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Good morning!
>We haven’t done a whole lot of stuff, mostly working on life skills, integration with the girls (been unexpectedly interesting), but she is quite toy-motivated and also into food (toy is stronger), and we’ve done some shaping but not much so far (I only got her doing ‘in the box’ 2 weeks ago – so far behind!).>
You are not behind at all! You were prioritizing life skills and toy skills! She is a happy little worker so it will be easy to add the games now.
The bowls were very funny – she is clearly VERY HUNGRY and needs to make sure every single crumb is out of the bowl hahaha
If the bowls are so exciting that she spends quality time locking them, you can turn them over so the cookie goes on the top of it, or use different targets like a plastic lid or something. I do love a Border Collie that has strong food drive, so no complaints from me!
You were hilarious, repeatedly dropping the treat in LOL!! So funny! I am sure things will go great with non-lickable targets for the cookies 🙂
Two suggestions about the toy play, for training mechanics:
– Play with the toy before the bowls go into the picture, so she doesn’t turn out the bowls. Then when you go back to the toy, clear the bowls outta there. That will make for a cleaner sessions.
– At the end and in the 2 toy session for the wrap foundation, rather than grab her collar to get the toy back (which can bring ick feelings to the collar grab), see if you can make the toy ‘dead’ (you can use 2 hands for that) and wait til she releases it. Then she can have a cookie or take the toy to her bed like the end of the next video.
I love the Christmas wubbas or whatever those are in the toy session! You can slow things down with the toys – let her grab and tug, before the next one comes alive. She was at the toy for less than a heartbeat when you wanted her to go to the next toy. And slowing it down will help you make the transitions clear: live toy for 4 or 5 seconds (tug tug tug tug tug). Then let that toy go dead for 2 or 3 seconds… then the next one comes alive, repeat the process. You will find her beginning to release the toy when it goes dead and move to the next one – that establishes the rhythm and pattern of her offering to go back and forth without you wiggling the toy to get her to do it 🙂
I think she is ready for the advanced level here: adding a thin upright for her to go back and forth around! Definitely start it with the toys. And you an move to it very quickly when she is not licking the bowls LOL!!!
Great job 🙂
Tracy
Good morning and welcome! She is astonishingly CUTE!!!! I can see why you kept her 🙂
> I also have a 10 week old bc pup that she loves playing with and I make sure they get individualized time.>
You are BUSY and I love it. The two main demo dogs in the class videos are about the same ages in the early videos (7 months and 10 weeks) so I fully support the insanity of having a big puppy and a small puppy 🙂
And small dogs are indeed a little different to train – feel free to do a lot of her training sitting on the floor or a low table or something 🙂
She did GREAT with the foot target – two cookies into the session and she was smacking it 🙂 Super! You might want to put something in it to weigh it down so she can smack it without flipping it. You can toss the treats away more so she runs to it for smacking 🙂 and it looks like she is ready for the first prop game (posted last night).
>She started out wild with toys and could easily switch between food / toys but I’ve accidentally turned her into a tiny hippo.>
As the food drive comes up, you can do 2 things to help keep the toy drive high too:
– use a longer toy (or 2 or 3 toys tied together) so you can slide it around on the floor like a crazy bunny for her to chase, without you leaning over her (smalls generally don’t love when we lean over to play)
– move the toy play to a different spot on the floor so you aren’t asking for tug right in the middle of all the delicious food odor at nose level 🙂 Running away dragging the toy can get her going 🙂> How do people with little dogs train them without getting fat!?!?!>
Small treats 🙂 Tiny cheese bits and stuff like that – then that can become the meal if she has had a lot of treats during training.
Looking at the nose target:
This is a good one for you to be sitting on something – getting down on your knee helped! There is pressure bending over that was eliciting the down. Also, you can toss the reward rather than feed in a stationary position. That will keep her moving and not offering the down.
You can also have your arm extended out away from you at a 90 degree angle, so the target is more salient and doesn’t get ‘lost’ at all.
