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Good morning!
Nerd alert ā ļø but I think you’ll like this:
In these early stages of training, we are getting a lot of Reward Prediction Error dopamine spikes when the reward arrives (because it is all so happily unexpected). The brain shifts, though, to having the big spike when the brain knows the reward is coming (not when it arrives) so basically we want to get the markers before anything else – even if he doesn’t fully understand them yet, we are capitalizing on the dopamine spike that will be paired with them, which is great for long term plasticity, positive CER, all good things š
If you are in the mood for further nerding š¤ check out the Wolfram Schultz monkey RPE experiments where the door lifting became what elicited the dopamine spike. The actual arrival of the reinforcement didn’t necessarily elicit it because it was expected. Very cool stuff!
The mat video is listed as still processing so youtube won’t let me see it. Can you repost?
The wrap video was filled with great stuff! The wrapping went great, of course! He’s driving to the cone beautifully and bending really well!
But the environment was the really cool part to see – he was able to ignore the crates and the dragging leash, ignore the stray dog (poor dog!) and shift into a bit of a pattern game when the new black dog appeared. So many things happening and his brain didn’t seem to “notice”. I mean, I’m sure his brain was aware but it looked easy for him to filter them out. Good boy!!!Great job here! Enjoy the rest of the weekend!
Tracy
Good morning!! He was absolutely fantastic here!! And it looks like he is just so much fun. š
His focus for working/playing with you was amazing – especially since he’s a baby pup and he’s never been the DASH before. Wow!!
The forward focus was great! He was happy to drive ahead and was locked onto the toy. My only suggestion is for the in-between moments: try to keep your hands lower when you are tugging , down by your thighs or knees. When your hands come up high, he has to crank his neck up. The best tugging was when you kept the toy basically on the ground, swishing it around for him to grab and pull back on.
You can also ask the holder to hold him for this game too, so you can get far enough ahead to see if he will pass you to get to the toy š
The blinds looked great! The toy might have felt weird because the holder let him go a shade early, but when she held him longer I thought your timing was lovely!
He was also really good about ignoring her, after the first bit of hugs and kisses š He is a very happy social dude, so having to ignore a person and drive to you is great for self-control!!
To do the decel and pivot after the blind, you can lead out even more and start the blind as soon as he starts running to you. That will give you more time to then slow down and show thr cookie hand next to your leg while he is still several strides away from you – then slowly pivot when he gets to you.
Great job here!!
Tracy
Hi!
>Our personal play is going wellā¦so well I have a black eye. I knew better than to get my head close. I appreciate all the tips. Itās such a valuable tool to have.>
Eek!! Ouch! When playing without food and toys, it all has to develop over time, and also it requires that both dog and human understand how each likes to play. And some good arousal regulation on the part of the pup so we donāt get tooth hugs, for example š I donāt really actively teach it at this stage (beyond the ready dance :)) because it is really too soon and adolescence is an unpredictable time – plus it develops organically really well š So feel free to protect your eyeballs and engage but donāt worry too much about play without food or toys for now.
>I was singing your praises on FB and a friend with dobes was just at 2 of your seminars in FL. Itās unanimous that youāre wonderful!>
Awww that is too kind!! Was it Carol? She didnāt work her Dobe, I feel robbed š
>Here is our stealth game with a novel object already placed in the area and our resilience food to toy to retrieve>
The SSC game when great! The object was pretty obvious I the environment so I am confident that her brain was aware of it and processing it while she was engaging with you. Super!! The more different random novel objects she sees, the more she will develop the neural pathway to ignore distractions.
She definitely loved the toy in the retrieve game! She had a grand time killing it LOL! She was bringing it back pretty well but we can convince her to bring it back more immediately.
The cookie toss was fine and all but she was happily locked not the toy. You can increase the value of the food to use something really delicious or use a lower value toy so she is less likely to try to kill it as much šGreat job here!
Tracy
Hi! I hope she is feeling better!
>She doesnāt always come back for the second toy. Iāll try that when she feels better. Yes, she does like lining up between my legs! You are remembering correctly!>
It is possible she is suspicious of the 2nd toy because it means she has to give up the first toy? The line up might be more of a blank slate in terms of it being fun and not paired with giving up toy 1. She can bring toy 1, or not – as long as she lines up, the game can continue with toy 2!
