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!
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
K9 Nose Work Trial Prep
I am hoping to enter Porter in his first K9 Nose Work trial in January. At the moment, we do not have trials in San Diego, although our first ORT is being hosted in March (Thanks to Connie Kelley and her excellent planning and organization!), so we'll need to travel to Orange County again. If interest is high, there will be a random drawing for spots. I'm crossing my fingers we get in.
In anticipation for this trial, Porter and I have been doing more hides outdoors, since we have the least amount of practice with this element. I was a bit worried, since Porter and I did poorly at our friend's house. We searched her front yard and while Porter found the first hide quickly, the next two proved difficult. He was more interested in marking. : / This could have been lack of experience, it could have been I did not give Porter enough time to potty and mark around the neighborhood before we started, or it might have been her own intact male's scent in the yard distracting Porter. Thankfully this has not been repeated and all of our other outdoor practices have been stellar.
In addition to getting in more practice outside, I have also been pairing the other two odors with birch (or his primary). I've been thinking of doing this soon, so we can do the San Diego March ORT and test for Anise and Clove, but was planning on waiting a littler long so I could focus on the trial first. However, the group we are practicing with is already on the other odors, so we just jumped right in.
If we do not get into the Jan. trial we'll be well prepared for the next one. Let's hope it's not too far away.
In anticipation for this trial, Porter and I have been doing more hides outdoors, since we have the least amount of practice with this element. I was a bit worried, since Porter and I did poorly at our friend's house. We searched her front yard and while Porter found the first hide quickly, the next two proved difficult. He was more interested in marking. : / This could have been lack of experience, it could have been I did not give Porter enough time to potty and mark around the neighborhood before we started, or it might have been her own intact male's scent in the yard distracting Porter. Thankfully this has not been repeated and all of our other outdoor practices have been stellar.
In addition to getting in more practice outside, I have also been pairing the other two odors with birch (or his primary). I've been thinking of doing this soon, so we can do the San Diego March ORT and test for Anise and Clove, but was planning on waiting a littler long so I could focus on the trial first. However, the group we are practicing with is already on the other odors, so we just jumped right in.
If we do not get into the Jan. trial we'll be well prepared for the next one. Let's hope it's not too far away.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Hormones Schmormones...
I was incredibly impressive with Porter's performance in agility today. Not because anything we did was terribly complicated but he overcame several obstacles when I thought today was going to be a wash.
My first mistake of the day was accidentally feeding him breakfast. I usually skip his morning meal on agility training days so he's as motivated as possible to work with me for his reward. Plus he doesn't need a full meal and the additional calories from his treats in class. I could tell when we got on the field that he wasn't super jazzed about eating. He was giving me about 50% of his normal attention.
Then Jackie arrived. My second mistake actually occurred last week. I broke my rule and allowed him to interact and play with a dog on the training field. He was enamored. As soon as he saw her today everything else faded into the background. I didn't think I would ever get his attention back on me or the task at hand.
We had to skip the first exercise which was just practicing start line stays. Porter wouldn't turn away from Jackie, so I just walked him around a bit and tried to get his mind off her.
Our first sequence looked like this:
I wasn't even sure if Porter would just sit for me at the start line but I thought I'd give it a try. If we had to do one obstacle and then stop and reward to keep his focus I was going to do that.
But Porter surprised me! Not only did he not run off with his new girlfriend but he did the sequence perfectly! He stayed with me the entire time. He did wonderful with my lateral lead out at the start. He had no issue with the wing jump at #3. He read my arm change after the tunnel exactly as he should have and didn't get sticky and glue himself to my side, but peeled off to the left to take the last jump.
I could tell his brain wasn't with me 100% though since he was *much* slower than normal, but he did it :)
The second time around he did great. I chose a different toy to throw (one he often runs away with) since he didn't want food anymore. He grabbed it, started to do his victory lap, but came back to me quickly when I called him!! No running to the pool. No running around the field. Or to his girlfriend. Right back to me. :) Such a good boy.
