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Hi!
Great job at the trial! Overall, I loved her focus and how well she was able to regulate her arousal while still going super fast. Yay!!! And you had the toy in your pocket for a couple of the runs, I believe, and she was great. I took some notes for each run, then a few more ideas below as well:Run 1:
Tugging while people were fixing the tire in the ring was a great way to get her used to people in the ring!Starting far away is always a good idea, her stay looked great!
Are you allowed to throw a toy in AAC? If yes, throw it more on the line after jumps. Or, if helpers are allowed, someone can present the reward on the line out ahead of her.
Bang game looked good! When doing the fumm teeter, try to give her more momentum across the full teeter so she can drive a little faster across it.
2nd run – cookies on the cot are going well. You can start to ask for more volume dial and tugging before the run, so she enters the ring in a higher state of arousal.
Good line up!
Weave entry as obstacle 3 was a little too hard with that visual clutter against the wall. You can start her at jump 2 to show the line to the weaves to help her out.If something goes sideways, try not to stop and fix handling – she was confused when you did that and then going past the frame confused her too (her facial expression was pretty funny lol). You can tug past it rather than walk her past it, that will be smoother!
3rd run – good tricks here! Next step is to be sure to do them on the flat in case there are no cots around.
She was finding lines really well here! I think you wanted some jumps in between the tunnels but the cues were late – good job staying in motion! And plan to be ahead to cue the weaves so she can see the line to the entry (the tunnel exit here turned her away from the weaves and you were behind, so adding in a little extra jump to get you ahead will help you set the line better.
Overall, this is going really well. Do you have any classes of just jumps and tunnels where you can do longer sequences with the toy in your pocket (empty hands). She looks ready for that.
Also, you can add in leaving a toy at the start line (and still have one in your pocket) to begin adding in the next stages of remote reinforcement. In AAC, is there a leash runner or does the handler carry the leash? If there is a leash runner, show Muso that yes, her leash will move (and the toy can go with it :)) She will definitely see it in UKI.
Great job! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi!
>>I’ll add the leash to our practice runs too. *I* need that practice because I’m very clumsy with the leash.>>
Yay!! Using the leash in practice will make it so much easier at trials for both of you.
>> Also I am just beginning to expose Pizzazz to the empty hands concept but she won’t consistently play with me very long without food. So it’s hard to practice sequences without it.>>
No need to do empty hands training yet – I think she needs more time to slowly build up the remote reinforcement before we add it to sequences. Empty Hands will be too be of a leap, for now. More on that coming tomorrow 🙂
Have fun!
TracyHi! Thanks for the remote reinforcement video!!!
Good lets go marker!!
I think that this is on the right track, but you’ll want to take fewer steps away from the reward station – 2 or 3 to start, then ping pong in 4 or 5, then back to 2 or 3, then 6 or 7, and so on. That way you gradually build up duration.
You can add more engagement as you walk away – look at her and start to add in asking for a trick before going back to the rewards.
And, most importantly… a leash for now. That will help transfer to trials, but more importantly, a leash will put a stop to the squirrel chasing where she runs across the street to do it. I think that was partially because she was still learning the remote reinforcement game and needed smaller steps, and partially because she has a reinforcement history of darting off in this context to chase the squirrels (I remember this happening in an earlier handling video).
Having food in your hands can help prevent some squirrel chasing at home, but it doesn’t help us teach her how to run in the trial ring when you don’t have food.
So having her on leash will help shift things so that she can learn the new game without taking off – in effect, we are stopping the undesirable behavior as we replace it with behaviors we like better 🙂
Tracy
Hi!
>>Well, the pulling is my spatial awareness. Probably the same going in too deep to the pinwheel jump.
You can use the wing of the jump to “mark” your running line away to the tunnel – it is like imagining an invisible string from the wing to the tunnel threadle entry. You would then move along that string, watching the wing. Let me know if that makes sense or if a visual would be better 🙂
>>But….I was very pleased with her.
Heck yeah! She was great!!
>> Plus, I did NOT try the BC again as I felt she’d done enough reps with the various sequences. Most were one and done.>>
She’s developing a lovely history of high success one and done reps. Yay!!
>>I’ll probably need more tricks. Other than a spin and nose touch what else do you use moving? I don’t think I can leg weave with a leash attached. Or, can I?>>
Leg weaving is hard on a leash (I take the leash off for it). You can do high fives while moving, as well as things like “dancing” on their back legs. And also, my favorite, barking on cue (this is SUCH a great arousal regulator!!)
>>So, if I understand correctly… get her “give” command under better stimulus control,>>
Yes, you can do out then strike to reward it with more tugging. It will also give you a good window into her arousal state.
>> use moving tricks and reward with tug on the way to the line, take the leash off and immediately go into either the up and down or back and forth game, then ask for the line up?>>
Yes, try that and see how she does. She will provide feedback, which will either help us solidify the toolbox or change things up
It is really individualized so a bit of experimenting will help.>>I can practice this in the yard tomorrow and try it out in class Tues.
Great!! Video all the things lol
And I hope Gemma feels better! Poor girl!!!
Tracy
Hi!
