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Hi!
The engaged chill delayed pattern game looked good! She was able to be stationary in an exciting environment and just hang out. You can add a leash to it, to simulate what trials would be like.
>>either laying near me while I pet or scratch her or putting her front legs on my lap while I scratch or pet her. We haven’t really done a behavior like this while I am standing, so that is what I worked on. Would you eventually add a verbal to this?>>
Super! This has great potential! Try it standing and try it in different places so see if she still likes it 🙂
Eventually you can put a casual verbal on it. I say “hop up” and pat my leg to invite the dog to chill like this. They recognize the context pretty quickly.
Looking at the remote reinforcement video – this game definitely shifted her arousal because she was vocalizing a lot more than I remember her doing! She was able to do all the things and ignore the treats, but it was definitely hard. So keep playing it in little bits and pieces, to help her rehearse it. I am sure she will be very happy with this game with some practice 🙂
>>a little worried about where I had the reinforcement.>>
Yes, she totally did seem a little worried about the location especially at first (but then was fine by the end). Maybe the sound of the food container opening at the beginning was worrying her? But she seemed to have gotten over it by the end. You can have a specific reward station that you use all the time (like a portable chair or table) so she doesn’t have to think about new reward stations.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
Pudding shots are delicious, highly recommend! Yesterday was Oreo flavored and today will be chocolate and strawberry 🙂
>>I’m still working on the leash on/off routine without much progress. She is patient while I put the leash on…almost to the point where she offers a sit. Once we start moving around with it on, she is totally disengaged and running in circles.>>
Do you mean at home/in your yard she is doing this frantic-sounding behavior with the leash? It is possible that the leash changes arousal state A WHOLE LOT which is exactly why we want to work this game… because the leashes required in most agility scenarios.
>> When I get her to slow down and stop, she sits and then I wait her out to connect with me. >>
What if you put the leash on, and did some heeling (fake heeling, it doesn’t have to be precise LOL!) for cookies? Make the leash use a less arousal-shifting thing for her with food. Or, a snuffle mat can help too.
>>If I try to play games with her, she gets too aroused and the mouthing/jumping up starts. So, it’s definitely frustrating for us both. Any suggestions?>>
I think just getting her to move with you giving her treats will be a good start. Then when she is less frantic about it, you can do the leash off/engagement on game. It is the type of game you can do in the house, in a calm place, so she can learn it without the stimulation of the obstacles.
And try to get some video, so we can see what she is doing and help her out!
Keep me posted 🙂
TracyThanks. I definitely need some pudding shots.
Hi!
>>Gemma barking in the background for authenticity! >>
Ha! Gotta make it trial-like LOL!

>>I’m a little concerned about the pink panther game in the real world. She could stay in my yard. But, she’s barely hanging on in class with whining and ready to go. >>It is entirely possible that the cartoon games are training-only games, to take her into the more trial-like arousal when you are in environments that are a little too relaxed 🙂 And in trials or classes, it is possible that the environment itself puts her into that arousal state so you will want to be an all-business handler. Teach her the game at home and see how she does!
Leash off/engagement on looks super good! You might see her start looking at the jump when the leash comes off and that is fine too – focusing forward on the line is always good! And knowing that she is going to engage when the leash comes off will help you worry less about what the start line procedure will be.
>> You can see she almost left on one rep here based on my motion. >>
I think that was just because you were not entirely clear it was a stay – the leash came off and you started moving away right away, so there was not a really clear indication to stay. But when you asked for the stay, she was perfect!
>>Do you want to see the pink panther in my yard?>>
Yes please 🙂 We want her to know the game because it has a lot of applications besides just being used on the lead out. For example, if a dog is scanning on the way to the start line and acting uncomfortable, we can play the pink panther game heading to the first jump and that can immediately et the dog looking at us.
>>Also, where’s the engaged chill with the remote reinforcement? Do we add that later?>>
It is a long way off – we want the engaged chill to be really solid and we don’t often need it in a remote reinforcement application. It is 99% of the time something that is done outside the ring and very very rarely do you need it at the start line.
