Never before seen ...

I think it might be an ominous thing when the vet you are taking your baby to is just utterly baffled by a Sheltie's ears being glued.

Maybe it's because I'm in agility and have seen more than my fair share of baby Shelties?! But she didn't say this was the first Sheltie she's seen ... just the first one with ears glued. 

Also interesting is wanting me to spay my puppy before she is even 6 months old ... so I expect on our next visit when I decline the rabies vaccine and just finish the puppy DAPP series (I'll do rabies a month later on its own in case of vaccine reaction issues) that I'll be looked at oddly for that too. But in the almost 10 years since Baxter has come into my life, I've learned a couple of things and always advocate for my dogs.

It's really too bad that vets just push early spay and neuter though. At least with Nike they asked if I was doing health testing when I said we wouldn't be spaying before 2 year of age and that vet was pretty receptive when I explained I just wanted her to be mature before removing hormones/spaying and it didn't necessarily have anything to do with breeding. This one just listed all the things that could go wrong if you didn't spay before the first heat cycle.

I'm not a standard pet owner - not that there is anything wrong with being a standard pet owner. I know a little more than a lot of people about dogs and dog related things. My whole family has me clip their dog nails. Spencer brings his own muzzle to the clinic. My dogs aren't fat. But for the love of Dog - don't try to scare me into doing what YOU think is right- maybe explain signs to watch for IF those things are going wrong. Mammary tumors. What symptoms you'd see with pyometria. But don't tell me Pyo is life threatening (I know it is ...) when I'm here with a 12 week old baby - maybe save that conversation for my 2 year old dog who is still intact, hey?! 

On a happier note, this is 3 weeks since Sizzle came home on 26-Nov-2017. (Or at least it was 3 weeks when I originally wrote this!)

The first week we just settled in and figured stuff out - was a pretty big change coming into a house with 4 resident dogs, none of whom are Shelties. She came out to class with me and hung out in the building after classes. She also came to work with me and met about 20 strange men - working in Oil & Gas is fantastic for socialization with men!! Not really loving food as much as I'd expect, but oh my the play & tug drive!

The second week was mostly a repeat of the first week, except we started coming out to family gatherings and meeting my nieces/nephews and the various other "family" dogs. 5 kids under 8 is a lot of children in one house when you're the center of attention!

She is delightfully confident little ball of fluff. LOVES people. Confident with dogs - some we say hi to - some we just observe from a distance. MANY opinions on everything that she has zero problem voicing.

Loves to chase stuff. Bringing it back - well not so much. But play and tug?! Oh my, someone forgot to tell the Sheltie that she isn't a terrier! I love it! 

She also sleeps through the night. Her first night we got up in the middle of the night and then the second day we got up at 5 am - other than that she has zero problem sleeping through the night and not waking me up at an ungodly hour. 

CAA November Remembrance Day Trial Review & Rant

At the beginning of the month was CAA's annual Remembrance Day Trial.

I haven't trialed a lot lately, with Lethbridge being the last big trial in September. This was such an awesome weekend, despite being part of the club putting on the trial and needing to be there from the very beginning to the very end. 2 x 12 hour days plus Friday night leads to being pretty wrung out come the end of the day on Sunday.

Baxter is not running full trials anymore and Spencer never has run full trials so it was pretty relaxed in terms of numbers of runs per day. I did enter Nike, but we're on a confidence building plan with her, so her runs don't "count."

Friends to trial and bench with make a world of difference in having a enjoyable weekend as well. This weekend was no exception. We benched with one of our training partners and having someone to video and chat with is awesome.

My boys rocked Friday night (their whole one run each) but it set me up to have a fantastic weekend. That connected feeling where your training pays off and you run as a team. It's the best feeling in the world!

All of the Masters level courses were under a judge I'd never actually trialed under before and being that she's a pretty standard fixture on various world teams, I didn't expect to love trialing under her as much as I did. Maybe it's a hold over from having the non-standard breeds, or from running my "slow" dogs. I really love it when people notice how good of a team the people in the ring are with their dogs - regardless of breed, or how fast/amazing a run was. What makes my heart happy is when a team is out having a great time and the dog is clearly understanding what the handler wants. Those pretty, fluid, connected runs.

Baxter was ON all weekend, running great except for a bobble in a Standard which was my fault, not his. He picked up 2 Jumpers, 1 Standard, 1 Snooker and ran 4/5. It felt like he wanted to do more during the day, but when we ran those last runs each day he felt a little tired/slower so I think that 2 runs a day is a good compromise for him.

With those Jumpers Q's we only need 3 more to earn his Gold Jumpers which is my big goal for him. I initially wanted to get that in 2017, but even if we hit all the Jumpers possible (locally anyway) that wouldn't be happening, so I guess it'll be in 2018 under the new "jump" heights. (And I call them "jumps" because my short, Special/Vet boys only have to jump 4" which really isn't even a jump for them.)

