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Hi!
I will be adding some reward strategy videos today to help with all of this! It is on my to-do list to dig them all up and post 🙂 What you are describing is totally normal and I have worked through it with my Papillons and terrier mix in particular. I work on these reward strategies separately from trying to train anything, so I have them in the toolbox when I do try to train (or I know what is not yet ready to be used in training :)) Stayed tuned, I will email everyone when I have them posted up after I am fully caffeinated 🙂
>> I start with tug/toy play but the minute food comes out, tug is not happening.
For now, it is perfectly fine to start a session with tugging, then do some food rewards, then NOT try to get the tugging again. We will build that in separately then add it to training later on. No rush, no pressure 🙂
>>especially if she is hungry. Once she eats a bit, it’s better. Any suggestions appreciated.
So the interesting thing here is that we know a lot more about puppy brains now and how they process and develop: and the key is to NOT train a hungry puppy. Their brains are underdeveloped in terms of processing, so their baby brains will prioritize the sensation of being hungry over anything else like trying to offer behavior. So, I always feed my puppies a little something *before* training and the results are soooo much better because their brains can prioritize info better. It is basically the opposite of what ‘traditional’ training tells us, but traditional training did not have the benefit of understanding behavioral neuroscience 🙂
So, feed a portion of the meal then try to train later on for the rest of it, after she digests a little! Yes, because she is tiny, sessions will be short so she doesn’t fill up but if it ends up using the meal, it will work out well. And the results will be amazing in the long run!
Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
Thanks for the video! The barking is feedback rom the puppy on internal state, so we do best when we take that feedback and change things up, rather than tell the pup she is wrong about it.On the video:
I think this is a bit of frustration barking: you are in a position that indicates something very exciting coming, and the other dog is right there and also vocalizing. Mochi is both stimulated, frustrated, and potentially needing to compete with the other dog for the toy… so you are getting barking. She might not even be aware she is barking!So if you don’t want the barking, don’t set her up to be in a position of frustration especially when there is another dog right there that is also vocalizing. If both dogs are going to play, get the toys out FAST and start the game, so neither gets amped up or vocalizing.
>>She sometimes does this during games like ‘It’s your Choice’
You can take the Its Your Choice game out of the game rotation – the barking is most definitely frustration because that game can create a ton of failure and frustration. So the easiest thing to do it to not play it LOL!!! We slide in a TON of self-control without frustration, leading to far better results – trust me that you will see amazing self-control in the coming months without needing to play any of the older impulse control games 🙂
>>or if I don’t give her the tug soon enough.>>
On the training videos you have posted, you have been very quick to give her the tug in transitions so I don’t recall any barking. Definitely post any videos that have barking! If it involves a toy delay, it might be frustration or it might be “OMG THIS IS SO EXCITING”. So try to be as quick as you can with the toy because that will help in both situations 🙂
T
Good morning!
This was a lovely session! Hooray for your husband helping out!! She will learn to love being restrained more, through games like this: restraint = MOMMA GONNA RUN RUN RUN so she will start to like it better 🙂 If she is flailing a bit while being held, the holder can gently loop a hand under her belly and another hand on her collar, to see if that helps.
All of the reps were super fun even when she smoked you and you were late on one or two 🙂 You rewarded everything and made it a great time for her, which is fabulous 🙂
Because she is already so speedy you can start your blind almost immediately when she starts moving towards you, which should give you more time to reconnect when on the new side. You did this at :06 and :34, and the blinds looked great!!!
>>I like doing this with the cookie toss better but if I have to throw it in a bowl outside I won’t have time to do my mechanics for the blind cross. >>
I was definitely undercaffeinated when I wrote that suggestion, leaving out the most important part: put the cookie in the bowl, let her see it, move 10 or 15 feet from the bowl – then send her to the bowl while you run the other way to get yourself a massive head start LOL!!! That way you don’t have to throw it, it will be there and you can send her to it 🙂
>>She’s too speedy for me already
This is a champagne problem! I love it!

