Tonight we had 3 interior searches. It is very cool to see how Gimme's indications have become so clear - and - unfortunately how bad I am at recognizing them.
Interior 1 video - I called alert because Gimme was showing so much interest and it was totally on me - she didn't look at me at all. She knew it wasn't a hide and moved on before Dorothy said "no". There were no hides and you can see Gimme's behavior reflects it, once we get past my personal bias. She was quite interested in the cart with the two trays of people cookies on it.
Interior 2 video - Note how different this was. Gimme is much more direct in her focus and when she is sure she has it, she starts toward me to make sure I've noticed. When she sees me coming toward her, note her movement back to the hide. Her indication was very clear.
Interior 3 video - For this last search there were 7 hides and Gimme found them all. I think her indications are becoming more clear all the time. At this point it's more about me restraining myself and waiting for her to do something to tell me "this is it". She sometimes baps or pushes around something, but it's not an indication until she gives me the-look or comes toward me to get me to come with her to the hide. I think once I get this clear in my head, we'll stop having false alerts.
We don't have class on the 24th or the 31st. Gimme will be so disappointed.
We got into a TDU test in Portland on Wednesday, January 1st. It's hosted by the Portland Dog Obedience Club. This is the same club where Gimme got her TD, so I think it would be great fun to get another tracking title there. I'm sure Gimme will do great, I just have to keep from messing her up. I'll take all the prayers I can get.
Thursday, December 26, 2019
Thursday, December 19, 2019
RFE practice (108)
Again, the main goal is to get video clips to create our Intermediate/Advanced Skills Test video. I have enough intermediate clips now, though I'd like to improve two of them. Then I just need the three advanced clips and the bow. I'd like to submit this in January.
One of the advanced clips I want is alternate position. It is Gimme behind me facing to the heel side, "west". It was strong when we were working on it before, but I'm having trouble bringing it back at this place. Her first impression of WinStar was when she was in a false pregnancy. Also this behavior is based on doing a partial "otto" to get into position. She used to love "otto" and still does it readily elsewhere, just not here. There was one time (while in her false pregnancy) where I cued "otto" and wasn't centered on the mat, so she slipped. I'm guessing that has soured her on them in this location.
Training "west" video - She started with plenty of "otto", but then didn't want to do it anymore. I tried maneuvering her into "west" to reward it while repeating the cue. I also had her do it a couple of times by starting with "around" and then stopping her in position. We did a second short session and she seemed to be getting it. We are working on this at home, feeding in position a LOT.
Resistance video - I was telling J'Anna about a way I teach loose leash walking and did a little demo for her. Basically the dog has to resist the food on the floor to get the food on the floor. It wasn't much of a demo because Gimme knows it too well.
"Otto" video - This was a short bit to really raise the value of "otto". It would seem to work and then she couldn't do it. I really think I'll have to retrain this from the start in this environment.
For Gimme's clockwise spin simultaneous, I discovered a trick to get it to look better. Gimme doesn't turn as tight clockwise, so my trick was to take a small step away from her as I was turning, to give her more room. It worked like a charm.
I am finding between the seizure issue and our summer-from-hell, my wonderful Gimme is not as bold as she used to be. This makes me sad.
One of the advanced clips I want is alternate position. It is Gimme behind me facing to the heel side, "west". It was strong when we were working on it before, but I'm having trouble bringing it back at this place. Her first impression of WinStar was when she was in a false pregnancy. Also this behavior is based on doing a partial "otto" to get into position. She used to love "otto" and still does it readily elsewhere, just not here. There was one time (while in her false pregnancy) where I cued "otto" and wasn't centered on the mat, so she slipped. I'm guessing that has soured her on them in this location.
Training "west" video - She started with plenty of "otto", but then didn't want to do it anymore. I tried maneuvering her into "west" to reward it while repeating the cue. I also had her do it a couple of times by starting with "around" and then stopping her in position. We did a second short session and she seemed to be getting it. We are working on this at home, feeding in position a LOT.
Resistance video - I was telling J'Anna about a way I teach loose leash walking and did a little demo for her. Basically the dog has to resist the food on the floor to get the food on the floor. It wasn't much of a demo because Gimme knows it too well.
"Otto" video - This was a short bit to really raise the value of "otto". It would seem to work and then she couldn't do it. I really think I'll have to retrain this from the start in this environment.
For Gimme's clockwise spin simultaneous, I discovered a trick to get it to look better. Gimme doesn't turn as tight clockwise, so my trick was to take a small step away from her as I was turning, to give her more room. It worked like a charm.
