What advice would you give?

If this wasn't my dog, what would I say to a client that I'm coaching?

It's been on my mind a lot lately. Some things are coming together nicely ... but others?! Wow. I know how frustrating it feels on my end. It can't feel any better on her's.

I've started to write this post multiple times, and then something would improve so I'd just let it go.

But really, truly, honestly. Things aren't improving that much. She is young and super sensitive, but is she learning the things I want her to learn right now? Is she learning what I want her to learn about trials and the competition ring?! I don't think so.

I strongly believe that when the dog does something "wrong" they're just telling you that they don't understand and you haven't proofed this enough yet. It's a conversation between you and your dog. Well, she's certainly been telling me loudly enough that she can't do this right now for whatever reason. That's on me, not her.

Dragging the dog to Disneyland is just pointless. I can manage to a point, but once that leash comes off and there are no rewards, I don't get to manage anymore. It's all her. I've missed a crucial step along the way somewhere because that connection keeps falling flat.

She'll make me a much better trainer in the long run, and I have the tools I need to work through this, I just need to start and keep the ball rolling. So that's where we're going. Hopefully she'll be in season for the next trial that I have her entered in, because she certainly won't be going into the ring. From there on out, no trialing.

The plan;

1) Relationship building through play
2) Engagement
3) Focus
4) Cookie jar games

Fun matches and training at the barn can continue, but the focus needs to come off of agility behaviors and zero in on the missing link, engagement.

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!

Confessions of a Dog Trainer: I

So, my puppy is now 14 weeks old, and I JUST taught her to sit (and down, and stand.) Or rather, I just taught her the verbal cues for these things. Sit has had non-verbal (positional/prop based cues) since she was about 9 weeks.

I think this (sit) is one of the first things anyone ever teaches a dog, but I wanted her to learn to  about shaping first. Specifically, shaping movement - like backing up, pivoting and paw targets.

Also, shaping movement is fun! Sitting and staring is not so much fun. I want my puppy to have fun learning right now. We're working impulse control and "It's Yer Choice" games (aka don't mug the hand for food and your butt needs to stay on the ground to get out of your xpen/kennel.) Just not sitting (on a verbal, for duration.)

So, I'm confident in the order I did things. Regardless if that is the "right" order or not, it's the way I wanted to treat things this time.

But that doesn't make it any less awkward at puppy class when they are telling us to get the puppies to lay down on their mat and I'm sitting there having her sit. Or pivot using my iPhone as a perch. Or do nose touches. So the instructor comes over to help me and I get to explain that we just aren't working on that right now.

At least sit is on a verbal now, right?!

Photos from Saturday - she was 14 wks on Wed. She's slowed down on the growing taller and is now filling out so not just a insubstantial fluff anymore!

13 Weeks

Sitting like a dork, but pretty little ears!

Still growing like a weed. Last weekend the little purple harness fit perfect. This weekend it is almost too small - we'll have to move up to using Spencer's harness!

This weekend we rocked demo doggin the warm up drills for my Saturday agility classes (just flatwork, not really a drill per say.) Usually I'd use a student dog, but since I have a handy dandy untrained dog of my own now, I can demo with her and work on tiny bits of stuff with novel new distractions!

We also did some fun shaping after class. Starting to shape retrieves - or at least rewarding the return of the ball to the human. It makes it a better game when you actually bring the toy to the human instead of running off to chew on it. (At least in the eyes of the human.) We also did some bang game stuff, which was very adorable and precise. Very nice 2 foot "pouncing" on the end of the board and no worries whatsoever. Handy how all the pivot/perch/feet on the thing work has translated into her putting two front feet on everything!

Today we all went to agility practice. The boys were wonderful. Spencer has remembered how to weave again, which is nice. Hopefully that will hold over into competition since our next trial is coming up in March. Baxter reminded me about some of our weaknesses with threadles, at 8 though, there isn't a whole lot of retraining that I'll be doing with him. Mostly I modify my handling to what he'll get right - and that works too. Such a good boy. Love my Fluff.

Nike hung out and didn't scream in her kennel. Then we did some recalls and just chased our human around. Relationship building is still very much a work in progress. Despite being a herding breed and smart, Nike is also very independent. So far training isn't a lot different than training my non standard breeds at this point. Very much a case of convincing her she does want to do this thing with me. Or rather, make it easy to do what I ask and reward heavily for it. 

Super high value human! Hard at times. Actually harder than my boys to be honest, but we're learning together.

Legs, legs more legs and now, lots of tail too!

Learning the ways of the indestructible squeaker ball

No back feet!

