Twice in our session, she actually picked it up. We'll work on this more later, with me waiting out the actual lifting of the db from the floor. It has been my experience when increasing criteria that some increases go smoothly, and others not. Patience is the biggest key in working through such issues. I look forward to seeing how our next session is. :)
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Retrieve - Day 2
We worked a bit last night on lowering the db towards the floor, and Fizz had no problem with it being in any position. Today's goal is to get it on the floor, and have her start lifting it. I'm not looking for a delivery to had yet, that will come. Worked a short session this afternoon with good success. She was willing to work with the db on the floor, and with my had being away from it. I also had the treats behind my back, out of sight, so no obvious lure, as well as a slight delay in reward being built in.
Twice in our session, she actually picked it up. We'll work on this more later, with me waiting out the actual lifting of the db from the floor. It has been my experience when increasing criteria that some increases go smoothly, and others not. Patience is the biggest key in working through such issues. I look forward to seeing how our next session is. :)
Twice in our session, she actually picked it up. We'll work on this more later, with me waiting out the actual lifting of the db from the floor. It has been my experience when increasing criteria that some increases go smoothly, and others not. Patience is the biggest key in working through such issues. I look forward to seeing how our next session is. :)
Friday, March 16, 2012
Adventures and retrieves
Fizz had a morning of adventure, and a lunch time of learning retrieve work. :) We went to a local farm in Sherborn to pick up fresh eggs. They have a petting area there for kids to go in and see the chickens, ducks and rabbits. Fizz was able to go up to the fencing, and the animals were not in the least worried about her. She showed active interest in the birds, but was not coming unglued. I asked to her 'set up,' and then give me 3-4 steps of heeling. She NAILED it! :) :) GOOD GIRLIE!!! She easily and happily left her cool feathered friends to come work with me, and we were all of 2 side-steps away from that fence. Super happy about this! :) She also got to see a few horses up close. Again, actively interested, but not obnoxious, jumping, barking or otherwise alarming the horses.
After the farm, we went to the bank. All of my dogs have spent time in our bank, the folks who work there just adore dogs, and have always been most gracious to my Rottweilers. Fizz got to experience automatic doors (the kind that open with a handicap button). I decided these things absolutely ROCKED for working on 'not bolting out the door.' Not that Fizz has that problem, we established sitting at doors at a young age. BUT.....to be able to sit with your dog at a door, push the button, have the door open, and you and dog are still set up (and you are able to reward the good choice to hold the sit)......totally awesome!! If I owned a training center, I'd have these installed for training purposes! :)
While in the bank, we worked on formal sit durations, and then after visiting a few customers politely, we did a down in another area. Again, very happy and eager to work in a new and distracting environment, without much time to check it out at all. I'm very happy to see how in tune she is to me, and how trusting she is. :)
Finally, after the bank, we came home to lunch. I decided to start Fizz's formal retrieve work today. We're using Sue Sternberg's inducive retrieve. I will not do a force retrieve on my dog, in any form. As I read through the booklet, I knew I was going to struggle with the necessary co-ordination of holding the db, holding the treats (we used broiled chix breast) and trying to pop the db into her mouth. Thankfully, she is a very patient puppy, and not hyper sensitive about her face/body being touched. She kept pushing at my had and getting me all out of position, so there was a lot of wiggling around.
Initially, I started with a wooden db, but quickly decided there wasn't room to get my hands in there where I wanted, and so changed over to a plastic one with a longer bar.
Session 1 was our very first attempt. The goal is manually place the db into her mouth and immediately reward with high value treat. At the end, a 'test' is presented in that the db is shown, and when the dog grabs for it themself (vs. the manual placement), BIG jackpot reward.
Session 2 was about 10 minutes later, after a bit of tug and playing. In this session, I was rewarding her for taking it herself. No more manual placement. She showed great willingness to take it. There was some nosing/licking, but I suspect that will quickly disappear, as it's not being rewarded.
