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Good morning!!!
Looks like you are safely home – yay! Wish I could have spent more time with you at the Open but things were nuts fir all of us.
First video – nice tugging to start! This is where we start to see puppy play preferences. He didn’t seem to like when you smacked the toy on the ground. It was a little too dead for him as you noted. He called an Uber then almost went on a puppy zoom! But when the toy was moving? Heck yes! So for the driving ahead game, skip ahead to just flinging the toy 10 feet away and letting him drive to it. You can already see how much he likes the movement that the flirt pole brings! So, we can adjust the style of play to fit his likes at this stage, and gently build in other play styles too 🙂 I really liked his engagement here!!
Decel video – the overall shape and mechanics of this game look great and he is driving to you like a wild man! The pivots are easy for him – yes, I see how hard it is to bend over to keep him on the ground. I think that was the hardest part of the game. It will get easier as he gets bigger but he is always going to be small, so a few ideas for you:
If your knees permit it, you can do this on your knees 🙂 Obviously, don’t run LOL but you can do the decel to your side and the pivots (slowly). My knees would allow for maybe 2 reps before they protest 🙂
The other thing you can do is get a long wooden spoon or long dowel, something long enough that it ends up at about his nose level when you hold it down while yo use standing. And, use that instead of a cookie in your hand – it is a not a target, but it is a reinforcement delivery: you can put a little dab of cream cheese or something on it, so he drives in and licks the reward. That can get the behavior while preventing jumping up and saving your back so you don’t have to bend over.Goat games – he is so quick on his feet LOL! You are already an expert on getting dogs on these things so it is no surprise that the session was great. You can build in a little duration with a couple of treats on the thing before releasing him off to the side, and you can also build in a little bit of movement on the items, like a balance disc. That is skipping ahead a little but he seems perfect on these, so a little additional challenge is a good thing 🙂
About the toy use in these games: when the food-associated item is in play (like the fitness bone) – the toy play will be too difficult to do right there. So, try the toy play in a different location like another room. Then after a cookie (one single boring cookie) run to another room and fling the toy around. He is such a confident little goat that we can use these sessions to separate the toy and cookie play to get both, with the goal is eventually building them back together. Literally separating them – as in, different locations – really helps!
Cone wrap – his light bulb is totally on with this one LOL!!! And I am amazed at how quickly he can move his little feets 🙂 What a good boy! So, we can start to add challenge – move your bowls a little further back behind you knees, so there is more of a wrap element, a tiny bit more bending.
And when that goes well… two options for adding challenge:
– move the upright a little further away from you, maybe 6 inches, so he has to choose to go around it rather than scoot across it in front of you.
– switch to a cone or laundry basket so he has to go around something bigger (but it will be right up against your legs when you start it).Great job here! He looks fabulous on all of these!!! Let me know what you think.
TracyGood morning!
>>Well, we haven’t really played any games enough to figure that out, but when she is just out with toys on the floor and she grabs one she will often run around with it, squeak it, or chew on it, just generally play with it. don’t think there is a built in retrieve with this one.>>
That is fine! The retrieve will. Get built in. She is really cute and fun with her toys!!
>>On this game, you can drop the toy to the ground sooner after you get it back, almost immediately – holding it in the air is not exciting and she is not likely to focus on it but dropping it is very exciting and will draw her focus to it. << >>Even if I don’t really have her by her collar or chest yet? She doesn’t really understand the set up part yet since this was our first time on the game. I would think she would just take off for the toy right away if I drop it sooner and not be focused on it. Not a big deal right now?>>
Gently take her collar or chest while she still has the tug toy, then you can take it and drop it more quickly.
>Hmm, sitting and getting in to move the toy aren’t really compatible??? Ahh, so ok if I grab the toy and make it move before she grabs it, I thought she needed to grab it before I get in there.
Puppy training mechanics are hard to sort out at the beginning because so much depends on the individual pup. For her, sitting and a really long toy that is easy to squiggle around should do the trick.Eventually she should grab it first, but for now you can split the behavior to get the toy exciting to reinforce the decision to go to it, before she arrives.
