We've talked a little about training journals before in
http://horseplay.playwithhorses.com/2006/06/16/training-journals.aspx but I've just seen a fantastic example of a visual training aid demonstrated by Steve White at the last Clicker Expo as part of his K9 training regime to ensure that trainers are getting reliability.
Steve refers to this as a 'taproot' because he uses the analogy of a tree with a strong and deep root system (a taproot) . Simply training the behaviours you want to be the most reliable, the most often seems obvious but it is incredibly easy to be taken off on a tangent by more 'fancy' or fun behaviours and leave the ones that you really do need to be totally be dependable.
Anyway, I am quite smitten with this type of journal as I am quite a visual person, and this is a great visual aid. It is also very fast to do and you can instantly see what you have been training. If you are the sort of person who doesn't find it easy to keep a written or detailed journal, do try this. It is the bare minimum you should be keeping and really will pay off. It won't track how you are training a particular behaviour or any of the details that more detailed journals will give you but it is a fantastic summary of how often you are training a behaviour in order to achieve reliability.
I've put an example below, but the system is very simple. Get yourself some graph paper, steal a sheet of the kids maths book, or even just rule up some vertical grids on normal lined writing paper. Now at the top (or the side it doesn't matter whether you go vertically or horizontally) and write down the behaviours you are training.
Start with the most important. The most basic ones that you must have the most reliability in. In order to get reliability you must train these behaviours the most. I've put 'attention' (where you are training the animal simply to pay attention to you) first and then look away\wait and so on. You may have some different behaviours but I would hope to see your 'good food manners' behaviour right at the top of your list somewhere.
If you want you can start in the middle of the sheet and work outwards - this would give you a nice symmetrical 'taproot' picture on your page as opposed to the triangle you see in my example below. Now - simply fill in the boxes as you perform a training session. I've just scribbled in each box, but you could put a cross or tick if you prefer. If you are having more than 1 training session per day you may like to use different colours for different days but you don't have to. As you progress you should get a visual reference on how many sessions you are spending on each behaviour. Your 'taproot' or base behaviours should ALWAYS be taller\longer than any of the others and this will give you an instant reference on them.
You can get a sample templates of two different types of behaviour templates by visiting the
ClickerNZ google group site. The MS Excel spreadsheet gives you an example of a complex training sheet as used by Great Houston Search Dogs and a sample of a visual template - a simple version of Steve's 'taproot' (although I this one will look more like half a taproot!).
About Steve White
More than half of Steve White's 30 -year law enforcement career has included working with dogs. He was handler and trainer for one of the largest police K-9 units in Washington State. Accredited as a Master Trainer in 1993 by the Washington State Police Canine Association, Steve is also a past Executive Board Member of that body, and past Vice President of the Certification Council for Pet Dog Trainers. He is an instructor for the K-9 Academy for Law Enforcement and has taught at police K-9 seminars in the U.S. Canada, Mexico, and the U.K. His articles have appeared in police K-9 and dog training publications in the U.S. and Canada. He has been an invited presenter at the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Plume Tracing Symposium and the Mountain Rescue Council of the United Kingdom.
Steve specializes in teaching behavior modification, tracking, and scent work through the use of positive reinforcement-based operant conditioning.Steve has been recognized as an expert witness by Washington courts in police K-9 and dog behavior matters.
To learn more about Steve you can visit his website here.
