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Great question: yes, if there is a high rate of accuracy and success – we slap on the actual target verbal cue (because it is the actual behavior). If he struggles, we can use a noise or an interim cue.
T
Wow, what a great opportunity to play with him in a distracting area! Even the ‘quiet’ moments were distracting. He did a GREAT job, so proud of him thinking through it and maintaining focus.
On the targeting – excellent podium practice too LOL!! He seems to have good understanding of targeting the hand. A couple of little tweaks to move forward to the next level: keep the target hand lower and leave it in position, bringing the cookie to it (from the other hand). That will help him keep his head down and not want to lift it to get the cookie or look for the cookie. In order to keep the hand down, I suggest either sitting on the floor or kneeling but I also will do this in a chair so my back and knees don’t get angry LOL!!
Also, after he touches the hand once or twice, release forward and off the plank – we don’t want him to chain in backing up on the plank, because that could come back to bite you at a later date on an actual DW, for example: target then back up onto it to re-target LOL!!!Good adjustment to NOT go the added excitement of the collar, he is not quite ready to maintain the weight shift with the opposition reflex of the collar hold. You can add that in gradually as he gets more experienced – just a soft verbal ready ready ready, or light touch of your hand, building up eventually to being able to really pump him up. But for now, the accuracy and understanding is more important.
The RC/stays are looking really good, he was in the middle if a busy intersection there!! Lovely focus. He really only got distracted when another puppy said hello. He also seems to be getting the idea of both the stay and the RC element here – and you noticed him trying to anticipate the RC so you added some rewards for NOT rear crossing. Well done, this will translate nicely when we build on it.
The skills are progressing really nicely, but I am most excited by his focus in the trial environment. Yay!!!!!!
T
Yes – if he was blown away by a tunnel in the living room, you can play with cookies to get him engaged. And, separately, you can have the tunnel sitting in a corner or something and just play tug with the tunnel there. That is a good thing to do – try to get engagement (first with food, if needed, then with the toy) near the obstacles and near new or weird things 🙂
Tracy
Good morning! Well, he figured it out on the wing instantly LOL! Good boy – he is really so smart AND he loves to shape & offer & work. So cool!!!! Because he loves to work, you can do tug sessions near obstacles where he is simply asked to tug and not do the wing or tunnel – that will help keep some balance on handler focus as we build value for the obstacles.
Good job on using the verbals here and you had a great progression in this session: adding a step with the leg, adding more excitement at about 1:40, etc. he was pretty perfect. At this stage, you don’t have to cookie him if he goes without the physical or verbal cue. And to help prevent that, you can take his collar in the transition between the tugging and the send, to give yourself that heartbeat to get ready (he would like to just giddy up LOL!).
Yes to adding a little more distance. On the foot target game you posted above, add the countermotion to make sure he understands that concept of you leaving while he is sent to target something. After a couple of sessions on that, we can add the countermotion games to the wing.
Well done here!Tracy
OMG this was so funny, I have never seen an indoor pillbug LOL!!! Good for you!!!! YEs, I can see why he would think it was too weird to tug LOL! But you can just leave the tunnel there and let him acclimate to it, then the tugging will come back.
The game using cookies went well – you made it a little harder by having him between you and the tunnel (I call those ‘inside’ turns) but he did really well – it is easier if you are between him and the tunnel (outside turns). On a few of the reps, he came around the other side of the tunnel to get to you – that was fine, because it was what he saw from your position after the cookie toss – you were a little too far ahead so it looked like the cue was to come to the side of the tunnel he ran to. Good boy! I really like how he ran but didn’t jump up or cut you off or cut behind. Nice!!!!
It will be even easier outside but very clever to create it inside 🙂
TGood morning! He has a ton of value on the target, nice!!!!! You can get the toy moving a little more before the target comes out, so he thinks about the target less LOL!!! He seemed to be tugging well but if the toy moves more so he can chase it, he will focus on the toy more.
Because he has such good value, you can move to the next steps of sending and then tossing the treat away for him to chase, so he can eat it then run back to the target (for another tossed treat). As you do the send, take his collar (after the toy play) so you can get the target out without him starting the game without you 🙂 Then use your dog-side leg to send (this will be really important as you add more distance). Also, no need to say get it or go at this point (those words will be attached to other behaviors) so you can say something like “hit it” or just make a silly noise.
He looks ready to move to the other levels for sure! Nice job here!
TracyHi – all the links are working for me – can you send me the exact link that isn’t working so I can double check? What is the error you are seeing?
