Showing posts with label training. Show all posts
Showing posts with label training. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Porter Weaves 6 Poles!
We've finally made a break though after being in a rut with our weave pole training.
Friday, May 10, 2013
Dogwalk at Location #2
This morning was Porter's class at J's. I mentioned to her the horrible time he had on the dogwalk this week at G's so she asked me to do just the dogwalk so she could see. He was a little slow, and almost stopped at what would have been the pivot point on the teeter, but continued. He wasn't shaky and didn't jump off. She had me do it again but without cookies and he did much better the second time around.
We did a short sequence with the dog walk as the second obstacle and then the reverse and he did fine...except for his contact behavior since I didn't have the target plate out. He still hit the contact, but didn't do 2on2off.
I didn't have his mat for the a-frame so he went really slow going down and did 4on. J didn't like his speed so I made sure to get his mat the next time and he was wonderful.
One thing I loved about Porter today is he was very focused when he was working. A few times his sequence ended with him facing the line of dogs waiting and his ball even rolled within a foot of one young female. Porter rushed over, grabbed his ball and turned back toward me! It's not like him to ignore a cute girl, so I was really happy! Especially since his reward was a toy not a food-filled toy. He knows though that if he gets the toy I'll bring him food, but it's not a lure or an immediate reward like the food-filled toys. He had to make a conscience choice to pick me (food) over playtime with other dogs.
We did a short sequence with the dog walk as the second obstacle and then the reverse and he did fine...except for his contact behavior since I didn't have the target plate out. He still hit the contact, but didn't do 2on2off.
I didn't have his mat for the a-frame so he went really slow going down and did 4on. J didn't like his speed so I made sure to get his mat the next time and he was wonderful.
One thing I loved about Porter today is he was very focused when he was working. A few times his sequence ended with him facing the line of dogs waiting and his ball even rolled within a foot of one young female. Porter rushed over, grabbed his ball and turned back toward me! It's not like him to ignore a cute girl, so I was really happy! Especially since his reward was a toy not a food-filled toy. He knows though that if he gets the toy I'll bring him food, but it's not a lure or an immediate reward like the food-filled toys. He had to make a conscience choice to pick me (food) over playtime with other dogs.
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Dogwalk and Teeter Confusion
Up until last week, Porter had been doing great on his contact obstacles. He *loves* the dogwalk and A-Frame and is doing well with his contacts. In G's class we are working on the teeter and are now at the point where we give him treats right at the pivot point and then let him continue down to the end and do his contact. He seemed fine, you could tell he was gripping more with his feet, but he was still very enthusiastic about doing it.
Last Friday in J's class our first sequence was hoop, dogwalk, and so on. Porter ran up the dogwalk about 5 feet then bailed off the side...something he's never done before. I brought him back to do it again and he repeated the behavior. This time I stayed with him, I think I might have even had his collar to help guide him up and about 4 or 5 feet up he slowed down and started walking funny. I was worried maybe he hurt a back leg when he jumped off, but J asked if he had been doing teeters recently.
Apparently what is happening is Porter cannot tell the teeter and dogwalk apart. When facing those obstacles head on they look exactly the same (especially when the dogwalk does not have slats, and J's don't). He isn't the first dog to have this problem I've been told. So when he goes up the dogwalk he is slowing down and trying to find the pivot point.
I guided him all the way up and he was fine and was able to do the dogwalk a few more times.
Then this morning in G's class Porter had problems again. I wasn't expecting it since her dogwalk has slats. Porter was actually worse today than he was on Friday. I had to Hansel and Gretel treats all the way up and across. A few times he still jumped off and from the top as well! So we took it even more slow...treats every few inches, I stayed by his shoulder to prevent him from jumping off. His back legs looked shaky and he missed a few treats here and there. He was really stressed! But of course back ont he ground he was pulling to get back on the dogwalk (thankfully).
After the first try and we noticed he was nervous we backchained the end and he had no problem. G suggested I use the name when we backchain and are at the end but not to label it when we start him from the front and he's going to be scared. She doesn't want to pair his emotion with the obstacle name.