Session 1: (long video, 10 minutes)
Session 2:
After the farm, we went to the bank. All of my dogs have spent time in our bank, the folks who work there just adore dogs, and have always been most gracious to my Rottweilers. Fizz got to experience automatic doors (the kind that open with a handicap button). I decided these things absolutely ROCKED for working on 'not bolting out the door.' Not that Fizz has that problem, we established sitting at doors at a young age. BUT.....to be able to sit with your dog at a door, push the button, have the door open, and you and dog are still set up (and you are able to reward the good choice to hold the sit)......totally awesome!! If I owned a training center, I'd have these installed for training purposes! :)
While in the bank, we worked on formal sit durations, and then after visiting a few customers politely, we did a down in another area. Again, very happy and eager to work in a new and distracting environment, without much time to check it out at all. I'm very happy to see how in tune she is to me, and how trusting she is. :)
Finally, after the bank, we came home to lunch. I decided to start Fizz's formal retrieve work today. We're using Sue Sternberg's inducive retrieve. I will not do a force retrieve on my dog, in any form. As I read through the booklet, I knew I was going to struggle with the necessary co-ordination of holding the db, holding the treats (we used broiled chix breast) and trying to pop the db into her mouth. Thankfully, she is a very patient puppy, and not hyper sensitive about her face/body being touched. She kept pushing at my had and getting me all out of position, so there was a lot of wiggling around.
Initially, I started with a wooden db, but quickly decided there wasn't room to get my hands in there where I wanted, and so changed over to a plastic one with a longer bar.
Session 1 was our very first attempt. The goal is manually place the db into her mouth and immediately reward with high value treat. At the end, a 'test' is presented in that the db is shown, and when the dog grabs for it themself (vs. the manual placement), BIG jackpot reward.
Session 2 was about 10 minutes later, after a bit of tug and playing. In this session, I was rewarding her for taking it herself. No more manual placement. She showed great willingness to take it. There was some nosing/licking, but I suspect that will quickly disappear, as it's not being rewarded.
Session 1: (long video, 10 minutes)
Session 2:
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Day 3 jump bump grids
Fizz and I went back to 6ft spacing on the jump bump grids. This was the first day I have not had Emilie to help. Thus, I was leaving Fizz in a sit, and then recalling her down the line. For several of the passes, I walked out, set up, shook the rope, then walked back and rewarded her for holding the sit, and then set up again for the recall. I saw no 'vulturing' in her sit, no anticipation. She held a very solid sit and I was extremely pleased with this. Our "Its Your Choice" work was really coming into play. :)
I use a ground bar to define the entry space to the lane. Something visual to say to Fizz "in this area, you must choose your take-off point." This is the first time I've done much back and forth down the lane with her (b/c of not having Emilie). On pass #5, you can see her make a HUGE jump on the final jump. I heard the landing before I realized what she'd done. That red/white bar, to define entry space, had suddenly become part of the lane in her estimation. So instead of jumping a 6ft arc, she added in the additional 5ft to the bar, and made an 11ft arc. Her take off was good, she shows maximum compression, and her head is down on take-off. However, she over-stretches in the air and lands ballistically, thus the thud I heard. Removed the bar, tried again........MUCH better!
Dogs are so incredibly visual, and I think too often we forget that and don't look at things from THEIR perspective. Jump #5 was a reminder of that today. Apparently there are people who correct their dogs for incorrect jumping. I am SO thankful I don't subscribe to that, she wasn't "WRONG," but rather trying to achieve what she saw: an elongated jump. GOOD girlie! :)
I use a ground bar to define the entry space to the lane. Something visual to say to Fizz "in this area, you must choose your take-off point." This is the first time I've done much back and forth down the lane with her (b/c of not having Emilie). On pass #5, you can see her make a HUGE jump on the final jump. I heard the landing before I realized what she'd done. That red/white bar, to define entry space, had suddenly become part of the lane in her estimation. So instead of jumping a 6ft arc, she added in the additional 5ft to the bar, and made an 11ft arc. Her take off was good, she shows maximum compression, and her head is down on take-off. However, she over-stretches in the air and lands ballistically, thus the thud I heard. Removed the bar, tried again........MUCH better!
