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Video 1-
You don’t have to use toys. The toys are an option for dogs who prefer toys. Use whatever works best for Nox. 🙂Great job playing Find My Face outside! Let’s start putting it into short sequences. Use food if that is more enticing for Nox.
Video 2-
So in this video, Nox does not run off when you pick up the leash. Is she more likely to run off if she is more aroused?I would like for you to practice Shadow Handling daily for 1-2 min. Please practice it on a leash in different places. Try to drive to a different location 1-2 times per week.
I understand. You might consider attaching a camera to your chest or setting up the camera on a stand so that it is facing you getting ready for the run. Perhaps someone can turn it to face the ring when it’s time to go in.
If Robbie is not a big foodie, you can play Pattern Games with toys, as per the video demonstration. Did you see the demo video in the assignment?
I understand folks are busy. I usually do not have any trouble asking fellow agility competitors for a few minutes of their time. Perhaps a friend who is also attending a trial? I cannot help you to the extent that I would like to, and for which you paid as a working student unless I can view videos.
The description of having Robbie move into the position you call Center and then hold his treat is not actually a Pattern Game. Can you practice the games assigned in this class to start? Then let’s bring the game into the trial environment the next time you attend a trial.
Setting up a tripod in the park or out in the world is fine. If you have a friend or family member that can go with you to hold the camera, even just once, that would be great. 🙂
Relaxation Conditioning is impacting the neural pathways in the brain. Internally, we are aiming to reduce the activation of the sympathetic nervous system and increase the activation of the parasympathetic nervous system. In addition to these changes, the shift from sympathetic to parasympathetic nervous system activity increases levels of the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which regulates brain activity and inhibits excessive neuronal firing, promoting rest and preparing the brain for sleep. This is important because some dogs struggle to get their body back to physiological baseline, especially after a stressful event. Agility training, and especially trialing, is stressful. And as I shared with you in a previous post, frustration and anxiety have been conditioned into agility for Robbie. By practicing Relaxation Conditioning regularly as part of his weekly training program, you can help him complete the stress cycle so that he has more bandwidth for the next training session or trial. And once he truly can relax, you can use this exercise to help him settle after a run, preparing him mentally for the next run.
If your friend comes to train at your home, that is a fantastic opportunity to video!
It’s totally fine for her to watch your hands. Relaxation can take weeks to achieve. It’s a shift in the internal state. That being said, she is already halfway there. She chooses to lie down and her body isn’t fidgety, nor is she offering behaviors.
The treats are a tool to help her relax. Yes, the experience of reinforcement is occurring, but don’t think of it as your goal.
For Shadow Handling, give a treat every 3-4 steps. Again, the goal is not to train a skill, although that is happening; the goal is to condition her to feel secure near you and then take this exercise out into different contexts.
Does this make sense?
What a change in his behavior!! Such a simple game with so many possibilities!! Keep at it- try to practice this game 2-3 times per week in different contexts. Try this in your front yard next, with Merc on leash. There will be more distractions in the front yard.
Also, I spoke to the Practice Manager. I misunderstood our Vet 4 Vet program. I am going to learn more about it when I am back in the office on Tuesday next week. We can still help you, but your vet has to agree to be part of the process. After I learn the details, I can let you know. It’s a new program and I have been out of the office for the past 12 days.
Liz, this is great! A simple exercise with so many possibilities! Please practice this a few times per week in different contexts, including at agility class and at trials. Just a couple of minutes will suffice.
Shadow Handling looks great!! Keep practicing daily. If you can, start practicing it in different contexts. You can drive to a park or a friend’s yard. Make sure to have Veloz on a leash when you go out into the world to practice.
The Superbowls Game looks good! What do you think about adding in one bowl to a jump? I am thinking you place a bowl behind Veloz. Send him to the jump while you front cross (the dreaded turn that can result in a bite), then send him to the bowl. You move towards the bowl and then place a treat there when he gets there.
How much have you practiced Find My Face away from agility equipment?
So I don’t think Find My Face is what caused him to “lose it.” I think it was the rubbing and petting. You were petting and rubbing him and then he jumped up at you. He was doing a great job of holding it together and, I think, the petting and rubbing pushed him over the edge. Some dogs do not like being touched while they are ‘working.’ Let’s do an experiment. When you are training Veloz, do not pet him. Let’s see if this helps minimize the behavior of him launching at you.
I know that touching him isn’t always what sets him off, but it could be one of them in this context.
Hooray!! Practice 6 poles indoors. Once you have a few days of 6 poles inside, move outside to your yard with 4 poles and repeat the technique I set up for you.
Let me know how it goes! 🙂
Ruth!!! This is amazing!! Look at Leo go!! He is able to re-engage with you and that’s huge!! Keep practicing these games daily for 1-2 min each. 🙂 In a few days, we can put Find My Face into a sequence.
Once you see Leo able to engage with you right away for both games, you can start practicing them in different environments as well. He can go to a park, to class, to a field, in the middle of a nature walk…
So because Gus barks and possibly bites when he is frustrated, I would like for you to praise him in a big way and give him 10 treats in a row, one at a time, from your hand, when he finds your face.
Great job with Shadow Handling! For Gus, I would like for you to practice this daily for 2-3 min. You can incorporate it into your warm-up to save time.
Yes! We are humans, not robots! We are going to make mistakes. Our arousal changes too!
Sometimes you will need to do more Pattern Games (treat toss in this video) to set up the dog, sometimes you don’t need it. It all depends on how engaged and focused Avery is. And you will be able to tell by observing her body language and behavior.
Good job adjusting based on changes in the environment (instructor closing the door).
And this is how we build resilience!! Well done!! Great job adjusting by using the tools you currently have!!
You can use Sprite’s meals to practice Relaxation Conditioning. It’s the perfect time for training.
Food is not what builds resilience. The games and incorporating them into different contexts is how you build resilience. Listening to the dog’s body language and behavior, then adjusting what you do to better support your dog is how you build resilience. Does that make sense?
Not like this! Lol!
The idea is for Bouy to *choose* to come back to you, not for you to cue “here.” Toss a treat, turn away, and wait for Bouy to come to your front without you saying anything. When he does, reward.
What you are doing in this video is a fantastic Pattern Game, but it’s not the Find My Face exercise. 🙂
It’s best to take video when practicing Relaxation Conditioning so that I can give you feedback. It is hard to know what prevented him from relaxing without seeing you working with him.
Since he knows Pattern Games, have you used them before going into the ring at a trial? If so, can you please share video of you practicing it so that I can observe? If not, can you please take video of you working with Robbie for 2-3 min before going into the ring, the run itself, then video of the two of you for 1 min after the run.
If you do not have a trial coming up with Robbie, can you show me what you do before a run, the run itself, and after a run in class or a seminar?
Can you take him to busy environments that are not agility? What is he like there? Does he get aroused the way he does outside of an agility ring?
