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Hi!
His ears are looking so cute!!The backing up is going really well and he seems to love it!! My only suggestion is to angle the board less, so his weight can be more evenly balanced and he is not putting too much weight on his shoulders. The back end of the board can be about 1 inch off the ground. You can keep scooting yourself further from the board so he has to back up more and more đ
The parallel path gem is also going really well – I think the hardest part for him was finding the treats LOL! For the next steps, go to a bigger location where you have more room to add more distance away from it. That can begin to build up lateral distance bit by bit! And when you add more distance, you can switch to your âget itâ marker and throw the treat. He looks at you when you use your âyesâ marker and we want him to keep looking forward.
On some reps of this game, you can add in getting him to drive ahead of you to it by going all the way to the cookie with him and standing next to him – then when he finishes eating, you can start moving forward with him. Ideally he passes you and drives ahead to the prop. That will begin to set him up for rear crosses!
The countermotion game is also going well! You can start moving away (slowly) as he passes you after the send, to add more and more countermotion. This is all a good game for using a toy: he tugs with you, then you take the toy back, send him to the prop. When he hits the prop and you are moving the other way, he can drive back to you for the toy. The toy will add in another layer of impulse control because leaving the toy might be hard đ
Great job on these! He is ready for you to add a bit more of each game!
Tracy
Hi!
>We do play âsoccerâ in the yard with a jolly ball and a doggy soccer ball.>
Great! You can add in a giant hollee roller or a ball, anything that you can have a couple of and throw for her to chase and bring back.
>AndâŚI was immediately tossing the toy again after she brought it back and got the treat. It was from Sara Brueskeâs pay to play class which worked well for Sprite. Dot understands it with a platform or much lower value items.>
I think that all still counts as âworkâ and not simply play. Too much work and too many rules around play can be part of wha is creating conflict and avoidance. Put it all on vacation for now – no toy retrieves! Cleanse the palate. Just play with a toy in your hand on in a line you hold. Donât ask for a behavior – in any form – that currently has conflict and avoidance. Take the pressure off for now.
Separately, shape a retrieve to hand using another object – maybe a wooden dowel or maybe an empty Toppl or something đ
>So, I can do the baby retrieve lecture with just tugging in my lap, correct? >
Yes and no – how about just tugging and it doesnât matter if she is tugging on your lap or not? No rules đ just play with you holding the toy then put it away.
>Dot prefers chase to tug in general.>
Yes, chasing is generally the preference of youngsters. It is fun!
> Youâve seen the two toy game where she wants the toy she wants. Itâs been like this from day one.>
This is also a game that she might consider âworkâ with rules, so it is a bit poisoned. Sure, you can have a pile of fun toys but you can let her choose her favorites and go with that. The agency of her choosing will go a long way to getting more resilience and reducing conflict.
>We tried the sit stay lecture, but the cheese was frozen and either sticking to my hands or crumbling all over the ground.>
The stay game went really well! She was into it! You were able to change up the duration and also add walking away. Nice job with the catch marker and also her middle line up is looking super strong too. Keep on adding in duration and distance! You can play tug at the beginning of this game to get the excitement level higher, and then after the session you can end by just playing again.
Great job!
TracyHi!
>I had moved the treats from my hands because sheâs starting to mug me and run behind me to find my hands. She often tries to snatch a treat as I am tossing it. But maybe itâs a good thing we work on it now. >
Yes! It is good to add the impulse control of stop-grabbing-from-my-hands at this stage so you can get the treats in quicker. You can toss treats low and away from her, to make it harder for her to snatch it mid-air đ
>It is mostly dogs or dog sounds she barks at, but often when she doesnât expect them (maybe?).>
Barking when things appear suddenly is pretty normal for adolescent dogs of breeds that are supposed to pay more attention to changes in the environment. For example, my teenage Malinois mix certainly barks are unexpected people appearing! But the whippets donât even look at the unexpected people even when they are standing next to the barking Mali cross LOL! But we can help Rou not bark and look at you instead.
