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Good morning!
On the motion override game:
Ah! He totally has so much value for “through” in a very similar context that he was struggling to differentiate the difference in cues! If “through” has a verbal or hand signal, you can show him the difference in this game too! Sit versus through when you move slowly (a fun verbal discrimination game). You added a little more motion so it looked different enough that he figured out the sit pretty quickly 🙂
And yes, time your sit cue at random numbers of steps – you tended to do 4-5 steps then cue the sit. And he was feeling the rhythm – note how he decelerated and almost sat at 1:18 ish: he was counting steps LOL! He didn’t do that on other reps because you were cuing the sit at step 4.5 approximately. So keep mixing it up, pingponging between 2 steps and 10 steps.
He also seems to read your hand with the cookie dropping down as a cue to come get reinforcement, so keep hands still while you praise then reward – the hand movement is likely what contributing to him moving when you praised the sit.
You can add in more motion – try it at a jog or slow run and see how it goes!And the wing game did go really well! He was at 100% success so you can totally add challenge, otherwise it gets boring 🙂 This game builds on stuff he was already really good at from previous games so I am not surprised he could work through the levels so quickly and allow you to add motion AND he nailed the race tracks – you were a little tentative on the first race track and he was looking at you, but then you ran the rest with more speed so he was really driving! You can add in your left/right more on the race tracks and then add in your verbal wrap cues at the end – he was perfectly reading the physical cue on all of it. Yay! I will be posting more Wingin’ It games from the weekend seminars today, he is totally ready for them 🙂
Great job!
TracyHi!
He cracked me up when you were late on the cheese! A bit of cheese rage LOL!!
He was going into the down a lot quicker when you were sitting in front of him! Nice! He was not quite as quick when you were off to the side, I think because he didn’t have something to look at other than you – so he was turning his head to see you, which affected the speed of the down. To help that, you can put a Manners Minder out ahead – he downs on his target then you can either reward in position or release forward to the MM. The focal point can totally help! Going back to the beginning when you were sitting in front of the teeter – he was pushing it down, getting on, then moving into the down. That will also affect the speed when he is on a full height teeter, because he is leaning forward on his front (push down) the rocking back. So, we can look at ways to convince him to rock back into the down immediately and not want to the board then go into the down. I think backing up to his target then into the down will help get the fold back down here – start it on the flat then we can have him back up onto the board. Does his backing up have a verbal cue? You can cue it then click/treat just getting back feet on at first, then back feet and the down, then all four feet on then the down (you can use your target cue for the down). Let me know if that makes sense!It was very fun to have the big speed circle set up! He did really well! The Lazy game was easy for him, looked good on the jumps and tunnels plus it is a great warm up. When you added running – wheee! So fun to see him open up! He needed a little extra connection when he is on your right side, he seemed a little stickier/looked at you more on your right, and more fluid on your left. That could be a side preference or reinforcement history or both – but it will smooth out as he gets to run more sequences like this. And yes, you can totally add the Go verbal 🙂 You were really hustling!!!
The first wrap was utter perfection at 1:45 – everything was spot on. Your 2nd wrap at 1:55 was a little later, so not as perfect but still really good. At 1:55 he was over the bar as you were rotating, and at 1:45 you were already rotated and leaving as he was over the bar.Blinds were looking good too! Yes, the first one was a little late by maybe a stride but you had great connection so he still read it really well. As you noted, the 2nd was way late LOL! It was on time for the next jump – and you were a good handler to reward him for reading it. The last one was good, he is reading them well and your connection is really helping.
Great job on these! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi! Great job yesterday in the live class! You were super creative with the indoor space and I think you were able to get great work in! Yay!!!
Onwards to videos!
For the teeter training – I suggest a less-is-more approach, looking at it from the classical conditioning side of things and not from the operant side of things. For any teeter game, give him a grand total of 2 reps per day: breakfast, and dinner! LOL! One rep = entire meal. It will leave him drooling for more because the pairing will be exceptionally strong, and he will only get one rep so he won’t have time to think about it. By doing lots of reps and changing the picture a lot, he is not making the pairing of “OMG THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER” 🙂 So for example – with the mountain climber game, you can put a tunnel bag on the feet/base of the teeter and cram in the holder so it doesn’t move at all (there was some whip of the board that I don’t think he likes yet) – then do one rep, using his entire bowl of food, where you recall him up the board. Then… done! Resist temptation to do more until dinner time. Same with the bang game – one rep, a one hit wonder: boom, dinner! I suggest 2 solid weeks of that, super consistent picture and set up, no changes of position or motion or anything and then you will see him pleading with you to go do the teeter games – at that point, we can add in more variations like sending him ahead, etc. Because he is not super thrilled with it, we don’t want him to think about it or work through it, we just want to make him insane for it because it is paired with amazing things. You can also do the one hit wonders for a favorite toy that he gets at no other time except, say, the bang game. When Export was learning the teeter, he would get his ‘Cuz’ ball only on the teeter. One teeter bang = Cuz ball. And I remember one session where he banged the teeter once and got an entire tin of Vienna Sausages (that was impactful, his eyes popped out of his head). Hot Sauce would get the frisbee for the teeter games = one rep, frisbee. They are now all insane for the frisbee. I will be doing the same with Contraband, who is more like Stark: “this thing is WEIRD, mom!”. (Elektra is more of a wackjob so the teeter is not as much of an issue at this point).
