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Good morning!
>>I love the piece of cardboard idea. The first clip where he’s breathing hard is very shortly after he’s entered the building, hasn’t run yet.
I think a visual blocker and maybe a little music will help him chill more and chill sooner 🙂 he is greatly improved but we can do more 🙂
>> Pattern games have been SO good for us.
Awesome!!
>I think the other thing that helps him is familiarity, or maybe it’s distance from the action. We’re trialing today and tomorrow (I’m building courses for the Brittany club). And here’s a couple of short clips of him hanging in is crate upstairs.>>
Yes, familiarity helps for sure. He looked more relaxed here- try the barrier and see if that helpsa
>> Pretty typical is I can regulate him after we walk in the gate with hand touches, and he stays engaged for the sit but the moment I reach to take off his leash or collar he consistently looks away, gets sniffy, says Hard, Hard, Hard >>>
I think the hand touches my regulate him downwards too much, so maybe try spins and other more active tricks? And yes, counterconditioning the leash off will help too. Part of it is not fussing on that start line. No touching, no moving, very short stays, no real possibility of error – that way he can have a positive CER in that way.
And the 80 zillion reps of the leash off, offered engagement cookies will really help too, to develop this engagement into a reflex 🙂
>>and unfortunately I think because I feel the pressure of time I haven’t been giving him the chance to breathe and then choose to reconnect….
Yep, totally relatable!!! I just plaster a smile on my face and remind myself that there is no rushing the dog, take the moment, breathe, etc.
>> Depending on how that goes I’ll add in actually removing the leash. So far he likes the game…. Still disengages as soon as I reach for leash but reengages much quicker. What do you think?>>
Don’t worry about disengagement when you reach for the leash, that’s just a bit of reflexive response. That will change pretty quickly as the reps add up 🙂
Have fun! Keep me posted!
TracyHi! This looked really good! It seemed like she was pretty perfect 🙂 my only suggestion is to remember to take off her tags, I thought I could hear jingle tags 🙂
Have a blast today!!! Keep track of it all, adjust to the moment, video all the things and keep me posted!!!
TracyHi!
You handle better without sleep than most of us do WITH sleep! You looked great!
And I think you had all the pieces here: fast transitions, leash off rewards with the toy, 2 balls, more action tricks, etc.How did you feel about her runs? How did this compare to her normal Thursday night class? I thought she looked great 🙂 Yes, the weaves were hard and also some of the 270 stuff was hard but even after an error, she was in full GAME ON mode. I like how she brought the balls back. I admit to also liking the barking 🙂 Very sassy! And it is my ideal: bark when I pump you up… but then shut up and work when I ask you to work. What were you doing to elicit it, or was she freely offering?
Your classmates can be useful distractions, if they will sit in the ring and eventually have their dogs out too!
If I am remembering correctly, you have a Jen seminar on Saturday – I suggest doing what you did here for at least the first turn. If you like what you see.. you can play with a bit of hidden toy/remote reinforcement built in! Keep me posted on that!
>>I also have a question, you recommended adding toys to line up game. Currently I am at toss cookie, call through leg, lead out a few steps or none and toss give cookie. Do I toss cookie to set up the reward with toy, toss toy the reward with toy, or am I missing a step to get her behind me to start game. Sorry if this is a dumb question.>>
Sorry for any confusion! You can toss a cookie to start it, line her up, lead out, then throw a ball/toy back or release forward to tug. The goal is to get her into the line up and stay with more arousal and also with the toy she will use in the ring. (You can lave toys at the start line for UKI on real runs too, so it is all good to be able to have toys involved with the line up.)
Great job! Let me know what you think! Say hi to Leslie 🙂 and get some sleep!
Tracy
Voodoo is an expert of dealing with my screw ups hahaha so it happens very fast.
>>So you pair a word/phrase with it?>>
A VERY informal one, like “you’re cute” or ‘cmere’ or ‘sorry dude’ or “F*CK!” hahahaha but most definitely NOT a reward marker. For me, all of those markers are reinforcement markers, which mean “you are correct, your reward is_____” So ‘search’ (or my ‘get it’) should mean “that is correct, your cookie is tossed out there”. But the thing is, it was NOT correct – and using the reward marker can be very confusing if it is used for both. For example, I use “bite” to indicate “you are correct, grab the toy in my hand” but I never use bite when I use a toy for a reset or effort reward – because that would get confusing as to *which* behavior is correct: take the front or the back? So the informal words for resets/efforts are very clearly different from the ‘click’ value of reward markers.
