Friday, December 31, 2010

Foundation Fundamentals

I made it through the Foundation Fundamentals DVD set. I really, really like them. For beginning dogs, she teaches like I do: teaching concepts rather than behaviors. That's what I'm doing with Zane - instead of focusing on teaching the dogwalk or the table or the tunnel or a perfect retrieve, I'm teaching concepts. Can you get on? Can you go through? Can you pick things up? Can you find front? Can you do "stupid pet tricks"? All of these things teach concepts that will be used later for real behaviors.

As I watched the DVD, I kept trying different things with my dogs. I took lots of notes. And we played with some of the stuff this evening. Had you ever thought of using your legs as jump bumps? I hadn't! But what fun!

This evening I played with lots of things - stacking (conformation style), jumping legs, touching a target on my leg and following it, pound-a-ball, and played our scent games. With the pound-a-ball, he will now do all 4 balls for one reward, but the first three are usually with his nose, and the last one is usually with his paw. He's such a goof. On the scent games, he is now picking out the correct item when 2 or 3 are out. Sometimes he goes to the right one right away - they are all identical! How does he know?

Zane really, really hates having his butt hair brushed. Deal with it boy. We're going to brush it every day until you stop fighting it! This wasn't a problem before, but he's getting more hair back there now, so it takes more work.

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Touch or Treat

Today I started watching the DVD set "Foundation Fundamentals" - a series for building the foundations needed for agility work - the stuff you need before you ever add the equipment.

So far I really like this series (I've only made it through the first two DVDs in the 6 DVD set). We teach leave it exactly the same. . . but she uses it to start working through food distractions. She has food in one open hand and asks the dog to touch the other hand. Dog has to give up the food and touch the hand. Cool! I like that, so while watching, I got a handful of treats and tried it with Zane. He could do it with a twist. He wanted to high-five, not nose touch. But he did figure out the touch. One difference between her style and mine is that I require the touch to be maintained until released; she expected multiple touches until she marked and rewarded. Minor difference.

So here's Zane showing this with part of his dinner:



We also started playing with the "pound-a-ball" toy today. This was his second session with it.




After his dinner, I bent down to pick up his bowl, and decided that he should start picking up after himself. So I started shaping him to pick up his food bowl!

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

New Store

A couple of weeks ago Petsmart opened here. I took Zane there tonight. I wanted to get some doggie sausage (Pet Botanics Dog Food Roll), but they don't carry it! The store is too small. But Zane did well. He's been in several stores, but there are a limited number that allow dogs, so it was nice to have a new one. There was only one dog in there - a cute little pittie with a bad leg. At first he stopped and looked at her, then approached her. Yay! We kept it short and sweet and just spent our time walking up and down the aisles and talking to the manager about the Pet Botanics.

This morning we just played with peek (coming up between my legs and looking up at me) and going under my legs to weave them. Just goofy stuff for fun.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Video Day!

It's another day of videos.

Here's the "Get in" vid requested by MT.



Here's his 2nd session of shaping the back up.



And here he is starting to sequence in agility.


Yes, jumps at 8, no contact equipment. . .

Monday, December 27, 2010

Still growing

Zane is now officially taller than Bella. I haven't measured him, but when they're standing side-by-side, he is taller. (He's still shorter than Travis who is 22".)

Saturday night, Jess brought some friends over, and Bella and Zane got to show off their tricks and things they know. Bella is the star of the show, but Zane is going to catch up!

He's working on a couple of new behaviors. You know the toddler stacking toy with the rings that they stack on the pole? I've started teaching him that. I started it just like "put it in" with the rings on the pole and he has to get them off. He did get one on a couple of times, but this is a very difficult thing for the dogs to learn, so it will be a while before he truly has it.

The second thing we started this morning was a back-up. I teach this using Sue Ailsby's method from her Training Levels. He is in front of me and I start by clicking for any foot movement. This rapidly becomes feet moving back, and finally backing up. This morning we did get to 2 to 4 steps back, so he is getting the concept. It's definitely not completely understood or on cue, but he was understanding which of his actions was getting the click.

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Thankful for my puppy

I've watched the video of Zane learning under several times, and every time it hits me how far he has come. For the first two months I had him, he was not into training much. For his meals, I could get maybe three reps out of him, then I had to just give him the rest of his meal. He wasn't very motivated to work and wasn't very motivated for his food. He wouldn't offer behaviors. He wouldn't try things. He wanted to know why he should do anything.

