Last night I couldn’t stand it any longer and even though Magnus isn’t cleared for moderate activity till tomorrow I let him do a short session of 2o2o training. It was a blast!
He really gets aggravated when he’s only allowed to do three minutes of training at a time. He has the same attitude about not walking very far. It’s frustrating to me too, but we’re both learning some good lessons from it.
He’s learning impulse control in a large way. I started using a cue for the end of training, releasing him with an “Okay all done!” and “Go play”. This has helped him know he’s done training since he knows we would normally do more in a training session, and these short sessions tend to hype him up and not satisfy his want to work.
I’m learning impulse control too since I have a tendency too work way to long. Training is just to much fun and I don’t want to stop! I know that’s not the best habit so forcing me to train shorter is good training for me.
Magnus started 2o2o (2 On 2 Off) a few weeks ago in Tricks Class. 2o2o training is the foundation for many other behaviors. In tricks it’s used for handstands. In agility it’s one method of teaching contacts. We’ll be using it for handstands as he gets his mobility and strength back.
Since this was our first night training I used a very low book. (Actually a phone book wrapped in duct tape.) The criteria is two rear feet on the book, he already gets that so this first video was a just a refresher session. Treat placement is supposed to be low so the dog learns to keep his head down.
This session I added the board. The board is the first step to getting elevation out of a handstand. You can prop it on books, a wall, the couch, anything that you can make progressively taller so the board gets more and more vertical. Obviously since Magnus is coming off an injury I made this very low.
Last night was Maizey’s first session ever of 2o2o. She tends to think anything I set in front of her is to sit on so I can take her picture. It totally cracks me up. In session 3 I added the board, but it was too soon and in this clip you see I have to lower my criteria and explain again with a lure.
By session 5 she had the idea and started offering me 2o2o on her own.
At the end of session 6 she shows she really gets it when she stretches forward to get a treat without taking her feet off the board. This is the next step of proofing the behavior where you tempt the dog to take her feet off the board and C/T when she doesn’t.
This is the first time I’ve trained 2o2o so I hope I’m doing it right. I’m looking forward to spicing it up with the actual handstand when it’s safe for Magnus.
What do you use a 2o2o for?