To help her drive to it more, you can bring it back in to your when you have thrown a reward. Then when she has eaten the reward, you can extend the target hand out again and look at the target.
> I’m not sure why I was saying yes and good. I think I have been mostly using good to mean keep doing that ( stay on your mat) and haven’t done a lot of shaping so I forget lol.>
I know, so many words LOL!!! If you have a ‘get it’ marker, you can say get it then toss it after she hits it.
Looking at forward focus:
>I wasn’t really committed to which toy to use and switched then realized she will play me in the future lol.>
She gave good feedback about the toy here! At the very beginning, the toy was long and moving away from her (:11 – :15). She was trying to engage and grab it but before she could, you reduced the length of it and moved it towards her (:18-ish) which is not a way she engages. So definitely keep moving the toy away so she can grab it 🙂
When you went to the toy on the flirt pole – game on! That toy clearly means it is going to move away, so it is very enticing 🙂 You can get that with other toys as well by making them super long and enticing like this.
She drove to the toy well! I recommend having her on a harness or collar for this – it will be an easier lineup and hold. She was not totally into the full body hold or being push back from the chest, so a collar or harness will help.
She is ready for the next steps, where you can throw it further and further, and add more of your motion too!
Great job!
Tracy
Hello and welcome! He is ADORABLE!!!!
>in a class that was very much meant to be for fun. He loved it, I got hooked and here we are! >
I can totally relate to this – it is exactly how I started 🙂 Apollo looks like he is going to be SUPER FUN!!!
Enjoy 🙂
Tracy
Good morning! Lots of good stuff here in the TSA game and I agree – the barn is VERY challenging because the distractions are everywhere.
Starting with the patterns – it took him a bit to kind of recognize them and engage. I would love to see him giving faster snappy attention, so that can come from doing the pattern games more regularly in different places, and with better food. You might have been using really good treats, but if they are his usual treats then they might not be high value anymore. So “better” treats might actually just mean “different” treats that he doesn’t normally get.
He got right into the tugging which is great. Remind yourself to loop the leash handle over your wrist rather than let it drop to the ground – picture yourself at a trial with other dogs and people around, where we definitely want a hold of the leash.
You can ask for tricks during the tugging too, to get an idea of how focused/engaged he is when the toy is not in his mouth: trick then tug then trick then tug a few times.
When you got the line: he did best when you moved in fast with energy, talking to him a little and immediately asked for tricks. That was the last run and he did not sniff or anything, he got right into the sit and ran well! On the other reps, you were quieter and asked for the tricks later, so he was not as ready to work.
So definitely keep talking to him as you move to the line, and you can ask for tricks on the way instead of waiting til you got there.
I see what you are talking about with the noises when he jumps into your arms – no worries, he is just excited by the game 🙂
He didn’t necessarily want to tug right away at the end – he might be a dog that likes to tug before the run but wants treats after it (totally normal and perfectly fine :)) So you can try that and see what he says!
This is a game to revisit every now and then, maybe 20% of his training. Most of his training still should have rewards in the ring but this TSA skill is important to play with sometimes too.
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning! Super good day!
The RR session with the toy outside the ring went really well (with a little bit of human pressure there too, but that is needed and useful!)
I love how he automatically engaged when you entered the ring that 2nd time. Since we know this boy loves to work and move, you can add in leash off engagement on, then let him have a tunnel or two 🙂 That will be fun too and I think he will find that reinforcing as well.
Great job having Dan & Tammy in the ring for the LOEO!!! This is basically what will happen at a trial so it is great to show it to him now. He seemed to have zero questions. He looked over at the end, but that was when the context cues said he was finished.
Like with the remote reinforcement game: if you are happy with his engagement when the leash comes off – let him rip over a jump/through a tunnel and reward more! Fun!
Instant focus:
What was he pulling towards when he entered? He kind of bolted in then look towards the camera. Something happened that pulled his attention – did someone come into the building, like Bella? There were sad dog noises near the camera (my dogs are responding to it too, they are barking LOL) so that was a little bit of a hard challenge for him. But he was able to offer behavior on his plank. The behavior offering was fine, so the things you can focus on adding can be whining/barking dogs in the otherwise quiet building. I have done this with YouTube videos playing, making it easier to control the volume 🙂 and not needing other dogs around.
