DWDH......don't wanna, don't hafta. You know......when you're trying to get your awesome dog to do something (any particular thing) with you, and they decide they'd rather do something else (prefer a 'better toy', sniff a fascinating new smell.......anything).
Yesterday afternoon, Fizz had a second-hand bone with plenty of good chewing in it. And as this had originally been Vikka's bone, it's even MORE exciting. She brought it out of her crate and right outside. I was trying to get her to play fribbee (a FAAAAAVORITE pastime) with me before the chickens came out in the yard for a few hours.
Puppy lying and chewing on her treasure, me with a frisbee, trying to entice her. She watched, and finally paid me enough attention to lift her head away from her chewing. DWDH. Not playin' fribbee mom, sorry. I gots a good boney.
So, what else is there to do but go play frisbee by myself!?! :) And so I did. I even gave myself a good solid "readyyyyyyyyyyy, steaaaaaaaaaadyyyyyyyyyyyy............GO!!!!!!!!!!" Toss and dead sprint at the frisbee where it had landed.
Still chewin' this boney.......but that was pretty interesting!
"WAHOO!!!!!!!!! Look what IIIIIIIIIII have! I have a friiiiiiibbee! Wanna get it?? YEAH!!!!! Reaaaaaaaaaaady?????? GO!!!!!!!!!!!!"
At this point, Fizz has an E.T.esque neck and has no clue what my problem is, but it's VERY interesting! :)
"You waaaaaaaaaaaant it?? GO!!!!!!!!!!" And yet again, I'm sprinting across the yard to the frisbee that I just threw about 40yds away. This time, as I go to pick it up, I hear the feet pounding behind me.
Here I are!! Me-n-my boney! Wanna play??
Needing a bit of a break from sprinting about the yard (I'd already done a 3mi run that a.m.), I started tossing the frisbee in the air, and catching it, running away and hooting with joy. She followed me around, very interested in playing, but completely unable to put her bone down. She was offering me interaction: jumping up on me, trying to cut me off, but still not willing to take the frisbee and play tug.
So I started shoving her away from me, and taking off. When she caught up to me, I was doing rapid changes of directions and slapping her on the butt as I took off. The frustration was coming off her like steam........but still couldn't bring herself to part with the bone.
Another shove, and take off, and being VERY excited about the best frisbee ever........and suddenly she's coming at me, ready to grab the silly thing........no boney! Hoorah, success. or not. B/c right as she gets there to grab the frisbee (which I'm now holding out at her level).........she throws on the brakes and tears back to the bone she left behind. Doh! BUT....I've made a break through on some level, which means its time to up the game.
We continued racing about, me shoving her away, teasing her with the frisbee. She set the bone down several times, would come near me, but then turn back to it. Such conflict for a Wuppy!! Finally, she came over, and grabbed the frisbee hard! SUCCESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We played a short game of tug, and then I sent her back to her bone, and took off for inside, yelling about my awesome frisbee the whole way in. She came trotting quickly behind, with bone, but didn't want to miss out on any fun. :) In all, I had probably spent 12-15 minutes trying to get her to drop that bone and come play tug with the frisbee. I knew I wouldn't get a game of "go get it" in, the bone was too valuable, so I was looking for tug: choose my game over your favorite bone, and play with me. We did it! :)
So this afternoon, we're outside again, and the bone is still a treasure. I grab the frisbee, show her I have it, and take off across the yard, and then head to the other side of the garden (lawn wraps all around a garden island). She came tearing after me, and as soon as she got near me, I ripped off in the other direction. She's trying hard to play: jumping on me, sailing past me in the air, body slamming me. Sorry, but that's not the game we're playing today.
I took off, and hid, and she came tearing after me, and sailed right past. She realizes I'm not where she thinks I am, drops the bone and comes flying back to find me. Thankfully, I still had the frisbee, b/c she's coming in fast, mouth open. :) Game ON!!!!!!!!!!! And it's MY game, not hers. She CHOSE to play with me (and not her bone). :) :) :) :) :) We played tug with the frisbee for a bit, and then I threw it for her. She was absolutely on fire to play with it, and as she flew back to me, I decided to toss some obedience into this game.
I asked her to 'set up' and she was all cockeyed across the front of me. Nope! Her poor puppy brain wasn't giving up though, and as I moved off somewhere else and asked again, she stuffed herself into position and tried really hard to put her chin in my hand (a side effect of chin heeling! a rather funny one actually!). I threw the frisbee and she exploded after it. We played more tug as she came back, and I worked 2 more set ups.
