Our first K9 Nose Work trial is in two weeks, so we have really ramped up our training. Tomorrow we are meeting at my friend's house to give the dogs a novel place to search. It won't be a novel location for Porter; his besties, Kylie and Daisy, live there. But it will be a new searching location for him. Next week we are searching at a high school and the following Saturday we are signed up for a 3 hour clinic with Kim Buchanan. A few days later is our mock trial, and then that weekend the real thing!
Last week we had another drive and motivation class with Kellie. We worked on using two similar balls to get Porter used to trading and only being interested in playing with the toy I have, not the boring one just lying on the ground. It worked really well! I ordered some new toys from Clean Run and also picked up some wool balls at the pet store to practice.
I've been able to practice twice already and it's going great and is really tiring for Porter. He doesn't bring the first ball back to me, but he will leave it to come play with the one I have, which is huge. He normally would horde the toy he has and refuse to give it up or even let me come near. He'd rather play keep away and chase. This twist eliminated the conflict and brings me back into the game in a positive way. For Porter, it's critical to have two identical balls. Otherwise he gets bored with one and favors the other and will not trade.
In addition to these toys I purchased a large (and small) boomer ball for him. These are very hard plastic hollow balls that are often used at the San Diego Zoo with the large carnivores for enrichment. Needless to say, they can take a beating. I bought a boomer ball that is too big for Porter to pick up so we can play with it in the backyard. I roll or kick it, he chased it, tries to mouth it, I catch up, and repeat. If he can pick it up he'll carry it off and horde it. This call prevents that and eliminated the possibility of keep away.
The smaller ball is for playing in the house. It's a little bigger than a tennis ball and is holding up well to his mouthing.
After several rounds with the wool balls and then the boomer ball Porter is wiped out. It's great exercise and fun for him. Money well spend!
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Christmas Chaos
Porter traveled to my in-laws on Christmas Day with us while Indi stayed home to sleep the day away. I wish she could have come, too, but she would have been miserable. The kind thing to do was to leave her at home. There is no way she would have been happy being accosted by 3 new male dogs with endless energy. Even Porter hit his breaking point a few times.
The first hour after we arrived was spend with Porter standing there and occasionally trying to shake Odin (a 7 month old intact Puggle) off of his shoulder. Odin's grip was amazing and he wasn't about to let Porter get away. You'd think we had sprayed Porter with Chanel #5. Here and there Guinness (the 4 year old altered Boston Terrier mix) would jump in as well. Porter was amazingly tolerant as these two males did their best to mount Porter. It was a bit comical given their sizes. Porter looked like a horse, just standing in the pasture, occasionally swatting away flies lazily.
Finally Porter had enough of Odin and gave a quick and appropriate correction (if I do say so myself). Odin responded perfectly and groveled his apologizes while bathing Porter in kisses. Guinness, however, was not able to handle this and charged over growling at Porter. Porter didn't let this go and responded in turn. We ended it quickly, but the same thing happened much later in the evening. Exact same situation. Only this time Guinness had a harder time letting it go.
I know I'm biased, but I don't feel Porter was in the wrong at all on these occasions. Both times he was just correcting an annoying younger pup. It wasn't over the top, but it was too much for Guinness to handle. Outside of those two situations Guinness and Porter loved each other and got along really well.
I was happy with the way Porter handled himself. I had forgotten that Odin was still intact and I actually didn't think he was going to be there. Despite Porter's previous problems with intact males younger than him, he was fine with Odin! Maybe it was the smaller size?? I don't know. Porter was fine with Teddy until Ted was about 7 month I think. Bigger than Odin, but not as big as Porter.
The first hour after we arrived was spend with Porter standing there and occasionally trying to shake Odin (a 7 month old intact Puggle) off of his shoulder. Odin's grip was amazing and he wasn't about to let Porter get away. You'd think we had sprayed Porter with Chanel #5. Here and there Guinness (the 4 year old altered Boston Terrier mix) would jump in as well. Porter was amazingly tolerant as these two males did their best to mount Porter. It was a bit comical given their sizes. Porter looked like a horse, just standing in the pasture, occasionally swatting away flies lazily.
Finally Porter had enough of Odin and gave a quick and appropriate correction (if I do say so myself). Odin responded perfectly and groveled his apologizes while bathing Porter in kisses. Guinness, however, was not able to handle this and charged over growling at Porter. Porter didn't let this go and responded in turn. We ended it quickly, but the same thing happened much later in the evening. Exact same situation. Only this time Guinness had a harder time letting it go.
I know I'm biased, but I don't feel Porter was in the wrong at all on these occasions. Both times he was just correcting an annoying younger pup. It wasn't over the top, but it was too much for Guinness to handle. Outside of those two situations Guinness and Porter loved each other and got along really well.
I was happy with the way Porter handled himself. I had forgotten that Odin was still intact and I actually didn't think he was going to be there. Despite Porter's previous problems with intact males younger than him, he was fine with Odin! Maybe it was the smaller size?? I don't know. Porter was fine with Teddy until Ted was about 7 month I think. Bigger than Odin, but not as big as Porter.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Rainy Day Activity
Yesterday was not only wet outside but my daughter was home sick from school. So needless to say, Porter was a bit under-stimulated. Nose work to the rescue!! Eight hides later and the edge was taken off.
One hide I did was just so I could observe how he works. I placed it on something hanging from the ceiling fan in the middle of the room, so about 5.5 feet up in the air. Higher than in a trial. It was interesting to see Porter circle the room several times, obviously catching odor but assuming it was from the shelves and items along the walls. Then his circling became tighter and he lifted his head. Quickly he realized it was up and was able to pinpoint the location. He did a great job tell him where it was even though he couldn't touch it. His eyes and nose looked right at it.
One hide I did was just so I could observe how he works. I placed it on something hanging from the ceiling fan in the middle of the room, so about 5.5 feet up in the air. Higher than in a trial. It was interesting to see Porter circle the room several times, obviously catching odor but assuming it was from the shelves and items along the walls. Then his circling became tighter and he lifted his head. Quickly he realized it was up and was able to pinpoint the location. He did a great job tell him where it was even though he couldn't touch it. His eyes and nose looked right at it.
Nose Work Workshop
On Sunday Porter and I attended a small nose work workshop to help us prepare for our NW1 trial in January. Kim Buchanan (CNWI and trial judge) came down from LA to teach us a few things.
We started with a threshold exercise where the hide alternates from side to side each search. We want the dogs to learnt o slow down and search the threshold before moving on into the room. I was surprised that most of the dogs were tricked by lingering odor when the hide was placed on the other side of the doorway. Many even gave false alerts. Porter and I will work a lot of these kinds of hides this months since they are common placements in trial.
Corners were next. It was interesting to see how the dogs approached the corners. Of course Porter marched to his own drum and approached in a totally different way :) but he still found the hide without a problem.
Later we worked an exterior search and several dogs before Porter were distracted by pee spots. The good thing is we are starting to be able to read pee sniffing versus searching more now. With Porter, he lingers and holds his head still, compared to the constant movement when he's in odor. A dog who ran right before us ended up peeing in the search area, very close to the hide, so Porter's run was paired with food. This helped him focus on his search and not read the pee-mail or think of marking. He did great :)
A second exterior search was about 3-4 feet up on a flag pole. Porter dashed into the search area, past the pole, slightly out of bounds, caught odor, and chased it back to the pole. I was very proud.
After hearing so much about the Running Bunny exercise and watching video clips on it, Porter and I got a chance to play the game as well. But it is harder than it looks. I wanted to be quick with the rewards so after finding a hide and moving on I would reach into my bait bag to grab more treats. This focused Porter on me and caused him to pass a couple of hides. I'll need to work on either being sneakier when reloading or holding a lot more treats in my hand so they will last me the whole run. This is a good exercise and I will be adding it to my classes. It really helped one dog who is an aggressive alerter and is starting to scratch up cars.
We all brought a variety of objects from home and practiced our container searches. This is a little more advanced than we need for NW1 but is still great practice.
The first hide was in my daughter's boot laid on it's side with the opening facing the outside of the search area. You could see with this exercise how if the dog does not pass by the boot on the outside he could easily not catch the odor. So we need to be mindful of our dog's movement and be sure they get to all the corners and edges, especially if they have not found odor yet.
The end of our container searches added the additional difficulty of distractions. One box has leashes and dog toys, another dog food in a bag and a fast food wrapper, a third has expo markers, another was an empty dog treat container, and so on. Some dogs were interested in the boxes and even gave weak fasle alerts. Porter didn't seem to notice, even though I guided him past the food distraction a couple of times. I wanted to be sure he knew the box was there but just didn't care, and even though he didn't check it out, I still can't be sure he noticed it and dismissed it. But we won't work on this more until after we get our NW1 title.
The last two searches of the day were blind hides. One was an interior that contained a lot of chairs and corners. Porter and I didn't properly pass the threshold so we had to come back and do it again. In a trial the threshold will be clearly marked, so I shouldn't make that mistake again. But the good side is he dragging me off to the left quickly because that was where the hide was :) He wasn't the fastest dog on that search but I did properly call alert around 15 seconds.
Last was another container search (with the distractions still out). The hide was in the spout of a watering can. It was near the front, but all the dog (but one) blew right past it without noticing it at all. Once Porter came back around he found it but I do want to work on him catching the odor sooner. I do not think I was holding him at the start line as long as I usually do to give him a change to catch his bearings. So in trial, I'll need to remember to relax and count to 10 before releasing him.
Overall it was an awesome workshop and helped get some of my nerves out. Porter did amazing, both with his searches and with chilling during his down time. I think he's ready for competition. If we blow it, it'll be my fault. So I need to relax, take a breath, trust my dog, and above all, have fun!
We started with a threshold exercise where the hide alternates from side to side each search. We want the dogs to learnt o slow down and search the threshold before moving on into the room. I was surprised that most of the dogs were tricked by lingering odor when the hide was placed on the other side of the doorway. Many even gave false alerts. Porter and I will work a lot of these kinds of hides this months since they are common placements in trial.
Corners were next. It was interesting to see how the dogs approached the corners. Of course Porter marched to his own drum and approached in a totally different way :) but he still found the hide without a problem.
Later we worked an exterior search and several dogs before Porter were distracted by pee spots. The good thing is we are starting to be able to read pee sniffing versus searching more now. With Porter, he lingers and holds his head still, compared to the constant movement when he's in odor. A dog who ran right before us ended up peeing in the search area, very close to the hide, so Porter's run was paired with food. This helped him focus on his search and not read the pee-mail or think of marking. He did great :)
A second exterior search was about 3-4 feet up on a flag pole. Porter dashed into the search area, past the pole, slightly out of bounds, caught odor, and chased it back to the pole. I was very proud.
After hearing so much about the Running Bunny exercise and watching video clips on it, Porter and I got a chance to play the game as well. But it is harder than it looks. I wanted to be quick with the rewards so after finding a hide and moving on I would reach into my bait bag to grab more treats. This focused Porter on me and caused him to pass a couple of hides. I'll need to work on either being sneakier when reloading or holding a lot more treats in my hand so they will last me the whole run. This is a good exercise and I will be adding it to my classes. It really helped one dog who is an aggressive alerter and is starting to scratch up cars.
We all brought a variety of objects from home and practiced our container searches. This is a little more advanced than we need for NW1 but is still great practice.
The first hide was in my daughter's boot laid on it's side with the opening facing the outside of the search area. You could see with this exercise how if the dog does not pass by the boot on the outside he could easily not catch the odor. So we need to be mindful of our dog's movement and be sure they get to all the corners and edges, especially if they have not found odor yet.