Porter has three turns on the dogwalk and while we made some progress he was still clearly having issues. I'm not used to seeing this dog worried about something. He's always been pretty bombproof.
I made another observation...a week or so ago he stopped taking treats from his Manners Minder in class and I thought it was because he was so exhausted from playing with Theo the night before. He was very slow and unmotivated in class, so I lumped the two. I also thought that the treats inside were not good enough since they were stale and getting hard.
He was very hesitant to go in his soft crate and looked worried about the manners minder so I turn off the beeping sound. It beep when a treat is delivered, like a click, it also does several loud, low beeps when it's jammed. I was concerned this noise was freaking him out.
Now that the sound has been turned off he seems better about the machine but still not 100%. I wonder if he's just bored with it? Or still unsure.
Maybe my dog isn't as resistant to being spooked as I thought? Can they go through a fear period at 22 months?
On a pleasant note, I have been able to use toys as a throwing reward in the last few classes. Int he past I had to use a food filled toy, but have progressed to a normal ty. Porter isn't taking it and running away, but he does expect a treat still and I'm fine with it!
We did some pinwheels in class today and Porter rocked them! I was able to stand pretty much right in the middle and just pivot and he was awesome :)
Last Friday in J's class our first sequence was hoop, dogwalk, and so on. Porter ran up the dogwalk about 5 feet then bailed off the side...something he's never done before. I brought him back to do it again and he repeated the behavior. This time I stayed with him, I think I might have even had his collar to help guide him up and about 4 or 5 feet up he slowed down and started walking funny. I was worried maybe he hurt a back leg when he jumped off, but J asked if he had been doing teeters recently.
Apparently what is happening is Porter cannot tell the teeter and dogwalk apart. When facing those obstacles head on they look exactly the same (especially when the dogwalk does not have slats, and J's don't). He isn't the first dog to have this problem I've been told. So when he goes up the dogwalk he is slowing down and trying to find the pivot point.
I guided him all the way up and he was fine and was able to do the dogwalk a few more times.
Then this morning in G's class Porter had problems again. I wasn't expecting it since her dogwalk has slats. Porter was actually worse today than he was on Friday. I had to Hansel and Gretel treats all the way up and across. A few times he still jumped off and from the top as well! So we took it even more slow...treats every few inches, I stayed by his shoulder to prevent him from jumping off. His back legs looked shaky and he missed a few treats here and there. He was really stressed! But of course back ont he ground he was pulling to get back on the dogwalk (thankfully).
After the first try and we noticed he was nervous we backchained the end and he had no problem. G suggested I use the name when we backchain and are at the end but not to label it when we start him from the front and he's going to be scared. She doesn't want to pair his emotion with the obstacle name.
Porter has three turns on the dogwalk and while we made some progress he was still clearly having issues. I'm not used to seeing this dog worried about something. He's always been pretty bombproof.
I made another observation...a week or so ago he stopped taking treats from his Manners Minder in class and I thought it was because he was so exhausted from playing with Theo the night before. He was very slow and unmotivated in class, so I lumped the two. I also thought that the treats inside were not good enough since they were stale and getting hard.
He was very hesitant to go in his soft crate and looked worried about the manners minder so I turn off the beeping sound. It beep when a treat is delivered, like a click, it also does several loud, low beeps when it's jammed. I was concerned this noise was freaking him out.
Now that the sound has been turned off he seems better about the machine but still not 100%. I wonder if he's just bored with it? Or still unsure.
Maybe my dog isn't as resistant to being spooked as I thought? Can they go through a fear period at 22 months?
On a pleasant note, I have been able to use toys as a throwing reward in the last few classes. Int he past I had to use a food filled toy, but have progressed to a normal ty. Porter isn't taking it and running away, but he does expect a treat still and I'm fine with it!
We did some pinwheels in class today and Porter rocked them! I was able to stand pretty much right in the middle and just pivot and he was awesome :)
Monday, May 6, 2013
NW2 Clinic
In April, Porter and I attended a seminar to work on NW2 hides. Although I've read the rules over and over, I learned a lot of small details and cleared up how things are run.