>>Presenting the toy across the body is the hard part on these and I definitely over thought it on top of that. >>Yes, it is the hardest part but it gets the snappiest blinds. Keep the toy in the same hand the whole time (starting on the same side as her) so you can just put it on the opposite hip. When I learned how to present the reward like that, I had to do an entire session without the dog LOL! Because the mechanics felt so weird at first 🙂 But then it locks in, we add the puppy back, and the blinds will be very easy.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
Those are pretty normal adolescent behaviors 🙂 When left alone, I highly recommend the puppy has a place to hang out, like a crate, where he can sleep and chew his chew toys and not chew any parts of your house 🙂 As for whining or jumping on counters, you can redirect him into more desirable things like chewing on bones or stuffed kongs or toppls, so he can direct his excess energy into that and not into whining or counter surfing. You can also start shaping him to hang out on a dog bed, by doing short sessions of rewarding him for staying on the dog bed or cot (you are sitting on a couch, for example, watching TV and tossing treats to him for staying on a bed). At 6 months old, he is probably going to only be able to do this for literally a minute at first, so start small then build it u0.Keep me posted!
TracyGood morning! You are off to a fabulous start! I know you have been insanely busy but no worries – your mechanics and session structure here is a sooooo good that you don’t need to do a lot of training – the work you are doing is really top notch! Happy dance!
Looking at the video:
Decel: she is really driving in to your decel nicely and also doing really well gong back and forth from food to focus to tugging to food to focus. That is the most critical element of this game and she is nailing it! I think wither her food value is slightly higher here (she might be shifting into food focus a little) or she is teething, because she is letting go of the toy a little earlier than in the past? So go to a really soft fluffy toy if this one had any hardness to it, or keep the tugging really short , or don’t pull on it as much for now (or all of the above LOL!)
Only one suggestion to add to the decel game: slow down sooner to get your hand in to your side sooner. She is driving into you nicely, but not decelerating til after she gets to you because she is not seeing your decel until just before she arrives. So start to decel no later than when she is halfway to you and made a bigger exaggeration of it – and you will see her shift her weight into her rear sooner and really bend into the turn.
Prop practice 1: foot target. She did really well here! You were so funny when she had a moment of stopping and laid down… your hand got twitchy then gently tapped the target. It made me chuckle LOL! But it got her rolling again so that is all good 🙂 Her targeting is looking good – you can raise criteria a little more quickly for this skill now if you do another prop-only session: changing your position from sitting to kneeling to standing would be good for her to see all in one session.
Sizzle has been voted off the island now for training sessions (sorry, Sizzle) because the growling/grumbling when SQL was tugging was scary to the pup. Sizzle was good during the click/treat part but the tugging was too much, so for now, Sizzle can’t have any SQL TV access 🙂
2nd prop practice. – very nice too!!! I REALLY loved the reps with the little ready dances, like at :17 and :29 – the longer the ready dance before the send, the snappier the sends were both leaving you with speed and hitting/driving back. SUPER!
I also love that she was pretty equal in both directions: left and right turns both looked good. Because I like to know if the pup is lefty or righty for planning training, I *think* maybe she is a righty but I sure am pleased with how good the left turns looked too, especially with the added distance.
Really great session – loved the energy, the length of the session, your connection, your transitions, all of it. Click/wine for you.
Barrel wrapping – she is clamping really well on this toy so maybe this is the better toy for teething times?
OK, yes she is a righty as we can see on this video, turning left was much harder here.
So on the right turns, you can do the wilder turn-and-burn style party game 🙂 and great job with the left turn when you got closer and let her offer. The arousal/energy of the left turn was too much for her brain to process so calming that energy allowed her to sort out the left turn mechanics and she was great.Since she is a little ahead of class on this, we can give you more of the upcoming steps (and then you won’t get behind at all when you are on vacation!). So the next step is to start thinking about what you would like your wrap verbals to be… I highly recommend that you used the same exact verbals that you use with Stark so you don’t lose your mind hahahahaha 🙂 And, using the barrel, you can gently hold her collar, start the verbal so she hears it 3 or 4 times, then send to the barrel. Start this on your left so she is turning to her right, then you can switch to the left.