Spencer was on as well - he really does better with less trialing/training. He held it together for me for the weekend, minus melting in his Snooker run that might have been due to soreness. We had a bobble in his otherwise awesome Standard were he pulled off and refused the Frame right before the Snooker run, which is why I'm thinking he might have been sore. He doesn't usually pull off the Frame, just on jumps when he's feeling worried. He picked up 1 Standard, 1 Steeplechase and 1 Gamble running 3/5, but those 3 he was ON, driving to obstacles and responsive.

As much as Jumpers is Baxter's game - Standard and Gamble are Spencer's. He doesn't LOVE distance, but he understands what I want him to do and has the confidence to go out there and attempt it. It makes me so happy that my soft little margarine puddle of a dog has the confidence to try for me. His weaves and DW make those games so much easier with him than they were with Baxter.

Nike did well with our new goal of having a good time in the ring and not stressing out/disconnecting. First run was only 5 or 6 obstacles on the way to the exit to have a cookie party, and she got distracted by some smells in the back, but we got it back together and finished strong.

Our second run was a Standard, and we actually attempted everything but the table. She knows and likes the table, but the stops where she is not rewarded seem make her think she is wrong and result in her disconnecting - so right now, no stopping! I lost her worse to smells after the teeter again, but again, got her back (it was her idea to teeter again, not mine) and we finished nicely and had another cookie party.

Until I've got 100% of a dog wanting to play my game, she'll be running Specials. Right now we need confidence and happy more than anything and once those are there the skills (that we have in training) will be a *little* more apparent - because right now it looks like I have a completely untrained dog.

I'm also going to fully embrace the journey Nike and I are on here and learn the things that she's teaching me that will make me a better and stronger trainer.  It's about Nike and I. Period.

I love my dogs and I love the journey we are on together.

Stacking the Deck

There was some interesting, shareable discussion on one of the Fenzi FB groups this weekend. But, if you wanted to share one of the posts, the author requested that both were shared.

These really resonate with me.

Denise Fenzi
Admin · November 12 at 3:43pm

Here is why I don't think anyone can ever tell another person that their dog is, or is not, suited for dog sports or a particular dog sport.
Because no one can know how good of a trainer another person is - or how good they might become.
No one can know how important it is to another person. Commitment and determination are a big deal. That is for the person to decide.
No one can know how happy/unhappy their dog can be before they decide it's time to throw in the towel for ethical reasons - also an individual decision.
No one can know what level of achievement they would need to attain before they can feel it was "worth it". My goals and expectations are mine - yours belong to you.
No one can know, for sure, what the future holds, based on better/different training options, the effects of maturity, changing sports, etc etc etc
So it must always remain up to the person - how far are they willing to go? Is their dog happy enough to keep at it? It's just not my place to make those determinations for another.
The only thing another person can do is tell you what route they would take. From there, the owner decides if/when/how much they can put into it.

Denise Fenzi

Admin · November 12 at 9:50am
A meme here got me thinking. What have my current dogs taught me?
Well, a lot of dog training. But that's not what I want to talk about.
What have I learned from Lyra? I have learned that I don't enjoy training her because she has no passion for working - and that's okay. I didn't do something wrong - she comes with opinions and her own interests, and they don't happen to align with mine. If I stand back and consider the route that I think I would have to take to change that? It's way beyond my level of time, energy and commitment. She is a fantastic pet dog. That's fine. We are both much happier with this lack of expectation. If she indicates a desire to work - we do some stuff. Otherwise, no worries if she is happy to watch. Yeah, I can make her look good but it's a glass house - it would fall apart in the face of serious competition and I don't believe all of the best training in the world could fundamentally change her to the level that I would need to enjoy working with her
And Brito? I have learned that if my training is exceptionally good - we can make progress. That is intriguing to me and keeps me in the game for the sake of understanding, so I like to train him. He likes to work and frequently asks, so we train, and it's all good! He has also pushed me dramatically in a variety of training areas, and as a trainer, I truly value that. But if I had serious competition goals - to the level of expectation that I hold for competition readiness? Not fun then - our progress is way too slow and would be exceedingly frustrating. And that's fine.
I no longer beat my head on the wall trying to figure out what I need to do. I just accept that other beings have opinions. As long as I am entertained and the animal is willing - I will train and see what I can do. And if that changes - I'm not having fun or the dog is opting out - then I'm not going to push through. It's okay. I can move on. I don't believe that great training guarantees anything at all - animals come with innate qualities.
If I ever get serious about dog sports again, which isn't looking too promising at this time, then I will specifically look for a dog that will want to play my games without jumping through million of hoops to get us there. With that dog, I would work to create amazing behavior chains that can hold up under specific stressors and without a high ROR at a very high level of accuracy. I've done that before and that's cool too. But I would start with a dog that was just as eager to master this as I was to teach it.
In the meantime, I got the dogs I needed. Because what they taught me - what I wrote above? I could not have truly internalized that if I hadn't gone through it. I needed to learn about slow/forgetful learners, low drives, high environmental interests and...at the end of the day....why I do dog sports. And what I found is that it only interests me if the dog and I are on the same page. And all of the best training in the world may, or may not, turn any given dog into a highly engaged and willing partner that can compete at the levels that would interest me.
And I guess I had to learn that so that I could better help other people. So that they could accept that maybe they weren't going to get there with their own dogs either and it's not just a matter of learning more or trying harder.
The animal has an opinion too. Great training can maximize a dog's potential, but it's not going to turn them into something that they are not because innate temperament is a real thing. Just like you can't "will" your human child into being a great football player when their heart lies with chess, there is no reason to believe our dogs are any different. There's no reason for guilt or self-doubt simply because the dog you haven't isn't quite right for what you had in mind.