Thanks!
TracyGood morning!
The toy race video was just fine, I can see plenty 🙂 She was having a great time LOL! And it always cracks me up when we have planned out our low versus high value toy and the dog decides that we are wrong Ha! Anyway – she did a nice job of driving straight here and that is exactly what we want. The distraction toy was visible but she did really well ignoring it. So for the Go toy, throw it further to extend the distance of the Go – and you can repeat the cue so it becomes more of a GO GO GO to help support the longer distance. The only trouble she had here was bringing the toy back! She got to it, won the race, and took a lap of honor (a really joyous run too, adorable!) but we can tweak the game to convince her to drive right back to you: you don’t need a distraction toy – you can be holding the second toy (it will be a distraction in your hand) and do a toy race to the toy out ahead. Then as soon as she is opening her mouth to pick up the toy on the ground, do a front cross, run away, call her urgently, and when she turns to drive towards you: present toy #2. The timing of toy #2 can be quite early to start to help her want to drive right back, but then you can delay it til she is increasingly closer to you. Ideally, she brings the toy race toy – so you can use a “get it” or “Bring it” cue if you have one, to help encourage that. It helps build the retrieve plus helps build future tight turns!Teeter bang: She found the whole game interesting, I love when she had to sniff the teeter. The initial loud bangs were a bit startling but I think she decided they were fine and stopped reacting. Because of her lovely toy drive, you can also do this with a tug toy: bang = wild game of tug. I recommend that at trials too: being 20 feet from the ring and when a dog bangs the teeter, she gets to play or eat.
Nice work here!!
TracyGood morning!
your pill bug games are looking great! She figured out the cookie recall element immediately after the first rep haha! Took her a bit long to eat that first cookie but as soon as she realized that the chase was ON, she was much quicker to grab it and chase you. Yay! She also did a lovely job of staying on your correct side (nice connection for you!) The slippery floor helped you stay ahead on this, but we don’t want her to kill herself getting to you – so as soon as the weather allows, take this to dirt or grass so she can really dig in. I just posted the next steps so she is ready for more of this 🙂RC foundations: She seemed to have no problem with turning on either side of you (and nice job going back to the toy as well). For now, keep your hand a bit lower as you cue it so she doesn’t jump up during the spins – I think she was jumpy when the hand had the cookie and when it didn’t have the cookie, so a lower hand will help that (and a slower hand cue for now will help too). You can also toss the treat after she turns, to change her focus downwards and not up at the hand.
The stay work for the diagonal RC foundation looks great! The stay is the hardest part and she didn’t move her little feets at all. That made the head turn very easy. You can mix in releasing her forward for the reward as well to start building in the drive ahead out of a rear cross. We will be adding these to wings at some point soon too!Nice work!
TracyGood morning!
The wing wrapping while you are sitting is looking really good – nice value and she is bending her body and zipping around it so nicely! She is also doing a great job of leaving the cookies to go do it, You can add a bit more distance! If you have decided on your wrap cues, you can slap them on with this game too (after she gets her reward, when you are pretty sure she is going to wrap, just start the verbal :))Looked like a nice transition from the tugging to the collar grab and into the game! Clean transitions like that are so helpful!
On the GO with distractions – make sure you move, maybe even push her back a little so you can be running first. When she cut across you at 2:05, you were mainly standing still so there was not a lot of support of the cue with motion (now, she might have cut across you anyway because that was the closer toy, but at least we can try LOL!!)
On your 2nd big transition (2:45) when she moved away from you taking the collar – you can mix in quick collar take and immediate toy throw to help preserve the quality of that transition. She was a good girl to move back to the chin hold but we also want the good collar grab.She did cut across you with you moving on the next rep – so you can dial back the excitement of the distraction toy. Have it out there before you engage her with the GO toy, then try it – that way the distraction toy is present but doesn’t get thrown, so it should be less interesting. Then we can work it up to you putting it down at your side and so on,
Contacts – nice job adding the target and the verbal! She is looking up at the cookie hand because it is moving, so try to move it less by dropping the treat into the target hand (this takes some coordination LOL!!). Then after the release, have her come off the target to play with a toy – we want value but not SO much value that she doesn’t release 🙂 The release to tugging is actually what builds the speed. And that will allow you to reset her in a standing position to restart. I like the stand because it is more balanced and less slam on the shoulders as she moves into target position (compared to starting from a sit). This game looks ready to take on the road to lots of different planks!!