>> I didn’t do the tug to the line today. She didn’t seem to need it and my knee is still pretty bruised.>>
I agree – she was pumped up and I am sure your knee appreciated the extra day of healing.
Great job!
TracyOh heck yes! We are seeing some legit backing up! Very exciting!!!
I think by the 2nd video here she was really getting the idea!
Remember to try not to move too much and let her offer. It is so hard to be stationary LOL!! And for now, keep her pretty close to the mat so it is easy to back up without turning around.
And one small detail – keep your hands lower (mid-thigh with you kneeling here) the whole time so her head stays in a more neutral position – when you are getting your hands up high and leaning towards her, it was pulling her head too high and sometimes she sat or sometimes she stopped moving.
So now that she had too very successful sessions – leave the behavior alone for at least until she has had a good long sleep so the brain can cement the learning (neural pathways yadda yadda yadda 🤣🤣). So if today is Friday, maybe try this exact same thing again on Sunday and see how her latent learning has kicked in!
Tracy
Hi!
>>Have tried the snuffle mat twice so far when we have high energy tugging – seems helpful! Didn’t video it yet>>
Super! You can incorporate it into anything we do that is higher in arousal, to help his body learn to self-regulate.
On the video – he was very interested in the new thing, so it was an excellent decision to hide it til you got some tugging. And great job with the transition back to the tugging, it was so quick to get the toy in and shaping object out that it was also like you had 3 hands LOL!! Great job with mechanics!!
>>Rewarding on the object was a different pattern for me and I was less sure when to change my criteria
Ex I mark 2 feet and reward on the object – should I then see if he adjusts his feet for 3 on, or reward some stillness with the two???>>I think your training instincts are spot on in terms of waiting to see if he will offer another foot or two on the object. In this session, I think the object was just a little too small so while he was trying to add more feet to it, there was not not enough room or stability for him to get the back feet on comfortably.
So you can try a bigger “field” of stuff, like 3 or 4 objects crammed next to each other so he can easily get his whole body on it. They don’t have to be the same objects, they just need to be big enough to give him room to get all 4 set on comfortably. Then you can do the click-toss-return pattern you were mentioning, or you can wait for him to offer more feet on and feed in position.
Because of his age, he will not always have good control over how to get all of his feet on all t he things LOL! That will happen on and off until he is almost an adult, so making the bigger playing field will help him re-learn the proprioception every time he has another growth spurt in body and brain 🙂
Great job here!! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>>just has to check the hands between bowls.>>
Yes, that is the hardest part – ignoring the treats in order to get the treats LOL!
Interestingly, the sound of the treat dropping into the bowl didn’t really seem to help him – he is more of a visual little dude. So, you can help him at the start of each session by establishing the rhythm by dropping the treats in each bowl then you can tap the bowl you just dropped a treat in. That might help him catch onto the pattern of it, then you can fade out the bowl tapping and let him start offering.
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyHello and welcome! Quest is so fun!!
He is very food driven so when the food was in your hand, he wants to look at your hand. To smooth this out, you can make a small change to the order of festivities:
Put the empty bowl on the ground first. Then line him up with a cookie lure so he is facing somewhat forward and happy to be lined up (he was a little slippery and didn’t love being moved into the line up).Then drop the cookie in the bowl (watching him as you do so). He will look at it pretty immediately, so be prepared to say “get it” and let him go immediately. That will help him sort it out and then you will be able to get even more distance!
You can also do it without the bowl – a lotus ball or treat hugger can work well for this.Nice work!
TracyGood morning!
>>I decided to skip the goat tricks since Mason will put his feet on anything you put in front of him. We’ll pick this game up in week 2.>>
Perfect! Just keep revisiting it here and there, so as his body and brain develop he can maintain that confidence.
