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 :)
Showing posts with label toys. Show all posts
Showing posts with label toys. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
With Bells On...
Here is Porter NW1 proudly displaying his ribbons. The first on the lef tis for earning his NW1 title, the red is for placing second overall in the trial, and the two purples are for placing second in exteriors and interiors.
After tiring Porter out by having him sprint after balls in the yard I bring out his boomer ball. He's obsessed with the bolt on one end and tries to nibble at it, but often is so tired from playing that he just hovers over it and ends up sliming the whole thing.
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Training Update
Our first K9 Nose Work trial is in two weeks, so we have really ramped up our training. Tomorrow we are meeting at my friend's house to give the dogs a novel place to search. It won't be a novel location for Porter; his besties, Kylie and Daisy, live there. But it will be a new searching location for him. Next week we are searching at a high school and the following Saturday we are signed up for a 3 hour clinic with Kim Buchanan. A few days later is our mock trial, and then that weekend the real thing!
Last week we had another drive and motivation class with Kellie. We worked on using two similar balls to get Porter used to trading and only being interested in playing with the toy I have, not the boring one just lying on the ground. It worked really well! I ordered some new toys from Clean Run and also picked up some wool balls at the pet store to practice.
I've been able to practice twice already and it's going great and is really tiring for Porter. He doesn't bring the first ball back to me, but he will leave it to come play with the one I have, which is huge. He normally would horde the toy he has and refuse to give it up or even let me come near. He'd rather play keep away and chase. This twist eliminated the conflict and brings me back into the game in a positive way. For Porter, it's critical to have two identical balls. Otherwise he gets bored with one and favors the other and will not trade.
In addition to these toys I purchased a large (and small) boomer ball for him. These are very hard plastic hollow balls that are often used at the San Diego Zoo with the large carnivores for enrichment. Needless to say, they can take a beating. I bought a boomer ball that is too big for Porter to pick up so we can play with it in the backyard. I roll or kick it, he chased it, tries to mouth it, I catch up, and repeat. If he can pick it up he'll carry it off and horde it. This call prevents that and eliminated the possibility of keep away.
The smaller ball is for playing in the house. It's a little bigger than a tennis ball and is holding up well to his mouthing.
After several rounds with the wool balls and then the boomer ball Porter is wiped out. It's great exercise and fun for him. Money well spend!
Last week we had another drive and motivation class with Kellie. We worked on using two similar balls to get Porter used to trading and only being interested in playing with the toy I have, not the boring one just lying on the ground. It worked really well! I ordered some new toys from Clean Run and also picked up some wool balls at the pet store to practice.
I've been able to practice twice already and it's going great and is really tiring for Porter. He doesn't bring the first ball back to me, but he will leave it to come play with the one I have, which is huge. He normally would horde the toy he has and refuse to give it up or even let me come near. He'd rather play keep away and chase. This twist eliminated the conflict and brings me back into the game in a positive way. For Porter, it's critical to have two identical balls. Otherwise he gets bored with one and favors the other and will not trade.
In addition to these toys I purchased a large (and small) boomer ball for him. These are very hard plastic hollow balls that are often used at the San Diego Zoo with the large carnivores for enrichment. Needless to say, they can take a beating. I bought a boomer ball that is too big for Porter to pick up so we can play with it in the backyard. I roll or kick it, he chased it, tries to mouth it, I catch up, and repeat. If he can pick it up he'll carry it off and horde it. This call prevents that and eliminated the possibility of keep away.
The smaller ball is for playing in the house. It's a little bigger than a tennis ball and is holding up well to his mouthing.
After several rounds with the wool balls and then the boomer ball Porter is wiped out. It's great exercise and fun for him. Money well spend!
Thursday, 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, 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.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Agility Update
With summer in full swing our 10am agility class is heating up. I purchased a Chilly Buddy Cooling Coat a month ago and it finally just arrived. It seems to fit Porter well and is really light weight. He didn't seem to tire out as quickly at yesterday's class but it's hard to tell if it was due to the coat or not. We had a private lesson this afternoon at 4pm and he was dragging even with the coat, but it was quite a bit warmer than yesterday.