Nice work here!!!
TracyHi there!
He certainly loves this tuggie! It looks like his toy drive is definitely expanding – it might not be perfect in all places yet (and that is normal) but he is getting happier and happier to tug! With the toys that he loves and in the comfy places, you can work a bit on getting the toy back smoothly (just relaxing your hands til he releases it) and then reward that by giving him the toy back for more tugging 🙂He also seems to really love the wing wrap! Nice job building all of that value! He was great about doing it and there was even some distance! You added in the sends – remember to use your dog-side leg on the sends. When you did use it (like at 1:32) he wasn’t sure if he should go or not. But when you did use it (Ike 1:42 and after) he was great. So the next step now: rather than him offering it, you can put it on cue. After each reward, line him up at your side, hold his collar, get him jazzed up – then send with arm & leg. If you have decided what wrap verbals you want to you, you can add them now too!
And I believe he is ready for the next level where you start to leave for a FC while he is wrapping.NIcely done!!
TracyHi!
It is this one:The most difficult part of this type of rear cross is teaching the pup to turn the correct direction (away from where he last saw the handler) rather than spin the wrong way (back towards where the handler was coming from). Here are the steps to teaching the turn:
Start with a rousing game of tug!
Ask the pup for a sit-stay at your left side. Be sure to reinforce throughout this game for holding the sit stay – the puppy is allowed to move her head, but is not allowed to move her feet or turn her body until you release her. Break it down as much as needed to help build a solid stay! Here are 2 ways to reinforce the stay for this game after stepping back:
○ You can return to the pup to hand deliver the reward○ You can click and release the dog to a thrown reward
Take one or two steps back, so you are parallel to or just past the pup’s tail. Be sure to reward the pup for holding the sit, either by returning to her or click/releasing her to a thrown reward.
Cut behind the puppy so she is now on your right side, and step up to her shoulder. When she turns her head to face the side you are now on, reward her by either giving her a treat in position or releasing and throwing a treat or playing tug.
Because the pup will anticipate the rear cross, it is important that sometimes you step back but not behind her – in these cases, if she continues to look at you without turning her head the new direction, you can either step forward and give her a treat, or release her to come to you for the treat or to play tug.Be sure to repeat this on both sides of the puppy!
Here is a puppy Hot Sauce playing this game for the first time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgiolvmBLVw
I figured you had the toy play going 🙂
2o2o is great! I have a shaping game coming soon that will help that too. The nose target can be used for now to get the concept going then get faded.Hi there! He is getting so grown up!!
Good work here. On the plank: he did well with his. Big self on the little plank! good boy! It is not easy to turn around on it, he did well. Question – do you want a 4 on or a 2o2o? That will allow us to plan on where/how to add the targeting. I think the 2o2o is clearer for big dogs so ends up being easier to teach with fewer reps needed.
Wing wraps from the chair – good boy here! And also good boy on the sending. And he is letting you leave early. Value looks good. Yay! So… 2 things to add:
Have you decided what you want to do for wrap verbals? You can add them in at this stage, from the chair and on the send (wrap towards me, or left wrap/right wrap).
And, start to leave earlier – be sure it is a front cross, turning towards him, so he feels a bit of countermotion. Do it at a walk for now and feel free to throw the reward back to him.Diagonal RC: good job rewarding the stay a lot, that is the hardest part! He had no trouble at all with holding the stay and looking the new direction. You can mix in releasing him forward for a thrown reward along with sometimes rewarding in position like you did here.
Other RC flatwork – he seemed to do better with the cookie in the lure/cue hand? I think he was jumping up to the empty hand but was really good when the cookie was in the hand. So two ideas: do a lot with the cookie in the hand for now, and mix in very few empty hand cues. And on the empty hand cues, keep your hand low and move it slowly – and then toss the cookie out ahead. You can even show him that it is an empty hand doing the cue? It is possible he is jumping up to see if there is a cookie there or not. Also, he did better on the right than on the left – so keep the left hand low and slow 🙂 Right side looked good with and without the cookie in it!
Great job on the Go throw! Perfect choice of toy LOL! And the distraction toy was not really salient, which set him up for success really nicely. You can build up to letting him see you put the distraction toy down then getting him excited for the other toy, to see if he can still drive forward.
Nice job on these! The only other suggestion is to make sure you incorporate toy play more with all of the foodie games – you might have been doing it but edited it out, but I wanted to remind you just in case 🙂
Tracy
