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Hi!
The backing up is going well! Nice job incorporating the toy play, he did well getting back on the toy 🙂
On the backing up, he was really good about offering 2 steps back but then that was when the reward would come consistently… so he then would offer 2 steps back and then bow or lie down. So, now you can try to get more steps back. Ping-pong the number of steps before you reward, and throw the rewards further back (not right to him) – sometimes toss the reward after just one step, sometimes wait for 3, then back to 1 step, then 2 steps, then 4 steps… and so on. You might need to wait him out for the extra steps but ping ponging will help.
Another option to get more steps backwards is to have him back up to something, such as back up to get on a dog bed. Start it by having him back up one step to the bed, then 2 steps to get to it, to 3 steps and so on.
Nice start here, let me know how it goes!Tracy
Hi there!
He is adorable, trying to offer his paw during the collar grabs. He did well here! And great job adding some toy play, that went well too! Keep adding random collar grabs throughout the day, so having you reach towards him becomes a super rewarding thing and he will begin to move towards you hand when you reach for the collar.
TracyGood morning!
Nice job on both of these clips! You are doing a great job incorporating toy play into all of this – click/treat for YOU! It is not easy to go back and forth from shaping to tugging, and you are in a really nice flow with it 🙂On the collar grab video – Yes, she looked comfy with the collar grabs, great job already incorporating them! You can also do collar grabbing during the tugging game – it just adds more pairing of good stuff with collar grabs.
When you were adding moving her, I think part of her question was when you had your hand on the collar on the back of her neck – it added a bit of opposition reflex, and it might have seemed like you were wanting her to pull against it (we do use the opposition reflex in the get it games, toy races, etc.) So to differentiate it with just moving with the momma, try having your hand on the side of her collar or on the underside of her neck. She did really well with it for a first attempt and you did a great job of encouraging her to move rather than dragging her around 🙂
Keep reminding yourself to leave your hand on her collar as you feed to maximize the pairing – you sometimes would take the hand off then put it back on lol!The backing up is going well too! Because she likes to smack you with the paw 🙂 and also because she loves treats and moving away from them is hard – you can jump start this even more with a session or two or having her back up after you drop a cookie between your feet (while standing) – that is the 2nd demo on the write up for the game. That can get more reinforcement history into backing up while taking out the offering of the paw. Then go back to the seated position you were in here (or transition to it by kneeling and dropping the cookie under you, so she backs out from that).
Great job here! Safe travels to family!!
TracyGood morning!
I am glad to hear he really likes food and chewing! These are great relaxation and coping tools for new environments. If you are in any new places like a trial or class, add in a bit of sniffing/snuffling as well as chewing in the higher activity areas (if he can). If he can’t, then in the crate is fine to start with, or as far away as needed to help him be able to relax. As for the higher energy physical contact during play – this is also good and I consider it him seeking out physical contact 🙂 You will also be able to incorporate this into your routine – he seems to enjoy it so you can also add this in to the ‘hanging out’ element of your time in higher activity environments.Tracy
Hmmm, that one is not loading for me! I will have to try it again when I get back to the computer. Sorry!!!! Thanks for letting me know – it isn’t your computer 🙂
TracyHi Nelci!
Thank you for letting me know! They are YouTube links of Spock saying “illogical!” And “Logical!” 🙂 I have updated them.Have fun!
TracyHi!
He is doing a really nice job with his stays here – total focus and also NOT moving. Yay! Try to turn sideways more and face him less at this point – on many of the reps you were sideways, but on a couple you were facing him on the release. I suggest being sideways more so you can release and run, and also because facing him will cause him to slow a bit and jump up for the toy. When you released and ran, he was driving more and staying lower for the toy.
