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Hi Danette!
Hooray for the Relaxation Conditioning exercise!!! I think this is going to be HUGE for Gus!
Weave video-
Is your goal to only verbally cue the weaves in this video? What are you working on exactly?Tunnel compressed video, day 2-
Do you have a Snuffle Mat? After two minutes of training any stimulating activity, I would like for you to pause and do some Snuffle Mat work. I am going to post it as an assignment in a couple of days, but I would like you to start now. Here is the exercise along with a video demonstration:Snuffle Mat – to Help Reduce Arousal & Anxiety
Bobbie Bhambree
The scent is such an important component of how dogs experience the world. Allowing them to interact with their environment through their noses taps into an often-overlooked processing tool. Research suggests that sniffing promotes positive emotional affect, or in layman’s terms, sniffing makes dogs calm and happy. For dogs, olfaction is intrinsically linked to emotion in a very special way.
Snuffle Mats are not just great for enrichment, but can also be used as a tool to reduce anxiety as part of a behavior modification program.
Teaching the Game
• Sprinkle treats within the folds and crevices of the Snuffle Mat. Make sure to use treats that are stinky and high-value for your dog and can hold their attention.
• Place the Snuffle Mat on the floor and let your dog go to town.
• Before your dog is finished, or if your dog is standing and staring at the snuffle mat or trying to sniff out non-existent crumbs, sprinkle a generous number of treats into the Snuffle Mat again.
• Repeat this 4-5 times in a row.
• Practice this daily for a week so that you build value for the Snuffle Mat for your dog. What we want to see is that when you pull out the Snuffle Mat, your dog gets excited because they know what fun they’re about to have.
How to Use the Snuffle Mat
• Enrichment: Use of the Snuffle Mat can be one of the ways you provide mental stimulation for your dog.
• You can leave the Snuffle Mat for your pup to use when alone (if your dog won’t eat the Snuffle Mat).
• You can use it as a way to help reduce arousal when in stimulating situations.
• You can use it as a way to help your dog get comfortable with a guest visiting the home.
In this course, the intention is to use the Snuffle Mat during a class, at a seminar, at a trial, or anywhere else your dog has trouble focusing. You will be using it before you step into the ring.Once your dog has value for the Snuffle Mat, start taking the show on the road. Offer the Snuffle Mat at a park, in the Home Depot parking lot, outside of a pet store, or when you have people over who your dog loves. Does your dog focus on the Snuffle Mat the entire time he is in that environment? Does your dog look relaxed? Is he eating at a frantic pace or at his normal pace? Does he keep his head down the entire time while eating?
These questions will help you gauge how your dog is feeling and where his mental state might be. If your dog is eating at a frantic pace or cannot focus on eating out of the Snuffle Mat, then report back and we will tweak your dog’s program.
If your dog is relaxed and seems to be enjoying eating out of the Snuffle Mat, then you are ready to start using it in class. Again, ask yourself the same questions as those noted above. We will build from there. 😊Neuroscience – What’s Happening in the Brain
Dr. Kathy Murphy, Barking Brains
Olfactory neurons are specialized nerve cells that create a pathway from the nasal cavity, through an area at the front of the skull with holes in it (the cribriform plate) to the olfactory bulb. The olfactory bulb is an area of the brain right at the front tip of the brain, which processes the information and passes it on to other brain areas involved in emotion and decision-making, determining how the dog feels about the scent and what action will now be taken. Each olfactory neuron is densely populated with scent receptors and the olfactory bulb of dogs is proportionally bigger than that of species where the scent is not a primary sense (humans, for example).Interestingly though, variations in these important components are not thought to be primarily responsible for breed differences in scent workability, but rather differences in those brain areas responsible for determining how the dog feels about a scent and what action will now be taken.
So, what does this have to do with snuffle mats? Well, by creating an association between the snuffle mat activity and calm, focused attention we can train the dog’s brain to practice a state of emotional stability and attentional focus. These same effects (emotional stability and attentional focus) are known to be associated with mindfulness training in humans, the benefits of which are becoming more widely known. Once you see signs that these effects may be occurring (by asking the questions given above), move to practice in other slightly more challenging environments (with more distractions) to lateralize this brain training to other situations. If you notice signs that the dog is increasing in arousal (increased speed of movement, more frantic movement, a lack of calm focus on the mat, etc.), go back to practicing with fewer distractions. As with many confidence-building activities the main aim is for your dog to demonstrate the calm focus, rather than be good at the snuffle mat activity per se.Are you familiar with Leslie McDevitt’s Pattern Games? We are going to use the Superbowls Game in agility to help him have clarity and predictability. This will help build resilience. Are you familiar with this game?
The Superbowls Game will help us build his skills, adding criteria while keeping him engaged without shutting down.
Here is the exercise with a video demonstration:
Pattern Games: Super Bowls (Leslie McDevitt)
Step One: Teach The Game
– Set out 2-5 plates 6 feet apart.
– Place a treat on one plate and let your pup eat it.
– When your dog looks at you, walk to the next plate and place a treat on that plate.