Look how far he has come. He is offering behaviors. He's working to solve the puzzle of the criteria I'm looking for. He doesn't give up - if I don't click, he doesn't shut down (like he would before); he keeps trying until he figures it out. He's eager, he works for a whole meal now, training is a game.

I'm so pleased and thankful for how far he has come. I think he's going to be a dog that I can do anything with. He's working through his fear issues and really integrating into the world (like he had a choice - he gets drug everywhere!)

Today I'm thankful for my puppy.

Friday, December 24, 2010

Under

I had the camera running this morning for this second session of learning "under". Yay! It's a nice clip of getting the behavior, adding the cue, and starting to get stimulus control.




We also worked on "get in" around the cone and wrapping the cone. And I finished with playing with a portion of the "moving stand for exam" that I saw on a youtube video from a Celeste Meade seminar. I, of course, had to change some things. When I figure out exactly how I want to do it, I'll post a video.

A little bit ago, Zane had a tennis ball. Did he play with the tennis ball? No! He destroyed it. He ripped all the fuzz off then tore the rubber into multiple pieces. I gave all the dogs a bully stick because he's obviously in "destroy mode".

Thursday, December 23, 2010

General stuff

Last night Jill handled Zane in the foundations class. She doesn't want to do it anymore because it's boring because he knows everything. But the reason for putting him in class isn't for him to learn the stuff, but to work around other dogs.

All the dogs in that class right now are young - all 6-7 months old. He is able to work around them no problem. Two of the dogs are frequent playmates. At the end of class, the other dogs got to say "hi" to each other. We took Zane closer and closer and closer, playing Look at That. He could sit right next to them (like almost touching) and he kept his focus on us and was fine. When one of them got in his face, he did growl. So yes, he has some space issues, but as long as the dog isn't in his face, he's ok. He was able to work and focus very, very close to the other dogs, and that's my only requirement. He's not running in fear anymore at least.

One thing they worked on was "leave it". She was putting treats right in front of him and making him leave it.

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This morning I pulled out a cone and worked on "get in", heel to front, and then wrap the cone at a distance. Then I took him to the building to work before class this morning. I filmed the first part of the scent work before the camera battery died, so watch for that in the future.

I'm about to give up on his ears and just take the tape off for good. I don't think he's going to have button ears, no matter what I do. They're not horrible ears and they are just him.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Hike to the River

Today we took another hike. We ended up at the San Pedro River.

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Are you comin' Mama?
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Playing at the river

Allergies?

This morning Zane woke up with red eyes that are puffy and watery. I'm assuming it's allergies, and I need to go get him some Benadryl. We don't seem to have any on hand.

This morning for breakfast, we started to work on "under" - going under a chair. I had the camera on and filming, but it shut off before he even started! Boo! Hiss! He did quickly figure out what I wanted, and I wish I had it on film. Oh well.

Yesterday morning he worked on holding the dumbbell (actually a leather article) and moving into front. But he went through a time where he did not want to be in front and did not want to hold the dumbbell. He gave several stress signs and avoidance behavior. I made him work through it and ended on a good note.



While Bella worked for her breakfast doing agility practice, Zane sat in the x-pen screaming that he wanted to get out there and run and play too. Oh boy. He's learned that it is fun out there! Now to teach him the self-control to be quiet while another dog is working.

Now for two notes that refer back to the animal communicator. . . his stool sample came out clear - no parasites. And his Genius in Training vest came in!
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Monday, December 20, 2010

Agility fun

This evening we went out and played on the agility field. I had 4 jumps and Zane and I played with going over them (although sometimes he went around them - he doesn't know to focus on the jump yet). And yes, the jumps are only 8 inches. Then we played with ground work - just running in circles and doing front crosses. Then we played with rear crosses - he sits, I'm behind him, and I change sides, clicking the head turn. Then we played with "go". I stood in one place, tossed a treat and told him to "go". He ran to it, ate it, then I tossed a treat in the other direction and told him to "go". He liked that one! I think he's a little tired tonight!

Edit: I thought he was tired. But noooooooo. He's wound up tonight!

