B2B Challenge Swim-by Review

Retriever trainers are encouraged to return to the water and review the swim-by with their dogs in this weeks back to basics challenge.
Swim-by is a skill that is taught early in a retrievers development and it's used to reinforce return lines from retrieves. These return lines are generally through the water and ones that dogs tend to avoid because of unpleasant conditions or the amount of work that may be involved taking them.
The problem is that swim-by is a skill that tends to deteriorate before we know it, simply because we don't use it often enough. A proactive trainer will be sure to do a swim-by review about twice a year so that when they need it, things go fairly smoothly. A good time to do one is in the spring after being away from water for the winter and before you get into any serious training around the water.
It should also be noted that proper completion of basic training and the swim-by drill is a prerequisite of the swim-by review.
For more information about Kevin Cheff, The Retriever Coach, coaching for retriever trainers, seminars, workshops, private consultation or to contact Kevin Cheff follow the link
www.kevincheff.com/
Diagrams:
www.kevincheff.com/swim-by-dr...

[@mikesauer4514]

I did this drill this evening. I did it from memory from your seminar. I thought it went well. I wish I would have watched the video first though.

[@againstalloddsdogtraining7351]

you have amazing timing. I was just going to ask a Pro to draw a diagram for me so I could understand it better!! Your explanations are clear, concise and you show how to correct issues.

[@TheRetrieverCoach]

Leader of the Pack Thank you. If you have any questions, let me know.

[@beckynoel9900]

Great videos. I hope these will be available when I need them. My pup is only five months old now. Would love to see drills I could work on now.

[@RetrieverTrainingAlone]

Any tips on improving treading water. For example at 4:45, the dog spins but does not really tread water, waiting for the handler's next cast.

[@tomdalton2388]

Kevin Great Video Tom

[@TheRetrieverCoach]

Thank you Tom

[@pythonscriptinginarcgisspr8470]

Mike Lardy uses praise in teaching treading water in his swimby TRT video. Dog stops on whistle, "GOOD!" dog treads water for a second or 2, then cast to success. Mike gradually increases the treading duration. Why do you not use any praise in your swimby video? Seems like praise would be good instant feedback when the dog makes the correct decision, just like a correction is instant feedback when the dog makes a wrong decision.

[@TheRetrieverCoach]

Hey Python Scripting in ArcGIS 2019. You are correct. When you're working on the stall, it's very important to reassure and encourage your dog with praise when they stall completely. You can hear me do this at 4:57 in the video. I would also emphasize praise and a calm tone is extremely important when teaching a dog to stall. In this video we're working with a four year old dog with plenty of experience. My expectations are higher for a dog like this and a tone that expresses displeasure with substandard behaviour can also be appropriate. One last thought. My standard for a stall is very high. I expect the dog to stop and hold position in the water completely. The dog should not drift in, latterly or turn and go until I give it a cast. I'll spend all the time I need to in order to get the dog to master this skill. It also means that I'm cautious not to dole out praise when this skill is substandard for fear of sending the wrong message. As I watched the video back, I did not see any other moment when I felt praise was warranted. I hope this helps clarify when the use of praise is appropriate. Cheers Kevin

[@pythonscriptinginarcgisspr8470]

@@TheRetrieverCoach Thanks for your explanation..that makes sense. With an older dog, why not tread water for a longer time at 4:57? It seems like you praise for an instant and then break the treading water with a cast. The dog never really stops his clockwise momentum after you say sit, good girl. If your teaching a dog to tread water, would there be a benefit in holding that behavior (treading water) for longer than a second or 2 before casting in the same clockwise momentum? Thanks.

[@TheRetrieverCoach]

@@pythonscriptinginarcgisspr8470 I love your attention to the details and your questions. When a dog is having a lot of difficulty going into the stall and you feel like you've worked really hard to get that first one, I feel it's important to seize the moment and reward the dog with praise and by releasing the dog with a cast. Here is what I'm looking for. 1- The dog's complete focus on me 2- The dog settling in the water, almost pushing back on it and 3- No lateral drifting. If I feel I've captured those three very important things, then rewarding the dog with the cast sends the message that only when it does all of those things, will it be allowed to proceed. The outcome will likely be that the dog will put more effort into going into the stall the next time one is attempted. As time goes on and the dog becomes more proficient you can lengthen the duration of the stall. I find only about 20% of dogs stall perfectly the first time you blow a whistle in the water and about 30% will have significant difficulty. Breaking it down into baby steps and rewarding small improvements for those that struggle can be the difference between success and failure. Thank you for your great questions. Kevin