Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
We worked on Parallel Lines. As you will see he now has started to take off with the prop, so I am going to try a different prop moving forward.
I am also using Cheerios to see if they will be a lower value food reward to minimize his looking at my hands for the food.
I have also been able to enlarge the training space and have a room upstairs I can also use when I need a smaller space.
As always, thank you for the feedback and suggestions.
–One problem is I have yet to find a LOW VALUE treat for Teagan. To him, kibble is as exciting as string cheese.
–My second challenge is finding a bigger working space indoors. If the weather permits, I will try the exercises outdoors.
–The good news is that this morning while I was making my breakfast at the stove, he went to the bed without being told and he is staying on it longer. He still ventures off here and there to visit me, but it is much SOOO much better than before.
Laura and Teagan
We tried the Prop P2 – working Parallel lines. As you will see he is looking at my hands rather than looking ahead. Any suggestions?
And here is Teagan on his bed in the kitchen while I was making dinner. If he comes off the bed and I ask him “where do you belong?”, he goes back on the bed.
So, per your suggestion, and on an uncommon Dec 60 degree day, we tried Turn and Burn. I tried it using a toy to try and stop him going after my hands looking for a treat. The first try was good, but it went downhill from there. You will see him trying to jump for the tug toy. Sooooo, I decided to take a step back and try the Wrap exercise using the tug toy, which I had not done in the past. This seemed to go better. I was able to stand and do it. Next time I need to get a second tug toy. Because I had planned to do the T&B exercise, I was not prepared with a second tug. Both videos are attached.
>>What type of stuff is he jumping at in your hands?
He jumps up when I have treats/string cheese in my hands. Sometimes when I have a toy. Of course when I train to not jump up at my hands, he’s fine, but when it is not in a training session, he jumps up. You can see in some of the videos how fixated he is with my hand, expecting it always has a treat in it.
>>Update to the jumping on counters. Thanks for your suggestion, I had been trying something like it, but prefer your suggestion.
There is a bed in the kitchen that he likes and he already knows go to mat, so I decided to try it with the bed, while I was preparing my lunch today. He quickly figured out that he got rewarded if he was on the bed. I will continue this training, as he needs to learn to stay put in the bed as I move around the kitchen.
We were finally able to work in the yard again, so we tried Toy Races today. I found that I needed to not have any treats on me for him to be interested in the toy. I also had to try a few toys to see which one was of interest to him.
Need some non-agility help…Teagan jumps up a lot, grabbing at things in my hands and counter surfing. I have done so many OFFs (which he responds to) and body blocks that I’ve lost count. I’ve been rewarding 4 on the floor behavior and asking for sits and downs….but he’s still jumping. I guess having a mother who jumps over 20ft in dock diving has been passed on. LOL. Any suggestions you might have are greatly appreciated.
Yesterday we tried Getting on a Moving Object again. I put balance pads and fit paws discs under the wobble board to stabilize it. This seemed to work well as he was easily getting on with all 4 paws.
Okay, so first try I was too close, so you suggested moving further away. This time I moved away, I guess I need to find the correct distance from the prop.
While I had the prop out, we tried Backwards Send to Prop. This did not go well. He is fixated on my hand, looking for a cookie. Suggestions???
We took a few days off. Today we tried Sideways Send to Prop again. I did add some distance and this worked better.
We took yesterday off. He just had play time with Lindsey and Colbie. Today we worked on Sideways Send to Prop. His first attempt was good, but then he started looking at the hand (where the treats might be). He did a few good sends, but it still needs work. I was rewarding when he came back to me. Should I reward from my hand or toss the treat?
Thanks for the feedback. With all the exercises in week 1 and the variations, I thought I was falling behind. The exercises were also giving me something positive to do given I couldn’t take Teagan out and about. I am alternating exercises from day to day to get some latent learning. I actually keep a spreadsheet of the exercises we do (yes, I an a major league geek). I will try to limit the number of exercises we do and take a day off here an there.
I moved 2 Bowls to a different room. As suggested, I am making him think about what to do and not throwing cookies to reengage him. I was able to stand up and then move the bucket out a bit.
BTW, sorry about all the videos. I have been in doggie lockdown as Colbie was Dx with KC last week. This has given me sooooo much time to train Teagan. The downside is that it all has to be done at home. I’m still waiting to see if any of the other 3 dogs come down with it.
Round 2 of Plankrobatics. I moved it to a different room. He only got all 4 paws on at the same time once. I was trying to get him to go on it from the end, which is how he did 4 paws on the first session. I think part of the problem may be the plank is slippery. The paint has sand in it, but it may not be enough. We will keep trying or maybe put something on the plank to make it less slippery.
Worked on round 2 of backing up. As you suggested, I did start with him closer to me. I am still working on the mechanics of throwing the cookie under him. A few times he just turns around to get the cookie. He did manage to back up a few steps here ans there.
BTW, the training room has become so reinforcing, he no longer wants to leave it when we are done.