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
>I feel like we’ve been doing a good job of hidden rewards already. Her off leash engagement is really good.>
Yes, she does really well with that. You can bring her to the line with more excitement and partying (especially when you reward the leash off engagement). You are probably in ‘stay chill’ mode because her red sister needs that, but Bella will appreciate you being a bit wilder, doing tricks, etc.
> I’m missing remote reinforcement so that’s my goal.>
Yes, now is a good time in her training to add that in. Everything else is looking good!
The sequence work went well!
Seq 1:
Rather than send to the 2 tunnel, drive in there so you aren’t decelerated too much – then you can drive her to 3 (backside) and do a FC back to the tunnel. You did a post turn and rear cross on the tunnel entry, and I think the FC will get a better turn and keep you further ahead for the ending line too.She drove the ending line really well – she also reads decel, so make sure for the big GO lines you have the toy already in your hand (or someone else can throw it) and accelerate through the ending line:. Your decel and reaching for the toy pulled the bar at :49.
Looking at the wrap on that last jump: she was very keyed into your cues, which is good! So it is just a matter of finding the timing as she gets more experienced.
At 1:21 – the verbal started on time but the physical cue was still forward acceleration so she continued in extension, turning after landing.
Big difference with decel at 2:25!! That was a good turn.
I liked your timing of starting the wrap cues (verbal and decel) at 2:59, I think that is the sweet spot to begin the timing for her – just before takeoff of the previous jump. Then you rotated too early at 3:00 – you rotated when she landed from the jump before the wrap (your left leg was the culprit LOL) so she pulled off. But the timing of starting it was great, you just needed to face forward to the wrap jump until she got to the takeoff spot.
The last rep at 3:26 was too early – the decel was already happening before she chose the takeoff spot for the middle jump on the line, so she was not entirely sure which jump was the wrap jump (bar down). The timing at 2:59 was the winner!
Great job here 🙂
Tracy
Good morning! I love the new motto!! And since she is fast, you can have more room between the start wing and the jump here, to give yourself more time to show her the cues 🙂
I agree, this game is fun because the dogs get to run run run even if our timing is late or early 🙂 She seemed to have a grand time here!
Nice job working out the timing:
At :49 and 1:28, for example, you had good timing of starting the decel but you decelerated and rotated at the same time so she came off the jump. You can see your outside leg stepping out a bit and your hips rotating. Subtle! But she sees everything 🙂
Compare to 1:02 where you decelerated *then* rotated: lovely turn!
The rep at 1:43 was also a good example of facing forward til she commits, same with 3:08. Nice commitment in collection there!If she gets sticky and commits less because either she is not trusting the cues as much or she has done a bunch of turns in a row: you can keep mixing in more GO reps like you did towards the end, and also on the turn reps you can add in tossing the toy to the landing side of the jump to keep her commitment value high.
Speaking of the Go reps – I think you might have been saying Go as the verbal for all of them? So on the turn reps you can use your wrap verbals. Apologies if I am hearing it wrong, there is not a lot of caffeine on board yet LOL!
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
It looks like the UP adventure was super fun! I really love spending time in the UP during the summer 🙂
>In regards to her recovery for the modified ending run after the implosion: I did help her recovery along by just holding her in my arms to help her settle while I sorted out how I wanted to modify the ending. She might not have done so well if I had left her on the ground. >
It seemed to help! Definitely something to try again if she needs the help and support.
>I did figure out how to do a video overlay in my video editing program (Power Director) for the seminar. The spin before the wrap jump threw off my timing so I also lined it up based on when she took off for that wrap jump and it lines up way better than I had thought it would.>
The overlay looks great!! You are MILES ahead of the rest of us in this matching the walk through to the run with a baby dog!!! My baby dog walk versus runs are usually pretty bad and look like 2 different courses LOL!! But the emphasis on rehearsing it has really help you lock in with Lift and it is cool to see the overlay!