She did really well with the new object to wrap! She was watching your hands a bit at first but then got back to the business of wrapping. Super! The next step is for you to stand up š This will all come together nicely for the new game added on Monday.
Great job!
TracyHi!
>I have the jumps at 6 inches here because I thought a little height would get her to put more power in. Sheās almost 10 months so I think some height should be okay, but tell me if you think I shouldnāt.>
6 inches is great! She is a big dog and 6 inches is really low š
>I have a hard time getting to sit 6 inches from the bar. It might be because I think when she sits she usually rocks back instead of tucking under. >
She can do a stand stay for her jump grids! The exactness of the sit spot wonāt be an issue when she is doing sequences. At :27, though, her sit spot was great! You used a cookie lure up high to get her to sit in that spot.
>Sorry thereās so much down time in the video. Hopefully you can forward through that. Iām learning how to clip those out now.>
No worries! It is easier to scroll through it than it is to edit it out š
Nice reward for the stay at the beginning! And I am happy with what she is doing on her jumps. She is actually really organized for such a big young dog!!
My one suggestion is to have a longer toy, so it drags on the ground. The toy was a little high – she was targeting it really well but that was getting her head position a little high.
> notice her front feet donāt hit in the middle of the jumps, but sheās still not taking an extra step before jumping the second jump. Iām wondering if her first jump is shorter because of being close to the bar. >
Usually that is because she is sorting out pushing off from her rear – she is young and I know she will sort it out (and being exactly in the middle is not a requirement, though :))
>Do you think I need to adjust the spacing of the jumps or set her farther back since sheās big? >
Nope! You are all good! That stand stay is something to try and you can also raise jump 2 to 8 inches. She will sort out her hind end push with practice, especially as the dog is dragging on the ground.
>Practicing at the friendās was tough because she wanted to run off and play with her puppy friends, so weāll keep trying that. I live in a small town, Flagstaff, AZ, and unfortunately we usually donāt have regular classes we can go to and get practice working around other dogs.>
You can play simple games with her like tricks for treats or tugging around the other dogs. And we have more engagement games coming up here too! I am glad she is friendly so it is fine if she is a little distracted by her friends for now. We will work her through that. Is Monica Bush a local instructor in Flagstaff? I wonder if she has any good puppy classes?
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
>I want to use the bar with the go jump as I have an issue with promise looking at just the wings.>
You can use a jump bump so he has a bar visual but it is not displaceable – that way he canāt drop a bar as he learns to find the line. We donāt want to be in the conundrum of whether to reward or not: what if he finds the line but drops the bar? Jump bump for the win LOL!
>His inclination is go so he is not so sure on the verbals yet. >
This will serve you well on course, due to how things are evolving now! We can use stronger cues to get the turns: when you say right, for example: the timing of your verbal was spot on! You were still moving straight which contributed him to going a little wide on the first rep on each side.
Add in turning your shoulders to the next line and use both arms (brake arms) all before he goes in and I bet that gets the perfect turn. He committed to the wings really well, especially when you had countermotion going!
>Heās not totally committed to taking jumps yet and thatās why I had the toy placed out before the go jump.>
That went really well! And on the last rep here, you gave yourself a head start and got a gorgeous GO line with a thrown toy – perfect! You can mix in placed rewards if you are not ahead, and use thrown rewards when you are a little ahead and can set the line clearly. That way he wonāt rely on the toy being placed.
Great job!
Tracy
Hi!
This went great! Sitting on something tall was no problem and that cone got pretty far away!
Phire had a short moment of looking at you when you stood up – having the cone that far and standing was kind of a double whammy, so you can bring the cone in closer to get her going with you standing.
She had a pretty easy time going to her left on the wraps. The right was definitely harder – if she slips through and doesnāt wrap, silence is golden (no need to mark it). The silence will equal no cookie (gasp!) so she will fix it fast (because she wants the cookie LOL!). Then the big party you gave her when she got it right was fabulous!!
For now, you can remain standing and just try wrapping different objects – suitcase, box, laundry basket, etc. to help generalize the behavior.
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
I love how his tail started wagging faster when you put the bowls down to start the wrap game š
SUPER nice job with the cone here!!! Great job waiting and letting him offer going back and forth. Try not to lean or look at the bowl anymore – see if he can sort it out without needing physical cues. And you donāt need to mark with āuh ohā if he slides through instead of going around, just wait to see if he fixes it. That will help him problem solve independently. Because he is so tiny, keeping the cone in close and moving it out an inch at a time will help build up the distance.
