When Does a Training Tool Become a Prop?

As trainers we have an abundance of tools available to us in the form of mats, platforms, perches, clickers, collars, harnesses, leashes. You name it, if you want to train something, there’s usually a gadget to help you and your dog make it so, whatever “it” is. Recently my adolescent German Shepherd Buzz gave me pause to ask, when does a training tool become a prop?

I’ve enjoyed working with her sharp mind and growing body immensely over the past few months. You name it, Buzz wants to try it. Nose Work, Rally, Agility, Disc, Therapy Work, she’s expressing interest in all of them. And it’s been fun exploring elements of each of them. We’ve incorporated platforms, perches and mats in many ways to introduce stays, positions, distance work, sends, coordination and movement relative to me. More specifically, she’s learned to find heel position by climbing onto a platform on my left side and sitting on it. I can toss a treat in any direction for her to get and when she returns she finds the platform and sits beautifully.

This morning I decided to begin transitioning away from the platform. I’d start her on the platform, toss a treat for her to get, take a few steps away from the platform, and wait for her to find heel position. She tried several things, none of which yielded what I had imagined. She sat on the platform I had walked away from without me. She sat in front of me. She even approached my left side and then backed onto the platform behind us and sat. BIG FAT TRAINER FAIL. Clearly she had become dependent on the platform, and what she learned was not what I thought I was teaching.

At least I finally recognized that I needed to regroup, so I stepped away from the now multiple platforms I had scattered across the driveway, to think for a moment. While I stood stumped, Buzz went from platform to platform, climbing on them, exploring the possibilities. And then she came over to me, sat in perfect heel position, and looked at me with her bright eyes and a big smile on her face. Quite surprised, I told her how brilliant she was and gave her lots of treats. Then I asked her if she could take a few steps with me and sit when I stopped. She said she could and she did. More praise and treats. We replayed that dance a few more times like we actually knew what we were doing. Turns out we DID know what we were doing, and we were doing it together.

When does a training tool become a prop? In simplest terms, when the dog – or handler – becomes dependent on it to perform a task. It seems that Buzz hadn’t become dependent on the platform to find heel position – I HAD. And boy did I let it get in our way.

Turning a training tool into a prop isn’t inherently bad. Sometimes they’re necessary to perform a task. Agility requires props that the dog jumps or climbs over, or goes through. Some tricks require props. If the dog is to drop a ball in a hoop, it requires that a ball and hoop are available to the dog. We train with these props with the end goal of interacting with them in some way.

Where it goes badly is when we lose sight of what we’re trying to achieve with the training tool and don’t create a plan to discontinue its use. In Buzz’s case things got a little messy, but not in a way that it affects our daily life. But what about training collars, head halters or no-pull harnesses, for example? So often those training tools become props that handlers become dependent on, with no way out.

What it took for me to bridge the gap with Buzz today was to connect, listen to what she had to say and act on it in a manner she could work with. No different than whatever training tool — prop — you and your dog may have become dependent on. Ask your dog what it takes to get where you want to be without reliance on equipment. Connect. You might be surprised with just how straight forward the answer is. And if it’s still unclear, find a professional who knows how to listen and won’t just reach for a prop.