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Here is wind in your hair with the toy. I think she did great! Hopefully my timing is correct.
Then we did a little moving target which is going very well.
Started with set point at 5 feet because she’s in between the medium and large sizes (which is absolute blasphemy! She’s a teeny baby. Microscopic!). Let me know if I need to adjust. I was expecting to need to spend more time on rhe stay aspect but she had zero issue.
Then we did a little Wind in Your Hair, though it can only get so windy in my basement space haha. Still a good intro to the concept I think despite limited space. We will have to do this one at the park.
We tried Rocking Horse again today after a couple sessions of working on the wrap sends like you described and I do think it helped!
Our agility class at the farm went much better this past Thursday. I brought her in earlier so she could greet my classmates and see what’s going on. She did really well even with a dog running in the ring. I also set her furry rug ringside. I didn’t cue her to get on it, but she did lay on it a bit. We did back and forth and walked the crate room which had some dogs in it. Her first turn she was very focused, only brief periods of minor distraction. I brought the Cato board since that’s familiar with a lot of value and her prop. Did some “get out” with the prop and just some easy stationing on the Cato. Ended with a turn and Burn on each side for bunny toy and she did great!
Second turn she was more distracted my a classmate who was standing watching at a distance. There was actually more going on ringside on her first turn as opposed to just one very nice lady on the second turn and I think it may have stood out more to her compared to more hustle and bustle. We did a little pattern game I made up with Cato, tried rear crosses with the prop, but only got one rep in before she ran off to see nice lady. When she came back I got out bunny toy and she did some great chasing and tugging. So still some great success!
I was very pleased that she was into both treats and toys in the ring within the same turns!
Yes a different location. They do all kinds of classes and sports there. I needed a little confidence boost, so I’m glad it went as well as it did.
Our (non agility) class went great yesterday! I came early like the instructor offered and we played flirt pole and a little bit of tug. She got to walk around and take a look at the space. I think this helped a lot! During class (which is mostly pattern games) she was very relaxed and able to focus. Ate every treat (I brought ziwi, cheese, plain chicken and freeze dried). Chewed her beef cheek roll on her blanket and laid flat on her side for full body rubs during breaks. Even with an agility lesson going on behind the barrier. And we played with bunny toy for short stints between games too. Yay!
“So try just having a plan like “let’s do a few tunnels” and go in, get a little play for food eating, do a couple of tunnels, get a little play, then be done :)”
What does a “little play” mean? I feel like she isn’t super into any of the little games I’ve attempted recently.
And for tunnels, I’m unsure if I should reward with toy or food? The first few rentals she was really excited about chasing down the toy out of tunnels, but now not so much. So I guess I should use food?
“Yes, I think that is part of it – there is a lot of things happening each time she is in the ring: toys versus cookies versus running versus… so it is a little hard to tell what is coming next because just as she gets into something, it gets changed.”
For sure! I think I keep trying to change things because she isn’t into what she seemed to work before. She is unpredictable to me so I don’t know what to do.
“And she is likely to behave differently at the rental than at home because of the big difference in intensity of distraction.”
Absolutely! The smells alone must be a lot! I think what’s throwing me is that we had some really great rentals in this location where she seemed into the reinforcement, games and work, but now not so much. And that makes sense with her being a teenager and the space changes (different visual, smells, etc.), but I’m unsure how to respond to that.
“I also shape the dogs to put their heads into the leash so it is fun fun fun to do that as a trick too.”
Yes! I’ve taught her to put her head through like a slip lead, but I think she needs more practice in new environments before I can ask her to do it here.
In an earlier post about class you said:
“I think she just needs exposure to those environments but doesn’t actually need to ‘work’ – just go in, maybe play with a toy and you run around, or eat some treats outside the ring or in the ring. No contingencies, no pressure, just basically having a fun time.”
This is what I tried to do at this most recent rental because our last one she wasn’t super into the work.
Can you flesh that out a little bit more so I have a better idea of what to do? Because clearly I didn’t interpret it correctly lol! I’m unsure how to create a fun time for her. Maybe the shorter treat tosses without opposing motion that you described?
Maybe I need to put myself on a break 😅
We tried the wing wrap/sends. I’m not sure if I’m doing the collar hold/amp up part right, she doesn’t seem to be excited, but maybe she needs more repetition with it? The tossed toy wasn’t super exciting for her. Adding my motion away from the wing probably did not help haha. But dead toy has never been as exciting as moving toy for her so it’s understandable. I ended letting her chase the dragged toy.
