[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!
Nice job here!! He definitely loved the running 🙂 You can be moving faster away from him so he sees you go from fast to slow (slowing down before he is halfway to you).

It possible, try to get your cookie hand even lower as you are pivoting, so he keeps his feet on the ground and doesn’t slip as he turns. It is hard to get our hands low enough for the small pups! Your hand was just above your knee here which was a little too high – if you can keep the cookie hand just below your knee, I think that will be perfect for him to keep his feet on the ground and have an even tighter turn.

Great job on these! Let me know what you think! 
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi! He is doing well here!!! Yay! The bigger cone was easy for him. Super!

>>I need to get faster on my rewards but he is getting better at this.>>

Yes, he is moving really fast so you can be more ready for the start of the session so he doesn’t offer a whole bunch of good stuff then stop because the rewards didn’t come. Most importantly, have all of the treats ready to roll so you can just drop them into the bowls.

I think he needs the bowls a bit more visible around the cone at the beginning of the session here, so he can refresh the skill without you needing to help or point.

Also, try not to praise 🙂 The praise draws his focus up to your face so he stops offering for a moment. It is a pretty quiet game, unless you have a marker for “food in bowl”.

For his next session, you can start where you left off here but with the bowls a little more visible – and when he gets into the groove, you can stand up and keep going (everything else is the same, except your position changes :))

Great job!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!
Thanks for the tugging video! He does indeed have plenty of drive for the toy, so here are some ideas on how to get it more consistently:

– you can adapt your play style to fit his play style. He definitely likes to chase and bite the toys so to get more tug engagement: tie the toys together into one long toy (6 feet long!) and then while you are standing, you can put one end of the toy on the ground and swing it for him to chase. That will let him do what he enjoys while eliciting more tugging, plus it removes the pressure of being close to your hand or you leaning over which can be causing him to back off of the tugging.

– keep the tugging session SUPER short, like less than 15 seconds and then be done. Tugging is exhausting for puppies because of all the movement (and we humans are not really doing much so it is easy to go on for too long). So short, sweet, end-before-he-wants-to sessions will be perfect. By about 2:30 on the video, he was backing off the tugging (getting tired) and then by 3:00 he was pretty much done (tired!)

– if he grabs the toy and gives it a good tug, you can let him win and run around with the toy. It is easy enough to get retrieving later on down the road 🙂 so you might find that bringing in victory laps intensifies his tugging even more!

– you can do a lot of throwing of the toy to get initial engagement. A long toy would work well here – you throw it and then pick up the other end, to play with him.

>>I found a couple he seemed to really like including the lotus ball without food in it. >>

The lotus ball is a super fun toy! You can attach it to a longer toy so it too can be something your slide around o the floor for him to chase and tug on 🙂

>>I look forward to your suggestions on what to do to maintain the toy drive – I will start using the lotus ball to throw rewards but are their other games or approaches to take to get him to switch back and forth?>>

Distance is your friend when putting together food and toy drive: literal distance in terms of the food and toys being very far apart, and value ‘distance’ – super low value versus super high value.

For the literal distance: you can have the treats in one room or one side of the room if it is a big room (not in your pockets or hands yet) and play with the toy as far away as possible. Then after some too play, you can run to the treats located as far as possible, give him one… then run back to the toy play area.

Also, if you are shaping something with food – do no more than 3 or 4 treats, then move as far away as possible from the shaping area and start throwing a toy around. Trying to get toy play in close proximity to food or a pool of food odor will probably not happen yet, so running someplace else and throwing the toy can be very helpful!

For the value ‘distance’ – you can have one single super low value boring treat (just one!) and multiple really high value toys or balls – and get him chasing one, then give him the boring treat, then back to chasing the toy.

It requires a pretty significant investment of human energy to run back and forth, or to get the toys really moving, so be sure to do this when you are not feeling tired 🙂

Eventually it all comes together, but keeping them a little more separate and the toy games super active will help. And some training can be done entirely with toys, in a location that is *not* associated with food.

Let me know how it goes!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

>>I am still working on the mechanics of throwing the cookie under him. >>

I think you were trying to use the toss to create the behavior, but you can use it as the reward: start each rep with a cookie placed between your feet and slightly under the klimb, then when he backs up, toss the cookie reward. Then reset after each tossed cookie by placing a cookie between your feet/slightly under the Klimb. That should get even more backing up.