The end of our container searches added the additional difficulty of distractions. One box has leashes and dog toys, another dog food in a bag and a fast food wrapper, a third has expo markers, another was an empty dog treat container, and so on. Some dogs were interested in the boxes and even gave weak fasle alerts. Porter didn't seem to notice, even though I guided him past the food distraction a couple of times. I wanted to be sure he knew the box was there but just didn't care, and even though he didn't check it out, I still can't be sure he noticed it and dismissed it. But we won't work on this more until after we get our NW1 title.
The last two searches of the day were blind hides. One was an interior that contained a lot of chairs and corners. Porter and I didn't properly pass the threshold so we had to come back and do it again. In a trial the threshold will be clearly marked, so I shouldn't make that mistake again. But the good side is he dragging me off to the left quickly because that was where the hide was :) He wasn't the fastest dog on that search but I did properly call alert around 15 seconds.
Last was another container search (with the distractions still out). The hide was in the spout of a watering can. It was near the front, but all the dog (but one) blew right past it without noticing it at all. Once Porter came back around he found it but I do want to work on him catching the odor sooner. I do not think I was holding him at the start line as long as I usually do to give him a change to catch his bearings. So in trial, I'll need to remember to relax and count to 10 before releasing him.
Overall it was an awesome workshop and helped get some of my nerves out. Porter did amazing, both with his searches and with chilling during his down time. I think he's ready for competition. If we blow it, it'll be my fault. So I need to relax, take a breath, trust my dog, and above all, have fun!
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| Porter after a day of K9 Nose Work (R) |
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Mental and Physical Workout
Today was a big training day for Porter. We started the morning with our normal nose work practice group. We were able to get in 5 different hides in brand new locations. Since last week the other three dogs had issues with peeing on the search we tried to avoid areas that looked like potty spots for other dogs who frequent the park. The locations we found presented some fun and challenging searches.
First was a corridor of sorts. One side was the wall of a building and the other was a low concrete wall with a railing. These walls were separated by 4 feet, half which was sidewalk and half grass. I thought that narrow corridor might do interesting things with the odor depending on how the wind was moving especially since one wall was lower than the other. I placed the hide about 4 feet up on a window frame.
Porter was up first and instantly got to work. He past the hide and on the way back was zigzagging backa and forth along the channel (maybe chasing the odor). It was neat to see him work the area and he found the hide relatively quickly.
Next was a corner and long stretch of wall. Near the corner were some metal boxes (electrical boxes maybe?) but there was a gap of about 3 inches between the box and the wall where odor might get trapped or flow behind. The hide was on the outside edge of the corner with the box next and then the actual corner. It was placed in a metal 90 degree joint on the ground and covered with a leaf. Porter rounded the edge and came to the corner. I thought he might cut it to continue down the long wall but he didn't! He entered that corner well enough to catch the odor ad quickly find the hide. The other dogs after him found it even sooner which I was surprised since I thought that hide would be trickier the longer the odor has to pool in the corner and behind the box.
Then we used a small alcove where the entrance to the building was located. One corner had a rain barrel, another a trashcan and two recycle bins, then the doors, the third corner, and a bench and planter along that last wall. The hide was placed in the door jam about 2.5 feet off the ground.
We think the odor was swirling in the third corner, lifting up the wall, as well as pooling at the bench based on the way some of the dogs were moving. For Porter, I think it was traveling up the doors since when he was in odor he first stood on his hind feet on the doors sniffing up and then slowly made his way down to the source.
The fourth hide was a walkway between the building and some low bushes. Along the wall were four huge concrete planters 4 feet high. The hide was placed on top of the 3rd planter in the back.
Porter instantly beeline for the first bush on the right and looked like he was reading pee-mail not hunting. So I nicely told him if he peed I would kill him :) He moved on but still did not look like he was searching. Suddenly he shoved his head into a bush and I thought he might be scavenging food the way he was acting. He pops his head out and has retrieved a hidden tennis ball. lol NW2 we are so not ready for you!!
I stow the ball and Porter gets right to work sourcing the hide with no problem.
Since he seemed interested in the ball I decided to try and use it for the last hide as his reward. This search had two hides so the first I would use food and the second I would throw the ball.
The search area included a chain link fence which rounded a corner. In that corner was some debris (wood pallet, large metal pieces, etc, but nothing dangerous) and it ended with a metal storage container. The first hide was in the joint at the corner of the chain link fence, nearby is a cinder block. The second was in the back corner tucked into a metal channel.
Porter passed the first hide but doubled back. He looked interest in the cinder block at first, so I made a mental note but then he moved on. This was the only search that was blind to me. When he alerted on the joint I was taken by surprise since in my head I was thinking it would be back in the cinder block and I assumed I would be able to see it if it were on the fence. It's hard to hide the odor on something like that without us seeing it. But I trusted him and called alert and as I was feeding I noticed the tin which was tucked right into the perfect spot where I couldn't see.
The next hide went well for Porter, but I blew it. I was so slow with the ball that I missed my chance to reward and then waited for him to alert again. Which he did, not not as strongly. I threw the ball but he had lost some of his interest in it. Note to self: stick to food rewards for this unless I practice throwing with better timing and speed.
After all this searching Porter and I headed to his drive and motivation lesson. He recognized the field and was eager to pull me to the gate to get in. Another person showed up to use some of the agility jumps and set themselves up away from us. Even though they were not close I was happy that Porter had no interest in what they were doing or to go over there and say hi.
Right away I could tell that Porter was tired out a bit. We worked him pretty hard in the beginning. I was exhausted as well!! He began slowing down a little. While he would drive for the flirt pole he wouldn't hang on and tug like he does at home.
He was reawakened when the instructor brought out her toy. That's my ADHD boy; he gets bored with the same toy. At the end we tried to use both flirt poles to switch off but Porter was only into hers and gave me lack luster behavior for mine. To solve this I'll get a second flirt pole and use it enough to brand the newness and then I'll be able to do the exercise with trading two toys. The dead toy is bring, come to mom with the live toy and fun, then switch and now grab the dead ty and bring it to life and get Porter to leave the toy he has and come play with me and the other toy. Repeat.
One awesome thing Porter was doing is he was driving for his crate. Maybe because he was super tired and hot?? But I'd like to think I've been building his love for his soft crate in agility :) At one point he even started dragging the flirt pole back with him :) But the highlight was when I sent him to his crate from 30 feet away while the other dog was 5-8 feet past his crate about to leave. I of course waited until I saw the owner pick the dog up, just in case :) But Porter made no move to go visit and when straight to his home.
I do think we worked him a bit much in that lesson but we won't need to as much next time. Porter is progressing well so the next step is to decrease the amount of time chasing the toy and increase the amount of tugging. We want the tugging to be the best part not the chase.
We also came up with a solution to his run off with the toy. I was having to run with him to keep the line slack. This is after you tug and he wins and now the toy is dead. You don't want tension. You want him to drop the toy since it's boring now. But Porter hangs on and runs around so I run after and we both tire out. But with him on a long line I can step on the line and he can't run and the flirt pole remains loose. It was great. He instantly just dropped the toy. The conflict is gone. Oh, yeah, and he was exhausted :)
I can't wait to try out these new things this week with him.
And on Sunday we have a special seminar to prepare us for our first K9 Nose Work trial in January!!!
First was a corridor of sorts. One side was the wall of a building and the other was a low concrete wall with a railing. These walls were separated by 4 feet, half which was sidewalk and half grass. I thought that narrow corridor might do interesting things with the odor depending on how the wind was moving especially since one wall was lower than the other. I placed the hide about 4 feet up on a window frame.
Porter was up first and instantly got to work. He past the hide and on the way back was zigzagging backa and forth along the channel (maybe chasing the odor). It was neat to see him work the area and he found the hide relatively quickly.
Next was a corner and long stretch of wall. Near the corner were some metal boxes (electrical boxes maybe?) but there was a gap of about 3 inches between the box and the wall where odor might get trapped or flow behind. The hide was on the outside edge of the corner with the box next and then the actual corner. It was placed in a metal 90 degree joint on the ground and covered with a leaf. Porter rounded the edge and came to the corner. I thought he might cut it to continue down the long wall but he didn't! He entered that corner well enough to catch the odor ad quickly find the hide. The other dogs after him found it even sooner which I was surprised since I thought that hide would be trickier the longer the odor has to pool in the corner and behind the box.
Then we used a small alcove where the entrance to the building was located. One corner had a rain barrel, another a trashcan and two recycle bins, then the doors, the third corner, and a bench and planter along that last wall. The hide was placed in the door jam about 2.5 feet off the ground.
We think the odor was swirling in the third corner, lifting up the wall, as well as pooling at the bench based on the way some of the dogs were moving. For Porter, I think it was traveling up the doors since when he was in odor he first stood on his hind feet on the doors sniffing up and then slowly made his way down to the source.
The fourth hide was a walkway between the building and some low bushes. Along the wall were four huge concrete planters 4 feet high. The hide was placed on top of the 3rd planter in the back.
Porter instantly beeline for the first bush on the right and looked like he was reading pee-mail not hunting. So I nicely told him if he peed I would kill him :) He moved on but still did not look like he was searching. Suddenly he shoved his head into a bush and I thought he might be scavenging food the way he was acting. He pops his head out and has retrieved a hidden tennis ball. lol NW2 we are so not ready for you!!
I stow the ball and Porter gets right to work sourcing the hide with no problem.
Since he seemed interested in the ball I decided to try and use it for the last hide as his reward. This search had two hides so the first I would use food and the second I would throw the ball.
The search area included a chain link fence which rounded a corner. In that corner was some debris (wood pallet, large metal pieces, etc, but nothing dangerous) and it ended with a metal storage container. The first hide was in the joint at the corner of the chain link fence, nearby is a cinder block. The second was in the back corner tucked into a metal channel.
Porter passed the first hide but doubled back. He looked interest in the cinder block at first, so I made a mental note but then he moved on. This was the only search that was blind to me. When he alerted on the joint I was taken by surprise since in my head I was thinking it would be back in the cinder block and I assumed I would be able to see it if it were on the fence. It's hard to hide the odor on something like that without us seeing it. But I trusted him and called alert and as I was feeding I noticed the tin which was tucked right into the perfect spot where I couldn't see.
The next hide went well for Porter, but I blew it. I was so slow with the ball that I missed my chance to reward and then waited for him to alert again. Which he did, not not as strongly. I threw the ball but he had lost some of his interest in it. Note to self: stick to food rewards for this unless I practice throwing with better timing and speed.
After all this searching Porter and I headed to his drive and motivation lesson. He recognized the field and was eager to pull me to the gate to get in. Another person showed up to use some of the agility jumps and set themselves up away from us. Even though they were not close I was happy that Porter had no interest in what they were doing or to go over there and say hi.
Right away I could tell that Porter was tired out a bit. We worked him pretty hard in the beginning. I was exhausted as well!! He began slowing down a little. While he would drive for the flirt pole he wouldn't hang on and tug like he does at home.
He was reawakened when the instructor brought out her toy. That's my ADHD boy; he gets bored with the same toy. At the end we tried to use both flirt poles to switch off but Porter was only into hers and gave me lack luster behavior for mine. To solve this I'll get a second flirt pole and use it enough to brand the newness and then I'll be able to do the exercise with trading two toys. The dead toy is bring, come to mom with the live toy and fun, then switch and now grab the dead ty and bring it to life and get Porter to leave the toy he has and come play with me and the other toy. Repeat.