Now that I am typing it out, that could be why the pups we have raised with the effort/reset cookies like this are very happy to keep working and also very clear about what is right or wrong… versus the pups that get frustrated when the reset/effort rewards have the same markers as the ‘you’re correct’ markers (like when people use ‘search’ for ALL the things, the dogs are confused).
t
I was typing the reply as you sent this LOL!!! It was a crazy day here with a vet visit 2 hours from home.
Hi! They are scattered throughout, here is one I found:
There is one here when I reset Voodoo after he takes the front instead of the back (it is VERY fast LOL!)Basically it can either be “good dog, here is a treat” if something goes wrong or it can be “come here” calling her to you and giving her a treat as she is lining up at your side again similar to what I did with Voodoo.
THi! These are very helpful videos!
First up, crate:
>>First is 3 quick clips of him in the crate, waiting his turn. This was fairly relaxed for him.
He was breathing pretty hard here especially on the first clip – was this right after a run, before the next one? We want him to be more chill, so I think a snuffle toy or lickimat will definitely help!
Because of this:
>>Peanut butter Kong elicits some pretty strong resource guarding behaviorand this:
>>ready to fight her dog to the death for the kibble
I think you can also have a barrier or wall of some sort, so he can’t be approached while he is in the crate with a food item. Resource guarding is an anxiety behavior, and the environment must be hard for him with so much food around! So you can get a 3-fold piece of cardboard, a couple of feet high, so he has a visual barrier (can’t see the other dogs) and also so the other dogs don’t look at him – so he can relax more and not feel like he has to potentially resource guard. He has a blanket covering the crate but I have found the barrier to give the dogs more room and an even better barrier, so they relax more 🙂
On the runs:
These are great to have on video!!!
>>So, just chose to go with lots of food and Pattern Game….we have been able to start to do some RR but didn’t want to go there today after what happened on our first run.
This is always a good choice!! Great job doing it while you moved AND gave target placement directions.
Bearing in mind that the pattern games are calming: they are great for coping with the environment but do not seem to put him in the optimal state for the agility start line and run (this is normal, my dogs don’t go to the optimal state with just pattern games either).
So a couple of things:
After you pattern game and feel you have engagement… you need to raise his optimal state. This is where you can pull from your volume dial toolbox of tricks and wildness 🙂 Get him a bit nutty! This can be done outside the ring right before you enter, or on the way to the line, or both (so far he is all business on the way to the line, so you can do it outside the ring at trials but at the line in training)
Then you can take the leash off.
And when you take the leash off – let him choose what he wants to do next. On the first video at :36, he looked away (he state of arousal was too low) and you took his collar to get engagement. I suggest not touching his collar when the leash is off, especially if he dips his head. Don’t hold the collar or move it up to get engagement – just take a breath and wait 🙂 If he cannot offer engagement in that moment, then I would definitely not lead out because he is not ready. Give him a heartbeat to offer engagement, and you can reward that in training! Or lead out then release quickly (both of which are also reinforcement). If he cannot offer engagement in that moment, you can pull out his favorite action tricks and do a few reps.
That moment of offered engagement is hugely important: it indicates his arousal state (ready or not?) and also when the dog makes a choice that is reinforced, there is some science that tells us that there is a dopamine release which is very helpful for the run!
He struggled on the first part of the run, and it is fine to bring him back. Be careful of the cookies or hand in pocket though – if you are going to show him the reset cookie… give him the reset cookie (I have no problem with a reset cookie on a broken stay when the dog is anxious, I would have given him the cookie :)) I also agree that we want to get the snappy behavior on the first rep, not the second after you come back to deliver reinforcement as that is probably a “tell” that it is training, which is why you are seeing some of this:
>> The whole sit, take off leash, leadout, lose focus, come back and reset and then able to do it the second time seems to be a pattern I’ve setup>>
So the volume dial will help, along with the off leash offered engagement and shorter lead outs.
2nd video – He got a cookie when the leash came off but it happened so quickly that I am not sure he made a choice to engage – take the leash off and then wait to see what he does 🙂 Then, lead out and release quickly – the leash came off at :06 and he broke his stay to wander off a bit at :18… that is an entire half of a JWW run!
So – you can do volume dial tricks before his run then when you get to the start line, take the leash off, get engagement – if you have it, lead out and release ideally within 5 seconds or so. That means short stays to set him up for success and/or jogging out to position. That will help raise his rate of success on the start line – it was 50% here and he will be more engaged when it is higher.
And if he can’t offer engagement, you can do some volume dial tricks!>>whatever the dog needs is her motto.
