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Yay!!! We were finally able to to work outside today. We started with Start Line. This was very hard for Teagan. The grass was very distracting. We will continue to work on it.
Next up was the Out verbal. I think he did well with this.
Finally, we did Strike a Pose Serps. It was interesting, for this he did better holding the start line.
Laura & Teagan
I have a funny (smart for Teagan) thing to share. It appears that Teagan recognizes your voice when I listen to the videos before I go off to work with him. He is normally quiet in his crate, but today when I was watching one of the videos, he started to bark and carry on. I thought he might need to go out, but when I let him out of the crate, he ran to the gate that goes in to the training room. He’s so smart to have made that association. I just had to let you know your voice is forever ingrained in my pup’s brain and associated with training fun. LOL
So, we worked on 3 exercises today, Out (hope to take this outside soon, for more room), Strike a Pose for Serps and more Resilience with distraction, this time using cheese in a bowl (a very hard thing to ignore for my chow hound).
Laura & Teagan
And it is STILL RAINING. We worked on Resilience with distraction, this time I tried a toy and then a bag of treats. I only taped the try with treats. I guess cheese did the trick as he managed to ignore the bag of treats.
We also tried the alternate RC exercise, focusing on the right side. We tried this several times, no matter what I tried, he kept circling right after picking up the cheese. Either I am doing something wrong or he has a lot of difficulty going left. I threw a few treats to the left and he was fine. You will see at the end that I am frustrated. I apologize for showing it. HELP!!!
Laura & Teagan
We took a few days off…life got in the way. Today we worked on the Stay, he kept offering a down (a default position for him), but at the end he seemed to get the idea that I wanted him to sit. More work to be done.
We also did some work on the Retrieve, trying to get him to pick up a toy. He’s picking it up, but quickly drops it….but some progress.
Laura & Teagan
Today we tried the Rocking Horse exercise. He did well with this, better than I expected. I can’t wait to take this outside.
Laura & Teagan
Brrrrr, we are still indoors today. We worked on the Predictability with Distraction exercise. I used an unfamiliar toy, as I knew a bag of treats would be too distracting for my chow hound. At first, he was really focused on the toy, but once the food reward came in to play, he was fine. We need to do a lot more of these exercises and eventually take it on the road, once we thaw out.
Stay Warm
Laura & the “Chow Hound”What do you do when it’s 16 degrees with RF in single digits? MAXPup!!!
We revisited Handling Combos. Only did FC (I think) as I was more focused on getting him to wrap the can without going back for the distraction (Tug toy) first. I moved the can further away from the toy and had him right next to the can. Wrapping right went well, but once again, going left is harder, but he did manage to get it. This video is a bit longer as he had victory laps with the tug toy after each rep.
We then tried another round of jump bumps (aka cavalettis). I had a little trouble trying to get him to trot versus jump over the bars, but he did trot several times. I still need to work on the spacing.
Laura and Teagan (staying warm inside)
We worked a few exercises today, Rotated Sends. He dis much better this time around…maybe some latent learning in play. I have been trying to not repeat the same exercise on consecutive days, to allow for latent learning.
We also tried Alternate RC. He did great on when I was sending him to the Left, but when I sent him to the Right, he was spinning to the Right before he came to me. I tried twice, and he did the same thing both times. Can’t determine whether it’s because he’s a Righty or that I was doing something incorrectly.
Laura & Teagan
First off, yes, you are correct that Teagan is a Righty. I did try to start closer to the can and farther away from the toy in the combo exercise. I’ll need to get closer yet on my next iteration.
Jumping Update: In the training room, he is going to a mat, doesn’t always stay, but it is getting better. He still does some drive by jump lunges when we are ready to work. I now use the Go to Place in the training room, kitchen and family room. I also have put up an ex-pen in the kitchen to block him from jumping on the counters. Hopefully, all this will work eventually.
So, we are still in cold weather with snow on the ground and more snow in the forecast for tomorrow. We did 2 exercises today, Parallel Commitment and Rotated Sends. He did fine on the Parallel Commitment. I stayed very close to the can on the Rotated Sends. Again, he’s better going right versus left. He did okay on this, but we still need some work.
