A textbook positive marker, always followed by a discrete cookie signals an initiative transfer from handler to dog. When a traditional positive marker is given, directly followed by a discrete cookie the dog has satisfied the process, achieved the subjective aim, and seized the initiative: Carpe Cookie!
Enriched Marking via Play+ allows markers to be given without ceding initiative and also allows the Dog | Handler | Team to shape a desired classically conditioned tone and to build, manage, and maintain drive and engagement.
Enriched Marking using Inceptive and Expectant Markers creates a dynamic communication system that takes advantage of the dipolar mental-physical pole structure of Play+ allowing the handler to increase or reduce the challenge, focus on the skill, or manage drive simply by choosing how the cookie happens after the marker.
In the Play+ methodology, expectant markers are a form of communication between the handler and the dog that serve to both acknowledge a performed behavior and indicate that another behavior or opportunity is imminent. They create an expectancy within the dog for the next piece of interaction. An expectant marker is not a reward in itself but rather an assurance that the desired opportunity for play or work is coming. It's a way of saying, "Good job, now get ready for what's next!" This creates expectancy in the dog to resolve the ambiguity and keeps them engaged and eager to achieve the next part of the game or training session. This proves that Next! is a cookie.
The Expectant Marker maintains the Handler’s initiative and teaches the dog how to pass the initiative off to the handler at the appropriate time or when the team’s aim is unknown.
For example, in the game of "This, Wait… Next!", the "Wait" serves as an expectant marker. It is delivered when the feet hit the pedestal, as a marker. Wait is a potential Trigger. So what’s gonna happen?
The handler wait’s for Attention. This creates a moment of Aporia, a cooperative impasse, that the dog resolves by looking to the handler and achieves the presentation of the next behavior or opportunity.
Derived from the Latin "incipere," meaning to take to hand or begin, it captures the idea of a marker that signals the successful achievement of the behavior in order to grasp it or bring it ready-to-hand. It marks the beginning of Next in the successful termination of now.
When the dog-handler team is performing at its best, the details of their actions and behaviors become transparent – both to them and to observers. This transparency makes it difficult to analyze and understand what exact elements are contributing to the success. It's as if the performance becomes a seamless, undifferentiated flow where individual actions and behaviors merge into a coherent whole. This poses a challenge for training as it becomes harder to isolate and replicate these successful elements.
By highlighting key actions and moments, inceptive marking acts as a guide, bringing skills and behaviors ready-to-hand for the handler and ready-to-paw for the dog. The use of inceptive markers directs the focus of both handler and dog to the important aspects of performance, fostering a deeper understanding of the sequence and purpose of each behavior in a chain. This anticipatory marking cultivates a shared rhythm in the play, enriching the cooperative aspect of the Dog | Handler | Team dynamic and supporting the continued development of skills.
Terminal Marking ends the behavior and it terminates the mental pole. Our markers are not terminal.
Terminal Marking - the use of a marker that clearly ends the behavior.
Inceptive Marking: Dynamic Snapshots in Play+
Inceptive markers in Play+ are not just celebratory moments; they're dynamic snapshots capturing key parts of the dog's action in both the physical and mental aspects. These markers, strategically delivered during behaviors and chains, create a vivid impression that etches into the dog's memory.