Driving to a toy looks great! Release her quickly like you did at :50 and 1:07 so she doesn’t look up at you at all. Next step – add your GO verbal because you already have some good motion added!!!
The hand target went well too! She was hilarious trying to tug on it at the end LOL Since you have the get it marker, you don’t need the “yes” marker also – get it marks the correctness as well as indicates the placement.
You can change your position sooner on this too – 3 or 4 cookies with you sitting, then go to a higher position (like sitting on an inflatable donut or something) and get some good reps, then work your way up to standing up. Standing up will involve some bending over, so feel free to NOT do a ton of reps of that to preserve your back!
Sizzle was not as grumbly here when SQL was tugging but her noises inhibit SQL’s movement – when Sizzle is making noise, SQL tends to stop moving (and so Sizzle stops making noise, thereby shaping SQL lol!!!) What is Sizzle had a bully stick or something to chew when you are training in your office? That way Sis has something to do other than be a little jealous, and the Chewie is a good distraction for little SQL.
Great job here!! Let men now what you think!
TracyHi!
>>I pick him up all the time – safety issue, getting him into the crate – not an offered behavior – so this is a big rethink – he definitely is less confident about the world when I am carrying him around>
Stop picking him up all the time 🙂 If you have to pick him up to put him in a crate, always always always follow it with a bunch of tossed treats or a bone or something really awesome. I also do regular scoop up, put down, cookies throughout the day. Just a life skill that is always always paired with amazing things.
>>Even clipping on the leash triggers stress. His harness is a step in – should I try a martingale?>>He might not love the martingale either, so same as with being picked up: clip on the leash the shower him with something amazing like treats or a favorite tug. All of this is separate from training to get it rolling!
And for getting the toy back, trade of another toy by smacking the new toy on the ground or dragging it around for him to chase 🙂
T
Hi!
>>Mochi has started to bark at me for not starting the game fast enough? Not giving/getting out the toy fast enough? Not giving her the treat when she thinks she should have it?
Could be a zillion reasons why – yes, be faster with reinforcement and transitions. And keep a higher rate of reinforcement. But also get it on video so I can see why she is doing it. Sometimes it is just excitement!
>>So far I turn my back on her or turn my head away from her until she stops.
That is a punisher, so don’t do that anymore. Just go faster and get it on video. We don’t want to add in a punisher because then we can get stress/frustration, which might manifest as more barking or disengagement or other stress behavior.
>>Could you please give some suggestions to stop this behavior?
Don’t worry about stopping the barking… let’s think about how to create other behavior instead. But, seeing it on video will give us better answers so definitely post up the barky videos!
TracyYes, it is a stress thing! If anyone wants to see the full answer, check out Jill’s thread. Pesto is doing great!
Hi!
>>The plus side of my struggles is it forces me to have short training sessions, have a plan, reward efficiently, try to be really observant, improvise.>>
That is hugely important! So it isn’t a struggle is the pup is shaping you to be a better trainer 🙂
>>My girl seems to get full, lose interest, want to move onto something else, has trouble switching from toy to treats and back.>>
All very normal puppy behaviors! And that is why we start with very very simple shaping games so that we can sort all of this out before we get into the fancy stuff.
>>When she’s hungry she’ll exchange toy for tiny kibble up to a certain point. If I start with higher value treats, cheese or meatball, or switch to these, she doesn’t want to go back on the toy. At some point, she seems to have had enough of the food.>>
She is tiny and very young, so 2 things to help:
Sessions that are half the length of what you want to do. You want to do 2 minutes? Set the timer for 1 minute then be done.To build up the back and forth between food and toys, separate it from training and just do food to toy to food for a minute, running back and forth to a food spot in one room and a toy spot in the other room.
Tracy
Good morning!
Great job with this session: you had really clear, gentle mechanics that were perfect for a baby dog! I especially loved how you let her get the toy, waited a moment, then went into and gently took the toy and tugged with her. That was a great pressure-free way to keep her engaged and not moving away with the toy. Super!!! She will start bringing the toy back but for now, keep doing it just like this!
Since she is focusing forward so beautifully, you can start to add in your motion: as she moves to the toy, you can begin walking forward as well.
