Tuesday, December 29, 2009

"What a hoot!" Lure Coursing

We took the dogs to a friend's house to lure course and swim today. They all had a blast and are sleeping like puppies. See for yourself: Here's a video and here's another.

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Squirrel Woes

I've been really careful with Pilot to try to keep her focused on object play (ball) and not on the rodentia family. For the first time in 33 years of living in Capitola we are having regular squirrel visitors. The terriers have been racing out to the yard to see if they can see one as it is climbing the trees. It is very much like a scene out of the movie "Up!" where everything else stops when the most exciting word "Squirrel!" is heard.

The second piece to this is that we went out walking on Christmas and Pilot took off under a fence into a pasture with a long horn steer in it. (Why would someone have a long horn steer in Soquel?) Amazingly, Pilot did not bark at the steer and she came back within a minute or so, but it could have been faster. I had visions of coyotes dancing in my head, as a friend's Jack Russell got grabbed by the neck by a coyote a couple of weeks ago. Yes sir! I do want a faster recall.

I sallied forth today under a cloudy cool sky. I put Pilot on a retractable leash and we spent about 30 minutes doing "yo-yo" recalls, out and back over and over again. If she did not respond, I quietly said "Oops!" and I reeled in the leash and limited her scope for 30 seconds, then I called her again, marked her head turn, asked for a sit, rewarded, praised and scratched her neck (collar grab desensitizing), played some tug and then released her and the leash with a "Go Play!".

I use two releases. "Break!" means you are released from this behavior but stay with me because we are still training. "Go Play!" means stay close but go do whatever you want to until I call you again. Pilot immediately went off to check out the "grundoons" (gophers) and I'd wait until she lifted her head up and call her. We got about 85 to 90% sucessful responses, which is reasonably good. Even so, I will be practicing this daily. Practice makes perfect.

Another way to look at this is that we were using the Premack Principle or life rewards. Premack is also known as Grandma's Rule "Eat your vegetables and you can have desert." in Pilot's case this is "Come when you are called and you can go check out the gopher holes". Salient consequences are important in getting the behaviors you want. I've had people tell me that you are playing with a fire when you are trying to use Premack to trump genetics with food or toy rewards, but I've seen it used effectively with prey drive. Rachel Sanders allows her Jack Russell, Trump, to go after gophers as a game, but she can also end that and get her dog back on a toy any time she asks. It is effective if you are deft at controlling resources as rewards and your relationship and training is stronger than the arousal of prey drive.

Genetics and breed play a big role in how your dog reacts to the world, but training and management can trump genetics as long as you are willing to do the practice - and in our case it is all about play!

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Swing to Heel

Swing to Heel is such a pretty behavior! We've been working on shaping this. Shaping means getting closer and closer approximations to the behavior we want. I had a friend who said she got a swing by using a stick to push the dog into place and I thought that sounded a little too coercive for my taste. I'd rather get it without forcing it.

I'm having to break it into a lot more steps than I thought would be needed when I initially started training. Then again, I know the goal behavior and the dog does not. We train in 2 - 3 minute increments a couple of times a day - keeping sessions short - which allows me to work with the other dogs in the small amounts of time that is available. When shaping, I cut the dog's food back by 30 to 50%. I use Natural Balance (available locally at Pet Pals and Aptos Feed) mixed with a variety of 4 or 5 other treats to reward the dog.

First the dogs are to put their 2 front feet on a low box or an air cushion. I click and treat when they sniff the box at first then put one paw on, then finally 2 paws. I'll throw a small crumb to get the dog to "reset" by going away from the box, then I will click them when they come back and put 2 paws on again. I repeat this for a couple of sessions. I want the dog to be sure of what is being clicked before I move on. All of this is done with very little talking. If the dog is unsure, I will praise them as I deliver the reward. If the dog doesn't get it, then I have to go backwards to lower my criteria or I have to break it down and make the task simpler. If I were to constantly correct the dog then the dog would get discouraged. I keep the reinforcement rate quite high to build the dog's confidence and to make sure they have a reinforcement history that will keep the learning curve going up.

