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!!!
Showing posts with label flirt pole. Show all posts
Showing posts with label flirt pole. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
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, February 22, 2012
8 Months Old
My puppy is now 8 months old. I cannot believe how fast the time goes.
Porter has come a long way in the 6 months he has lived with us.
I never worry about him having an accident in the house (and haven't for a couple of months or more). Although I do need to carefully supervise Indi when she poops outside since he's still obsessed with eating it. Luckily he doesn't care about his own anymore. I wonder if it has to do with his hormones since he also stalks her when she pees and does the male thing of licking it up. Ewwww.
He no longer trying to eat my hands when I just want to pet and snuggle. That first month he was such an alligator and all I wanted to do was pet him. The mouthing has mostly stopped. If he's super excited it will start up and for some reason, when I'm on the phone, he bites my arms and clothes pretty hard. Thankfully I have bags of treats easily accessible, so while I'm talking, Porter and Indi get tossed treats every few seconds.
He does amazing in his crate despite having the worst time the first week and a half. He does so well that he will run to his crate from half way across the agility field. He's happy crated in the car unless he can hear me playing/training other dogs and desperately wants a turn. He hasn't learned to sleep in yet, but I'm still holding out it will happen. I also realized that other day that he's only a month away from being the same age Indi was when we stopped crating her at night. Porter will not get that freedom at 9 months. Not because I don't trust him but since he's so big and clumsy he'll smash Indi if he tries to sleep on the bed with us all.
He's coming along in his agility training. We had a great class this week. He had no problems driving through two obstacles and towards the throw toy reward. He wasn't clingy at all :) He also did great on the dog walk. We need to work the contact more, but he did very well considering we haven't worked on it in months. He's building a lot of motivation for the obstacles. He knows that if one is near it's very rewarding to take it. Which means I need to be careful when listening to instructions in class while he's on leash with me. Sometimes he'll decide he should get himself over to the tunnel nearby. I also need to pay attention when walking to a new part of the field so he doesn't try to take the obstacles we pass.
We're going over some of the behaviors needed for the NADAC Beginner Agility Test. Porter cannot take it until he's a year old, so there's plenty of time, but so far he's right on track. It'll be great to have a small title soon and get those ring nerves over and done with before getting on a full course. I think it's smart of NADAC, too, since it will draw more people in and early and then hook them to these venue.
We have made a break through with his flirt pole tugging. It was impossible to get it from him once he caught the bag but I discovered a way to do it and it's working well. Treats were not working at first and I couldn't bring them close to him to let him see how awesome they were since he would just start playing keep away and would run off. So now I toss hunks of string cheese right near his nose when he's looking down. At first this did nothing. Then he started letting the bag go, gobbling the cheese, and quickly grabbing the bag again. So I was patient. I just threw more and never made a move for the bag. Then I started tossing some farther away and so on. Now after the initial toss he'll drop the bag and sit and wait for his treat. He's not afraid I'll steal the bag anymore. He'll even sit and stare at the bag in anticipation of me making it move again. It's like when the dogs wait by the hunter to be told to go get the ducks they just watched fall. He's waiting...tense...but controlling himself. I think he really likes this part since sometimes he wags his tail. It's great for his impulse control.
He doesn't counter surf, but he has tried to put his paws up there a few times, not so much in the recent past. My counters are not free and clear of things like they should be, but I do keep tempting food items pushed farther back.
His stays are looking great, especially his start line stay for agility. We are adding a hand signal for down. I have not worked his drop it and leave it has only been situational default work (like food on the coffee table or his dinner being set down). I haven't taught him any "tricks". So much to do!!
He will now retrieve the toy, kind of. I finally did what I do for Indi. Every time he brings the toy back I reward him with a treat. I didn't think I'd need to for a retriever but I must have messed something up, probably playing chase with him. But now he'll happily bring it back most if not all of the way when we play in the backyard.
His coat is fluffier but not too crazy at all. Only a tiny bit of feathering. Most of the lays nice and flat with only his neck being a bit plumped out. I really like this length and would love for it to stay this way, but we'll see what happens as he matures.
