In this segment, Ron Watson discusses the importance of reinforcing the cue rather than the dog's decision to perform a behavior during training sessions. This concept is vital for maintaining control and ensuring effective training. Ron demonstrates this with his dog ?Cupcake? by giving her a touch cue. He wants Cupcake to wait for the cue before performing the behavior, so he interrupts her and leads her into the skill with the cue. He then provides the hand target or physical trigger later to reinforce the cue. He explains that many positive trainers may unintentionally affirm their dog's actions. For instance, if the dog knows what the skill is going to be and decides to perform the behavior before receiving the cue, the trainer may inadvertently reinforce the dog's decision instead of the cue itself. This is called affirmation, and it can create problems in the training process. To illustrate this, Ron performs the same exercise with Cupcake but waits for her to start coming towards him before giving the touch cue. He points out that she has already made the decision to perform the behavior without waiting for the cue. By saying "touch" and then praising her, he is reinforcing the dog's decision to act without waiting for his signal. Ron emphasizes that it's essential to reinforce the cue, not the dog's decision to perform the behavior. Reinforcing the dog's affirmation can lead to issues with control and responsiveness during training. To avoid this, trainers should focus on maintaining the initiative, ensuring the dog waits for their cue before performing any action, and reinforcing the cue rather than the dog's decision to act. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOMcVXxozeU

Ron Watson lays out 6 methods for creating interesting, appealing, and useful shapes in disc dog freestyle in this Epic demonstration. Where you throw and how you throw it matters and makes a difference in how your disc dog and your team moves. This piece is brought to you by Patrons of Pawsitive Vybe. We rely on our patrons to create consistent and relevant content for disc dog enthusiasts and the general public. Become a patron and support our work while gaining full access to all of our content with some special goodies to boot: https://patreon.com/pvybe?fan_landing=true ✌️?Peace & Happy Jamming?✌️ ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1uKlvQJq60