>>No worries – just keep ruining your invisible dog happily>>
Omg darned autocorrect!!!! RUNNING not ruining lol
And no, you didn’t ruin your invisible dog – and you got actual course work by the end!!!
It was a good session in terms of information gathering, even if the runs didn’t go as planned.
As you mentioned, the environment was really hard for her, too hard at the beginning. So you can let her response act as feedback to you about whether she is ready for the next step.
What I mean by that is:
Ask her if she can play thr pattern game for really good cookies, far from distractions.If yes? Move closer to the distractions.
If no? Move further.
If she can’t do the pattern games at all, move further from the environment and just let her sniff around and watch the world. Then go to higher value foods and try again later.
If she can play the pattern game close to the crowd of distractions, then you can go to the next step: volume dial! Tricks for treats or tugging.
And if she can do that? Using the Cato board, start somewhere in the middle of the course, away from distractions, and do a sequence.
If she can’t do that? Move further away and try. Not being able to do the volume dial means she isn’t ready to run the course, so you would move away and try it further away.
If she was able to do the volume dial and you try the sequence, but she zooms off? That’s feedback that it is too hard. I think trying to start her in front of the crowd is too hard for now, especially if the location is different or the distractions are different. So based on how she often struggles when right in front of the crowd especially on that first run – don’t start in front of the crowd 🙂 start far from the distractions and see how she does! With a history of success established, we can then get her gradually closer to the crowd at the start.
Based on what she can do when she does run the sequence, it is worth it to get the success from further away from the big distractions, then gradually get closer based on her feedback.
Let me know what you think!
TracyHello and welcome!!! I’m glad the surgery is behind him now, so you can totally start the fun games! Enjoy!!!
TracyGood morning!
>Today we went to a CWA meet not far from here, for visiting and puppy socializing. She even got a tiny chase on the lure. Lots visiting, some tugging, some treating. So a mainly work free day. I’d forgotten I do have another longish, fluffy tug in the Expedition, so that’s also on the agenda. I want to get these going well before the next game.
Sounds like a great day!!! I am sure it burned a lot of mental energy for her, so don’t be surprised if she is a bit tired or a bit less perfect in any training today. If she seems mentally tired, just do easy stuff 🙂 It is amazing how much mental energy these pups spend on those field trips 🙂
>So, I will try both with a tiny toy first. I think that will work. Paul holding would work too because he can yell, “You are turning the wrong way!” >>
Let me know how the small toy goes! And you can ask Paul to yell “AWAY!” to remind you to turn away from her for the blind, rather than towards her for a front cross 🙂
Have fun!
TracyGood morning! He did well here! He ended up being a bit more stationary than we need him to be, so a couple of ideas for you:
Have the cookies in your hand – keeping them in a pocket creates a delay where he stops moving and looks at you. Plus part of the challenge of the game is that he has to ignore cookies in your hand to go hit the target.
You were actually rewarding the down a lot on this session, accidentally – with the placement of reward being stationary, he settled in to hang out near the target… so you brought cookies out to get him out of the down. But based on the frequency of the down behavior increasing, he thought the cookies were for doing the down 🙂 So, to keep him moving and offering on the target, no more stationary cookies when he is in a stationary position 🙂
You can switch the placement of reinforcement so he doesn’t hang out by the target – Rather than feed him at the target, you can market the target hit then toss the cookie to the side.So he will be going back and forth, chasing cookies in between hitting the target. He is still pretty small so you will likely need to bend a little lower so the target is just below his chin level so it is easier to hit.
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>>The metal tin wasn’t a great choice.
I thought your mechanics of holding it away were good and you were looking at it, so either he didn’t want to touch metal, or it was too small, or he didn’t quite realize that touching it was what brings the food out. My guess is that it can be a bigger target and also he was looking at the cookies so hadn’t realized how to get you to deliver them LOL!!
So you can use a bigger target, but also for the first couple of reps, tweak the placement of reinforcement: as he goes towards the target, the cookie hand can deliver the cookie right onto the target. I am guessing that after 2 or 3 reps he will have an a-ha moment and lock onto the target, then you can go back to tossing the cookies to the side to reset each rep.
Decel to handler – I honk the hardest part for him here was finding the cooke on the first rep! But then he came driving back to you on each of the other reps. Because he is so small, you will need to bend at the waist a little to get the cooke hand down to his nose level – ideally, his chin is parallel to the ground or pointing slightly down to the ground. It will be easier when he is taller 🙂 He was definitely happy to drive to the cookie hand so get the hand in position as soon as he starts heading back to you – and you can add in the pivots now too!
The bowl game is going well! He had to go past the cookies in your hands to get to the bowl and he was great! He was definitely thinking it through so I bet he will have even more speed in the next session. For the next session, start just as you did here, and do a quick refresher. If he remembers it and gets right into the pattern, you can side the upright into the picture right in front of you.
>>with guest cameo by Thor who always shows up for cookies.>>
Ha! I was expecting a Cocker! LOL!! Thor was very polite 🙂
Great job on these! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning! Great job with Maui here!