One awesome thing Porter was doing is he was driving for his crate. Maybe because he was super tired and hot?? But I'd like to think I've been building his love for his soft crate in agility :) At one point he even started dragging the flirt pole back with him :) But the highlight was when I sent him to his crate from 30 feet away while the other dog was 5-8 feet past his crate about to leave. I of course waited until I saw the owner pick the dog up, just in case :) But Porter made no move to go visit and when straight to his home.
I do think we worked him a bit much in that lesson but we won't need to as much next time. Porter is progressing well so the next step is to decrease the amount of time chasing the toy and increase the amount of tugging. We want the tugging to be the best part not the chase.
We also came up with a solution to his run off with the toy. I was having to run with him to keep the line slack. This is after you tug and he wins and now the toy is dead. You don't want tension. You want him to drop the toy since it's boring now. But Porter hangs on and runs around so I run after and we both tire out. But with him on a long line I can step on the line and he can't run and the flirt pole remains loose. It was great. He instantly just dropped the toy. The conflict is gone. Oh, yeah, and he was exhausted :)
I can't wait to try out these new things this week with him.
And on Sunday we have a special seminar to prepare us for our first K9 Nose Work trial in January!!!
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Committed Casanova
com·mit
v. com·mit·ted, com·mit·ting, com·mits
v.tr.
1. To place officially in confinement or custody, as in a mental health facility.
v.intr.
To pledge or obligate one's own self: felt that he was too young to commit fully to marriage.
Agility class today had to be modified for Porter due to his extracurricular activities yesterday. I first noticed something was wrong yesterday when I spotted blood droplets on the ground. Then this morning, Porter tried to avoid sitting for his breakfast. Once at class he was hobbling while walking over the woodchips and just didn't have the spring in his step he normally has.
In class we dropped the bars and I shortened the sequences the rest of the class was doing. We skipped the dogwalk and the weaves and mostly let Porter relax in his crate after just a few small exercises.
Why did he need these modifications? Yesterday he spend the better half of an hour trying to mount and hump my sister's neutered tripod Golden Retriever. Porter didn't care if Beakers was flat on the ground, he was fully committed to giving it the old college try. The ground was rough which abraded his pad, either when he was in the throes of making a good impression or when he was leashed but tying with all his might to get to Beakers. I'm hoping that's all that is wrong and he didn't pull a muscle in his exuberance.
Intact teenage males are fun!
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Drive and Motivation Lesson
Indi is very food motivated and will not work for toys or play. I envy people who can pull out anything and have their dog completely focused on tugging with them and ignoring all else. So when I brought Porter home I was looking for a pup who would be a tugging fool (and hopefully play fetch with me).
Porter has always enjoyed tugging but it's not at the level needed to use as a reward for working. I know he would have amazing toy drive if I was better at building it and knew exactly what to do. Since that is a weakness in my training, Porter and I had a lesson today with a local trainer who teaches drive and motivation classes for dog sport people.
The first step in her process is to use a flirt pole. Although hers is much shorter than the one I have at home and there are some key differences between the way I've been playing with mine and what she recommends. Keep the end moving, but only a foot or so away from the dog, and don't bounce it up and down like I usually do. Once the dog grabs it, use your free hand to reach down the line near the end and give a few tugs up in quick succession. This is done with you facing away from the dog so there's no conflict. When the dog pulls back, you walk backward, allowing the dog to gain ground. Then you let go and the dog wins. You are still holding the handle end but keeping the line slack. The bunny is dead. When the dog let's go or releases to adjust his grip, the bunny spring to life and dashes off. The game begins again. When you end the session, the dog just won, you step on the line so you can get close to the dog and use treats to distract him and walk him away from the dead toy.
Even with the distraction of being on a new field, Porter played the game like a champ. He did go off to the side once to sniff and pee, so we gave him a moment in case he needed to poop. Nope, he was just checking things out but came back after a minute. Kellie and her assistant (I forgot her name already!) were impressed with Porter's crate behavior :)
On the way home we stopped by a tack and feed store to buy a shorter lunge whip. I was looking for a 5 foot one with a much shorter...line? I don't know what you call the floppy end. The one I currently have is 6 foot with a 6 foot line. Unfortunately their inventory was low but I was able to get one just over 4 feet with a shorter line. I attached my leather floppy toy to the end, which was similar to what the trainer had, but mine was shorter.
This evening we practiced what we learned. Porter chased after the end with gusto. When he won and the line went dead he did his typical maneuver and did victory laps with it. His goal is to pull it away from me, but he also dashes to the other side of the yard when I get close so I can't take it away from him. Instead of giving chase and trying to take the toy back I carefully followed him with slack in the line. I did my best not to face him so he didn't feel the need to keep running off and play keep away. This went on for over 10 minutes and both of us were worn out. Finally he laid down but kept his grip. I wasn't fast enough to dash the bunny away when he readjusted so we had a stalemate for another few minutes as he just held on tightly while I stood there without tugging or putting pressure on him. Eventually I was able to whip it away again and we resumed the game. Subsequent rounds went faster with less prancing around after he won.
Overall I think it was a successful session. We need to break some bad habits I allowed to form but I think we will quickly get over them with Kellie's advice.
Kellie did say that Porter was the most advanced dog she's seen on the first day. :) Good Porter! Like I said, in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing, Porter would be a maniac tugger already. Even though I've dropped the ball it looks like it won't take too much to get him on track. Yay!
Porter has always enjoyed tugging but it's not at the level needed to use as a reward for working. I know he would have amazing toy drive if I was better at building it and knew exactly what to do. Since that is a weakness in my training, Porter and I had a lesson today with a local trainer who teaches drive and motivation classes for dog sport people.
The first step in her process is to use a flirt pole. Although hers is much shorter than the one I have at home and there are some key differences between the way I've been playing with mine and what she recommends. Keep the end moving, but only a foot or so away from the dog, and don't bounce it up and down like I usually do. Once the dog grabs it, use your free hand to reach down the line near the end and give a few tugs up in quick succession. This is done with you facing away from the dog so there's no conflict. When the dog pulls back, you walk backward, allowing the dog to gain ground. Then you let go and the dog wins. You are still holding the handle end but keeping the line slack. The bunny is dead. When the dog let's go or releases to adjust his grip, the bunny spring to life and dashes off. The game begins again. When you end the session, the dog just won, you step on the line so you can get close to the dog and use treats to distract him and walk him away from the dead toy.
Even with the distraction of being on a new field, Porter played the game like a champ. He did go off to the side once to sniff and pee, so we gave him a moment in case he needed to poop. Nope, he was just checking things out but came back after a minute. Kellie and her assistant (I forgot her name already!) were impressed with Porter's crate behavior :)
On the way home we stopped by a tack and feed store to buy a shorter lunge whip. I was looking for a 5 foot one with a much shorter...line? I don't know what you call the floppy end. The one I currently have is 6 foot with a 6 foot line. Unfortunately their inventory was low but I was able to get one just over 4 feet with a shorter line. I attached my leather floppy toy to the end, which was similar to what the trainer had, but mine was shorter.
This evening we practiced what we learned. Porter chased after the end with gusto. When he won and the line went dead he did his typical maneuver and did victory laps with it. His goal is to pull it away from me, but he also dashes to the other side of the yard when I get close so I can't take it away from him. Instead of giving chase and trying to take the toy back I carefully followed him with slack in the line. I did my best not to face him so he didn't feel the need to keep running off and play keep away. This went on for over 10 minutes and both of us were worn out. Finally he laid down but kept his grip. I wasn't fast enough to dash the bunny away when he readjusted so we had a stalemate for another few minutes as he just held on tightly while I stood there without tugging or putting pressure on him. Eventually I was able to whip it away again and we resumed the game. Subsequent rounds went faster with less prancing around after he won.
Overall I think it was a successful session. We need to break some bad habits I allowed to form but I think we will quickly get over them with Kellie's advice.
Kellie did say that Porter was the most advanced dog she's seen on the first day. :) Good Porter! Like I said, in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing, Porter would be a maniac tugger already. Even though I've dropped the ball it looks like it won't take too much to get him on track. Yay!
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Ultrasound
Indi had an ultrasound today and it revealed...nothing. They couldn't see anything wrong going on at all. I was sure they would see something wrong with her pancreas. I was worried there might be a mass somewhere. But everything looked fine.
She was given an antiemetic and it's definitely helped. So far she's held down her early dinner. It's the first meal she's kept since Saturday.
Next step is to see the specialist. They might need to do an endoscope on her which worries me. But we really need to find out what's going on.
She was given an antiemetic and it's definitely helped. So far she's held down her early dinner. It's the first meal she's kept since Saturday.
Next step is to see the specialist. They might need to do an endoscope on her which worries me. But we really need to find out what's going on.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Indi Illness
Indigo hasn't been feeling well lately. She's always had the on and off again problem of vomiting bile late at night if her stomach was empty. We sovled the issue when she was younger by giving her some treats before bedtime. Occasionally with her raw diet she will vomit up a few chunks of bone her stomach was not digesting well. We adjusted which kinds of bones she ate and that mostly solved the issue. Certain ones were more likely to upset her stomach.
Over the last few years she will randomly look sick. She tucks up her tummy, rushes to a corner, sometimes tries to vomit, other times just huddles there miserable. A few minutes later she's back to normal. Over the last couple of months this has increased and now on some days she will refuse to eat. If you know Indi, you know this is far from normal.
We had a complete blood work done, including a special pancreatitis test we sent off to Texas. Her numbers for the pancreas were only slightly elevated, but we did find out that she was B-12 deficient. It seems her intestines can no long absorb this vitamin so she has been getting weekly shots for just over a month now.
Indi started doing better after the shots began, so I was hoping that was going to solve our problem, but this weekend she had another spell. This time it's a little worse. She's vomiting up the little food she eats (normally it's just bile or bile and grass) and she's having very loose stools.
This morning she was very eager to eat breakfast but barely touched it. I managed to get her to eat some bread, which came up an hour later. Yesterday she happily ate hotdogs, but let me tell you that was a mistake. it's not fun waking up at 1am to clean up hotdogs mixed with canned dog food. At least Indi is smart and tries to vomit in the bathroom or a corner.
I have a call into my vet and I asked my friend (a former client) who is a vet, but not practicing. She suggested I see an internal medicine specialist, so I'll discuss that with my vet and hopefully we can get to the bottom of this.
Over the last few years she will randomly look sick. She tucks up her tummy, rushes to a corner, sometimes tries to vomit, other times just huddles there miserable. A few minutes later she's back to normal. Over the last couple of months this has increased and now on some days she will refuse to eat. If you know Indi, you know this is far from normal.
We had a complete blood work done, including a special pancreatitis test we sent off to Texas. Her numbers for the pancreas were only slightly elevated, but we did find out that she was B-12 deficient. It seems her intestines can no long absorb this vitamin so she has been getting weekly shots for just over a month now.
Indi started doing better after the shots began, so I was hoping that was going to solve our problem, but this weekend she had another spell. This time it's a little worse. She's vomiting up the little food she eats (normally it's just bile or bile and grass) and she's having very loose stools.
This morning she was very eager to eat breakfast but barely touched it. I managed to get her to eat some bread, which came up an hour later. Yesterday she happily ate hotdogs, but let me tell you that was a mistake. it's not fun waking up at 1am to clean up hotdogs mixed with canned dog food. At least Indi is smart and tries to vomit in the bathroom or a corner.