>Drive to handler with rotation at the end ā I thought he did very well given Copper was barking right outside the door.>
This was the same as the wrap video, can you repot the drive to handler? I am excited to see it!
Toy drive video: This was great! His forward focus and drive to the toy was fabulous. He brought that little ball back to you and the other toy brilliantly! You can start adding more of your motion now too: when he is chasing the original ball, you can start racing him to it (he will win LOL!) Then as soon as he gets to the ball, you can turn and run the other way to encourage him to bring it back.
>had to work a bit to get him to bring it back to me (he was playing chase with it under the camera).>
I think if you are running the other way, that will be very enticing and he will bring it back pretty quickly.
Goat game video: He was great about targeting different things here! The toy play at the beginning got him pumped up and in the right zone š The offering went well and I chuckled when he went behind you to get on the scale. Clever pup!!
The metal sign was a challenging texture and noise for him, which is actually perfect at this stage and age. We want him to interact with all sorts of different things so this was a great choice.
Great job breaking it up with toy play – the balance of toys and food is looking good!
You can add things he can climb into for the goat games now – do you have small suitcase? Maybe a box big enough to fix him but with a low edge that is easy to step over? That will help begin the concept of getting in things to go along with what he has learned about getting on things.
New games coming on Monday which will build on all of this. Great job!
Tracy
Good morning! The cute socks and sandals are key!
He was thinking his way through this puzzle! Good boy!!! I think the position change of you standing was hard because we can see him doing calculations about wrapping the big pop up with you standing – but he got it! Yay! And got faster and faster. Super!! So now let him sleep on this (latent learning for the win!) and do one more session with you standing in a day or two. That will set him up perfectly for the new stuff we are adding š
Great job!
Tracy
Good morning!
>I didnāt record but I tried to cheat in Toy Races. She still beat me every time! Definitely one of her favorite games right now>
Super! We want the pups to win, even when we try to cheat š
Looking at the video:
Her wagging tail on the wing wrap foundations was so cute!
These are going well! She was waiting a bit for you to help by putting the cookies in the bowl or pointing at itā¦ so now you can just wait and donāt help. Let her sort it out. You can drop a cookie in the bowl when she is a little past halfway around the upright – but let her make the first move of going around it.Letting her make the first move will set us up nicely for the next set of games!
The double fit bones definitely made it easier for her to get her hind end up on them. Yay! The blue one looked to be very inflated (less stable) so she was balancing by keeping her back feet on the ground. You can take out some of the inflation so they are a little under-inflated. That should result in her having an easier time standing with all her feet on them as she builds up the balance and core strength.
It was super convenient that the dog walk was already low like this for Ingot to play on! She did great getting all her feets on it.
I agree – she did best when you were moving around rather than cookie luring because she was able to sort out her feet better rather than think about the cookie š You can add in position changes (like stand to down, down to stand, stand to sit, etc) as well as doing full 360 turns on the plank.
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
>I canāt imagine what new challenges there will be. >
The sport is evolving fast and the judges are pretty clever even with the strict AKC course design rules.
>When do you use your look command? Is it at the start line? >
At the start line – there are many lateral lead outs happening and openings where the dog has to jump away from the course (seeing this in novice now!). Those are ideal for the look cues.
>I have not noticedĀ any sound sensitivity yet. I can take my lower wobble board and put a blanketĀ underneath it on pavers or concrete to start. >
Perfect! And sometimes youāll see a little noise sensitivity in early adolescence (totally normal) so we back off the challenge for a bit then revisit it.
>Todayās videos -Plankarobics. I am a big fan of teaching this, as Iāve had 2 Dobermans fall off the dog walk and 1 Vizsla as well. >
Glad you like it!! I agree with you about how important it is – especially with taller, deep chested, high center of gravity dogs like your Dobe and the Viszla. My whippet is in the same boat: 22ā inches tall or so, deep chest, high center of gravity and super fast. So knowing how to safely get off the dog walk if he slips or gets off balance is KEY!
She did well with the board here!
> It helps Rou to do some position changes to see where her feet are. I was using boring kibble, but she was very animated. >
Boring kibble is perfect – if she is that animated for kibble, she might be too animated to think about mechanics on a narrow plank when she is eating cheese or meat š
>didnāt care when I tripped and almost landed on her. >
You had excellent balance! I would ave totally landed on my butt there LOL!