Penny doesn't play dog sports because agility is my sport. I could potentially train her to play something else, but lets be realistic here. She's a Chihuahua with depth perception issues. They're not exactly known for drive, and she specifically doesn't have a lot of drive - except maybe to find another patch of sun, or cuddle on your lap. And that is fine. That is what and who she is. 

Spencer can have fun playing agility, but being around other dogs in a trial environment is incredibly stressful for him. So we play when he wants and train bits and pieces here and there. He's an amazing little dog. He's an awesome little agility partner on the days he feels comfortable, and on the days he doesn't - we don't need to prove anything. He's happiest chasing his frizzee in the field and running like a wild thing, or swimming in the lake retrieving his bumper, or even just hiking with his humans. And that is also fine.

Baxter is my rock. He is my first everything dog. First dog I've owned. First dog I competed in agility with. First dog I put a title on. This weekend we received the "Picture Perfect" veteran dog award at the CAA Remembrance Day Agility Trial for the photo of him I took @ Island Lake. I was pretty emotional. He's going to be 10 years old in a few months and his career is winding down.

He is so full of try. Yes, I wish I had done some things differently when we were starting out, but all in all it's been an amazing journey and he has been an amazing partner on it. We may not be in THE competitive height classes in AAC Agility, but we've done pretty well where we are at. 

Nike is a work in progress and while I won't quit working with her, I'm still working to find that key to unlock the drive to want to play my games with me. She's very smart and super sweet, but also so very soft and so very independent. 

Agility is my game. I wouldn't mind competing in some other sports, like Rally-O, but Agility is my game and I want a dog with the drive to WANT to play my game with me.

Baxter wants to play with me. Spencer wants to play in training. Nike does sometimes. But what could I do with a dog who really wants to work with me? It's a thought in the back of my mind for now, and I won't feel like a failure if my current young dog isn't quite right to be super competitive in the sport - she's got an opinion too. No amount of pressure is going to make that come if it isn't in her temperament, pressure will only suck the fun right out of training and trialing.

But for the next time... Next time I'm stacking the deck in my favor.

Insanity, or Is It?!

I've posted this quote before and I'm sure we've all heard it said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.

Sometimes though, your journey brings you back to a point and maybe it isn't insanity to give that one more shot.

With Spencer, the first obstacle he learned was the weave poles - mainly because that was and is one of Baxter's weakest obstacles/skills.

Baxter was trained with channels and with Spencer we had just discovered Susan Garrett/Say Yes and the 2x2 method.

2x2's made sense to Spencer. Weaves are one of his strongest obstacles/skills. I'm certain that it helped that he REALLY wanted his toy, but teaching him 2x2s was super easy.

2x2 Weaves

Now fast forward to Nike. We didn't start doing much with the weaves until she was around 9 months and at that point in time I was just having her run down a wide channel to a target plate. I wasn't actually teaching weaves, just getting her accustomed to the pressure of the poles and teaching her it was nothing to be concerned about - so we didn't do it often at all.

After she turned 1 year old I started working on teaching the 2x2s ... but she was having none of it. She did not care what I had. Did not care about the poles at all. Just really wasn't getting it and VERY much wanted to flank the poles not run through them - even when we were just trying to build value for interacting with one 2x2 base.

So, rather than fight with it, I left that.

Channel weaves, open to closed

She'd already had exposure to channels, so I moved on to that method and started closing the channel. Problem is, when you have a herdy dog who already wants to flank things, she might or might not hit that entry, but she sure was not going to collect and get that second pole.

So, instead of fighting with that, I left that method as well.

Next we tried "windows." Windows are similar to guides but instead of not letting the dog leave, they are just a "window" that sticks out from the pole on the side the dog ISN'T supposed to be on. I love these because they help the dog understand the weaving motion, but the dog is choosing to stay in. It's also not as aversive as guides/xpens to those dogs who are touch sensitive.

Channels with plastic guides - not how I want to teach ...