I have a call into my vet and I asked my friend (a former client) who is a vet, but not practicing. She suggested I see an internal medicine specialist, so I'll discuss that with my vet and hopefully we can get to the bottom of this.
Restless Rover
Porter was not a happy camper in his crate at agility today. I had to babysit him a lot to keep him from barking his fool head off. But at least he was totally focused while we were working. :)
We started with a slightly tricky sequence. The first time through I messed Porter up. I lost him in my peripheral vision and he stopped to sniff the ground before the tunnel. Then my line of travel wasn't quite right and I pulled him off of jump #4. But the second time went very well and he did great!
This is how it should have looked* but I'm sure we were a little sloppier.
*except for the end, our lines shouldn't converge, but I suck at the paint program
Then we worked on threadles for the first time. Just a very simple exercise to practice using our arm change to change the direction of our dog. Porter did well.
Last was the weaves but there was only time for one quick run. I'm glad we've been practicing at home. The two set of poles were about 3 feet apart and at 1 & 7. I chose the easiest entry since it is a different location than home and it was the end of class. Porter drove ahead with speed and determination and hit both the entries. :) I need to start staking the poles down at home.
Harley was in class again today and while I kept Porter at least a few feet away, he never gave Harley a nasty look. He might have, but I'm not going to give him the chance and practice that kind of behavior.
Even though he was very vocal in the crate today he is doing amazing driving to the crate when we are finished with an exercise. He used to try to rush past it to get to the palm tree or bushes behind it, or even the pool farther along. Now he rushes inside to get treats. He doesn't try to poke his head out and shove through when I unzip the door...he started to for a little bit, but now he waits calmly. Even when I release him if I don't do anything right away he rushes back in. He knows treat rain from the sky when he's in there :) And this is after he had a good breakfast this morning, too! His girlfriend, Jackie, was out of her crate very close to us but Porter was not tempted by the little vixen and remained in the crate with the door open.
We started with a slightly tricky sequence. The first time through I messed Porter up. I lost him in my peripheral vision and he stopped to sniff the ground before the tunnel. Then my line of travel wasn't quite right and I pulled him off of jump #4. But the second time went very well and he did great!
This is how it should have looked* but I'm sure we were a little sloppier.
*except for the end, our lines shouldn't converge, but I suck at the paint program
Then we worked on threadles for the first time. Just a very simple exercise to practice using our arm change to change the direction of our dog. Porter did well.
Last was the weaves but there was only time for one quick run. I'm glad we've been practicing at home. The two set of poles were about 3 feet apart and at 1 & 7. I chose the easiest entry since it is a different location than home and it was the end of class. Porter drove ahead with speed and determination and hit both the entries. :) I need to start staking the poles down at home.
Harley was in class again today and while I kept Porter at least a few feet away, he never gave Harley a nasty look. He might have, but I'm not going to give him the chance and practice that kind of behavior.
Even though he was very vocal in the crate today he is doing amazing driving to the crate when we are finished with an exercise. He used to try to rush past it to get to the palm tree or bushes behind it, or even the pool farther along. Now he rushes inside to get treats. He doesn't try to poke his head out and shove through when I unzip the door...he started to for a little bit, but now he waits calmly. Even when I release him if I don't do anything right away he rushes back in. He knows treat rain from the sky when he's in there :) And this is after he had a good breakfast this morning, too! His girlfriend, Jackie, was out of her crate very close to us but Porter was not tempted by the little vixen and remained in the crate with the door open.
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Birch, Anise, and Clove. Oh, My!
Porter's Nose Work practice group met again today.
The other two dogs are on all three odors, so the first two times we met, I either paired the last two odors with birch or with his primary reward (food). Today I did the same for the first half of practice. We ended on a vehicle search (three vehicles actually) and did three rounds so each odor was searched for. This time I did not pair and Porter easily found the anise and clove hides. I didn't delay, but jumped in to reward him the second I could tell he knew where it was. I didn't wait for him to give an alert, or more likely, second guess himself and move on. I'm very proud of my little hunter! He's doing amazing.
We haven't had any problems with marking even though Porter has no interest in peeing before a search. I give him the opportunity, but he knows what's going on and wants to just get right to it.
Our next goal is to widen the search area and practice on a big field with the hide somewhere in the grass or dirt instead of on an obvious object.
The other two dogs are on all three odors, so the first two times we met, I either paired the last two odors with birch or with his primary reward (food). Today I did the same for the first half of practice. We ended on a vehicle search (three vehicles actually) and did three rounds so each odor was searched for. This time I did not pair and Porter easily found the anise and clove hides. I didn't delay, but jumped in to reward him the second I could tell he knew where it was. I didn't wait for him to give an alert, or more likely, second guess himself and move on. I'm very proud of my little hunter! He's doing amazing.
We haven't had any problems with marking even though Porter has no interest in peeing before a search. I give him the opportunity, but he knows what's going on and wants to just get right to it.
Our next goal is to widen the search area and practice on a big field with the hide somewhere in the grass or dirt instead of on an obvious object.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Constant Contact
Today's agility spend spend the first part on our contact behavior. We took them over the dogwalk, rewarded a nose touch to the target plate with 2 on 2 off and then a right turn to the A frame and rewarded a down on the ground on a tiny mat after the contact.
Porter is doing very well with these behaviors. I still would like to tighten up his down. He was very straight today, but some classes he pivots so he can turn towards me if I am slightly behind. This will not work as well if we are then heading to an obstacle straight ahead or off to the other side. I have been practicing changing my speed, sometimes being ahead of him slightly and sometimes behind him. My next step is to work on being farther out from the obstacles.
Next we played the bang game with the teeter. The front of the teeter is propped up so the end is only short distance off the ground. You shape the dog to climb on and it drops to the ground as you reward the dog in the right contact position (2 on 2 off on our case). At first the end is only an inch off the ground and you slowly build up on that. We approach the teeter perpendicularly with the dog so our body encourages the dog to hop up and not swing off.
After a quick refresher with the end 6 or so inches off the ground we progressed to the next level where the teeter was mostly parallel to the ground. The front was propped up on the table, so we hopped the dog up, he walked to just past the pivot point, the teeter dropped about 2 feet and we heavily rewarded him right there. Then we let the dog proceed to the end and do his contact behavior and earn more rewards.
I was happy Porter was not fazed in the slightest.
Thankfully we had practiced out weaves this week since we worked more on them today. Porter did as well as he does at home. Mostly amazing at the level is is at, but a few missed entries at the hardest angles.
Last we did a very short sequence. Jump, to a curved tunnel, to a wing jump, then a double. Since I didn't decelerate soon enough Porter even took the panel jump. Good pup for staying on his line and taking the obstacles on that line :) The line continued to his crate so he almost finished his run by dashing inside :) Crate games is really paying off.
Sad part of today is his "friend" Harley, the Viszla, was visiting class today. Harley neutered several weeks ago and I was hoping Porter would stop being a punk with him. No such luck. Porter didn't care if he was near, but once when Harley started coming over to say hi, Porter stared and did a quick, low growl. Ugh. Maybe the hormones have not completely left Harley's system? I can only hope.
Porter is doing very well with these behaviors. I still would like to tighten up his down. He was very straight today, but some classes he pivots so he can turn towards me if I am slightly behind. This will not work as well if we are then heading to an obstacle straight ahead or off to the other side. I have been practicing changing my speed, sometimes being ahead of him slightly and sometimes behind him. My next step is to work on being farther out from the obstacles.
Next we played the bang game with the teeter. The front of the teeter is propped up so the end is only short distance off the ground. You shape the dog to climb on and it drops to the ground as you reward the dog in the right contact position (2 on 2 off on our case). At first the end is only an inch off the ground and you slowly build up on that. We approach the teeter perpendicularly with the dog so our body encourages the dog to hop up and not swing off.
After a quick refresher with the end 6 or so inches off the ground we progressed to the next level where the teeter was mostly parallel to the ground. The front was propped up on the table, so we hopped the dog up, he walked to just past the pivot point, the teeter dropped about 2 feet and we heavily rewarded him right there. Then we let the dog proceed to the end and do his contact behavior and earn more rewards.
I was happy Porter was not fazed in the slightest.
Thankfully we had practiced out weaves this week since we worked more on them today. Porter did as well as he does at home. Mostly amazing at the level is is at, but a few missed entries at the hardest angles.
Last we did a very short sequence. Jump, to a curved tunnel, to a wing jump, then a double. Since I didn't decelerate soon enough Porter even took the panel jump. Good pup for staying on his line and taking the obstacles on that line :) The line continued to his crate so he almost finished his run by dashing inside :) Crate games is really paying off.
Sad part of today is his "friend" Harley, the Viszla, was visiting class today. Harley neutered several weeks ago and I was hoping Porter would stop being a punk with him. No such luck. Porter didn't care if he was near, but once when Harley started coming over to say hi, Porter stared and did a quick, low growl. Ugh. Maybe the hormones have not completely left Harley's system? I can only hope.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Back on Track
Porter is fully recovered :) so we did more 2x2s today. The two sets of poles are now 4 feet apart at pivoted to 1 & 7. He's doing well with his entrances 90% of the time, but occasionally misses the first set when we are attempting an entrance from the 5 o'clock position. He's doing well when I'm barely moving or when I'll running full speed. I can be a few feet off laterally, too, which is all I can get in my tiny yard.
My next goal will be to take the show on the road and practice elsewhere. This poses a challenge since parks do not allow off leash dogs and dog parks are not appropriate to do this kind of training (unless we hit one at 4am maybe!). So I'll have to see what I can manage. But at least we have two places to practice, home and the agility field. Maybe I'll try the front yard.
My next goal will be to take the show on the road and practice elsewhere. This poses a challenge since parks do not allow off leash dogs and dog parks are not appropriate to do this kind of training (unless we hit one at 4am maybe!). So I'll have to see what I can manage. But at least we have two places to practice, home and the agility field. Maybe I'll try the front yard.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
To Add Insult to Injury...
On top of feeling down in the dumps yesterday, Porter is having an allergic reaction to something this morning. We don't know if he keeps getting stung by bees, bit by spiders, or is allergic to a plant in the yard, but this is the third time his face has swollen up.
Poor guy was miserable pawing at his face and rubbing it on the ground. Benadryl did the trick for a few hours but then it started getting worse again so we headed to the vet. Now he's on prednisone to make him more comfortable.
The good news is he was ready for breakfast this morning, so his stomach is feeling much better! I still kept him hom from our FCR Fun Day just in case he caught something he could pass on to the other dogs.
Poor guy was miserable pawing at his face and rubbing it on the ground. Benadryl did the trick for a few hours but then it started getting worse again so we headed to the vet. Now he's on prednisone to make him more comfortable.
The good news is he was ready for breakfast this morning, so his stomach is feeling much better! I still kept him hom from our FCR Fun Day just in case he caught something he could pass on to the other dogs.
Friday, October 19, 2012
Sick Pup
Poor Porter isn't feeling well today. He refused to eat breakfast, which is rare, but I thought it was because I offered him ground chicken hearts and veggies. He ate a small amount fine last night so I figured he was just being picky and didn't want that much of it this morning.
That's not the case. He's turning his nose up at treats and deli meat. He actually puts his ears down and backs away like I'm trying to poison him when I hold out something to eat.
Tomorrow is our big Flat-Coated Retriever Fun Day were we get to hang out, do agility, and swim all day long. I hope he's feeling up to going.