Dogs are so incredibly visual, and I think too often we forget that and don't look at things from THEIR perspective. Jump #5 was a reminder of that today. Apparently there are people who correct their dogs for incorrect jumping. I am SO thankful I don't subscribe to that, she wasn't "WRONG," but rather trying to achieve what she saw: an elongated jump. GOOD girlie! :)
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Jump grids, Day 2
Tried Fizz on 7ft jump grids today, trying to get a feel for what is a good fit for her. We worked in two sessions, broken up by the camera battery dying. :)
The first session, she handled the distance pretty well. In the second session, she starts to tire, and her take-off place becomes variable between the jumps and her motion is not as fluid. After reviewing the video, we'll definitely go back to 6ft for now, until she builds the proper muscles for the impulsion. I may also check her at 5ft, just to see how that looks. Overall, still very happy with her work, and she had a blast! :)
And for anyone interested in following Vik's progress, here she is today. She's definitely showing improvement in form, getting her head down more and becoming more fluid in her strides. She's SOO happy to be working again!
The first session, she handled the distance pretty well. In the second session, she starts to tire, and her take-off place becomes variable between the jumps and her motion is not as fluid. After reviewing the video, we'll definitely go back to 6ft for now, until she builds the proper muscles for the impulsion. I may also check her at 5ft, just to see how that looks. Overall, still very happy with her work, and she had a blast! :)
And for anyone interested in following Vik's progress, here she is today. She's definitely showing improvement in form, getting her head down more and becoming more fluid in her strides. She's SOO happy to be working again!
Vikka on jump bumps
Yesterday, I posted video of Fizz doing her first set of grid work, or for that matter, any formal jumping. Fizz stands around 21.5" (roughly....based on how she compares to Vikka in height. Vikka is measured at 22 3/8" on her agility card). I've had questions about the jump bumps, and "aren't they too low to really see true jumping style." Simple answer: no.
Here is footage of Vikka, also made yesterday. Vik will be 10 in August. She competed in agility for several years, earned her Open titles and ran in Excellent, though we never finished our Excellent titles. She was a 24" jumper. Vik never went through Susan Salo's jumping program, nor did we do much work with Linda Mecklenberg's jumping rounded over one jump (at full height). She did not have issues dropping bars, and at almost 10, is not showing ill effects of her days in agility. HOWEVER, you can see in this video footage that her style is inefficient. Interestingly, Vikka has excellent overall construction. She has near perfect balance of front/rear angles (per Chris Zink, DVM, PhD), her turn of stifle is excellent, her angulation front and back is not only matched, but excellent. She moves effortlessly, and almost always comes to a perfect show stack when she stands. I personally think her construction is better than Fizz's (and yes, Fizz is still in puppy stages, but overall, Vik is better built). And yet, Fizz has a far better jumping style, naturally, than Vik does.
In this video, you can see how incredibly high her head is carried in the first pass, almost painfully so. The landings are ballistic and very unkind to the body. In the 2nd and 3rd passes, she starts to lower her head, and round her jumps more. This CAN be learned, but takes a lot of time/repetition to overcome what is naturally in the dog's wiring. Height of the jump bumps is NOT the issue, Vikka was an excellent jumper at 24", with many blue ribbons to show for her work, she was ranked in the Rottweiler Top 10 in agility when she trialed. What you see here is simply inherent jumping style. And what was seen in Fizz's video yesterday was her inherent (LOVELY!) jumping style. :)
Here is footage of Vikka, also made yesterday. Vik will be 10 in August. She competed in agility for several years, earned her Open titles and ran in Excellent, though we never finished our Excellent titles. She was a 24" jumper. Vik never went through Susan Salo's jumping program, nor did we do much work with Linda Mecklenberg's jumping rounded over one jump (at full height). She did not have issues dropping bars, and at almost 10, is not showing ill effects of her days in agility. HOWEVER, you can see in this video footage that her style is inefficient. Interestingly, Vikka has excellent overall construction. She has near perfect balance of front/rear angles (per Chris Zink, DVM, PhD), her turn of stifle is excellent, her angulation front and back is not only matched, but excellent. She moves effortlessly, and almost always comes to a perfect show stack when she stands. I personally think her construction is better than Fizz's (and yes, Fizz is still in puppy stages, but overall, Vik is better built). And yet, Fizz has a far better jumping style, naturally, than Vik does.
