Sadie has recently become a bit of a b____ about food. She acts like she's starving to death all the time and gets positively hyper at the first hint of treats or kibble. The first symptom was when she began jumping on me to get at her dinner bowl at mealtimes. Then she started shouldering Maxwell away from his meals, since he eats much slower. That very recently became a sudden lunge-and-snarl down the hall to steal his food. I now stand guard to interrupt the lunge. You've never seen a dog look so "Darn, I got caught! Sorry?" than at the moment she halts her lunge.
What changed? And how to reverse the behavior change?
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
PfR: Day 3
Improvement!
Maxwell was noticeably more relaxed as we went through the first set of exercises again. He started in a sit, not popping up even once. About a third of the way through the sequence he slid into a half-floppy down. While his face was still very alert, he let his rear legs slide out to one side with loose muscles.
He was no longer hyper-alert and scanning the room, either, though he was still more in tune with his surroundings than I'd prefer. For example, Sadie shifting in her crate made him whip his head around to look. Overall, his handler focus was more consistent, with long periods of eye contact.
He clearly still thinks that, when I count aloud, there must be something he's supposed to be doing. His weight shifts forward (without breaking the down), his mouth closes part way, his ears come forward, and the quality of the eye contact changes. It's hard to explain that last bit... His relaxed eye contact is nose pointed at my face, eyes soft and meeting mine. When I count aloud, his nose drops slightly, his eyes widen a tiny bit, and he ends up almost looking up at me... Like a schoolmarm looking over her glasses.
For now I'm letting him maintain position between exercises. I start each with "wait" and end with "yes!" and kibble. I am not using a no-reward-marker.
I did try to work with Sadie again. She is just far too excited by food, though. Every muscle in her body becomes ready to LEAP forward at the first hint of offered kibble. She even tried to snatch it from me! So instead of the protocol, we did some remedial control work. We played It's Yer Choice, and my hand got thoroughly slobbered while she tried to get at the kibble. She quickly progressed to food in my open palm right next to her head, with barely a twitch towards it. Not sure what I can use to get her to relax around food, since there isn't much that's lower value than kibble while still being edible!
Maxwell was noticeably more relaxed as we went through the first set of exercises again. He started in a sit, not popping up even once. About a third of the way through the sequence he slid into a half-floppy down. While his face was still very alert, he let his rear legs slide out to one side with loose muscles.
He was no longer hyper-alert and scanning the room, either, though he was still more in tune with his surroundings than I'd prefer. For example, Sadie shifting in her crate made him whip his head around to look. Overall, his handler focus was more consistent, with long periods of eye contact.
He clearly still thinks that, when I count aloud, there must be something he's supposed to be doing. His weight shifts forward (without breaking the down), his mouth closes part way, his ears come forward, and the quality of the eye contact changes. It's hard to explain that last bit... His relaxed eye contact is nose pointed at my face, eyes soft and meeting mine. When I count aloud, his nose drops slightly, his eyes widen a tiny bit, and he ends up almost looking up at me... Like a schoolmarm looking over her glasses.
For now I'm letting him maintain position between exercises. I start each with "wait" and end with "yes!" and kibble. I am not using a no-reward-marker.
I did try to work with Sadie again. She is just far too excited by food, though. Every muscle in her body becomes ready to LEAP forward at the first hint of offered kibble. She even tried to snatch it from me! So instead of the protocol, we did some remedial control work. We played It's Yer Choice, and my hand got thoroughly slobbered while she tried to get at the kibble. She quickly progressed to food in my open palm right next to her head, with barely a twitch towards it. Not sure what I can use to get her to relax around food, since there isn't much that's lower value than kibble while still being edible!
PfR: Day 2
We went to the new Transformers movie tonight, so training was late and brief.
I didn't formally work on the protocol tonight. Instead, I took the activities we did yesterday, and threw some of them together into a short session. I got a somewhat more relaxed down from the little man... probably due to the heat more than anything. Maxwell was over-vigilant even in the quiet living room, but stayed down for my counting out loud, in my head, and taking quiet steps in random directions. He only popped up once.
Sadie was game for training and DINNER!!! I got her in a down and massaged her ears and neck. At least, I tried to. For the first several minutes, she'd snap up into a sit as soon as I touched her. Definitely not relaxed. Even once I convinced her that allowing my touch in a down meant kibble, she did the most tense version of 'relaxing' that I've ever seen. Mouth shut, ears pinned to the sides of her head, on her back with her legs in the air tensed, tail stiff. I tried to treat only when I could feel her muscles relax, or if she softened her face.