>>BTW, the training room has become so reinforcing, he no longer wants to leave it when we are done.>>

Ha! Lots of cookies and toys happening in that room LOL!!! But that brings up an important point: rather than doing multiple training sessions in the training room, it is super important to do sessions in a variety of different locations. This can be different rooms in the house, outside in the yard, taking a field trip somewhere… this will go a long way to helping him generalize and be able to do things everywhere!

So for this week – yes, you can do a session each day in the training room (especially any new games). But make it a goal to do at least one session in a different location. Using easier games in new locations will work best for now.

Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!
Yes, a name call will help 🙂 He was doing well driving back to you and following the pivot! One tweak: you can pivot more slowly. As he is coming to you, decelerate and then turn slowly as he gets to you – quick turns made it harder for him to follow so the deceleration into your low hand will allow him to set up the turn at your side.

A good example of the slower movement from you was at :54, where you were decelerated and slower in your turn, so he was nice and tight! Compare to 1:18, where you whipped around really fast so he was not able to turn tight.

Take this game into different places, so he has longer distances and can add more speed followed by collection. Plus. It is good to take all of the games to different locations to help generalize the learning and to help get engagement and play in all sorts of different places.

Nice work!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!
Putting it on carpet with a pad helped… but I think the wobble board needs to be propped up more so he is super comfy getting all four feet on it confidently (he was still not entirely sure about putting him back end on it). Put so many towels under it on all sides, so it barely moves – and so he happily hops on it with all 4 feet 🙂

And to help with that, you can get him engaged with the toy by dragging it around fast and crazily on the ground, before putting it on the wobble board 🙂 Then on the wobble board, keep it moving a bit so he stays engaged. He is not that into ‘dead’ toys, so keeping the toy moving will help him get on and stay on the wobble board.
Nice work!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!

Looking at the video:

>.First question is am I still talking too much? >>

Yes, a little LOL! A general rule of thumb is to be very quiet when he is offering, limiting your verbals to just reward markers (like ‘get it’) and no extra chatter or praise (because that draws his focus up to your face). And then during tug breaks, lots of chatter and talk and praise 🙂 You can do more tug breaks on all of these food sessions – see below on that because you might be (understandably) avoiding it a bit.

Two other general things for shaping:
– try to stand still more while he is offering. Yo can use your position to help but moving around can draw his focus to you more than needed.

– try to deliver the food with his head lower, generally with his chin parallel to the ground or pointed slightly down – that will help him keep his balance. The rewards were a little high on these sessions, so he was reaching up and ending up in a sit a lot to maintain balance.

He is great about getting on random things with the goat games! You can use a ‘get it’ marker to reset him when you want him to get off the stuff 🙂

Yes, you can brace the wobble board like you mentioned so he is not surprised by it 🙂 You can also brace the donut with your feet/legs on either side so he can find his balance on it (it is a hard one!)

You can move the 2 discs closer together (or add more discs if you have more) so that he can add the next step of getting all 4 feet on various objects, at the same time 🙂

Backing up – he is definitely getting the idea of this! Yay!

>>for the life of me I couldn’t figure out how to throw a treat between his legs when he was so close. >>

A couple of ideas for you:
You don’t need to use the clicker at this stage, because it stops the movement and causes him to lift his head up, making it hard to get more steps.

Also, to get the treats between his feet and keep his head lower so he back up more, you can remain a little bent over and keep your hands down low by your knees so you can just toss it as he starts to back up. I like to rest my elbows on my thighs to do that. And then after every 3 or 4 treats, you can break it off and tug so your back doesn’t get angry 🙂

Standing up each time was causing him to back up only enough to look up at you and the cookies 🙂

>>Also, not surprisingly, he often backs up at an angle.

Backing up to a destination will help! To start backing up to a destination like the mat you had here, you can tart him on the mat with all 4 feet (perfectly fine to lure him into position on it :)) Then lure his front feet off a bit then let him offering backing up. That can help straighten out his backing up as we gradually get him to step more and more forward off the mat, then immediately back on it.

Plank – he seems very confident here too! Super!!!

