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Lysa, this is a great start! Well done with the homework! Keep this up as much as possible, in as many environments as possible similar to a trial.
How is Dash around your neighborhood? Have you taken him to a pet store? Walked around town or a farmer’s market? If so, what is he like around other dogs and people?
Great start! My dog in the demo video, Topper, took weeks to finally settle. He lay down right away, but he was twitchy, wagging his tail, and alert. Luke will get there!
That’s amazing! A win! We can build on this!
Keep practicing the Relaxation Conditioning exercise daily for 10 minutes. And follow the steps in the Understanding Counter-conditioning & Desensitization handouts. 🙂
Yes! You can! Have you considered playing in the ring with Moo with a toy? Perhaps do a couple of obstacles then reward with the tug?
Thanks Joan! This is helpful. Where else in Dielle’s world does she behave similarly to how she does at an agility trial?
Is there a pattern that you have observed? For example, does she do well at the start of the day and then her performance deteriorates as the trial day continues? This is what I have seen with my dog Topper.
And, it looks like you don’t have a startline at trials, correct?
For the Relaxation Conditioning exercise, it will be helpful to have video so that I can coach you specifically based on what I see. Regarding the storm, I totally understand it. Just abort mission in that situation. Regarding being pushy for treats, hold the treats in your hands and make a fist, keep the clasped hands in your lap and wait for her to back off- when she does, place treats on the mat. Continue this way, even if she is not laying down. You can build duration of her leaving your hands alone. Once you see that she is consistently leaving your hands alone, you can work on shaping her to settle into a down per the exercise instructions. 🙂
Hi Janet! Welcome!!
If you look under ‘Course Syllabus’ you will find all of the handouts and exercises.
Welcome Sharon! The games in this course will help both of your dogs! Even though you are an auditor, you will learn a lot by popping into the threads of the working students. 🙂
Hi Lori!
You did the exercise PERFECTLY!! We are working on influencing Grizzly’s internal state, not teaching him a skill, so it will feel like you’re not accomplishing anything at times. Grizzly cannot communicate to us with words how he is feeling, only through body language and behavior.
When a dog starts to feel relaxed, they will choose to sit and then eventually lay down. Some of the other things you may see is the set of their ears seem to droop lower (which you will easily be able to see with Grizzly’s lovely ears), the face smooths out, eyelids sometimes get lower, etc.
Keep doing this exercise as designed and you will see the changes. Practice this daily for 10 min in this same spot on that same towel. It will happen, I promise!
Great question! I absolutely want you to go into environments that don’t push Keiko over threshold, including agility environments. But it might look like pausing on trialing specifically for some teams. Depending on how things go, I might ask you to run NFC/FEO at trial during this course. Every team is different so I talk about management as an overall concept.
Thanks for posting these! She clearly loves these other sports. Do you happen to have video of Tess in those other venues walking around, waiting her turn, around other dogs and such?
Oops! Hit sent too quickly.
These videos are helpful. Let’s get into the exercises and games for this course. 🙂
I understand the concern about the ball. I am thinking we could attach a string to a ball and you can reward him by running while dragging the ball behind you, flyball-style.
Hi Sandi! Welcome! As an auditor, you can only post comments and questions. To post videos, you would have to be a working student. Unfortunately, all of the working spots have been filled. If you follow this course as designed, even if you don’t share videos with me, it will make a difference for you. 🙂
