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Hi there!
Paw touch along with nose (or even scratching at the duct tape) is actually fine š It just adds more āthings to doā in position while waiting for the teeter to fall. I wouldnāt want *only* a paw touch but paw touch/scratch plus head bob to target is great!>> On the running we have put some work into touching target with all 4 feet running back and forth for both flyball and running contacts over the past few months.
Perfect! I am excited to hear she is also training in flyball, SO FUN!! The 2 behaviors will diverge though, so we need to plan: the flyball mat will become a turning thing and the RDW mat will become a split rear feet run-through-based-on-verbals thing. My pup is training both so I used different mats and got the flyball mat onto the board pretty quickly (she was about 14 months old at that point).
>> I dusted off the manners minder, but it is taking a little time for her to decide itās okay.
You can try having it turned off and tossing the treat to it as more of a target and less of a remote rewarder. Plenty of dogs think the MM is haunted so we use it as a treat or ball catcher at first š There are other options that the dogs find less weird, such as the clip & go single dispenser thing and also there Pet Tutor (which people LOVE but it have resisted because of the cost).
I am not surprised that the terrier was happy to partake in the Manners Minder hahaha!!!!!
Keep me posted!
Hi! The PVC box is a perfect solution!
And plenty of dogs have a 4on for the teeter and 2RF on the other contacts as well so that will work nicely!T
Good morning!
I think the wing work is going really nicely on the video! He is definitely building the value and he was figuring it out as you added the sideways angle and being backwards to it (his expressions were pretty funny: āOK, I guess I will go around the thingā haha!)
At this stage, I think the next thing he needs is the permission to start, as in when he can leave you to go to the wing. As you are adding distance and changing your angle, he wasnāt entirely sure of when to start heading for the wing. That is easy enough to change by starting with him next to you, hand on collar or on his chest, give him a little āready, set…ā then one a step towards the wing. Now if you are facing forward, you would step forward with the dog-side leg towards the wing (staying connected to his eyes). If you are sideways or backwards to the wing, you would step with the leg closer to the side of the wing you want him to go around. You can use your hand too, using the hand closer to the side of the wing you want him to go around. And as you add the counter motion, turning your head to look at where you want him to go helps when you are sideways or backwards to the wing.
This will help him go really fast to the wing to match the really fast you are getting when you turn and run šOn the pill bugs (and about the jumping on you and biting) – the jumping/biting/slamming is something we do indeed see from high drive youngsters, particularly herding breeds. Aussies seem to really enjoy the biting/slamming! We humans do not enjoy it LOL! So a few ideas away from the pill bugs that will then be applied to the pill bugs:
* use a longer toy, so when you go to reward you can drag the long toy behind you, directing his focus downwards to the toy and away from your flesh.
* on the flat, revisit some recalls and blind crosses: toss a cookie for him to go get, then take off and run – call him, do a recall, do a blind, and start dragging the reward before he gets to you. You can start it at a walk, then go to a job, ideally to build success and value for NOT jumping up/slamming/biting when he is aroused. You can work up to really running too!
* Have a criteria of **feet on ground** and **no tooth hugs** and be strict with it! If he lifts his front feet off the ground and/or delivers any teeth on flesh, absolutely no reward. And, I suggest a game over moment when it happens – gently take his collar and leave the playing field, and his sister can have the cookie (gasp!!!). Now, ideally, we donāt have to do that more than once or maybe twice over the course of ALL of his training, so establishing the baseline of massive reinforcement for criteria at a slower speed/slightly less arousal will help that.
* You can layer in arousal by playing with the toy a little before you start then going to food rewards. If he has a really high rate of success, you can layer in more and more arousal. We cannot avoid the arousal, so layering it in will really help.During pill bug games: Starting him on a stay doesnāt give you quite enough of a head start, so try tossing a cookie away, sending him to it then running while he is getting it š I think these are going generally really well! One thing to avoid for now are the inside turns, where he is between you and the tunnel – try to keep yourself between him and the tunnel because it is easier for him to chase your line then it is to turn away from it. For example, at 2:02, you did a blind with him on the outside and it was great! At 2:15, you did a blind with him on the inside and he couldnāt quite read the turn away so he jumped up at 2:17. We can add those at a walk later on but the running will work be set on outside turns.
The reps that worked best were the ones where you rewarded pretty early, like after 1 blind. When you went to multiples like at 2:44, it was harder to stay ahead and maintain connection so he had a little more trouble.
At 2:55, he just didnāt see which side to be on so ended up on the wrong side of the tunnel – but you got it back on track for a really nice FC – I would reward that – it is hard to maintain the connection while running after it so he ended up on the wrong side. The next section with the FCs went nicely! He only had a question when you ended up on an inside turn.
So overall, these are off to a good start but things to remember are that we want him really chasing you (rather than staying at your side) so more of a head start will help! And doing 1 cross then rewarding will help keep it fast and fun and eliminate the jumping/etc.Let me know if this all makes sense. Good work!
TracyWith any dog bigger than my 9″ tall Papillon, I set criteria. Natural striding is not enough criteria, and plus natural striding is only good for straight exits. Plus, natural striding with a young dog will change as they get faster. So, I’m a big fan of setting and teaching criteria š and I use the split RF criteria.
TExcellent question! The answer is in what criteria you are training the dog to do in the box.
If it is a foot target criteria, then it doesn’t matter what size the box is or where it is located, although I would think lower is better in that case.If you’re teaching the dog to find the contact by striding over the top edge of the box, then I think it could be confusing to have the box top lower than the yellow, as that criteria might eventually involve the dog using the top of the yellow.
I personally use a foot target criteria, on a mat, so the target size is relevant (it starts pretty big then gets faded as the striding and understanding is built.