>>45 sec? That is likely only going to be about 1 – 2 reps given starting the time, getting her engaged, doing a rep and playing in between and setting up again…>>
Yep! Probably more than 1-2 reps, but yes – not many reps. At 16 weeks old, it is important to be done before she even realizes how long the session is. Do 45 seconds, then have a little break. Then 45 seconds, then a little break.
>> So are you saying use food instead of tugging to get engagement when we start a game so we can transistion into the game faster? Not positive if that is what you mean?>>
No, the toy play to engage was fabulous! The place where the transition can be quicker is that the food can be right there in your hand or pocket already, and coming out during the tugging. In this session, you got the toy, then had to move to the place where the food was, get the food, etc – in puppy time, it was decades LOL!! And she wandered off a little. So engage with the toy but have the food ready so it is less than a second from end of toy play to beginning of food play.
>>
>>She had barely gotten her mouth on the toy when the other one was already banging – be less quick so she can engage with the toy for a couple of seconds. Count to 3 in your head before banging the other toy<< Ahh, so it is ok for her to play a bit with the toy before I start with the other toy. Got it.>>Yes, playing with the toy is totally fine.
>>Question – with a toy being used would you expect her to turn away from the toy she is at and head back to the other toy if the other toy isn’t being banged? >>
Yes, because dead toy, things have stopped, in this context is the universal sign for ‘offer me something’ and the rhythm we have taught her in this scenario is the back and forth.
>>Using treats the treat is gone after she eats it so there is nothing on that side to keep her there anymore.
True about the treats! But also another reason why I don’t do the traditional IYC anymore – the presence of the treats or toys should not keep the dog there, offering on that item. Being able to move away from the toy is a great way to fold in self-control behavior in a more realistic setting.
>>>EEK!!! No IYC?!? NOOOO!!!! LOL!! We have been doing all the IYC stuff I’ve done with Rayven and Ziva in the past, so for food bowls, treats in bowls on the ground when we are training, placed/tossed on the ground, etc. So none of that for her for now sounds like?>>
I know, right?!?!?! LOL!!! Over the years, it has proven to have too much failure and not enough transfer to real-life situations. So, my approach is very different now and the dogs are doing better with it 🙂 This is what happens when I get 3 puppies in 2 years and spend over a year at home in a pandemic LOL!!! Everything gets re-evaluated and re-assessed to figure out how to get better and how to help the dogs that struggled in the past.
>>So if I try this game with treats again I should probably toss it to the side rather than into a plate? Sort of like I was describing we did in puppy class on Wednesday night, toss to one side and as she turns back toss to the other side, then as she starts to pattern that delay the toss to the other direction?
Yes, that is a good adjustment for her. We know that she likes that 🙂 and we know that she is going to generalize IYC on the fold bowls, so we can take another approach.
Keep me posted!!
TracyGood morning!
This was a really strong session! At the beginning, it was interesting that he was offering getting on the balance disc that was leaning up agains the wall – possibly because it is conditioned to mean food and he loves food 🙂 I can relate LOL!
Working on tugging with the disc visible was GREAT because we do want him to enjoy tugging even when food-related items are in the picture – the disc was just enough in the environment that he noticed it but out was perfectly positioned so it was not too distracting.He was a perfect little goat on the big disc, confidently getting right on it. His confidence is fantastic!
And doubly happy that he got right back on the toy- that is often really difficult after cookies for many dogs and he was fabulous 🙂 Your were great with t he mechanics of getting the disc out of the picture while bringing the toy in. SUPER!!!!
If he ever struggles with that, yo can run to a spot further from the cookie location or cookie-associated think (like the disc) to engage him with the toy.Great job here!
TracyThat’s really interesting! Maybe he has never had tugging and frizzing paired before? Definitely worthwhile to work that little tug-then-friz because he doesn’t always like to tug, so this can he useful in harder environments. Plus, it will be a useful concept for getting him to respond to cues to go do something even when there is something else reinforcing nearby.
THi!
I agree, it is a part of your process and she is happy with it, so definitely don’t change it 🙂
And after thinking about it, saying snacks at the food bowl seems to mirror that, so you’ll probably both be happier saying that too!
TNo coffee on board at the moment, so maybe I am misunderstanding… on my wrap away cue, I would also turn and then head the same direction the dog is now going – usually on a big layer or something. I wouldn’t continue straight. Maybe I need a drawing of what you mean lol!