And when the dogs are crazy for working the teeter because it has been paired with fabulous things… the rest of the progression and games are super easy and quick to work through. You will know it is time to move forward in the progression when it becomes practically impossible to keep him off the teeter 🙂 and he goes blasting up it on the first rep.
He is super confident on the plank on the ground! Speedy and happy! When you add the angles, I think food will be a better reward for now… with the toy being thrown, he was not always thinking about his hind end LOL! You can also elevate the plank now – do you have blocks or something you can put it on, to raise it up a few inches?
Lazy gaming the tunnel is great, totally helps him drive to it! He was pretty perfect on the jumps. With the tunnels, it seemed a lot easier when he was on your right and you were ahead, definitely harder when he was on your left even when you were ahead. My guess is that being on your left to the tunnel required a right turn, which is not as natural to him. And if I remember correctly, it is also a little harder when you are running the sequences. So, you can try it on a shorter straighter tunnel so he has less of a right turn, then gradually extend the tunnel as he gets more comfy with the right turn.
Great job on these! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi! How old is she now? Something all of the pups should do is a sit on small platform, just big enough to fit their butt on it 🙂 And then transfer it to a sit on a wobble disc – also only big enough to fit her butt on it. I will also be adding some body awareness games this week for the Christmas break 🙂 She is probably having a bit of a growth spurt, so you can work on the tight sits and work on backing up to something really wide – on the video with Contraband, the board I am using is really wide so it is easy for an awkward teenager to find 🙂 Let me know how she does!
TracyFound the MM video for stays with baby Contraband!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUiCW057lxUHi! I hope you end of semester isn’t too crazy and you have some free time coming up! All of your clips here look great!
Really nice work with the Manners Minder!!! He was getting MUCH more settled. (Side note – if you are getting sniffing after a tossed treat, you can use a tug toy sometimes too, even with the MM present. You can also allow. The sniffing for now – he might be using that moment to clear his head, because begin stationary is HARD. I am 1000% confident that when we need him to NOT sniff, then he will not sniff 🙂
You can add in turning and moving away as he is ‘anchored’ to the MM. You can click it as soon as you turn, and on the first step away, to help him understand to remain anchored. I have video of this specifically with the MM – I will go find them after I post this 🙂He is also doing well on the backing up! You can add in the verbal, and a context-specific cue that can help clarify. For example, since he is backing up to the target, you can sit in a chair – and that is the *only* think you shape sitting in a chair. It can allow you to elicit the behavior and name it, then we fade out sitting in a chair (or not, sometimes it is nice to relax LOL!)
Also, you can just start it by having him begin the backing up with all 4 feet on the target – the lure his front feet off or have him come off to follow a hand touch, then c/t the front feet getting back on. Then bring him all the way off and c/t backing onto it, from up close. That can help him know what you want in that context, so he can offer it. The backing up he did offer looked balanced and had a really nice head position!Yay, his parallel path prop work looks lovely too! You are on a roll! He was actually looking pretty patient here, making eye contact with you and waiting until you started the game. YAY! That is an important element because it will help with start lines, stopped contacts, tables, etc. And the prop behavior itself was great – he was actively targeting it really well. Yay! You might not have room for more speed, but you can see if you can add more lateral distance? And definitely take it to new locations and see how it goes 🙂
And yes, the transfer to the wing looked great too. He wrapped it even before you were ready: Mom, I wrap the THING! LOL! Good boy. He was a little sticky leaving your left hand, it could be because his turns to his right are not as strong as his turns to his left, or because that left hand has a TON of value. But… he did it! We build on this really soon – you can try dropping/tossing the treat ever-so-slightly behind you so grabs it then turns back and can keep moving. Also, have you tried it with a toy? Either a toy in both hands or a toy in one hand and cookies in the other. That can be a fun challenge!
Great job on these, everything looks fabulous 🙂
Tracy
Hi Joni! Hope you had a great weekend!
