Training 3 steps back - Rally

[Liz K]

Hi, Everyone!

 

I'm trying to teach Dryden the 3 steps back move for rally advanced. I don't have an instructor for rally & this is not a move taught in our basic obedience (CD-level) class.

 

Any ideas? I can get 1 or 2 steps slightly back but mostly to the side. We've never been taught a straight "back" before....

 

Thanks in advance -

Liz K.

[PSmitty]

Are you training it in a hallway or next to a wall? You close on one side and the wall on the other will help keep him straight.

[airbear]

Any ideas? I can get 1 or 2 steps slightly back but mostly to the side. We've never been taught a straight "back" before....

For Rally, when we had to heel backwards, I used a wall (dog between you and the wall). The other thing to consider is hind-end awareness. Some dogs just don't know how to put it in reverse, so they start curling after one or two steps. See if you can get Dryden to walk backwards by putting him in the little aisle between the coffee table and the couch, and then walk gently into him. I know it sounds odd, but some dogs are front wheel drive, so you need to show them that they can go backwards too! Bear and Wick both can walk up several stairs backwards, Lou not so much.

[Root Beer]

I teach this by first teaching my dog to back up away from me in front. I clicker train, so I stand and wait until I see a back leg to backwards (doesn't need to be straight at first). You could try marking it with "Yes" or another distinct one syllable word, and then immediately treat. You might need to be patient at first, but once the dog figures it out, this happens very naturally. BTW, you want to watch a back leg. The dog can move a front leg back without moving. When the back leg moves, the dog is going backwards.

 

Once the dog can back 3 steps away from me in front, I put the cue to it. I use "baaaaaaaaack". Once it is on cue, or close, I set up two chairs and lure the dog in between them. Then I cue "baaaaaaaaaack" and click and treat the dog for going straight back. Gradually I move away from the chair and the dog backs away from me in between them.

 

Once that's super solid, I move it into heel. I start over from scratch, but it doesn't take as long.

 

I stand next to a wall with my dog between me and the wall. I place a chair in front of the dog, so he can't go forward. I watch the dog's back leg and when it moves, I click and treat. This time, once the dog is taking a confident step, I back along with the dog. Soon I can take the chair away. When we work up to backing 3 steps together, I re-add the cue and once that's solid I move it away from the wall.

 

This process takes a while, but it leads to a very solid understanding, on the dog's part, of what he is doing.

 

I very much prefer this to the conventional method of holding food in the hand and pressing it into the dog's nose to get him to go backwards.