About the DW and A-frame:
I think it is worth a try with the stride regulators now that we have (theoretically) cooler temperatures and no snow (yet). Just let her rip with some stride regulators and a placed reinforcement (the MM after a jump or tunnel). Part of training a RDW is having fun doing it – the other part is figuring out how to keep her head low 🙂 And make sure she doesn’t need a chiropractor or anything, in case her wanting to stop is related to not wanting to extend her rear (these dogs do NOT take care of themselves and do NOT understand that Chiro is expensive LOL)
>Do you think trying a low a-frame (with or without a mat) and the target obstacle after would be worth a shot just to see if that clicks better with her? >
Yes, do it. The a-frame is entirely different than the DW for small dogs, and she might need to be taught to leap the apex (FUN!). I used a big towel as the target for my dogs on the running a-frame LOL and the small girls got stride regulators to get more air over the top. They never tried to stop on it, plus it is their favorite because they get to fly (I had to convince them both to fly LESS and put in a stride on each side LOL Here is early training with the towel target (no stride regulators yet, I used them a little later in the training):
The exact placement of the regulator will depend on how she naturally does the striding, so let her rip across it at a low-ish height and see what she does.
Keep me posted!
Tracy
Good morning! Thanks for the video!
The handling elements on the jumps & tunnel went great on all of them! These were really about the hard weave challenges 🙂
On pop out 4:
>Tested to see if I could hold back on the weaves, but he likes me closer. Did just weaves with rewarding as I moved away.>
Yes, this is where more independence on the weaves would help get the #6 backside more easily. You got there at :33 with serious hustle 🙂 He had a little question but you got there in time to show him the backside.
You can gradually build up more independence by getting really close to jump 3 and waiting for hm there. Then as he catches up, you can send him to the weaves and slowly follow him. You will still be moving, but hanging back more and more – and then keep throwing the reward to the end of the poles like you did, that will definitely help!
Pop out 5:
This went well – the 4-5 section is the hardest part for sure! It is becoming a common course design element for the dogs to have to find weave entries on the other side of the dog walk like that.He had questions about finding the entry. At :45, you can see that the super high arm was actually turning your shoulders and feet to the center of the weaves, so he slowed down and was not as sure. Then at :46, as soon as you dropped your arm and faced the weave entry, he got right in. Yay!
So even at a big distance, you can face the weave entry and keep your arm low. You can play with using the opposite arm here to point at the weave entry, because that really turns your shoulders to the entry and can support the line at a distance.
Pop out 6:
>Good boy being very careful to get his weaves correct! Not sure why he was slow. >
Yes! He was slower on the first set of weaves which is the simpler line, in theory… I think he was being careful there because you were slowing down and ever so slightly pulling away. So this is a context where you can hand closer to jump 1, send to 2, let him get in and then drive ahead of him. Or, throw rewards to the pole exit when you are drifting away to the next line.
On the 2nd set of poles, you were moving faster so he had no questions and was his normal speedy self 🙂
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
OMG Charley is SO CUTE and tiny!>The nose touch presented the least challenge. I used the plastic lid to a canning jar, and Charley “got it” right away. I rewarded him from my hand, rather than tossing, and just noticed this while viewing the video clip.>
He did great! When you revisit it, read rom the other hand – the treats can already be in it so there is a small element of self-control in the form of “ignore the treats and go hit the thing”. You can also toss the treats to the side to continue letting him learn how to find the treats. In the next session, you can move th target to further away from you: hold your hand out to the side as extended away as possible, so he moves to the target. We don’t need this skill for a few more weeks so no rush to do it.
The paw touch session was a good value building session. Very good timing with your clicks!
>Sometimes he stalled during this exercise possibly expecting a treat to come his way for eye contact alone.>
That is ok – he was just offering what you have built value for. He did get lots of good paws hits. I am sure he will hit it more and more as we use it.