And did I mention it was so nasty and hot out there today? And he never gave up but kept working with me.
I love my big goofy boy.
My first mistake of the day was accidentally feeding him breakfast. I usually skip his morning meal on agility training days so he's as motivated as possible to work with me for his reward. Plus he doesn't need a full meal and the additional calories from his treats in class. I could tell when we got on the field that he wasn't super jazzed about eating. He was giving me about 50% of his normal attention.
Then Jackie arrived. My second mistake actually occurred last week. I broke my rule and allowed him to interact and play with a dog on the training field. He was enamored. As soon as he saw her today everything else faded into the background. I didn't think I would ever get his attention back on me or the task at hand.
We had to skip the first exercise which was just practicing start line stays. Porter wouldn't turn away from Jackie, so I just walked him around a bit and tried to get his mind off her.
Our first sequence looked like this:
I wasn't even sure if Porter would just sit for me at the start line but I thought I'd give it a try. If we had to do one obstacle and then stop and reward to keep his focus I was going to do that.
But Porter surprised me! Not only did he not run off with his new girlfriend but he did the sequence perfectly! He stayed with me the entire time. He did wonderful with my lateral lead out at the start. He had no issue with the wing jump at #3. He read my arm change after the tunnel exactly as he should have and didn't get sticky and glue himself to my side, but peeled off to the left to take the last jump.
I could tell his brain wasn't with me 100% though since he was *much* slower than normal, but he did it :)
The second time around he did great. I chose a different toy to throw (one he often runs away with) since he didn't want food anymore. He grabbed it, started to do his victory lap, but came back to me quickly when I called him!! No running to the pool. No running around the field. Or to his girlfriend. Right back to me. :) Such a good boy.
And did I mention it was so nasty and hot out there today? And he never gave up but kept working with me.
I love my big goofy boy.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Not Too Hot to Sniff
The weather has been hot and humid lately which does not make exercising the dogs an easy task. Even if Porter was tolerant of the heat (and I wasn't such a delicate flower) the ground if often too hot for the pads of their feet.
Yesterday Porter was getting a bit stir crazy (and I was inspired to do more NW training after chatting with other trainers about getting together for a practice group) so I set up three hides in each of the bedrooms.
The first was the most successful. We waited at the threshold for 10 seconds, he entered and did an immediate u-turn to the bookcase where I had the tin in a dump truck on the bottom shelf.
The second hide was at the far end of the next room tucked into the side rail of the bed. He did seem to find it very quickly, but then moved on. I think my mistake was not jumping on that first indication but waiting for something stronger. If the hide is low to the ground he seems to lay down. So I thought he might do this, or might sniff at it longer, or something. But a quick sniff or two and he was off. He sniffed all around that area and kept circling and returning to that corner but never that close again. I wonder if he ruled out that spot since I didn't reward him the first time :( He kept searching, never getting frustrated or tired and finally went back tot he spot where I promptly rewarded him.
You would think I'd learn my lesson, right? Nope. The next hide was in the master bedroom. Off to the left is the master bath and I placed the tin in a slightly opened drawer. While at the threshold Porter's nose was going crazy and he immediately went left. He ran past the drawer, into the bathroom, turned back, out into the bedroom, and back again to the bathroom. He lifted his nose up, near the drawer, I should have moved in but hesitated, and off he went again. Despite my repeated mistake, Porter is very resilient and continued to search until he finally found the drawer and lingered.
I need to remember that this is really the first time doing odor in my house so I need to reward sooner, especially when the hides are at or slightly above nose height. I really thought about the first placement more and it tells.
Today we did 6 hides out front and 5 of the 6 were fast and furious with Porter hitting the mark within 5 seconds. The last was, again, elevated, and in a jade plant so tons of leaves and branches for the odor to get caught in and swirl around in. And it was very windy. This was to his advantage in all of the other hides which were more out in the open. But with this plant it was much harder. I did place the hide on the downwind side of the plant. And now typing this I am curious to see his behavior if the odor was on the upwind side of the plant (if that makes sense).