Question: In the protocol, it says to ask the dog to sit or down for each exercise in the sequence. Should I be encouraging the pups to move around between exercises? Or can they maintain the down if they prefer to, and just begin the next item in the list?
I didn't formally work on the protocol tonight. Instead, I took the activities we did yesterday, and threw some of them together into a short session. I got a somewhat more relaxed down from the little man... probably due to the heat more than anything. Maxwell was over-vigilant even in the quiet living room, but stayed down for my counting out loud, in my head, and taking quiet steps in random directions. He only popped up once.
Sadie was game for training and DINNER!!! I got her in a down and massaged her ears and neck. At least, I tried to. For the first several minutes, she'd snap up into a sit as soon as I touched her. Definitely not relaxed. Even once I convinced her that allowing my touch in a down meant kibble, she did the most tense version of 'relaxing' that I've ever seen. Mouth shut, ears pinned to the sides of her head, on her back with her legs in the air tensed, tail stiff. I tried to treat only when I could feel her muscles relax, or if she softened her face.
Question: In the protocol, it says to ask the dog to sit or down for each exercise in the sequence. Should I be encouraging the pups to move around between exercises? Or can they maintain the down if they prefer to, and just begin the next item in the list?
Monday, June 27, 2011
Training Ambitions and the Protocol for Relaxation: Day 1
After thinking more about how I need to change the way I handle when I switch dogs, I realized that agility isn't the only place I'm inflexible. Of all the dog training and behavior books I've now read (not a few, considering I'm so new to dog sports) I read them each with Sadie in mind. Control Unleashed - How could I use it to reduce her reactivity to other dogs? On Talking Terms with Dogs: Calming Signals - How could I help her understand canine body language better, and help me read her emotional state? The Other End of the Leash - How can I understand what makes Sadie, Sadie?
All this wonderful knowledge that I've accumulated, and I only have an inkling how to apply it to Maxwell. I'm starting by re-reading Control Unleashed. Hopefully incorporating some of the CU games into agility class will help him focus better. Having not even gotten through the first chapter, the author mentions the Protocol for Relaxation. Look, a way to teach a dog to relax! Sounds perfect, right?
So my new goal is to work through the PfR with Maxwell. No matter how long it takes, and this could be many months, I want him to eventually learn to relax in the presence of livestock. That is his ultimate trigger. Achievable, as long as I set realistic steps along the way. The plan is to do this at least 6 nights a week until success. And if Sadie gets to do it, too... so much the better!
Day 1
Right off the bat, I'm not sure if I'm applying the protocol correctly. I know it says the dog can change positions (sit/down/stand) at will... but what if the dog is throwing himself into the new posture? My dogs are so incredibly operand that they both sat nicely on cue, then started offering behaviors when I didn't ask for something new immediately. Nose bop the clothes hamper? No? How about pawing it? Lie down hard? Flop on my side? Stand up and do a circle? Maxwell offered an impressive string of tricks. And even once I convinced him to stay in one spot, I still didn't know what to do with the very physical and enthusiastic downs and sits. Definitely not relaxed.
He also had trouble with the long sits. Note to self - work on duration. I ended up using a down instead, since he would hold it longer. But I still had to reinforce much more frequently than the PfR called for. And even in a down... maybe CRAWLING will get him the treat?!?! *Sigh*
We'll be doing the first set of exercises again tomorrow. As a related tidbit, we worked on focus tonight. I get a direct look in the eyes, he gets the tennis ball. Hopefully these two efforts will be complementary.
So here are my questions for the day:
All this wonderful knowledge that I've accumulated, and I only have an inkling how to apply it to Maxwell. I'm starting by re-reading Control Unleashed. Hopefully incorporating some of the CU games into agility class will help him focus better. Having not even gotten through the first chapter, the author mentions the Protocol for Relaxation. Look, a way to teach a dog to relax! Sounds perfect, right?
So my new goal is to work through the PfR with Maxwell. No matter how long it takes, and this could be many months, I want him to eventually learn to relax in the presence of livestock. That is his ultimate trigger. Achievable, as long as I set realistic steps along the way. The plan is to do this at least 6 nights a week until success. And if Sadie gets to do it, too... so much the better!
* * * * *
Day 1
Right off the bat, I'm not sure if I'm applying the protocol correctly. I know it says the dog can change positions (sit/down/stand) at will... but what if the dog is throwing himself into the new posture? My dogs are so incredibly operand that they both sat nicely on cue, then started offering behaviors when I didn't ask for something new immediately. Nose bop the clothes hamper? No? How about pawing it? Lie down hard? Flop on my side? Stand up and do a circle? Maxwell offered an impressive string of tricks. And even once I convinced him to stay in one spot, I still didn't know what to do with the very physical and enthusiastic downs and sits. Definitely not relaxed.