Porter's contacts are coming along. I've decided to do a down after the A-Frame (Four on the Floor; Modified Running Contact). Down is his default position so it comes so naturally to him. When Indi took lessons with Ann Croft and she taught us this method I didn't think it would be a good choice for her, since Indi hates to down in a lot of situations. But for Porter, this is perfect. I was considering doing Rachel Sander's Box Method but I don't have the DVD yet and my instructor doesn't teach this method as a regular part of her classes. I'd still like to learn about it, but for now the down is going well. We are doing 2 on 2 off for the dog walk and teeter and things are progressing nicely with that, too. I can walk quickly past his target or hang back and he still hits his spot. I need to vary my speed and lateral distance even more, but we'll get there.
Porter's flatwork needs work!! He's a bit distracted so I need to just take a long line out to a park and really work on it. I'll probably toss in some of Leslie McDevitt's ideas in there to help him along.
In our private lessons I've been working on Porter following his line. He tends to skip the last jump in a short sequence to get into heel position. Even more so if it's a wing jump. When we can practice several in a row he does better, so we'll just need to stay on top of it.
I finally found a toy that looks like it's working and it's really helping with this issue. This Rip and Tug toy can hold treats inside and the dog can break into it to self reward. Porter will follow a normal toy and chase it but then either 1) ignores it once it's "dead" or 2) grabs it and runs victory laps while playing keep away. Neither is good for his training. But with this toy he gets the thrill of the chase and then when the toy is dead he stops and lies down and self rewards. No running off with it or getting bored and walking off to sniff. It also keeps him mostly pointed in the original direction if there are more obstacles for us to do once I've rewarded him for the first part. And so far, the food hasn't flung out and all over the field on accident as it can do with some other stuffable toys.
He's doing ok with his 2x2 weave poles, but would be much farther along if I practiced at home more. This new toy will help with that practice as well.
Porter's sense of timing is amazing. In the last ten minutes of class yesterday Porter started to get antsy and became pulling like mad in the direction of the pool (which he cannot see from the agility field). He knew his swim lesson was about to start. He never does this on Wednesdays after our private lessons since swim is only on Tuesdays.
Porter's contacts are coming along. I've decided to do a down after the A-Frame (Four on the Floor; Modified Running Contact). Down is his default position so it comes so naturally to him. When Indi took lessons with Ann Croft and she taught us this method I didn't think it would be a good choice for her, since Indi hates to down in a lot of situations. But for Porter, this is perfect. I was considering doing Rachel Sander's Box Method but I don't have the DVD yet and my instructor doesn't teach this method as a regular part of her classes. I'd still like to learn about it, but for now the down is going well. We are doing 2 on 2 off for the dog walk and teeter and things are progressing nicely with that, too. I can walk quickly past his target or hang back and he still hits his spot. I need to vary my speed and lateral distance even more, but we'll get there.
Porter's flatwork needs work!! He's a bit distracted so I need to just take a long line out to a park and really work on it. I'll probably toss in some of Leslie McDevitt's ideas in there to help him along.
In our private lessons I've been working on Porter following his line. He tends to skip the last jump in a short sequence to get into heel position. Even more so if it's a wing jump. When we can practice several in a row he does better, so we'll just need to stay on top of it.
I finally found a toy that looks like it's working and it's really helping with this issue. This Rip and Tug toy can hold treats inside and the dog can break into it to self reward. Porter will follow a normal toy and chase it but then either 1) ignores it once it's "dead" or 2) grabs it and runs victory laps while playing keep away. Neither is good for his training. But with this toy he gets the thrill of the chase and then when the toy is dead he stops and lies down and self rewards. No running off with it or getting bored and walking off to sniff. It also keeps him mostly pointed in the original direction if there are more obstacles for us to do once I've rewarded him for the first part. And so far, the food hasn't flung out and all over the field on accident as it can do with some other stuffable toys.
He's doing ok with his 2x2 weave poles, but would be much farther along if I practiced at home more. This new toy will help with that practice as well.
Porter's sense of timing is amazing. In the last ten minutes of class yesterday Porter started to get antsy and became pulling like mad in the direction of the pool (which he cannot see from the agility field). He knew his swim lesson was about to start. He never does this on Wednesdays after our private lessons since swim is only on Tuesdays.
