![In chains! Backchaining from A-Z [Premium] 01-12-2024](https://tromplo.com/app/uploads/2023/06/AdobeStock_220676586-1-scaled-160x0-c-default.jpeg)
Learn a training method that will facilitate and accelerate your training achievements. Meet backchaining!
You probably don’t even know that you’ve already used backchaining in your training. Or maybe you used it consciously, but you still don’t get it right, or while planning your training, you get stuck somewhere and don’t know how to carry out the training correctly? Or maybe you do not plan your training at all but just grab treats, call the dog and start the sessions?
Bring peace to your training and start achieving your goals with pleasure and without frustration, yours and your students! Sounds great, right? Backchaining is one of those things that seem very simple. But only when you dive a bit deeper into the subject and start realizing what it actually is that happens and how every single thing we do in the process affects the chain will we get the full advantages of using it.
You will leave this course with a desire to back-chain everything you can and have gotten very comfortable with splitting everything into behaviors to perfect.
Some sessions are dedicated to the topic of cues, where we will look deeply at why some cues are like shooting an arrow, and others are more like pushing a car uphill. We will also discuss the topic of off cue behaviors, having fluency, and excellent stimulus control.
We will:
- go through the pros and cons of backchaining
- Briefly touch base on forward-chaining – but we are not going to spend a lot of time on that
- Have lessons on off cue behaviors, and if that’s a good thing to have
- Go through the process of adding cues to already fluent behaviors
- Make the cue a green light for performing the behavior.
- Dissect the cues, if there is a learning history that gives slower responses
- Find out what is brutally exposed when we’re backchaining.
- Figure what the glue is that makes chains so strong
- Dive into the double effect of each behavior (R+ for previous cue AND green light to the next)
- Exercise backchaining in everything we do
- Discuss the optional response to a mistake in a chain
- Go through the testing phase
- Discuss the complex job, that is, being handler
- Practice without dogs too
This course is most suited for teams that already have several fluent behaviors and also at least 3 reliable cues that have been learned with positive reinforcement.
You can participate if you want to work with fun chains that you can use around your house, with tricks or with competition exercises. The most important thing is that you’re willing to spend six weeks of your life learning about backchaining! Will you join me?
I can’t wait to meet you!
See you soon at training!
Course Testimonials
I absolutely cannot say enough about this course, and our instructor, Catja! This was my very first experience with Tromplo, but it definitely will not be my last! First, let me address the course itself: “In chains! Backchaining from A-Z” was phenomenal! Let me say though, that it is not for the faint of heart. It takes time each week to work on the homework, as you must create, practice, video, and upload your chains and assignments. It was not overwhelming, or too much, by any stretch, but it did take dedication. I often found myself checking the site multiple times on days that a new lesson was coming out, as I was excited to get started! Not only did we learn about the PROCESS of backchaining, but also the rationale behind why it is often the superior method to achieve the results and reliability we so often crave. I also learned the importance of REAL fluency in a behavior, and why it must be achieved prior to including it in a chain. Often, I THOUGHT a behavior was fluent, but putting it into a chain showed me that the individual behavior still needed work. This was extremely eye-opening for me.
Now for our “instructor extraordinaire”: Catja, is beyond words. I am a dog trainer by profession, and originally was just looking for something fun to do with my dog during the COVID down time. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but Catja blew me away from day 1! Let me give you an example: I was having trouble getting my Cavalier King Charles Spaniel to take and hold a dumbbell from my hand. I have trained other dogs to retrieve, but was having difficulty with this dog. I uploaded a video for Catja to see, and I was floored by her insight! Within 5 minutes of applying her comments and suggestions on my video, my dog was willingly taking the dumbbell from my hand and holding it for several seconds before I asked for the release. And that was BEFORE we began the chaining work. Catja is thorough in her explanations, details, demos, and assignments, and even more so when replying to the videos we submit. She is patient, kind, and encouraging with her comments and suggestions, and her thoughtful manner makes you want to work harder to get results. I will definitely be back to Tromplo, and… if I’m being honest… will first look for courses taught by Catja!
June 30, 2023