And in all this, she hadn't once looked for the Blessed Bone. Not even a thought of it. I found two other toys in the yard, and quickly changed up to playing with them. One was higher than the frisbee, and one was definitely not. But at this point, she was so riled up about playing games, that she was willing to play with anything I tossed out. After she brought me the low value footless-cuz (it's now low value b/c it doesn't honk), I sent her to find the bone. It actually took us a minute or two to find the silly thing. :)
I am THRILLED for the payoff in sticking with it last night, working through the DWDH attitude. It was physically tiring, but pouring energy into that silly frisbee convinced her that I was worth choosing over something which her inner being wanted (a marrow bone to chew on). We're in a teenage phase of grand proportion right now, but I refuse to give in to it. Time and effort now, to work through, and reinforce what I want (a team) can do nothing but pay off in the future, of this I have no doubt. :)
Don't accept no, and don't force "have to." Convince the dog to choose you.........and be sure you're worthy of that choice. No half-heartedness allowed, you must pour yourself into it........if you expect your teammate to do the same. :)
Showing posts with label Susan Garrett. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Susan Garrett. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Monday, June 25, 2012
Recallers saved me $46.50
Yesterday was the consummate 'perfect' summer day: sunny, warm bordering on hot, and when you're out in it all day....it tends to make thinking less than optimal. We were at the Mason's Grandmaster's Fair for the day in Charlton. It was just lovely, kids had a blast and we came home ready to rehydrate and rejuvinate.
I let the dogs out individually to potty, hit the grocery store, and then came home to find hubby/kids still at the local lake cooling off. Perfect time to go for a quick run before working on dinner. By the time I got back in, it was around 6:30. Vik was still loose in the house as I'd left her, and Fizz was chillin' in her crate. While I was prepping dinner, Fizz started squeaking. She's on the recovery side of a UTI, so I didn't let her languish for too long before sending her outside.
Having all the green beans picked and the salsa chopped and flavors melding, I thought it would be a good time to get the chickens out to free-range a bit. Typically, they come out in the evening after the dogs have had time to be out and running about. As it gets dark, they put themselves away in the pen (or even up into the coop) and then we close them for the night.
I grabbed a small handful of kibble, and called Fizz through the open screen door. My normal voice, my normal call, nothing special. At that point, hubby shouts "the chickens are already out!!" Epic fail in household communication now coming to light. And Fizz has been outside for at least 20min, with chickens. This is the moment when you're torn between the dead sprint to assess the damage and wanting to hide under the covers and wish it all away.
Meanwhile, Fizz, who went through Susan Garrett's brilliant Recallers class as a very young puppy, came at a dead run to the first call I'd given her. Not knowing that chickens were loose, or the emergent situation present, I had simply called her. Once. And she came, at a dead run, tail up, happy to see me (and NOT a feather or blood spot on her!). She's currently 9.5mos old.....in the "teenage" period where some trainers claim that dogs become less responsive, more wanting to check out their environment and surroundings. Thankfully, we have relationship to pull us through that!
After I got Fizz put away, with HUGE praises from me for coming, and her kibble rained into the top of her wire crate for a fun game of 'get it!'......I went to assess the damage. The Bigs were just coming out of their side of the pen, none looking worried or trying to huddle/hide (as they did for days after the hawk got into the pen and killed one). Quick count of 5 (correct number!) and no obvious piles of feathers.......they seemed ok, and not traumatized.
Where were the Littles??? None in sight, and couldn't hear them. But since none were evident, I figured they must be hiding somewhere together........and hopefully still numbered 5. As I circled the koi pond garden I started seeing movement under the bird-planted sunflowers. 2 Wyandottes......1 black sex-link. So far, 3 of 5. The Araucuna soon showed up, and then there was only one black sex-link to find. She was apparently off on her own adventure and came to see me when I called "chick chick!" YAY!!!! All 10 chickens accounted for, no one seeming traumatized or missing feathers. Truly, I was in disbelief at how well this had turned out.
Recallers is so much more than teaching your dog to 'come.' It's about relationship. It's about trust, about being a team together. A dog learns self restraint through "It's Yer Choice," and not to simply self-serve rewards when available. I am ever-thankful to Susan for this amazing class, and beyond a doubt, I think that it saved my chickens (whom we sum-total paid $46.50 for). Fizz has lots of prey drive, its what I like in my working dogs, and what I hoped for when I chose her pedigree/breeding/litter. Fizz has recently demonstrated very strong herding instinct. In learning from various judges and instructors, the ability to call a dog off stock is based in large part on relationship..........between handler and dog. Recallers has given us relationship in spades!!!
For any who are interested in the class, I can't recommend it highly enough. You'll learn insight into the hows/whys of training, and gain so much more than just 'come.' You will build a strong relationship, and show the dog the value of correct choices. And I will continue to look forward to our first batch of "homegrown" eggs!! :) :) :)
I let the dogs out individually to potty, hit the grocery store, and then came home to find hubby/kids still at the local lake cooling off. Perfect time to go for a quick run before working on dinner. By the time I got back in, it was around 6:30. Vik was still loose in the house as I'd left her, and Fizz was chillin' in her crate. While I was prepping dinner, Fizz started squeaking. She's on the recovery side of a UTI, so I didn't let her languish for too long before sending her outside.
Having all the green beans picked and the salsa chopped and flavors melding, I thought it would be a good time to get the chickens out to free-range a bit. Typically, they come out in the evening after the dogs have had time to be out and running about. As it gets dark, they put themselves away in the pen (or even up into the coop) and then we close them for the night.
I grabbed a small handful of kibble, and called Fizz through the open screen door. My normal voice, my normal call, nothing special. At that point, hubby shouts "the chickens are already out!!" Epic fail in household communication now coming to light. And Fizz has been outside for at least 20min, with chickens. This is the moment when you're torn between the dead sprint to assess the damage and wanting to hide under the covers and wish it all away.