I rarely do multiple hides with Porter and it shows. I'm horrible in my handling when it comes to preventing him from getting back tot he first hide he found. He's much quicker and stronger than I expect, although you'd think after a few times I'd learn, but not quite yet.
We avoided a lot of multiple hides earlier in our training since I wanted Porter to stay at source no matter what. I've seen other dogs find a hide but quickly move on in search of another. If their alert is subtle and their handler wasn't paying close enough attention the handler might miss that first hide. ome dogs might get back there and re-alert...others won't if they were not rewarded the first time. Plus I didn't want to get ahead of ourselves and focused mainly on NW1 strategies. But now I need to step up our training so we are prepared when a trial is close enough for us to enter. Currently all the NW2 trials that are on the books are several states away. Two friends are headed to Colorado next month for one.
At this seminar I elected to keep Porter on leash when we did interiors searches so I had more control over where he went and to prevent him from going back to the first hide over and over and over again. The first room was very small and packed with round lunch tables and chairs, so it wasn't easy to get out of his way. Once he found the first hide he did manage to make it back there once or twice more. I used the leash as well as blocking with my body to keep him from accessing that corner again. Unfortunately I realized that he wasn't finding odor on the side of the room he was on and to get to the fourth corner we had to pass the first hide very closely. It was tough, but I did it...hopefully without too much manhandling (doghandling?). He still found both hides in under 2 minutes.
The next room was larger with everything along the walls and Porter did very well. The second hide was inside a file cabinet but at first I thought he was showing a lot of interest in a small radio next to it. Luckily I waited him out until he committed and we got it correct.
The best part of the day was our exterior search. Porter was #7 on the running order, and all but one or two dogs before him peed (and one even pooped) on the course. Some of those dogs had a second turn before we went, and they peed again! Porter normally doesn't pee while searching, but just the week before when we were entertaining and out of town fellow certified nose work instructor, both of our males peed in the search area! I was floored.
So with all of that in mind I watched Porter like a hawk. He quickly started sniffing in the grass and I recognized it as his "I'm smelling pee" sniffing and moved him on. Later he beelined to a spot in the dirt where I could clearly see the dampness from another dog's pee, so I redirected elsewhere.
I was so proud he did not pee!! But...we did have trouble finding the last hide. I did not take the time to really look at the search area well or the way the wind was moving and we go stuck along a wall and some tall bushes where the wind was causing the odor to pool. Porter and I were circling and circling and instead of realizing he wasn't being productive and perhaps moving up wind, we kept at it. I need to tink strategy for when we get into a bind.
I rarely do multiple hides with Porter and it shows. I'm horrible in my handling when it comes to preventing him from getting back tot he first hide he found. He's much quicker and stronger than I expect, although you'd think after a few times I'd learn, but not quite yet.
We avoided a lot of multiple hides earlier in our training since I wanted Porter to stay at source no matter what. I've seen other dogs find a hide but quickly move on in search of another. If their alert is subtle and their handler wasn't paying close enough attention the handler might miss that first hide. ome dogs might get back there and re-alert...others won't if they were not rewarded the first time. Plus I didn't want to get ahead of ourselves and focused mainly on NW1 strategies. But now I need to step up our training so we are prepared when a trial is close enough for us to enter. Currently all the NW2 trials that are on the books are several states away. Two friends are headed to Colorado next month for one.
At this seminar I elected to keep Porter on leash when we did interiors searches so I had more control over where he went and to prevent him from going back to the first hide over and over and over again. The first room was very small and packed with round lunch tables and chairs, so it wasn't easy to get out of his way. Once he found the first hide he did manage to make it back there once or twice more. I used the leash as well as blocking with my body to keep him from accessing that corner again. Unfortunately I realized that he wasn't finding odor on the side of the room he was on and to get to the fourth corner we had to pass the first hide very closely. It was tough, but I did it...hopefully without too much manhandling (doghandling?). He still found both hides in under 2 minutes.
