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Thank you so much for that explanation about my “Pez” procedures. I think it’s actually reducing her barking and angst in between reps (does that mean there is operant conditioning at play?), but it’s hard to explain the purpose and how it’s helping to others. You have given me some language to use to help with that.
<<So keep on Pezzing it up! And now I want some Pez. And my next puppy might be named Pez LOL!
I will keep on “Pezzing it up”! (That’s totally a new verb in my vocabulary now, lol). And that’s a great name for a puppy!! Congrats on the new baby, by the way!
<<What is happening when you dispense the Pez is neurobiological (internal state conditioning, resilience conditioning) and not operant…
I just spent way too long reading about studies in mice and internal state conditioning and operant vs classical learning, lol.
<<Onwards to the video – she has made BIG STRIDES with finding the tunnel while you layered and run away!!! Yay! There is some real tunnel love building, and tunnel rage is reducing.
Yes!! I love seeing her driving to the tunnel! It’s been such an issue for us in the past.
Ugh! I don’t know why YouTube is being difficult for this class. Here is the updated link.
I vote for Wednesday or Thursday for the live chat, lol. I am starting a nosework class on Monday with Nox! Bobbie talked about the benefits of it for dogs with behavior issues, so we’re trying it out. Tuesday I teach agility class. But if I miss it, I will watch the recording!!
Hi!
I know I just posted the other video a little while ago, but I wanted to post my Switch Aways video while I had a chance.
Nox has heard the word “switch” before, but I have not done much work with it. She did pretty well overall, especially when I was clear with my cues. I think she was mostly relying on body cues at this point. Towards the end of the video, I moved the jump and did a couple of reps in the other direction just to see if it was a pattern or if she was understanding the word. I need to work on turning to the right as well still.
https://youtu.be/SNtiP-gtAKsWe’ll be working on the last 3 sequences over the next week. I’m glad we have a catch up week!!
Finally, in your last email you told us to let you know if we wanted to do another live chat. I am always game for that, lol!
Hi Tracy!
Thanks for all that info on non-reward markers!! Super helpful.
I am seeing quite a bit of progress driving to the tunnel, even with layering. I have not had a chance to go back to the first game with no movement from me, but when I’m allowed to move, it is going pretty well.
In this video, my verbals were a little messy in the first few reps. I had no idea what I was saying, lol. She did well in spite of that, haha.
Dog training question while you’re watching! At around the 30 second mark, Nox dropped a bar. I threw the clam food toy for the rep and went to put the bar back up. Since she has a tendency to leave me, especially when I disengage at all, I will often throw cookies for her and give her “search” cue, which means find food on the ground. I’ve been told by other trainers not to be a “Pez dispenser” and just give out cookies for nothing (although that was more for when she’s just standing next to me and I’m talking to the instructor, but it serves the same purpose). Do you think there’s an issue with my process or is it ok to use the cookies to keep her from leaving or getting super barky and angry? (Apparently “barky” is not a word. How is that possible, lol?)
Handling Challenges 4
Hi!
<<I think that a key would be to use an immediate reset marker where she comes back to get a cookie to try again – that can really help reduce frustration while building up a calmer response when things are not perfect.
I previously used a no reward marker, but no matter how casual or upbeat it was, it would cause her to immediately run off and chase things (real or imagined). I have not tried a specific word to mean “come here and get a cookie so we can try again.” I will see if that cleans up our training a bit.
<<If getting the food out of the lotus ball is not a good feeling for her, then definitely take it out – she ran off after a lotus ball reward early in the video here.
I think she likes the Clam toy I’m using more than she liked the Lotus Ball, but I think she prefers the Manners Minder over both. My guess is that it has to do with her impatience, lol. In the video, I was using a new treat, and I don’t think she was super excited about it (although she still scarfed it down, lol). That may have contributed to her lower frustration tolerance as well. I’m going to pay more attention to the difference based on my different rewards (MM vs thrown food vs food toy).
I tried the sequence again with her on my right and sending to the jump past the tunnel. I didn’t video it, but it went much better. Perhaps it was a fresh brain, latent learning, or cleaner mechanics on my part (or all 3!). I will revisit this skill in the future.