Zane and Tori

Zane and Tori the Terv. He's kissing her and she's wanting him to go away!
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Retrieve work

In the past, one of the hardest parts of teaching the retrieve was getting the dog to sit in front while holding the dumbbell. I ask them to sit, they drop the dumbbell. I try to get them to move toward me to front, they drop the dumbbell. They can carry it if they go out to get it, but those last few steps and front just seem to blow their little minds at first.

Fortunately, over the years, I've learned to break exercises down a lot more! Hopefully I'm on the right track with Zane. He will retrieve, but I've only been asked for a retrieve to hand or "put it in". Separately, we've been working on hold (in a front position). Here's a vid of the steps, showing three of my dogs. Zane is at the end.




Then we worked on holding the dumbbell/articles. This morning I started the next step. I'm still sitting in the chair (remember chair fronts - similar to those), legs extended to make a chute, but instead of having him start right in front, he was several inches farther back. I asked him to take the dumbbell, then to front. So he basically just had to scoot forward. He did drop the dumbbell once, so we worked on "hold" for a few seconds, then back to asking just for that little scoot. He started being able to do it easily, so next I hope to move him a bit farther back. Just little steps at a time, instead of one big lump of an exercise.

He also went to Bella's agility lesson. Before class we worked on the tunnel (he loves running through the tunnels) and the table. We started that this weekend (playing while at the Rally trial) and he's learning to get on the table and do an immediate down. He likes that game too.

After class, I put him in the two-on-two-off position on the A-frame and clicked when he dropped his head and rewarded on the ground. When he's coming down contact equipment, I want that head down - it makes them less likes to bail off. So I mark when that head is down. I'm not asking him to move down the A-frame yet - I put him in position and that's all I expect. I'm building a strong reward zone right there so he's more likely to get there when I start backchaining the equipment.

This afternoon I pulled out the gloves and we worked on marking the glove and taking it. So I put glove out, put a treat on it, step into heel position beside Zane, give the mark signal. When he looks at the glove/treat, I click and send him to it. He eats the treat, then I ask him to take the glove and bring it back. Again, no sit in front on that part yet - just bringing it to hand.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Rally Puppy!

Zane is a Rally Puppy!

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He finished his title with all first places. And two of the judges were talking and said they don't want to compete against him when he's older!

Since he was already titled, for the second show today I let Jill show him. One of the exercises was halt-sit-stand. Jill put her hand down to signal him to stand, and he gave her a high five. I about rolled on the ground laughing! It was so cute.

He sucessfully did a sit-walk around and a down-walk around. Not bad for a baby boy!

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Puppies can Rally!

Today Zane was entered in an APDT Rally Trial Puppy Class! There were two trials today and he got a 210 in the first and a 209 in the second. First places in both and high scoring puppy ribbons! If he does it again tomorrow, he'll have a Rally Puppy Title! Silly, goofy, puppy boy!

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Busy Morning for the Zaney Butt

We had a lot of fun playing and training this morning. For breakfast he worked on his contact board. Nothing special there - just continuing to add movement.


Then we headed to the training building. We worked the normal heel, sit, moving stand, and moving down. Then I pulled a piece of round wood and got him to target it with both front paws, then asked for downs - he has to keep his front feet on the target while doing a down. This will hopefully prevent creeping in the future.

We worked spins to the left and right (maybe, just maybe, I'll work directionals with him. I'm directionally challenged, so it will be hard for me.)

Then I pulled out a jump. I really haven't done anything with jumps with him. I put it at 8 inches and we just played with the jump - getting over it, front crosses, driving ahead to it. Then I put out two jumps and we played with those. Then I worked on directed jumping - sit-stay to the side of the jump (only about 8 feet away and 2 feet out if that much), I walk across from him and toss a toy in front of the jump while telling him over. Sometimes he went around, sometimes he went over. If he went over, I grabbed the toy. He loves to play with toys, so he thought this was fun.

Then we worked on self-control - sit while I toss the toy. If he broke the sit, I stopped him and started over. Quickly he was holding the sit until released to the tossed toy.

Then he was put away for class time. He did get to meet a sweet little Shih Tzu. No problems - he kind of ignored him.