Serps with motion went so well with the Cato board! And some tugging after where I sound downright possessed lol:
She was really into that Buffalo fur toy this evening so we did some stays with it too. Perfect success rate and I added in some talking and stopping.
Other side with threadles after a break plus some wubba time!
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Today we did a ring rental because the weather is once again just terrible. My plan was to have fun, see how she feels about toys today, try to do more chasing and movement (and avoid pressure-y type things). We did 3 little sessions in the ring. I left feeling not so great about it, but after watching the videos back, I don’t think it’s so bad.
Even without other people/dogs around, I feel like her engagement/focus/interest in reinforcement/whatever we want to call it has decreased at rentals. I did do a short little exercise with her prop on our second turn. My thought was that maybe having something familiar with tons of value could be fun for her…? And she did seek the prop out on our first turn (it was up on the teeter).
She atr the treats pretty consistently (a couple refusals). She seemed into the treats, but not as much as she is at home or on walks or in other locations. Every time I threw or offered a treat, I wasn’t 100% confident she would eat it.
With toys, she chased them, but didn’t look really into it. Except for bunny toy, which she did seem to be more motivated to chase and grab this time. Yay!
My thought is that she would become more acclimated and comfortable and engaged over time, so the decrease has me again wondering if I should be putting her in the environment? But I also know she’s a teenager, and things fluctuate. I just don’t want to be doing things that aren’t in her best interest. Usually when I see things not improving (whether it’s my own dog or a client dog), I evaluate if changes need to be made, so that’s why I’m wondering if I should keep doing what I’m doing with Vesper and just continue riding the adolescent waves.
Again, not sure if you want to see the videos, but I’ll link them below.
At 0:22 she started to cry, I think because she saw a toy higher up on the teeter, but couldn’t reach it. This is the big furry toy, and I added some extra bungees to make it longer. She did chase it, but was not super into it. At home, this is a fav.
I was pretty thrilled that she chased the wubba at all! I was hoping she’d be more into it like at home, but I’ll take it! She was very cute running back to me haha!
I thought the prop would be good because it’s really familiar and fun for her. She loves when I pull that out at home! I also wonder if sometimes dogs are like, “what are we doing here? now what?” and maybe a predictable game feels good? (Which is the whole point of pattern games haha) I’m not sure I’m articulating it well haha! I think she did really well with it. Not 100% enthusiasm like I’ve seen at home, but certainly not dragging her feet.
At 2:25 I thought I’d end the bunny toy play before she lost interest. I gave a scatter, but she didn’t want it. At first I was thinking, okay, I’ll just go get the leash, but then I thought maybe she wants more bunny toy. And it seems my guess was right haha! She did eat those treats I tossed after the second little bunny toy time. In the long term, I’d like her to eat a treat scatter reliably, but right now, I don’t care haha! She was into the toy and I love that!
Around 0:50 I’m not sure what was going on. Was she nervous? Over it? I’m not sure. She is getting really into pets and scratches lately, and she seemed to like that. I didn’t know what to do in that moment. My brain came up with some “catch me if you can” running around. She seemed to like that, but is it a bad idea to do that using jumps as barricades to run around? lol!
At the end, she showed some avoidance with the leash. Also not sure what to make of that. Does it mean she didn’t want the fun to end? Or just didn’t want to be leashed in that moment? On our walks, she is really good about being leashed, and doesn’t show avoidance.
So, like I said, watching it back, I definitely see more fun and good stuff than how it felt in the moment. But I still kind of feel like I don’t know what to do, and I’m worried she will refuse treats or not care about toys and think this is lame. I’m wondering if she’s having fun or if I’m doing the right things. Am I overthinking? (Who? What? Me? Never!)
For some decompression, I let her sniff around inside the building, but out of the ring (too cold for outside sniffies) and when we got into the crate room, she started barking and play bowing at me, which she does in our basement. Not sure what to make of that, but I played along haha! I also let her jump up onto the agility table, which is next to a regular table with interesting things like sheep statues, and she liked checking out those “friends.”
She does always want to come into the building, so I guess that’s a good thing!
