What you don't see, because its edited out of the videos, is what is happening as we get going for each segment. Since she now knows what the props mean, I decided I should start the video before I set down the props, so that I don't miss a clickable moment. Each time, as I'm walking over with the prop (toy chest, chair, box and cube), she's walking along with front feet on me, mugging me to get me to put them down. She is so enthused about doing this. Have I ever mentioned how much I love this girl?
Apple - back into a box, back feet only
The goal for Apple is that she back her back feet only into the box. I did start this session by allowing her to walk through, but that's not the final behavior and I tried to shape away from it. She seemed to get stuck on it (including frustration barking) and I'd have to move away to get her to leave the box so she could reset. The other day she was only backing in, so its interesting that she is so ready to change it again.
It occurs to me that before I've done this with the box out in the open - perhaps having the box close to the wall is an issue, bumping her wagging tail or something like that. I'll try it out a bit further from the wall next time. After watching this again, I noticed her "solution" is to almost side-step into the box, with her body parallel to the wall. Can't wait to see if it changes next time around.
Remember, this is the second session of this today. Its sometimes hard to see if she really has both feet in, so tomorrow I will set up the mirror. I don't want my leaning to see her feet to become part of the cue system. I also wonder if I have occasionally clicked when one foot was still out, since she was so insistent (barking). I sure don't want that to be a permanent part of the behavior either.
Orange - get onto a small perch with all four feet
You'll notice Gimme was getting on the perch practically the second I was out of her way. I did decide it was okay for her to back onto the perch provided she backs all four feet on. I will try to get a balance of forward and backward mounts, and let her decide for herself which she prefers. I'm sure she will decide for herself that forward mounts are easier.
Gimme has so much confidence that she shows no concern whatsoever when the perch tips under her or her feet slip off the sides. As far as she cares, training me is the most important thing.
Grape - dead bug (on back, feet in the air)
You can't help but notice how much she loves this trick. Gimme has always enjoyed rolling over. She tends to like anything she invents, but this has been a special favorite and she does it with such exuberance that its hard not to laugh at her. She doesn't seem to mind that I want to modify the trick she thought up, even though she's usually very attached to her original concept. Then again, she thinks she is training me, so perhaps she doesn't think I'm the one doing the modifying.
You can't help but notice how much she loves this trick. Gimme has always enjoyed rolling over. She tends to like anything she invents, but this has been a special favorite and she does it with such exuberance that its hard not to laugh at her. She doesn't seem to mind that I want to modify the trick she thought up, even though she's usually very attached to her original concept. Then again, she thinks she is training me, so perhaps she doesn't think I'm the one doing the modifying.
Peach - head under a chair
This is only the second time we've done Peach training. So while she really seemed to have it last time, it was almost like she had to relearn it this time around. Also, last time, the chair was in more of a "corner" so the sides weren't as accessible, making interacting with the back more obvious. She seemed to get stuck (when she was laying down) for the longest time and in the past I would have helped her get unstuck. Here I could see by her expression (from where I stood, not from the camera p.o.v.) that she wasn't frustrated, she was just thinking. Each time she'd get clicked, I kept trying to throw the treats far enough to get her up, but she'd just scoot to get them. I was worried about throwing them too close to the camera and having her knock it over. I'll have to bring in a brick to weight the tripod.
Melon - push cube with nose
Sadly the camera ran out of filming time just as things were getting interesting. I tried to quickly download it and free up memory, but it was also out of battery. I guess videotaping takes up a lot of juice too.
Thus you only get to see the first minute and, happily, you get to see her first official push of the cube. We got a few more really good ones. Then she went back to pawing at the cube. I pick the cube up if she uses her feet on it. Then I present it again to give her another chance. She went back to using her nose much faster than the original sessions.
This is only the second time we've done Peach training. So while she really seemed to have it last time, it was almost like she had to relearn it this time around. Also, last time, the chair was in more of a "corner" so the sides weren't as accessible, making interacting with the back more obvious. She seemed to get stuck (when she was laying down) for the longest time and in the past I would have helped her get unstuck. Here I could see by her expression (from where I stood, not from the camera p.o.v.) that she wasn't frustrated, she was just thinking. Each time she'd get clicked, I kept trying to throw the treats far enough to get her up, but she'd just scoot to get them. I was worried about throwing them too close to the camera and having her knock it over. I'll have to bring in a brick to weight the tripod.
Melon - push cube with nose
Sadly the camera ran out of filming time just as things were getting interesting. I tried to quickly download it and free up memory, but it was also out of battery. I guess videotaping takes up a lot of juice too.
Thus you only get to see the first minute and, happily, you get to see her first official push of the cube. We got a few more really good ones. Then she went back to pawing at the cube. I pick the cube up if she uses her feet on it. Then I present it again to give her another chance. She went back to using her nose much faster than the original sessions.
I know I promised to tell you about tertiary reinforcement, but its getting late and I have to get ready for work tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have time to do it tomorrow.
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