>I added a slow hoover to try to get her thinking a bit before turning again.>
When the board is nice and low like this, you can keep her in higher arousal – get the tug toy out! We want her safely practicing the skills in high arousal. And then the hoover can come out at the end š
She did well with the wraps! She already turns really well, and we havenāt done a whole lot yet to teach her how to turn! Yay!
If she gets stuck on a bowl or slides between you and the cone, try not to help her. Let her think through it and keep offering without you helping her out.
>It took me a bit to get coordinated and send with the correct leg.
No worries! We build on this very soon and work in the sends (and get rid of the bowls!)
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
She did great here! Super speedy and super confident driving ahead. Excellent!
>She was not happy when I won! >
Ha! A little cheat-to-win can bring a new gear of speed and focus to this game! When she realized you had snuck away to win, she was BIG MAD and drove really hard to the toy!
>Itās still taking too long to find her treat to give me a head start, so I only tried that twice. >
In this situation, I think it actually worked in your favorite because you could sneak off a bit and get ahead. She got quicker about watching you on the 2nd rep with that – keep your eye on the human, or the human wins the toy! LOL!
>You can see toy possession is still a big thing. We are working on it. But, it still needs a ton more work. Not much value for returning to me in a large space.>
She was not actively bringing the toy back, but she was not actively running off with it and being un-catchable. So that is good!! One thing you can do is have a 2nd toy come out after she has the first toy, then call her to line up between your feet (I think she does that happily, or did I make that up in my brain?). When she is lined up, you can hold her and play the game with the 2nd toy. When she wins, you can go get the first toy and continue the game with another lineup and so on.
Nice work here!
Tracy
Good morning!
>And yes, in the previous video a friend arrived and came into the field. Iām so proud of Phireās work ethic!>
I am so proud of her too! Good girlie!
That first send on the video was FABULOUS – she just nailed it. That set such a great tone and the rest of the session was fabulous too. You had great engagement before the sends here and that got her really pumped up. She is serious about her job š so she was happy to engage but didnāt want you to touch her during the ready moment. It was as if she was saying āNo Hugs, Just Workā hahaha
On the backwards sends, she was turning right – that was correct when you sent with your right but when she turned right when you sent with your leftā¦ that tells us she is a righty š Good to know! To get her to turn right more, you can be a bit more laterally away, off to the side, on the backwards sends so she hits and has an easier time turning to her left as well.
Cone wrapping is going well here! You got her started by putting a cookie in the bowl, then she got rich into the rhythm. She turned really well in both directions here!
Since this went really well – next step is to get you in a chair (halfway to standing :)) The cone can be closer to start it, in case the change to a share it hard for her. And if she has no questions, then you can go to standing in the same session (then adding more distance as well).
The 2 blind cross videos looked great! You can have someone hold her to give you more of a head start – she caught up really quickly, which is GREAT!
Nice work here š
āØTracyHi!
Great job getting him playing here in between cookie reps! He was offering brilliantly, played brilliantly, then went back to wrapping brilliantly. Super!
He does take a moment to watch you if you are moving the noodle or if you are reloading treats – no worries, because he does go right back to the wrapping really well. Look how far that cone got!! And I love the winner winner the end to let him run around.
This is the āSupersizedā class where games are released every 2 weeks. I wonder if the Fast Track (games released weekly) is better? He is definitely ready to move on in this game, but it will be a few more weeks here before we do. Do you want me to switch you over?
Great job!
Tracy
Hi!
He is doing well with the prop sends! Be sure to get him all pumped up by engaging with several seconds of ready-ready-ready before each send. That can add lots more speed to the prop as well!One other thought: Stay a little closer for now – I think you were a little too far so he went close to the prop but not all the way, then he got concerned (note the stress yawn at 1:01). So be just a bit further than one armās length away – close enough that he can drive to it easily, but far enough that he has to go past the cookie hand.
You can also play this game using a tug toy.
He did well with the stealth self-control game. I would like to see you using lots more toys in the training instead of just food – it will be more engaging and his brain will be less distracted by the new stuff in the environment.
You can keep switching different novel-neutral stimuli in the environment. No need for anything too exciting yet, we want his brain to process the neutral stuff really well first and we have a different game coming soon to help him process exciting stuff š
Nice work!
Tracy