I am finding between the seizure issue and our summer-from-hell, my wonderful Gimme is not as bold as she used to be. This makes me sad.
Thursday, December 12, 2019
Nosework class (4/41)
Usually we do a lot more container searches (i.e. indoor searches) when the weather is rainy and cold, but Dorothy wanted to take advantage of the cold for exterior and vehicle searches. The class focus was elevated hides.
Exterior search video - This search demonstrated how scent sometimes arcs out from a high location leaving a large dead space under the arc. Gimme loves elevated hides, so the challenge was the abnormal arc-affect. She's smarter than the other dogs, so she finds it faster than they did, but it was still slower than normal.
Watch Gimme and you'll see she finds the scent 4' from where it is and then is challenged to find the high hide at 4' high. If you watch her on the first hide, you'll see she practically draws a half circle 4' around the hide location. Pretty interesting to see. She goes almost straight to the second hide once she realized she was gonna get to "go high".
Vehicle search video - Fortunately the hide was on the side of the truck closest to the street light, so you can see what is happening. Gimme found this very quickly - 9 seconds.
Interior search video - Gimme takes a straight line from the start line to the hide location high on the cart. Look how far it is and she just knew it was there. Note she's not the least bit concerned by the movement of the stool or cart - Parkour rules... It took her 6 seconds to get to where the hide is and just 3 seconds to source it. Awesome girl.
I keep thinking Gimme should learn to take her time finding hides to "get our money's worth". She said her need to get a chicken nugget is more important than my money's worth.
Exterior search video - This search demonstrated how scent sometimes arcs out from a high location leaving a large dead space under the arc. Gimme loves elevated hides, so the challenge was the abnormal arc-affect. She's smarter than the other dogs, so she finds it faster than they did, but it was still slower than normal.
Watch Gimme and you'll see she finds the scent 4' from where it is and then is challenged to find the high hide at 4' high. If you watch her on the first hide, you'll see she practically draws a half circle 4' around the hide location. Pretty interesting to see. She goes almost straight to the second hide once she realized she was gonna get to "go high".
Vehicle search video - Fortunately the hide was on the side of the truck closest to the street light, so you can see what is happening. Gimme found this very quickly - 9 seconds.
Interior search video - Gimme takes a straight line from the start line to the hide location high on the cart. Look how far it is and she just knew it was there. Note she's not the least bit concerned by the movement of the stool or cart - Parkour rules... It took her 6 seconds to get to where the hide is and just 3 seconds to source it. Awesome girl.
I keep thinking Gimme should learn to take her time finding hides to "get our money's worth". She said her need to get a chicken nugget is more important than my money's worth.
Wednesday, December 11, 2019
Urban Tracking (154)
I received a premium for the Portland Dog Obedience Club's upcoming TDU test (Jan 1st). We got our TD with PDOC, so it'd be nice to let them enjoy the fabulous Miss Gimme, Empress of the Cosmos, again.
On Thursday, December 5th, we met at Auburn Cinema. I asked Nadine to set us a TDU-like track, so I can gauge whether Gimme is ready for a TDU test. This was more like a VST track. Even with Nadine's best efforts, it has a lot more hard-surface than Gimme would see at a TDU. It also occurred to me, we've never run a track this old (1½ hours) on this much pavement. It was cold, damp and only a slight breeze, but it proved a substantial challenge.
Gimme started well on the first leg, zigzagging along it and crossed the first road without hesitation. I'd asked Nadine to run the track up the stairs in case we got a track with stairs, which placed the track end too close to the first corner. Gimme overran the first corner; no doubt drawn in that direction because of the end. When I didn't go with her, Gimme came back and found the turn up the side of the building and had no trouble indicating the sock-article at the corner of the building.
She got to the sidewalk parallel to the back of the building and started into the parking lot, but then came back. She checked every possibility in the area of the red circle, before finally committing to cross the pavement. I was pretty sure the track went across the parking lot, but I wanted her to make the decision, instead of helping her. It took quite awhile.
She turned early for the next turn and followed parallel to the track (about 12' off), along the curb of the landscaping strip. We crossed one island and then she angled out until she rejoined the track and found the eye-glass-case-article just before the corner. She overran the corner a bit, but then came back to find the corner.
She had no trouble with the next turn on the edge of the sidewalk-grass. She did a lovely job following the track on the grass and bark. She sailed along and found the cloth-purse-article in the bushes.