Speaking of staying lower… yes your hands were a bit up and down LOL!! Try to have the tug hand relatively stationary, maybe just a bit side-to-side, and the other hand can play the smack-da-baby which he seems to like – that can get him to really lean back into it. I like to let the pups do all the work with the tugging 🙂
And I think that a longer toy will help this too, so he can drive into it lower and stay lower/more weight shifted back during the play. The toy is long in agility terms… but think of doubling the length (I call it “flyball style” LOL!) because that gets great drive and keeps his head lower. Now, I do realize that he might try to grab up by your hand anyway 🙂 but a longer toy can be dragged a bit more which can get the excitement up… which will help when you add more food into the equation 🙂
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
Thanks, new puppy, exciting AND terrifying haha I know you can relate 🙂Spy was SO FUNNY here! Loved it! “Got it mom, I can tug AND get on my sit spot at the same time.” Brilliant! And the prop helped him figure out that he can offer when a toy is present – didn’t take him long at all! So now what other things can you shape with a toy present? You did the bucket already, so what can we do that involves NOT looking at the toy? Hand touches are one, and even something like going to a bed – you sit in a chair, he has to turn away to get into a dog bed – and you toss the toy as a reward. No big deal that he wants to watch you & the toy, that is easy to change depending on the behavior. It will not be an issue in agility because we will use specific placement of reward to train the various behaviors.
And do keep using toy plus treats, because we don’t want to over-balance the value of the toy and lose treat value (because, BCs do like to spit out treats when working :))The wubba was indeed super exciting, so reserve that for simpler tasks and also for tasks with a longer reinforcement history with a toy present. I have no doubt that he will be able to offer when the wubba is out too, he picked all of this up REALLY quickly!!!
Nice work!
TracyHi again 🙂
On this second video, it looks like this toy (wubba) is already paired with retrieving (yay!) – it might be that the toy is more ball-like or more naturally stimulates the retrieve? Or you have a bit of history with getting him to retrieve it? Either way – he is bringing it back, life is good! You can get that little bit of play and then try to ask for the out before he drops it – we want to play then get it back then throw again, rather than have him say “throw it NOW!” LOL!! So a tiny bit of play followed by a quick out, then you can reward the out with an immediate throw 🙂
Also, you can tie this toy to a longer toy to make it more of a tug toy – the toy in the first video is a very different type of toy, so we can blend the two together to get great tugging AND retrieving!!!Nice work here!
TracyHi!
On this first video, a couple of things:
He definitely gets pumped up to play when you throw the toy! I love that! He has a little trouble getting a good grip on it when you wiggle it around too fast in front of you, so move it more slowly so he can grab it. But the tossing it really helps get the toy play rolling!
And to build the retrieve… use a much smaller space for now – enclosed hallway or bathroom – so he can’t blast past you with it LOL! He was great about grabbing it but then was running off a bit, so a much smaller space will really help.
And when you do get it (whether he brings it to you or if you happen to make a good grab haha) – play then let him win again, don’t take it away or we risk diminishing his interest in bringing it back. You can trade for another toy after he wins it again then repeat the process.Tracy
Good morning!! So thoughts for you:
>> Homework for resilience
In different environments he’s pretty cautious. He’s interested, but looks to me a lot and would likely leave if off leash.Leave towards the distraction, or leave away from it?
Either way – it is a great opportunity to offer up something to do that will help get more comfort! See below 🙂>> I don’t make a big deal of anything and encourage looking around and exploring. I try to take him to different locations, ie Tractor Supply or the grocery store and have him look around. I haven’t been able to do that in the past couple months so I need to get it going again.>>
All good, and we can add coping stuff into it as well rather than just looking around or exploring. The current neuroscience recommends we add the coping and I am all for it 🙂
>>However, lately, he’s a bit more concerned with men. He will approach them, but if a man suddenly appears, he’s looking at me or trying to leave. If he’s in a smaller place, he starts to bark and back up. So, obviously I need to continue to work on that.>>>
Yes – coping skills will help countercondition that. You can keep him as far away as needed and toss treats in the grass or on the ground, or offer a chewie or Kong toy, etc. Don’t have the men approach and don’t have them try to feed him, that won’t necessarily help.
>>Noises generally don’t bother him if he’s by himself or Obie doesn’t react. If however, Obie reacts, he looks to Obie and will bark and run along side him sounding the alert.
That is normal behavior but I do recommend that you try to distract him with something else when that happens, because alarm barking can lead to more alarm barking/anxiety/etc.
>>If/ when he does approach, most likely he will either jump straight up in the air or straight back multiple times. I let him try to figure it out by himself for the most part. However, I find that most of the time, if I go up to it with him a touch it and praise him a lot for interest or interaction it goes a bit quicker.
yes – providing comfort or assistance can totally help!
>>It’s a bit worse if it’s dark outside.
