[Kristie Foss]

Hi, Tracy,
Here’s some work on the placed reward. This is a bit longer than my videos usually are, but I wanted to show you the progression of the session, and how she responded to different things. I didn’t include every rep of every piece, but you’ll see enough to have a good idea.

First, I tried using a tennis ball to see if she’d run to it and get it – but she just looked at it and went right by. Even when I tried some catch play – no go. So I switched to the lotus, which has food, chase and carry going for it, and as you can see, she was much happier. I decided to try making the disc into something she would get and tug, and used a leash to make it more accessible to both of us. By the end of the session, she really seemed to be happy with the disc as a tug toy, not just a thrown object. This process is really cool! Let me know if I should be doing something differently – or more. Thanks! :).
Here’s the action:

[Kristie Foss]

HI, Tracy,

>>On the start line, she was perfectly happy to NOT move and wait for the reinforcement.
Yes, she has a nice stay. She does get nervous when there are people and dogs at her back, so reinforcing the stay in class with these reward games will be really helpful.
>> Is her dog walk position a 2o2o or a 4on?
Everything is supposed to be 2o2o. I have to be cleaner/clearer about the reward on the contacts. I was focused more on the tossing…gotta fix that.
>>the toys need to get installed in all the procedures.
Thanks for clarifying this. I wasn’t sure if we should save certain toys for certain activities/behaviors, or if everything was supposed to be interchangeable. That’s going to be a challenge with the disc! If I run into trouble, I’ll holler. :). Do you ever save a particular toy for a particular dog in certain situations, or do you always try to make everything “universal”.
Thanks!
~Kristie

[Kristie Foss]

HI, Tracy,

Yes, I try to cue before tossing, but it’s hard to keep them separate. I spent so much time with clicker training and trying to catch the behavior and click (and sometimes cue) simultaneously that I’m having to teach myself to pause between verbal and reward on these exercises. I’m trying to cue the verbal, say “one” to myself, then toss the reward. I think I did better on the video I’m posting here. This is the application of “catch” – outside, and even with agility equipment! Tips about how I’m handling the tossed rewards on the DW and AF especially would be helpful.
I have watched the full first group Q & A video, and found it really informative. Your homework was to let you know about problems/issues, and one really popped up when we were doing the outside catches. Keiko has been doing so well with all the indoor sessions, so I decided to try to do the food and toys combo exercise outdoors. Oops! When we’re in our agility field, she is very willing to work with me for food, goes through exercises well, etc. If I have a sequence set up, and we’ve done a bit, I can substitute toys here and there, and it keeps her “up”. When I brought out the toys to try the reinforcement combo, she just wanted to chase, catch, and keep on going – and going and going. ;). I was able to get her to bring the disc or tennis ball within about 3 or 4 feet. She’d drop it, and then come to me for a cookie, but the toy didn’t make it all the way. When I tried starting with the disc and told her to “take it” for tugging, she just looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “No, mama, we chase and catch the disc outside, we don’t tug.” So, any ideas about a clever way to help her want to tug her disc outside, or should I just look for a different outdoor tug toy? We do have quite a history of chase and catch established.
Below is our Catch stuff from today. Now I’m going to start watching your second zoom chat. 🙂

[Kristie Foss]

Thanks for all the suggestions, Tracy. Keiko and I finally got to the toy reinforcement exercise. Looks like I may have a tugger! – including with the soft disc. :). She has a good “bring” on the disc indoors. You’ll also notice that “bring” with the ball means “jump on the sofa and then give it to mom.” We used the sofa as a “base” and for “table-down” when she was younger, and she likes it, so it does enter into our training inside sometimes. 😉
Here’s the video. Let me know what you think. Thanks!
~Kristie

[Kristie Foss]