Nike did like windows, and she figured how to hit the poles and stick in them even at speed. The problem comes when trying to fade the windows out of the picture. You slowly start removing windows in the middle, leaving the end windows (entry and exit) to help the dogs be correct.

Learning weaves with the "window" method

First time in the weaves using windows

However, as soon as I'd fade a window out, it was like she'd never seen the weaves before in her life and was not generalizing the motion through the poles with the windows to poles with no windows on them.

So now we're back to 2x2s. This time though, I've cleaned up my mechanics a little and my baby dog has grown up a little. We've also discovered the joys of chasing toys and playing fetch, which probably helps.

I've also gotten a little smarter in how I train. Spencer would keep trying even if he wasn't being rewarded because he really wanted that toy. He has pretty awesome resilience to disappointment - as long as you don't put any pressure on him. Nike has zero resilience to disappointment. If she gets something wrong (tries and is not rewarded) more than twice, she is probably going to leave work and go sniff/find something better to do. So sessions with her are very short and she is rewarded for coming back to me to try again.

So far this seems to be working, so I'm hopeful.

It is definitely a paradigm shift to take responsibility for EVERYTHING and not have any pressure on the dog. If nothing else, Nike is certainly greatly increasing my skills as a trainer.

Sayings evolve for a reason, so I guess even if I haven't gotten the dog I thought I wanted, I am getting the dog I needed - and sometimes it's evolution, not insanity if some time has passed!

Operant Conditioning and Dog Training

So far I've gotten in 2 training sessions for NoseWork 2.0.

Not NoseWork! Just problem solving with treat puzzles

It's been interesting so far. One of the dogs is VERY quick to catch on with shaping and due to this it is easier to build the skill and duration. The other 2 dogs do not shape well, there was much luring done with their initial training and not much free thinking or problem solving.

Which leads me to think more on operant conditioning and free thinking, such as they are.

You've heard the phrase "Give a man a fish and he can feed himself for a day. Teach a man to fish and he can feed a village for years." (or other variants along those lines.)

Teaching your puppy to think and problem solve is, in my mind, one of the greatest things you can teach them. (Aside from confidence with new and novel situations.)

I think the single greatest thing I've learned from dog training is how to teach the dog how to think and problem solve. It's a skill to be able to break things down so that the dog can understand what I want.

I understand the lure of luring, pun intended. It gets you the behavior now. It also prevents the flailing about and frantic behavior often seen in dogs who are shaped poorly. The dog doesn't understand what the trainer wants and will run through their whole repertoire of "tricks" to try to find what you want. If you're not really careful in how you reward and mark, you build that frantic flinging of behaviors into anything shaped. 

But I digress. That isn't the soap box for today's post. Today is about an operant dog in the most general sense - a dog who cares about what their human thinks and is willing to try something for them for a reward that the human is controlling.

You can have either end of the spectrum.

Baxter is an operant dog who does not think well or problem solve for himself. He will however try what I ask him to do, and if confused by it still "stays in the game" so to speak. He doesn't leave. He just lays down, whines, paws at me because he wants the reward and does not understand how to earn it. He was never taught to "think" - just to try. So the thinking is my job. When he gets something wrong, I need to modify so he can get it right, because he is not going to change what he offers me. He lures very nicely and patterns well, so still very trainable. Just not a thinker.

Spencer is the opposite end of the spectrum from Baxter. He is a thinker. Still an operant dog, however, one who is fearful with some new situations and does not do well with any sort of pressure. He will try, think and problem solve until you apply pressure and then he is gone from the game. He is brilliant at picking up new tricks and behaviors, provided his human has thought this through and has broken the pieces down (splitting) during shaping sessions.

As long as a dog is operant, you can work with that. 

If your dog does not care about the human and the rewards the human controls, now you have a problem. That is my largest challenge. How do you teach that human to create an operant dog? Especially in this culture and age of pet parents and fur babies? 

He/she was abused/had a rough start. We're not home very much. 

Someone could look at Spencer, who I brought home at 8 wks of age and say that he must have been abused. I'm fairly confident he wasn't. He certainly wasn't neglected at 8 wks old. Don't make excuses. Regardless of their background, your dog can still be trained!

Your puppy who has no value in you, their human, does not need to go to the dog park daily. They do not need to run wild and practice ignoring you as an object of absolutely no value in their environment. It's not neglect not to go and it is certainly not mean to prevent access to situations in which you are teaching your puppy to ignore you.

Your dog/puppy should not be overweight or obese. Often that makes using food as a reward hard. 

Control access to fun things. To gain access to the thing they want, the dog needs to cooperate with you. 

Dog wants to go hang out in the yard? Then dog needs to sit and the door and remain sitting while I open it until say they can go. No bolting! Initially, sit for a few seconds, then make it harder.

