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You asked for some pre run footage…..friends BF filmed me and Robbie last weekend without me asking…he was set to film our run, then turned the camera on us while waiting for our turn.
this is not entirely typical of my pre-run routine because Robbie was doing fantastic this close to the ring. In times past he would not have been so quick to respond to my verbal cues and to correct so quickly when he started to react to another dog nearby etc. He would do the pattern search feeding exercise a little further from the ring but not this close. I choose to keep him connected and responsive by doing simple tricks.
this was an entirely new environment for him planned very last minute when my season dog had a slight injury and couldn’t go to this out-of-state trial. he pulled me into the ring to work every time and he did a fantastic job in this environment both inside and out of the ring. I crated him in my soft crate and he never challenged the zipper but he would react if other dogs were being played with too closely to the crate…(whining, digging at the ground) .( i did have him crated well out of the way but a few , maybe 3 all weekend, other people decided to play with their dogs in that “out of the way” location…i couldn’t control everything. Blocked part of the view from the front of the crate with a blanket over a small table.
Car crating was not a viable option. I wanted him to experience the trial environment anyway.You may not approve but this worked for us this time. I was super happy with his ring performance.
Ok. Thats what I needed to know. That wasn’t clear to me from the demo video or PDF… maybe I missed that part of the instruction. I’ll try it again.
Took him to just “visit”at a trial today about an hour away..meaning I could just focus on him without being entered with any of my dogs. Played the food scatter/pattern game ( whatever you’re name for it is) nearly ringside and he was absolutely fine. Easily refocused on me after brief periods of watching dogs in the ring. He was relaxed and happy and not overaroused at all. in fact I was a little worried about how calm he was because I do need him to be in high drive when we train and compete and I know that is different from being in high arousal but I also don’t want to slow him down by making him too relaxed!
Here’s find my face in sequence with a toy. Obviously he really wants the toy….
And here is a compilation of 2 unedited vids from recent training at a drop in class I took him to 2.5 hrs away last week.
posting to show you that even with repeating parts of the sequences he stayed happy and in the game, not shutting down.
My stopping in a sequence is a decel cue and he knows already to slow. I really don’t want him to pattern coming in front of me when I decel…
Question though for you and Tracy: in the context of agility we don’t really want our dogs watching us and checking in. So… What is the logic with find my face during a sequence?
I’ll be happy to show you the Find my Face game. We’ve done it since he was little as I do all mine. But certainly a good one to work on again!
Even if most of this content is not new to me (in concept or in experience) obviously need to find which pieces can help me the most with lowering overarousal around other active fast moving dogs. That is what prompted to try this cours
e. Building on what I’ve done and continuing now with this will be super helpful.Not sure why you are asking about reinforcement since this is the basis of all training…??
What specifically are you wanting me to reinforce differently? Not sure if you are familiar enough yet with my background training dogs to know how I use reinforcement.
Each is different and Robbie’s arousal behavior is something different than other dogs I’ve had over 40+ yrsAnd yes it would be better if Robbie turned to me when aroused without my having to ask for him to do so. That will take some time.
Yes when he was on leash outside the ring he was what I would rate mildly aroused. But once we were inside and Freya was outside he paid no attention to her at all.
Today I did a drop in at a class 2 hrs away. Robbie would not do pattern feeding or toy game at all even when there were no other dogs there yet! he would do “my” CU/ IYC type game pretty easily (food held near his chest and he makes eye contact then gets food…it is a refocusing game, but imo does have a pattern to it).
He knows this venue and just wanted to pull me to go work in the ring!! Focusing on slow games outside the ring is not fun.
he wants to be the one running…He could not be crated near the ring when any loud or super fast dogs were running…..barking, whining, digging in his crate…so I kept him in the truck. (it’s mostly the tervs that get both my current trialing dogs super aroused. other dogs it’s less so)..
When it was his turn, he was perfectly focused on the job. I will send you some video clips, and also clip showing how i kept things positive when errors happened…just so you can see more of my training style. He was entirely happy when working. there were not other dogs working anywhere nearby when it was his turn. there was one dog standing quietly next to the working area.
Also FYI I have done food search game with him since a puppy and teach all my pups to search for scattered one piece at a time food, but I’ve not used it in the context of stress reduction.
I’ve done find my face as part of early recall etc…this isn’t new but worth repeating/ continuing for sure.
I don’t think you understood what I said.
Whatever arousal Robbie showed while his friend Freya (the other high drive dog) was working was minimal to nonexistent. Not at all like at a trial. There wasn’t much for me “to handle”…
But at least it’s good practice to try the pattern games etc with at least a little distraction.Thanks for watching and commenting on each of the videos.
The main point on videos two and three was that there was another High Drive dog working in close proximity..
In the video with me training him in the ring yes I gave him lots of positive reinforcement but what I wanted to show was that at home there’s not the same level of over arousal as there will be at trials.Ok I did several different exercises, some filmed better than others.
1. Pattern games with food and toys at home, low stress environment.
2. Robbie approaching my training field while friend works with her high drive BC Freya in the field. Didn’t have tripod with me so video isn’t ideal but you can get an idea of how he pulls toward the field, but does redirect to me. He always pulls me to any training field and also into competition rings. he likes to work.
3. Switched places and took robbie inside training area while friend played outside the gate with Freya. Robbie never once went to the gate or left me to go see Freya even when i set him in a sit stay near the gate adjacent to where Freya was playing with a toy. however this is not at an agility trial this is at his home field and he is friends with Freya. Much lower distractions and arousal here. but I wanted to film it since you were asking for more video of his behaviors so here it is.I do not have any family members nearby. Most people at trials here can sometimes film runs but to ask to film prerun, run and post run will be a big ask. Everyone at the trial has a run to get ready for etc. But I will try next trial for sure. It may be awhile tho. Focusing on his contact training and this class.
I’ll film a10 min relaxation session for you. And the pattern game that you described with food scatter. He isn’t much of a foodie tho esp with the type of food that could be scattered.
I’ll also show you briefly the focus game that he does well with that I described prior…he knows it and it does help.No upcoming trials or seminars. I do not go to regular classes. I train at home and at my own field.
At a trial it would be almost impossible to film him right before and after a run. Most people are too busy and it would be impossible to set up a camera outside the rings anyway. Plus we move around. Not sure how this would be accomplished.
The pattern game I do at trials or whenever I want to Center him is food in my closed hand held below his head. He knows he has to hold eye contact to get a treat. I vary the duration and amt of food delivered etc. I can film that at home. I also do some food scatter/search but that doesn’t hold the same value for him. He’s not that into food if he has to look for it when he’s excited. Out of my hand is ok.
I have no one to follow me around to a park or even at a trial to do this in those settings. I wouldn’t be able to predict where to set up a tripod and focus the lens in these environments either.. Too many people and things going on…
Any suggestions??
Since the relaxation session goes on for 10 minutes I didn’t think you wanted a video of that but if you want me to video a 10-minute session and send it in I will.
I’m having trouble seeing how a dog relaxing on a mat at home transfers to not overreacting to running and barking dogs…He does get excited maybe by seeing dogs at a park chasing a ball or Frisbee but not as much as at agility. I could have a friend come to my place and do agility with her dog and I can film his response etc. Might be able to do that next week.