Meanwhile, Fizz, who went through Susan Garrett's brilliant Recallers class as a very young puppy, came at a dead run to the first call I'd given her. Not knowing that chickens were loose, or the emergent situation present, I had simply called her. Once. And she came, at a dead run, tail up, happy to see me (and NOT a feather or blood spot on her!). She's currently 9.5mos old.....in the "teenage" period where some trainers claim that dogs become less responsive, more wanting to check out their environment and surroundings. Thankfully, we have relationship to pull us through that!
After I got Fizz put away, with HUGE praises from me for coming, and her kibble rained into the top of her wire crate for a fun game of 'get it!'......I went to assess the damage. The Bigs were just coming out of their side of the pen, none looking worried or trying to huddle/hide (as they did for days after the hawk got into the pen and killed one). Quick count of 5 (correct number!) and no obvious piles of feathers.......they seemed ok, and not traumatized.
Where were the Littles??? None in sight, and couldn't hear them. But since none were evident, I figured they must be hiding somewhere together........and hopefully still numbered 5. As I circled the koi pond garden I started seeing movement under the bird-planted sunflowers. 2 Wyandottes......1 black sex-link. So far, 3 of 5. The Araucuna soon showed up, and then there was only one black sex-link to find. She was apparently off on her own adventure and came to see me when I called "chick chick!" YAY!!!! All 10 chickens accounted for, no one seeming traumatized or missing feathers. Truly, I was in disbelief at how well this had turned out.
Recallers is so much more than teaching your dog to 'come.' It's about relationship. It's about trust, about being a team together. A dog learns self restraint through "It's Yer Choice," and not to simply self-serve rewards when available. I am ever-thankful to Susan for this amazing class, and beyond a doubt, I think that it saved my chickens (whom we sum-total paid $46.50 for). Fizz has lots of prey drive, its what I like in my working dogs, and what I hoped for when I chose her pedigree/breeding/litter. Fizz has recently demonstrated very strong herding instinct. In learning from various judges and instructors, the ability to call a dog off stock is based in large part on relationship..........between handler and dog. Recallers has given us relationship in spades!!!
For any who are interested in the class, I can't recommend it highly enough. You'll learn insight into the hows/whys of training, and gain so much more than just 'come.' You will build a strong relationship, and show the dog the value of correct choices. And I will continue to look forward to our first batch of "homegrown" eggs!! :) :) :)
Friday, December 23, 2011
Visit to Home Depot - 14wks
This morning we headed to Home Depot, hubby needed a few plumbing parts (eventually it was easier to just buy a whole new toilet!) and I decided that Fizz was going to have a great socialization outing. I hadn't planned any real training, just a chance for a new environment and lots of new people.
Fizz entered like she owned the place, and within a minute, I had her playing games with me and earning treats. We started with simple nose touches, and progressed to calling off distractions (new people are about a Level 14 on a scale of 10 for Fizz)....including new people, dust bunnies in corners, and cords hanging down from poles. I was amazed to see her leave a new person, and thrilled to see that she put the value in me over the new person, as I know how much she adores meeting new people.
After making our way to the back cross-store aisle, we worked some RZ, first in one-step forward increments, and then several 180 turns. She nailed it, and was pushing me hard with her eyes to keep working, to keep earning reward. LOVED seeing this from her. No luring, no begging on my part. Just a simple response to her awesome choices. She was totally focused and wanting to work. I released her from work to go say hi to at least 10 different staff members, and several customers. Each time, she came back ready to work again!
We worked in aisles on Its Yer Choice. I forgot the rule of "it's a new environment, be sure to set up for success" and just started working on the level of distraction that we work at home. I asked for a sit, tossed her most favorite tug over her head (from behind), squiggled it along the floor in front of her, and tossing hot dog pieces onto the floor so that they bounced right towards her toes. Not a flinch. Yep, old hat for this old soul. A truly brilliant puppy! BIG reward and party for such awesome work. Lots of tugging, and I had a mother/son team watching from the end of the aisle, with Mom narrating the puppy's training session (I think my enthusiasm was not very quiet!).
We had several hard fast recalls, raced the length of empty aisles, and worked more Its Yer choice with the tug. When it was finally time to select our new toilet, I put Fizz in a down (this is not on verbal cue yet) and fed a few times to build duration, and then just waited. She put her chin down and completely relaxed. Released her to greet some new people, then back into her down. Finally, got her up on the flatbed cart with the toilet box and asked for a sit while the cart rocked forward onto the fore set of wheels.
I think what amazed the most was the intensity with which she worked with me, despite this new, exciting, and highly distracting environment. I felt like the training sessions we've been doing for the past many weeks were suddenly coming together and I had a puppy who was happy and willing and eager to work, starting to really generalize behaviors and pushing me for more. Absolute JOY! :)
Fizz entered like she owned the place, and within a minute, I had her playing games with me and earning treats. We started with simple nose touches, and progressed to calling off distractions (new people are about a Level 14 on a scale of 10 for Fizz)....including new people, dust bunnies in corners, and cords hanging down from poles. I was amazed to see her leave a new person, and thrilled to see that she put the value in me over the new person, as I know how much she adores meeting new people.