– When they look up at you, walk to the next plate and place a treat on that plate.
– Repeat until you can get to the last plate you put down and back to the plate you started with.
– Once you can do that sequence 3 times, move on to Step TwoStep Two: Change the Environment or Stations
– Repeat the game in a very mildly distracting environment. Instead of using plates, use any station outside that is naturally recurring like park benches, trees, or lamp posts.
– If your dog engages with something in the environment before looking up at you, just wait. Let them process the environmental change before returning their attention to you.
– If your dog is unable to return to the game, they aren’t ready to be this close to distractions yet.
– Your pup must be having fun in low-distraction and low-stress environments before moving to more stimulating environments.For now, I want you to practice this game on the ground, away from agility equipment. After a few days in a row (pending your busy schedule this week), we are going to put a plate or bowl on both sides of a jump, about 6 ft from the jump. We will also be putting this on either side of the tunnel, expanding the tunnel bit by bit over a few days. When you go back and forth between the plates, do this with 10 treats only. Going longer seems to cause him to spiral upwards. Please take a video of this. 🙂
I appreciate the additional information.
Can you take video of you working on the Relaxation Conditioning exercise with Veloz so that I can give you feedback? It’s hard to without observing him.
Is it possible to walk into the ring with Veloz on leash, then unclip the leash from his collar? Instead of walking him into the ring by his collar?
In the video where Veloz came at you- based on your answer, it is likely there is a shift in Veloz’s arousal and so he defaulted to launching at you.
In the past, when did he do this behavior in and out of the agility ring?
How often did it happen?
Did it usually happen after a bar coming down or a handling error?
In the past, if a bar came down or Veloz made a mistake, how did you respond? What did you do?
Here is the exercise with a video demonstration:
Pattern Games: Super Bowls (Leslie McDevitt)
Step One: Teach The Game
– Set out 2-5 plates 6 feet apart.
– Place a treat on one plate and let your pup eat it.
– When your dog looks at you, walk to the next plate and place a treat on that plate.
– When they look up at you, walk to the next plate and place a treat on that plate.
– Repeat until you can get all the way to the last plate you put down and back to the plate you started with.
– Once you can do that sequence 3 times, move on to Step TwoStep Two: Change the Environment or Stations
– Repeat the game in a very mildly distracting environment. Instead of using plates, use any station outside that is naturally recurring like park benches, trees, or lamp posts.
– If your dog engages with something in the environment prior to looking up at you, just wait. Let them process the environmental change before returning their attention to you.
– If your dog is unable to return to the game, they aren’t ready to be this close to distractions yet.
– Your pup must be having fun in low-distraction and low-stress environments before moving to more stimulating environments.For now, I want you to practice this game on the ground, away from agility equipment. After a few days in a row (pending your busy schedule this week), we are going to put a plate or bowl on both sides of a jump, about 6 ft from the jump. Please take video of this. 🙂
You guys have done so much! And it shows! Callie looks really good based on the videos I am watching.
Ok, let’s make a plan for your startline routine. Predictability is important and a startline routine will help to create that. Ritualizing events provides predictability. All part of resilience conditioning. What would you like to do?
Start working on Relaxation Conditioning per the assignment. I see you took Suzanne Clothier:
Really Real Relaxation class. How did it go?OMG Jill, he is so stinkin’ cute!!! I love the littles!
When you have him out and about, could you possibly ask another person to hold the phone and take video of you and Watson? That way I can get a better view of the environment as well.
Really fantastic run!
Let’s dive into the games in this course and keep building on the success you have achieved thus far. 🙂
Yes, do not put her in situations where she would be triggered. It’s more about reviewing past videos or being mindful when working with her now or going out into the world with her. Does that make sense?
I so appreciate your explanation! Thank you! And we are on the same page. 🙂
I LOVE THIS VIDEO!!! Yes! You see how he is learning the skill even though he is getting treats no matter what!!!
Are you familiar with Leslie McDevitt’s Pattern Games? We are going to use the Superbowls Game in agility to help him have clarity and predictability. This will help build resilience. Are you familiar with this game?
The Superbowls Game will help us build his skills, adding criteria while keeping him engaged without shutting down.
Ok, keep using that slip lead. Are you able to squat down so that you don’t have to loom over? Topper is the same–he does not like being leashed or having the collar put on, especially if I loom over him.
I would like for you to take video of you putting the slip lead on in the house–on and off. Just so I have a baseline of what it looks like away from agility.
I would like for you to practice doing this, sitting on the floor, 10 times in a row, once per day, for the next 4 weeks. I would like for you to say a word, like “leash,” before you hold the loop open. The word acts like a predictor cue, providing predictability, and a heads up. Then, when Fid puts his head through, give him a meatball. We have to make it worth his while. I would like to build value for this skill, not just have him barely tolerate it.
In this video, Nuptse is not demonstrating agency. Rather, I believe there is a long history of Nupstse running off in the agility ring because anxiety and frustration have been conditioned into the sport. It starts small–sometimes you might not even notice it. And then the behaviors become more obvious, like in this video where Nuptse runs off as soon as the leash comes off.