> We played a very low sound of dogs barking while she it was her turn at the seminar and while she continued working, she boofed, and her arousal went up. >
Interesting! I would say that it was too hard at her age and experience level. We will get to the more stimulating distractions but we start with things that are not going to trigger the barking, to carve out the neural pathways for engagement instead⌠then we eventually add barking dog distractions. If we add those types of distractions too early, we end up creating neural pathways for boofing.
>She can eat anything. I was using chicken breast. I have all kinds of dehydrated raw treats I can work with, and they wonât upset her stomach. >
Perfect!
>Sheâs also the age most of my Dobermans believe they own ALL the land and we learn that we do not, in fact, guard the street or other houses>
Yep – a wired breed behavior plus adolescence⌠they learn and grow up đ
Looking at the toy play:
>With one tug she tried to get out the blocked dog door. Her body is stiffer and sheâs letting me near the toy because the room is small I think. She seems to turn away from me. >
Yes, the single toy was what she wanted without you – she almost seemed a bit concerned about giving I up (stiffer body language).
Adding the 2nd toy made a big difference: she was definitely more relaxed! It is possible that she was a little guardy with one toy – but when the 2nd toy was in the picture, there was obvious access to reinforcement so there was not reason to be guardy. Plus, with the 2nd toy, you were not taking the first toy away, just enticing her with the 2nd toy. Much better!
So retrieves can be approached as a shaped behavior where she is getting a 2nd reward (toy or cookie) for bringing it to you, without you making a big reach for the first toy. You can shape her to put it in your hand, but donât take it away – you can leave it in the picture for now, while rewarding her with another toy.
Great job here!
Tracy
Aha! Here is the advanced version, adding the threadles đ He did GREAT turning away! No problem at all, the boy loves his tunnels đ
Since he was lovely here too, the next session can have both the ânormalâ tunnel entries and threadle tunnel entries. Have you decided what you would like your tunnel threadle verbal to be? Since he is doing so well, you can add the verbal to the tunnel threadles too!
Nice work!
Tracy
Hi!
The tunnel game went great and he definitely enjoyed the TreatNTrain!
After the first rep, you were holding him and saying tunnel a few times before letting go so he could drive to the tunnel. That was perfect!!! And he was taking the tunnel on the way back to you – that is also fine and rewardable as long as you are next to the tunnel. You can also make a clear connection on the other side of you to call him back to the start position again.
For the next session, try having him on the other side of you. If it goes as well as this side (and I am sure it will!) you can move on to the advanced level of this game too đGreat job!
Tracy
Hi!
He did really well driving into your target hand here! Your mechanics (hand, feet, rewards) were all really good!The difference in the targeting from when you were looking at him versus when you looked at the target was big! He was good about going to the target when you were looking at him, but taking a quick look at you first. He was GREAT when you looked at the target: went directly to it! This was at 1:28 and after that.
Since this went so well – onwards to the advanced version! Great job!
Tracy
>I have been wondering, for dogs with a curled tail, have you noticed when they are ârighties or leftiesâ for turning does it match up to which side their tail curls towards? Lewâs addresses to the right!>
OMG I don’t know! I have never thought about it but now I will, of course, obsess over it! I will keep you posted on my obsessing! My Papillon has a curled tail and turns left… I am going to go wake the little bugger up and see which way his tail curls.
T
Good morning!
Rear crosses are hard with young dogs, because we have to be really clear with timing and motion in order for the dog to get it right.
With that in mind, look at the rep fro 1:03-1:07. That was SPOT ON! You started near the wing, then accelerated forward to the enter of the bar. The acceleration is what cues him to pass you, and your line to the center of the bar cued him to turn left (verbal helped too, but the motion was what got the rear cross looking great)
When he was curling back to you at the beginning – you were kind of politely waiting for him to pass you so you were decelerated. That caused him to also decelerate (good boy!) and begin turning to you – then when you tried to cut in for the RC, he was surprised and spun.
On the last reps at 1:16 and 1:30 – your acceleration was good (no spins!) but you were too much on the straight line, so he didnât know he was rear crossing. Those reps would have been perfect if you had accelerated to the center of the bar.
So keep the accelerated forward motion like you had at 1:03, 1:16, and 1:30, and add the running to the center of the bar like you had at 1:04 and I bet you see him consistently reading the RCs.
Nice work here!