She did really well here! And you were super patient! Ruby is fast and likes to move… so choosing to be stationary is probably the last thing on her mind LOL! And you got it! Yay! Patience is the name of the game. You can also get the placement of reward in really fast by just dropping into the thing so she would be more tempted to stay in it. But it was definitely NOT a hot mess LOL! It took you only :44 seconds to get her lightbulb to go on so she was like “Got it! In the thing!” I think it was fine to keep going after the second success with all four feet in the box – when you tossed the cookie, she lost her train of thought and had to remember it. So you can use a release to a tug toy for a play break right next to it, which might make it more likely for her to get in and stay in – and then you can give big rewards for staying in it like you did. The cookies tossed out to the side will be great for if you want to keep her moving through something, like a running contact mat or weave pole shaping eventually.
Lovely job!!! You should totally do some type of shaping like this, once a week, it is great for the pup!
TracyHi! Sorry for the delay, the weekend of live online seminars for the other puppy group has put me way behind!
He is doing a GREAT job of ‘targeting’ the prop on the parallel path here. And you are amazingly connected, I think the timing of your marking is absolutely nailing it! Both of those will serve you well for what this builds into. I think I do want him to actually touch it, because he is going to have to weight shift the tiniest bit to do so. That weight shift simulates what he will need for jumping, even in extension, and for finding weave entries and getting on contacts when he is older. So, yes, you can reinforce touching it. But add your speed more gradually so his rate of success stays high. Handler motion is a huge distraction, so going from regular walk to faster walk to a slight jog… looking for 80% or higher on each session with him touching it. Because he is doing so well here, I think it will be an easy thing for him.
nice work!
TracyHi there! Great ‘seeing’ you this morning!!!
Nice work on the teeter, he is looking great!!
>>But I noticed he’s had a bit of a hesitation at the tipping point, so this is a great exercise.>>
I think his drive to the end here was AWESOME! Really fast up the board!! And pretty independent. And totally having to think about where all parts of his board need to be, and that is really critical at this stage.
>>1) He is slow to get into his down behavior and is still struggling a little with keeping his legs in the right place in that position. Given he’s under a year and a little leggy, I would expect some of that is just growing up.>>
Question – how did you originally train it? It is possible that he needs a target to down on, just as a target elicits as nose touch for 2o2o. That might make it more salient and faster?
>>2) Also, whenever I pre-placed a treat, he 100% ate the cheese whiz before going into a down.
Relatable! I, too, would eat first if the food was there and then do the behavior 🙂 Especially if the treat placement had nothing to do with how he learned it (I am guessing you did not use a food lure there to teach the down on the teeter)
>> When I didn’t preplace, he would volunteer a down, but still delayed. So, clearly he does not see “spot” as a full chain of behavior of running to the end and going down. I do have a black circle target there – which I first used on the ground before adding to the teeter.>>
Ah! I see, you do have a target. Maybe he thinks the teeter has to land on the ground and then he moves into the down. It might be hard for him to balance in the down when it is in the air so he might be thinking the down is for as it is landing? Very few big dogs down at the end when it is that high – they tend to rock back and then as it is landing, finish the down.
>>Should I stick with this and the behavior will get stronger with more practice/understanding. Or, am I doomed to failure >>
Totally not doomed to failure 🙂 Many many top dogs have a down on the teeter! I think you need to define exactly when you want him to start the down – is it OK to weight shift as the board is dropping then finish going into the down as the board lands? That should get good balance on the board and a nice down at the end! When I do a 2o2o, most dogs will have all 4 feet on the board and they assume the weight shifted crouch position until the board is just about landing, then they step into 2o2o. The down might be the same?
Let me know what you think!
TracyHi! I think winter is fully upon us, so stay tuned for more and more indoor ‘stuff’ 🙂 Great seeing you this morning!! And yes, tomorrow will be the same general games and anywhere else the different dogs take us 🙂
Tracy
Hi! His toy retrieve at the beginning looked fabulous! Yay!
He is doing a really nice job offering his sits. Yay! and he looks like he is starting to understand to hold the position too. One thing you can add in is moving away with a little more of a normal walking gait – but the instant you begin to step away, click and throw the reward back to him. I think the only struggle he had was on your first step away. So basically, as soon as he sits, you start the game by beginning to walk away: but as you start that, click/toss in the same motion. That rewards the choice to sit & stay and also counter conditions the movement away that so many dogs reflexively go with. Then you can ping pong in more duration – sometimes instant click/toss, sometimes a couple of steps – always while you are moving 🙂 If there is too much standing still then moving, it is hard for the pups to hold the stay. If we are moving the whole time, they can’t predict or pair movement (or lack of movement) with the release or click, so we end up being able to get a lot more duration as you move away.
I think he is ready for that, which will get a nice long stay & lead out! But if he disagree 🙂 you can dial it back – the rate of success will let you know how he feels about it.