After class, we headed to a friend's house for lunch. She has 5 Border Collies and invited Zane along. Overall it went very, very well. We brought them in one at a time so he could meet them one-on-one. There was only one he had an issue with, and she's a lot like him. They kind of grumbled at each other while maintaining distance. That was ok. A couple of the males tried to mount him - he let them know that wasn't acceptable, but wasn't nasty. We threw them all outside (except the grumbly bitch) and let him deal with them on his own. He did hide in the corner a bit, but if they took off running, he would follow them. Later, he fell asleep under the table. He had a busy morning and was worn out!

Oh, while at the building, I also pulled out the cavelettis for him. I need to video this. He does crab a bit - he's a little short in the body and needs more length for those long, angled legs. He was moving nicely through the cavalettis, so I need to work him more on those.

So, how's that for a busy puppy morning?

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

I can't believe I did it

I just ordered Zane a vest from here: http://www.therapydogvest.com/
with "Genius in Training" embroidered on it. I can't believe I did it!

This morning I added a different container for "put it in". I had the camera on the tripod, set up, camera on. . . and I forgot to press the button to record. So he worked his metal article with put it in with the bowl and with a plastic flower pot. And I didn't get it in on video. I'm generalizing objects to pick up and objects to put into.

The farrier was out today so I made him come and watch her work. She was very scary. And he much preferred to eat the chicken poop and duck poop. Yeah. . . he has his priorities.

Monday, December 13, 2010

Make Some Noise, Part 2

We are now turning "Put it in" into a noise-making activity. I put a metal article into the bowl and started doing "put it in" with that. When he drops it in, it makes a loud clatter. He's having no problem with that. Interestingly, when he gets something out of the bowl, he's quiet. But when he picks up something that's outside of the bowl and has to put it in, he moans while he does it. Silly boy.

Today Zane went to the vet. He weighed 32 pounds and got his official letter that he is bilaterally cryptorchid. Speaking of which. . . if Zane were going to tell the animal communicator that he is teased about something, it would be about that. He is called the "ball-less wonder" and all sorts of things related to his lack of testicles. And he is teased about it several times a week. But that never got mentioned. Hmmmmm.

Genius in Training

I've said before that Zane notices *differences* in things. On Friday night, my son put on a knit cap, and Zane barked at him and wouldn't go near him. He wasn't the same person with a hat on! Zane has also done that if he sees my husband in a place he isn't expected. He doesn't like change!

This weekend we were at an agility trial. Most of the things Zane goes to during the week have stopped for the holidays, so he hasn't been getting out as much. It showed! He was a little freaked out by people on Saturday morning. So we just walked around and I handed treats to people and had them feed him. Some he instantly liked; others he would take treats, then get away from them. I couldn't find any rhyme or reason for who he liked and who he didn't. Sunday he was much, much better with the people. "Oh yeah! They have cookies!" I still had as many people feed him as possible.

On Saturday I had two people take him and walk him around and play with him. The first one he didn't want to go with at first, but once he was a way from me, he was fine. The second one, in the afternoon, he did fine with. On Sunday, a friend (who Zane doesn't know) brought her puppy (two days older than Zane). Her pup has some issues too, so throughout the day, we'd just go to each other's set-up, grab the puppy, and take them out. It was kind of fun! Tori was such a delightful girl. She just floats. I love watching her move.

Oh, did I mention that Zane turned 6 months on Saturday?!? It was his half-birthday!

There was an animal communicator at the trial. I decided to take Zane to talk to her. I've known one communicator who was the real thing. She knew things she couldn't have known - no way, no how. This one? A flake. Here are some of the things she said Zane told her (or her dog who then told her).

1. The organizers of the agility trial are flakes. They spend too much time at meeting eating cookies and drinking coke and not enough time working.

2. He needs blue-green algae.

3. Jill (my daughter) is eating too many crackers and chips and too much sugar.

4. I have an irregular heart rhythm and need to spend more time biking, swimming, playing volleyball, and taking him running in the desert.

5. I need to get back to working with the horses. I have something to give them, and they have a lot they need to give me.

6. She said that Zane told her that "they" said his nose is too long and was he ok? What's funny is that Jill used to say his nose was too big! I laughed about that one.

7. He wanted to know where we were going next and what were we going to do. (Answer: APDT trial next weekend.) He wanted to know what would be expected of him. (Answer: Be a silly puppy.) He wanted the "other dog" to go with him, because they have a tight bond and she grounds him.

