# Understanding the bridge in obedience



## Courtney Gordon (Nov 27, 2007)

I watched Ivan Balabanov's training videos a few times and I still have a question. It seems pretty obvious, but here goes anyway.

In his video, Ivan gives the dog a command like sit, the dog sits correctly, then Ivan says "yes" (or some other release command). The dog is supposed to understand that the exercise is over and he will be getting a reward soon. The dog should know that he is being rewarded for sitting correctly. Ivan says that the handler doesn't need to produce the reward at the same time as the release command. The release command is used as a bridge between the correct obedience and the reward.

My question is how do you get a puppy/young dog to understand that the release command is a bridge? It seems to me that it would take a while for the dog to understand that it is being rewarded for the sit and not something else it did along the way. I haven't had a dog in a few years and back then I was taught to reward at the same time as the release command.

Some info- I'm getting a puppy next year for Schutzhund. For now, I'm just reading about different training methods.


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## Guest (May 21, 2008)

> It seems to me that it would take a while for the dog to understand that it is being rewarded for the sit and not something else it did along the way.


You're right. That's why repitition in all sorts of different circumstances is required. You're slowly narrowing down what sit means. They percieve all the sights, smells, sounds, and sensations associated with what you think is just the butt hitting the ground. Teaching sit in the garage means he knows how to sit in the garage...not neccesarily if he's up on a picnic table. Plus weaning him off all the inadvertant body language one initially uses to lure him into the right position etc. New contexts.

But that's a different matter than understanding that the bridge means release. That seems have taken very little time....as I remember.


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## Lisa Maze (Mar 30, 2007)

The clearest way to see just how quickly dogs begin to use the bridge as information is to "shape" a behavior such as going to a place or touching a target. Even though you will be rewarding from your body, the dog will learn very quickly to move away from you and put his feet on the target or touch the target with his nose depending on which you choose.

I use a little wooden or plastic step stool with young pups as I think it is easier for them to tactilly discriminate something raised than the little yellow, rubber mats we use with started dogs. Put some treats in your pocket, set the stool on the floor and bring your dog into the room. Walk over to the stool with your pup. Usually a pup will say "Hmm, whats this?" and at least move towards and sniff the step stool. As soon as he makes a strong movement towards the target say "Yes" and give him a treat. Repeat several times in the same session then put him up. If you have a low tolerance for frustration and your pup is not a Malinois (cannot ignore novel objects) you can point towards the step stool or set a treat on top to encourage him to approach. Each session raise the criteria just a little,

I love when they being to show facial expressions/body language indicating they now have strong emotions about the bridge. There eyes get big or their eyebrows twitch. When Michael Ellis bridges his girl Fauxtois out of heeling she hops straight up in the air at his left in anticipation of the reward being presented over his shoulder.

Which brings us to another salient feature of the bridge. As you will soon see in the exercise above one of the benfits of the bridge is that you do not have to reward the dog (as in present the actual reward) when he is still performing the exercise. Withut the marker it you would likely teach your dog to sit and look instead of going away and touching the step stool. Or you would have to be a whiz at tossing the treat to the pup while he is still on the stool. That said, the place the reward is presented still has power (even when using a bridge). 

For exercises that would benefit from a dog predicting the reward coming from a certain spot, like heeling, I use this power to my benefit. So in heeling, even though I use the marker, I always present the reward up over the dog's head. I may drop a tug from my armpit, pull a treat out from behind my back with my left hand or toss a ball left and back over the dog's head. If I am teaching an exercise that may be hindered by the dog anticipating the location the reward will be presented such as a go out to a touch pad, I vary the way the reward is presented. I may toss the dog the reward, have him return to me to get it or even wing it over his head past the place I bridged him.

Because of the power the actual place the reward is presented and because dogs are more intune to body language than verbal, it is very important that you use your bridge BEFORE you move to reach for your reward. Dogs are clever and soon learn to look for the subtle body language cues that tell them the reward is coming. Be sure you give your bridge when the dog is performing the desired behavior then move to reach for the reward. An example of how moving for the reward object could hinder your progress is in focus work. Lets say you had your pup in a front sit and were working on eye contact. If you are consistent about using your marker the pup will learn quickly to stare at your face. If you begin to reach for your reward early, your pup will start to drop his eyes to your shoulder or arm to look for signs the reward is coming. I believe Ivan calls this sign tracking. 

Not reaching prematurely for the reward is one of the hardest habits to break. I was at an Ivan seminar and got a real giggle when he put the e-collar on a handler's arm to "nick' him everytime he reached for his reward early. So, while it seems like a little detail, it makes a large enough difference to warrant shocking a handler :twisted: 

One of the best ways to keep your self clean in your handling is to always have a spotter who is using the same methods. Or teach a seminar on using the marker to a dog club. Trust me, the participants will call you on you errors.


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## Courtney Gordon (Nov 27, 2007)

Thanks for the info. It's a lot clearer to me.


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## Chase Mika (May 2, 2008)

I've found that the timing of the release cue is what helps the dog to really narrow down the behavior also. In the beginning, it's a matter of giving that release cue the moment the dog's butt hits the ground. They also learn to move fast that way. 

I started out the same way you did as well. In fact, I didn't start using release cues with my dog until she was about 5 yrs old. I thought she was good before, but with the release cue....what a difference it made. All her movements became faster and so much sharper. It definitely takes a while to get the timing of everything down, but it's well worth it. In fact, I think they actually learn faster with the release cue because you can narrow it down faster. Without that cue, they're trying to figure out what they did right based on how fast you can get the toy out of your pocket or how fast you move your hand towards your pocket.


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