Hi!
>> How long do you want us to have the puppy stay on the object?
At this stage, not very long. A couple of seconds, then release to play, then he can offer getting on again.
>> how long is the maximum amount of time you want us reinforcing the goat behavior on the object? 2 minutes?
The whole session can be two minutes but he can be on and off the object multiple times in that time – he does not have to stay on it for the full 2 minutes. The goal is that he gets experience offering getting on and off a wide variety of things 🙂 So if he finds it really easy, rather than add duration, you can switch to a different object 🙂
Tracy
Hi!
He was great here 🙂 Nice job getting the cookie hand at your side and low, so he could slide right into position. Super! I think the timing of you hand going into position and the speed of your pivot were both really good! An idea for you:You can toss the cookie back to the starting point to send him to it, rather than walk to the start with him – hold him, toss it, send him to get it. Then as you move away, look back for him more – he can’t really see your eyes as you are moving away here, so he is not sure which side to be on as he comes towards you (you can see him zig zag a little behind you). A little more eye contact/connection will sort that out nicely. And by sending him to the cookie from 10 feet away, we are folding in other behaviors: sending/driving ahead, and giving you a bigger head start for the decel 🙂
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
Playing along during the live is fun!!!!!
Thank you for the update!
>> While he has seemed to switch back and forth between food and toys effortlessly in his training before these games, they are bringing out that he does seem to have a slight preference for toys.>>
Good to know. You can raise the value of food you are using, go to something a little better when you need to keep the food and toy play balanced.
>>Prop game. It’s going fine. I stole the dustpan idea and switched my prop. This seems to work better. His drive to the object could improve a bit and probably will with time. I have not added much distance yet.
I love the dustpan LOL! For now, build value for another session or two before adding distance – he will let you know when he is ready for you to add more distance.
>>Targeting. No problem. We’d already done hand targeting, so using an object for a target was not a big leap.
Perfect!!
>>>Drive to toy. WE HAVE THIS DOWN 1000%! 😆Immediately. My moton has zero effect on distracting so far.
Ha! That is great! And I am glad that your motion is not distracting at all. This is a good game to take on the road to help get him into new places and lots of playing happening.
>>Decel foundation. No issues. We’ve done a lot of heel work already, so this is just that with the other side added.
Great! And that also means the pivot is easy for him? I’d say the only difference to consider here is that you will want to get the cookie down to just below his nose level, so he does not look up at you.
>>Blind cross foundation…no real issues, I just need to take it to a little bit bigger space than my training area.
Yes – any big place is the next step, and if you have access to other people: do this as a restrained recall (if he likes being held. If not, no worries :))
>>Goat game. He’s been climbing on all sorts of surfaces since he first started moving around and has already been doing wobble boards and tippy boards before we started this class, Plus getting up on all sorts of things while out “hiking”. I haven’t found a surface that bothers him to get on. Yet.>>
Perfect here too! So, to skip ahead a bit – get him to tug on while he is on the wobble board, to begin promoting weight shift to the rear on a moving surface.
>>Wrap foundation. This is the one we’ve struggled with a little. Now, I CAN send him out around an object, like a laundry basket, already (before this class). But I still started from scratch with this. I ended up switching from food to toys. And then (this is when I discovered he’s a lefty) I ended up using a slightly higher value toy in my left hand for him to turn to the right around the object to. I can tell the game hasn’t 100% clicked yet, but his understanding has improved.>>
I am glad you started from scratch! Shaping it this way has led to some amazing commitment further down the road, plus it is a fun way to work on shaping moving behaviors. It is possible that the stationary-ish food was not all that exciting to him, so you can try tossing the treats a little rather tha plopping them into bowls and see how it goes! It might take a session or two but then I am sure it will lock into place.
Thanks for the update!! Keep me posted!
TracyHi!