One lone canine has still refused to move into the proper position. It doesn't affect his eating or tugging, but it does hit the roof of his mouth. The rest of the teeth look great and where they should be so I'm thinking this might be it. If so, it would keep him out of the show ring. While I'm not really a conformation person, he's such a lovely dog, both in his attitude and personality and in looks that it would be a shame not to title him. I will still be working on getting him ready for the ring just in case his jaw keeps growing, which I heard it can do up to about a year. His brother, Tatum, is like his twin in every way (except he has perfect teeth), so at least he can pass on these great genes for the litter one day.
On two occasions Porter seemed to have an issue with another unaltered male pup just about his age. The first time was with his Vizsla friend, Harley. They haven't played together in a few months and after class I lete them interact (which I normally do not do). They were wrestling a bit and I'm not sure what went down. Maybe Porter felt tangled or got stepped on, but he took offense to something and let Harley know. Only he didn't back off. Once the growl came out I stepped in and separated them and had Porter's collar but he was still growling and pulling to get to Harley. I'm not happy that he held on to the grudge after it was all over. They've seen each other since but have not played and wrestled so I don't know what to make of it. The second time was a week later. He wanted to play really bad with Finnly (a golden). Way back in my puppy kindergarten class when they pups were 3 or so months old, they had some play time. Porter would posture and make this growling sound while trying to stand tall over Finnly. I would quickly redirect Porter and then move him elsewhere. He hasn't interacted with Finnly in ages until last week. He saw Finnly wrestling with another dog so I let Porter say hi when he suddenly growled. Things I did wrong...they were all on leash. Porter was excited to greet and probably frustrated since I was holding him back. When I did bring him over the leash was still tight since he was was straining to make contact.
So now I need to figure out...does he has issues with other intact males, does he have issues greeting on leash, is be becoming dog selective? He hasn't been to a dog park in a month or so. All the dogs he's been interacting with the last month have been the same ones and most of those are females (one being an altered male). Does he just have an issue with Finnly, since he seemed to have problems with him from the start and maybe the deal with Harley was a fluke?? Ugh.
Porter has come a long way in the 6 months he has lived with us.
I never worry about him having an accident in the house (and haven't for a couple of months or more). Although I do need to carefully supervise Indi when she poops outside since he's still obsessed with eating it. Luckily he doesn't care about his own anymore. I wonder if it has to do with his hormones since he also stalks her when she pees and does the male thing of licking it up. Ewwww.
He no longer trying to eat my hands when I just want to pet and snuggle. That first month he was such an alligator and all I wanted to do was pet him. The mouthing has mostly stopped. If he's super excited it will start up and for some reason, when I'm on the phone, he bites my arms and clothes pretty hard. Thankfully I have bags of treats easily accessible, so while I'm talking, Porter and Indi get tossed treats every few seconds.
He does amazing in his crate despite having the worst time the first week and a half. He does so well that he will run to his crate from half way across the agility field. He's happy crated in the car unless he can hear me playing/training other dogs and desperately wants a turn. He hasn't learned to sleep in yet, but I'm still holding out it will happen. I also realized that other day that he's only a month away from being the same age Indi was when we stopped crating her at night. Porter will not get that freedom at 9 months. Not because I don't trust him but since he's so big and clumsy he'll smash Indi if he tries to sleep on the bed with us all.
He's coming along in his agility training. We had a great class this week. He had no problems driving through two obstacles and towards the throw toy reward. He wasn't clingy at all :) He also did great on the dog walk. We need to work the contact more, but he did very well considering we haven't worked on it in months. He's building a lot of motivation for the obstacles. He knows that if one is near it's very rewarding to take it. Which means I need to be careful when listening to instructions in class while he's on leash with me. Sometimes he'll decide he should get himself over to the tunnel nearby. I also need to pay attention when walking to a new part of the field so he doesn't try to take the obstacles we pass.