HI, Tracy,

Yes, I’m trying to think of a word that would be universal. What I have used for all my girls over the years is “cookies in the car” because that’s what and where they get their reward. None of the venues we use have an area where dogs can play off leash, and my girls have always been more interested in food than toys, especially at a trial. Not all venues have had a place to leave treats near the exit of the ring, so I’ve just gotten used to cheering, leashing them, and then running to the van with them, saying “cookies in the car” over and over until we get them. Of course, that phrase might seem strange in our backyard or indoors at home…..
My other girls have all been ball and Wubba Wubba lovers, and my first Aussie was an Aerobie fanatic. Keiko is the most enamored of all flying disks and things she can race to catch in air if possible. I started with tennis balls, having 2 or 3, and when she returned one, the next one got thrown. However, with the discs, she gets really wound up and races around the outside of the field, watching for a disc to be thrown, running to catch it, running with it (in triumph) for a bit then dropping it in her race around the edge, looking for the next one. I have about 5 that I collect as we play. Obviously, NOT the way to build a good retrieve. It’s just been a marvelous way to use up some (some) of her energy, and, when it’s all 3 girls playing in the field at one time, it’s kept them out of each other’s hair. ;). I don’t anticipate being able to use discs as a reward at trials. So I guess I need to decide if a disc retrieve is what I want/need. At least the way it is now I get some exercise, too, picking up the discs she drops in my vicinity. ;). I think I’m more interested in working on a tug. That’s something I could use at classes and trials. I’ve just never had a tugger, but I think Keiko might cooperate…..

[Kristie Foss]

Hi, Tracy,

We were outside taping the backside exercise, so I decided to give the remote rewards a try. While Keiko is good about leaving treats and seems to know they’ll come around eventually, she is really into her thrown toys – like the discs and tennis balls you’ll see here. She leaves right away in this clip because she expected them to be thrown. ;). I’ll be doing the toy exercise from week 1 inside to see how tug toys do for us. This class is great – I’m already learning a lot about her likes and loves regarding reinforcement – and some about what her “breaking points” might be. So here’s a little set of clips, the first with food, the second with outdoor toys. I’ve also realized that while her retrieve of balls is great, it’s not so well developed with discs…

[Kristie Foss]

Hello, again,

I wanted to give the backside sends another try with me tossing the reward on the correct side. Here’s our first goes at that. I did move the bar for my distance. When I started moving the wing to send Kieko at from an angle and was moving up near the jump, she slowed and was not as confident about which side of the jump to take so we backed up, did things at the level she was doing well, and called it quits. We’ll go back and ease into the more challenging angles in a few days, but wanted to share this with you. My speed, I hope, will improve, too. I’m having knee issues (aging is not kind to use sometimes), so will plan on doing more motion when it’s feeling better.
Here’s my girl:

[Kristie Foss]

Hi, Tracy,

Sounds like you were going non-stop at the Open. Work crew and competitor! I’m impressed. Sounds like you’re deservedly proud of your youngsters, – they did well. When you say Voodoo had to share time with 23 others, I’m assuming you don’t mean you had 23 of your own dogs….I’ve been wondering just how many you DO have. I love that you have all shapes and sizes and breeds and ages. Really helps make your demos real and shows us what can happen (both good and oopsies.) 😉
Take care, and have a lovely holiday time.

~Kristie

[Kristie Foss]

Thanks, Tracy. Yes, it’s a simple thing to do, and I just need to toss on the correct side. We’ll give it a try after this rain storm moves on….

I know class is winding down – how much longer do you want to accept postings? You may get another posting from here in another day or two, unless that’s too late. (which I understand)

I was wondering how things went at the Open? Were you pleased? Wish I could see you and your kids run sometime. We see bits and pieces in your videos for class, and I can imagine how great you must be on a full, challenging course.

Take care and have a lovely Thanksgiving.

~Kristie & Keiko

[Kristie Foss]

HI, Bobbie,

I realize this class is over in terms of posting and feedback. I’m glad the articles and exercises will remain available for us to continue to refer to and use. I want to thank you for offering this course and for all the information you have made available. It’s really appreciated.
Keiko and I will continue to use the techniques we’ve been learning and use them as we enter other situations. I’ve spoken with both of our agility teachers and, in the class that’s more advanced, I’m going to be modifying the sequences that Keiko does so they are simpler and shorter. I want her to have high rates of success and frequent reinforcement – happiness, fun, and confidence are my goals for both of us right now.
Thank you again and all the best to you. Take care,
~Kristie

[Kristie Foss]

I totally agree about the importance of sniffing. My husband and I take the girls (our 3 Aussies) on meandering woods walks at least 4 times a week. We go at their pace, and, when trails fork, we let them pick the direction we’ll go that day. Our girls get so excited when they see we’re at a park, and it’s a relaxing time for us humans, too.
~Kristie

[Kristie Foss]