The next room was larger with everything along the walls and Porter did very well. The second hide was inside a file cabinet but at first I thought he was showing a lot of interest in a small radio next to it. Luckily I waited him out until he committed and we got it correct.
The best part of the day was our exterior search. Porter was #7 on the running order, and all but one or two dogs before him peed (and one even pooped) on the course. Some of those dogs had a second turn before we went, and they peed again! Porter normally doesn't pee while searching, but just the week before when we were entertaining and out of town fellow certified nose work instructor, both of our males peed in the search area! I was floored.
So with all of that in mind I watched Porter like a hawk. He quickly started sniffing in the grass and I recognized it as his "I'm smelling pee" sniffing and moved him on. Later he beelined to a spot in the dirt where I could clearly see the dampness from another dog's pee, so I redirected elsewhere.
I was so proud he did not pee!! But...we did have trouble finding the last hide. I did not take the time to really look at the search area well or the way the wind was moving and we go stuck along a wall and some tall bushes where the wind was causing the odor to pool. Porter and I were circling and circling and instead of realizing he wasn't being productive and perhaps moving up wind, we kept at it. I need to tink strategy for when we get into a bind.
Friday, May 3, 2013
Agility Contacts and Weaves
Porter is really coming along in his agility training.
His contacts are not done yet, but they are looking really nice. I have noticed that we need to help him generalize. At his normal agility class he does that perfectly, and even without his targets. I am making sure I am changing up what my body is doing when he hits his contacts so he's not cueing off of me and I am building up a good lateral distance. But at his new agility location his behavior is not as precise. Not only are we on a new field but the ground is dirt instead of grass. Over the weeks he's gotten better but there is still a discrepancy.
We are also coming along with his weave poles. He's starting to be able to do a set of 4 now! Sometimes he want so skip the first set and do the second only, so we are working on that and it's getting better. we are also working on his drive since he's so slow!!! It's weird since everywhere else he's speedy, but in my training I've accidentally trained him to be slow :(
My friends have been raving about this new agility instructor so I decided to give her a try. It doesn't hurt that she's only 15 minutes away and no freeway driving!! Her location is awesome. She has a huge agility field on her property which is fully fenced. She also has an area the size of my backyard which is fenced in for the dogs to potty and run around off leash. I can back my car right up tot he edge of the field and keep Porter crated in the car which is great. He's much less barky that way.
So far, I really like J! Her style is very different different from G so I have to retrain myself a little bit. J competes in NADAC with her Border Collies and handles from a distance. G does less distance with with her dogs, but since her dogs are slower and the venues she competes in don't need as much distance handling it works for her. She does have a BC pup now so it will be interesting to see how this dog will need to the handled.
G likes us to not use many verbal cues but mostly our body to communicate where we want the dog to go. I totally get this. Dogs are more in turn to body language anyhow. And this way, she says when you do need to use your voice the dog will pay attention since you haven't been babbling at him the whole course.
J uses a lot of verbal cues for her dogs, for the obstacles as well as which way to turn, to go out further, and so on. This has been hard for me since I'm used to being quiet. But, I have seen that giving Porter an early verbal cue to go into the tunnel has really helped him. I've been able to work him from a farther distance whereas before I'd have to go with him almost all the say to the entrance to the tunnel. I still need to work on giving him that information early enough though. I'm used to him not committing until the last minute so I typically wait to show him where to go next or he'll pull off an obstacle or drop a bar. But he's getting better at this so I need to catch myself up with him and handle him better.
J is very willing to alter things for me when what she does conflicts with what G does. That's been a big help.
Another thing I like about J is she gives you so much feedback on what to change, what you did that caused the dog to do what he did, etc. She is really paying attention and catches everything and has no problem calling you out on something. I love it!! I want all that constructive criticism. I want to be told (over and over again if needed) that I dropped my hand too soon or my feet were pointing in the wrong direction, or I was too late cueing him where to go next. I don't get offended. I need that info to grow in my handling. If Porter drops a bar, I want to know why. If he missed an obstacle I was trying to have him take I want to know what to change for next time to help him. It's always something the handler is doing.