I worked with Pilot's sister, Remi, on this step today. She has never done shaping and it was a new concept for her. She caught on relatively quickly but I ran the session a little too long and her ability to concentrate started waning. Note to self: Use kitchen timer when training.

In the second phase of training a swing we click for every small motion they make with their back feet. I do not want to have to use my body motion to get them to move, but it does jump start the process, especially if the dog has not done a lot of shaping before. If I step across with my outside foot I've found I need very little motion to influence the dog to move it's back feet. If I use motion, I know that I am pressuring the dog, the dog is not the one who is doing the thinking and the dog will become reliant on that movement to accomplish the task. My goal is to mimimize the movement and get rid of that prompt as quickly as I can. I found this stage went a little faster when I did some line-ups for regular heeling just prior to and after each training session.

In the third phase, once I have the motion down in one direction, after one or two training sessions, I start working the other direction. Pilot was much better in both directions than KK. KK goes well in the counter-clockwise direction (to heel position) than clockwise (to side position). One of the best reasons to work on this behavior is to improve coordination and proprioception in both directions.

I keep a training journal where I make a couple of lines of notes on each training session with drawings if needed. It helps me in planning the next session.

Each day I am getting more motion and Pilot's heel (left) and side (right) line-up positions without the training props has become much better as well.

I love watching the dog's figure it out. It takes patience to let them work it out for themselves, but it is sweet when they really learn the behavior!

Take a look at this video on training a swing. I think this pup has been working on this behvior for a couple of weeks. This pup is a student of Sylvia Trkman, a world class agility competitor who uses tricks to train her dogs body awareness, muscle development and pure fun! A friend who has a giant breed (over 100 lbs) and did not want her dog leaning against her leg as the dog does in the video. You'll have to make a decision about this part of the behavior for yourself. I asked Sylvia about it recently when I attended her workshop and she said she wanted her dogs to have the tactile sensation of touching her leg - then again her dogs are under 20 lbs.

All in all, it is very fun to see the dog's learning so quickly!

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Rodentia Allure

Pilot had class last night, she did well on her first dog walk. Nice speed but is not hitting her 2o-2o contacts quite well enough to pass muster. We need to practice them at speed with back chaining.

After that we worked on jumps near a ground squirrel hole and Pilot kept loosing her focus. We were working on a new field and she wanted to go hunting. The goats in the next pasture over were hanging out by the fence making noise but Pilot didn't want much to do with them. Even her favorite ball did not help get her attention.

She hadn't had much exercise or ball play for a couple of days and I haven't been doing as much practice. We are trying to keep things low key while KK gets over her surgery and I have a ton of office work to do. Pilot was really hungry - so that wasn't a factor - I had a mix of great treats too. I do wonder if having Remi to play with all day makes her loose her head? It hasn't been a factor to date. More than likely, it's me being tired, preoccupied and a little stressed that would have more of an impact on her.

I picked her up and set her back down. I tickled her and played our pinchy paws game but she was on a roll. Finally, I went and put her in the car in a crate and took the other two for a walk. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. She walked beside me at heel when I went back to get her.

Everyone has good days and everyone has bad days. Let it be a lesson to keep up with her exercise and training, especially in new places with rodents.

This week we will practice more. Next week we will arrive a bit early and walk around the field with her. I will also try the look at that game and some mat work.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Pretty Please

I've been working on "Pretty Please!" (or sit up) with Pilot for about a week. My criteria is that her butt must remain sitting on the floor while her front paws are quiet in the air in front of her. I want to teach her this so I can help to strengthen her abdonimal muscles and so that she has greater body awareness and proprioception for agility.

I took her to Dr. Lynda Wells last week. Lynda is a local holistic veterinarian who does musculoskeletal adjustments (chiropractic in the human world) and accupuncture. She found that Pilot's thorasic vertebrae were out of alignment and did an adjustment.

Pilot does not seem to have a great awareness of her body or pain when she is playing ball. She skids into things, slips and jumps in some pretty odd ways when she is playing. I'm thinking if we can condition her muscles to protect her spine and make her more aware of her body in time and space (proprioception) then we might be able to avoid injury in the future.