Also, to help cue him to hit it and not look at you: be sure you look at the yoga block and not at him (he is SUPER cute so it is hard to not look at him 🙂 )
The other thing that might have been challenging was that maybe the toy on the table was a little distracting? Based on how easily you got tugging after he got the treats in both of these sessions, it is possible that the toy is more motivating than the treats for now so you might need to hide it more (like putting it behind your back, tucked into the loop of your treat apron. I think it is GREAT that he loves toys! And the presence of the toy might indicate that part of his brain was thinking about it 🙂 All good 🙂
>The other challenge was that Charley had difficulty locating the treats (his regular tiny kibble) that I threw as a reward. Is this due to the patterned rug? >
It could be that the rug had a pattern, but you did a good job pointing out where you put the treat. You can try it on a solid colored floor or on a yoga mat and see if it helps.
Also, he will get better at finding the treats with more shaping experience – I have had to teach my puppies to find treats that I have tossed LOL!
> I’m reluctant to use a light-colored cheese, which may be more visible, due to potential digestive issues. >
We definitely don’t want an upset GI!! You can mix in a tiny tiny bit of cheese so the other treats take on more of a cheese smell. Or you can try things like small pieces of Cheerios or charley bears – that are mild on the belly but easier to see.
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
She did great with her games here! She is very fun!I like her pink index card to boop LOL!! I think she will lock onto it more if you are standing (or sitting in a chair) and holding it further from your body. She has nice size now, so you don’t need to be on the floor. As you hold your arm out, you can also look at the card in your hand – she will follow your gaze to it more easily than if you look at her cute face 🙂
I liked her creative twist on the hat: the down LOL! She is like “LOOK AT THIS OTHER THING I KNOW!” Haha! No worries, it is cute and won’t hold her back because there is a lot of movement in the other games.
Since she clearly has value for the hat, you can switch up the reward – instead of feeding her in position on the hat (which is why she is offering the down a lot), you can mark it and toss the treat off to the side. She can go grab it then run back to smack the hat again.
She is ready for the prop game we add tonight!
Great job 🙂 Tracy
Hi!
>Cairo was much quieter and less demanding than her sister. I feel like she is opening up with working individually,>
She was adorable here! She is probably adjusting to life without her sibling, so it might take a few days to get more fired up. No worries though, she tugged on her little toy and had very clear, deliberate foot touches to the shoe 🙂 Love it!
She had to chew the reward a lot – you can experiment with softer treats that she can swallow faster? But some dogs are chewers at this age, no worries 🙂
Since she was in a down at the beginning, she stayed in the down when hitting the shoe (smart LOL!) So for the next session, you can change the reward delivery: toss it to the side for her to get. That gets her moving more, and then she can run back to the shoe and smack it again 🙂
Great job here!
Tracy
Welcome!! He is the perfect combination of death fangs and long legs and ultra cuteness. I am told he is related to my pointy dogs but I haven’t figured out how, exactly.
I am looking forward to seeing him in action!
Tracy
Good morning! Very nice tugging from little Frankie! You can keep the play separate from the cookies like it was here, including taking the toy to a new spot where there is no cloud of cookie smell 🙂
And the leaping onto the foot target is the cutest thing ever! And there is a breeze coming off that tail, it is wagging so fast!
I think the leaping is her combining the foot target with the looking at your hands for the treats (starving!) She is smacking it really well, so you can move to the next step which is changing the reward placement: toss is to the side when she hits it. You can use a marker that indicates that it will be tossed (‘get it’ or an equivalent) and that will also allow you to not have to click. Not clicking gets her looking at the target more and frees up a hand 🙂 That sets us up really well for the next steps.
The nose target is going well too – you can hold it a little further away from your body to keep it more obvious and yes, you can also do this sitting down so yo uare not bending over as much. She lost her train of thought a bit when there was a beep from a car at 1:19 (“what was that noise?”) but then got right back into it. YAY!
Since the nose target went really well, you can shelve it until we need the skill in a few weeks.
Great job here!
Tracy