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi! His is doing well with this!! He is showing really nice value for the prop and beginning to let you move away. We can sharpen the mechanics of the send to help build even more countermotion: stand totally still in your starting point, with him in front of you and making eye contact (I have found that saying something silly like ready ready ready will help get eye contact). Then make a big, sharp, dramatic send movement and connection shift – BAM! – so he knows exactly when to go and the drama of the arm/leg movement and connection shift will propel him… at which point it will be even easier to move away. I also make weird noises like “swoosh!” LOL that help the pups know when to start 🙂 That will make the transition from handler focus to line focus for the send even clearer. I think he wasn’t entirely sure of when to go – so having him engage in handler focus with that ready dance for a solid 2 or 3 seconds should help make the big send movement pop out more, if that makes sense. And that in turn will help you be able to leave sooner for the countermotion.
He seems to have no problem with you being sideways or backwards and is setting up his turn really well! This bodes well for future turning on jumps 🙂 Yay! And I didn’t see a difference in his left or right turns, he looks really balanced! Your clicks were spot on (one might have been early, I think he was lifting his foot LOL!) but overall, great job marking the send and staying connected – then exploding with excitement afterwards. Yay!
Nice work!!
TracyHi! This game has a LOT of mechanics for the human and you did a great job! A third arm would be useful and you made it smooth with only 2 arms LOL!
My only tweak for you is to do the blind cross sooner so you can decelerate into the turn sooner. You can start the blind one step after he begins coming to you, so you have time to slow down before he gets to you (giving him time to adjust to the change of speed). On the first couple, you did the blind a little later so he didn’t have a chance to collect, so he was a bit wider from your leg as you turned. At :48, you did the blind sooner and showed decel sooner – note how much tighter he was to you there (I think you commented on it in the video too, it was lovely!!)
He was really good about going back and forth from the cookie to the toy out ahead – that is actually the hardest part for the pups and he was great! Yay!!!! And he did seem to really love the toy that you switched to 🙂>> I might have messed up a bit because I was letting him have a treat at my knee when we made the turn and then throwing the toy, and I realized as I was wrapping up that you might not have been giving them the treat until the end. Should I be omitting that 2nd treat during the turn?>>
I think it was fine to feed him at your knee during the turn then throw the toy – it builds value for driving in nice and tight, and adds challenge to leaving the food moment and driving to the toy. You can fade the treat on the turn, and also sometimes surprise him with one to maintain the value of coming in to you on the decel.
You can add more and more distance on this, sending him further to the first cookie so he has more speed through the blind and into collection/turn. You can also have someone hold him, so it is a restrained recall into the blind (especially if that someone has cookies, so he learns to leave the cookies :))
Nice work!!
TracyHi! You and he got into the groove really nicely with this!!! It was hard for him to ignore the hand in the pocket at first (treats!) but then when your hands were down, he was really strong with offering the behavior. At :38, he went past it and you were tempted to help him or stop… but you made the right decision to just keep moving, no reward but not helping. He totally said “a-ha!” and then had very distinct, lovely commitment. Yay!
>>For the parallel lines piece, do you want our lines to always be straight at this point, or can/should we do some arcs too?>>
No arcs needed for this one, but you can add more distance between you and the prop, so he is working at an increasingly bigger distance out on his parallel line. You can start that with a cookie toss to get him on the one and then work up to being 10 feet away while he maintains his parallel path. Great job!
Tracy
Hi!
This is also going well! She is so quick, so we do a lot of planning on how to keep up with her 🙂 You can have cookie in both hands, so you can drop the treat in with whichever hand is closer to the bowl, rather than having to reach across or grab a cookie from the other hand. She was VERY zippy to get the routine going in the beginning! The cone might be a tiny bit too far away because she lost her chain of thought a couple of times and then had to figure it out again – she especially wanted to cut in front and turn to her left, so you were correct when you pulled it in to get her going again at the end.
So for the next session, be standing like you were here and have it just a couple of inches away… then after are a couple of cookies for back and forth, move it out an inch… then another inch… and so on. And if she starts cutting in, bring it back in by an inch or two.
>>I forgot to keep track if left was better than right.
She was stronger going to her left here. I think that is her side preference, she is a lefty 🙂 But no worries, she is pretty balanced so the right side turns will be just as good as the left 🙂
>>But what should I do to get more distance on the cone without her cutting through. Or, how far does the cone eventually get?>>
You can move it out very very gradually, so she barely notices. And mix in easy reps where you move it back in, so she finds it with no problem.
The cone should end up being 2 feet away – and we will be transferring to a wing pretty soon and adding more handling, so don’t worry too much about distance for now.
Great job!
Tracy