We're doing about 10 reps 2 times a day. I started with a lure 2" from her nose 5 times and then I faded the lure using my fingers pointed up pinching as if I had a lure in them. I need to have a hand signal that doesn't look so much like sit that she can make the distinction. I am using all my fingers pinched together, palm upraised and moving upwards. When she sat up I marked the best try with a clicker or with a verbal bridge and then fed her the reward.

The first day of sit up practice, I just let her experiment with raising up a four or five times. Then I raised my criteria to sit instead of stand up on her back feet. The second and third day she started to develop more of an awareness of the sit position and was more reliable. We took a break on the weekend (work days at the field). The next two days she was able to sit up reliably with my hand close to her face. I also added the verbal "Pretty Please". She is raising up on back feet much less, and seems to have better ability to balance. Today she sat, balanced pretty well and I was able to raise my hand signal farther away from her face. The next step will be practice to tone her muscles by holding the position longer, raising my hand so I can do it from a standing position and eventually have her do it on a verbal.

I'm also thinking this exercise may help her raise her frustration tolerance because she will need to focus for longer periods of time as we add duration and distractions.

Once a week I work with her sister, Remi, while she is visiting. Her progress is good, but more practice definately helps.

If you do this at home, check with your vet to make sure your dog's knees and hips are capable before you start. Different body types may not be able to do "Pretty Please" comfortably. Every dog is an individual and you should proceed at their pace. Think positive - minimize corrections as much as possible - "no", "wrong" and "oops" type words will not help as much as telling the dog what you want them to do. The first day or so you can help your dog allowing them to rest their paws on your arm for balance.
It is fun to see Pilot gain more control of her body on a daily basis. I imagine a couple of weeks before we go to the next big exercise - deep knee bends to strengthen her rear end (tune in for more details).

Monday, February 16, 2009

How much physical and mental exercise does my dog really need?

We get asked this question all of the time. The amount of physical and mental exercise a dog needs varies by breed and age. Some dogs are difficult to tire no matter how long you walk! The rule of thumb is that all dogs should receive at least 60 minutes per day of physical exercise and 15 minutes of training to be happy, well-adjusted dogs. Physical exercise releases "happy chemicals" in human and dog brains that are helpful in keeping us well adjusted and balanced. We usually pay attention to physical exercise and ignore mental stimulation for our pet, mental stimulation is a critical component of exercise.

Lack of mental stimulation can lead to boredom, and boredom can lead to behavioral issues and destructiveness like barking, chewing the furniture and digging up the garden. Imagine if you had to sit in an empty room, alone, all day long with nothing to read, no computer, no television and no games. Dogs get bored just like people.

Provided your dog is getting two or three good walks a day, a game or two of fetch, or a trip to the dog park; focus more on adding mental stimulation to your dog's daily routine.

Mental stimulation of dogs is easy and fun. Here are a few helpful hints to help get you started:
Allow your dog plenty of time to sniff on your walks. It is like getting the news is for us. Using their noses and processing the information is good mental stimulation.

Provide your dog with toys that make them think, like a Kong toys stuffed with food (see our website for recipes), or one of the many varieties of treat dispensing puzzle balls available at your local pet supply store or the internet (look for the Buster Cube, Giggle and Peek Treat Ball, Dog Smart Puzzle Toys, Tug-a-Jug, Kibble Nibble, Intellibone, Hide-A-Squirrel/Bird/Bee.)

Rotate your dog's toys. Continuous access makes toys lose their special value.

Play Treasure Hunt. Confine your dog while setting up this game. Take tiny treats and hide them everywhere - under the coffee table, on a shelf of the bookcase, etc. Now release your dog and say, "Find it!" At first, stand near the places where you have hidden the tidbits, then once he has the idea move farther away and let your dog do the work to sniff them out. Then sit back and watch the fun.

Try dog sports such as agility, freestyle, tracking, flyball, dock diving, lure coursing and rally obedience Training can help build confidence and tire a dog both mentally. It can also help to improve your dog's focus and attention.

You've probably heard the saying, "A good dog is a tired dog". Balance both physical exercise and mental stimulation to keep your dog busy, happy, non-destructive and a good companion.