Herding Breeds

Nike is my first herding breed. She's also my first purebred dog (the Lhasa and Poodle my family had when I was kid don't count.)

I can already see where people could run into issues with higher energy herding breeds. Especially people who maybe have not had a dog before or aren't sure about training. She is a handful. Small does not mean lazy or low energy that's for sure!

I'm also beginning to see just what the addiction is for sport people. When they want to work. Wow. The train-ability is incredible. Coming from my "non standard" breeds, it's jaw dropping and Spencer is very smart.

Pretty and smart!

Nike has learned about shaping and the clicker with me from the get go. But, to let you in on my dirty little secret ... I'm not putting a lot of emphasis on pet dog manners yet. Really I don't care if my dog jumps on me - the other 3 do, what's one more? I also don't care overly much about biting my clothing - especially with Nike. She doesn't really want to tug yet - if tugging on my sleeve makes her happy, I'll work with that until I can transition it to a toy. Maybe we get a CGN, maybe we don't. Not a really big deal.

I don't want my dog to sit there in a shaping session and offer attention instead of interacting with an object. I also don't want to break her backing up, which is being shaped and not on cue yet.

 So in our first puppy lesson, I wasn't working on "handler focus/attention." I want my dog to DO things, not just stare at me when I don't offer any information on what they should do.

On Saturday our first real puppy lesson was on loose leash walking/nose touches. Do you know how is hard to do any kind of walking, let alone on a loose leash without any handler focus? We struggled quite a bit with focusing on the other puppies and ignoring the human on the other end of her leash. It didn't help that she wasn't very hungry having eaten a TON of cookies for nose touches.

So I changed up my plan a little.

Not having handler focus is not setting my puppy up to succeed in class. Especially considering how she loves other dogs. I don't need her to practice ignoring me to look at/try to get to them. So I've modified handler focus (like I've done with pretty much everything taught in puppy class!) Attention is the thing we do on a mat. 4 feet go on a mat and you offer attention for cookies. Sitting, laying down, standing - whatever you want. Just be on that mat.

We have done 1 and a half sessions on this. For 3 handfuls of kibble.

Tonight in class I plopped our blanket down and Nike was a rock star. Absolutely ignored the older higher energy puppies who really wanted to play with her. Howling, shrieking, flailing puppies? Not a problem - they're not the game. The game is stare at mom for the click then eat the cookies. Tons more handler focus. After playing the game with the mat and the clicker for 5 min at the start of the class, she's watching me as we move as well. It's crazy how quickly she picks things up. I love it!

Very impressed with my little one (and my training with her so far.) Clickers for the win!

Clicker Training

With a new puppy there is always the question, what are you going to do this time? What are you going to do different?

For me especially, I have never trained a "performance puppy" from the get go.

Penny did puppy class, but as the tiny dog in the class didn't get much from the socialization aspect since there were no puppies small enough or gentle enough to socialize with her. She was however taught to hoover the floor for lost bits of treats ...

After the abysmal fail with Penny, I didn't do puppy class at all with Spencer. Maybe it would have made a difference. Maybe not. The first class we took was a Intro to Rally-O @ 6 months. He can left pivot like a pro!

The point is, I have a bunch of puppy raising theory, but no actual plan of "this is what I did, my dog turned out like this, I love what I did!"

So with Nike I've read/watched all the puppy stuff I can get my hands on. Susan Garrett's Puppy Peaks. Justine & Jessica's Puppy Diaries. Silvia Trkman's Puppy Diaries. I think like most people it'll be a somewhat blended approach with bits and pieces from many things based on what they feel is important.

Blurry, but still cute! Learning about toys!

Wobble board does not faze her in the least

We've started with the clicker a la Silvia though. It seems the most fun. Movement based is easier for her right now, and with my focus on agility movement and enthusiasm make sense.We're also starting crate games and some It's Your Choice stuff of don't mug my hand for food, you won't get it.

So far I've discovered that training with kibble isn't going to fly. It doesn't matter how hungry she might be. Also, she is small with tiny little teeth. So eating a kibble takes a bit, lowering the reinforcement rate.

She's magnetized by my other dogs and the cat - great play skills with those and respects Baxter and Spencer so I don't worry so much about them out together while I'm supervising. However, right now they are too much distraction, so we're learning new stuff in the puppy pen before we generalize to working outside of it. Also, none of my dogs will wait their turn for treats, so it's hard to shape the puppy with the others bulldozing in! (maybe I should train that too ...)

Rewards have to be rewarding!

Today, after 4 days we had a break through and it almost seems like Nike has figured out the idea of offering interaction with a object to get clicks and cookies. We had pivoting this morning and then tonight we had 4 in behaviors once I got the objects right.