'm going to avoid the false alarm, as I'm afraid she still will do that...


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## Nancy Jocoy (Apr 19, 2006)

Smart dogs are sometimes harder to train because they offer all kinds of different behaviors to get what they want.

The way you mentioned is a more typical way of training it, which I why I said you should discuss with TD before trying it.

For those who don't have the backchaining article - the main difference is you start a bit differently but it is for only training the alert. 

The order to train this refind behavior chain would be:
1. Refind (command: Show Me!) - dog at handler, victim runs off dog runs to victim
2. Report (or Indication, Alert - a bark - command: Speak!, or a body touch, or, sit, or down, or tug, etc.) - dog must first be trained to alert behaivor - dog starts at handler but is given command alert before release to victim - you already have an idea about what would work for your dog before you train the behavior [e.g., tug has become a command before you train the report]
3. Recall (the dog returns or is “recalled” to the handler) - dog starts at victim, handler calls, prompts alert and show me.
4. Find (and reward) - dog starts at handler.

It seemed to be very easy to quickly get with many repetitions consistent alert sequence this way and you can do it at home with a family member pretty easily, In either case best to get down the alert sequence before serious scent work. So that when the dog does the scent work you don't get all tangled up in giving the reward because of some breakdown during the alert sequence. Dog will natrually figure out to give multiple alerts when the victim is way far away and will learn to pace themselves.


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## Karin Niessen (Feb 9, 2009)

My trainers dog barks, recalls/rewinds (and nips in her leg but she doesn't really like that, lol). Trainer also had a dog once who barked, retrieved (bringsel? if you also use that term), jumped up (and therefor also recall/rewinds). She sees no problem in having more then one alarm on a dog, only makes it more clear that it has found something, even in harder conditions, when one of the alarms can be 'dropped' or 'forgotten' by the dog...


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