Friday, February 24, 2012
All Indigo, All the Time
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| Throw the ball wouldya! |
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| Der's somfin in ma mouf |
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| Right here, somewhere |
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| Blah, darn grass |
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| That's better |
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| I haz cookie now? |
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Toy Drive
Porter's private agility session went well today. We discussed and practiced building his tug so we can use that as a reward system. I've never had a dog motivated enough by toys to use it as a reward. Food has always been at the top of the list with toys way at the bottom. My dogs enjoy toys in their free time but are not interested in working for them.
One of things I wanted in this new pup was a dog who was thrilled with toys all the time. Porter (and most of his siblings) showed interest in tugging when they were evaluated at 7 weeks. He happily plays in the house and really gets going when Indi tugs with him. He'll now tug nicely in the backyard most of the time and he's slowly starting to tug in class, but not with as much enthusiasm as he does at home.
The flirt pole is another story. If Porter gets a hold of the bag he turns into a Schutzhund dog and clamps down with all his tight and tugs so hard I can't always hold my ground. I have tried transferring this drive to his normal tug toys by putting a plastic bag on the end of them. It's not exactly the same, but it greatly increased his tug drive from what it was with those toys.
So at our lesson today, the instructor went over how she builds this drive. Some ideas I have heard before but some other parts were new to me and I'm excited to put them into action and see how Porter does.
In our other agility class we toss the reward after the obstacle, but this instructor doesn't do that (I'm not sure if she doesn't toss toys at all or just for certain things). She trains the dogs to be highly motivated to go after the still toy on the ground and not just a toy in motion. She showed me how to build up to that. First we build his tug, then we work on his out. Next we drop the toy right at our feet and release him to get it. Then we drop it at our feet and we back away from the toy slightly and I release him to rush over and get it. I run with him, too, not to beat him, but to keep up and to tug with him right at the reward spot so he doesn't want to turn and run back to me to play.
What I need to do is schedule times to practice this in the backyard first and then in the front yard. If I schedule it like it's a class I'm taking I might be more likely to do it instead of getting busy with other things.
She also told me that NADAC is doing virtual trials! So a dog like Indi, who is too reactive and stressed to be at a normal trial, will have an opportunity to earn (virtual) titles. That is really awesome! I need to look into it more and see if someone is doing them around here. Indi love agility so much (except for the teeter) so this would be perfect for her.
One of things I wanted in this new pup was a dog who was thrilled with toys all the time. Porter (and most of his siblings) showed interest in tugging when they were evaluated at 7 weeks. He happily plays in the house and really gets going when Indi tugs with him. He'll now tug nicely in the backyard most of the time and he's slowly starting to tug in class, but not with as much enthusiasm as he does at home.
The flirt pole is another story. If Porter gets a hold of the bag he turns into a Schutzhund dog and clamps down with all his tight and tugs so hard I can't always hold my ground. I have tried transferring this drive to his normal tug toys by putting a plastic bag on the end of them. It's not exactly the same, but it greatly increased his tug drive from what it was with those toys.
So at our lesson today, the instructor went over how she builds this drive. Some ideas I have heard before but some other parts were new to me and I'm excited to put them into action and see how Porter does.
In our other agility class we toss the reward after the obstacle, but this instructor doesn't do that (I'm not sure if she doesn't toss toys at all or just for certain things). She trains the dogs to be highly motivated to go after the still toy on the ground and not just a toy in motion. She showed me how to build up to that. First we build his tug, then we work on his out. Next we drop the toy right at our feet and release him to get it. Then we drop it at our feet and we back away from the toy slightly and I release him to rush over and get it. I run with him, too, not to beat him, but to keep up and to tug with him right at the reward spot so he doesn't want to turn and run back to me to play.
What I need to do is schedule times to practice this in the backyard first and then in the front yard. If I schedule it like it's a class I'm taking I might be more likely to do it instead of getting busy with other things.
