It seems like when I walk away and look away from him he understands we're done but I will keep working on it with him.
For other other reps he wouldn't budge at all or if I moved away and looked back at him he would walk up and sit in front of me or pull out another trick
You could try to follow your release cue with that walking away/looking away motion that he maybe already knows, instead of the 45 degree angle thing that I show in the curriculum.
If he follows you, that's fine. In fact, it makes total sense. He knows you're training!
In that case, go ahead and practice your release cue in regular life (waiting for door, out on walks), too, so that he knows that "free" also means he can do something else (go through door, sniff the ground, etc.)
It's super impressive that he stays so nicely for you moving around without knowing a formal release cue! That must mean he has picked out some environmental cues to indicate when the exercise is over. That could be, for example, something like not receiving food or attention for a certain amount of seconds. I would have to watch you work for awhile to figure that out. But maybe it's something you could think about - what currently "tells" him that he is done staying and allowed to get up?
A clear release signal will be a game changer for the reliability of that stay under more challenging circumstances.
The rep that you include here looks fine to me, and I would just keep up with that. He isn't going to "get it" right away; he just needs more repetition.
But did you feel like things were a little clunkier with other reps of release?
Yeah, it is new to us. While I had been training with him I was practicing the release cue and he kept staring at me confused no matter which way I did it. He doesn't seem to understand it and I'm not really sure how else to help him
Try to put more of a pause between when you say "dive" and when you throw the treat. (If they happen at the same time, the word becomes less meaningful. And then the dog gets really jumpy about your hand moving, because, who knows, a treat might come flying out!)
Great stay!
Do you normally have a different way of releasing him, or is a formal release cue new to you guys?
The way you did it looks good to me; it just looks new to Jesse.
It seems like when I walk away and look away from him he understands we're done but I will keep working on it with him.
For other other reps he wouldn't budge at all or if I moved away and looked back at him he would walk up and sit in front of me or pull out another trick
It's super impressive that he stays so nicely for you moving around without knowing a formal release cue! That must mean he has picked out some environmental cues to indicate when the exercise is over. That could be, for example, something like not receiving food or attention for a certain amount of seconds. I would have to watch you work for awhile to figure that out. But maybe it's something you could think about - what currently "tells" him that he is done staying and allowed to get up?
A clear release signal will be a game changer for the reliability of that stay under more challenging circumstances.
The rep that you include here looks fine to me, and I would just keep up with that. He isn't going to "get it" right away; he just needs more repetition.
But did you feel like things were a little clunkier with other reps of release?
Yeah, it is new to us. While I had been training with him I was practicing the release cue and he kept staring at me confused no matter which way I did it. He doesn't seem to understand it and I'm not really sure how else to help him
Lovely! Great job!
Try to put more of a pause between when you say "dive" and when you throw the treat. (If they happen at the same time, the word becomes less meaningful. And then the dog gets really jumpy about your hand moving, because, who knows, a treat might come flying out!)
Great stay!
Do you normally have a different way of releasing him, or is a formal release cue new to you guys?
The way you did it looks good to me; it just looks new to Jesse.