Ok thank you for the tips for the wings! We will try again tomorrow. I can definitely see how my arm is blocking the connection for her. I’m very used to using dog side arm and leg to send, but she needs a ton of connection.
As for class, bunny toy has never been used at home, it lives in the training bag haha! I have ordered a couple more tugs, so maybe some novelty can help.
Smoked cheese is hereby deemed a class only food!
Do you mean I should bring her into Lazlo’s class (which is now her class) more to the ringside area when it’s not her turn just to eat treats or play with a toy?
We did just 2 reps of the serp with motion. We’ve been working hard on stationing so I wanted to try it with this exercise. It’s still kinda fragile so only 2 reps. I’ll also try it with a tossed treat but I was happy she stayed on the Cato board. I do think I need to have my arm back more so my chest is facing her a bit more…?
Then a fun wubba play session!
Thank you, this is helpful!
I tend to use games and interactions that she seems to like at home and that work well at home, so it’s hard to think of other things to do when she’s having a harder time in other locations. I fall back on what is familiar to me, so I’ll have to be more aware. I’ve been reinforced by her for those behaviors hahaha so it’s what I go to.
In the first turn her bunny toy was on a 5 foot long bungee and she was still not really interested. I was swinging it around like her flirt pole and she just didn’t care.
Should I keep trying with toys in that setting? Is it “bad” to present her with toys and for her to practice ignoring them?
It’s so interesting how the first couple times at agility locations, the toy seemed to cut through all the distraction and now she isn’t able to engage with it much.
We did some recalls last class and she did chase me but seemed conflicted about going back to my instructor. Is that OK? She didn’t really care about the toy for that either so we switched to food.
I think I struggle with making the right decisions for her in the moment. And knowing how to pivot if my original plan isn’t quite working for her.
Did you hear back from any flyball connections? No worries if not!
We are back on the Rocking Horse struggle bus:
What can I do to help her be less sticky with the first wing? Should I do a session where I just let her offer the wrap, like we did with turn and Burn? I feel like I’m making the connection for wing 2 and 3, but am I not? My hair is up lol!
Today we went to a different class time than we usually do, but same facility and instructor. There were more people in the building and 2 dogs waiting ringside with their humans, so more distractions than last week’s class.
Here is video of our 2nd turn. First turn was basically the same except I unclipped her leash so she went to the gates a couple times to admire the audience. So on our 2nd turn, I kept her on leash. First turn, I had the bunny toy, 2nd turn I had the big furry toy. She was equally meh for both.
It’s hard to not feel a bit discouraged that we didn’t do any agility skill training, but obviously we need offered attention and functional reinforcement before we can do more in this environment.
She did do really well eating treats and doing some back and forth! Smoked cheese and freeze dried liver or heart seem to be the treats she will most consistently eat in distracting settings.
Based on her behavior here, would you say we should keep coming to class or is it too hard for her?
I see a couple of her littermates doing flyball recalls with other dogs and I’m like how?! Lol! The old littermate comparison…I know it’s not helpful. And I know there’s no timeline. And I know she’s only 6 months old and it will come.
We did a class on Tuesday at a different facility, basically a pattern games class. The instructor is great! She’s only been to this place once before. There was another class going on on the other side of a tall barrier, so a lot to take in. She never seemed scared or nervous, but at times her interest in absorbing the environment overrode her interest in my food. She definitely had some wonderful moments where she could tune in really nicely to the exercise, and chose to lay on her faux fur rug (lol) a few times. But other times she really wanted to just look at the instructor and wag her tail vigorously or do head tilts at the dog and human feet she could see walking past along the bottom of the barrier haha! My take is that she needs more exposure to this environment and that her ability to eat treats more consistently and focus will improve. The instructor let me unclip her leash after class ended and the other students left and she LOVED that. She offered for us to come early the next class and we can do some toy play and Chasey games around the space before class. So that may help too!
We worked on Turn n Burn on a wing today! Fun! She seemed to understand what to do. I think I’ll try this with different wing styles.
And then we worked on stays with the prop:
I did a ring rental yesterday because it’s sooooo cold (feels like -35 🥶) and I thought it would be good to let the dogs get some exercise.
First turn with Vesper started out well I think. Then she got distracted by a sniff in the turf for a bit. I decided to just let her sniff…was that the right choice?
It didn’t seem like stress sniffing, it seemed like there was something there. Lazlo sniffed that same spot and he’s not usually one to peel away from me for a scent while in the ring. I’m not sure.