Dog Greetings

Here are a few guidelines for greeting dogs:

Always ask before petting someone else's dog

Extend the back of your hand for sniffing before petting someone else's dog.

Always ask before letting your dog approach another dog. Not all dogs like being approached by other dogs.

Be sure to have control of your dog at all times.

Keep your dog on a short leash in crowds.

Always approach a dog from the front

Never reach into a dog's crate or exercise pen unles the dog is your dog.

If a dog is guarding its crate, exercise pen or car by growling or barking, avert your eyes and move away from the dog to help ease their stress.

Doggie Smell Spray

Yard Clean Up Tonic - For a sweet smelling yard

1 cup coffee
1/2 cup anti-septic mouthwash
1 Tablespoon liquid dish soap
4 drops tobasco sauce
10 gallons of water
Mix in a bucket and fill hand sprayers or put the mixed tonic in a hose end spayer and wash down the entire yard (lawn, plants and shrubs, sidewalks, lawn furniture, etc.)

Rainy Day Games

Rainy Day Dog Games

If you and your dog have cabin fever, here are some suggestions to take the edge off:

1) Work on your sit stay add duration first, when that is reliable at least 80% of the time add distractions and last add distance like household members talking, tv going, doorbells ringing. Try not to get greedy and do too much, remember to set your dog up for success. Always go back to your dog to reward them for the stay. Only call them to you when you have worked on stay for several repetitions prior. For more information on relaxation: Google Karen Overall Relaxation Protocol.

2) Invite friends over to help proof your sit at the door. Keep greetings calm and collected by keeping your dog on leash. If this is too hard then practice sits at the door before you invite the company over.

3) Play tug-drop-sit-tug-drop-sit, etc. Tug is a nice workout for many dogs, Drop and Sit add an impulse control element to the game.

4) Play fetch with a sit for impulse control before each throw. Sit makes good things happen.

5) Have a treasure hunt, hide treats or toys and have your dog find them.

6) Play hide and seek - the fewer clues you give the more challenging for the dog. Start with lots of clues like a beep noise then fade them out.

7) Train your dog to pick up their toys by name and then drop them in a basket.

8) Blow bubbles - some dogs like to catch them. There are special bubbles made for dogs so they do not get digestive problems.

9) Give your dog a Kong or another intelligent challenge toy with dog food in it. The new Nina Ottosson puzzles for dogs are mentally challenging and fun.

10) Do Doga (doggy yoga) with your dog. Downward facing dog, upward paw and cobra pose are just a few of the exercises you can do.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6rO6ck_N5U
http://www.expertvillage.com/video/12213_downward-facing-dog-doga.htm

11) Play Crate Games (see www.livingwithdogs.us/books/). Have your dog race to his crate for a treat then release and start over.

12) Put your rain gear on and take your dog for a vigorous walk.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Pizza for Dogs


I bought a Sweedish Nina Ottosson game for dogs called Dog Magic. We call it the pizza game because it is round, flat, red and about the size of a small pizza. The dogs have to remove the 9 bone shaped cups under which are hidden treats or nothing. I put one treat under each cup and the dogs spent less than 10 minutes getting the treats out.

The second time we played, we only put treats under one bone. I did some experiments. As soon as Tempe put her foot on the wrong bone I removed the game for about 10 seconds. The third time she went right to the correct one and got the treats out. With Pilot I said "Oops!" everytime she got the wrong bone and pulled the game away for 5 seconds. In both Tempe and Pilot their intensity went up (hard fast gulping of the treats), their tails went down and ears back slightly. Then I allowed them to get the treats without moving the game away. They picked the right bone the first time with tails up with a softer, slower mouthing to get the treats.

Do negative punishment (taking the game and the opportunity for reinforcement away) and positive punishment ("Oops!") cause stress in the learning animal? My small experiment convinces me that they do. Can I train in a stressless environment? I can minimize the use of the negative marker to almost nothing, but the delivery of reward neccesitates times when there is no reward earned. Not delivering a reward differs slightly from delivering and then taking it away. It gives one great pause to think the subtle use punitive tools in training and how they can be minimized. My goal is a confident, happy dog who excels in training.