8. He wanted to know what was expected of him at the agility trial (meet people and dogs and eat cookies.)

9. There was a dog at the trial who was bigger than he is who is a bully. He doesn't like him. The bully's name is Buster, but that may not be what his person calls him.

10. He wants a vest to wear that says "Genius in Training".

11. He has parasites that the medicines aren't taking care of. He needs Black Walnut and Wormwood.

12. He needs herbs for flea and tick control - no chemicals. (We don't have fleas and ticks here.) A whole list of herbs was given.

13. He likes clicker training, but he's about to move beyond it. I will know when that time is.

Ok, that's all I can remember for now. Not a word about his fears or how he feels about other dogs. I asked why is he fearful and what can I do to help. The answer: you're doing everything right and he's ok. Ok, thanks.

He did meet several dogs this weekend, and overall did very well. Saturday morning we sat by the entrance and played Look at That with all the dogs going by. Later, as I was checking the schedule, a small dog came and got right in his face. He didn't react. The next day he met the Terv puppy and a German Pinscher with no problems. He walked through and past and around tons of dogs all weekend with no problem. But Sunday afternoon while I was working in a ring, Jill had him out and was sitting on the ground watching the dogs run. Somebody was letting their dog walk at the very end of the leash, and he got right on Zane and growled and snarled at him. Zane reacted back, of course. I don't blame him for that one, but I hope it doesn't set us back in our training. On a good note, the BAT training is helping. The goal is to teach him alternatives to reacting to other dogs. So we were sitting at our set-up, and somebody brought their Aussie say hi. Zane met the Aussie, no problem. But when he started to feel the pressure, he went to his crate instead of growling at her. When he was comfortable, he came back out. He did this several times. He also gave himself a couple of breaks when playing with the Terv puppy. So he is getting it!

Zane had one issue with getting on the metal bleachers. He didn't like the noise! So we worked on that until he would run back and forth across them.

Zane - 6 months old

Zane - 6 months old!

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Put it In Video

What a great start to the day!

For breakfast, I pulled out the bowl and the toy to work on "put it in". I can now put the toy on the floor, he will pick it up and carry it to the bowl and put it in! Woohoo!

I'll try to tape it later today. But I was too excited not to share!

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Class Night

Tonight Jill worked Zane in my Foundations class again. As the other dogs came into class, he barked, but no growling this week. The barking showed he was concerned, but we got him under control, then Jill started playing Look at That (Control Unleashed) with him. He quickly settled down and went to work. He even got within 2 feet of one of the dogs without reacting. Yay!

This morning I continued to work on "put it in". But. . . I'm starting to get a superstitious behavior. He thinks he needs to put a foot in the bowl before putting the toy in. I have to be very careful what I'm clicking now to get rid of that.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Pull and Stools and Putting it In

Yesterday we worked on "pull". I"m hold a rope and clicking him for taking it, then for pulling it. I started to add the cue as he's a natural at this.

Yesterday and today I pulled out a couple of little folding stools and working Bella and Zane on getting on the stools and sitting, and occasionally asking them to do their contact behavior on them. This is exhausting for them! They are doing massive work on core muscles, working hard to balance, and also getting nice, tucked sits.




This evenings for his dinner, Zane started learning to "put it in". He doesn't understand the concept yet so no cue is added yet, but this shows the very first training session for this. Instead of asking him to pick something up, carry it to the bowl and put it in, I'm backchaining it. The retrieve object (a toy for now) is in the bowl. He looks at it, then touches it, then picks it up, etc, all for clicks/treats. Eventually he drops it outside the bowl. For awhile I put it back in the bowl - that's where it belongs, right? Finally, I don't click for getting it out. I wait, and wait, and wait. Eventually instead of trying to give it to me, he turns and puts it back in the bowl! Yes! This is a bit more stressful for him than most of our training. He is not understanding the concept yet. That's ok - he has to learn to work through stress, and this is a nice way to do it.



Yesterday we went hiking too. Here are a couple of posed pics from that.
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And Zane kind of disappears into Arizona colors:
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Saturday, December 4, 2010

3:10 to Yuma

So many things have happened the past few days. I know I'm going to forget some of it!