She also told me that NADAC is doing virtual trials! So a dog like Indi, who is too reactive and stressed to be at a normal trial, will have an opportunity to earn (virtual) titles. That is really awesome! I need to look into it more and see if someone is doing them around here. Indi love agility so much (except for the teeter) so this would be perfect for her.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Flirt Pole
I thought that Porter would be a wild child. I envisioned never being able to sit on the couch and peacefully watch tv but instead playing fetch and going on walks at all hours of the day and night. Thankfully this is not the case! But there are times Porter gets his panties in a bunch and I need an outlet for his energy. I can't always rush him outside for a walk and despite being a retriever he prefers to play keep away with the ball (we're working on this).
The good thing about having a terrier for a big sister is that Indigo has taught Porter how awesome the flirt pole is. In the beginning she would play with the flirt pole and he would attempt to chase her. This usually resulted in him just lying in the middle of the grass watching her and occasionally darting toward her when she came near. As he grew and gained speed and coordination he was able to keep up with Indi and she decided to let him have his fun (lest she get trampled).
So now she watches on the sidelines and occasionally darts in for the chase. But for the most part, it's all Porter's game now. I have to watch the sharp turns since I don't want any injuries to his growing body and if I snap the end too high he'll leap up into the air, which looks awesome, but could easily result in injury on impact with the ground.
I keep forgetting to get a video so after a very tiring flirt pole session today I remembered to grab the gear and have a second round. Porter is already tuckered out here so you can multiply his efforts times 10 or more and you'll get the normal picture.
We are still working on how to end the game. If he's still wired and ready to go he'll leap at the end I am holding. It seems to help if I keep my body between him and the prize but sometimes I become the punching bag. Our starts are much better. I can usually get him to sit and wait and not attack until I am all ready. Walking from the shed to the grass was tricky at first but it's coming along.
Another point of weakness is what happens when he actually gets ahold of the bag. This is his crowning moment of glory and he milks it for all he's worth. He trots along the yard looking as happy as a clam. His favorite part is the tug but as he's grown it's been much harder for me to hold my ground and not hurt my hands. I have not found a reliable treat for him to release the bag consistently. He'd rather play keep away and tug and clamp his mouth shut with all his might. When there's time, I let him play this game and we might be at it for 10-15 minutes. He eventually gets sloppy and tries to readjust his bite too much and I can whip the end out of his reach and start a new game.
Here's the video I took today. I didn't realize how far away it was but you'll get the picture. I try to reverse directions often or I get dizzy. You can see him anticipate it, sometimes incorrectly.
The good thing about having a terrier for a big sister is that Indigo has taught Porter how awesome the flirt pole is. In the beginning she would play with the flirt pole and he would attempt to chase her. This usually resulted in him just lying in the middle of the grass watching her and occasionally darting toward her when she came near. As he grew and gained speed and coordination he was able to keep up with Indi and she decided to let him have his fun (lest she get trampled).
So now she watches on the sidelines and occasionally darts in for the chase. But for the most part, it's all Porter's game now. I have to watch the sharp turns since I don't want any injuries to his growing body and if I snap the end too high he'll leap up into the air, which looks awesome, but could easily result in injury on impact with the ground.
I keep forgetting to get a video so after a very tiring flirt pole session today I remembered to grab the gear and have a second round. Porter is already tuckered out here so you can multiply his efforts times 10 or more and you'll get the normal picture.
We are still working on how to end the game. If he's still wired and ready to go he'll leap at the end I am holding. It seems to help if I keep my body between him and the prize but sometimes I become the punching bag. Our starts are much better. I can usually get him to sit and wait and not attack until I am all ready. Walking from the shed to the grass was tricky at first but it's coming along.
Another point of weakness is what happens when he actually gets ahold of the bag. This is his crowning moment of glory and he milks it for all he's worth. He trots along the yard looking as happy as a clam. His favorite part is the tug but as he's grown it's been much harder for me to hold my ground and not hurt my hands. I have not found a reliable treat for him to release the bag consistently. He'd rather play keep away and tug and clamp his mouth shut with all his might. When there's time, I let him play this game and we might be at it for 10-15 minutes. He eventually gets sloppy and tries to readjust his bite too much and I can whip the end out of his reach and start a new game.
