First off, and most importantly : I would never have known how important the It’s Yer Choice games are without the kind instruction of Susan Garrett. This game is her invention and is the product of many years of concentrated study. I am happy to give total credit for IYC and the help that she has given (directly and indirectly) to Susan, for superstar Agility Champions, and superstar Family Pets!
Here are the “rules” for It’s Yer Choice:
A pushy, nudgy dog who demands attention constantly is not going to be a welcome guest in every home. Here’s a fun way to teach your dog that in order to get what she wants, she first needs to show some self-control.
1. Start with a cookie in your hand. It’s not important what your dog is doing when you play this game (i.e. you do not need to ask the dog for a Sit or anything else) but it is important that you don’t take your eye off the dog, so that you can catch and reward all of the Good Stuff that the dog is going to try. Keep your hand low enough so that the dog doesn’t have to jump, and open your hand to show her the cookie. When the dog swoops in to help himself to that cookie, close your fist. The dog may mouth, teeth, and bite your hand to try to get the cookie, or bark – remember, none of these behaviors would be acceptable or rewardable. Hold out for a stop to these behaviors while your dog collects his thoughts and tries to figure out how to get the cookie – then, say “Yes!” and deliver the cookie to his face with your other hand. It doesn’t matter why the dog stops pushing, nudging, or worrying the hand with the treat – the millisecond he stops, say “Yes!” and deliver that cookie.
Repeat. Dogs learn by repetition, and also by playing this game with different people, at different times and in different locations. Some dogs take seemingly forever to stop the nudginess – while other dogs give up on those behaviors fairly quickly. Your instant feedback (“Yes!” and food delivery) will keep a more shy dog engaged, and a more ‘hyper’ dog from wandering off.
A dog that’s savvy to this game will learn to recognize that a treat in someone’s hand (closed or open!) means that it’s time to choose self control (as opposed to being nudgy, pushy, barky, or bitey!)
When your dog is actively showing an understanding of this game by backing off (a look away counts, as does physically backing up) then you can move on to the next step.
2. To move this game along, put the cookie on the floor. Aha! The dog will likely swoop down to get the cookie again. Be ready – it’s important that your dog does *not* self-reward at this time. Simply cover the treat with your hand (this will feel awfully familiar as the dog will most likely go right back to mouthing your hand!) Just wait the dog out, and as soon as there’s a pause in that behavior, “Yes!” and cookie delivery.
Make this game more difficult for your dog in increments : chances are, you will need to quickly cover the cookie on the floor many times before your dog understands that he must wait for your “Yes!” and delivery. Playing this game in different locations will assist the dog greatly in understanding : the rules apply everywhere. Moving the location of the cookie (on your knee, etc) helps too.
3. It’s Yer Choice – The Movie. To really help your dog to apply what she’s learned to Life In General, it’s key to add motion to this game. Increase the difficulty of the game by moving the treat in some way – rolling it along the floor might be a good start, and then work your way up to dropping it. When we first start training a behavior, we want to make it relatively easy for the dog to be successful, and then gradually work our way up to the more difficult stages of the game – by Stage 3, it’s MUCH harder for the dog to make the correct choice! Adding a “surprise” element can’t hurt, either – after all, the surprise events in life are part of the reason why we play this game in the first place.
This great YouTube video shows how to play It’s Yer Choice – worth a look to make sure that you’ve got your timing down! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipT5k1gaXhc
Giving credit where credit is due : Susan Garrett of Say Yes in Canada, and Tracy Sklenar of Leader of the Pack .