Prop game:
He did really well here! The cookies are a really powerful motivator for him, so he was wanting to look at you a bit (totally normal!) So two ideas as you move to the next steps with the prop:You can click the first step towards it (before a foot hits it), then toss the treat to the side to empathize moving towards it without looking at you 🙂
You can start to change your position – staying pretty close, try this from a chair as a middle ground between sitting on the floor and standing. And if he is happy hitting his prop with you in a chair, you can move to standing up – which then allows you to start the sending game.
The forward focus/driving ahead game is going really well too! You did a great job splitting it into small pieces so he was super successful. When you are starting each rep, you can throw the toy a little sooner: he doesn’t have to look up at in the air before the throw, he just needs to look at it when it is landing then on the ground.
He is driving forward to it really well! You can keep adding more distance gradually and then your motion by walking towards it then building up to jogging (this will take a few sessions, probably).He was happy with his foodie toy here – are there toys without food that he likes too? Any fur toys or balls? You can mix those in too.
Nice work here!
TracyHi!
>>>>He got super amped with the toy in prop game, so I only got one or two good reps in before he started biting me (ouch!) or not giving the toy back/snatching at it>>
And that is why we start using the toy on the prop game – to hash out the arousal regulation part of training before things start to get too fancy 🙂
The bowls are going well with the upright – no need to use a yes marker for the cookie drops into the bowl (more on markers coming later in the class). When we add the toys, you can add a toy-specific marker and when we fade the bowls, we will add a cookie-specific marker (using “yes” for all the things is confusing, stay tuned for more on that LOL!!)
When you went to the toys – I am not sure he understood the back and forth with the toys well enough, so he had some errors. Because he is young, you can let him have the toy on the first error then move the upright back in closer to you (and make. The toys more visible on the outside of the upright) so there are no more errors for a bunch of reps. Be sure to get the groove of the back and forth going, before adding the upright in – you can start each session with a quick refresher before the upright goes in, so you know what he remembers that day 🙂
On the prop game:
I like how his book is an atlas of the world – he will be a very well-educated puppy LOL!! HE did well sending to the book in both directions here. Super! Make sure that when you engage him with the ready moment that you keep him with you and get some eye contact before sending him – he was starting without you and if you can engage him first so he doesn’t go til you cue it, you will see very snappy behavior and running, and less rounding of the line and walking.
Was the jumping up and biting what he was doing in the first 20 seconds, before you switched to food? It was hard to see because the camera only shows your legs 🙂
I think the jumping up and grabbing was more of a mechanics thing and easy to help him with. Try this progression the you use the toy as a reward:
– tug tug tug nice and low
– put a cookie on his nose
– When he lets go of the toy, toss the cookie to the side for him to get
– As he is getting the cookie, get the toy ready for the next rep.Use low value food so he can get right back into the tugging. And be sure to get the toy back before you lift it – when you were lifting it up, he didn’t understand that it was not still in play so he was jumping for it. Developing a routine of tugging then how to get the toy back and reset will help you be able to use toys a lot more in any of the crazy games 🙂
>>I put a little bit of video of tugging once we finished the exercises just so you could look at my mechanics.
The mechanics of keeping the toy nice and low were good here! Let him do more of the pulling so you don’t have to move it as much (that will get him having a stronger mouth). Some dogs like gentle tapping on the sides or stroking on their sides to get even more tugging going! And when you let go, pull forward gently a tiny bit, so he is balanced when you let go, If he is puling back hard and you suddenly let go, he falls backwards and that might discourage the hard pulling back.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
He did well here! Part of this game is ignoring the handful of cookies you have which seemed harder going towards your right hand than it was going towards your left hand. But he was really terrific in both directions, offering going back and forth between the bowls. And you did a great job quietly putting the next cookie in 🙂
So he looks ready for the next step, where we put an upright between the bowls. Start with a little warm up, where he is only going back and forth between bowls for a couple of cookies to make sure he remembers it that day.. and if he is looking strong, you can add the upright directly in front of you.
Have fun and keep me posted! Great job!
TracyHi!
Because of the bitey factor, try two long toys so there is plenty of room between her teeth and your flesh 🙂 I worry that the inflations without the fleece will cause your hands to be too close to her teeth. The little black puppy in the video was ALL TEETH at the time, so the big fluffy toys were very helpful 🙂T
Hi!
The racing is fun here! I can’t wait to get my baby whippet into it!
>>I often get the wrong hand, or turn the wrong way.
You can prioritize the training: make sure you are turning the correct way (away from her, not towards her) as the top priority. Then when you are comfy with that, we can add in the toy placement. No need to try to do both at the same time as you are learning this!
>>Now, since my space inside is limited, but a small treat will take time to find, might a tiny toy work? Since she has a good ball to tug, and it’s mainly me getting the footwork down. Though something like a Charlee bear would be okay, as it’s easy to find in grass.>>
Do you mean as the start cookie that you send her to? If she will pick up a small toy and chase you with it – sure! That will be great! Or a Charlie bear is great too, but that might take a moment to crunch and swallow. I use small pieces of soft cheese. The other option is to have Paul hold her so you can do it as a restrained recall. He holds her, you start to move away – when you call her, he lets go and you start the blind as soon as she starts to move towards you.
Tracy