Today several dogs took the wrong obstacle when they needed to discriminate between the two and I loved that J told the handles to just go with it, because the dog was just doing what their body told them to do. The dog was not wrong. The handler miscommunicated to the dog. So don't punish the dog; don't demotivate him. He did what you asked...just just asked the wrong thing.
Right now I am seeing both trainers but I'll probably need make a choice and go with just one. Mostly because the husband says I do (it'll get costly going to two classes at once), but also because some of the small differences might be hard to mesh.
But for this month I'm still attending both classes and learning so much!
His contacts are not done yet, but they are looking really nice. I have noticed that we need to help him generalize. At his normal agility class he does that perfectly, and even without his targets. I am making sure I am changing up what my body is doing when he hits his contacts so he's not cueing off of me and I am building up a good lateral distance. But at his new agility location his behavior is not as precise. Not only are we on a new field but the ground is dirt instead of grass. Over the weeks he's gotten better but there is still a discrepancy.
We are also coming along with his weave poles. He's starting to be able to do a set of 4 now! Sometimes he want so skip the first set and do the second only, so we are working on that and it's getting better. we are also working on his drive since he's so slow!!! It's weird since everywhere else he's speedy, but in my training I've accidentally trained him to be slow :(
My friends have been raving about this new agility instructor so I decided to give her a try. It doesn't hurt that she's only 15 minutes away and no freeway driving!! Her location is awesome. She has a huge agility field on her property which is fully fenced. She also has an area the size of my backyard which is fenced in for the dogs to potty and run around off leash. I can back my car right up tot he edge of the field and keep Porter crated in the car which is great. He's much less barky that way.
So far, I really like J! Her style is very different different from G so I have to retrain myself a little bit. J competes in NADAC with her Border Collies and handles from a distance. G does less distance with with her dogs, but since her dogs are slower and the venues she competes in don't need as much distance handling it works for her. She does have a BC pup now so it will be interesting to see how this dog will need to the handled.
G likes us to not use many verbal cues but mostly our body to communicate where we want the dog to go. I totally get this. Dogs are more in turn to body language anyhow. And this way, she says when you do need to use your voice the dog will pay attention since you haven't been babbling at him the whole course.
J uses a lot of verbal cues for her dogs, for the obstacles as well as which way to turn, to go out further, and so on. This has been hard for me since I'm used to being quiet. But, I have seen that giving Porter an early verbal cue to go into the tunnel has really helped him. I've been able to work him from a farther distance whereas before I'd have to go with him almost all the say to the entrance to the tunnel. I still need to work on giving him that information early enough though. I'm used to him not committing until the last minute so I typically wait to show him where to go next or he'll pull off an obstacle or drop a bar. But he's getting better at this so I need to catch myself up with him and handle him better.
J is very willing to alter things for me when what she does conflicts with what G does. That's been a big help.
Another thing I like about J is she gives you so much feedback on what to change, what you did that caused the dog to do what he did, etc. She is really paying attention and catches everything and has no problem calling you out on something. I love it!! I want all that constructive criticism. I want to be told (over and over again if needed) that I dropped my hand too soon or my feet were pointing in the wrong direction, or I was too late cueing him where to go next. I don't get offended. I need that info to grow in my handling. If Porter drops a bar, I want to know why. If he missed an obstacle I was trying to have him take I want to know what to change for next time to help him. It's always something the handler is doing.
Today several dogs took the wrong obstacle when they needed to discriminate between the two and I loved that J told the handles to just go with it, because the dog was just doing what their body told them to do. The dog was not wrong. The handler miscommunicated to the dog. So don't punish the dog; don't demotivate him. He did what you asked...just just asked the wrong thing.
Right now I am seeing both trainers but I'll probably need make a choice and go with just one. Mostly because the husband says I do (it'll get costly going to two classes at once), but also because some of the small differences might be hard to mesh.
But for this month I'm still attending both classes and learning so much!
ORTs
On Saint Patrick's Day, Porter finished his last two ORTs...Odor Recognition Tests for anise and clove.