After making our way to the back cross-store aisle, we worked some RZ, first in one-step forward increments, and then several 180 turns. She nailed it, and was pushing me hard with her eyes to keep working, to keep earning reward. LOVED seeing this from her. No luring, no begging on my part. Just a simple response to her awesome choices. She was totally focused and wanting to work. I released her from work to go say hi to at least 10 different staff members, and several customers. Each time, she came back ready to work again!
We worked in aisles on Its Yer Choice. I forgot the rule of "it's a new environment, be sure to set up for success" and just started working on the level of distraction that we work at home. I asked for a sit, tossed her most favorite tug over her head (from behind), squiggled it along the floor in front of her, and tossing hot dog pieces onto the floor so that they bounced right towards her toes. Not a flinch. Yep, old hat for this old soul. A truly brilliant puppy! BIG reward and party for such awesome work. Lots of tugging, and I had a mother/son team watching from the end of the aisle, with Mom narrating the puppy's training session (I think my enthusiasm was not very quiet!).
We had several hard fast recalls, raced the length of empty aisles, and worked more Its Yer choice with the tug. When it was finally time to select our new toilet, I put Fizz in a down (this is not on verbal cue yet) and fed a few times to build duration, and then just waited. She put her chin down and completely relaxed. Released her to greet some new people, then back into her down. Finally, got her up on the flatbed cart with the toilet box and asked for a sit while the cart rocked forward onto the fore set of wheels.
I think what amazed the most was the intensity with which she worked with me, despite this new, exciting, and highly distracting environment. I felt like the training sessions we've been doing for the past many weeks were suddenly coming together and I had a puppy who was happy and willing and eager to work, starting to really generalize behaviors and pushing me for more. Absolute JOY! :)
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Crate Games with strong distractions
At 14 weeks, Fizz has been playing Susan Garrett's Crate Games with me for about 4 weeks now. We are working on building a strong foundation to resisting temptation/distraction, which will eventually carry over to rock solid sits and downs (I don't use the word "stay" in training).
Fizz's morning started out with a trip in to Boston's busy Logan International airport. We went through the parking garage, to the elevator, and down to the baggage claim area of Terminal B. Fizz was excited to meet 2 men in the elevator, and find many families just "sitting around waiting to be greeted" at the carousels. :) The buzzing of the warning bell didn't bother her one bit, and we learned that suitcase wheels are potentially lots of fun (hmmm.......need some proofing on wheels!). We then took the escalator up to Ticketing, and were about to take another one down when a State Trooper spotted us. He pleasantly asked me to carry her, so as not to provide distraction to the working bomb dogs. I know that a puppy's scent is not a distraction to bomb dogs, but I obeyed, and she was carried down the escalator. Another few families to greet, and we were off to the elevator, and back to the parking garage to leave. Another item crossed off the Insane Puppy Plan. :O)
After our trip to Logan, I decided to work Crate Games distractions just before lunch. My treats included some of her very high value rewards, including chicken, and for toys, I chose her 3 favorite tugs. Despite the fact that she was being rained upon through her wire crate, Fizz performed admirably. We also worked a bit of Its Yer Choice with the tug at the end of the video. I'm so excited to be working with such a fun puppy. She has drive, focus, confidence and tons of personality! Just love her to bits!
Warning for those on slow connections: this is a long video (8 minutes).
Fizz's morning started out with a trip in to Boston's busy Logan International airport. We went through the parking garage, to the elevator, and down to the baggage claim area of Terminal B. Fizz was excited to meet 2 men in the elevator, and find many families just "sitting around waiting to be greeted" at the carousels. :) The buzzing of the warning bell didn't bother her one bit, and we learned that suitcase wheels are potentially lots of fun (hmmm.......need some proofing on wheels!). We then took the escalator up to Ticketing, and were about to take another one down when a State Trooper spotted us. He pleasantly asked me to carry her, so as not to provide distraction to the working bomb dogs. I know that a puppy's scent is not a distraction to bomb dogs, but I obeyed, and she was carried down the escalator. Another few families to greet, and we were off to the elevator, and back to the parking garage to leave. Another item crossed off the Insane Puppy Plan. :O)
After our trip to Logan, I decided to work Crate Games distractions just before lunch. My treats included some of her very high value rewards, including chicken, and for toys, I chose her 3 favorite tugs. Despite the fact that she was being rained upon through her wire crate, Fizz performed admirably. We also worked a bit of Its Yer Choice with the tug at the end of the video. I'm so excited to be working with such a fun puppy. She has drive, focus, confidence and tons of personality! Just love her to bits!
Warning for those on slow connections: this is a long video (8 minutes).
Monday, December 12, 2011
Recallers 3.0 ... in training!
We are currently working through Susan Garrett's Recallers 3.0. Absolutely LOVING the course, and seeing some nice results after a very short time. Quick video from our woods walk yesterday, about 45min in to a 1hr 20min walk. Fizz, George and the kids were down the path, and off to the side enjoying a view from the top of a ridge. I called, waited about 10 sec, and here she came! :) GOOD girl!
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
At the end of a month......