In this video, you can see how incredibly high her head is carried in the first pass, almost painfully so. The landings are ballistic and very unkind to the body. In the 2nd and 3rd passes, she starts to lower her head, and round her jumps more. This CAN be learned, but takes a lot of time/repetition to overcome what is naturally in the dog's wiring. Height of the jump bumps is NOT the issue, Vikka was an excellent jumper at 24", with many blue ribbons to show for her work, she was ranked in the Rottweiler Top 10 in agility when she trialed. What you see here is simply inherent jumping style. And what was seen in Fizz's video yesterday was her inherent (LOVELY!) jumping style. :)
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Puppy bump grids - Day 1
Fizz just turned 6 months, and I've done no jumping work with her yet at all. We have no plans for agility (it just doesn't fit in my life right now), so I've had no reason to start her on anything. However, recently, I've seen her make a few jumps that have really impressed me. Not because of their height or massive ability, but because of what I thought I was seeing in HOW she jumped. Most dogs pull from their front, rather than using rear impulsion. A front-loaded breed like the Rottweiler, especially so.
Today, I took Fizz out to test what I thought I was seeing, and after some 'jumping,' and some video analysis, there it was. A dog who is NOT on her forehand. At all. Nope! :) :) :) Jumping on the forehand means harsh ballistic landings. Bad on the frame of the dog, not what you want in a long term working dog. Dogs are equally able to pull from the front as they are able to push from the rear. However, most seem to naturally want to pull from the front. Dogs, like horses, can be schooled, and taught good solid jumping technique. They can be taught impulsion, collection, compression and extension. And while it can be taught, I'm very excited to see it naturally occurring in my girlie. :)
I use jump in quotations because there is no height to the grid that Fizz is working, nor will there be til she's closer to a year old. However, in that time, using low, 6" jump bumps, she will learn scope, stride, and task. Pay attention to what's ahead of you, so that you can properly work it. Figure out where your best take-off point is, be sure you're on the correct lead both front and rear, round your jump, no matter its height. The footwork, the reading, the thinking can all be taught low, and then brought up when age appropriate. We are following Susan Salo's teaching in doing all of this.
In looking at how a dog jumps, you want to see them with their head low and their back rounded. Head held high = on the forehand. It also leads to a stiff, hard, pastern on landing, rather than one that is relaxed and able to absorb shock. Efficient jumping comes from maximum compression. Just like a spring, what is compressed releases forward with great energy. A dog who is able to compress and release is far more efficient in jumping than a dog who must put in extra strides to cover the same line. Compression is seen in how close the hind feet are planted to where the front feet are. Maximum compression is when the hind feet land forward of the front. This photo is a still grab from the video. While its quality is poor, you can definitely see how compressed she is, and that her hind feet are landing well forward of her front. This is her VERY first step into the grid, on the first time. It's just naturally there. :)
Here is video of our work today: (this is 8min long)
Today, I took Fizz out to test what I thought I was seeing, and after some 'jumping,' and some video analysis, there it was. A dog who is NOT on her forehand. At all. Nope! :) :) :) Jumping on the forehand means harsh ballistic landings. Bad on the frame of the dog, not what you want in a long term working dog. Dogs are equally able to pull from the front as they are able to push from the rear. However, most seem to naturally want to pull from the front. Dogs, like horses, can be schooled, and taught good solid jumping technique. They can be taught impulsion, collection, compression and extension. And while it can be taught, I'm very excited to see it naturally occurring in my girlie. :)
I use jump in quotations because there is no height to the grid that Fizz is working, nor will there be til she's closer to a year old. However, in that time, using low, 6" jump bumps, she will learn scope, stride, and task. Pay attention to what's ahead of you, so that you can properly work it. Figure out where your best take-off point is, be sure you're on the correct lead both front and rear, round your jump, no matter its height. The footwork, the reading, the thinking can all be taught low, and then brought up when age appropriate. We are following Susan Salo's teaching in doing all of this.
In looking at how a dog jumps, you want to see them with their head low and their back rounded. Head held high = on the forehand. It also leads to a stiff, hard, pastern on landing, rather than one that is relaxed and able to absorb shock. Efficient jumping comes from maximum compression. Just like a spring, what is compressed releases forward with great energy. A dog who is able to compress and release is far more efficient in jumping than a dog who must put in extra strides to cover the same line. Compression is seen in how close the hind feet are planted to where the front feet are. Maximum compression is when the hind feet land forward of the front. This photo is a still grab from the video. While its quality is poor, you can definitely see how compressed she is, and that her hind feet are landing well forward of her front. This is her VERY first step into the grid, on the first time. It's just naturally there. :)
Here is video of our work today: (this is 8min long)
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