One of the great perks of K9 Nose Work is it takes my cabin fever dog and turns him into Rip van Winkle.
Yesterday Porter was getting a bit stir crazy (and I was inspired to do more NW training after chatting with other trainers about getting together for a practice group) so I set up three hides in each of the bedrooms.
The first was the most successful. We waited at the threshold for 10 seconds, he entered and did an immediate u-turn to the bookcase where I had the tin in a dump truck on the bottom shelf.
The second hide was at the far end of the next room tucked into the side rail of the bed. He did seem to find it very quickly, but then moved on. I think my mistake was not jumping on that first indication but waiting for something stronger. If the hide is low to the ground he seems to lay down. So I thought he might do this, or might sniff at it longer, or something. But a quick sniff or two and he was off. He sniffed all around that area and kept circling and returning to that corner but never that close again. I wonder if he ruled out that spot since I didn't reward him the first time :( He kept searching, never getting frustrated or tired and finally went back tot he spot where I promptly rewarded him.
You would think I'd learn my lesson, right? Nope. The next hide was in the master bedroom. Off to the left is the master bath and I placed the tin in a slightly opened drawer. While at the threshold Porter's nose was going crazy and he immediately went left. He ran past the drawer, into the bathroom, turned back, out into the bedroom, and back again to the bathroom. He lifted his nose up, near the drawer, I should have moved in but hesitated, and off he went again. Despite my repeated mistake, Porter is very resilient and continued to search until he finally found the drawer and lingered.
I need to remember that this is really the first time doing odor in my house so I need to reward sooner, especially when the hides are at or slightly above nose height. I really thought about the first placement more and it tells.
Today we did 6 hides out front and 5 of the 6 were fast and furious with Porter hitting the mark within 5 seconds. The last was, again, elevated, and in a jade plant so tons of leaves and branches for the odor to get caught in and swirl around in. And it was very windy. This was to his advantage in all of the other hides which were more out in the open. But with this plant it was much harder. I did place the hide on the downwind side of the plant. And now typing this I am curious to see his behavior if the odor was on the upwind side of the plant (if that makes sense).
One of the great perks of K9 Nose Work is it takes my cabin fever dog and turns him into Rip van Winkle.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Agility Training Continues
Despite the heat, Porter has been doing well in agility. I bought him a Chilly Buddy Cooling Jacket and a Ryobi portable fan. It's been really humid, which is odd for this area, but he hasn't wilted like he used to.
Today in class he really rocked a short sequence we did. We had to miss last week and were not able to get there super early to let him sniff it out, but I was still very pleased with his focus. He was into the hot dogs I was offering and focused well on the toy stuffed with them when it was used as his reward. No taking off on victory laps or running over to the pool.
Here is the short sequence we did. Porter was first up. The black line is him, the reddish line is my path. I didn't lead out past 2 since I wanted to run with him a few steps before the front cross to give him more speed. Number 3 is a wing jump and sometimes he's a bit sticky on my side with those. He has such a large stride, plus I wanted to be sure he was fully committed to #3 before doing the front cross, so he did land far and swung wide. In the future I'll work on turning earlier so he knows where he's going before he takes off and can adjust his stride accordingly. But once he realized where I was and what my body language was telling him he quickly came back to my right side. #4 is another wing jump and I was pleased he did fine with that. Again, he went out farther than he needed before the tunnel, so I need to trust him more and turn earlier.
The second run through I was a bit jerky in my movements for some reason and I caused Porter to knock down the bar on #3. But the third time was our best performance. Very smooth and much more efficient.
We also worked the weaves today. Porter is currently on two sets of poles 15 feet apart and doing well. I really need to practice with him at home. If I did he would be doing a full set of 12 by now.
For the A-Frame his modified running contact is really coming along. He downs on a target a stride length past the A-frame. I was able to keep running a couple of feet past that point and he still hit and stuck his down where he was supposed to.