He also had trouble with the long sits. Note to self - work on duration. I ended up using a down instead, since he would hold it longer. But I still had to reinforce much more frequently than the PfR called for. And even in a down... maybe CRAWLING will get him the treat?!?! *Sigh*
We'll be doing the first set of exercises again tomorrow. As a related tidbit, we worked on focus tonight. I get a direct look in the eyes, he gets the tennis ball. Hopefully these two efforts will be complementary.
So here are my questions for the day:
- What do I do about the completely not relaxed exercises?
- How about stifling the offered behaviors?
- Should I use a no-reward-marker, like the protocol calls for?
Sunday, June 26, 2011
A Mish-Mash
I know... I haven't posted in over a week. So here I am with a variety of tidbits.
Maxwell seems to be hitting the 'angst-y teenager' stage. He had started grumping at random dogs when he was crated, both at trials and in the club. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason, since he only growled at maybe 1 in 10 dogs. The only consistency has been growling at a little saluki puppy in the class after Sade's. Yesterday he went a step further.
I've started doing Control Unleashed exercises with him in class. I had him on his mat, getting treats for looking at the dogs running the course. One of the shelties (a super friendly dog) ran off-course to say hello to Maxwell. My little man surprised everyone by not only not wanting to play, but by force barking and giving a warning lunge! He did it a few times, in fact, since the sheltie kept trying to say hi. Chatting with some of my agility friends, we've decided that he has entered the snippy phase, where he will begin to establish his playmate preferences and own his personal space. So he should grow out of it in another few months. In the meantime, management and more training are in order.
The little guy had two amazing runs yesterday. The course was a large figure-eight, made up of five jumps and a tunnel on each end. I put him on the start line, and then practically ran him from the center jump! He was fast, focused, and accurate. All I had to do was tell him when to rear cross and when to stop! I was thrilled. On the next course (a variation of the figure-eight) he started to do his own thing and nearly went zooming. I got him back and settled, then tried again. We got less than half way, and off he went in huge circles around the room. He was in a flat-out sprint over jumps, through tunnels, breezing past me... I threw his squeaky toy to see if it would distract him. He grabbed it and kept running. Mrs. Trainer finally stopped him, I'm not sure how.
The decision is to give him frequent breaks. I'll probably take him outside a few times every class.
Sadie is now jumping 24 inches! She was running very cleanly at 22, and that isn't a valid AKC jump height, so we tried her at 24 yesterday. Her jumping is still clean, and she moves like she doesn't even notice the change. I think she needs to be left home on the Saturday morning runs, though. She just doesn't show the energy that I want. He runs were slow, methodical, and mostly accurate, but there was no joy from her. Well, except for the cheese at the end!
I'm also finding the transition between dogs a little tough. With Maxwell, I can be a quiet handler physically and verbally. His drive keeps him on task and happy. With Sadie, I need to stay closer, give lots more feedback, be extremely clear in my cues. After Maxwell's brilliant runs, I accidentally tried to cue Sadie into a tunnel from about 10 feet away. Needless to say, that didn't work with her as it had with him. I need to mentally change dogs and handling styles.
Another milestone - Maxwell spent all day Friday loose in the apartment. We had tried that at the end of last summer, and by the end of a week he had chewed the bottoms off our vertical blinds. Now that he's older, and getting runs most mornings, I decided to try again. Against the wishes of my boyfriend, but too bad! We got home to two wagging, happy dogs and no destruction. Not even a chewed kleenex I credit the 3.5 mile run that morning and the Bitter Yuck that was sprayed in each wastepaper basket. I think we'll keep this up, but only on long run mornings.
I'll leave you with a question. Who in their right mind, even the most hard-core old-school obedience trainer, thinks that it's acceptable to intentionally cause a dog real pain? I'm not talking about a little leash correction. I mean the kind of thing that has the trainer saying this: He needs to think his life is coming to an end. He needs to learn that every time he snaps he is in mortal danger. If you read the whole Q&A (first question on the page), it sure sounds like a young dog who was never taught bite inhibition, thinks that nipping running children is fun, and doesn't understand that his humans don't like it. Don't yank the dogs around - tell the kids to stop encouraging him! If the kids make it a game, they could teach the pup not to nip. In fact, Mrs. Trainer call this game "Go Wild, Now Freeze." It teaches the dog self-control.