Good things come from you! Maybe don't have very fun "free toys" in the house. Fun toys only come out when you play with the human. Puppy likes tug on things, like your pant legs? Perfect, teach them to play tug with toys. Tug is an incredibly powerful interactive game to play.

Build value in the human! Put aside 5 minutes every day to PLAY with your puppy/dog. Run around the backyard like a nut. Do puppy push-ups (sit/down/stand) with a handful of their dinner before you feed them. Practice recalls around the house with a handful of their dinner. Teach them self control (not to mob your hand for the food.) 

Start to build a positive relationship with your puppy/dog in which they do something for you and then they get something awesome that they want! Your relationship with your dog, and the ease at which you can teach them new things (even if it is "just" pet manners) will improve so much.

Graceful Retirement

Last weekend was the last trial and last run for an agility dog belonging to one of our local agility instructors/judges. (We loosely take classes with him in Trial Applications.)

I hadn't really talked to the handler about it, but overheard that some health issues were discovered last week, - not enough to have to pull, but since heart issues coupled with high drive border collies aren't such a good combination this was the dogs retirement trial. They'd still play in the backyard and just jump 6" but this was the last trial.

I think I cried more than the handler did. Thank Dog for sunglasses!

It just makes you think. I hope I get that with my guys. A definite last run. A last goal completed or something. Something that makes you say "when."

It was just such a HUGE contrast to another dog I've seen running at a different trial. That dog is broken. Eye sight is going now, but more than that, the dog was running on Metcam. It slipped badly in a tunnel, but wasn't pulled. It was visiting chiro and massage after each run. It's back end/back looked so bad. It was to the point where I couldn't watch that dog run. It would stop dead as soon as it crossed the finish line and the handler stopped moving. Not looking at the handler. Not dancing around in happy anticipation of a reward. Just. Stopped. Dead.

I'll be honest. I cried then too. How do you do that to your dog? They do this for us. How do you repay that by giving them painkillers so that they CAN/WILL run?

Then you see the run this weekend. This old dog still has it. They were retired from Regionals and Nationals after 2014. They still ran a few runs in local trials. The handler would shape turns and angles so that they'd be loose and  loopy so the dog doesn't turn too tight with an old body and hurt themselves - because while the spirit is willing, the body is wearing out and the dog has no self preservation.

They played agility because she loved it. Not always full trials. No running at Regionals this year.

With Baxter slowing down a little this is on my mind more and more. We may never compete at Nationals again since we're not going to Burnaby this year. Next year is Quebec. By the time Nationals are back in the West he'll be 9.

So. We'll play because he likes it. Maybe we'll go for 6 runs a weekend like Spencer does instead of full trials.

My Fluff 08-Aug-2015, 7.5 years

When the day comes, my dog owes me nothing. He's played this game for me. He's taught me how to be a better trainer, handler and person. He has suffered though all those mistakes I made because he is my first sport dog.

When the day comes, I'm the one who owes HIM. I will retire him before he is broken and in constant pain from injuries. I will keep him happy and active doing things that aren't agility and I will love him to pieces for being my first! I owe that to him.

Alas...

... So cute, but not meant to be.

But, before we go back to our regularly scheduled program and I finally post the Regionals review (waiting on pictures-Regionals went really well);

Not my picture!  Nor, sadly, my puppy. Though I did try!

He would have fit the name I have picked out so well too!

More waiting ...
... C'mon 6-July-2015, and please let the numbers and sexs/colors work out for me!


Oh?! Did I mention? I've been looking for a prospective performance puppy. I have a couple of possibilities in mind. This one just cropped up, but he would have been a little larger than I was hoping for. Still, gorgeous, mis-marked, "gay" tail and all!

Non dog people are not so supportive of my desire for a puppy.

Funny though, I've never heard anyone comment to a pregnant woman "What did you need another kid for?" or "Why are you having another baby?" yet, I get that with the dogs. - Yes, I know, dogs are not children. Yet, they still take up a similar amount of your time. AND if you have multiples, obviously the time that you spend with each as an individual is going to be reduced since you split it between them. That is the point I'm trying to make.

"Who will you retire?" - Well, in the 2 years it will take for the new puppy to theoretically be ready to compete I think Baxter will be done running. Maybe he is just sore this year and with our new conditioning program that will go away. But he's 17lbs running on 6 inch tall legs with both legs turning out on his front end. He isn't going to have a long career, even if I've only ever jumped him 6" and I will not continue to run him until he is crippled, ruined and in constant pain even when we're not playing agility.

Or possibly Spencer with his stress issues and the luxating patella.

Or hey, maybe both?!?!

Who knows. Talk to me in 2 years.

"You only have 2 hands" - Yep, sure do. What was the point you were trying to make with this one?!