Parallel Commitment
Rotated Sends
Laura & Teagan
We are still working inside…icy, snow outside and bitter cold. We tried the Handling Combos exercise. We managed one wrap and that was it. He was more focused on the toy. Encountering this challenge, I went back and did some pattern games. We will try Combos again soon.
General question: When does the class end? I feel like I am so behind. We are just finishing week 4 with 8 more weeks to work. Getting your feedback on videos is so important to me. It sets your on-line classes apart from many I have taken. I don’t want to miss out on your feedback.
We are still working inside. Teagan really needs the mental stimulation, so I am trying to do 2 or 3 exercises a day….plus obedience, tricks, puzzle games and whatever else I can come up with to burn off some of his excess energy. Most of the videos I did with him today are very short.
Take note, you will see him jump up off to the right at the beginning of the Ladder Work video. Re his jumping, I am now trying to keep my hands low, as he tends to jump up when I have something in my hands and I have my hands up high…DAH! In the Leg Bumps video, you will hear me say GOOD, at one point when he was seated and NOT JUMPING UP at me. I am trying to reinforce feet on the floor as much as possible, in as many situations as possible.
We tried Leg Bumps, which I modified to Cavaletti Bumps, as, if I went on the floor, I’d probably never get up, and there is no one here to save me…LOL. He did fine with this exercise. Given all his jumping, I suspect he will be a good jumper, whether it be in agility or dock diving.
While we were at it, we tried Ladder Work. This puppy needs a hind end alignment. He is always swinging his hind end out and usually to the left. I have tried putting him through the ladder since he was a baby puppy and he definitely has trouble with this one. I tried a toy first, then food. He is so fixated on the food I don’t think he has any clue as to where is feet are going. Suggestions???
Finally, we tried Perch Work. He did well with this. I had tried this before on my own, again when he was a baby puppy, and he couldn’t move his hind end. Today, he did not have a problem.
Laura and Teagan
First off, thank you for helping me with this challenge. I know it is not part of the class.
>>Part of this is not knowing what to do instead, so definitely put a ton ton ton of reinforcement into behaviors that are incompatible with jumping up/at or counter-surfing.
I have been reinforcing when he does not counter-surf. I taught him to go to a bed or mat in the kitchen and toss him cookies when he is there…he gets tons of reinforcement for this behavior. He’ll stay there for a while, but if I turn my back or move around the kitchen, he will stray off of the bed/mat. He even runs to the bed anytime he goes in the kitchen, to get a cookie. I also reward him if he just sits or lies down in the kitchen. He understands OFF, but has not connected the dots to not counter-surf in the first place. At times, I will at times, also put him in his crate, to not give him the opportunity to counter-surf. Am I doing the right things? And it’s just a matter of time for the bad behavior to end?
>>What scenarios is the happening in? We can plan for better behavior to reinforce.
He jumps up/on me when I have things in my hands. You have probably seen this behavior in some of the videos. This boy is a major chow hound. Again, I am reinforcement good behavior. He gets rewarded when he does not jump up. I walk around with treats in my hands and play the It’s Your Choice and Eye Contact games.
He’s better when I can see him, he’s bad when he makes a sneak attack from behind me. I have had him launch from behind me to get something in my hand. I think it is getting better, but looking for any new approaches to continue to break the bad behavior.
Worked inside today…just easier. We tried Start Line-Break/Get It. I have used Okay for release from the start line with my other Labs, but thought I would try Brea with Teagan to make it clear, as I use Okay for basic obedience behaviors. He did well with this exercise.
We also revisited Start Line/Catch. He was having trouble staying in place, but did get a few reps.
I have a non-agility question. Teagan continues to jump up on/at me and counter-surf. I have tried several things to break these behaviors, without success. I was wondering if you can suggest a good “CONSEQUENCE” for his bad behavior. Teagan is a bit more lab than the ones I have had in the past, so he is definitely challenging my training abilities. I appreciate any suggestions you might have. I highly regard your training abilities.
Cold and windy today. We started working on Start Line Stay, starting with CATCH. HE did okay with this.
>>And he looks ready for you to start him on harder angles with with the initial cookie throw, so he can see the other side of the jump and has to threadle to the correct side.
Thanks for the positive feedback. I am a bit confused by the comment above. Can you explain better what you want me to do with this exercise?