Thursday I started adding my movement to his contact work. Before, I was just sitting on the couch. Now I'm moving around the contact board while he gets on it and hits his two-on-two-off. Yes, the movement means that he misses a lot. But he's gradually coming to understand that he does it no matter what I'm doing.

Friday morning, we got up, and my husband, Zane, and I drove to Yuma. He had a company Christmas Party to go to and asked me to attend. But he was also doing some work, so Zane and I planned to get in some training in new places. I didn't know what I was in for!

The company keeps a house on Yuma Proving Ground, so we were planning to stay there. It has a fenced in yard, so easy for potty times. But the yard behind "ours" had two dogs who barked every time we moved. (Remember Zane's fear of other dogs?) So I pulled out clicker and treats and we played Look at That from Control Unleashed. Then we started BAT. Within a couple of minutes, he was glued to my side, all focus on me, not caring about those barking, nasty dogs. He would sit and down and heel. And he was more comfortable in the yard in general.

So I pulled out some toys. He is very high in toy drive. So we played. When I would throw a toy, he'd go out to get it, then have to stop and make sure the dogs weren't coming for him, then he'd pick up the toy, still watching the dogs, and finally bring the toy back.

He did some quiet woofing at the dogs, but no growling. Nice, big improvement for him! I've had him at the end of the leash, as far from other dogs as he can get, when we've met other barking dogs behind fences (and they were usually farther away). I've also had him lip curl and growl at barking dogs farther away. So this quiet interest and watchfulness and quiet woofing is good.



The house we stayed in has a sliding glass door. He's never seen one before. So when we walked through the house to get to the back door (the sliding door) to go into the yard, he walked right into the door! Smack! Poor puppy had never seen glass at his level. Later that evening, when it was dark, he was a little concerned about his reflection in that glass.

Now I'm going ti inundate you with pictures! I took so many of him.

Zane is not known for his catching ability yet.

Fail
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Fail
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Fail
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And his first catch! He did catch a few others that day, but this was his first.
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Look at that rich, red coat he's getting:
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I put his leash and bait bag on the end table, and he kept taking them off! Multiple times! I finally moved them to the kitchen.
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And look at that tongue. He smells his "cookies".
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Throw the toy. . . throw the toy. . . throw the toy.
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And yes, at almost 6 months, he still pees like a girl.
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"Throw the gingerbread man."
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"Please throw the gingerbread man."
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"Mom! Please, please, please throw the gingerbread man!"
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Merry Christmas, and many happy gingerbread men to you.
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Finally relaxing at watching the other dogs.
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I had just untaped his ears. He had to scratch!
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Can you get the camera out of my face?
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Thursday, December 2, 2010

Class time

Last night Jill worked Zane in my Foundations class. It's all young dogs in that particular class - 5 month old Golden (fearful submissive), 7 month old Husky (confident), 10 month old German Shepherd (boisterous), and Zane (fearful aggressive). Overall, he did very well. He did growl at the GSD twice - once when the GSD walked into the building, then again toward the end of class when the GSD got close. He also barked and growled at new people coming in for their Orientation afterward. He still has a long way to go.

I teach a Focus & Control class based off of Control Unleashed work. I think I'll have one in February and have Jill take him through it. And we'll continue his BAT training.

In the contact training, Zane gets right into two-on-two-off and plants his nose on the floor. He is really figuring out the shaping game and learning new behaviors quickly.

I watched a Michael Ellis DVD and he showed a "find the left leg" exercise. When you halt, sometimes stop with the left leg a step forward or a step backward from the right leg. Your dog's job is to stay with that left leg. Zane can do it! He also reminded me of the Silky Leash exercise, although he does it a big different, and I liked how he used it for specific training exercises, so Zane is working Silky Leash going from front to behind me and then backing up from heel position. He's pretty darn good at it. The big difference between Ellis' way of doing it and mine is that he uses a slip lead or prong collar - he wants the dog stressed. I do it on a buckle collar. I want him giving him even if there is no pain.

But that brings up a dog learning to work through stress. That is an area I'm still figuring out how to train. How do we introduce stress in our training? What is the humane way to add stress? I'm still pondering that! Ellis uses a prong collar to introduce pain and the dog working to escape the pain. I want to find a different way. Now don't get me wrong. I see a lot of value in what Ellis is doing - he's making amazing changes in the working dog world. I like some of his techniques and style. But I have to change some things to fit my personal training style.