New Stuff: We have been working on our threadle slices and wraps recently, and they are still a work in progress, so I wasn’t sure how some of the sequences were going to go. I was very pleased with the results! I had a couple of spots where I know I didn’t support her line correctly and she missed the correct side of the jump, but she was able to get it as soon as I fixed my handling. Would you do these same sequences at some point with very little connection and handling, or does that just apply to the earlier game we played? The tunnel while layering the jump was a little challenging at first (not surprisingly), but once I gave a slight arm cue, she was able to figure it out.
Yes, very low frustration tolerance!! I’m not sure if there are games to play outside of agility that might help that or if that’s just her personality. I will try adding the arm in to help her build confidence with this game, though!
I’ll have to break out some really yummy treats for the lazy tunnel game… Would I play that game separately from the discrimination game so the tunnel is just by itself? If so, I might add the Manners Minder back in so she doesn’t have to work for the cookie by getting it out of the toy. I think she prefers that.
The last video did have an issue with the upload. I uploaded it again. Sorry about that!
We did another attempt at the stationary verbals game. I held her longer so she had to listen to the cue more times. I’m posting it here so I have all my videos in one place for the class; no feedback necessary since I already posted 5 minutes of this game. 🙂
<<She was so smooth about finding the tunnel on the first video that I was trying to remember if she used to have BIG FEELINGS about tunnels or not.>>
Yes, she sometimes has big feelings about tunnels.
On to this week’s first game! This was REALLY hard once we moved on to the second side. We clearly need to play the stationary game more to help build this skill.
https://youtu.be/Hz6nW9l76DcWe will continue working on that game with the adjustments of shortening the tunnel, moving the obstacles further apart, and getting rid of the Manners Minder. I suspect she will, in fact, have some opinions about having to hear the verbal multiple times before she’s allowed to go, lol! I will hold onto her a bit longer when we play it again, though.
I am posting both the Handling Challenges 1 and Combos games. 🙂
Handling Challenges 1: https://youtu.be/Nt7SkZ1s0yY
Handling 2: Combos!: https://youtu.be/xZGQMXVf-u0I had so much fun at the seminar on Friday!! I can’t wait to try out a Masters level session with you! I really appreciate that you commented that you saw so much improvement in her BIG FEELINGS. I know we’ve made a lot of progress, but it’s hard for me to see it sometimes since we have a long way to go still, and I probably don’t notice the change as much since it’s gradual to me. It’s nice to know that our hard work has paid off and that others can see it, too. 🙂
Hi!
This is my last post for this class sadly. I know it’s last minute, and the video is a bit long, but I am not necessarily looking for feedback on it. I just wanted to put it in the same location as my other assignments so I can look back at them later. 🙂
This is assignment #8, modulating emotions. Nox has a very good toy release and will immediately go to her mat. However, she struggles with understanding that she should just relax on the mat and not throw out behaviors. I think I did a bit too much shaping when she was a puppy, lol. She will shuffle her feet, slightly adjust her position, offer eye contact, and look from side to side (a trained behavior). Sitting still just doesn’t occur to her! I will keep working on just the relaxation behavior even without adding in the excitement in the hopes that she will understand the point. If I have food, though, she thinks she’s working. I actually think she would relax pretty quickly if I didn’t have any food at all, but that would not transfer to other settings very easily I don’t think.
Bobbie, thank you so much for a fun class! I have enjoyed all of the lessons you presented, and I especially enjoyed the live sessions. I am talking with my vet about doing a consult with your team to see if we can find some meds that will be more helpful that what we are currently using. I’m waiting for the go ahead from her, and then I will be in contact. 🙂
We tried the bowls in a few spots in the middle of a course so there were 3 or 4 obstacles between bowls. Even with several reps of the same few obstacles and bowl, she was just running right past the bowl. I think I need to do some more work to build value for the bowl. I think it is more rewarding to her to keep running than to stop and get a cookie right now. I also think I need to switch to flat targets that she can’t flip over since she thinks she needs to smack them and lay in them. That makes it hard to put a treat in them, lol. I am thinking about using licky mats or something similar. That would also fix the problem of her “taking them with her” since they are getting caught under her feet.