I volunteered to help in the morning when the dogs were running birch, so Porter had a long day. He was great chilling in the car for several hours. It was nice a cool that day so no worries of overheating, but I still covered the car with my cool shades just in case.
For his anise run, Porter actually left the odor box, but I had a feeling it was there based on his behavior, so I had him do a 360, checking a few other boxes along the way, and brought him back to pass that box of interest and this time he alerted.
He was much quicker with clove, which is interesting since we haven't worked that one as much. I was about to leave the room and was reminded to grab my score book from the judge. In my hesitation, Porter was able to reach the odor box again and alerted so I rewarded him and while trying to get my book dropped treats. Luckily there are no faults, just pass/no pass.
He won't need clove for a long time since it's only used in the third level of competition, but it was nice to just get this ORT out of the way and not need to worry about it later or travel a long way to get it done.
I volunteered to help in the morning when the dogs were running birch, so Porter had a long day. He was great chilling in the car for several hours. It was nice a cool that day so no worries of overheating, but I still covered the car with my cool shades just in case.
For his anise run, Porter actually left the odor box, but I had a feeling it was there based on his behavior, so I had him do a 360, checking a few other boxes along the way, and brought him back to pass that box of interest and this time he alerted.
He was much quicker with clove, which is interesting since we haven't worked that one as much. I was about to leave the room and was reminded to grab my score book from the judge. In my hesitation, Porter was able to reach the odor box again and alerted so I rewarded him and while trying to get my book dropped treats. Luckily there are no faults, just pass/no pass.
He won't need clove for a long time since it's only used in the third level of competition, but it was nice to just get this ORT out of the way and not need to worry about it later or travel a long way to get it done.
Friday, April 12, 2013
Urban Mushing
In February, Porter and I drove an hour and a half to learn more about Urban Mushing. I had heard of the idea before but a bee was placed in my bonnet from Christina Waggoner and her mini talk at Clicker Expo on the subject.
With urban mushing, instead of sleds, dogs can pull carts, bikes, scooters, you name it. It allows those of us who do not live in the snow to have another fun way to let our dogs run their hearts out. This is different from just biking with your dog since with urban mushing the dog is pulling you, not just running at your side. I was eager to learn from someone who has been doing this awhile so I could learn how to do this safely and not injure Porter.
Rancy, from www.urbanmushing.com, donated a lot of time out of his morning to show a small group the ropes. He brought out at least 20 different sized harnesses in a couple of styles and went over all the kinds of equipment we could use and his opinion on the pros and cons of each. After the dogs were fitted with a harness and we walked them around the grass to get them used to pulling, we tried our turn with the scooter.
These scooters (www.diggler.com) are awesome. They are very steady and have great brakes. Porter did pretty well for his first time pulling me down the parking lot but he kept looking back and wanting me to catch up to him. I think if we were on an open trail he would have kept going, but with the parking lot ending he wasn't going to sprint and then slam on the brakes.
Next Rancy got on the scooter and had me walk ahead and call Porter, so Porter could focus on running forward. Man, that dog is fast! I know he will really love this activity!!
Less than a mile from our house are some dirt trails which would be perfect for urban mushing. In fact, one of my friends saw someone out there when she was running one morning. Once I get Porter measured for his custom harness I'll be able to purchase the scooter and we'll be all set. With the weather warming up and summer coming (kidlet out of school) I'm thinking of holding off on the purchase until the fall. You really need cool weather for this since the dogs heat up quickly. If I had a cart I could take my daughter with me, but those are ridiculously costly. You don't want to know how much just the scooter is going to be. Plus, after the summer Porter will be 2 years old and it should be safer on his joints to engage in this kind of fun.
My goal is to mount my Go Pro to get some cool clips. I've been horrible about using it!
I'd like someone to head out with but I haven't been able to find anyone yet...unless I want to drive 1.5 hours each way to meet the group who runs every Saturday morning.
Here's a commercial that Qualcomm created featuring Rancy. Note that he doesn't use a snow sled with wheels to do this, but it was cute for the sake of the commercial.