That's not the case. He's turning his nose up at treats and deli meat. He actually puts his ears down and backs away like I'm trying to poison him when I hold out something to eat.
Tomorrow is our big Flat-Coated Retriever Fun Day were we get to hang out, do agility, and swim all day long. I hope he's feeling up to going.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
2x2 Weave Pole Training
I admit it. Sometimes, ok, many times, I'm a lazy and procrastinating trainer. I love to train. I find it mentally fascinating and enjoy working with the dogs, but life gets in the way more than I care to admit.
I've owned a set of 2x2 weave poles for several of years now, but I can probably count on two hands how many training sessions I've had with Porter with them. And Indi, well, she sees them maybe once a year.
I have excuses as to why I'm so awful about them. Blah, blah, blah, not enough time, blah, blah, blah, other dog makes a ruckus, blah, and so on. But really...I need to shut up and get to work. More than half of Porter's agility class is already weaving a full set of 12. And here's Porter, stuck in the beginning stages of the 2x2 method. If I want an agility dog I need to put in the time and effort outside of class.
I busted out the poles this morning and I'll be making a bigger effort to do so more often during the week. A few minutes once in week in class is not going to cut it.
And of course, Porter did amazing. We made huge strides from class two days ago. I think that since I practice so rarely I wasn't upping the bar. I figured it had been a week or more since we last did the weaves so we need to revisit the same level. This isn't faulty thinking, but I was dragging his progress slower than it needed to be.
Let's hope for Porter's sake that I can keep up this momentum!
I've owned a set of 2x2 weave poles for several of years now, but I can probably count on two hands how many training sessions I've had with Porter with them. And Indi, well, she sees them maybe once a year.
I have excuses as to why I'm so awful about them. Blah, blah, blah, not enough time, blah, blah, blah, other dog makes a ruckus, blah, and so on. But really...I need to shut up and get to work. More than half of Porter's agility class is already weaving a full set of 12. And here's Porter, stuck in the beginning stages of the 2x2 method. If I want an agility dog I need to put in the time and effort outside of class.
I busted out the poles this morning and I'll be making a bigger effort to do so more often during the week. A few minutes once in week in class is not going to cut it.
And of course, Porter did amazing. We made huge strides from class two days ago. I think that since I practice so rarely I wasn't upping the bar. I figured it had been a week or more since we last did the weaves so we need to revisit the same level. This isn't faulty thinking, but I was dragging his progress slower than it needed to be.
Let's hope for Porter's sake that I can keep up this momentum!
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
K9 Nose Work Trial Prep
I am hoping to enter Porter in his first K9 Nose Work trial in January. At the moment, we do not have trials in San Diego, although our first ORT is being hosted in March (Thanks to Connie Kelley and her excellent planning and organization!), so we'll need to travel to Orange County again. If interest is high, there will be a random drawing for spots. I'm crossing my fingers we get in.
In anticipation for this trial, Porter and I have been doing more hides outdoors, since we have the least amount of practice with this element. I was a bit worried, since Porter and I did poorly at our friend's house. We searched her front yard and while Porter found the first hide quickly, the next two proved difficult. He was more interested in marking. : / This could have been lack of experience, it could have been I did not give Porter enough time to potty and mark around the neighborhood before we started, or it might have been her own intact male's scent in the yard distracting Porter. Thankfully this has not been repeated and all of our other outdoor practices have been stellar.
In addition to getting in more practice outside, I have also been pairing the other two odors with birch (or his primary). I've been thinking of doing this soon, so we can do the San Diego March ORT and test for Anise and Clove, but was planning on waiting a littler long so I could focus on the trial first. However, the group we are practicing with is already on the other odors, so we just jumped right in.
If we do not get into the Jan. trial we'll be well prepared for the next one. Let's hope it's not too far away.
In anticipation for this trial, Porter and I have been doing more hides outdoors, since we have the least amount of practice with this element. I was a bit worried, since Porter and I did poorly at our friend's house. We searched her front yard and while Porter found the first hide quickly, the next two proved difficult. He was more interested in marking. : / This could have been lack of experience, it could have been I did not give Porter enough time to potty and mark around the neighborhood before we started, or it might have been her own intact male's scent in the yard distracting Porter. Thankfully this has not been repeated and all of our other outdoor practices have been stellar.
In addition to getting in more practice outside, I have also been pairing the other two odors with birch (or his primary). I've been thinking of doing this soon, so we can do the San Diego March ORT and test for Anise and Clove, but was planning on waiting a littler long so I could focus on the trial first. However, the group we are practicing with is already on the other odors, so we just jumped right in.
If we do not get into the Jan. trial we'll be well prepared for the next one. Let's hope it's not too far away.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Hormones Schmormones...
I was incredibly impressive with Porter's performance in agility today. Not because anything we did was terribly complicated but he overcame several obstacles when I thought today was going to be a wash.
My first mistake of the day was accidentally feeding him breakfast. I usually skip his morning meal on agility training days so he's as motivated as possible to work with me for his reward. Plus he doesn't need a full meal and the additional calories from his treats in class. I could tell when we got on the field that he wasn't super jazzed about eating. He was giving me about 50% of his normal attention.
Then Jackie arrived. My second mistake actually occurred last week. I broke my rule and allowed him to interact and play with a dog on the training field. He was enamored. As soon as he saw her today everything else faded into the background. I didn't think I would ever get his attention back on me or the task at hand.
We had to skip the first exercise which was just practicing start line stays. Porter wouldn't turn away from Jackie, so I just walked him around a bit and tried to get his mind off her.
Our first sequence looked like this:
I wasn't even sure if Porter would just sit for me at the start line but I thought I'd give it a try. If we had to do one obstacle and then stop and reward to keep his focus I was going to do that.
But Porter surprised me! Not only did he not run off with his new girlfriend but he did the sequence perfectly! He stayed with me the entire time. He did wonderful with my lateral lead out at the start. He had no issue with the wing jump at #3. He read my arm change after the tunnel exactly as he should have and didn't get sticky and glue himself to my side, but peeled off to the left to take the last jump.
I could tell his brain wasn't with me 100% though since he was *much* slower than normal, but he did it :)
The second time around he did great. I chose a different toy to throw (one he often runs away with) since he didn't want food anymore. He grabbed it, started to do his victory lap, but came back to me quickly when I called him!! No running to the pool. No running around the field. Or to his girlfriend. Right back to me. :) Such a good boy.
And did I mention it was so nasty and hot out there today? And he never gave up but kept working with me.
I love my big goofy boy.
My first mistake of the day was accidentally feeding him breakfast. I usually skip his morning meal on agility training days so he's as motivated as possible to work with me for his reward. Plus he doesn't need a full meal and the additional calories from his treats in class. I could tell when we got on the field that he wasn't super jazzed about eating. He was giving me about 50% of his normal attention.
Then Jackie arrived. My second mistake actually occurred last week. I broke my rule and allowed him to interact and play with a dog on the training field. He was enamored. As soon as he saw her today everything else faded into the background. I didn't think I would ever get his attention back on me or the task at hand.
We had to skip the first exercise which was just practicing start line stays. Porter wouldn't turn away from Jackie, so I just walked him around a bit and tried to get his mind off her.
Our first sequence looked like this:
I wasn't even sure if Porter would just sit for me at the start line but I thought I'd give it a try. If we had to do one obstacle and then stop and reward to keep his focus I was going to do that.
But Porter surprised me! Not only did he not run off with his new girlfriend but he did the sequence perfectly! He stayed with me the entire time. He did wonderful with my lateral lead out at the start. He had no issue with the wing jump at #3. He read my arm change after the tunnel exactly as he should have and didn't get sticky and glue himself to my side, but peeled off to the left to take the last jump.
I could tell his brain wasn't with me 100% though since he was *much* slower than normal, but he did it :)
The second time around he did great. I chose a different toy to throw (one he often runs away with) since he didn't want food anymore. He grabbed it, started to do his victory lap, but came back to me quickly when I called him!! No running to the pool. No running around the field. Or to his girlfriend. Right back to me. :) Such a good boy.
And did I mention it was so nasty and hot out there today? And he never gave up but kept working with me.
I love my big goofy boy.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Not Too Hot to Sniff
The weather has been hot and humid lately which does not make exercising the dogs an easy task. Even if Porter was tolerant of the heat (and I wasn't such a delicate flower) the ground if often too hot for the pads of their feet.
Yesterday Porter was getting a bit stir crazy (and I was inspired to do more NW training after chatting with other trainers about getting together for a practice group) so I set up three hides in each of the bedrooms.
The first was the most successful. We waited at the threshold for 10 seconds, he entered and did an immediate u-turn to the bookcase where I had the tin in a dump truck on the bottom shelf.
The second hide was at the far end of the next room tucked into the side rail of the bed. He did seem to find it very quickly, but then moved on. I think my mistake was not jumping on that first indication but waiting for something stronger. If the hide is low to the ground he seems to lay down. So I thought he might do this, or might sniff at it longer, or something. But a quick sniff or two and he was off. He sniffed all around that area and kept circling and returning to that corner but never that close again. I wonder if he ruled out that spot since I didn't reward him the first time :( He kept searching, never getting frustrated or tired and finally went back tot he spot where I promptly rewarded him.
You would think I'd learn my lesson, right? Nope. The next hide was in the master bedroom. Off to the left is the master bath and I placed the tin in a slightly opened drawer. While at the threshold Porter's nose was going crazy and he immediately went left. He ran past the drawer, into the bathroom, turned back, out into the bedroom, and back again to the bathroom. He lifted his nose up, near the drawer, I should have moved in but hesitated, and off he went again. Despite my repeated mistake, Porter is very resilient and continued to search until he finally found the drawer and lingered.
I need to remember that this is really the first time doing odor in my house so I need to reward sooner, especially when the hides are at or slightly above nose height. I really thought about the first placement more and it tells.
Today we did 6 hides out front and 5 of the 6 were fast and furious with Porter hitting the mark within 5 seconds. The last was, again, elevated, and in a jade plant so tons of leaves and branches for the odor to get caught in and swirl around in. And it was very windy. This was to his advantage in all of the other hides which were more out in the open. But with this plant it was much harder. I did place the hide on the downwind side of the plant. And now typing this I am curious to see his behavior if the odor was on the upwind side of the plant (if that makes sense).
One of the great perks of K9 Nose Work is it takes my cabin fever dog and turns him into Rip van Winkle.
Yesterday Porter was getting a bit stir crazy (and I was inspired to do more NW training after chatting with other trainers about getting together for a practice group) so I set up three hides in each of the bedrooms.
The first was the most successful. We waited at the threshold for 10 seconds, he entered and did an immediate u-turn to the bookcase where I had the tin in a dump truck on the bottom shelf.
The second hide was at the far end of the next room tucked into the side rail of the bed. He did seem to find it very quickly, but then moved on. I think my mistake was not jumping on that first indication but waiting for something stronger. If the hide is low to the ground he seems to lay down. So I thought he might do this, or might sniff at it longer, or something. But a quick sniff or two and he was off. He sniffed all around that area and kept circling and returning to that corner but never that close again. I wonder if he ruled out that spot since I didn't reward him the first time :( He kept searching, never getting frustrated or tired and finally went back tot he spot where I promptly rewarded him.
You would think I'd learn my lesson, right? Nope. The next hide was in the master bedroom. Off to the left is the master bath and I placed the tin in a slightly opened drawer. While at the threshold Porter's nose was going crazy and he immediately went left. He ran past the drawer, into the bathroom, turned back, out into the bedroom, and back again to the bathroom. He lifted his nose up, near the drawer, I should have moved in but hesitated, and off he went again. Despite my repeated mistake, Porter is very resilient and continued to search until he finally found the drawer and lingered.