Happy training, all!
Maxwell seems to be hitting the 'angst-y teenager' stage. He had started grumping at random dogs when he was crated, both at trials and in the club. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason, since he only growled at maybe 1 in 10 dogs. The only consistency has been growling at a little saluki puppy in the class after Sade's. Yesterday he went a step further.
I've started doing Control Unleashed exercises with him in class. I had him on his mat, getting treats for looking at the dogs running the course. One of the shelties (a super friendly dog) ran off-course to say hello to Maxwell. My little man surprised everyone by not only not wanting to play, but by force barking and giving a warning lunge! He did it a few times, in fact, since the sheltie kept trying to say hi. Chatting with some of my agility friends, we've decided that he has entered the snippy phase, where he will begin to establish his playmate preferences and own his personal space. So he should grow out of it in another few months. In the meantime, management and more training are in order.
The little guy had two amazing runs yesterday. The course was a large figure-eight, made up of five jumps and a tunnel on each end. I put him on the start line, and then practically ran him from the center jump! He was fast, focused, and accurate. All I had to do was tell him when to rear cross and when to stop! I was thrilled. On the next course (a variation of the figure-eight) he started to do his own thing and nearly went zooming. I got him back and settled, then tried again. We got less than half way, and off he went in huge circles around the room. He was in a flat-out sprint over jumps, through tunnels, breezing past me... I threw his squeaky toy to see if it would distract him. He grabbed it and kept running. Mrs. Trainer finally stopped him, I'm not sure how.
The decision is to give him frequent breaks. I'll probably take him outside a few times every class.
Sadie is now jumping 24 inches! She was running very cleanly at 22, and that isn't a valid AKC jump height, so we tried her at 24 yesterday. Her jumping is still clean, and she moves like she doesn't even notice the change. I think she needs to be left home on the Saturday morning runs, though. She just doesn't show the energy that I want. He runs were slow, methodical, and mostly accurate, but there was no joy from her. Well, except for the cheese at the end!
I'm also finding the transition between dogs a little tough. With Maxwell, I can be a quiet handler physically and verbally. His drive keeps him on task and happy. With Sadie, I need to stay closer, give lots more feedback, be extremely clear in my cues. After Maxwell's brilliant runs, I accidentally tried to cue Sadie into a tunnel from about 10 feet away. Needless to say, that didn't work with her as it had with him. I need to mentally change dogs and handling styles.
Another milestone - Maxwell spent all day Friday loose in the apartment. We had tried that at the end of last summer, and by the end of a week he had chewed the bottoms off our vertical blinds. Now that he's older, and getting runs most mornings, I decided to try again. Against the wishes of my boyfriend, but too bad! We got home to two wagging, happy dogs and no destruction. Not even a chewed kleenex I credit the 3.5 mile run that morning and the Bitter Yuck that was sprayed in each wastepaper basket. I think we'll keep this up, but only on long run mornings.
I'll leave you with a question. Who in their right mind, even the most hard-core old-school obedience trainer, thinks that it's acceptable to intentionally cause a dog real pain? I'm not talking about a little leash correction. I mean the kind of thing that has the trainer saying this: He needs to think his life is coming to an end. He needs to learn that every time he snaps he is in mortal danger. If you read the whole Q&A (first question on the page), it sure sounds like a young dog who was never taught bite inhibition, thinks that nipping running children is fun, and doesn't understand that his humans don't like it. Don't yank the dogs around - tell the kids to stop encouraging him! If the kids make it a game, they could teach the pup not to nip. In fact, Mrs. Trainer call this game "Go Wild, Now Freeze." It teaches the dog self-control.
Happy training, all!
Thursday, June 16, 2011
As Seen On TV!
I finally got the match videos posted for your viewing pleasure:
First we have the ever-entertaining Maxwell in his first and second agility runs ever outside of class.
Then we have one nice video of Sadie running. This is where you can really hear the organizer talking to me a lot during the run... but at least my dog was awesome!
First we have the ever-entertaining Maxwell in his first and second agility runs ever outside of class.
Then we have one nice video of Sadie running. This is where you can really hear the organizer talking to me a lot during the run... but at least my dog was awesome!
Monday, June 13, 2011
Dear Extendible Leash User
Dear Extendible Leash User,
You saw me this morning, running with my dogs. I was the one with the Lab and the Aussie nearly ripping my arms off to get at your little terrier, despite having just nicely jogged past a pair of spaniels. I know you saw me just before they went nuts, because you looked my way before turning your back so you could throw out your dog’s poo.