Tracy
Good morning!
>Boy I am exhausted. I donât know how you teach seminars daily. Youâre on all day without a break. >
We seminar folks generally get a big boost from the energy of the participants which makes it totally worthwhile!
>You need to come back to CA!>
That would be so fun! It has been a long time!
>We had a blast but I chose to work on things easier for me today.>
That is smart – we donât always need to do hard things with the baby dogs and for our human brains!
The lap turns are going well! She is nice and tall so you donât have to bend over too much đ You had strong timing with your arm and leg on both sides so she figured out the turning away really well! Super!
For the tandem turns – she is also turning away nicely here. I think throwing the cookie further from you was actually helpful because it gave you more time to set up the turn cues before she got back to you. Also, you can decelerate into it rather than maintain your speed: slowing down a bit will lock her onto your hand cues and help her prepare to turn away.
You can go to the advanced level of this game, where we add the prop!!
>I also bought more toys to see if I can get Roulette to return a tug.>
I donât think it was in the video here, but normally moving the other direction will help encourage the pups to bring the toy back. And you can shape it with small steps, rewarding for bringing it even one step towards you!
For the resilience game:
>I canât believe I didnât think to do this sooner. Sheâs a bit ânosierâ and quick to âboofâ than Iâd like. You can see her checking out the noises at the neighbors houses.>
This was a great place to bring the game: convenient but also a little challenging! She did well here – checking out noises is part of it for sure.
In new environments, quick feedback is the key. You were waiting for full on eye contact here then had to get the treat from your pocket – that might be too hard in super challenging environments, plus slows things down in terms of giving her feedback.
To help her be less sensitive about the environment, your criteria does not need to be eye contact – it should be simply looking towards you. Waiting for eye contact might be too hard for her if there is something boot-worthy in the environment, so any turn towards you is rewardable. When she is comfortable in an environment, she will naturally make eye contact. That is a bonus, and good info about her internal state, but not required.
Also, you can have treats in your hands so you can immediately reward. Yes, she might end up looking at your hands but that is perfectly good for now because she is learning to overcome challenges in the environment đ
And you can use the most awesome treats for this game – environment is hard! But cheese helps make it easy đ Or any treat that she can have that wonât upset her GI. I use cheese or chicken or any type of human-grade food because it makes powerful associations. My youngest female dog was worried about the environment and I used Egg McMuffins for pattern games early in her training⌠let me tell you that she has no concerns anymore LOL and is a confident beast in agility and flyball đ So what can Rou eat in small quantities that is powerful but not going to hurt her belly?
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
>Hey, guess what? Dot peed three times at the seminar. Afterward, I stopped at a friendâs to allow Dot to play with her doberman puppy since she was crated most of the day. It was Spriteâs day. They played and she peed in their backyard! Huge break through! Yahoo.>
Those are really big breakthroughs! Yay!!!
Looking at the toy retrieve:
>Iâm not sure where it all went wrong, but it is conflict and avoidance which needs to change before i can use toys to train.>
The conflict/avoidance might be based on all of the pressure to bring it back and control it. A reduction in bringing it back usually means there is something punishing about what you are doing – it might be that trading for a treat means the toy goes away/game over, which is negative punishment and will end up reducing the behavior of trading for a treat. How often does she get rewarded for bringing it back by letting her have it again đ
So I recommend a retrieve vacation for now – multiple weeks off from trying to control what she does with the toy. The toy is simply a toy, not work. This would involve:
– setting aside (for now) any shaping or formal training that involves bringing the toy back or controlling what she does with it. Sure, you can do concept work like shape something such as picking up a dumbbell or some non-toy object and putting it in a tub or on a platform or in your hand, as a shaping game. But leave the toys out of it – cleanse the palate. MORE work on bringing it back will not resolve the conflict/avoidance.
– use toys to play! Not to work – but to just play! This involves some management so she isnât running off with the toy, such as a long toy or a toy on a line and you donât let go. You can still drag it and tug with it, but it is all play. Yes, that means you are not going to throw a toy a long distance or anything but you can still make it super fun to play interactively and then trade for a treat! And games that might involve a thrown toy can be done with food for now. Games that involve a toy that is more up-close can be done with the toy in your hand or on a line you can drag.