"Will you even have time for your other dogs with a new puppy???" - Um. Yes?!? Here, lets look at it this way;

My 3 dogs get more attention, training and exercise than your one dog gets - scary, I know. Adding a puppy will absolutely take some time away from the other 3. Especially during the critical socialization and learning period for the puppy when they have to come first- but then I will continue to do what I do now, except with 4 dogs. While that puppy is a priority, I'LL be the one getting the short end of the stick, the dogs will still get their attention, walks and play time. I'LL just be getting a little less sleep!

But for now, none of this is a reality.

So. Fingers crossed that it'll become one and while I did not get the pictured puppy above that I "wanted" I will end up with the puppy I "need" =)

Mental Game and Opinions

I've always been a little bit sensitive about peoples opinions of my dogs speed and our performance. With teaching agility now I feel even more pressure about it, even if it is mostly pressure from myself not necessarily from others.

When I first got into agility I didn't enter seminars for the longest time. Not until Baxter was running in Masters, so that our being "qualified" to be there wouldn't be questioned. He isn't an "agility breed." I worried that presenters might not spend as much time with us because he isn't borderline out of control, or a herding breed. Or that maybe we'd be written off as "needs to motivate dog more" (aka What are they even doing here?!?!)

2013-First ATChC with my first agility dog. So qualified to be there.

2014-Second ATChC with the Baby Dog - not so little now! Also qualified to be there.

My dogs are not blindingly fast. They aren't crazy, driven, nearly out of control. They don't inspire a lot of "HOLY THAT DOG IS FAST" and "OMG I WANT A DOG LIKE THAT" in people.

I worry that people will judge my ability as a trainer on the basis of how "awe inspiring" my dogs are. Some in fact, have.

All this runs through my mind when I run my dogs now, in classes or the other weekend at the trial. It shouldn't. It's going to stop. Now.

All that extraneous noise in my head is getting shoved into its own little box of "doesn't matter."

Everyone. I mean everyone, can make a mistake and have a bad or off day. If we do, we do. It's my journey with that particular dog. Unless you live with me and that dog, you can't know what we've gone through to get there.

Our first Regionals, 2013. 6" Specials Regional Champion

Our first Regionals, 2013. 4th Overall in 10" Regulars

It doesn't make me less qualified to teach.

I know that my dogs understand the handling choices I want to use. I KNOW why I want to use a particular handling move. I understand lines, lead changes, collection, extension and deceleration. I know how and why I want to train something. I can coach friends with the crazy fast dogs and help improve their performance. I can even run their dogs successfully! That isn't the temperament of my own dogs, but I challenge anyone to take a dog with Spencer's issues and be successful with that dog!

So while my dogs are not awe inspiring when we run, we are consistent. Baxter didn't take second overall at Nationals in 2013 by being the second fastest dog in the ring, he did it by being consistent and not making a lot of mistakes.

Spencer didn't beat World Team caliber dogs and place 4th in Standard 1 at that same Nationals in 2013 by being the fastest. He did it by not making any mistakes and running nearly 20 seconds under SCT!

Fast alone doesn't get you anything. Raw talent without training and practicing just gets you a faster train wreck when the wheels do come off. Those fast dogs? Most of them come that way. It's part of their temperament the way scared and sensitive is part of Spencer's. Just a different set of problems.

So if you want to judge, nothing I say will make a difference.

But the proof, well THAT is in the pudding.

Note: Ribbons, titles and placements are not a measure of worth. But they do infer a certain amount of skill in training to attain said ribbons, titles and placements. By no means are they everything, but by the same token, they are something that says I have some skill in training.

Our very first Nationals. Leduc 2013. Second Place Overall 6" Specials

Spencer's first Nationals. Leduc 2013.                                                                                                                                               I entered him in Regionals on a lark, because Baxter was going, never expecting  him to qualify for Nationals ...

Nationals 2013; Leduc. 2nd Overall, 6" Specials

"I'm surprised they aren't fat"

It's a shame that dog "training" shows on TV send the same, erroneous message. Or at least they did - I'm not sure if they still do, I've stopped watching them.

Using treats as a reward to train a dog does not automatically make the dog fat. Humans are supposed to have the higher functioning brain, use it! If you're using treats to teach your dog and your dog is gaining weight there are many options when it first starts happening.

1) Exercise your dog(s) more. A 10 min walk a day really isn't enough exercise for your hamster, let alone your rescue Shep X. No. I'm serious. Do you know how many miles hamsters put on those wheels at night?!

1b) Putting the dog outside in the yard is not considered exercise. You need to be out there with them DOING something. Just think you and the dog are both more active, it`s like killing 2 birds with 1 stone!

2) Cut down on the food to compensate for feeding more treats. Remember to give more than a passing nod to nutrition though - treats are just that, you want to balance the "junk" with more nutritionally complete foods - or feed better treats.