Your connection and quickness of doing the blind looked great. The first 2 reps were really strong… then he had a lightbulb moment and was faster on rep 3, so you were late 🙂 He still read it because your connection was good! The last rep was earlier so he read it sooner. I think the main thing here is that you need more room to be able to connect to him on the original side, then make the blind 🙂 To keep this game fast & fun, you can do it as a restrained recall: maybe Karena can hold him while you run away and when you are at least 30 or 40 feet away, call him – connect on one side as she lets goof him, then no later than him being halfway to you: do the blind 🙂
At the trial this weekend, you can enlist other folks to be the holder! But only do this if he likes being held by other people, not every dog thinks restrained recalls are fun. But if he likes being help by others, the restrained recall version can give you more distance to have time to do the blinds, and it is also a great way to teach baby dogs to ignore strangers and distractions at trials!
Have fun! Great job here!
TracyHi!
Your connection and quickness of doing the blind looked great. The first 2 reps were really strong… then he had a lightbulb moment and was faster on rep 3, so you were late 🙂 He still read it because your connection was good! The last rep was earlier so he read it sooner. I think the main thing here is that you need more room to be able to connect to him on the original side, then make the blind 🙂 To keep this game fast & fun, you can do it as a restrained recall: maybe Karena can hold him while you run away and when you are at least 30 or 40 feet away, call him – connect on one side as she lets goof him, then no later than him being halfway to you: do the blind 🙂
At the trial this weekend, you can enlist other folks to be the holder! But only do this if he likes being held by other people, not every dog thinks restrained recalls are fun. But if he likes being help by others, the restrained recall version can give you more distance to have time to do the blinds, and it is also a great way to teach baby dogs to ignore strangers and distractions at trials!
Have fun! Great job here!
TracyHi!
>> when I moved to the yard, building it up to about a 10 yard toss ahead of me.
NICE! That is a significant distance. And I am guessing he is leaving you in the dust?
>>With the prop game he is now targeting the boot with a front point, side point, and a rear point at about 15 feet away. He has come a long way in a couple of days!>>
Yay! This is great! 15 feet is also a significant distance – very exciting!!!
>> am taking the boot with me to a trial this weekend to work on the games with some distraction.
Perfect! Both games are great for a trial setting. Start up close for the first reps to see how he does and if he is fine, you can move back to the bigger distances. Have fun and keep me posted!
Tracy
Hi!
>> Slow down. Hmmmmmm. You know I own Gemma! But, yes, I will try.>>
Ha! Welcome to Team Chill, where we try to move slowly with our puppies 🙂 LOL!
She did well with her prop! Are you also using this for hind end pivot, or is she generalizing that rotation from other training?
She has a lot of value here so we are really going to build on it! The main suggestion here is going to be… slow down LOL!!!! I know, I know 🙂 This game is not intended to be any sort of real loop – it is one behavior, then a few seconds of the ready dance, then a distinct send. So after each reinforcement, call her back to you, get her engaged with your ready dance party – and after 3 or 4 seconds, cue the prop with the send. You won’t notice much of a difference when it is up close like it was here, but the clear, distinct sends will be really helpful when you add more distance. Plus, you’ll be folding in more arousal (followed by commitment) and teaching her to alternate between handler focus and line focus.
And speaking of more distance… you can add more! She is ready to see you move further from the prop with both the forward sends and the backwards sends. She looks great!!!!
And the sideways did look a little backwards but we are building to backwards, so that is fine 🙂 And Gemma was a good girl!!!!
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyUgh, sorry!!!! Thanks for bumping it back up!
The background music here was great at the beginning! And the mat tugging is both hilarious and brilliant. He doesn’t have a great out on the mat but I think that is actually fine – you can make it a bit of a wrestling match to really keep the mat value high, because that mat is golden: he relaxes on it and you can also use it as a way to get him stimulated before the run. I don’t think I have ever seen anyone else do this, but it is brilliant!!! Putting it on cue will help but don’t worry too much if he doesn’t let go of it that easily for now.
I wonder how the big name behavior experts will feel if we all adopt this ‘tug on the relax mat’ game? But I think it is GREAT!!!!!!!! And he does this outside the ring at a trial too? Perfect!
The other thing I would do with this is use it as the remote reinforcement – so at the end of the run, he can run over and tug on his mat. It can sit outside the ring (or outside the sequence in training) and it is a great remote reinforcement!
Great job here! Let me know what you think! I am off to teach my dogs to tug on their relax mats LOL!
Tracy