>>he thinks he is enormous and can’t possible fit on smaller things.>>

I think this was about reward placement being a little high, which can get him a bit off balance. So delivering with his chin pointing slightly downward will totally help him remain balanced. You can also get him on as many different planks as possible. And if you have one that can be elevated a bit more, go for it! That way you can add turning around, jumping on and off, etc.

>>I thought I was filming a session of tugging, but apparently I didn’t so I’ll just have to explain.>>

I hate when that happens! Darn cameras! Definitely try to get as many sessions on video so we can figure it out.

>>even when (and I almost think especially when) the toy is really long he keeps jumping in the air to grab the handle/my hand. Like, leaping. He got me good a couple of times today. >>

This can be a combination of mechanics (yours) and overarousal (his).

A couple of ideas for you to help out, because it is good to work through this now rather than avoid it.

>>When that happens, I feel like I shouldn’t give him a correction because I don’t want to discourage the tugging, but damn>>

I am not that concerned about discouraging tugging, but it is possible that a correction will create MORE overarousal which doesn’t help. I am perfectly fine with stopping play if he disengages from the toy to grab your clothes or hands. Not in a nasty way, just in a “game over” way. But, that is a last resort after doing the ideas below.

For mechanics:
Low hand holding the toy and that hand doesn’t move a lot. The hand can be moving back and forth a bit but resist temptation to lift your hand or lift the toy as those will both draw him upwards for now. If he is leaping, the toy is too high before a transition out of tug has been made. The other hand can be softly tapping him on the side because that encourages pulling back (no need for heavy smacking or anything)

For his arousal: lets look at arousal regulation and transitions out of tugging:

>>And at the end of play when I told him “all done” and took the toy, he jumped at my back, mouthed me and then started humping my fucking leg! Is this typical adolescent behavior?>>

It isn’t really typical adolescent behavior, but it is definitely overarousal and frustration behavior. Rather than an “all done” (which can actually be punishing as it indicates withdrawal of reinforcement opportunities, plus he doesn’t seem to understand what it means) – work on transition out of tugging and helping arousal regulation.

>>I did get a few good seconds of actual tugging, where I wasn’t moving the toy and he was pulling backwards strongly. In these cases I always let him win. >>

Rather than let him win (which may or may not help), try making transitioning out of the arousal and into a more centered state for the end of the session:

End each session with tugging then olfaction of some sort, because the olfaction will help his brain self-regulate the arousal.

For the olfaction, the options include a snuffle mat, or a pattern game (back and forth). You’ve done both with Robie, so before your next training session of any sort, be sure to introduce both to Yuzu so he recognizes both when you use them.

Here is an example with a snuffle mat:

And when you end the session with olfaction, stay with him (too many people throw treats around and walk away) so you are part of the arousal regulation picture.

Another thing to add are the reinforcement strategies and markers found in the week 2 package. Here are the strategies:

Reinforcement Strategies 1: Getting Started

These can all be enormously clarifying for the pups, which helps with overarousal.

It is great that he is asking these questions NOW so we can get them all sorted out before we get into more active training!

So before anything else, let’s get the arousal regulation stuff going and then the rest will be easy! And definitely get it all on video 🙂

Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Bumping up – I will be offline on Monday driving home from the US Open. I will be back in the Forum either on Monday night or Tuesday morning.

Thanks!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

She is looking good in the set point! The hardest part is the moving target and the stay 🙂 You can try dragging a toy or a lotus ball attached to a leash – anything that she can use as a focal point will work. She was holding the stay pretty well and had trouble when you were bending over to pick up the MM’s leash 🙂 It looks like she was predicting the release as soon as you stood up, so a toy or something might be easier because you won’t have to bend down.

>>I did not give her a reset cookie for the breaks on her waits. I’m hoping that is the right way to handle it when it does happen. I’ll be adding in more “catches” to help her with this too.>>

Yes, that was good (just tell her she is cute and reset when she breaks, no cookies). But if she fails too much (more than twice), then you will want to make it easier so she can still have a high rate of success.

>>Adding a question: For the Accordion, If she is doing 30 inches for the set point, for the last jump in the accordion, I would add 15 inches (45 inches total) for rep #2 and add 30 inches (60 inches total) for rep #3. Is that right?>>

Yes, theoretically. But because she is so small, we also have the option of showing her striding distances as well – so you can put jump 3 at 6 feet away (probably at least a one-stride distance for her, maybe 2 strides) then move it out to 9 feet, etc. That way we can build up to competition distances.