Do you realize your precious little guy is a bit of a bully? He took full advantage of the unlocked extendible leash to walk stiffly towards me, head and tail high. It was a challenge, much the way a big kid stands too close to his opponent’s face when he’s ready to pick a fight. Of course you didn’t see that part, since your back was turned.
I would like you to know that I have done a lot of behavior work with the Lab you saw lunging, once you did turn back around. I really don’t need your carelessness to set us back. And the Aussie, while he just wants to play with everyone, doesn’t need to learn that any dog can just walk up to him at will. Besides, you had no way of knowing if my dogs were friendly or not. And they outweigh your little guy many times over!
It really irked me to have to ask you to get your dog. I have a right to the sidewalk, too. If you cannot control your animal, please step to the side (there was a side street with sidewalks right there) or keep him on a short leash. My dogs are perfectly capable of sharing the sidewalk with others. Instead, they got riled up and I had to run on the grass, getting to the street a short distance away from the crosswalk. At least the SUV driver was nice enough to wave me across. I didn’t want to have to wait there, in range of your extendo-leash.
Regards,
The Morning Dog Jogger
Unsolicited Advice: Or How To Politely Say "No"
The doggies had an agility match in NJ yesterday. I was super excited, as it would be Maxwell's first time 'performing' in front of strangers. The site was a horse barn that had been converted into a dog training facility. A perfect place to work on Sadie's distractedness, and give Maxwell a new agility location.
Maxwell ran first, at 16 inches. He didn't want treats or any of the toys I had brought, which made it tricky to keep his attention. Luckily, he found a disgusting old tennis ball that he just had to play with, so we used that. Overall, he kept his contacts very nicely, and did less zooming that I expected. We took different kinds of jumps, all the contact obstacles, tunnels, you name it. He even had one really nice 6-pole weave!
He did find all the other dogs and people hard to ignore. Waiting handlers had their dogs in a semi-gated-off area that was open to the course on both ends. Maxwell decided he wanted to play, so he buzzed the line, running as close to the dogs as he could, obviously on the non-course side of the gates. Another time he saw some people leaning on a gate watching, and he just had to say hello.
Every time he left me and wouldn't be called back immediately, the match coordinator would tell me I should go get him and bring him back by the collar. First off, I plan to run him naked, so he wasn't even wearing a collar. And second, I have no interest in physically forcing him to do anything. I'd rather he work out the excitement and learn to cope with distractions than learn to just stay out of my reach.
Sadie was awesome. Yes, she sniffed. Yes, she blew her most of her contacts. But she completely ignored her daddy (my boyfriend) watching from the corner. She was so good that I even had him out on the course following us around on our final run! I was very proud of her, as he has always been her strongest distraction.
I did a lot of work on contacts with Sadie. Even though it ate up our run-time quickly, I put her back on every single missed contact. Once she got it, food appeared, and we'd continue the course. She also had some beautiful weaves. I realized that it's not the weaving that is hard for her, it's being focused enough to enter the poles. Once I got her in, no problem. After we had successfully done 6-pole weaves several times I decided to challenge her. On our last run, I put her into the 12-pole weaves... and she did it perfectly! That was probably the highlight of the day with her.
As with Maxwell, the coordinator had advice. The course went from the A-frame to a tunnel whose entrance was perpendicular to the dogs' motion off the frame, maybe 10 feet away. About half of the time Sadie wouldn't take the tunnel on my first cue. As I was running my last course the coordinator started talking to me, saying she wanted to talk about that line. Fine, I'm willing to hear what she has to say. When the timer called "10 seconds left" she told me to come over to the A-frame. I was trying to get Sadie to weave at that particular moment, and was not pleased to be so clearly interrupted. I said I'd be there when we had completed the weaves.
At the A-frame she had me put Sadie in her 2-on-2-off and walk over to the tunnel. She told me that I was cuing the tunnel while in motion, which was pulling Sadie out again. That's a good point, and I intend to pay more attention to my tunnel cues. HOWEVER. Sadie broke her contact (it had been several second with no reinforcement, or even attention) and walked over to me. Organizer said to put her back on. Fine. I gave my usual "Sadie, get up" to put her on the obstacle and gave her a treat in position. Well, that definitely wasn't good enough for organizer, despite the fact that Sadie did as asked. Apparently I should have dragged her over by the scruff (again, no collar) as a correction, and I certainly shouldn't have given her a treat. When she told me to correct my dog I looked at her and said "I don't wish to". I can't believe how hard it was to say that simple phrase to her. Happily, that was that.