With urban mushing, instead of sleds, dogs can pull carts, bikes, scooters, you name it. It allows those of us who do not live in the snow to have another fun way to let our dogs run their hearts out. This is different from just biking with your dog since with urban mushing the dog is pulling you, not just running at your side. I was eager to learn from someone who has been doing this awhile so I could learn how to do this safely and not injure Porter.
Rancy, from www.urbanmushing.com, donated a lot of time out of his morning to show a small group the ropes. He brought out at least 20 different sized harnesses in a couple of styles and went over all the kinds of equipment we could use and his opinion on the pros and cons of each. After the dogs were fitted with a harness and we walked them around the grass to get them used to pulling, we tried our turn with the scooter.
These scooters (www.diggler.com) are awesome. They are very steady and have great brakes. Porter did pretty well for his first time pulling me down the parking lot but he kept looking back and wanting me to catch up to him. I think if we were on an open trail he would have kept going, but with the parking lot ending he wasn't going to sprint and then slam on the brakes.
Next Rancy got on the scooter and had me walk ahead and call Porter, so Porter could focus on running forward. Man, that dog is fast! I know he will really love this activity!!
Less than a mile from our house are some dirt trails which would be perfect for urban mushing. In fact, one of my friends saw someone out there when she was running one morning. Once I get Porter measured for his custom harness I'll be able to purchase the scooter and we'll be all set. With the weather warming up and summer coming (kidlet out of school) I'm thinking of holding off on the purchase until the fall. You really need cool weather for this since the dogs heat up quickly. If I had a cart I could take my daughter with me, but those are ridiculously costly. You don't want to know how much just the scooter is going to be. Plus, after the summer Porter will be 2 years old and it should be safer on his joints to engage in this kind of fun.
My goal is to mount my Go Pro to get some cool clips. I've been horrible about using it!
I'd like someone to head out with but I haven't been able to find anyone yet...unless I want to drive 1.5 hours each way to meet the group who runs every Saturday morning.
Here's a commercial that Qualcomm created featuring Rancy. Note that he doesn't use a snow sled with wheels to do this, but it was cute for the sake of the commercial.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
NW1!
Yesterday was Porter's first K9 Nose Work® trial.
Here are his results:
Container Search: 16.94 seconds - 5th place
Vehicle Search: 14.78 - 4th place
Exterior Search: 9.45 seconds - 2nd place
Interior Search: 9.52 seconds - 2nd place
He placed 2nd overall for the whole trial! I am very proud of my hard working boy. :) I was just hoping we would title, but would understand if we didn't since it was our first try, but to place! Sooo excited about that.
The strategy I had for the exterior hide worked well and helped him find it so quickly. But it was luck of the draw it was that close and along the wall I wanted him to search first.
For the majority of the trial I was very calm, which really surprised me. I thought I would be a nervous wreck. I slept well the night before when usually I am tossing and turning with my brain thinking about a million things in preparation the night before anything new and exciting. I didn't second guess Porter and delay in calling out an alert but just went with what he was showing me.
I had tunnel vision anytime it was our turn. I couldn't tell you how many people were at each element or even what the other side of the room looked like in the interior search. I was completely focus on only Porter.
He did have a snafu which stressed me out and made me worry we would be disqualified completely. He somehow managed to grab one of the hides and pull it out of it's hiding spot :/ And it wasn't like I was just standing there staring off while he was working on it for a long time. It was pretty instantaneous and even shocked the judge when I told her. I wonder if that's a first. Yikes.
Then, at the end of the day at the awards ceremony, they started calling people up who earned their title and half way through I realized they were going on alphabetical order and were well past my last name. So I thought we blew it and that situation had kicked us out of the running. I didn't know they save the teams who placed for the end so imagine my surprise when they called us for 2nd place!!
Overall it was a really nice trial. The atmosphere was very calm and relaxed in the parking area where everyone stays. All the competitors were very aware of keeping the dogs an appropriate distance apart from each other. The volunteers were super nice and a calming influence when you approached an element. The judges were great and a couple of times even praised us when we finished an element.