And you can also take this game outside and see how she does!
Great job! Have fun at the workshop!
TracyGood morning!
This is looking great – she is already figured out that being “bendy” is the most efficient way to turn, and that is really lovely!!
Only one suggestion: when you are pivoting and turning, decelerate into it and turn more slowly. That will help her be able to collect and be ready to turn (because the decel indicate the turn is coming). When you switched to the toy, you could see she was wider because you were moving really fast the whole time, so she didn’t anticipate that a turn was coming so had to collect to turn after she got to you. So adding in the decel as she is on her way to you will help set up really great turns!
>>I would do this outside but then she can’t see the treats in the grass. I’ll see what I can figure out for the blind cross exercise.>>
You can use a big food bowl as a target – place the cookie in it, have her move away from it with you (this might be hard :)) and then send her to the cookie bowl to start the game. That way she won’t have to search out the treats. And if you have someone who can hold her, that would work beautifully for the decel and for the blind crosses.
Great job here!
TracyHi!
This session went really well! She was great!! And you were great too!>>Watching this back, my mechanics felt awkward even though I practiced with out her.
Try this sitting so you don’t have to bend over as much. And a longer toy will help too, even if you tie the toy you were using to another toy to double the length. That will help you feel less awkward.
Plus, training any new puppy feels awkward for all of us, so you are in good company 🙂 It starts to feel better as you two get used to each other.
>>And I can see myself a few things to improve upon: Make the transitions quicker, make sure the meatballs are thawed out so she eats them faster ( duh ), get treats out of plastic bag so no noise, perhaps try to release as I present toy instead of waiting.>>
Yes to the quicker transitions and to thawing the meatballs 🙂 Don’t worry about the cookie bag noise 🙂 And I am not sure what you mean about releasing as you present the toy? Do you mean telling her she can hop off and get the toy ? If so, yes to that too 🙂
>>Gosh, the older I get, the harder the mechanics become
I think it is just New Puppy Syndrome LOL!! No matter how long we have ben training dogs, starting a new puppy feels awkward every time 🙂
You can also let her offer more and feed on the object less – toss the treat off the object, so she can go get it then run back to offer more behavior on the object. There were a lot of cookies here for looking up at you while standing on the object, so tossing the treat off to the side will get more emphasis on the object and less on looking at you 🙂
>>But I can see a real benefit to switching back and forth, keeps her engaged, energy high, fun break between cookies…all the benefits you mentioned.
yes – she was super engaged!!! And adding the play in the middle might be part of why it felt awkward because we really do need 3 hands for this LOL!! It will start to feel easier soon 🙂
And BIG HOORAY for no puking!!!! YAY!!!!
Great job here 🙂 Tracy
Good morning and welcome to class!!
>>So far he is a great dog but I have started to nice some questionable behaviors appear and figured he could use some training that also could become his agility fundamentals to tire his brain out.>>
What type of questionable behaviors are you seeing?
>> Can auditor-only participants also post videos?
Auditors don’t post videos, but you can ask as zillion questions 🙂
>>So far we’ve only been practicing the exercises presented in a live class so I am worried with the number of new things posted we will be constantly behind since I tend to train with him only on my days off from work (will have to work on getting more training sessions in).>>
There is a lot of stuff to play with for sure! But you can do just a minute or two, here and there. And you will find that all of the games build on each other, so you don’t need to practice anything to perfection – just a session or two is all he needs.
Have fun!
TracyHi! The next live class is on May 10th. The classes are all listed on the main course page:
[AU-057] MaxPup Performance Puppy Foundations: Special Edition!
Tracy
Hi!
This went well!
Correct, you don’t have duration yet on the stay so adding the cookie toss start was perfect ! And this is a GREAT game for getting him to line up and come to your side without additional stress (take the leash off, it weighs more than he does LOL!!)
When he was having trouble staying on your left side as you turned, it was only because you were turning too fast and it looked like a blind cross (a natural cue for dogs to change sides). So slow that side down and let him stay on your hand as you turn.
Nice work here! Definitely do this game as a general recall game throughout the day, and in all rooms of the house!Tracy