2b) The recommended amount to feed as stated on the bag of dog food is just that. Some dogs burn more calories than others. If your dog is getting fat on the amount you feed it - regardless what the bag says, modify (<- that means reduce!) the amount you feed. A border collie and a basset hound might weigh roughly the same, but you can bet that the border collie working sheep all day is going to burn more calories than the basset holding down the kitchen mat for 8 hours while you're at work.

3) Train with their meal. No where is it set out that you need to feed your dog it's dinner from a bowl! Make them work for it!

Not fat, and working for it!

After you can't find your dogs ribs anymore even when digging around in that layer of fat so that Fluffy is eyeing you with annoyance and is seriously contemplating snapping your finger off is not a good time to start addressing weight gain.

I'm assuming most of us pet our dogs on a regular basis - you know, like every 10 min or so. Okay, maybe your dogs are less insistent about attention than mine are.

But there is always that nice cuddle on the couch before bed ... or the Thank doG I lasted the day at work, I'm so happy to be home to see you pet and play session. When you're petting your dog, check them out. No strange lumps and bumps? No mats in that pesky ear fur or eye goobies that need wiping?

Can you still find their ribs? Little more padding over their ribs, having to dig a little to find a bone is a good indicator to cut back on the food now rather than in 6 months when you visit the vet for your annual wellness check and get to have that awkward conversation with the vet about Fluffy's weight. No one likes to be told their dog is fat - but that isn't all just fur all the time!

If your dog doesn't have a waist and looks like a rectangle on little sticks, you've got a problem.

Good pet weight!

You really don't even need to weigh them. Seriously. Just pet them, more ribs = maybe up the food intake, or it's a sign you're reaching your target weight. Fewer ribs = reduce the food. I'm honestly not sure what my dogs weigh, but I can feel their ribs easily!

I was working one of my dogs, for about 5 minutes at a family function this weekend. Just simple stuff. Send to mat despite distractions and then speedy recalls. A family member was obliging enough to provide the post title. This wasn't even Baxter who someone could think might be chubby because of his coat and build. This was Spencer, who you'd be able to count some ribs on if his coloring didn't hide them!

Very not fat!

Speedy, and not fat!

Treats don't make dogs fat - their owners do. Do your best friend a favor and make sure you aren't. Reality TV really isn't - you should know that from shows about people, apply that logic to animal/dog shows too! Instead of watching those shows on TV go take your dog for a walk or maybe attend an actual dog training class with a positive reinforcement dog trainer who helps you learn and implement humane dog training theories grounded in science!

Children and Dogs

A phrase that strikes fear, or at least a healthy sense of caution, into the hearts of some dog owners - especially when they're not your children! Everyone seems to envision those wonderful heart warming moments; the child with their dog. Timmy with Lassie and so on. But often reality falls a little short of the TV portrayal.

Pretty as a picture: a dog and a kid

Small children are noisy. They behave in a incomprehensible and erratic manner and move very quickly. In short, they are just about every reactive dog's worst nightmare as a trigger. Most interactions with children are not positive for the dog either. Hair gets pulled, the dog gets squashed, gets woken up when sleeping, gets poked or scared or just bothered.

For the most part, segregating dogs from children works nicely - especially if you have dogs, but you don't have children. It eliminates the opportunity for the dog to practice and rehearse those unwanted behaviors with children or for the child to inadvertently do something to hurt/scare the dog. However, it also doesn't address any of the existing issues, such as reducing the dog's fear of children. My dogs aren't particularly children friendly and I'm fine with that. My house isn't children friendly either - it's dog friendly!

I do however have family, who have started their own families. Doing things with family means the dogs are exposed to little children (3 under the age of 3) who have their own dogs - and therein lies the problem. Auntie's dogs are not like their dogs, despite being small like their own dogs. (Auntie's dogs come with a whole LOT of special rules.) Christmas and special occasions are not much of a problem, just don't bring the dogs. The problem lies with things like camping. I want to go camping, I also want to bring my dogs camping. I go camping to spend time in nature with the dogs.

The dogs are not require to like strange children. If I am not engaged and interacting with the dog(s) when the kids are around, the dogs are kept safely away from the kids (this means I'm not watching TV "supervising" them.) I will not let them be put into a situation where they could bite. I do however expect them to behave in a appropriate manner with nieces and nephews, who in turn will behave appropriately with my dogs. To that end we've been working an array of behaviors, mostly with my 3 year old niece.

The standard counter conditioning - look at a kid at a distance, click and treat. Look at the kid from less distance - click and treat. Hang out while kid plays - click and treat. Kid does something noisy/scary - click and treat. Working with one dog at a time, or in a group. See? She's not that scary. Good things happen when she's around. 

More counter conditioning with the kid providing good things once the dogs are no longer reacting to or worried about her presence. Putting the dogs into a sit,  then get her to feed them treats or put dinner bowls on the floor and release them to eat. Oh look! Not only is she not that scary, sometimes she gives you good things! Yummy good things!