The answer to getting a better retrieve is going to be more play đ so take the work element out of it for now. The retrieve develops organically when we stop trying to make it happen, and instead focus on just playing with the toy.
>So, I am working on her bringing a toy and dropping it in a tub. >
Change the mindset when the toy is involved: donât âworkâ on anything. Just play. Keeping the toy in your hand or on a line you hold will keep it fun and interactive without any of the pressure to bring it back. Then put it away when you want to train something that might involve a placed or thrown reward.
And separately from tugging, you can maybe get a giant jolly ball or something and play with her in the yard – a bit of a soccer game or something where you play interactively, no criteria, no work, just play. She has agency to whiz around with it and you can kick it to her, roll it, etc.
>She did great at first, but then the bowl siren was too much. So, some in the middle the bowl isnât loaded. Then, it is again.>
I agree! She did great! There was one bowl siren moment you left in the middle for sure đ The other moments when she ended up on the other side of you on the way to the bowl were connection questions. At :57 for example, you had your cookie hand at your side but no connection, so she looked at you then followed motion to the bowl. The next reps were much clearer with connection and name call to get her to the side you want, then she pivoted brilliantly with you.
There was one other little disconnection moment at 1:15 when you pointed forward/closed shoulders when you said the bowl marker , so she read it as a blind cross cue then went to the bowl. No need to point ahead of her, you can keep your arm pointing at her and just use the bowl marker – I think she will find it really well with that.
And to keep the bowl sirens from rearing their heads: you can incorporate play to keep her arousal optimized! Optimized arousal is very helpful for impulse control. Doing a lot of reps with food and not a lot of excitement can lower her arousal level to the point that distractions (such as the bowl with a cookie in it) become more obvious and enticing. To keep her arousal level optimized, you can grab a toy from the kitchen, play for a 10 or 15 seconds with you holding one end of the toy, then trade for a treat, put the toy back in the kitchen, and go back to the cookie training area. That keeps it fun without conflict!
Nice work here!
Tracy
Good morning!
I am glad she is feeling better after the week off! Good job to you for taking the time to give her rest to recover.
>Hopefully next weekend I will be able to find a place at the trial to record â even though sheâs having some regression into fear lately, she was so confident and happy walking around the facility and exploring.>
We have a new game posted today in the resilience track – a pattern game. This game is incredibly effective when helping young dogs go to new places and overcome any fear. Teach it to her at home and then take it on the road!
The got tricks on the plank went really well! She was happy to off getting on the plank and was thoughtful about it too, plus super nice transitions to tugging and back to food rewards!
It sometimes took her a moment especially at the beginning to get both back feet on – you can reward for front feet, but place the reward closer to you to help pull her forward towards you which will get the both of back feet on more easily.She was able to turn around really well – see your hand a little lower on the turn around cue, so that she doesât have to reach up to follow the hand. That was causing her to lose her balance a bit. So a lower hand (at the level of your knee) where her chin doesnât have to lift up will be perfect.
>She decided she liked this game: I later caught her climbing on a Cato board that had been left out and turning in circles on her own.>
Wow! Gotta love a pup that studies her homework without needing extra help!
Looking at toy races:
>I was blown away at how effective the treat/handicap trick worked.>
Yes – dogs are competitive by nature and they do NOT like to lose. Plus, it is entertaining to watch their reactions. She rocked it here.
I think she really liked that nice long running area for toy races! She was SO MAD when you cheated, it was hilarious to see her try to eat the food as fast as possible then just try to get to the toy as fast as possible LOL!!! Then she left you in the dust and won the next race by a mile đ And I admit to laughing out loud when you TRIED to cheat and she was like NOPE and won that last race too. Then she came back to find the treat. She is very smart LOL
She did really well with the cone wrapping too, totally remembering it even after a bit of time off. Based on what she did here, I think left turns are her stronger side (most pups have a side preference, just like us humans). She seemed more automatic on the left turn side (going from your right to your left). Her bloopers were almost all on the right turn side (going from your left to your right) and she seemed a tiny bit less automatic on that side. She did ave one left turn blooper but that might have been more that the cone was a mile away and your were standing đ
The reason I point out that left turns are a bit easier is that you will want to start her on the left turns on the new game posted today: turn and burn! She is ready for it, since having you standing here was no problem at all. So when you tackle turn and burn, be sure to tart her on your right side so she can turn left.