I need to remember that this is really the first time doing odor in my house so I need to reward sooner, especially when the hides are at or slightly above nose height. I really thought about the first placement more and it tells.
Today we did 6 hides out front and 5 of the 6 were fast and furious with Porter hitting the mark within 5 seconds. The last was, again, elevated, and in a jade plant so tons of leaves and branches for the odor to get caught in and swirl around in. And it was very windy. This was to his advantage in all of the other hides which were more out in the open. But with this plant it was much harder. I did place the hide on the downwind side of the plant. And now typing this I am curious to see his behavior if the odor was on the upwind side of the plant (if that makes sense).
One of the great perks of K9 Nose Work is it takes my cabin fever dog and turns him into Rip van Winkle.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Agility Training Continues
Despite the heat, Porter has been doing well in agility. I bought him a Chilly Buddy Cooling Jacket and a Ryobi portable fan. It's been really humid, which is odd for this area, but he hasn't wilted like he used to.
Today in class he really rocked a short sequence we did. We had to miss last week and were not able to get there super early to let him sniff it out, but I was still very pleased with his focus. He was into the hot dogs I was offering and focused well on the toy stuffed with them when it was used as his reward. No taking off on victory laps or running over to the pool.
Here is the short sequence we did. Porter was first up. The black line is him, the reddish line is my path. I didn't lead out past 2 since I wanted to run with him a few steps before the front cross to give him more speed. Number 3 is a wing jump and sometimes he's a bit sticky on my side with those. He has such a large stride, plus I wanted to be sure he was fully committed to #3 before doing the front cross, so he did land far and swung wide. In the future I'll work on turning earlier so he knows where he's going before he takes off and can adjust his stride accordingly. But once he realized where I was and what my body language was telling him he quickly came back to my right side. #4 is another wing jump and I was pleased he did fine with that. Again, he went out farther than he needed before the tunnel, so I need to trust him more and turn earlier.
The second run through I was a bit jerky in my movements for some reason and I caused Porter to knock down the bar on #3. But the third time was our best performance. Very smooth and much more efficient.
We also worked the weaves today. Porter is currently on two sets of poles 15 feet apart and doing well. I really need to practice with him at home. If I did he would be doing a full set of 12 by now.
For the A-Frame his modified running contact is really coming along. He downs on a target a stride length past the A-frame. I was able to keep running a couple of feet past that point and he still hit and stuck his down where he was supposed to.
I switched his swim lesson for Wednesday instead of being directly after agility class for a few reasons. One, I have to rush to pack up and drive over to the pool. It's not far, but on a hot day I don't want him walking on the asphalt over there. Two, we share the pool with another dog on Tuesdays so Porter needs to wear a life jacket so I can leash him. This keeps him out of the other dog's face who really doesn't want to visit. Wednesday it'll be just us so he can swim without the jacket and get an even better workout. And three, I'm hoping it eliminates him getting antsy towards the end of agility class when he knows it's almost swim time. He starts to lose focus and try to get to the pool.
Today in class he really rocked a short sequence we did. We had to miss last week and were not able to get there super early to let him sniff it out, but I was still very pleased with his focus. He was into the hot dogs I was offering and focused well on the toy stuffed with them when it was used as his reward. No taking off on victory laps or running over to the pool.
Here is the short sequence we did. Porter was first up. The black line is him, the reddish line is my path. I didn't lead out past 2 since I wanted to run with him a few steps before the front cross to give him more speed. Number 3 is a wing jump and sometimes he's a bit sticky on my side with those. He has such a large stride, plus I wanted to be sure he was fully committed to #3 before doing the front cross, so he did land far and swung wide. In the future I'll work on turning earlier so he knows where he's going before he takes off and can adjust his stride accordingly. But once he realized where I was and what my body language was telling him he quickly came back to my right side. #4 is another wing jump and I was pleased he did fine with that. Again, he went out farther than he needed before the tunnel, so I need to trust him more and turn earlier.
The second run through I was a bit jerky in my movements for some reason and I caused Porter to knock down the bar on #3. But the third time was our best performance. Very smooth and much more efficient.
We also worked the weaves today. Porter is currently on two sets of poles 15 feet apart and doing well. I really need to practice with him at home. If I did he would be doing a full set of 12 by now.
For the A-Frame his modified running contact is really coming along. He downs on a target a stride length past the A-frame. I was able to keep running a couple of feet past that point and he still hit and stuck his down where he was supposed to.
I switched his swim lesson for Wednesday instead of being directly after agility class for a few reasons. One, I have to rush to pack up and drive over to the pool. It's not far, but on a hot day I don't want him walking on the asphalt over there. Two, we share the pool with another dog on Tuesdays so Porter needs to wear a life jacket so I can leash him. This keeps him out of the other dog's face who really doesn't want to visit. Wednesday it'll be just us so he can swim without the jacket and get an even better workout. And three, I'm hoping it eliminates him getting antsy towards the end of agility class when he knows it's almost swim time. He starts to lose focus and try to get to the pool.
Friday, August 3, 2012
Backyard Nose Work
I finally got off my duff and did some Nose Work hides in the backyard yeserday. I think this is only the second time doing searches at home despite having Porter in training since last October. I'm horrible at managing the two dogs. One is always jealous and wants in on the action and causes a huge ruckus when placed elsewhere. But Porter needs to start revving up for a trial so it's time to get in gear.
Porter passed his ORT (Odor Recognition Test) in Birch in June. It's a preliminary test using 12 containers to show your dog knows his odor. After passing this test you are eligible to begin trialing (if your dog is of age). After that test our training time has dramatically decreased. Part of it is due to a change in my work schedule. Porter used to come to one of my classes. And part is due to my daughter being home for the summer. Although if I were smart I'd have her do the hides; she'd probably love that.
With Porter locked inside I got my tin ready in the garage and went around the side into the backyard to place the first side. I started with the side yard since it's a small space and I wanted his first hide to be quick and easy. I took note of the way the wind was blowing and placed the hide closer to the start line so there was plenty of room downwind if Porter past it.
Porter knew what was up the instant I came inside to get him. He was completely focused as I held his collar and led him outside and to the start line. He passed the odor, went about a foot farther and turned back, locating the source quickly.
The second hide was in the other side yard but not as easily accessible. Once he was in odor I waited to see how close he would get, then I move a trash can blocking his way. After double checking the trash can, he quickly found the right spot.
The third hide was tucked into a patch of clover in the grass. This was more difficult because the area was larger and the tin was hidden from view. Porter found this one quickly as well.
The fourth hide gave him some difficulty. It was placed under a plastic mat under a kid table. Porter ran back and forth along the back fence (not near the spot) several times. He lifted his head, air scenting. If I didn't know better I would have thought the hide was either in a crack in the fence or just on the other side in my neighbor's yard. He did several head whips and was taking in a lot of air. I wonder what was back there?! Finally I directed him closer to the true location. He circled a few times and then found his mark.
Oh, and he also peed before he found that 4th hide! :( Bad handler. I should have made sure he was empty first.
Last I ended with an easier hide on a chair, which was partially covered by a mat draping over it. He did great finding this hide so it was a good place to end the session.
I need to get in the habit of bringing my Nose Work kit with me when we go places so I just throw out a few quick and simple hides. I think with more practice in new locations he'll be ready for his first trial in the fall. Hopefully there will be something in SoCal.
Porter passed his ORT (Odor Recognition Test) in Birch in June. It's a preliminary test using 12 containers to show your dog knows his odor. After passing this test you are eligible to begin trialing (if your dog is of age). After that test our training time has dramatically decreased. Part of it is due to a change in my work schedule. Porter used to come to one of my classes. And part is due to my daughter being home for the summer. Although if I were smart I'd have her do the hides; she'd probably love that.
With Porter locked inside I got my tin ready in the garage and went around the side into the backyard to place the first side. I started with the side yard since it's a small space and I wanted his first hide to be quick and easy. I took note of the way the wind was blowing and placed the hide closer to the start line so there was plenty of room downwind if Porter past it.
Porter knew what was up the instant I came inside to get him. He was completely focused as I held his collar and led him outside and to the start line. He passed the odor, went about a foot farther and turned back, locating the source quickly.
The second hide was in the other side yard but not as easily accessible. Once he was in odor I waited to see how close he would get, then I move a trash can blocking his way. After double checking the trash can, he quickly found the right spot.
The third hide was tucked into a patch of clover in the grass. This was more difficult because the area was larger and the tin was hidden from view. Porter found this one quickly as well.
The fourth hide gave him some difficulty. It was placed under a plastic mat under a kid table. Porter ran back and forth along the back fence (not near the spot) several times. He lifted his head, air scenting. If I didn't know better I would have thought the hide was either in a crack in the fence or just on the other side in my neighbor's yard. He did several head whips and was taking in a lot of air. I wonder what was back there?! Finally I directed him closer to the true location. He circled a few times and then found his mark.
Oh, and he also peed before he found that 4th hide! :( Bad handler. I should have made sure he was empty first.
Last I ended with an easier hide on a chair, which was partially covered by a mat draping over it. He did great finding this hide so it was a good place to end the session.
I need to get in the habit of bringing my Nose Work kit with me when we go places so I just throw out a few quick and simple hides. I think with more practice in new locations he'll be ready for his first trial in the fall. Hopefully there will be something in SoCal.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Agility Update
With summer in full swing our 10am agility class is heating up. I purchased a Chilly Buddy Cooling Coat a month ago and it finally just arrived. It seems to fit Porter well and is really light weight. He didn't seem to tire out as quickly at yesterday's class but it's hard to tell if it was due to the coat or not. We had a private lesson this afternoon at 4pm and he was dragging even with the coat, but it was quite a bit warmer than yesterday.
Porter's contacts are coming along. I've decided to do a down after the A-Frame (Four on the Floor; Modified Running Contact). Down is his default position so it comes so naturally to him. When Indi took lessons with Ann Croft and she taught us this method I didn't think it would be a good choice for her, since Indi hates to down in a lot of situations. But for Porter, this is perfect. I was considering doing Rachel Sander's Box Method but I don't have the DVD yet and my instructor doesn't teach this method as a regular part of her classes. I'd still like to learn about it, but for now the down is going well. We are doing 2 on 2 off for the dog walk and teeter and things are progressing nicely with that, too. I can walk quickly past his target or hang back and he still hits his spot. I need to vary my speed and lateral distance even more, but we'll get there.
Porter's flatwork needs work!! He's a bit distracted so I need to just take a long line out to a park and really work on it. I'll probably toss in some of Leslie McDevitt's ideas in there to help him along.
In our private lessons I've been working on Porter following his line. He tends to skip the last jump in a short sequence to get into heel position. Even more so if it's a wing jump. When we can practice several in a row he does better, so we'll just need to stay on top of it.
I finally found a toy that looks like it's working and it's really helping with this issue. This Rip and Tug toy can hold treats inside and the dog can break into it to self reward. Porter will follow a normal toy and chase it but then either 1) ignores it once it's "dead" or 2) grabs it and runs victory laps while playing keep away. Neither is good for his training. But with this toy he gets the thrill of the chase and then when the toy is dead he stops and lies down and self rewards. No running off with it or getting bored and walking off to sniff. It also keeps him mostly pointed in the original direction if there are more obstacles for us to do once I've rewarded him for the first part. And so far, the food hasn't flung out and all over the field on accident as it can do with some other stuffable toys.