I switched his swim lesson for Wednesday instead of being directly after agility class for a few reasons. One, I have to rush to pack up and drive over to the pool. It's not far, but on a hot day I don't want him walking on the asphalt over there. Two, we share the pool with another dog on Tuesdays so Porter needs to wear a life jacket so I can leash him. This keeps him out of the other dog's face who really doesn't want to visit. Wednesday it'll be just us so he can swim without the jacket and get an even better workout. And three, I'm hoping it eliminates him getting antsy towards the end of agility class when he knows it's almost swim time. He starts to lose focus and try to get to the pool.
Today in class he really rocked a short sequence we did. We had to miss last week and were not able to get there super early to let him sniff it out, but I was still very pleased with his focus. He was into the hot dogs I was offering and focused well on the toy stuffed with them when it was used as his reward. No taking off on victory laps or running over to the pool.
Here is the short sequence we did. Porter was first up. The black line is him, the reddish line is my path. I didn't lead out past 2 since I wanted to run with him a few steps before the front cross to give him more speed. Number 3 is a wing jump and sometimes he's a bit sticky on my side with those. He has such a large stride, plus I wanted to be sure he was fully committed to #3 before doing the front cross, so he did land far and swung wide. In the future I'll work on turning earlier so he knows where he's going before he takes off and can adjust his stride accordingly. But once he realized where I was and what my body language was telling him he quickly came back to my right side. #4 is another wing jump and I was pleased he did fine with that. Again, he went out farther than he needed before the tunnel, so I need to trust him more and turn earlier.
The second run through I was a bit jerky in my movements for some reason and I caused Porter to knock down the bar on #3. But the third time was our best performance. Very smooth and much more efficient.
We also worked the weaves today. Porter is currently on two sets of poles 15 feet apart and doing well. I really need to practice with him at home. If I did he would be doing a full set of 12 by now.
For the A-Frame his modified running contact is really coming along. He downs on a target a stride length past the A-frame. I was able to keep running a couple of feet past that point and he still hit and stuck his down where he was supposed to.
I switched his swim lesson for Wednesday instead of being directly after agility class for a few reasons. One, I have to rush to pack up and drive over to the pool. It's not far, but on a hot day I don't want him walking on the asphalt over there. Two, we share the pool with another dog on Tuesdays so Porter needs to wear a life jacket so I can leash him. This keeps him out of the other dog's face who really doesn't want to visit. Wednesday it'll be just us so he can swim without the jacket and get an even better workout. And three, I'm hoping it eliminates him getting antsy towards the end of agility class when he knows it's almost swim time. He starts to lose focus and try to get to the pool.
Friday, August 3, 2012
Backyard Nose Work
I finally got off my duff and did some Nose Work hides in the backyard yeserday. I think this is only the second time doing searches at home despite having Porter in training since last October. I'm horrible at managing the two dogs. One is always jealous and wants in on the action and causes a huge ruckus when placed elsewhere. But Porter needs to start revving up for a trial so it's time to get in gear.
Porter passed his ORT (Odor Recognition Test) in Birch in June. It's a preliminary test using 12 containers to show your dog knows his odor. After passing this test you are eligible to begin trialing (if your dog is of age). After that test our training time has dramatically decreased. Part of it is due to a change in my work schedule. Porter used to come to one of my classes. And part is due to my daughter being home for the summer. Although if I were smart I'd have her do the hides; she'd probably love that.
With Porter locked inside I got my tin ready in the garage and went around the side into the backyard to place the first side. I started with the side yard since it's a small space and I wanted his first hide to be quick and easy. I took note of the way the wind was blowing and placed the hide closer to the start line so there was plenty of room downwind if Porter past it.
Porter knew what was up the instant I came inside to get him. He was completely focused as I held his collar and led him outside and to the start line. He passed the odor, went about a foot farther and turned back, locating the source quickly.