I have never picked a dog up and placed them on a contact during a trial. I will have to read up on the rules for the different venues to see which ones allow this. We have played mostly in UKI and NADAC, both of which allow and encourage training in the ring. We’ve only done one AKC trial so far, mostly because they are stricter about training.
Hi!
This is a video of adding Super Bowls to agility. I already had a line of jumps set up to work on jumping skills, and I didn’t have time to put them in a circle since this was before work, so I just went with what I had. This was the first time I’ve added them to agility, so I thought keeping it really short would be ok anyway. Any suggestions for how I’m implementing it?
Also, here’s a quick video of our contact training. We talked about it in the Zoom chat the other day, and you suggested putting her on the down ramp to make it really easy and to use a physical target. I wanted to show you what it looks like in our backyard without a target. She is doing really well with it overall, but it seems to be the arrousal piece that is getting us. I try to vary my speed and position (being behind, decelerating, running past her, etc.). In a course, she’s a little more likely to miss it, but not often. It seems to be when we go to our training facility and her brain falls out that we have more issues. It has occurred to me that it might not be the behavior so much as her not being able to focus. Should I try the method you suggested at our training facility or wait on asking for that skill in that environment until I can work on her feelings in general there?
Bobbie, I completely understand about not being able to answer the hormone question. I don’t think anyone has the answer to that question really unfortunately.
We will keep working on the Super Bowls game, and I’ll try to clean up my mechanics so I can add it into agility soon.
Joanne, I listened to a podcast today that actually addressed this topic a little bit. It’s called “The Bitey End of the Leash.” If you search for that on a podcast app, you should be able to find the episode called “Simon Gadbois, PhD” from Sept. 10, 2020 if you are interested in listening. That topic is at least halfway through the episode, though. Nox is not aggressive, but she is reactive on a leash. I think some of the same concepts can apply, though, which is why I have listened to some of the episodes on the topic of aggression. That, and I love learning about dog behavior of all kinds!
Hi Bobbie!
I have not had a chance to video us playing the Super Bowls game again, but I wanted to clarify one thing about your response. I may have misunderstood the book. Are you saying that I should not wait for Nox to approach the next bowl, and that I should lead her there myself instead as soon as she eats the cookie from the previous bowl?
Also, do you ever put this game on stimulus control with a cue, or is the cue simply the dog seeing the bowl? I haven’t added the game into agility yet, of course, but once we do, I’m not sure if she’ll notice the bowls on the ground when she’s running full speed, so I was wondering if there was a way to indicate that she should look for it.
>>>>>>>
Finally, I have a question that is not related to pattern games or really training at all. I understand if you don’t want to/can’t answer the question since it’s quite complex and there’s really not enough research yet to know the true answer. Nox is intact, but according to my breeder’s contract, I am supposed to spay her; I also have concerns about pyo. I have considered doing an OSS to retain her hormones for the possible health benefits such as body condition for sports and reducing cancer risks (again, I know there are a lot of unknowns here). I have also considered a lap spay or even a traditional spay; my breeder is ok with any of these options.
One of the things that keeps from choosing the two latter options is about behavior. I have read and heard from several experts that altering a dog can make them more reactive/aggressive. On the other hand, I think everyone has been told for years that altering will reduce a lot of behavior issues such as these. Nox has only had 2 heats (18 months and 26 months), so I don’t know how much her hormones might play a part in her behavior (if at all). I do not notice major changes, good or bad, when she has been in heat. Do you have any advice or anecdotal evidence that you could share on this topic, or do you recommend any resources I could look into? I have not been able to find very much on the topic.
Hi!
I want to start using Super Bowls in agility as well as in the presence of shadows on the fence. I have not done this game before, so I would like some feedback on my mechanics.
In the first part of the video, Nox wasn’t sure what to do with the bowls, so she was using them as paw targets. We have been retraining our contacts, and part of the training has her lay down while I keep moving, so I think she was also trying out that behavior.
After the first couple of reps down the line of bowls, I decided to read the section of Controlled Unleashed that explains it again, and I realized I was not doing it correctly. I was walking to the next bowl and putting a cookie in before she looked at me. I made a note in the video towards the end that pinpoints where I think I was doing better, so that’s where I’d like the feedback to focus please. I also decided that I didn’t have enough hands for a clicker, so I got rid of that.