He's doing ok with his 2x2 weave poles, but would be much farther along if I practiced at home more. This new toy will help with that practice as well.
Porter's sense of timing is amazing. In the last ten minutes of class yesterday Porter started to get antsy and became pulling like mad in the direction of the pool (which he cannot see from the agility field). He knew his swim lesson was about to start. He never does this on Wednesdays after our private lessons since swim is only on Tuesdays.
Porter's contacts are coming along. I've decided to do a down after the A-Frame (Four on the Floor; Modified Running Contact). Down is his default position so it comes so naturally to him. When Indi took lessons with Ann Croft and she taught us this method I didn't think it would be a good choice for her, since Indi hates to down in a lot of situations. But for Porter, this is perfect. I was considering doing Rachel Sander's Box Method but I don't have the DVD yet and my instructor doesn't teach this method as a regular part of her classes. I'd still like to learn about it, but for now the down is going well. We are doing 2 on 2 off for the dog walk and teeter and things are progressing nicely with that, too. I can walk quickly past his target or hang back and he still hits his spot. I need to vary my speed and lateral distance even more, but we'll get there.
Porter's flatwork needs work!! He's a bit distracted so I need to just take a long line out to a park and really work on it. I'll probably toss in some of Leslie McDevitt's ideas in there to help him along.
In our private lessons I've been working on Porter following his line. He tends to skip the last jump in a short sequence to get into heel position. Even more so if it's a wing jump. When we can practice several in a row he does better, so we'll just need to stay on top of it.
I finally found a toy that looks like it's working and it's really helping with this issue. This Rip and Tug toy can hold treats inside and the dog can break into it to self reward. Porter will follow a normal toy and chase it but then either 1) ignores it once it's "dead" or 2) grabs it and runs victory laps while playing keep away. Neither is good for his training. But with this toy he gets the thrill of the chase and then when the toy is dead he stops and lies down and self rewards. No running off with it or getting bored and walking off to sniff. It also keeps him mostly pointed in the original direction if there are more obstacles for us to do once I've rewarded him for the first part. And so far, the food hasn't flung out and all over the field on accident as it can do with some other stuffable toys.
He's doing ok with his 2x2 weave poles, but would be much farther along if I practiced at home more. This new toy will help with that practice as well.
Porter's sense of timing is amazing. In the last ten minutes of class yesterday Porter started to get antsy and became pulling like mad in the direction of the pool (which he cannot see from the agility field). He knew his swim lesson was about to start. He never does this on Wednesdays after our private lessons since swim is only on Tuesdays.
Friday, June 29, 2012
Porter's Dog Show Debut and Odor Recognition Test
Last Friday Porter and I traveled to Long Beach so he could take his Odor Recognition Test (ORT) for K9 Nose Work (http://www.nacsw.net/ or http://www.funnosework.com/). Before a dog can enter a trial he must pass his ORT for the target odors used in that trial. The first target odor is birch and it is the only odor in the first level of competition.
For his ORT, Porter entered a room with 12 identical boxes spread out at least 4 feet apart from each other. Within three minutes Porter must find the box which contains the odor and effectively communicate that to me so I can call "alert" and tell the judge exactly which box it is in.
Once a dog passes his ORT for Birch he can enter an NW1 trial, but passing an ORT does not mean your dog is trial ready yet. In a trial a dog must pass four different elements (a container search similar to the ORT, an interior search, an exterior search, and a vehicle search). You must be successful in each element to earn your dog's title.
Porter entered the room for the ORT like a sled dog. He couldn't wait to get inside so his leash walking manners went right out the door. Once were we at the start line I could tell Porter knew what his job was and he was ready to do it. He made a beeline towards the back corner of boxes, sniffed one, sniffed another, lingered, I almost called alert but wanted to be sure. He moved on to another box and then became distracted by some lint on the ground and some nearby chairs. I had him do a full circle to hit every box and he came back around and lingered on the same one, this time pushing it with his nose and then putting his paw on top of it.
Of course he was right, and he knew which one it was immediately after we started. I hesitated because he didn't look as sure as he does in practice, but I hear that is common. They are not as clear but you need to know your dog. Trust the nose. Since I had 3 minutes I thought it would be better to be sure. But it was a gamble, since some dogs after alerting and not being rewarding would just give up and not alert again since it didn't work the first time. I'll need to be careful not to mess up Porter's training by second guessing him.
That Friday was our first time in a competition like setting.
This Friday, today, Porter made his debut in the show ring. I stayed on the sidelines like an overeager and overly anxious stage mom and snapped hundreds of pictures.
Porter had only met his handler once, just this past Tuesday when we made the hour and a half drive to Riverside so she could bathe and groom him. But despite not knowing her, he worked well for her and looked amazing out there. I was able to to stand ringside without being too much of a distraction. He did look at me a few times, but didn't bolt or whine. He stacked for Kristina much better than he does for me! It's amazing what a skilled handler can do with a green dog. And if I had practiced with him more he would have been perfect. Gotta work on his stands!!
Porter ended up getting second in his class (12 - 18 month dogs). I was pleased with that. But I was more happy with him having a good time and not being stressed out. His tail was wagging almost the whole time. Such a happy boy! :)
Once back in San Diego, Porter has his post show fun.
For his ORT, Porter entered a room with 12 identical boxes spread out at least 4 feet apart from each other. Within three minutes Porter must find the box which contains the odor and effectively communicate that to me so I can call "alert" and tell the judge exactly which box it is in.
Once a dog passes his ORT for Birch he can enter an NW1 trial, but passing an ORT does not mean your dog is trial ready yet. In a trial a dog must pass four different elements (a container search similar to the ORT, an interior search, an exterior search, and a vehicle search). You must be successful in each element to earn your dog's title.
Porter entered the room for the ORT like a sled dog. He couldn't wait to get inside so his leash walking manners went right out the door. Once were we at the start line I could tell Porter knew what his job was and he was ready to do it. He made a beeline towards the back corner of boxes, sniffed one, sniffed another, lingered, I almost called alert but wanted to be sure. He moved on to another box and then became distracted by some lint on the ground and some nearby chairs. I had him do a full circle to hit every box and he came back around and lingered on the same one, this time pushing it with his nose and then putting his paw on top of it.
Of course he was right, and he knew which one it was immediately after we started. I hesitated because he didn't look as sure as he does in practice, but I hear that is common. They are not as clear but you need to know your dog. Trust the nose. Since I had 3 minutes I thought it would be better to be sure. But it was a gamble, since some dogs after alerting and not being rewarding would just give up and not alert again since it didn't work the first time. I'll need to be careful not to mess up Porter's training by second guessing him.
That Friday was our first time in a competition like setting.
This Friday, today, Porter made his debut in the show ring. I stayed on the sidelines like an overeager and overly anxious stage mom and snapped hundreds of pictures.
Porter had only met his handler once, just this past Tuesday when we made the hour and a half drive to Riverside so she could bathe and groom him. But despite not knowing her, he worked well for her and looked amazing out there. I was able to to stand ringside without being too much of a distraction. He did look at me a few times, but didn't bolt or whine. He stacked for Kristina much better than he does for me! It's amazing what a skilled handler can do with a green dog. And if I had practiced with him more he would have been perfect. Gotta work on his stands!!
Porter ended up getting second in his class (12 - 18 month dogs). I was pleased with that. But I was more happy with him having a good time and not being stressed out. His tail was wagging almost the whole time. Such a happy boy! :)
Once back in San Diego, Porter has his post show fun.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Happy Birthday!
Porter turns one year old today. Sometimes it's amazing how fast it went and other times it seems like he's been a part of our family forever.
Some of my lofty training goals for him have not been met or even touched on. I have balance discs that have only seen the light of day twice. There's a chuck it since in the packaging. And Porter is no where near ready for a rally trial.
His daily life in the house is wonderful. He doesn't chew on inappropriate things; he doesn't counter surf; he doesn't maul us when we have food at the coffee table. That last one is pretty important in our household since we do a lot of eating on the couch. Porter still needs to be watched a bit; he's not like Indi where you can have food on the coffee table and leave the house for hours without it being touched. But he's doing amazing considering his age. If left for short time periods (a quick trip to the kitchen) our food has remained as we left it. He's a great couch potato and doesn't need miles of hikes daily to remain sane. I love having a dog who is always ready to work but also has an off switch in the house.
Porter is still crated at night and when we leave during the day. This is completely for Indi's wellbeing and not because I think Porter would get into trouble. With the size difference and Porter's bull in a China shop attitude it's just not safe for Indi to be curled up under the covers if Porter decided to leap on the bed in the middle of the night. One night we were too tired to crate him and he did fine. He slept on the floor until his normal wake up time and only then came up on the bed to wake us up. One of his new spots to hang out when I'm in bed is right by my nightstand, as close to me as he can get without being in the bed.
He still sleep on the bathroom floor right outside the shower when I'm in there and waits patiently by any door I've gone through until I return. He's a momma's boy and I find it adorable. Sometimes it's trying...he isn't happy being locked outside if I'm inside even if there's several other people outside (including my husband) to keep him company. He is very well mannered in the crate it the car unless he can see or hear me and then he demand barks.
Porter's grown has stagnated and he's now right about 62 pounds, which is right at his parent's adult weights. His feathering is minimal and just perfect for me. It's long enough to run your fingers through and to look beautiful but not so long and fluffy it mats or catches burs. Foxtails seem to slip right out and he dries off in no time.
I've been neglecting his recall so we'll be starting his whistle recall training this week. He's not ready for a rally trial but he has the moves mostly down. What we need to focus on is working in new locations so he can work well with all the distractions.
All in all it's been a great year. Porter has been a wonderful addition to our family. Sure, sometimes I want to strangle him, but I think that can often be said of teenaged boys.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Water Baby
Despite being a retriever, having parents who swim, being taken to the beach many times, and being obsessed with playing in water, Porter refuses to swim. Because of this fact, oh yeah, and I'm a little nuts, I signed Porter up for a doggie swim lesson.
Unfortunately there are no pictures since my memory card was full :(
The lesson started with Porter in a life jacket and Trish (the instructor) holding him on the second step. I walked half way down the edge of the pool with treats and called him. He just stood there at first. Then he tried to get out of the pool to come to me but Trish held on tight. Finally she guided him a little into the water and he swam towards me. He wanted nothing to do with the treats so after a couple of rounds I grabbed a plastic toy bumper Trish had. I started with treats since Porter typically prefers them over toys but that day something about that toy turn on a switch.
Once I had the toy he was even more enthusiastic about getting to me. After another few rounds we left the stairs and used the platform in the deep end. It's height adjustable so she lowered it so Porter could just barely stand on it while in the water. He was so into the toy and swimming by this point that he was take off from the platform before I even threw the bumper. He swam right to it, grabbed it, and wouldn't let go until he got to me.
I was really impressed! It was a great workout, too. He had just come from his agility lesson and then swam for 30 minutes but was begging for more. We had to drag him out of the water and he almost pulled me into the pool since he wanted in again.
I can't wait to get him back there and keep reinforcing that swimming is fun! I'm hoping this also improves his fetch! I better go buy a bumper to start practicing with, too.
Here are some pictures of his adventures with Kylie.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Tough as Nails...Almost
Today in agility I threw a ball for Porter's reward after a short sequence. The ball continued to bounce off the field and Porter gave chase. He came up limping with a 6 inch stake stuck to the bottom of his foot. After pulling it out I noticed the nail which must have embedded itself into his pad. As soon as the nail was out Porter took off for his ball without a second thought and he happily trotted back to his crate with his reward.