>>The first new video is the wrap shaping game. This is our third session. The first two were slow and boring. He figured it out better once I added the toys. I wasn’t sure what I should do when he got stuck staring at the dead toy.>>
It is interesting to hear that he thought the food sessions were boring – he likes his food! LOL! The toy session here was great! He didn’t really get stuck staring at the toy, he just kind of lost his train of thought LOL! You were patient and kind of slid the other toy out of the way, then he remembered what to do 🙂 But overall, I love how he could offering going back and forth around the upright for the toys. Super!
The next step would be to get you to be higher up, like sitting in the chair that was behind you in this clip. Then we get you standing. The toys for this would be in your hands, but it might be easier to use slightly longer toys so he still keeps his head relatively downward-facing.
The blinds also look good!
>>The way the camera is set up I couldn’t really tell if he had his eye on the toy before I did the side change. At the time I thought he was looking at it, but in the video I wasn’t really sure.>>
I thought that he was following the handling nicely! On the 2nd rep, he hadn’t quite found your connection to know which side to be on after he ate the cookie, so he didn’t really do a side change. So you can be more connected for a bit longer as you move away to be sure he picks up the side you want. Then do the blind – and since it will all happen fast, you can give yourself a BIG lead out to be able to stay way ahead of him 🙂The best part about this was his ability to go from food to toy play with you! I know that you have worked on this – especially getting the toy play with you – and he is making BIG progress even in just a week! Super!!!!! This game is a low pressure, fun way to get the food-tug-food game solidified and he is doing great!
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHooray for outdoor training!! He was reading the blinds really well! Nice connection from you!
He had a little trouble finding the cookie in the grass which messed up the BC timing, so you can put a towel or something down that is really visually obvious, then throwing the cookie on it so he can find it faster.
>>Any suggestions on how to get Teagan to stop jumping up at my hands?>>
Use a long toy for this 🙂 Having him run full speed to a cookie in your hand is recipe for him ending up jumping up for the cookie. So a toy reward will be more visible and safer for your flesh. And for the jumping up for the cookie as you are walking out to start the session, you can use a toy as well to tug on the way to the start spot. That will give his teeth a good thing to do while you are getting ready :)
Nice job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHe is hitting the prop really well! Instead of ‘yes’ (which draws him to look at you), switch to a ‘get it’ marker when he hits the prop – that will indicate he was correct AND that he should run to the cookie you are tossing. I think for now getting all of the cookies out of your hands and tossed around, even on the sends, will keep him moving even better (he is already dramatically improved with offering behaviors and not offering sits or downs!!!!!)
When sending, start a little closer for now – you were a little too far so he was not entirely sure of what to do (and chewed your hand a little). He was keep to go to it, so you can use a shorter ready dance 🙂 The moment at 1:44 was a perfect length for it – one ‘ready’ moment, then you sent him. Yay!
It was hard to see your face on the video, so one other thing that can help him go to the prop is a little ore connection, looking at hm as you send forward (this is different than when you get to the sideways and backwards sends).
Nice work!
TracyThe pivots are going well – try to turn more slowly though. You are stationary then whipping around really fast, so he is getting a little wide or ended dup on the wrong side.
At :48 and 1:22 you were nicely decelerated for the pivot and it looked great!
Next step is to add more of your motion by sending him to his cookie and then you start to jog away. The instant he starts coming towards you, make a big deceleration so he can shift into collection and be ready for the pivot when he gets to you.
Great job!
TracyGood morning!
Drive to handler is looking good! Easy peasy! For now, keep your cookie hand lower (below your knee) so his chin is parallel to the floor or even pointed downwards to it. That way the skill will be easily transferred to collection and turns! It will be easier when he gets taller 🙂
Onwards to the pivots!
Hi! This is going really well! He was able to offer a lot of wrapping random things, with you standing up. YAY!