>>I think my body language & connection is better here?

Totally yes! She was very successful! You can gradually start spreading out the jumps so she can see more distance.

>>start out throwing the toy in front of the first jump at first. That helped her.>>

You can now start to toss the toy on a slight curve towards you, so it ands somewhere on the line she will be turning on so we can get that tight turn going too.

>>Again, the “wait” was very hard for her.

She is probably predicting that when you are arriving in position, the release will be happening so she is probably anticipating and releasing when you are settled into position. So keep going with your ‘catch’ rewards. And also, take your time before the release or catch – get to position, make eye contact, praise her, move your hand… and reward for not moving or release to the jump. You can totally practice this away from the jumps so she gets used to holding position even after you are in our position at the wing

Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Bumping up: reminder that I am offline tomorrow (Monday) to drive home from the US Open. I will be back in the Forum Monday night or Tuesday morning.

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Bumping up: reminder that I will be offline tomorrow, driving home from the US Open.

I will be back in the forum either on Monday night or Tuesday morning.

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

Prop sends are looking good! She is getting better and better at NOT looking at your hands 🙂 The last rep on this clip was particularly strong! Be sure to work both sides and you can add a little bit more distance away fro the prop now.

The wing wrapping is going nicely too! You are standing and the upright is in position, and she is fine with both. Super! Great job oh-so-gradually adding distance (while she was not looking LOL!) and she was super successful with that too. You can keep adding distance, but I think a more important next step is to play this with a barrel or big cone, to set her up for what we are adding this week 🙂

>>Rolling the treat under her seemed to confuse her. It was like I’d done a magic trick and made the treat disappear every time. >>

That is hilarious! A classic example of different dogs needing different approaches to this behavior, so the foot target was definitely the right choice.

You might need a bigger foot target so she can get all of her body on it easily – this was a little small so it might have been a little harder for her. And a slightly more elevated target can be super salient too, making it easier.

>>The last rep she was off the target but she did back up, which I thought was cool! I think she was catching on.>>

Yes! That was great!!! And we can always use things to help her back up straight (like broad jump boards) but it is great to just get backing up in general at this point with the foot target.

>>I did a little more experimenting with her sitting and laying on the plank. It seems to be a surface preference…I put blanket on it and she was happy to sit and down.>>

HA! Whippets… LOL! You can put a mat or blanket on it and see if you can get her to do tucked sits! The down is not important, so the turning around and sits are fun to play with.

Separately from those, you can also keep elevating the plank a tiny bit, to add more challenge.

Great job here!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi –

This went really well! Staying closer helped him be more successful.
When you were very quiet, he was pretty precise with moving to the prop and touching it on most reps. When you added a little ready ready excitement at the end – he lost some of the precision (from :55 to the end). He had a little more looking at your hand and then on the last rep, he turned away from you rather than towards you. This is good to know, because we want to get him stimulated and still get the precision. So definitely use the ready ready excitement before the sends on the next session so he gets used to working in higher arousal.

And if he is happy with. That and very successful, you can move to the sideways and backwards sending.

Great job!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

It was great that he got right on with his front feet, and I like the ‘get it’ marker for the cookie – it adds clarity like you mentioned, and it resets him so he can get back on again 🙂

He was able to get on with all 4 feet when he got on from the end (not the middle). So you can totally start him at one end and see if he will get on with his back feet too. If not, do you have a 2nd plank that you can put alongside this one, to give him a wider playing field? That will for sure help him get on the plank and will also make it easier for him to turn around when he is on it.

Nice work!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!
He offered a lot of good wrapping here!

I think at this point, if he starts to sit or down, we can move away from throwing treats to get him out of the position. Just wait him out and see if he can get himself out of the position – there is a lot more value on the bowls and wrapping now, so hopefully he can get himself moving again without you throwing cookies 🙂

>>I set the area up and once he saw the bowls, I was unable to get him to tug before we started.>>

No worries – I am sure once the bowls are faded that we can get the tugging back (and we do start fading the bowls soon :))

Next step: everything the same as you did here, but now you are standing up 🙂 If he is happy to keep offering while you are standing, then you can start moving the garbage can a little further away.

Nice work!
Tracy

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