Definitely stop trialing so that he doesn’t keep rehearsing these behaviors in the context of agility. Let’s focus on training him in class and at home.
Are you familiar with Leslie McDevitt’s Pattern Games? We are going to use the Superbowls Game in agility to help him have clarity and predictability. This will help build resilience. Are you familiar with this game?
I totally understand! I am glad you are working with a team to support Avery’s physical health. You and I can folks on her mental well-being. 🙂
If there are steps that have been skipped or advanced too quickly, then it makes sense that Danny K is struggling with contacts. The good news is that you are pausing on trialing. You can fill those gaps of understanding while we work on building his resilience.
Regarding working with a Veterinary Behaviorist, can you please email me at Bobbie@BehaviorVets.com? I just found that my company has a Vet 4 Vet service. So our doctors can work with your vet. When you email me, I can send you that information.
Do you have a Cato board or a Klimb? If not, can you purchase one? We are going to use it to teach him a solid sit-stay at the startline. That way you don’t have to hold the collar and square off to him. Your current startline situation is creating more arousal and stress.
Hi Ellen, yes! Thank yo! But you didn’t say if you are a working or auditing student in your tag line. Can you please change that so that it is easy for me to identify when looking at the forum?
The dog chooses what is most reinforcing for them. For Journey, it’s moving away from the judge. By having her do a few obstacles, passing the judge at a pre-determined amount of feet, then praising her and leaving the ring is actually the most reinforcing thing you can do. You are not reinforcing her for running away from the judge–you are reinforcing her for going past the judge and then giving her what she wants most, which is distance from the judge. Continuing the course isn’t inherently reinforcing for her.
When choosing a reinforcer for a dog, you have to look at what is the motivating factor. This changes from context to context, moment by moment.
If 30-ft is too far, ask the judge to stand at a particular part of the ring, perhaps 20 ft from where you intend to pass the judge. I know this will work because I can see what Journey’s motivating factor is.
We will also be using all of the other techniques you are currently using and the games you will be learning in this class. Give it a shot for a few trials. Over time, she is going to be able to run closer and closer, including getting comfortable with the judge moving around the ring.
Great work Monica!!
It appears to me that anxiety has been unintentionally conditioned into the game of agility. We have to untie the very big, complex knot that has been created. It’s doable, but we have to go slow and it will take time.
It is also clear to me that Merc understands the game but is struggling mentally. He has amazing skills! And you know what you are doing when it comes to handling him. So I am going to ask you to do things that might feel unconventional and even uncomfortable. I ask that you trust me and trust the process. 🙂
I would like for you to try something for a while since we are focusing on resilience conditioning. If he makes a mistake, just keep going like he didn’t. Finish the sequence, reward, then try it again the way you would prefer. By stopping and starting, it is punishing to Merc. If Merc makes the mistake again, finish the sequence and reinforce him. Then break down the behavior to make sure Merc can be successful. He cannot handle being wrong because of the anxiety have been conditioned into the sport.
You did this at the trial and that’s why the rest of the run went well. FANTASTIC!! Do this everywhere. 🙂
Thanks for the poke!
So resilience conditioning is about helping the dog overcome stressors. Robbie stresses high, hence the overarousal. The resilience conditioning program will help him with this.
Good plan for when you exit the ring. Can you take a video of what Robbie looks like if you sit on the floor in your home and you want to leash him? I would like to observe this away from agility. Try doing this a few times in a row for me to get a baseline. And use the leash and collar that you would use in agility.
What I am thinking is that we build the leashing behavior away from agility, involving tricks, and then build it so that eventually you can do it in agility. The reason you are having so much trouble at the end of the run is that he is stressing high in that environment. Now you are asking him to do something–put the leash back on over his head–that he isn’t 100% comfortable with. It’s too much for him. We can change this.
The second video of the seminar-
That’s hard. Yes, you did try to advocate for your dog. And you did recognize that he was struggling. It is better to just politely stand your ground. It is helpful to observe his behavior in this video, so thank you for sharing it.Third video-
It appears to me that frustration and anxiety have been conditioned into the game of agility–hence the overarousal. We have to untie the very big, complex knot that has been created. It’s doable, but we have to go slow and it will take time.It is also clear to me that Robbie understands the game but is struggling mentally. He has amazing skills! And you know what you are doing when it comes to handling him. So I am going to ask you to do things that might feel unconventional and even uncomfortable. I ask that you trust me and trust the process. 🙂
I would like for you to try something for a while since we are focusing on resilience conditioning. If he makes a mistake, just keep going like he didn’t. Finish the sequence, reward, then try it again the way you would prefer. By stopping and starting, it is punishing to Robbie. If Robbie makes the mistake again, finish the sequence and reinforce him. Then break down the behavior to make sure Robbie can be successful. He cannot handle being wrong because the frustration and anxiety have been conditioned into the sport.
If you watch the Training Night Chat Live, you will see me talk about how we will use Leslie McDevitt’s Pattern Games as part of the work we will be doing. We will be doing so much! 🙂