HI, Bobbie,

I wanted to get you a couple of videos from Keiko’s first ever agility seminar. It was with Amanda Shyne and designed for young dogs on the topic of beginning obstacle commitment.
The first video here shows Kieko working on a few different exercises. Amanda used a ribbon to hold the dogs in some of the exercises so as not to over-do stress related to stays. All of the runs Keiko did were into the “audience” which consisted of 12 other people besides me and Amanda, and 10 other dogs in crates without any barrier between the working area and those watching. I thought she handled it pretty well.
The second video shows Keiko doing a little crate time while another dog was having its turn. In between her each of her turns, I took her outside and we walked around, sniffed and toileted, so she had plenty of good breaks. In the crate, she usually lay down, though she did sit up when a dog was running fast. She would check out her snuffle mat and then usually curled up in the back of her crate and nap.
For her first long (4 hour) experience with that many dogs and people, I thought she did pretty well.
Here are the videos:

Seminar exercises:

Crate time:

[Kristie Foss]

Hi, Tracy,
Got the wet leaves blown off the field so we could move without slipping. Ah, fall in the New England woods! It’s beautiful, but can get messy. 😉

Keiko and I gave the back-send exercise a try. She seemed to find the initial piece easy – so similar to all the wing work we’ve done before. The part I wasn’t totally comfortable with was my dropping of the treat behind me. Not sure I should do that on my side away from her on the other side so the treat lands between me and the wing? I watched your video, and it seemed like you dropped it on your off side, but I want to be sure I’m doing that part right. I tried moving both my position and the wing position. Did we do this correctly? It just seemed so simple….
We took a frisbee break, then I tried putting the slanted bar up. She just did not want to take the bar, and kept going around it, treating the whole thing (wing and bar) as a until to go back of and around. I even tried putting the treat next to the middle of the bar and she went all the way around to get the treat. So I tried putting up the other wing, and she took the jump but I felt I was off-base in my position and how I should be handing the reward in this “full on” set-up, so we cheered, stopped, and played some more with her squirrels and saucers. I think she’d chase and catch those things all day long and never get enough.
So, please tell me what I’m doing right (something I hope) and what I’m messing up, so I can fix things before I confuse my girl.;)
Thanks tons! ~Kristie

[Kristie Foss]

Hi, Again,
As promised, here’s our video on the various Food Reinforcements. We already had a “Find It” and use it in class sometimes for refocus. I am using “Cookies” instead of snacks, since it’s the word our girls already respond to. Swoosh for the motion and Catch for the flying treats. 🙂
As you can see, we used the leaf strewn agility area for the taping. I figured if she could find and focus out there with a delivery man walking up the driveway, and a squirrel chattering in a nearby tree, we’d be in good shape. 🙂

[Kristie Foss]

Hi, Tracy,
I’m going to use this posting to answer your questions/comments from above. Then I’ll use a separate post for our Food Cue work. 🙂

>>>So she might not eat kibble, for example, if you are holding the ball?
Yes, or if there is other food more interesting, or if she’s grown tired of it. That’s why I always have 4-5 different food rewards at any time so I can switch things up.

>>>will the highest value food/toys also lose value with strange noises or when you are nervous?
Possibly. More likely if she is nervous. I do think she picks up on my emotional state sometimes.

>>>For the parts when you are nervous… I personally do a ‘fake it til ya make it’ in those situations LOL! If I am nervous or stressed or just not in a great mood
I need to get better at faking emotion and reactions. I can fake reactions with people, but my girls seem to be able to read between the lines and pick up the underlying feelings.

>>>about the storms/loud noises – does she have a fear response and she down/want to leave, or does she just not want to eat lower value foods or play with toys?
Actually, she reacts at first, then when we “jolly up” she bounces back pretty quickly. The biggest issue is sudden loud noises – and the one that is a sticky spot for us in agility is the reverb from the new loud hollow sounding seesaws. She adores the seesaw at home, but it’s an older, sanded fiberglass model, so the reverb is less. Storms don’t bother her, it’s when wind and rain suddenly make a tree crack or throw a branch against a window. (They make me startle, too.). She takes good quality treats rather soon after that sort of thing. The reverb from the seesaw affects her more and longer. I’m working on having a couple of different friends help with their own seesaws so we can get her used to things gradually. Class is not a good place for that at this point.
Thanks again for this “assignment.” It’s been really helpful.
~Kristie

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