My main suggestion to you is a hard one: be quieter while he is working the bowls LOL!! The more you talk and use different praise words, the more he looks up at you. So you can either silently drop the treat in the bowl, or use a specific marker (such as “bowl” or something :)) but you want to otherwise be quiet and not praise or draw his focus off the different wrap objects. You can save the praise and happy voice for the tug breaks (which you should definitely be adding in if you aren’t already doing them, so things don’t get too repetitive)
>>He had a few questions here and there.>>
Yes, but not too many questions. I think some of the questions were about your happy praise voice causing him to look at you. And some where just him figuring out how to wrap the different things. So for each new thing you show him, pull it in tight to you so he doesn’t squeeze in between you and the new object 🙂 After he has seen the new object for a session, you can start to move it further away in the next session (but no big rush on that, because this is more about generalizing and less about adding distance.
Great job here! Let me know how it goes with toys!
TracyHi!
Walking and turning on the plank looked great! And yes, she gave a big “no thanks!”to sits and downs on the plank. I am guessing she is happy to sit and down on the ground? If so, you can try a sit on something wider, like a planks put together so she has more room, or a bigger piece of wood on the flat (something big and square, like the top of an agility table?)
>>I did another session with the prop with her on the right and she was still very much looking at my hands. We’ll keep at it for another session or two and then show you how it’s looking.>>
Sounds good! Keep me posted!
Wrap game:
Video 1 with you on the stool and moving the bowls back looked good! And nice tug break, she is doing well going from cookies to the toy!On the 2nd video – the look on her face when you stood up was HILARIOUS lol!! But she got right to back to the game, Yay! Try not to exuberantly praise her when in the cookie-dropping stages, because it causes her to look up at you. Stay quiet 🙂 so she can keep working the bowls.
On the 3rd video – she did great wrapping the new box, but definitely be quieter during the shaping 🙂 You had a lot of praise chatter so that definitely drew her eyes up to you and away from the bowls & box. Save the chatter for the tugging, where it is really useful and fun.
For the next session, you can start being standing the whole time and not using the stool at all.
>>I am using the toy as a reward for her “out” sometimes and am also weaving in her “chase” (chase and grab the toy I drag on the ground) and “bite” (grab the toy in my hand) cues.>>
This is all great! It was high energy and you were both really engaged. Only one tug mechanics suggestion:
When you say out, don’t lift the toy up to your chest – the movement of the toy upwards triggers some jumping up (a bit of prey drive) so keep the toy low as you say out, so she lets go of it and is not tempted to jump up for it.
Toy races looked great – I think she even grumbled at you on the 2nd rep where she won LOL! I guess she caught on really quickly that you were likely to cheat to win, so she decided to not let you win, ever LOL!
Definitely take this outside so you both have more room to run! And you can also try to cheat-to-win by having someone hold her so you can lead out by maybe 10 feet and get a head start by throwing the toy and running – she will learn to drive past you 🙂
Great job here!
TracyHi!
Plankrobatics:
He was very happy to hop on and off! Super! Great job doing it on both sides of the plank. You can add in luring him in a slow circle on the plank, and even try asking for a sit on the plank.One other thing to add is tugging before/during this game, so he gets to practice his coordination and proprioception in a higher arousal state – good practice for agility and other sports! So you can tug before and after a couple of food rewards, take another tug break 🙂
The Any Toy game is going well! You might need to make the higher value toy less visible (hide it in a pocket) when bringing out a different toy so he can interact with the new toy (rather than keep the higher value toy in his mouth and try to grab the new one too LOL!!!!) And then when he plays with the new one, you can bring the other one back out as a reward.
The new toy can move more so he chases it, and you can also throw it to get it even more enticing.
Goat tricks on the inflatable are looking good! Do you have a bigger disc, or a couple of discs, so he can get all of his feet on then? The Bosu ball is going well too – it is a hard balancing act for a pup on it, so getting all 4 feet on a couple of under-inflated discs will be easier for him to stay on and now slip off the side 🙂 You can make a ‘field’ of things to stand on, combining whatever smaller inflatables or fitness stuff you have.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