I'm amazed at Porter's high pain tolerance. He never yelped and only limped when it was stuThankfuck in his foot.
I'm also impressed with his ability to hold still when I need to help him. Last week he stepped on a bee and was well behaved as I checked his paw and flicked the stinger out.
Thankfully another student is a vet and she didn't seem concerned about the injury and Porter didn't know what all the fuss was about. He's not favoring that foot or licking it. Now that we are home I can't even tell anything happened to his paw when I closely inspect it.
Despite being impervious to pain, Porter is a delicate flower when it comes to the heat. It was barely in the low 70's today but the heat was sucking Porter's energy away quickly. His crate is placed in the coolest spot with the most shade and he has his cool pet pad inside, but working in the sun for a few minutes at a time is almost too much still. I foresee skipping a lot of summer trials.
I'm amazed at Porter's high pain tolerance. He never yelped and only limped when it was stuThankfuck in his foot.
I'm also impressed with his ability to hold still when I need to help him. Last week he stepped on a bee and was well behaved as I checked his paw and flicked the stinger out.
Thankfully another student is a vet and she didn't seem concerned about the injury and Porter didn't know what all the fuss was about. He's not favoring that foot or licking it. Now that we are home I can't even tell anything happened to his paw when I closely inspect it.
Despite being impervious to pain, Porter is a delicate flower when it comes to the heat. It was barely in the low 70's today but the heat was sucking Porter's energy away quickly. His crate is placed in the coolest spot with the most shade and he has his cool pet pad inside, but working in the sun for a few minutes at a time is almost too much still. I foresee skipping a lot of summer trials.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
11 Months Old
I cannot believe it's been over 2 months since I updated. I get behind a few days and then it seems overwhelming and I push off writing even longer. I just need to break the cycle and write something as well as dump some pictures I have taken with my phone.
Porter is now 11 months old! He weighs 63.5 pounds which is only a pound more than his dad. Everyone one kept saying how much he has grow so I assumed he was over 70. I don't know his height, but I am suspecting it's just over 24 inches.
Porter is doing amazing in K9 Nose Work. He's working on finding the first target odor (Birch) and has his Odor Recognition Test on June 22. For this test, he must find the one box which contains the odor out of 12 identical boxes. He'll have 3 minutes to do so, but at a recent ORT I helped with the dogs alerted on the correct box in under 30 seconds, some as quick as 6. I'm getting together with a few other local Nose Work trainers so we can practice for the test. I discovered that Porter had a much harder time finding someone else's birch tin so it's important we practice with others and in new locations.
I took his target odor with us on our walk last week and would randomly drop it along the way. Then I doubled back and positioned Porter the same way we do during a search. He instantly knew what to do and would find the tin within seconds. Then it was back to walking. I love how he was able to transition between the two activities seamlessly. I was pleased that he didn't try to mark either.
I still need to put his sit and down on stimulus control. He does well with these commands, but occasionally mixes them up or just opts for his default down. I haven't put in the time to really fine tune them.
I just bought a sheepherding whistle and plan on using Pam Dennison's Whistle Recall method with Porter. Man was it hard to get used to that whistle though! I love how you can make a variety of pitches and I hope to have some of Porter's behaviors on different whistle cues.
We still crate Porter at night. It's not to keep him (or our things) safe anymore, but mostly to keep Indi from being stepped on. Porter is still an ox when he climbs on to our bed although he's getting a little better. In the morning he's allowed up on the bed to snuggle as long as Indi is not hidden under the covers. I also want to keep his crate behavior strong so I can use it when needed. He's still great crated in the car and only so-so when crated in the lobby at work. He was crated in another room while I attended a training seminar at work and he did much better than expected. I had three kongs stuffed with peanut butter and chicken to keep him busy.
In our neighborhood Porter walks very nicely on leash, but new areas he's more inclined to pull. Which just means that I need to get him to new areas more often and work on it!
Agility is coming along nicely. He's doing better at noticing where I am and where my body is signaling him to go and making tight turns. He used to swing very wide. We still need to work on it but he's following my body cues nicely. His contacts are coming along, especially since I haven't worked them at home much. We are doing 2 on 2 off on the dog walk and teeter. He often sits or downs as well, which I am fine with. We mostly work on a plank, since I want his behavior strong, but this week I used the dog walk and he did even better. I think the steeper angle made it easier for him. With the plank barely off the ground he's more likely to hand a foot off the edge while he sits or downs. Hmmm, maybe sitting or downing isn't a good idea...
The heat really gets to Porter. I notice that if it's just slightly warm at agility his energy is sapped. I have a cool pet mat that fits perfectly in his crate and that helps. I also need to get a cool collar or coat.
I have not taken Porter to any conformation shows. There was a match nearby but the timing didn't work out with my daughter's school schedule (it was on a Friday afternoon). If I want Porter is the show ring I think our best chance will be to use a handler. At least maybe for the first time or so. I know he'll show better with me but using a handler will ease my nerves a bit (and I won't have to buy a whole new outfit!). I think Porter would do great in the ring. His brother and sister sure are!
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| Porter and Super Ted enjoying Fiesta Island. |
Porter is now 11 months old! He weighs 63.5 pounds which is only a pound more than his dad. Everyone one kept saying how much he has grow so I assumed he was over 70. I don't know his height, but I am suspecting it's just over 24 inches.
Porter is doing amazing in K9 Nose Work. He's working on finding the first target odor (Birch) and has his Odor Recognition Test on June 22. For this test, he must find the one box which contains the odor out of 12 identical boxes. He'll have 3 minutes to do so, but at a recent ORT I helped with the dogs alerted on the correct box in under 30 seconds, some as quick as 6. I'm getting together with a few other local Nose Work trainers so we can practice for the test. I discovered that Porter had a much harder time finding someone else's birch tin so it's important we practice with others and in new locations.
 |
| Silly Puppy decided to take a nap in the tub. |
I took his target odor with us on our walk last week and would randomly drop it along the way. Then I doubled back and positioned Porter the same way we do during a search. He instantly knew what to do and would find the tin within seconds. Then it was back to walking. I love how he was able to transition between the two activities seamlessly. I was pleased that he didn't try to mark either.
 |
| Porter is convinced that the laser eyed dog in the other room knows where the hide is located. |
I still need to put his sit and down on stimulus control. He does well with these commands, but occasionally mixes them up or just opts for his default down. I haven't put in the time to really fine tune them.
 |
| Learning how to be a little dog from his big sister. |
I just bought a sheepherding whistle and plan on using Pam Dennison's Whistle Recall method with Porter. Man was it hard to get used to that whistle though! I love how you can make a variety of pitches and I hope to have some of Porter's behaviors on different whistle cues.
 |
| Princess Indi doesn't care why I stacked everything on the couch just as long as her throne is soft and comfortable. |
We still crate Porter at night. It's not to keep him (or our things) safe anymore, but mostly to keep Indi from being stepped on. Porter is still an ox when he climbs on to our bed although he's getting a little better. In the morning he's allowed up on the bed to snuggle as long as Indi is not hidden under the covers. I also want to keep his crate behavior strong so I can use it when needed. He's still great crated in the car and only so-so when crated in the lobby at work. He was crated in another room while I attended a training seminar at work and he did much better than expected. I had three kongs stuffed with peanut butter and chicken to keep him busy.
In our neighborhood Porter walks very nicely on leash, but new areas he's more inclined to pull. Which just means that I need to get him to new areas more often and work on it!
 |
| At it again at grandma's house. |
Agility is coming along nicely. He's doing better at noticing where I am and where my body is signaling him to go and making tight turns. He used to swing very wide. We still need to work on it but he's following my body cues nicely. His contacts are coming along, especially since I haven't worked them at home much. We are doing 2 on 2 off on the dog walk and teeter. He often sits or downs as well, which I am fine with. We mostly work on a plank, since I want his behavior strong, but this week I used the dog walk and he did even better. I think the steeper angle made it easier for him. With the plank barely off the ground he's more likely to hand a foot off the edge while he sits or downs. Hmmm, maybe sitting or downing isn't a good idea...
 |
| Enjoying bullysticks |
The heat really gets to Porter. I notice that if it's just slightly warm at agility his energy is sapped. I have a cool pet mat that fits perfectly in his crate and that helps. I also need to get a cool collar or coat.
I have not taken Porter to any conformation shows. There was a match nearby but the timing didn't work out with my daughter's school schedule (it was on a Friday afternoon). If I want Porter is the show ring I think our best chance will be to use a handler. At least maybe for the first time or so. I know he'll show better with me but using a handler will ease my nerves a bit (and I won't have to buy a whole new outfit!). I think Porter would do great in the ring. His brother and sister sure are!
 |
| Nylabone pacifier |
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Doggie Disneyland
While the humans headed off to Disneyland, Indigo and Porter headed off to their respective versions.
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| Making himself right at home with Kylie |
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| It's raining, why can't we go outside?! |
Porter spent time with his spotted dynamic duo friends, Kylie and Daisy. His version of Doggie Disneyland includes running amok in the yard (the muddier the better) and yanking off pieces of the palm trees.
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| Yum! |
I'm not sure if it's just a factor of his age or the fact that I left him, but Porter was really distracted in his obedience class and agility lesson the week we returned. The good news is that he's back on track. Last week he was on fire in all of his classes and did really well at our conformation practice group.
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| Waiting for my return |
The last two weeks Porter has not had issues sticking to my side in agility. Instead he has been taking two obstacles just fine. I don't know if he's over it yet or just temporarily, but it's been nice not having that problem.
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| I was amazed Porter wasn't obsessed with Ted every second. |
His sniffing is still a problem when we first arrive on a new location. This week I got to class early and walked him around a bit and let him sniff his heart out. A few times I asked for something simple, like a hand target, and allowed him to go sniff more as his reward. While waiting out turn I took him off to the sides and let him sniff. He was very focused but I can't tell if it is because he was allowed to sniff on the down times and before class or something else.
Since you don't get a lot of attention in a group class we have also done a few private sessions with other trainers. Today we saw someone new and she didn't want Porter sniffing at all. So we worked on his attention and focus on me the instant he came out of his crate. He did well with the things we did today but I had to be on him constantly (treating him before he had a chance to do anything else). If not, he lost his focus and his nose was to the ground. Was this because he wasn't given any chance to sniff or because it was a brand new location (with an intact male and female and puppies on the property)? Hard to say. I'll have to play around with these two ideas and see what I get.
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| Did you find something good? |
I really liked the foundation work this new trainer does. I also liked how efficient she was with the time we had. We talked about a lot of things and did several exercises. I have a lot I can practice on at home with the work we did today. It was time well spent. We are not 100% in agreement with things, but when does that ever happen?
Since Porter and I have been doing K9 Nose Work it's likely that his sniffing is getting worse, for now, but I am confident, based on others experience, that it will get better soon. Allowing him that sniffing outlet while doing Nose Work prevent sniffing from becoming the forbidden fruit and will give him an outlet for that natural and rewarding behavior.
After our lesson we headed to Porter's breeder's house to practice conformation stuff. Porter was tired, hot, and stuffed full of food from agility so his was a bit slow and distracted. Candy thought we did well so that is encouraging since he is usually much better. I think I've decided on which show lead to use (a client lent me several). I still need to go buy my outfit, ugh.
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| Porter found a big stick and was in Heaven |
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