Fizz was 12wks on Sunday, and has been here a month now. I'm just amazed to see how far she's come. Its been tiring at times, this new journey we're on. No verbal or physical corrections. Logging all of my training, which is typically 6-8 mini sessions per day. Some days, I go to bed so exhausted I can't even remember what I did (thus a new system of tracking my training has emerged). I don't ever remember a puppy tiring me so much, but I don't think I ever put this level of detail/effort into a puppy either (meanwhile, keeping up with my 3.5 & 6yr olds!). :)
I keep a 3-ring binder with all of my training notes. Each day contains details of each training session, including: time, location, treats used, games played, and then an assessment of how it went. At the end of the day, I look to see how much of each thing was accomplished, and based on that, and my weekly plan/goal, decide what to move forward with for the next day. If I've missed something for a few days, or not gotten enough reps of it in, then it goes on high priority for the upcoming day.
Being a scientist by training, keeping notebooks is not foreign. However, I was not finding the time to NEATLY enter the level of detail that I wanted. So....now I have a scribblebook (composition notebook) and my decorated 3 ring binder. The scribblebook is used through-out the day, to quickly enter notes about what happened when. Just before bed, I sit down to re-write it, putting into detail what went on.
At the end of our first month, I have a puppy who is tightly bonded to me, yet confident to go meet any one new who crosses her path, and self-confident enough to hang out with someone if I choose to hand the leash off and walk away. Today, we walked down the street, around the corner, and met a "tree dude." Two HUGE diesel trucks were running, one of which was also hauling a monster-sized chipper. The other 'tree dude' was using the chain saw and cutting the remainder of a fore-shortened tree into manageable sized logs. None of this bothered her one whit. She was so excited to meet someone new: a big thick man, wearing an eye-bleeding yellow jacket (you know, that new safety color that so many have), thick blue rubber gloves, and his bright orange hard hat - hearing protector contraption. He was QUITE the sight, and certainly not like anyone else we've met. But he was excited to see her, and she just calmly went right up to him, and nestled in for pets. The trainer in me was VERY happy with her confidence. If we ever meet an obed judge in tree gear, at a very loud trial........we're down with that. :)
Fizz travels beautifully in the car, and has since Day 1. She just goes to sleep and does not try to crate surf, nor bobble around as I'm driving. No car sickness, no barking at anything.....just lovely! In a similar vein, when we're at our competition obedience class, she lies quietly in her crate until it's time to come out and work. Fizz ADORES other dogs and people, I would rate them as an A++ level distraction at times. However, when it's our turn to watch, she is wonderfully quiet and sedate. I sure hope that continues as she matures.
We've established, through games, that treats on the floor are NOT fair game, just for the taking. Neither are treats in my hand, or on the counter..........and funny enough, neither are toys. She will hold a sit while I drop a favorite tug to the floor within a foot of her. I can take that same tug and snake it around, and even whack the ground with it. She just looks like "what, you think I'm gonna fall for that?!" She explodes into it on release, and we have wonderful games of tug and puppy bounce. :) Her ability to maintain a down is similar, even though we've not worked on it much at all (maybe twice in the past month?). She's generalizing the "Its Yer Choice" (Susan Garrett) game very nicely.
Retrieve work is started. She races out to whatever I throw out, quickly picks it up, turns, and comes straight back to me. Currently, I kneel on the floor when we play this game, and her default behavior is to dive between my legs. No growling when I pet her, and if I put out a hand as she comes in, she'll bring it to my hand. I have not worked that behavior yet, and its on our list to solidify over the next month. When I was visiting the litter, Fizz brought a few toys near me, but often seemed to want to get off away from her littermates and enjoy whatever prize she'd shopped. I don't care about puppy tests, PAT, or otherwise. I didn't need to see what she'd do with a crinkled paper ball, or if she'd bring it back. I wanted to see her natural carrying behavior (calm, not mouthy), and her natural interest level in people in general throughout the day (high). I knew that with solid calm carrying and an interest in people, simply building a strong, positive relationship would generate a good retrieve in the early stages........and that is playing out! I have never done a forced retrieve of any kind on any dog, and I don't plan to ever change that. In 5 trials, Froli never lost points on her retrieves (3x SchH1, 2x ScHH2).
Needless to say, I absolutely adore this puppy and am having a blast training with her. :)
I keep a 3-ring binder with all of my training notes. Each day contains details of each training session, including: time, location, treats used, games played, and then an assessment of how it went. At the end of the day, I look to see how much of each thing was accomplished, and based on that, and my weekly plan/goal, decide what to move forward with for the next day. If I've missed something for a few days, or not gotten enough reps of it in, then it goes on high priority for the upcoming day.
Being a scientist by training, keeping notebooks is not foreign. However, I was not finding the time to NEATLY enter the level of detail that I wanted. So....now I have a scribblebook (composition notebook) and my decorated 3 ring binder. The scribblebook is used through-out the day, to quickly enter notes about what happened when. Just before bed, I sit down to re-write it, putting into detail what went on.