We're going over some of the behaviors needed for the NADAC Beginner Agility Test. Porter cannot take it until he's a year old, so there's plenty of time, but so far he's right on track. It'll be great to have a small title soon and get those ring nerves over and done with before getting on a full course. I think it's smart of NADAC, too, since it will draw more people in and early and then hook them to these venue.
We have made a break through with his flirt pole tugging. It was impossible to get it from him once he caught the bag but I discovered a way to do it and it's working well. Treats were not working at first and I couldn't bring them close to him to let him see how awesome they were since he would just start playing keep away and would run off. So now I toss hunks of string cheese right near his nose when he's looking down. At first this did nothing. Then he started letting the bag go, gobbling the cheese, and quickly grabbing the bag again. So I was patient. I just threw more and never made a move for the bag. Then I started tossing some farther away and so on. Now after the initial toss he'll drop the bag and sit and wait for his treat. He's not afraid I'll steal the bag anymore. He'll even sit and stare at the bag in anticipation of me making it move again. It's like when the dogs wait by the hunter to be told to go get the ducks they just watched fall. He's waiting...tense...but controlling himself. I think he really likes this part since sometimes he wags his tail. It's great for his impulse control.
He doesn't counter surf, but he has tried to put his paws up there a few times, not so much in the recent past. My counters are not free and clear of things like they should be, but I do keep tempting food items pushed farther back.
His stays are looking great, especially his start line stay for agility. We are adding a hand signal for down. I have not worked his drop it and leave it has only been situational default work (like food on the coffee table or his dinner being set down). I haven't taught him any "tricks". So much to do!!
He will now retrieve the toy, kind of. I finally did what I do for Indi. Every time he brings the toy back I reward him with a treat. I didn't think I'd need to for a retriever but I must have messed something up, probably playing chase with him. But now he'll happily bring it back most if not all of the way when we play in the backyard.
His coat is fluffier but not too crazy at all. Only a tiny bit of feathering. Most of the lays nice and flat with only his neck being a bit plumped out. I really like this length and would love for it to stay this way, but we'll see what happens as he matures.
One lone canine has still refused to move into the proper position. It doesn't affect his eating or tugging, but it does hit the roof of his mouth. The rest of the teeth look great and where they should be so I'm thinking this might be it. If so, it would keep him out of the show ring. While I'm not really a conformation person, he's such a lovely dog, both in his attitude and personality and in looks that it would be a shame not to title him. I will still be working on getting him ready for the ring just in case his jaw keeps growing, which I heard it can do up to about a year. His brother, Tatum, is like his twin in every way (except he has perfect teeth), so at least he can pass on these great genes for the litter one day.
On two occasions Porter seemed to have an issue with another unaltered male pup just about his age. The first time was with his Vizsla friend, Harley. They haven't played together in a few months and after class I lete them interact (which I normally do not do). They were wrestling a bit and I'm not sure what went down. Maybe Porter felt tangled or got stepped on, but he took offense to something and let Harley know. Only he didn't back off. Once the growl came out I stepped in and separated them and had Porter's collar but he was still growling and pulling to get to Harley. I'm not happy that he held on to the grudge after it was all over. They've seen each other since but have not played and wrestled so I don't know what to make of it. The second time was a week later. He wanted to play really bad with Finnly (a golden). Way back in my puppy kindergarten class when they pups were 3 or so months old, they had some play time. Porter would posture and make this growling sound while trying to stand tall over Finnly. I would quickly redirect Porter and then move him elsewhere. He hasn't interacted with Finnly in ages until last week. He saw Finnly wrestling with another dog so I let Porter say hi when he suddenly growled. Things I did wrong...they were all on leash. Porter was excited to greet and probably frustrated since I was holding him back. When I did bring him over the leash was still tight since he was was straining to make contact.
So now I need to figure out...does he has issues with other intact males, does he have issues greeting on leash, is be becoming dog selective? He hasn't been to a dog park in a month or so. All the dogs he's been interacting with the last month have been the same ones and most of those are females (one being an altered male). Does he just have an issue with Finnly, since he seemed to have problems with him from the start and maybe the deal with Harley was a fluke?? Ugh.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Toy Drive
Porter's private agility session went well today. We discussed and practiced building his tug so we can use that as a reward system. I've never had a dog motivated enough by toys to use it as a reward. Food has always been at the top of the list with toys way at the bottom. My dogs enjoy toys in their free time but are not interested in working for them.