Lo is THE BEST!!!!
>>Oh yeah…..we’ve also been working on I’m not sure if you’d call it a Volume Dial or a Controlled Chill behavior…. but where I’m sitting or kneeling on the floor and he’s laying at my side and I’m petting him.>>
That is the engaged chill 🙂 Yay!
Starting on Monday we will be stringing the bigger pieces together and I think that will really help – his pattern games are helping, so now add in more volume dial/action tricks and off leash offered engagement at the line. That should help a lot!
Great job 🙂 Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
She looked great – SO FAST! Yes, you are doing it correctly – throwing the ball out on the line all fast & furious like that really makes a difference to her. She is looking at the line more for sure and wasn’t being sticky. You were connected, too! And because you were planning to throw, you arms were nice and low 🙂 So for the next session, do a sequence on this setup and plan somewhere to throw the toy (ether the go on a tunnel, or the left on the wings) so you can surprise her with your throw 🙂Great job here!
TracyHi!
Sorry to hear you have Covid! I had it in February but it was super mild, I got lucky. Feel better soon!!!
>>I do a lot of reset “search cookies” but don’t think I’ve implemented them in that way consistently so yes I will totally do that. >>
I prefer reset cookies or effort cookies (or toys) to come from my hand, in an engaged way, rather than tossed away on the floor. I mean, if we are not going to reward the behavior we wanted to get, we might as well reinforce the effort and lining up for the next rep. Search cookies make the floor engaging 🙂 and also send the dog away on angles that might not help the reset or next rep. it is all about the engagement 🙂
>>Our tugging is better and part of my standing weird is that moment of trying to not hold her collar get a cookie on her and let go before she goes with out me😂. Work in progress for sure but huge improvements there!>>
I recommend adding a third arm. Having 3 hands will make it easier hahahaha! Kidding!
>>On the turning away stuff- she did really well with this but I feel like it’s because she’s patterned right so the direction I stand or side we are on helps her , which is fine- I assume it will transfer over time to true understanding?>>
Yes, you are totally correct for these and for the checks & digs – we are naming the behavior with an easy setup then oh so gradually making it harder and applying it to different skills.
>>She really is fast so I’m totally good with cheats! I can throw a toy BUT our retrieve is a work in slow progress- as long as there’s no big motion ( like running) she will bring it back.>>
Can you throw a lotus ball? She is less likely to run off with one of those, maybe?
>> If her arousal is in the chill zone- she will bring it back. We have been working this literally daily with huge huge improvements but we aren’t there yet so I will adjust to help her get the wings or toss when I know I have a chance to get it back>>
She is only 7 months, I know the retrieve will come together. In the meantime, throw things she is less likely to run off with. Or, put a manners minder out there the whole time, and she will have a good distraction for the non-go reps 🙂
Feel better!
TracyThanks for the check in! When will spring arrive in Minnesota?!?!?! It seems like you have had an abnormally long winter. Fingers crossed for tomorrow to be super windy to dry out the grass for the weekend 🙂
Have fun with the grids on Friday!Tracy
Hi!
I think this went REALLY well! Rear crosses are really hard with small dogs because our feet get close to them, and a lot of small dogs don’t like that at all – but you were really clear with the handling and she did a great job!
I thought all of your GO lines looked good. And all of the left turn rear crosses were really good, she has an easier time turning left. The first couple of right turn rear crosses were a little late and you did a great job with the reward placement, but then starting at :26 (and at :30, :38, and all of the rest of the right turn rear crosses), you were MUCH earlier in the timing and she read the rear cross before she took off. Hooray!!!! And great job with the verbals too.
>>None of my other dogs could do it using this setup, hmm, so she must be a genius.
Well, I agree that she is a genius 🙂 It is also possible that the other dos (who are much bigger) needed you to do the RC line as early as you did for Sassy, or maybe even earlier. The big dogs make decisions pretty early. Did you video them too? You can slow the video down and see if you had the same early timing as you did with Sassy 🙂
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
Sunny skies are TOTALLY flip flop worthy!!!!Training in the smaller space is perfect for this game! I guess he really loves the tunnel LOL!! Great job breaking it down and helping him see the serp – changing his start angle really helped and then he was able to get a lot of success at the original angle. For the next session, start him on the easier angle of facing the jump to establish the success, before moving him back to the angle facing the tunnel.
You can also shake your serp hand a bit, as the shaking motion of it will draw his attention to it even more 🙂 He was so funny when he was incorrect, ran back through the tunnel, and then did the serp. I love him LOL!!!!Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