The second hide was in the other side yard but not as easily accessible. Once he was in odor I waited to see how close he would get, then I move a trash can blocking his way. After double checking the trash can, he quickly found the right spot.
The third hide was tucked into a patch of clover in the grass. This was more difficult because the area was larger and the tin was hidden from view. Porter found this one quickly as well.
The fourth hide gave him some difficulty. It was placed under a plastic mat under a kid table. Porter ran back and forth along the back fence (not near the spot) several times. He lifted his head, air scenting. If I didn't know better I would have thought the hide was either in a crack in the fence or just on the other side in my neighbor's yard. He did several head whips and was taking in a lot of air. I wonder what was back there?! Finally I directed him closer to the true location. He circled a few times and then found his mark.
Oh, and he also peed before he found that 4th hide! :( Bad handler. I should have made sure he was empty first.
Last I ended with an easier hide on a chair, which was partially covered by a mat draping over it. He did great finding this hide so it was a good place to end the session.
I need to get in the habit of bringing my Nose Work kit with me when we go places so I just throw out a few quick and simple hides. I think with more practice in new locations he'll be ready for his first trial in the fall. Hopefully there will be something in SoCal.
Porter passed his ORT (Odor Recognition Test) in Birch in June. It's a preliminary test using 12 containers to show your dog knows his odor. After passing this test you are eligible to begin trialing (if your dog is of age). After that test our training time has dramatically decreased. Part of it is due to a change in my work schedule. Porter used to come to one of my classes. And part is due to my daughter being home for the summer. Although if I were smart I'd have her do the hides; she'd probably love that.
With Porter locked inside I got my tin ready in the garage and went around the side into the backyard to place the first side. I started with the side yard since it's a small space and I wanted his first hide to be quick and easy. I took note of the way the wind was blowing and placed the hide closer to the start line so there was plenty of room downwind if Porter past it.
Porter knew what was up the instant I came inside to get him. He was completely focused as I held his collar and led him outside and to the start line. He passed the odor, went about a foot farther and turned back, locating the source quickly.
The second hide was in the other side yard but not as easily accessible. Once he was in odor I waited to see how close he would get, then I move a trash can blocking his way. After double checking the trash can, he quickly found the right spot.
The third hide was tucked into a patch of clover in the grass. This was more difficult because the area was larger and the tin was hidden from view. Porter found this one quickly as well.
The fourth hide gave him some difficulty. It was placed under a plastic mat under a kid table. Porter ran back and forth along the back fence (not near the spot) several times. He lifted his head, air scenting. If I didn't know better I would have thought the hide was either in a crack in the fence or just on the other side in my neighbor's yard. He did several head whips and was taking in a lot of air. I wonder what was back there?! Finally I directed him closer to the true location. He circled a few times and then found his mark.
Oh, and he also peed before he found that 4th hide! :( Bad handler. I should have made sure he was empty first.
Last I ended with an easier hide on a chair, which was partially covered by a mat draping over it. He did great finding this hide so it was a good place to end the session.
I need to get in the habit of bringing my Nose Work kit with me when we go places so I just throw out a few quick and simple hides. I think with more practice in new locations he'll be ready for his first trial in the fall. Hopefully there will be something in SoCal.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Agility Update
With summer in full swing our 10am agility class is heating up. I purchased a Chilly Buddy Cooling Coat a month ago and it finally just arrived. It seems to fit Porter well and is really light weight. He didn't seem to tire out as quickly at yesterday's class but it's hard to tell if it was due to the coat or not. We had a private lesson this afternoon at 4pm and he was dragging even with the coat, but it was quite a bit warmer than yesterday.