>The concept is fully logical â the execution is breaking my brain :D. Iâve used âyesâ as a clicker/marker word for years, and am working hard to break myself of that habit and expand into new things. >
Totally relatable!!!! It took me a while to stop saying âyay!â for every single thing.
You might find it easiest to incorporate just one new marker for now. I think âget itâ might be the easiest one and it might make the most sense to your brain. And when that one is easy – add another one. Let me know how it goes!
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
I think he enjoyed his toy races!! Yes, he was happy with you holding his collar and he seemed to have no questions about you adding your running plus more distance to the toy.
He was also BIG MAD when you won on one rep. I mean, he was just sauntering along and seemed to assume he would win on that rep, so excellent job to you winning LOL! And that was the end of the winning for you: after that, we saw how much faster he could actually go. Good boy, Lew!!!!
One interesting thing on this session is that he turned to his right on every single rep. Why was it interesting? Well, normally the dogs turn towards us based on which side we are on for this game. The right turns were all away from you! So, maybe the is Lew-speak for âI am a rightyâ.
Keep this in mind when you start the Turn And Burn game which is now posted: start him on your left side, which cues a right turn, to help make it easier for him to learn the game.
Great job here! Onwards to the new games!!
Tracy
Hi!
>but struggles more going from toy to food still working on this. >
Try creating a fun loop that involves food: toy –> food –> work (like wrap a barrel or something he loves and is really good at) –> toy. So the *food eating* is the behavior and it is rewarded with work and the toy.
>Retrieve is a struggle can get him back almost most of the time- sometims get it back . value definitely with toys but not as obcessed as In Synch.>
For now, keep the toy on a line and keep making it fun for him to bring it back, without allowing opportunities for him to run off with it.
T
Oops forgot to answer this part:
>So far I have: Get It- thrown food or toy, TRADE- drop whatever is in your mouth (good or bad) for a cookie GOOD- I hand deliver cookie YES- come to me for cookie. >
These are great!
>I would like to add STRIKE-toy reward in my hand to grab & tug with me. Do I just repeat the word when she does this action & that’s how she’ll learn what it means?>
Pretty much! Say “strike” before you move the toy. After you say it, present it to her to grab. Being consistent of saying it before you move the toy will help her learn the new marker.
> CATCH – how do I teach this? đ I throw cookies at Sunnie and she looks at the ground waiting for them to drop LOL!>
Well, true confessions – my dogs don’t actually catch the treat or toy either LOL but they do know that I am throwing it back to them. You say the word (without moving) then throw the reward back towards the dog – and the dog is allowed to move to get it.
> Do I need a marker word for a dead toy or dead lotus ball? >
I think it depends on where it is. Out ahead? Your ‘get it’ will work nicely for that!
>I never had more than 3 marker words with my previous dog. I only taught her what they meant during the past 2 years. I would just say all the words all the time SMH.
Having a handful of markers is very effective!! Don’t try to add a zillion because then it all does get harder to remember đ
T
Hi!
>Dot is still strugglimg to pay attention in enviroments.>
I think she is actually doing well for a puppy that just turned 7 months old and doesnât have a lot of experience in different places.
She did GREAT with the 2 bowl game right next to people having a conversation! She was quickly re-engaging after getting the cookie (she might have lost one of the cookies, so that rep took longer to re-engage đ ) The up-and-down with bowls is effective because the bowls are a great focal point.
For the back and forth pattern game was a little harder, possibly because it put her closer to the distractions of the people really close. You can play this game a bit further away. Also, for back and forth, you donât need to feed her in front of you from your hand because it makes the pattern less predictable: toss the reward to the other side so she can keep moving back and forth.
In the harder environments, you can also go up in food value: whip out stuff that is really enticing! Use small bits and work short sessions so she doesnât get an upset belly. But high value food like chicken or meatballs can go a long way to helping with engagement!
Nice work here!
Tracy
