Crate games rock!

We've been working on Susan Garrett's Crate Games (DVD), and today I saw a lot of things starting to come together in her head.....awesome to watch! :)   Susan uses CG to teach duration sits, sit under distraction, and it builds very nicely into startline stays, sit at the door before going out, and sit "stays" (if you use the word "stay", I don't).

One of the criteria is that the dog sit at the back of the crate, in order that they are further back from the door (and thus have a better chance of maintaining the criteria of "no part of the dog breaks the plane of the door").   Fizz usually starts in the back, because she's run into the crate to start the games.  However, if we have a rep where she breaks, and the door is closed, she's often in the mid or front section.   I've been waiting her out and rewarding any movement (head turn, foot starting to move) towards the back of the crate for the past 2 sessions.

Today, we took the crate outside, a new environment, so I was expecting to loosen a few criteria.   Boy did she show me.  She upped the ante! :)   I only got her to break her sit once, by putting a whole bowl of treats down inside the crate.   After that, she was sitting in the middle of the crate.   She didn't just think about moving back, she very forcefully pushed her whole self back, still in her tight sit.   Really cute to watch, and exciting to see her thinking so much about it.

Today's distractions included: being outside, Emilie standing nearby (Emilie is ADORED by Fizz)....neither of these factored very much into "Yer Out, Yer In!"   Individual pieces of treat placed in the crate, a bowl of treats, me being 10-12ft away (door open), me running away for 5 full-stride paces, a tug dropped to the ground in front of the crate (open door), a tug being wiggled in the crate.   She actually hopped up and back at that one as if to say "I am NOT falling for it, see me, I'm FAR FAR away!"   The beauty of this is that it is all HER CHOICE.  No force, no "have to."  It is her choice to stay sitting and earn the reward, despite the distractions.    

Because she's doing so well with both the tight sit, and working through distraction, a name will soon be put to the behavior (sit), and we'll bring it out of the crate (working distraction elsewhere, and also start line sits).  Susan had amazing success with Swagger, and it's just the best feeling to see the same "coming together" in Fizz!   :)