At the end of our first month, I have a puppy who is tightly bonded to me, yet confident to go meet any one new who crosses her path, and self-confident enough to hang out with someone if I choose to hand the leash off and walk away. Today, we walked down the street, around the corner, and met a "tree dude." Two HUGE diesel trucks were running, one of which was also hauling a monster-sized chipper. The other 'tree dude' was using the chain saw and cutting the remainder of a fore-shortened tree into manageable sized logs. None of this bothered her one whit. She was so excited to meet someone new: a big thick man, wearing an eye-bleeding yellow jacket (you know, that new safety color that so many have), thick blue rubber gloves, and his bright orange hard hat - hearing protector contraption. He was QUITE the sight, and certainly not like anyone else we've met. But he was excited to see her, and she just calmly went right up to him, and nestled in for pets. The trainer in me was VERY happy with her confidence. If we ever meet an obed judge in tree gear, at a very loud trial........we're down with that. :)
Fizz travels beautifully in the car, and has since Day 1. She just goes to sleep and does not try to crate surf, nor bobble around as I'm driving. No car sickness, no barking at anything.....just lovely! In a similar vein, when we're at our competition obedience class, she lies quietly in her crate until it's time to come out and work. Fizz ADORES other dogs and people, I would rate them as an A++ level distraction at times. However, when it's our turn to watch, she is wonderfully quiet and sedate. I sure hope that continues as she matures.
We've established, through games, that treats on the floor are NOT fair game, just for the taking. Neither are treats in my hand, or on the counter..........and funny enough, neither are toys. She will hold a sit while I drop a favorite tug to the floor within a foot of her. I can take that same tug and snake it around, and even whack the ground with it. She just looks like "what, you think I'm gonna fall for that?!" She explodes into it on release, and we have wonderful games of tug and puppy bounce. :) Her ability to maintain a down is similar, even though we've not worked on it much at all (maybe twice in the past month?). She's generalizing the "Its Yer Choice" (Susan Garrett) game very nicely.
Retrieve work is started. She races out to whatever I throw out, quickly picks it up, turns, and comes straight back to me. Currently, I kneel on the floor when we play this game, and her default behavior is to dive between my legs. No growling when I pet her, and if I put out a hand as she comes in, she'll bring it to my hand. I have not worked that behavior yet, and its on our list to solidify over the next month. When I was visiting the litter, Fizz brought a few toys near me, but often seemed to want to get off away from her littermates and enjoy whatever prize she'd shopped. I don't care about puppy tests, PAT, or otherwise. I didn't need to see what she'd do with a crinkled paper ball, or if she'd bring it back. I wanted to see her natural carrying behavior (calm, not mouthy), and her natural interest level in people in general throughout the day (high). I knew that with solid calm carrying and an interest in people, simply building a strong, positive relationship would generate a good retrieve in the early stages........and that is playing out! I have never done a forced retrieve of any kind on any dog, and I don't plan to ever change that. In 5 trials, Froli never lost points on her retrieves (3x SchH1, 2x ScHH2).
Needless to say, I absolutely adore this puppy and am having a blast training with her. :)
Saturday, December 3, 2011
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! :)
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! :)
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Beginning scent discrimination work - 11 wks
Susan Garrett highly recommends video taping your session work, so that you can review it, see what really went on, and have good information for your training log. As I worked this session, it felt like a *huge* fail to me. I felt like we had very few correct responses, and all she was doing was grabbing the empty 'wrong' container. In watching, I see far more correct responses than it seemed when I was training. I'm very thankful for having the video (even if James knocks the camera to the ground), and being able to see that it was better than it felt.
We started last night with working a series of plates, building from 1 to 5. She did very well with that, but not so well with the plastic containers. She kept grabbing empty containers and just settling in to chew on them. I had her on leash last night, so she couldn't really go anywhere with them. Today, while off-leash, we are enclosed in an ex-pen. I did one round of plates this a.m. to warm up, and then tried to work the containers.
Some background info: Fizz had a vet appointment yesterday and received a vaccine. She ate little dinner last night, and even less breakfast this a.m. B/c she's missed 2 meals, she looks rail thin, her metabolism is so high, she can't afford to be skipping meals right now. :( Her energy and attitude have still been good, so I don't think she's ill, though maybe a bit flat from the vaccine yesterday. I would prefer to see a stronger search for the right container, I know she can follow a scent trail and be very focused in doing so. After seeing how today's session went, I will wait a few days before trying this again, AND try using a different treat, perhaps something more enticing.
I've never seen her just go lie down on the floor, and she does several times in this video. That is what makes me think she's a bit flat from the vax yesterday.
We started last night with working a series of plates, building from 1 to 5. She did very well with that, but not so well with the plastic containers. She kept grabbing empty containers and just settling in to chew on them. I had her on leash last night, so she couldn't really go anywhere with them. Today, while off-leash, we are enclosed in an ex-pen. I did one round of plates this a.m. to warm up, and then tried to work the containers.
Some background info: Fizz had a vet appointment yesterday and received a vaccine. She ate little dinner last night, and even less breakfast this a.m. B/c she's missed 2 meals, she looks rail thin, her metabolism is so high, she can't afford to be skipping meals right now. :( Her energy and attitude have still been good, so I don't think she's ill, though maybe a bit flat from the vaccine yesterday. I would prefer to see a stronger search for the right container, I know she can follow a scent trail and be very focused in doing so. After seeing how today's session went, I will wait a few days before trying this again, AND try using a different treat, perhaps something more enticing.