Porter's contacts are coming along. I've decided to do a down after the A-Frame (Four on the Floor; Modified Running Contact). Down is his default position so it comes so naturally to him. When Indi took lessons with Ann Croft and she taught us this method I didn't think it would be a good choice for her, since Indi hates to down in a lot of situations. But for Porter, this is perfect. I was considering doing Rachel Sander's Box Method but I don't have the DVD yet and my instructor doesn't teach this method as a regular part of her classes. I'd still like to learn about it, but for now the down is going well. We are doing 2 on 2 off for the dog walk and teeter and things are progressing nicely with that, too. I can walk quickly past his target or hang back and he still hits his spot. I need to vary my speed and lateral distance even more, but we'll get there.
Porter's flatwork needs work!! He's a bit distracted so I need to just take a long line out to a park and really work on it. I'll probably toss in some of Leslie McDevitt's ideas in there to help him along.
In our private lessons I've been working on Porter following his line. He tends to skip the last jump in a short sequence to get into heel position. Even more so if it's a wing jump. When we can practice several in a row he does better, so we'll just need to stay on top of it.
I finally found a toy that looks like it's working and it's really helping with this issue. This Rip and Tug toy can hold treats inside and the dog can break into it to self reward. Porter will follow a normal toy and chase it but then either 1) ignores it once it's "dead" or 2) grabs it and runs victory laps while playing keep away. Neither is good for his training. But with this toy he gets the thrill of the chase and then when the toy is dead he stops and lies down and self rewards. No running off with it or getting bored and walking off to sniff. It also keeps him mostly pointed in the original direction if there are more obstacles for us to do once I've rewarded him for the first part. And so far, the food hasn't flung out and all over the field on accident as it can do with some other stuffable toys.
He's doing ok with his 2x2 weave poles, but would be much farther along if I practiced at home more. This new toy will help with that practice as well.
Porter's sense of timing is amazing. In the last ten minutes of class yesterday Porter started to get antsy and became pulling like mad in the direction of the pool (which he cannot see from the agility field). He knew his swim lesson was about to start. He never does this on Wednesdays after our private lessons since swim is only on Tuesdays.
Porter's contacts are coming along. I've decided to do a down after the A-Frame (Four on the Floor; Modified Running Contact). Down is his default position so it comes so naturally to him. When Indi took lessons with Ann Croft and she taught us this method I didn't think it would be a good choice for her, since Indi hates to down in a lot of situations. But for Porter, this is perfect. I was considering doing Rachel Sander's Box Method but I don't have the DVD yet and my instructor doesn't teach this method as a regular part of her classes. I'd still like to learn about it, but for now the down is going well. We are doing 2 on 2 off for the dog walk and teeter and things are progressing nicely with that, too. I can walk quickly past his target or hang back and he still hits his spot. I need to vary my speed and lateral distance even more, but we'll get there.
Porter's flatwork needs work!! He's a bit distracted so I need to just take a long line out to a park and really work on it. I'll probably toss in some of Leslie McDevitt's ideas in there to help him along.
In our private lessons I've been working on Porter following his line. He tends to skip the last jump in a short sequence to get into heel position. Even more so if it's a wing jump. When we can practice several in a row he does better, so we'll just need to stay on top of it.
I finally found a toy that looks like it's working and it's really helping with this issue. This Rip and Tug toy can hold treats inside and the dog can break into it to self reward. Porter will follow a normal toy and chase it but then either 1) ignores it once it's "dead" or 2) grabs it and runs victory laps while playing keep away. Neither is good for his training. But with this toy he gets the thrill of the chase and then when the toy is dead he stops and lies down and self rewards. No running off with it or getting bored and walking off to sniff. It also keeps him mostly pointed in the original direction if there are more obstacles for us to do once I've rewarded him for the first part. And so far, the food hasn't flung out and all over the field on accident as it can do with some other stuffable toys.
He's doing ok with his 2x2 weave poles, but would be much farther along if I practiced at home more. This new toy will help with that practice as well.
Porter's sense of timing is amazing. In the last ten minutes of class yesterday Porter started to get antsy and became pulling like mad in the direction of the pool (which he cannot see from the agility field). He knew his swim lesson was about to start. He never does this on Wednesdays after our private lessons since swim is only on Tuesdays.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)