# Bikejoring cues aren't "sinking in"



## Tofu_pup (Dec 8, 2008)

I read Ski Spot Run. Long before I even ordered Kaki's harness, I was religiously saying "gee", "haw", etc. on walks. She hasn't picked up on it. "Whoa" was is a piece of cake but she's still trying to look at my body language for directions. 

Most of our "joring" work has been with the skateboard thus far so it's easy to right ourselves but I'd like to have cues solid(more or less) before we can really graduate to full-time bikejoring. 

Any tips? At this point, I think I might have to bust out the clicker and treats for bike/skateboard free training sessions.


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

How far ahead of the turn do you give the command? Mine do much better if I give it well ahead of the turn.


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## Sibe (Nov 21, 2010)

sassafras said:


> How far ahead of the turn do you give the command? Mine do much better if I give it well ahead of the turn.


Same with mine.

I also say their name first (or "girls" if I have both as they respond to that). A kissy noise helps too sometimes.

How long have you been trying? I never did any training outside of practicing on actual bike rides, and both my dogs picked up Gee/Haw/Hike in a couple months. Denali also got Woah in that time, but Kaytu has no brakes lol.


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## Tofu_pup (Dec 8, 2008)

If there's a visible fork in a trail, I'll say the command much earlier than I would if we're in subdivisions, navigating sidewalks, traffic, etc. 

I've been dropping gee, haw, whoa, etc. for approximately 9 months(I started as soon as I knew there was such a thing as urban mushing and I wanted to do it!). Kaki is on my left side during regular bike rides and I catch her looking at the front tire to figure out which way we're turning. On walks and runs, she's looking at my body. 

I taught line out by having her touch a post-it on the ground. I could do basically the same thing with two post-its at a fork in the trail/sidewalk. That way she'd have to touch the gee post-it to get the reward and vice versa. Do you think that might help it "click" with her? I think I'd have to do quite a few different locations for her to generalize that gee means gee and haw means haw.


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

I wonder if it's taking longer to sink in because she's next to you instead of in front? Out in front the dogs don't get visual cues. The other thing is, are you sure she's actually looking at the tire or your body, or just looking in the direction of the command? Mine will almost always turn their heads to look Gee or Haw after I give the command before actually moving their bodies, and I mark YES or GOOD if they do to confirm they're on the right track. 

Like Sibe, I say their names (or catch all "puppies") before the command to get their attention. Do you talk to her much during the run? The reason I ask is that I used to be REALLY bad about talking to them a lot during a run and it does make a big difference, they just tune you out after a while... now I try my best to stay silent unless I am giving them a command or marking something they did right and they definitely do pay a lot more attention to me when I DO open my mouth.


ETA: I do think the targeted touch to the post-it is a good idea. I mostly practiced Gee-Haw on walks before getting started on the scooter, but I would also practice a bit in the yard with a ball since Squash loves chasing it so. Started with him in a sit-wait facing away from me, threw the ball right "(release) GEE", throw the ball left "(release) HAW". I think it helped, so I think the post-it would help. I bet you get some weird looks practicing, lol.


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## Tofu_pup (Dec 8, 2008)

The biggest problem I'm running into with Kaki is that she turns around to celebrate praise with me. It's better when she has a neck line attached to Tyler but she still tries to turn around. I've tried keeping my chatter to a minimum; I make a big deal out of it when she starts really hauling ass but that's the most talking I do. 

I also say "puppies" as the catch all attention getter. Saying her name seems to make it more likely that she'll try to turn around and try to prance with me. I have wondered if gee and haw have just turned into white noise of my chatter...

She is definitely looking at the front tire on regular bike rides. We've done a LOT of biking. She runs on the left side of the bike and if I saw 'haw' she still turns her head to look at the tire. I think that was trial and error on her part, figuring out how to stay out of the way of the bike. 

I have noticed in any training we do that Kaki takes much, much longer to figure out a verbal cue than a visual one.

I guess I will bust out the clicker. Should I forget about "gee/haw over" until we can get gee/haw in the bag?


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