Here's the video I took today. I didn't realize how far away it was but you'll get the picture. I try to reverse directions often or I get dizzy. You can see him anticipate it, sometimes incorrectly.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Lopsided Pup
Porter had a great start to the week. He was able to attend the K9 Nose Work class I taught on Monday and thoroughly enjoyed himself. He already has a lot of drive for the boxes despite only doing this 4 times. Tuesday morning was his agility class, which he equally loves. He's very enthusiastic about the ladder, wobble board, and ramps. Although his favorite thing...the one he pulls to the most of all any time we are within 10 feet...his crate. lol It's awesome, and a little annoying at times but it's a good thing to be annoyed at. So much better than a dog who hates the crate.
There are a few things we really need to work on though. I guess Porter can't be the star all the time. For one, he's lopsided, but I already knew this. I have worked him mostly on my left in preparation for rally and I knew this would make him being on the right weaker. There's a big difference in sides when we do our flatwork. It's nothing that cannot be overcome with just a tiny bit of work though.
His other issue is swinging his hips so his back feet come off the contact. This is my fault as well. I need to learn how to help position him better, with my own body stance and with the treat delivery and I can help him keep those back legs up there. He has no problem walking down the plank at least. All feet stay on, it's just when he's doing his 2 on 2 off and eating from the target plate that he rotates his head towards me and off come those gangly legs. We have a plank at home to wok with. I just need to lock Indi away so we can work without a distracting terrier.
I finally found a toy he will play with at agility. It's a glow in the dark whistle ball. A tad smaller than a tennis ball and a bit smushy. Maybe he loves it since it's not out with his other toys and he rarely sees it, but I'm just glad I have something that works besides food. He'll happily chase after it when he exits the tunnel or goes through the tire.
I don't know what it is about this field but Porter forages like nobody's business while we are there. I've decided that this behavior is probably made worse by the ladder and how we drop treats on the ground between the rungs as they walk through. This makes that whole area of the grass smell amazing and I think he often finds leftover treats from other dogs. So I've decided that instead of rewarding this way I will click him for what I want but feed out of my hand. I might even go last and move the ladder to a new area of the grass or go first to avoid leftovers distracting him.
There are a few things we really need to work on though. I guess Porter can't be the star all the time. For one, he's lopsided, but I already knew this. I have worked him mostly on my left in preparation for rally and I knew this would make him being on the right weaker. There's a big difference in sides when we do our flatwork. It's nothing that cannot be overcome with just a tiny bit of work though.
His other issue is swinging his hips so his back feet come off the contact. This is my fault as well. I need to learn how to help position him better, with my own body stance and with the treat delivery and I can help him keep those back legs up there. He has no problem walking down the plank at least. All feet stay on, it's just when he's doing his 2 on 2 off and eating from the target plate that he rotates his head towards me and off come those gangly legs. We have a plank at home to wok with. I just need to lock Indi away so we can work without a distracting terrier.
I finally found a toy he will play with at agility. It's a glow in the dark whistle ball. A tad smaller than a tennis ball and a bit smushy. Maybe he loves it since it's not out with his other toys and he rarely sees it, but I'm just glad I have something that works besides food. He'll happily chase after it when he exits the tunnel or goes through the tire.
I don't know what it is about this field but Porter forages like nobody's business while we are there. I've decided that this behavior is probably made worse by the ladder and how we drop treats on the ground between the rungs as they walk through. This makes that whole area of the grass smell amazing and I think he often finds leftover treats from other dogs. So I've decided that instead of rewarding this way I will click him for what I want but feed out of my hand. I might even go last and move the ladder to a new area of the grass or go first to avoid leftovers distracting him.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
And the Winner is...
 |
| Mr. Yellow! |
Really, was there ever any question?
To welcome him home my friend Sandy gave me this adorable gift basket today. It has an amazingly soft blanket to snuggle him with, a cute stuffed giraffe (that I think is going to see better days soon), a shamu water kong!, an air dog ring, and two "dog" towels so those muddy paws won't dirty up our good towels :) He is so spoiled already!
I also made a trip out to Dexter's Deli and picked up more dog treats, Earthbath puppy shampoo, salmon oil, and a cool leash.
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