We had 6 of us from San Diego entered in this trial. Five ran yesterday and one ran today (she volunteered yesterday so she was with us). We set up a nice little camp with tables and chairs and everyone brought food to share. It was wonderful being with people you knew and trained with. Unfortunately, two of our group missed one element and will need to try for their NW1 again, but I am confident they will succeed. Another member of our San Diego group was the one to bring home the blue ribbon! So look out Nose Work community, San Diego is bringing some heat!
I also saw a couple of people who were in my Las Vegas nose work instructor course. I met some friend's of Sue (who has Porter's brother), saw a lady I recently met at a clinic I took from Kim Buchanan, and met a founding CNWI who has a FCR! Porter was more than happy to try to put the moves on her female, Turner. I even got to snuggle a 3 month old FCR who's big sister was trialing. Their household dynamics were amazing similar to mine (reactive older dog...wanted a chill go with the flow second dog).
I had a lot of fun and can't wait to begin training for our next set of challenges. I really hope I can give back soon and volunteer at a trial. There's no way we could do this without a good volunteer base.
Pictures will be posted a little later!!
Here are his results:
Container Search: 16.94 seconds - 5th place
Vehicle Search: 14.78 - 4th place
Exterior Search: 9.45 seconds - 2nd place
Interior Search: 9.52 seconds - 2nd place
He placed 2nd overall for the whole trial! I am very proud of my hard working boy. :) I was just hoping we would title, but would understand if we didn't since it was our first try, but to place! Sooo excited about that.
The strategy I had for the exterior hide worked well and helped him find it so quickly. But it was luck of the draw it was that close and along the wall I wanted him to search first.
For the majority of the trial I was very calm, which really surprised me. I thought I would be a nervous wreck. I slept well the night before when usually I am tossing and turning with my brain thinking about a million things in preparation the night before anything new and exciting. I didn't second guess Porter and delay in calling out an alert but just went with what he was showing me.
I had tunnel vision anytime it was our turn. I couldn't tell you how many people were at each element or even what the other side of the room looked like in the interior search. I was completely focus on only Porter.
He did have a snafu which stressed me out and made me worry we would be disqualified completely. He somehow managed to grab one of the hides and pull it out of it's hiding spot :/ And it wasn't like I was just standing there staring off while he was working on it for a long time. It was pretty instantaneous and even shocked the judge when I told her. I wonder if that's a first. Yikes.
Then, at the end of the day at the awards ceremony, they started calling people up who earned their title and half way through I realized they were going on alphabetical order and were well past my last name. So I thought we blew it and that situation had kicked us out of the running. I didn't know they save the teams who placed for the end so imagine my surprise when they called us for 2nd place!!
Overall it was a really nice trial. The atmosphere was very calm and relaxed in the parking area where everyone stays. All the competitors were very aware of keeping the dogs an appropriate distance apart from each other. The volunteers were super nice and a calming influence when you approached an element. The judges were great and a couple of times even praised us when we finished an element.
We had 6 of us from San Diego entered in this trial. Five ran yesterday and one ran today (she volunteered yesterday so she was with us). We set up a nice little camp with tables and chairs and everyone brought food to share. It was wonderful being with people you knew and trained with. Unfortunately, two of our group missed one element and will need to try for their NW1 again, but I am confident they will succeed. Another member of our San Diego group was the one to bring home the blue ribbon! So look out Nose Work community, San Diego is bringing some heat!
I also saw a couple of people who were in my Las Vegas nose work instructor course. I met some friend's of Sue (who has Porter's brother), saw a lady I recently met at a clinic I took from Kim Buchanan, and met a founding CNWI who has a FCR! Porter was more than happy to try to put the moves on her female, Turner. I even got to snuggle a 3 month old FCR who's big sister was trialing. Their household dynamics were amazing similar to mine (reactive older dog...wanted a chill go with the flow second dog).
I had a lot of fun and can't wait to begin training for our next set of challenges. I really hope I can give back soon and volunteer at a trial. There's no way we could do this without a good volunteer base.
Pictures will be posted a little later!!
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!!!
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!
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
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.
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.
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