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


Fail


Fail


Fail


And his first catch! He did catch a few others that day, but this was his first.



Look at that rich, red coat he's getting:







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.




And look at that tongue. He smells his "cookies".




Throw the toy. . . throw the toy. . . throw the toy.




And yes, at almost 6 months, he still pees like a girl.



"Throw the gingerbread man."



"Please throw the gingerbread man."



"Mom! Please, please, please throw the gingerbread man!"



Merry Christmas, and many happy gingerbread men to you.



Finally relaxing at watching the other dogs.



















I had just untaped his ears. He had to scratch!









Can you get the camera out of my face?

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.

He's my boy!

Yesterday afternoon, Zane kept coming up and watching me. He was trying to tell me to get off my duff and go train him! So I did. (This is exciting to me, as Travis, my perfect *heart* dog would always come beg to train. I love that attitude!) We're having bitter cold temps right now, so I didn't want to go outside. What could I do inside? I pulled out his contact board and started working contacts! Yesterday I shaped him to get on the board, then to step off with his front two feet. Today we continued with lessons 2 and 3.




We're also working his stand-stays. He kept wanting to turn and face me. I had to think of a way to keep him facing forward. I put a treat on the ground in front of him and asked him to stay as I walked around. If I got past his bum, I released him forward to the treat. I gradually moved farther and farther forward on my way around until I could pause in heel position before releasing him. If he moved a foot (or more), I simply picked up the treat and asked him to try again.




For another video today, I started working on the finger hold, which will lead to the dumbbell hold for the retrieve.

Yesterday evening he got a roll of toilet paper out of the bathroom and was chewing on it. Here he is trying to be innocent. "Toilet paper? I don't know anything about toilet paper."


And here are Bella and Zane napping together at my feet.

Fronts

This is how I've been teaching Zane to front. I combined work from Laura Romanik and Chris Bach.

Make Some Noise!

Zane is mildly noise sensitive. It's not bad, but it is more than I want. So I have started a program where *he* has to make the noise for a reward.

We started with a toy electronic piano - he pressed the keys with his paw, he got a reward. He did get a little hesitant, but we persevered and he succeeded.

Next was a pile of milk jugs connected with a string. He pulled it around to make noise. No problem. In fact, I had it attached to my waist and dragging while Bella was heeling, and Zane was attacking the milk jugs. No problem there.

Today it was Poochie Bells. I shaped him to pick them up and carry them to me.

I will continue to look for ways for him to make noise. Knocking over buckets or cans, dropping silverware in a metal bowl, etc.

When he knows he can control the noise, he won't be as fearful of it.

Fronts. . . oh my

We had a little impromptu training session as I wanted to see how Bella would handle some of the Graduate Novice exercises. Zane kept getting into the action, so I started working him too.

His fronts were so funny tonight. His "formal" front training started with chair fronts, then wall fronts, and now standing fronts. The chair fronts and wall fronts get them in very close and focusing straight up the middle of your body. He is coming in and almost laying his chin along my legs, looking straight up. So I threw in some angled fronts. He's coming in, lining up and looking straight up. If I move away, he is working to keep his chin along my legs - I think he thinks "front" means rest my chin on your legs!

So I started playing with it. If I pivot to the right while he is in front, he maintains his chin on my legs and sidepasses around me. If I do it to the left, he overcompensates and goes into heel and rear pivots. This boy is really learning to use his body!

I need to get this on video now - but of course, he won't do it tomorrow.

I was doing some dumbbell work with Bella and he grabbed the dumbbell too. So I did a couple of holds with him. I usually don't do any retrieve work while they're teething, but he was grabbing it, so I did. Two kind of chompy holds, then I made him to a good, tight hold, and ended.

Now he's playing with the big orange monkey I bought him at the dog show. I love this boy.

Napping

Yesterday evening I couldn't find Zane. He wasn't under my desk. He wasn't under the girls' desk. He wasn't under the table. He wasn't watching football with my husband. He wasn't in his crate. I finally went to the girls' room. . . and this is what I found.


He was napping with Jill in her bed while she read.

I was gone most of the day today stewarding at our dog show. When I got home, I was tired, so I lay on the couch for a little snooze. This is where he napped (my head had been on the pillow behind him).


Unfortunately, he's a little gassy, and his butt was right by my head. Thanks Zane.