Conditioning Err, teaching the kid how to behave with dogs, or at least my dogs. Don't tease them or try to take their things away. Don't chase them. If he looks like that (eye's rolling, lip licking, freezing) you scared him and we should just stand still or be quiet and move away etc. Give them treats like this and so on.

Finally I've been building value IN the kid with the dogs. We'll play ball with them. Penny is still a work in progress, but Baxter and Spencer will play fetch with the devil if he's throwing that ball for them! This kid is great! She will throw that ball for hours. I love the kid, she throws my toy for me!

Might be the devil, but still will throw my toy!

All the dogs were very good with my oldest niece while we were camping in Farragut. (The other 2 aren't walking yet.)

Baxter was just brilliant with her though. He walked very nice with her when we went on walks. Calm, quiet. He walked beside her and didn't try to pull her around - and in turn she didn't yank him all over trying to make him listen. He played fetch with her at the beach. It was adorable, and appropriate!

At agility trials, one of the highlights for me is watching junior handlers with their dogs. It's just adorable. Everyone cheers the kids on and it is just heart warming. Like Timmy and Lassie, but better - because it's real!

I got into agility because I fell in love with the Superdogs when I was a kid. I wish my parents would have gotten me into agility when I was a kid. Watching Baxter with my niece was like watching the dogs play agility with their kids. It made me wonder if maybe one day one of the kids might want to play agility with one of my dogs.

For other excellent reads on dogs & kids try:

http://www.robinkbennett.com/2013/08/19/why-supervising-dogs-and-kids-doesnt-work/

http://www.dogsandbabieslearning.com/

Addictions in Dog Training

It's not so much the competitions, the trialing, the "winning" or the ribbons and titles that keeps me so interested in dog training. Those are like icing on the cake - they just make it a little sweeter that's all!

The fun is in how you can teach something (with shaping/clicker training and reinforcement) to a dog that wants to learn and work with you, and how absolutely awesome and cool that feels!

Take a step back from what is broadcast on national TV about being "the leader" and physically controlling or confronting the dog.

When you were a kid, did you listen better to your parents when the yelling, ultimatums, punishments and "physical corrections" got tossed around? Or did you listen better and do what they wanted if there was something in it for you? Which did you enjoy more? Was it fun wincing away from your parent if/when they raised a hand and you knew you were gonna get smacked for something? Remember, you at least spoke the same language as your parents and could actually understand what they wanted.

Or work. How many people are going to work hard  for a "good employee" and a pat on the head once when you do good? You're really going to keep working hard and toeing the company line? Even if the job is something that you LOVE I highly doubt it. Heck, even if you would, I sure wouldn't!

Anyway - off  the soapbox.

Once you have something that your dog is motivated for - food, a toy, chasing the broom, your cat (okay, maybe not the cat, but you get the idea.) You use it to reward and reinforce what you want, you don't bribe them with it.That means Fido doesn't see the treat until he does what you want. You're paying him for a job done well, not begging him to do what you ask!

Rewarding a dog for what you want is positive training, it's easier to ask them to do something than to tell them "no." Don't do this, don't do that - they don't know what they're supposed to do! It's your job to show them what you want.

Positive training is not permissive. There are still consequences, they just don't look like what is shown on TV. Chase that cat, and the dog calmly taken and put in a time out in a kennel. Look at the cat calmly, get a treat or maybe grab a toy and play for a few minutes. Pull on the leash and instead of walking your human does a impersonation of a tree until  the leash is loose.

Oh right, soapbox ...

Seriously though. It's amazing what you can teach your dog once you have a reward they'll work for. You don't speak a common language (mostly not anyway, dogs are very good at reading body language and humans can get good at reading the dogs body language with practice, but I digress) However, once you teach them that people are fun and you get awesome things for paying attention to them they're game to try provided you reward them for that effort.

The biggest  (lowest?) low in dog training is when you have something your dog is struggling with. They just do not understand what you want. Or they can't do it, for a variety of reasons. You break it down into little baby steps and teach the dog each step, not perfectly, but roughly what you want. Then slowly chain it back together. Still nothing.

You make it fun! As Susan Garrett says, work is play, and play is work. Other top trainers like Silvia Trkman and Denise Fenzi have slightly different takes on the same things. Building your relationship with your dog, playing with your dog and getting what you want through that.

Sometimes you might come at it from a different angle, with a different plan of attack, but always remember; your dog is doing this because they do not understand. Maybe they're worried and concerned about what you're asking for, maybe they just don't know how to do what you're asking for. Your job is to help them understand what you want, that they don't need to worry or be afraid and that this thing you want them to do is fun.

 Landing and then bouncing back off with all 4 feet on a vertical incline that makes noise and moves was very difficult.

This was an intermediate step toward the end behavior.

The biggest high is that light bulb moment at the end, when they understand what you want and they NAIL it. It's when you feel like a million bucks and it is ABSOLUTELY worth all the hard work =D