I've never seen her just go lie down on the floor, and she does several times in this video. That is what makes me think she's a bit flat from the vax yesterday.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Learning Susan Garrett's stand
Fizz turned 11wks today. I need to get her on the scale, but I'm guessing she's 20+ lbs. We're in another "loooong" spell and whereas Wednes she looked quite fine, on Thurs, she looked as if I hadn't fed her in a week. Egads, I'd pay for that kind of metabolism!!
A few weeks ago, I posted video of Vikka learning a new method to Stand, as taught by Susan Garrett. Fizz is familiar with hand targets, and today I decided to work on teaching her the stand. Her natural "leapiness" fed right into the method, and I have no doubt that once I get my mechanics figured out, this will come right together.
We've been working a lot the past three weeks on value for me, attitude and focus during work, and the fact that work = play = work (Thank you S.G.!!). Fizz is showing me a love of playing and working, and a willingness to take this journey in AKC Obedience with me. I'm so excited!! Here are 3 photos from this afternoon which embody all that we've been working on.
A few weeks ago, I posted video of Vikka learning a new method to Stand, as taught by Susan Garrett. Fizz is familiar with hand targets, and today I decided to work on teaching her the stand. Her natural "leapiness" fed right into the method, and I have no doubt that once I get my mechanics figured out, this will come right together.
We've been working a lot the past three weeks on value for me, attitude and focus during work, and the fact that work = play = work (Thank you S.G.!!). Fizz is showing me a love of playing and working, and a willingness to take this journey in AKC Obedience with me. I'm so excited!! Here are 3 photos from this afternoon which embody all that we've been working on.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Good lessons from poor trainer choices
I wanted to start shaping Fizz's retreive today. She already likes to pick up her dumbell and carry it about, including up and over the BOSU (blue side up, non-rocking). Normally to start shaping a retreive, one would start with rewarding even a glance at the db, and then increase criteria to a sniff, a lick, a bite. Because I know she likes to play with it and carry it, I was starting with the criteria of grabbing it with her mouth. No clicker, b/c it's simply too much for me to work (clicker, food, db). So just a verbal marker and feed (today's treats are scrambled eggs.......one of her favorites!).
I had planned to start this an hour earlier. However, as I started gathering stuff, I looked up and there she was, sitting tight on the rocking BOSU. So I decided to work with what she gave me. Got the bowl of eggs, and rewarded any movements or position changes on the BOSU. We had fun playing this game for about 5 minutes. Finally snapped a leash on her, gave her a release cue, and led her off. She really seems to like the rocking BOSU (maybe she wishes for a sailboat rocking on the seas??).
After the BOSU work, we spent some time outside, both potty break and playing. I should have put her up at that point, it was a natural break point in her day. However, she came back in still zipping around, so I decided to pursue my original goal: shaping the retreive. You can see the lower level of "oomph" in her work, due to my poor choice to not put her up, and push forward. Bad trainer!
We had several distractions going on here: 3.5yr old James bouncing from chair to chair, across an end table and jabbering away. The flag outside was whipping in the wind and thwacking the screen (I'm surprised that didn't pick up on the audio feed!), and hubby shows up twice. I had NO idea he'd pet her until I watched this video.......will have to work on that. "No petting puppy when Mommy's training!" :)
There's a DWDH moment to work through b/c of my poor choice in timing. She wasn't showing me great frustration, so I didn't want to end it, I wanted to see her come through it, and she did. I was even happier with her choice to keep working with me the second time George showed up. It had to be her CHOICE, and not me being enticing..........thus no big prey object game with the db to get her back. I want her to work with me because she desires too, and because there is joy in it.....not because of "have to."
Finally, in playing tug, we have a few learning games within the game. Thanks again to Susan Garrett for her awesome leadership and allowing us to watch Swagger in Puppy Peaks. I've learned SO much!!!
I had planned to start this an hour earlier. However, as I started gathering stuff, I looked up and there she was, sitting tight on the rocking BOSU. So I decided to work with what she gave me. Got the bowl of eggs, and rewarded any movements or position changes on the BOSU. We had fun playing this game for about 5 minutes. Finally snapped a leash on her, gave her a release cue, and led her off. She really seems to like the rocking BOSU (maybe she wishes for a sailboat rocking on the seas??).
After the BOSU work, we spent some time outside, both potty break and playing. I should have put her up at that point, it was a natural break point in her day. However, she came back in still zipping around, so I decided to pursue my original goal: shaping the retreive. You can see the lower level of "oomph" in her work, due to my poor choice to not put her up, and push forward. Bad trainer!
We had several distractions going on here: 3.5yr old James bouncing from chair to chair, across an end table and jabbering away. The flag outside was whipping in the wind and thwacking the screen (I'm surprised that didn't pick up on the audio feed!), and hubby shows up twice. I had NO idea he'd pet her until I watched this video.......will have to work on that. "No petting puppy when Mommy's training!" :)
There's a DWDH moment to work through b/c of my poor choice in timing. She wasn't showing me great frustration, so I didn't want to end it, I wanted to see her come through it, and she did. I was even happier with her choice to keep working with me the second time George showed up. It had to be her CHOICE, and not me being enticing..........thus no big prey object game with the db to get her back. I want her to work with me because she desires too, and because there is joy in it.....not because of "have to."