To get on my soap-box for a moment: I had paid a per-run fee to bring my dogs. Runs were a maximum of 2 minutes, and we'd driven 1.5 hours to get my 8 minutes per dog. I was not this woman's student, nor had I asked for help. She had never met me. She didn't know anything about my dogs that couldn't be seen during those runs. If she had asked if I wanted advice, I almost certainly would have said yes. But interrupting my runs and telling, not asking, me to do things against my training preferences seemed inappropriate. I went home happy with the dogs, but not sure about returning for the next match. What do you think?
Maxwell ran first, at 16 inches. He didn't want treats or any of the toys I had brought, which made it tricky to keep his attention. Luckily, he found a disgusting old tennis ball that he just had to play with, so we used that. Overall, he kept his contacts very nicely, and did less zooming that I expected. We took different kinds of jumps, all the contact obstacles, tunnels, you name it. He even had one really nice 6-pole weave!
He did find all the other dogs and people hard to ignore. Waiting handlers had their dogs in a semi-gated-off area that was open to the course on both ends. Maxwell decided he wanted to play, so he buzzed the line, running as close to the dogs as he could, obviously on the non-course side of the gates. Another time he saw some people leaning on a gate watching, and he just had to say hello.
Every time he left me and wouldn't be called back immediately, the match coordinator would tell me I should go get him and bring him back by the collar. First off, I plan to run him naked, so he wasn't even wearing a collar. And second, I have no interest in physically forcing him to do anything. I'd rather he work out the excitement and learn to cope with distractions than learn to just stay out of my reach.
Sadie was awesome. Yes, she sniffed. Yes, she blew her most of her contacts. But she completely ignored her daddy (my boyfriend) watching from the corner. She was so good that I even had him out on the course following us around on our final run! I was very proud of her, as he has always been her strongest distraction.
I did a lot of work on contacts with Sadie. Even though it ate up our run-time quickly, I put her back on every single missed contact. Once she got it, food appeared, and we'd continue the course. She also had some beautiful weaves. I realized that it's not the weaving that is hard for her, it's being focused enough to enter the poles. Once I got her in, no problem. After we had successfully done 6-pole weaves several times I decided to challenge her. On our last run, I put her into the 12-pole weaves... and she did it perfectly! That was probably the highlight of the day with her.
As with Maxwell, the coordinator had advice. The course went from the A-frame to a tunnel whose entrance was perpendicular to the dogs' motion off the frame, maybe 10 feet away. About half of the time Sadie wouldn't take the tunnel on my first cue. As I was running my last course the coordinator started talking to me, saying she wanted to talk about that line. Fine, I'm willing to hear what she has to say. When the timer called "10 seconds left" she told me to come over to the A-frame. I was trying to get Sadie to weave at that particular moment, and was not pleased to be so clearly interrupted. I said I'd be there when we had completed the weaves.
At the A-frame she had me put Sadie in her 2-on-2-off and walk over to the tunnel. She told me that I was cuing the tunnel while in motion, which was pulling Sadie out again. That's a good point, and I intend to pay more attention to my tunnel cues. HOWEVER. Sadie broke her contact (it had been several second with no reinforcement, or even attention) and walked over to me. Organizer said to put her back on. Fine. I gave my usual "Sadie, get up" to put her on the obstacle and gave her a treat in position. Well, that definitely wasn't good enough for organizer, despite the fact that Sadie did as asked. Apparently I should have dragged her over by the scruff (again, no collar) as a correction, and I certainly shouldn't have given her a treat. When she told me to correct my dog I looked at her and said "I don't wish to". I can't believe how hard it was to say that simple phrase to her. Happily, that was that.
To get on my soap-box for a moment: I had paid a per-run fee to bring my dogs. Runs were a maximum of 2 minutes, and we'd driven 1.5 hours to get my 8 minutes per dog. I was not this woman's student, nor had I asked for help. She had never met me. She didn't know anything about my dogs that couldn't be seen during those runs. If she had asked if I wanted advice, I almost certainly would have said yes. But interrupting my runs and telling, not asking, me to do things against my training preferences seemed inappropriate. I went home happy with the dogs, but not sure about returning for the next match. What do you think?
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Get It?
A handler is getting ready to run his dog in an agility trial, and goes to talk to the judge.
Handler: Hi. I’m about to run my dog in Excellent Standard, but I need an exemption from the safety-zone rule, as he can’t see that well today.
Judge: I can’t exempt anyone from any rules. And if you are in Excellent, obviously you have had to follow the rules before.