Maybe I should have ended after the tunnel work and given a break?
After this I ran Lazlo and as I was putting hum away, strong wind made the hatch of my van fall on my head 😱 Ended up needing 3 staples in my noggin, oy!
I didn’t realize it was that bad when it happened, so I did bring Vesper back in one more time just to play with her bunny fur toy. She was sorta into it, but not as much as she usually is.
Bunny fur toy is usually her absolute favorite, so I was a little surprised. But like you said, things can change a lot day to day.
First I was worried she didn’t like food and now I’m concerned her interest in toys is fading 😂
We got back to Rocking Horse today! There was a little decompression break between these 2 sessions.
Thank you for the help with the backsides. I need to keep a scrunchy in my basement so I can put my hair up. Antecedent arrangement for humans lol!
We tried Double Whammy again today. My plan was to do one threadle on each side, to practice not turning her away from me. Then one Double Whammy on each side. Things started out well (unless I’m still not doing it right) and then it became a hot mess lol. I probably should have stopped sooner (a tale as old as time).
I feel like I need to do a short session with a preplaced reward for “tunnel” since I seemed to confuse her on that.
I have Rocking Horse/wraps on a break still, so I won’t get to the spin version of that quite yet. Is Minny Pinny too similar to wraps? Or would that be ok to try?
I’m a little behind on posting videos!
Here is double whammy from a couple days ago. I did try to hold my arm back to her, but I may need to position myself so I’m sending her to the regular tunnel entry closer to the exit, so I have a longer distance to hold my arm back to her…?
Her first time at agility class went great! Of course she’s been to the building quite a few times, but I’ve never brought her in when other dogs were running in the ring, only when dogs were just standing around with their humans. I was worried she would be way overexcited by the running dog (I’m traumatized by Lazlo lol) because you really can only get about 12 feet away from the ring at this facility. BUT, she handled it so well!
She was of course a little excited and wiggly, but was able to start back and forth with smoked cheese pretty much immediately. She would look at the dog in the ring, but could easily turn back toward me. So that alone felt amazing!
First turn we did restrained recalls and some blind crosses. She wasn’t as into the toy as I anticipated. It’s a toy she likes at home, but I haven’t used that toy elsewhere. But she seemed to like chasing me, and she did engage with the toy some. She did seem a little conflicted between me and my instructor, as she does really like people. I wonder if I had done a treat toss backwards instead of having Dana hold her if she would have been more into the toy.
Second turn, we tried the tunnel. It was long and a bit curved. She has done long tunnels, but the curve was a new element, and so I think she will need that broken down more for her. Not a huge deal! At the end, I took out her bunny fur toy, and she was really into that, even with Dana standing near us.
Overall, I’d say it was a success! I didn’t want to do anything too hard because having people and other dogs around was enough of a challenge.
This morning we revisited the backside slices with her on my left:
And then this afternoon, we tried with her on my right. She didn’t seem very into this toy initially, so I tried to jazz her up with movement. Was that the right thing to do? The video is a little long, but I wanted to show how towards the end, she was gripping really well and seemed super into it, so I did one more rep. It kind of seemed like she just wanted food at the beginning? I’m not sure.
I was hoping to get to position 3 but I don’t think she’s ready quite yet. Can I use my arm, or am I not supposed to do that?
Because she wasn’t so keen on the toy at class, and then was also a little meh with this toy initially, I’m wondering if food is surpassing toy now? But also she’s a teenager, so it’s hard to say haha. Maybe she was tired, even though she was acting bored. Or perhaps I should have taken today off, since she had class yesterday? So hard to know!
Thank you for the tips on the threadle arm for the tunnel! I will make those changes next time we work on it.
Today we did serps vs threadle on the other side – gotta balance it out! She had one almost error, but then got it at the last second haha! And I tried to stay in position on the threadles until she got the reward.
As for the flyball, BC Boomerangs (Cary), Bordering on Insanity (Long Grove), Canine Athletics (Elgin) are near me, but not sure how up-to-date those locations are. Rainbow Runners and Black Sheep Squadron in Chicago are a little far, but could work.
We revisited the SCARY FIELD today and she did just fine! Did back and forth with some bits of leftover pizza, played with snowballs, did a couple blind crosses on the flat and a couple hand touches. No concern from her at all!
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