When to begin to put a behavior on cue?--a question from the Thursday clicker class

Sue from the Thursdsay night clicker class at Sherwood greeted everyone in a comment and then asked a question about cues:

Hi everyone!Wit is finally clicking to clicker training! He has started to offer more random behaviors when he doesn't know what I am looking for. He is being pretty cute if I do say so. :) I'm wondering if I should start putting verbal and/or visual cues on his "down" and "back up" at this time as those are his two strongest behaviors at this time. Looking forward to our next class!Sue

Her question is timely as "cues" will be the major topic covered in the "brief lecture" part of the next class session. Book and Smith in their "Quick Clicks" book suggest that the dog first must be doing the behavior in a variety of places and with a variety of trainer body orientations. Second you must be able to predict when the dog will do the behavior. In other words if you are sure the dog will do it and the dog has done in a variety of environment/trainer poses--then you can introduce the cue. Now if you are looking for competition precision you can wait till the behavior is precise or you can introduce the cue and work on perfection post cue. (Some teach a cue and then perfect the behavior and then change the cue to the cue they plan to use in competition).

Just a split half second before, or sometimes as the behavior begins to happen, say the cue or make the hand signal (dog may already associate a hand signal if you lured to begin with--so teach a verbal cue). Then of course C/T (click and treat) when the dog does it. Do this 30-50 times over several days in several locations. Then very occasionally, don't give a cue and when dog does behavior do NOT C/T. Do this only rarely but it can help. What you are really telling the dog is that they get the C/T for doing the behavior BUT only when it is cued. Hence in learning theory terms it is "a cue that reinforcement is available for only one given behavior at this moment in time".

Then what you begin doing is saying the cue earlier and earlier so that the cue preceeds the behavior. You are looking for the dog to begin waiting for the cue--doing nothing until the cue is provided. This, of course, is hundreds of reps after you began the process as discussed in the proceeding paragraph.

Hope this helps--we will go over this in class.