One of things I wanted in this new pup was a dog who was thrilled with toys all the time. Porter (and most of his siblings) showed interest in tugging when they were evaluated at 7 weeks. He happily plays in the house and really gets going when Indi tugs with him. He'll now tug nicely in the backyard most of the time and he's slowly starting to tug in class, but not with as much enthusiasm as he does at home.
The flirt pole is another story. If Porter gets a hold of the bag he turns into a Schutzhund dog and clamps down with all his tight and tugs so hard I can't always hold my ground. I have tried transferring this drive to his normal tug toys by putting a plastic bag on the end of them. It's not exactly the same, but it greatly increased his tug drive from what it was with those toys.
So at our lesson today, the instructor went over how she builds this drive. Some ideas I have heard before but some other parts were new to me and I'm excited to put them into action and see how Porter does.
In our other agility class we toss the reward after the obstacle, but this instructor doesn't do that (I'm not sure if she doesn't toss toys at all or just for certain things). She trains the dogs to be highly motivated to go after the still toy on the ground and not just a toy in motion. She showed me how to build up to that. First we build his tug, then we work on his out. Next we drop the toy right at our feet and release him to get it. Then we drop it at our feet and we back away from the toy slightly and I release him to rush over and get it. I run with him, too, not to beat him, but to keep up and to tug with him right at the reward spot so he doesn't want to turn and run back to me to play.
What I need to do is schedule times to practice this in the backyard first and then in the front yard. If I schedule it like it's a class I'm taking I might be more likely to do it instead of getting busy with other things.
She also told me that NADAC is doing virtual trials! So a dog like Indi, who is too reactive and stressed to be at a normal trial, will have an opportunity to earn (virtual) titles. That is really awesome! I need to look into it more and see if someone is doing them around here. Indi love agility so much (except for the teeter) so this would be perfect for her.
One of things I wanted in this new pup was a dog who was thrilled with toys all the time. Porter (and most of his siblings) showed interest in tugging when they were evaluated at 7 weeks. He happily plays in the house and really gets going when Indi tugs with him. He'll now tug nicely in the backyard most of the time and he's slowly starting to tug in class, but not with as much enthusiasm as he does at home.
The flirt pole is another story. If Porter gets a hold of the bag he turns into a Schutzhund dog and clamps down with all his tight and tugs so hard I can't always hold my ground. I have tried transferring this drive to his normal tug toys by putting a plastic bag on the end of them. It's not exactly the same, but it greatly increased his tug drive from what it was with those toys.
So at our lesson today, the instructor went over how she builds this drive. Some ideas I have heard before but some other parts were new to me and I'm excited to put them into action and see how Porter does.
In our other agility class we toss the reward after the obstacle, but this instructor doesn't do that (I'm not sure if she doesn't toss toys at all or just for certain things). She trains the dogs to be highly motivated to go after the still toy on the ground and not just a toy in motion. She showed me how to build up to that. First we build his tug, then we work on his out. Next we drop the toy right at our feet and release him to get it. Then we drop it at our feet and we back away from the toy slightly and I release him to rush over and get it. I run with him, too, not to beat him, but to keep up and to tug with him right at the reward spot so he doesn't want to turn and run back to me to play.
What I need to do is schedule times to practice this in the backyard first and then in the front yard. If I schedule it like it's a class I'm taking I might be more likely to do it instead of getting busy with other things.
She also told me that NADAC is doing virtual trials! So a dog like Indi, who is too reactive and stressed to be at a normal trial, will have an opportunity to earn (virtual) titles. That is really awesome! I need to look into it more and see if someone is doing them around here. Indi love agility so much (except for the teeter) so this would be perfect for her.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Flirt Pole
I thought that Porter would be a wild child. I envisioned never being able to sit on the couch and peacefully watch tv but instead playing fetch and going on walks at all hours of the day and night. Thankfully this is not the case! But there are times Porter gets his panties in a bunch and I need an outlet for his energy. I can't always rush him outside for a walk and despite being a retriever he prefers to play keep away with the ball (we're working on this).