Handler: True, but we’ve never had a problem before. You see, we were in such a rush this morning that he lost his contacts!
Handler: Hi. I’m about to run my dog in Excellent Standard, but I need an exemption from the safety-zone rule, as he can’t see that well today.
Judge: I can’t exempt anyone from any rules. And if you are in Excellent, obviously you have had to follow the rules before.
Handler: True, but we’ve never had a problem before. You see, we were in such a rush this morning that he lost his contacts!
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Trust Your Dog
Today was an AKC trial in Freehold, NJ. Sadie was entered in all three events; FAST, STD, and JWW (in that order).
While we didn't Q in the first two runs, I was very pleased. In FAST, I was generally able to keep Sadie moving and connected. We didn't exactly follow my plan, but she happily took most of the obstacles I sent her to. She missed the send, but that was not unexpected. We don't do any distance work in class.
In STD she kept on-course and moving. She overran the table (up and over!) but did come back immediately and finish the time. Her contacts were far from perfect, but she took the A-frame, dog walk, and teeter quite happily. The only real problem was the weaves. Apparently there was a breed show on that site the weekend before, so there was food all over the ground. Sadie scented it on her way into the tunnel (third obstacle from the finish) and then found something to eat by the fence on the other end. I ended up skipping the weaves entirely, and just finishing the final jump.
JWW was a whole 'nuther animal. Sadie was focused and connected. She moved well. She did everything I asked of her. Too bad I was all messed up. For whatever reason, I was so concentrated on her that I forgot the course and my plan. I ended up missing intended front crosses (which meant a rear cross instead, which she NAILED) and having to call her off jumps (because I was taking her off course). She was forgiving, and ran despite my obvious mental deficiencies. In fact, she took the weaves on our first approach! Not only is that a first in a trial, but it's the first time she's weaved at all in a trial in over a month! She totally deserves her jumpers title. Unfortunately, my forgetfulness lead to me colliding with her (a fault) which caused her to take down the bars on the next jump (another fault).
To summarize: No refusals, no wrong-courses, and the two faults were 100% due to handler error.
She's getting a pork chop for dinner. I am unbelievably proud of her. I need to be taken out back and shot for sheer idiocy and/or do as Mr. Trainer suggested and watch "Great Dog, Shame About the Handler...". I just know we'll get that third jumpers Q next trial!
While we didn't Q in the first two runs, I was very pleased. In FAST, I was generally able to keep Sadie moving and connected. We didn't exactly follow my plan, but she happily took most of the obstacles I sent her to. She missed the send, but that was not unexpected. We don't do any distance work in class.
In STD she kept on-course and moving. She overran the table (up and over!) but did come back immediately and finish the time. Her contacts were far from perfect, but she took the A-frame, dog walk, and teeter quite happily. The only real problem was the weaves. Apparently there was a breed show on that site the weekend before, so there was food all over the ground. Sadie scented it on her way into the tunnel (third obstacle from the finish) and then found something to eat by the fence on the other end. I ended up skipping the weaves entirely, and just finishing the final jump.
You can't see me at the finish, but I wave to the dog and say "Bye, Sadie!" to get her over the last jump.
JWW was a whole 'nuther animal. Sadie was focused and connected. She moved well. She did everything I asked of her. Too bad I was all messed up. For whatever reason, I was so concentrated on her that I forgot the course and my plan. I ended up missing intended front crosses (which meant a rear cross instead, which she NAILED) and having to call her off jumps (because I was taking her off course). She was forgiving, and ran despite my obvious mental deficiencies. In fact, she took the weaves on our first approach! Not only is that a first in a trial, but it's the first time she's weaved at all in a trial in over a month! She totally deserves her jumpers title. Unfortunately, my forgetfulness lead to me colliding with her (a fault) which caused her to take down the bars on the next jump (another fault).
To summarize: No refusals, no wrong-courses, and the two faults were 100% due to handler error.
She's getting a pork chop for dinner. I am unbelievably proud of her. I need to be taken out back and shot for sheer idiocy and/or do as Mr. Trainer suggested and watch "Great Dog, Shame About the Handler...". I just know we'll get that third jumpers Q next trial!
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Loss
Last night I received some terrible news: an agility friend had suddenly lost one of her dogs this week after a very brief illness.
I know everyone loves their pets, and grieves at their loss, but this dog was truly special. She was one of a litter of feral puppies taken in by my friend's aunt (who runs a rescue). She was initially unable to co-exist with humans. She and her littermates found people terrifying.
