# what is LAT, BAT and CAT training??



## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

what does LAT, BAT and CAT mean? what
kind of training is it? JAX08 pay attention.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

I'm listening! :rofl:


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## Cschmidt88 (Nov 24, 2010)

If I'm thinking correctly. 

*LAT* is "Look At That" (McDevitt) is a counter conditioning procedure that teaches the dog to look at the "trigger" (The cause of concern.) It changes the emotional response to the trigger by converting the trigger into a positive event. With time, the animal relaxes around the trigger and actually does pay more attention to the trainer so that i can get its reinforcement.

I used this with my dog aggressive gal, she's improved greatly. I would now label her reactive instead of DA.
*
BAT* = Click to Calm, Behavioral Adjustment Training (Parsons)

Clicking for any minimal reduction, improvement, or absence of aggression. It's shaping toward a more desired behavior. Gradual counter-conditioning is taking place which eventually changes the emotional response.
*
CAT* = Constructional Aggression Treatment (Rosales-Ruiz, Snider)

Appropriate behavior(relaxed/polite) will cause the offending (negative stimulus) person/dog to leave. The distance from the offender is the reinforcer.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Actually, BAT is from Grisha Stewart at Ahimsa Dog Training in Seattle: BAT Ahimsa Dog Blog

There's more to LAT than that too, but I don't have time right now to explain it all. I'll try to get back to this thread later.


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## Cschmidt88 (Nov 24, 2010)

Thank you for the information/correction, I appreciate it!  . I was just doing a quick short summary, I could link more links if one wanted to actually know more.


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## kiya (May 3, 2010)

B.A.T. Behavioral Adjustment Training.
Basically you are working under threshold rewarding when the focus is on you not the "obeject" of distraction. I can say I had excellent results.
I had a repair man working in my sunroom and the 2 older dogs (this was before I brought Lakota home) sat silently in full view, while my husband & the repair man spoke and did what they had to do. Normally they would have been barking. I used this method before started using a clicker.


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

Which of those would I use for a dog that is dog-shy as opposed to dog-aggressive. It is not an extreme case, but given the opportunity she will avoid contact with other dogs unless she KNOWS they are friendly (in which case she is very friendly).


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Pat, either BAT or LAT or both.


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

Cassidy's Mom said:


> Pat, either BAT or LAT or both.


Thank you. Makes sense.
I have been doing a little LAT by saying "Who is that?!" in a happy voice and it seems to take away some of her angst.
Going to read up on BAT.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

With the Look At That! game, Leslie McDevitt suggests you start teaching it in a low distraction area using a neutral object - you can hold something behind your back, whip it out and cue your dog to look at it, and when she does, mark and reward. It helps if your dog already responds to a clicker or verbal marker and will immediately turn back to you for a reward when they hear the marker. You want her to "get" the game before trying it out in the real world around any triggers. 

Part of the reasoning behind it is that not allowing dogs to check out things that they are anxious about can actually be more stressful, so rather than using "watch" or "leave it" to keep your dog's focus on you instead of the trigger (which is not always easy if she's worried about something over there), you give her permission to check it out. Also, as Cschmidt pointed out, there's a counter-conditioning element to it, the sight of a trigger becomes a cue to interact with you in a familiar game, which can help diffuse stress - it puts what Leslie calls a "rule structure" to the situation. 

An important part of LAT is that the dog gets to look at the trigger, but is not under any pressure to interact with it. Once you've started the LAT game, your dog shouldn't meet the other dog, it's a look but don't touch protocol. If she's relaxed and wants to meet the other dog and you know the dog is also friendly and you'd like them to meet, you would clearly release her from the game first. Some people like to have a "go say hi" cue to use after the release, to signal to her that it's okay to meet the dog, although if she doesn't want to it's better to avoid greetings at all.

One thing I like about it too, is that with the game you can get a lot of brief glances rather than prolonged staring. Both of my dogs will sometimes bark at other dogs when they're on leash, and eye contact is a huge trigger, so anything that will break up that eye contact and redirect them to me for a treat will diffuse that. I cue them to look, I mark it, they turn back to me and get a treat. Rinse, repeat a few times, and by then the other dog has passed us by. 

If you haven't read Control Unleashed I would highly recommend it. Leslie has a yahoo email list and she participates daily, answering questions and helping people, along with her moderators. But in order to not be on a "read only" basis on the list and to be able to post, you have to have read the book first so everyone is familiar with the general concepts and the specific exercises, to avoid having to explain it over and over again.

This link talks about the training progression of LAT!: Raising K9: Leslie McDevitt's LOOK AT THAT! Game


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## Cschmidt88 (Nov 24, 2010)

Awesome informative post


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## Franksmom (Oct 13, 2010)

Cassidy's Mom said:


> One thing I like about it too, is that with the game you can get a lot of brief glances rather than prolonged staring. Both of my dogs will sometimes bark at other dogs when they're on leash, and eye contact is a huge trigger, so anything that will break up that eye contact and redirect them to me for a treat will diffuse that. I cue them to look, I mark it, they turn back to me and get a treat. Rinse, repeat a few times, and by then the other dog has passed us by.


That's the exact problem Frank is having especially when we're in class, it's not every dog but just when another dog stares at him. If the dog doesn't stare and make eye contact he ignores them. 
Someone else suggested the LAT games to me on here, and I've bought the book and they had a set of DVD's (sometimes I learn better if I can see someone else actually do it). I'm just starting the book but I can already see where some of the problems I've had with one of my border collies could be helped with these exercises too.


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## prockerb (Sep 3, 2012)

Cassidy's Mom said:


> With the Look At That! game, Leslie McDevitt suggests you start teaching it in a low distraction area using a neutral object - you can hold something behind your back, whip it out and cue your dog to look at it, and when she does, mark and reward. It helps if your dog already responds to a clicker or verbal marker and will immediately turn back to you for a reward when they hear the marker. You want her to "get" the game before trying it out in the real world around any triggers.
> 
> Part of the reasoning behind it is that not allowing dogs to check out things that they are anxious about can actually be more stressful, so rather than using "watch" or "leave it" to keep your dog's focus on you instead of the trigger (which is not always easy if she's worried about something over there), you give her permission to check it out. Also, as Cschmidt pointed out, there's a counter-conditioning element to it, the sight of a trigger becomes a cue to interact with you in a familiar game, which can help diffuse stress - it puts what Leslie calls a "rule structure" to the situation.
> 
> ...


I love that book! I can read it over and over again!


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