Let me know if that makes sense š
TracyGood morning! Is that the new SOTC turf? Looks gorgeous!
These were supper high energy and fun sessions here!! She really responds to all or your readdeeeeeeeeee LOL! Love it!
Her speed is fine, she was running and happy (not trotting or sad). She had a question here and there about whether to go to the wing, but that can be answered a couple of ways:
In terms of handling, be sure to use your dog side leg to step to the wing on the sends. On the rep where she ended up cutting in front of you and going around the wing the wrong way, the dog side leg didnāt have enough involvement so that was the line of your body she was reading. Also, on the sends, make more connection with her – you were looking forward, which changes the line of the upper body. When you are up close next to the wing, the connection is not as important because the wing is so obvious and right there. When you are adding distance, that connection is more important so on the send – step with the dog side leg, use a little less dog side arm, and look at her more and it will be great. A lovely example was the rep at about 1:31, all the elements were in place and she rocked it.
2 other ideas:
First: stop saying GO! That will mean something entirely different when she is on jumps (straight line extension) so we donāt want it to mean wrap tight, which is what will happen by using it here. Now, all of us want to say *something* to our dogs, so I suggest either a silly noise for now, or just slap on your wrap cue. Have you decided what you want your tight turn verbal to be? Folks tend to use things like dig dig dig or check check check or something – she is ready for that, so you can add it at this point.Second: as you get further away on the sends (and as you add the countermotion games), you can throw the toy past the wing more to maintain the balance and excitement of leaving you (that will also maintain the speed of running to the wing). So using the toy she loves, or giant easy-to-see cookies, or a ball, you can send and as she is heading to the wing, toss it out past the wing as the reward (especially on the countermotion where you will be turning and leaving).
You can do the chair game, but do it right up close to the wing and donāt do too much of it. She LOVES the excitement of your interaction when you are sending and moving, and I donāt want to remove that (chair sitting is boring LOL!!!)
Nice work here!
TracyGood morning!
The wing wrapping is going really well! TONS of good value, so all of your position changes in the first half of the video didnāt phase her at all. She was able to continue her wrapping even when you were sideways or backwards, which will be great for cuing turns later in her training. You can use toys more with this now – the toy will make it even more exciting and also more difficult because the toy is distracting. The sending is also going well – I think she was surprising on the first one (when she didnāt go) because you were so far away but then did well on the second one. You can amp it up by starting with your hand on her collar and a bit of gently opposition reflex & ready ready ready – then step into it. As you step into the send, try to keep looking at her (connection) more than looking at the wing – that will really help as you add distance.
At this moment, she is a bit faster coming back to you than she is heading away to the wing (normal!) so you can change up the placement of the toy: rather than always tug back at you, you can toss it out to the wing so she gets it as she arrives or turns past the wing. This will help balance out the speed.
You can start back up close and add in the countermotion now! Fun!On the targeting: the travel plank works a bit better for the 2o2o, which might be why the 4on feels awkward on it. You are on the right path with it, particularly on the 2nd clip where you started her further back and she moved into the 4on at the end. Here is a suggestion on the travel plank – start her at the āfarā end š of it and ask her to stand & stay there, so you can go to the target end, then have her come forward to the target. Then after a cookie or two, release her off the plank, play tug, then reset the whole game (rather than having her back up on the plank or placing her there). That can make it feel less awkward.
But, as teeter prep (which I believe this is, if I remember correctly), we can tweak the game a bit to make it less awkward and more action-packed š The hand touching element looks good, so we can move to more of an actual target. So many choices here for a 4on: I personally use duct tape with Hot Sauce (so fancy, I know hahaaha). The duct tape started folded up so it was a 3-dimensional and more visible target, and then I faded it to flat (and finally faded it out). With my other small dogs I have taped a spoon to the underside of the board so the spoon was the target (and convenient treat holder). The spoon can either be just below the board (so the dog looks down for it at the very end) or it can be sticking up so it is a more visible target. A friend of mine uses a pipe cleaner taped to the end of the board, sticking up, as a target for her smaller dogs.The goal for the 4 on is that there is a weight shift into the rear and the elbows are tucked into her rib cage (so her front legs are not reaching forward) and she rides the teeter down looking ready to pounce.
Do any of these targets sound interesting to you? If no you have no preference, the duct tape is the easiest because she is closest in build & size to Hot Sauce.
After you pick a target, you can introduce it in a shaping s session or two, just c/t for nosing it in your hand then on the travel plank. Then when she is actively seeking her target and has value, we can put it on a wobble board. If moment serves, she really likes the wobble board! That will be a fun way to get her thinking about the posture/position weāll want on the teeter while on something that is moving. That will translate nicely into the teeter games after that.
Let me know if it all makes sense š
Nice work here!
TracyGood morning!
Yes, I am sure that there will be different challenges with Spot, but I admit that it is really nice for him to already be able to work & play in that environment <3The wing shaping is looking good!! Nice session here where you were able to rotate sideways and backwards - he really seems to have great value for the wing. So, onwards! Add in the next steps, particularly the sending: sending forward & leaving, and sending him backwards to it with one step (like we did on the little foot target). If that continues to go well, you can add in all the countermotion stuff too! It will take a few sessions but it looks like he will pick it up really quickly.
Nice work here!
TracyGreat 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 āquietā 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 donāt get angry LOL!!
Also, after he touches the hand once or twice, release forward and off the plank – we donāt 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 š
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 donāt 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 āinsideā 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 didnāt jump up or cut you off or cut behind. Nice!!!!
It will be even easier outside but very clever to create it inside š
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 š 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 āhit itā or just make a silly noise.
He looks ready to move to the other levels for sure! Nice job here!
Tracy