Pretty normal, you’ll see that mentioned by lots of folks here.
>>In the house he likes Kong toys stuffed and I have Starmark Wheelers that he really likes to chew on. He likes to cuddle some. He enjoys walking around the yard(as long as there’s nothing new) and sniffs and exploring. I don’t have a snuffle mat, but I think he’d like it. He likes anything with food >>
Since he likes his Kongs and chews and feed in general, I definitely suggest incorporating these into any place where he is cautious and needs help with the environment, or any place where he is over-stimulating (or, honestly, any place in general haha)
Have these items at the ready – So far example, when a strange man appears, you can just hand him a delicious stuffed Kong or toss a bunch of treats on the ground. He doesn’t have to ‘earn’ it, we are working in a different form of learning 🙂 Or if Obie starts to alarm bark, offer up a chewie to Luke and break the cycle 🙂
Make it a habit and you will start to see a pup that can really cope with anything in a relaxed, happy way 🙂
let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning! Do you have a suitcase or anything he can stand on? Then you can shape him to get into it, then pack himself haha!
Also, do you have access to anything narrow, like a log that is a tiny bit elevated? That is great to balance on! Or 4 cans of tuna fish – try to get a paw on each can (or can of anything haha!!)
I will keeping thinking of things LOL!
TracyHi there!
For the tugging up on your leg, she seems more than happy to tug there! You can add in having her come up on your leg to grab the toy (rather than pulling her up on the leg) and also sitting on the floor to see if she will tug in your lap.
On the tossed toy retrieves, I think the excitement of you running away a bit in the 2nd clip really helped her get excited to bring the toy to you. On the first clip, you didn’t have as much room so she was a bit more independent with the toy. It could have also been time of day, different energy levels at different times can change the retrieve.
On the sessions where you run away y a bit to get her to bring the toy, you can also reward with a 2nd toy, provided you don’t whip it out until she just about reaches you with toy #1, we don’t want to use a 2nd toy as a lure.
And we will also be adding a shaped retrieve, stay tuned for that! Nice work here!
TracyHi Nelci, Happy Thanksgiving!
>>Report from last Saturday, I did use only 5 mins for the walk thrus, maybe 6 mins on the standard course. Lilu and I did very well, we run clean on our three courses, but got called on the Aframe in Standard, so the ADCH has to wait till 2020. I did feel ok using only 5 mins. I will try that again this Saturday when I am at my last UKI for 2019.
That is a great update! You nailed everything within your control (the a-frame contact is currently not something you can control). Did you feel like you could make decisions in that 5-6 minute time and then execute them?
>>I am on day 4 of this course, I think I am going a bit slow. Do we have a time limit for this course?
I will keep checking the forum until the end of 2019, I think that gives everyone plenty of time 🙂
>>I did read that you will have three critical elements per day. Am I supposed to read the three on the same day? I have been reading them separately when times allows it.
On each day, 2 of the 3 elements generally work together. You can do them all in one day, or separate them, either way works fine 🙂 Proceeding at whatever pace is comfortable will help you find a comfortable mental prep routine as well.
>>On the Visualization Part 2, I knew I was not good at remembering past courses. Only pieces of it. So I tried to remember my best run at Cynosports and again I remember certain sections but not all of it. I had to review the video to remember it. Do I need to improve my memory of past courses?
I think improving your memory of certain runs can help you in the future – mainly so you can move visualizations of the courses you are preparing for into the environment from the past. Think of Cynosport or US Open – for example, next year I hope to run Hot Sauce at US Open. I will practice visualizing running her on courses we ran earlier in the year – but in the US Open rings from my memory. Those memories will be pulled from Voodoo’s runs, which means I have to remember a couple of them at least.
The other reason to remember runs is to be able to re-create the successes or ‘fix’ the failures. After a fail in a run, you can re-run in your visualization and fix the error to get the clear round in your mind.>>I think the beginning is the section I cannot clearly remember. However, I remember more clearly those courses I did not do as well. hmmmm, thoughts?
I think this is pretty normal, I am the same way and I have to actively throw out the runs that didn’t go so well. I think part of it is a bit of trauma from failure, and our brains seem to remember trauma really well, better than we remember success. So keep rehearsing and remembering the success!
Let me know what you think!
Tracy
