brody_smom
Experienced Member
One of the first tricks I taught Brody way "roll over". I lured him into it, and it went fairly quickly. Being a new trainer, I quickly added a verbal and hand cue. I moved on to other tricks, including "spin" (rotate counterclockwise) and "twirl" (rotate clockwise), also with verbal and hand cues. His spin and twirl he will do readily, although I am not really strict on the direction of rotation. He will not respond to the cue for roll over, but instead will do a spin or twirl. The hand cues are similar. I was told by Susan Garrett that my cues were poisoned and I needed to start over, shaping this time instead of luring. I am really having a hard time with this. What I have been doing sitting on the floor with a bag of treats and the clicker and then clicking for pretty much anything he offers that comes anywhere close to looking like he's even thinking about rolling over, if that makes sense. He will lie down, flop over on his side, move his head over his shoulder, roll onto his back, etc, in very slow progression, and I will click for him in those positions as well as for staying in them rather than getting up. Then he will suddenly start rolling back and forth, without getting to his feet at all, and I will click for each completed roll in either direction. To me, I feel like I am giving him adequate reinforcement for doing what I want, or even coming close, or even looking like he is thinking about it, but he will then stop his rolling and get up and start pawing at my hands or just sit or lie down and wait for me to give him some direction. He has gotten very good at shaping, as I have improved my timing and delivery of treats, but this hurdle seems to be a particularly difficult one. Any suggestions?