Giving A Demonstration--which Trick???

[tx_cowgirl]

Yes, the classroom does have internet access; did also think of just going to it and showing it from YouTube...not sure yet.
Lol, cute quote!! ^^
Of all my many, many dog books, I can't find a single one with a good explanation of shaping...and they are all great books! Hmm. Maybe I'm not looking well enough.

 

[Jean Cote]

Yes you can save it on a flash drive, not sure about rights and all, but there are sites that allows you to download youtube videos.

 

[Jean Cote]

To me shaping is like viewing in your head a trick and breaking it into pieces each step you must train individually. Not much of a quote lol.

 

[tx_cowgirl]

Will have to see if I can figure it out to get it on a flash drive...if not, if I do decide to start with a clip, I'll just go straight to YouTube if I have to.
To me, shaping is something that makes training limitless, because it makes the dog think for themselves...they don't get direction, they don't get commands, they just get rewarded for being creative--and voila, you have a whole bunch of new behaviors. I'm really trying to make my speech as SIMPLE, and EASY TO UNDERSTAND as possible, because the people in this class are not training-savvy, and are not going to know training lingo.

 

[tx_cowgirl]

Ugh, my stomach's in knots already!! So nervous. And excited.
I hate being the center of attention...so hopefully all eyes will be on Mud, haha! ^^

 

[Jean Cote]

You'll do fine!!! I believe in you!

 

[tx_cowgirl]

Thanks Jean. ^^ I've been practicing like crazy, both my speech and Mud's trick; hopefully it'll pay off.

Fortunately Mud always has the crazy zoomies in the morning, and she works best when she's completely nutty, lol. My speech class is in the morning, so the timing is great.

 

[jackienmutts]

Are you looking for a good way to explain shaping?? I love the way our trainer explains it - I'm taking this directly from her book "Click 'n Connect (by Teah Anders) and she uses the same explanation in class. She says "to shape behavior, you reward small, incremental movements leading to the final result. An explanation is the children's game "Hot & Cold - You're getting warmer". I think that would give non-dog people a good idea of what you're asking the dog to do, and how you're guiding the dog in the direction you'd like her to go (clicking when she hits the behavior you're looking for - when she 'gets warmer' and then jackpot - or whatever you do - when she hits the final behavior). Just an idea...

Good luck - I'm sure you're getting nervous, but just remember, Mud will just be doing something she's been practicing and knows how to do - she most likely won't be nervous at all.

 

[tx_cowgirl]

Jackie, so glad I checked this this morning. I did end up using your trainer as source and quoting her explanation of shaping. ^^ That is perfect.

Thanks EVERYONE for the support, tips, etc. Really appreciate it. Jean, thanks for helping me out with the super bowl clip; it was a great way to start my speech.
The speech went well. I was incredibly nervous and rushed it a bit, but I got through it and Mud did great. Everyone loved her and she, of course, was a giant schmooze and loved all the attention. Haha, even did some training during class--bad student! I took a break to get a drink towards the end of class and took her outside...well there happens to be one of those doors with the button to automatically open the door for handicapped people. Naturally, I couldn't resist...decided to see if I could get her to open it. It's so simple, but I was actually a bit surprised that she got it as quick as she did--it's on a railing, not a solid wall, so in black and white it's almost like a floating box. I pointed at it and told her to "paw" and she did it right off the bat! Whoo!!
Then I went back to class. xD Lol.
I didn't videotape it; I was so nervous I didn't need anything else to have to worry about. But I will videotape it at home, another time.
Anyway, it went great and everyone really loved it. Thanks everyone for all the help.

 

[Jean Cote]

WOHOO congrats! Good job!!! :dogsmile:

 

[srdogtrainer]

So glad to hear it went well! I 'm glad Mud had a great time too!

I can't believe you cut class to go train your dog, JK...LOL!
Those door buttons can be challenging for some dogs when they are on a railing or other odd surface. I've seen some really inconveniently placed ones. At one university I visited for a seminar in Boston they were placed so high up I had to stretch to reach one and I was standing! How is that helpful exactly (and at a university!)?

 

[jackienmutts]

WAY TO GO Tx AND Mud!!!!!

Job well done!!! I'm so happy for you that it went well - and that's it over and you can relax!! Whew!! And how cool that Mud opened that door, too - hey, does she get extra credit???

Glad the shaping suggestion helped - I was hoping it wasn't too late. I only just realized you were looking for a good way to explain shaping, and of course to "non-dog" people. I love Teah's comparing it to "hot and cold", cuz we all played that as kids (ok, I'm dating myself - do kids still play that now??). :-)

Anyway - take a deep breath now, tell Mud to go get you something frosty to drink, put your feet up, give her a cookie, and RELAX!!!!

 

[sara]

Right on!!!! Was Mud the talk of the class??? I would'a skipped class to train too

 

[tx_cowgirl]

Thanks everyone. ^^ Lol, no extra credit; don't think I would want to tell my professor that on my bathroom break I was really training my dog, haha!
Mud was definitely the talk of the class; everyone loved her. They all commented on how quiet and well behaved she was and then of course the demo blew their socks off. The guy who had to go after me said, "Great, I have to go after Lassie!" xD Lol. One of my friends in the class said I did really good even though I thought I rushed it a lot and was so shaky I must have sounded like I was sitting in a massage chair, lol. I think I should know the teacher's thoughts next week sometime.

 

[reveuse]

WTG! I haven't had internet but was wondering how everything went ! Glad Mud did such a super good job - and definetly extra credit for the door training ...... heehee
can't wait to see the video!