The good thing about having a terrier for a big sister is that Indigo has taught Porter how awesome the flirt pole is. In the beginning she would play with the flirt pole and he would attempt to chase her. This usually resulted in him just lying in the middle of the grass watching her and occasionally darting toward her when she came near. As he grew and gained speed and coordination he was able to keep up with Indi and she decided to let him have his fun (lest she get trampled).
So now she watches on the sidelines and occasionally darts in for the chase. But for the most part, it's all Porter's game now. I have to watch the sharp turns since I don't want any injuries to his growing body and if I snap the end too high he'll leap up into the air, which looks awesome, but could easily result in injury on impact with the ground.
I keep forgetting to get a video so after a very tiring flirt pole session today I remembered to grab the gear and have a second round. Porter is already tuckered out here so you can multiply his efforts times 10 or more and you'll get the normal picture.
We are still working on how to end the game. If he's still wired and ready to go he'll leap at the end I am holding. It seems to help if I keep my body between him and the prize but sometimes I become the punching bag. Our starts are much better. I can usually get him to sit and wait and not attack until I am all ready. Walking from the shed to the grass was tricky at first but it's coming along.
Another point of weakness is what happens when he actually gets ahold of the bag. This is his crowning moment of glory and he milks it for all he's worth. He trots along the yard looking as happy as a clam. His favorite part is the tug but as he's grown it's been much harder for me to hold my ground and not hurt my hands. I have not found a reliable treat for him to release the bag consistently. He'd rather play keep away and tug and clamp his mouth shut with all his might. When there's time, I let him play this game and we might be at it for 10-15 minutes. He eventually gets sloppy and tries to readjust his bite too much and I can whip the end out of his reach and start a new game.
Here's the video I took today. I didn't realize how far away it was but you'll get the picture. I try to reverse directions often or I get dizzy. You can see him anticipate it, sometimes incorrectly.
The good thing about having a terrier for a big sister is that Indigo has taught Porter how awesome the flirt pole is. In the beginning she would play with the flirt pole and he would attempt to chase her. This usually resulted in him just lying in the middle of the grass watching her and occasionally darting toward her when she came near. As he grew and gained speed and coordination he was able to keep up with Indi and she decided to let him have his fun (lest she get trampled).
So now she watches on the sidelines and occasionally darts in for the chase. But for the most part, it's all Porter's game now. I have to watch the sharp turns since I don't want any injuries to his growing body and if I snap the end too high he'll leap up into the air, which looks awesome, but could easily result in injury on impact with the ground.
I keep forgetting to get a video so after a very tiring flirt pole session today I remembered to grab the gear and have a second round. Porter is already tuckered out here so you can multiply his efforts times 10 or more and you'll get the normal picture.
We are still working on how to end the game. If he's still wired and ready to go he'll leap at the end I am holding. It seems to help if I keep my body between him and the prize but sometimes I become the punching bag. Our starts are much better. I can usually get him to sit and wait and not attack until I am all ready. Walking from the shed to the grass was tricky at first but it's coming along.
Another point of weakness is what happens when he actually gets ahold of the bag. This is his crowning moment of glory and he milks it for all he's worth. He trots along the yard looking as happy as a clam. His favorite part is the tug but as he's grown it's been much harder for me to hold my ground and not hurt my hands. I have not found a reliable treat for him to release the bag consistently. He'd rather play keep away and tug and clamp his mouth shut with all his might. When there's time, I let him play this game and we might be at it for 10-15 minutes. He eventually gets sloppy and tries to readjust his bite too much and I can whip the end out of his reach and start a new game.
Here's the video I took today. I didn't realize how far away it was but you'll get the picture. I try to reverse directions often or I get dizzy. You can see him anticipate it, sometimes incorrectly.
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