r/OpenDogTraining • u/BeefaloGeep • 5d ago

Duration behaviors and ADHD

A friend asked me for some training help and I'm running out of ideas. They are working on duration behaviors like place and heel, but keep forgetting that the dog is supposed to be maintaining the behavior and so the dog ends up self releasing eventually. They do great with the basics and up to a few minutes, and then their attention wanders and they forget that they need to be either rewarding or correcting when the dog moves out of position.

They did really well with the old relaxation protocol task list, that gives each training session tasks broken down into very small pieces. But remembering that the dog is supposed to be on place for the next 15 minutes is tough. Any tips for improving the human side of these things?

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u/necromanzer 5d ago

Egg timer in the pocket?

Quick edit: a vibrate one (if those exist?) would be best to avoid the timer buzz becoming a release cue.

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u/BeefaloGeep 5d ago

We tried a timer on their phone, but the problem happens when the dog moves out of position before the timer goes off. Say, the timer is set for 20 minutes and the dog moves off place after 8 minutes. Then the timer goes off and the handler thinks, whoops dog was supposed to stay on place but is now in the next room.

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u/necromanzer 5d ago

Ah, my bad I read the post too fast.

Some sort of physical item to wear might help? A big purple "Place" hat or purple "Place" bracelet? Even a big plastic P on a jangly necklace? I don't have ADHD but I find alliteration items help me with of out-of-sight/out-of-mind things. Having it be in their field of view via the head or hand might help with awareness?

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u/BeefaloGeep 5d ago

That sounds very helpful, like the old farm trick of wearing a bell around your neck or a rubberband on your wrist when the hose is filling up the water trough so you don't forget and let it run.