Finally, in playing tug, we have a few learning games within the game. Thanks again to Susan Garrett for her awesome leadership and allowing us to watch Swagger in Puppy Peaks. I've learned SO much!!!
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Crate Games, Day 1
I finally found time to review my Crate Games DVD last night, and got Fizz started on the program this afternoon. George had been to Men's breakfast at church yesterday and brought home a 1 gallon ziplock bag full of scrambled eggs.....for training treats! :) Susan Garrett recommends working with a hungry dog, and having excellent treats. Well, we were an hour past Fizz's lunch time today, and I used a combination of scrambled eggs and cut up grilled chicken for treats. Success!!
Fizz has been home for a week now, and in that time, I have not once allowed her to walk out of a crate. Instead, any time I opened her crate, I would lift her out, so that coming out on her own has no value to it, as it has no reward history. With Fizz, this has been easy, she usually sits at the edge of the crate and waits for me to get her. This behavior was already in place while she was with her litter. When ever I went to the puppy pen, she'd come forward, sit and give strong eye contact, and wait to be lifted out. What a girlie!
If you want to know how to implement Crate Games, you'll need to purchase Susan's DVD. While I did record our whole session, I'm not posting it for two reasons: a) it would be large in size, and b) that would be no better than scanning a copyrighted photo and posting the scan......it's flat disrespectful, to say the least. When we started, Fizz had no value for her crate. She's had a few meals in it, but most have been earned through training, and thus fed outside of the crate. After about 20 minutes of work, she now demonstrates high value for her crate, manifesting as not wanting to come out on release word.
C.G. is a wonderful way to start building duration for the sit, for teaching the dog to understand resisting distractions, and that you only come when verbally released. This will transition over to very solid "stays" Note: I don't use the word 'stay' ever in my training, it's a human superstition, not a command. Sit/down/stand means sit/down/stand until I either release you, or give you another cue. Period. Once this duration of behavior is understood, it transitions very well out of the crate, and has great value in Start line stays, obedience work, and general impulse control. A huge "thanks!" to Susan Garrett for her pioneering ways, and this wonderful teaching tool!!
For her socializing "outing" today, Fizz came to church with us. She slept in her crate in the car during the service, and then hung out outside to meet/greet as people left. What a variety of people we met, all ages, quiet people, boisterous kids, those with fascinating scarves (oh BOY said Fizz!), and blowing skirts. She does so well with it all! Yesterday, we went to Team practice at gymnastics, and she was literally swarmed by 1st-3rd grade girls. She loved it, gave lots of licks and shared her puppy fuzz all around. I just love how unbothered she is by anything, and by the restraint she is already showing in not playing with strangers in the same manner that I allow her to play with me (we roughhouse). At pick-up time, we got to meet lots of the Dads, and several pre-teen boys. The 'flooding' continues! :)
Fizz has been home for a week now, and in that time, I have not once allowed her to walk out of a crate. Instead, any time I opened her crate, I would lift her out, so that coming out on her own has no value to it, as it has no reward history. With Fizz, this has been easy, she usually sits at the edge of the crate and waits for me to get her. This behavior was already in place while she was with her litter. When ever I went to the puppy pen, she'd come forward, sit and give strong eye contact, and wait to be lifted out. What a girlie!
If you want to know how to implement Crate Games, you'll need to purchase Susan's DVD. While I did record our whole session, I'm not posting it for two reasons: a) it would be large in size, and b) that would be no better than scanning a copyrighted photo and posting the scan......it's flat disrespectful, to say the least. When we started, Fizz had no value for her crate. She's had a few meals in it, but most have been earned through training, and thus fed outside of the crate. After about 20 minutes of work, she now demonstrates high value for her crate, manifesting as not wanting to come out on release word.
C.G. is a wonderful way to start building duration for the sit, for teaching the dog to understand resisting distractions, and that you only come when verbally released. This will transition over to very solid "stays" Note: I don't use the word 'stay' ever in my training, it's a human superstition, not a command. Sit/down/stand means sit/down/stand until I either release you, or give you another cue. Period. Once this duration of behavior is understood, it transitions very well out of the crate, and has great value in Start line stays, obedience work, and general impulse control. A huge "thanks!" to Susan Garrett for her pioneering ways, and this wonderful teaching tool!!
For her socializing "outing" today, Fizz came to church with us. She slept in her crate in the car during the service, and then hung out outside to meet/greet as people left. What a variety of people we met, all ages, quiet people, boisterous kids, those with fascinating scarves (oh BOY said Fizz!), and blowing skirts. She does so well with it all! Yesterday, we went to Team practice at gymnastics, and she was literally swarmed by 1st-3rd grade girls. She loved it, gave lots of licks and shared her puppy fuzz all around. I just love how unbothered she is by anything, and by the restraint she is already showing in not playing with strangers in the same manner that I allow her to play with me (we roughhouse). At pick-up time, we got to meet lots of the Dads, and several pre-teen boys. The 'flooding' continues! :)
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