My friend took in this dog knowing full well that she could not be treated like 'just a pet'. She spent the dog's entire life working on things we take for granted; That being indoors was safe, that humans weren't scary, that loud noises are generally nothing to worry about, and much more. The dog had been taken to behaviorists who specialize in fear, was on medication, and received uncountable hours of training.
In the year(ish) that I've known this girl and her dog, even I could see the massive improvements. The dog was able to remain calm in an agility class when trains went past the building. She gained the confidence to take the dog walk. She even learned to greet other people. I am proud and honored to say that she came to trust me enough to take treats and allowed me to rub her ears and nose.
She was a dog that had many problems. But more importantly, she had a loving owner who was devoted to her. From terrified feral puppy, her life was incredibly enhanced and enriched by her wonderful owner. Friend and dog were the definition of successful animal adoption.
My heart, as well as those of my trainers and fellow students, goes out to her.
If any of you who know my friend wish to contact her directly, but don't know how, please email me privately.
I know everyone loves their pets, and grieves at their loss, but this dog was truly special. She was one of a litter of feral puppies taken in by my friend's aunt (who runs a rescue). She was initially unable to co-exist with humans. She and her littermates found people terrifying.
My friend took in this dog knowing full well that she could not be treated like 'just a pet'. She spent the dog's entire life working on things we take for granted; That being indoors was safe, that humans weren't scary, that loud noises are generally nothing to worry about, and much more. The dog had been taken to behaviorists who specialize in fear, was on medication, and received uncountable hours of training.
In the year(ish) that I've known this girl and her dog, even I could see the massive improvements. The dog was able to remain calm in an agility class when trains went past the building. She gained the confidence to take the dog walk. She even learned to greet other people. I am proud and honored to say that she came to trust me enough to take treats and allowed me to rub her ears and nose.
She was a dog that had many problems. But more importantly, she had a loving owner who was devoted to her. From terrified feral puppy, her life was incredibly enhanced and enriched by her wonderful owner. Friend and dog were the definition of successful animal adoption.
My heart, as well as those of my trainers and fellow students, goes out to her.
If any of you who know my friend wish to contact her directly, but don't know how, please email me privately.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Clip and Click
After Maxwell jumped on me after work today and scratched me with his toenails, I decided to give him a trim. The last time I did that he tapped out, going limp on the floor in anxiety. Tonight, though, I applied the skills shown in the video link I posted a few days ago.
I got out my clicker and set to work. I don't have a grooming table, so I sat on the floor. The clicker was under my big toe, a bowl of his dinner on the couch next to me, and the clippers on the floor. I started with him nose targeting the clippers, then worked on handling his paws, and gradually combined paw holding with taping his feet with the clippers. When he was relaxed, I clipped the first nail, clicked, and gave him a jackpot. It was as if he hadn't even noticed the snip!
I didn't get all his nails, but I got the majority. If he got stressed I let him walk away, but the food stopped flowing. He'd go lie down in his crate for a moment, or go under the dining table, or get a drink of water, then come back for more. I stopped when he couldn't hold still for inspection of a paw. I bet if I keep doing it this way, he'll need to take breaks less and less often, and get more and more relaxed. Whew!
I also trimmed Sadie. She struggles no matter what I try, so I unfortunately had to use physical pressure to safely clip her. I hate doing that, but she needed the trim. I think I need to enlist my boyfriend to be a food dispenser when working with her. And probably use something super high value like peanut butter.
Both dogs also got treats in exchange for brushing. That's a ton of fur that won't end up on the carpet!
I got out my clicker and set to work. I don't have a grooming table, so I sat on the floor. The clicker was under my big toe, a bowl of his dinner on the couch next to me, and the clippers on the floor. I started with him nose targeting the clippers, then worked on handling his paws, and gradually combined paw holding with taping his feet with the clippers. When he was relaxed, I clipped the first nail, clicked, and gave him a jackpot. It was as if he hadn't even noticed the snip!
I didn't get all his nails, but I got the majority. If he got stressed I let him walk away, but the food stopped flowing. He'd go lie down in his crate for a moment, or go under the dining table, or get a drink of water, then come back for more. I stopped when he couldn't hold still for inspection of a paw. I bet if I keep doing it this way, he'll need to take breaks less and less often, and get more and more relaxed. Whew!
I also trimmed Sadie. She struggles no matter what I try, so I unfortunately had to use physical pressure to safely clip her. I hate doing that, but she needed the trim. I think I need to enlist my boyfriend to be a food dispenser when working with her. And probably use something super high value like peanut butter.
Both dogs also got treats in exchange for brushing. That's a ton of fur that won't end up on the carpet!
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