It's Yer Choice

[MafiaPrincess]

It was suggested to me eons ago.. We've done mild beginning steps and I've always stopped there.

The cocker kids are easy at home. Can be pills if someone's at the door.. but day in day out easy going. Arson is well not..... He's super needy and a shadow and that is fine. He could use impulse control as he is driving me batty.

So have you done it till your dog knows the game to a tee? How was your dog before and then now?

When agility competitors suggested it, I was slightly turned off they made it sound like robot behaviour kind of.. Never picking up the dropped food on the floor unless okayed to do so.

Arson needs help though. He's not so easy going.. I like him, but he's driving me mildly nuts... But all my google fu.. I see wonderful squee effects enough, lots of how to vids. Still can't quite wrap my head around the levels of leaving treats alone = better life choices and less spastic pup..

[BostonBanker]

I haven't done an insane amount of It's Yer Choice with Gusto - enough that if I specifically tell him to leave something I drop, he'll back off. But like you, I couldn't quite get it into my head that I wanted him to leave *everything* alone.

What made an unbelievable difference in the same way for us was Crate Games. I used to roll my eyes at anyone who suggested it was the answer to life, the universe and everything. But it was remarkable. I've seen him in multiple situations (learning the table, learning not to bolt out the house/car door, learning his startline stays) where I can practically see his head spinning as he says "Oh - this game! I know this game!".

It's Yer Choice may have helped just as much if I'd been more committed to it.

[Barbara!]

I'm commenting to keep track of this thread. Just had a really successful second session with Baloo.

[milos_mommy]

I've used it....my dogs never even seem to care about food all that much anyway, though.

I didn't notice a difference using with Milo or Edna, but I did with Tom. He was much more focused on me, and learned that looking to me would get him a reward. I'm not sure how much it helped with impulse control, but it definitely helped our relationship and training as a whole.

[FG167]

I had a people and dog aggressive DS and noticed a HUGE difference in him with this sort of training.

Madix:

[sassafras]

I raised Squash with it. We started literally the day after he came home (11 weeks old) and I still practice it often. I know I joke about how crazy he can be, but really he's sort of a gentle soul... still, I think it has really helped mold him into a really fantastic dog. I won't say he's perfect, but I shudder to think about what he would be like if he hadn't learned any impulse control, because his natural tendency is to be a polar bear in a china shop.

Maisy and Pip I have used it mostly as an attention getting game and to focus and bring them down when they are overstimulated. Maisy was a really hard dog for me when she was younger and we were just starting to go to classes together, she's extremely distractible and completely obsessed with and somewhat reactive to new dogs... like, starting a new class with a new group, or if a new student joins a class. It really saved my bacon, we would practice almost constantly at first when we weren't doing anything else and sometimes even when we were supposed to be doing something else. That behavior definitely improved over time as a result.

I won't say they're perfect, but I don't have to worry about the mad scramble for a dropped morsel of food and they don't generally mug anyone for treats. I haven't really practiced up to the "open container of treats" level but I have worked up to dropping food.

I really strongly believe that it helps way beyond the specific exercise, though, and just translates into easier training of all kinds. I did not work nearly as hard on things like recall and heeling with Squash as I have with the others, yet he's far, far better and more solid at those types of skills than they are.

I show all my new puppy appointments how to play it, they look at me like I'm a sorcerer when their puppy "gets it" after only a few tries. You can just see the light bulb go on.


Can you tell I've drunk the Kool-Aid?

ETA: One thing I really wish I'd done more of, though, was practicing with things other than food. I'm trying to catch up with that, but it's a bit slow.

[MafiaPrincess]

Aww pic is amusing FG. Arson has no aggression that I've seen. I simply need better self control. Less jumping to reach my face and poke out my eye in the meantime...

LOL Sassafras.. You were koolaided

So.. you wish you'd done it with stuff other than food? How does that work? I've really only seen people doing it with food. In hand, on floor, in treat containers on floor, doing tricks through treats.. and that is about it..

But then I hear at trials how it is god. Like the lady I like with a BC who can leave her dog parked in her chair and go do whatever and come back. She says that's part of it's yer choice- that is why he does that.

I say it' part training part being a BC I can't quite make the link to why playing with food = the further behaviours which is why I never did much with it..

[sassafras]

Well I think you could do it with almost anything, as long as you can prevent them from getting what they want. Like, you couldn't enclose a tennis ball in or under your hand, but you could certainly drop it on the floor and block their access to it under a box or something... or have them leashed and just not release them until they give up trying to get to it. Just a segue into "leave it" I guess.

[Sekah]

I'm a big Its Yer Choice fan.



As mentioned above, it's not all about food. We use food as an easily accessible gateway into building on a dog's self control without the need to babysit each and every choice they make. And as we all know, self control is the keystone of any and all dog training.

We use it with food because food is a) distracting and b) something the dog wants. You can use anything in food's stead once you've laid the groundwork in the game. The basic behaviour you're looking for is the dog forgoing something that it wants, and you offering something better for making the right choice. It can be a squirrel, or saying hello to another dog, or holding a stay around distractions, etc. Start with things like food, toys, access to favourite people, attention around low level distractions. The key is to not moderate your dog's behaviour or give any cues whatsoever. Your only job is controlling the reinforcement the dog receives from its choice. Correct choices get loads of reinforcement. Incorrect choices get the potential reinforcement taken away (food gets covered, toy goes away...).