Parkour (6/9)

We have one more session from this class and then will have a break for a few months. There are only two of us continuing, which isn't enough to hold class, though they did for this one session.  Plus, I was going to have to break pretty soon for the holiday season anyway. Jo's other classes are doing great, but this is the only time I can make it and it's not a popular time. <sigh>

Personal session video - I brought Gimme in the building and set up the board for a bit of practice the way we'd been doing it. She was doing pretty good, then I realized I hadn't gotten the button pushed on the video camera. She didn't do as well on the second try, but warmed to it. This board is a lot narrower than she'd ever need to do for a video. Plus she'd never need to back off the end - even this low I can tell it concerns her.

It just occurred to me, I should try using a long board flat on the ground and then put the foot target up a bit, so it would be like her "bacon", for which she has a ton of confidence. Then if I gradually raise the board, it might be less intimidating to her, since she'll always be moving toward a behavior she loves. Can you say Premack?

Sequence 1 video - A simple sequence of props, "out" at the end and then back down the row. Her biggest challenge was to do one prop and wait for a cue to do the next  It may be, because they were so close together they reminded her of the way Jo often lines up a bunch of props to form a walk-on. She clearly didn't think she could do a "pivot" in this line, though she finally remembers how. She has to back-up chasing the tall box which keeps moving away from her when she bumps it with her hocks. It takes her a few tries to realize she needs to lift her feet higher.

Sequence 2 video - Another simple sequence with different props. Not sure why she found the second prop so sniff-worthy. However, our classmate often drops treats, so she may have smelled something. We could do any behaviors we wanted. I notice Gimme is more comfortable doing "bacon" to the yellow donut prop than she is doing "hands".

Sequence 3 video - This sequence has three prop pairs and we are to do something on the near prop, send out to interact with the other prop, then do the near prop again. Gimme did well with all of these, best with the third one.  By then I'm sure she figured out the drill.

Sequence 4 video - This was a walk-on, leading to a ladder, off onto a low platform, then reverse course. Easy peasy.

Sequence 5 video - Another simple sequence. It was so easy it was almost no fun.

Sequence 6 video - Again, a simple sequence.

Sequence 7 video - On the third prop when Gimme turns to the floor behind her, it's to retrieve a dropped treat - no food gets by her nose. Jo is steadying the board on the green tub and wanted Gimme to just step over her foot. I didn't know she was going to want this because she moved out of the way for the other dog. Thus, I backtracked to get on the other side (didn't want to drop the leash with Gimme facing toward a dog). The deal with the box was Gimme taking her feet out of it when she'd see a treat coming - I'm trying to impart the feet-stay-in-the-box-until-released rule. Gimme thinks 4-feet-in is a nebulous concept which may not always apply.

Practice "flip" video - The plan was to practice her 180º "flip" on the narrow board. Gimme did it once and then the second time she was offering me backing up. I know it wasn't what I asked for, but given how hard the concept has been for her, I paid for it anyway.

Practicing "back" on board video - We were given the chance to work on anything we wanted at the end of class and I chose backing on the board. Gimme did pretty good. I totally understand this is a confidence issue for her, since it's a very unnatural behavior.

Gimme was so focused during this class, I think the pre-class session went a long way to getting her in training mode. I may do this for our RFE practice sessions as well, since I always get there before J'Anna and could easily bring her in for a quick attention session.