She went out into the parking area and sniffed around, then came back and picked up the track along the curb. The actual track was right up next to the building, about 4' away. She made the next turn without issue and soon found the tiny glove hidden in the grass.
From there she followed the track down the sidewalk. The next turn was up the steps and she seemed to know it was there, but wanted to go around by way of vegetation. There were a dozen people waiting in line for tickets to the movie, including a couple of rowdy young children. She loves children, but in this situation I think she found them distracting and was trying to avoid them. I encouraged her and she went up the stairs and quickly followed along the metal pole railing.
At the end of railing she went straight, toward the building. She didn't find anything there and as she got back to the grass, she picked up the track and drove straight to the last article, a leather glove.
Gimme did well enough, especially considering all the challenges. It took her a half-hour to run this track. If this were a test, I am sure we would have failed - as much me as she. Clearly WE are not ready for a VST, but I still don't know if we are ready for a TDU.
Nadine and I planned to meet at Game Farm tomorrow to see if Gimme is ready for a track more like what we'd see at a TDU test. Unfortunately Nadine has strained her ankle. I'm sending in our entry anyway. We have until Saturday the 22nd to cancel if I want to. So I've "instructed" Nadine to get all better by next Thursday. Cross all the body parts you can spare.
On Thursday, December 5th, we met at Auburn Cinema. I asked Nadine to set us a TDU-like track, so I can gauge whether Gimme is ready for a TDU test. This was more like a VST track. Even with Nadine's best efforts, it has a lot more hard-surface than Gimme would see at a TDU. It also occurred to me, we've never run a track this old (1½ hours) on this much pavement. It was cold, damp and only a slight breeze, but it proved a substantial challenge.Gimme started well on the first leg, zigzagging along it and crossed the first road without hesitation. I'd asked Nadine to run the track up the stairs in case we got a track with stairs, which placed the track end too close to the first corner. Gimme overran the first corner; no doubt drawn in that direction because of the end. When I didn't go with her, Gimme came back and found the turn up the side of the building and had no trouble indicating the sock-article at the corner of the building.
She got to the sidewalk parallel to the back of the building and started into the parking lot, but then came back. She checked every possibility in the area of the red circle, before finally committing to cross the pavement. I was pretty sure the track went across the parking lot, but I wanted her to make the decision, instead of helping her. It took quite awhile.
She turned early for the next turn and followed parallel to the track (about 12' off), along the curb of the landscaping strip. We crossed one island and then she angled out until she rejoined the track and found the eye-glass-case-article just before the corner. She overran the corner a bit, but then came back to find the corner.
She had no trouble with the next turn on the edge of the sidewalk-grass. She did a lovely job following the track on the grass and bark. She sailed along and found the cloth-purse-article in the bushes.
She went out into the parking area and sniffed around, then came back and picked up the track along the curb. The actual track was right up next to the building, about 4' away. She made the next turn without issue and soon found the tiny glove hidden in the grass.
From there she followed the track down the sidewalk. The next turn was up the steps and she seemed to know it was there, but wanted to go around by way of vegetation. There were a dozen people waiting in line for tickets to the movie, including a couple of rowdy young children. She loves children, but in this situation I think she found them distracting and was trying to avoid them. I encouraged her and she went up the stairs and quickly followed along the metal pole railing.
At the end of railing she went straight, toward the building. She didn't find anything there and as she got back to the grass, she picked up the track and drove straight to the last article, a leather glove.
Gimme did well enough, especially considering all the challenges. It took her a half-hour to run this track. If this were a test, I am sure we would have failed - as much me as she. Clearly WE are not ready for a VST, but I still don't know if we are ready for a TDU.
Nadine and I planned to meet at Game Farm tomorrow to see if Gimme is ready for a track more like what we'd see at a TDU test. Unfortunately Nadine has strained her ankle. I'm sending in our entry anyway. We have until Saturday the 22nd to cancel if I want to. So I've "instructed" Nadine to get all better by next Thursday. Cross all the body parts you can spare.
Monday, December 9, 2019
Nosework class (3/41)
Gimme hasn't done much lately and she's missed no opportunity to remind me. We had a few gaps in the nosework schedule. Then Gimme and I missed a nosework class because of my back and we haven't been walking much for the same reason. Missed tracking because of my back and had just one RFE practice. I'm getting better and we're trying to get caught up on walking. This was our first nosework class in a few weeks and I thought Gimme might be too excited to do well. She was indeed excited, but did well anyway.
I will say I wasn't clear on the purpose of this class' exercises. Normally Dorothy explains them very well, but didn't this night.
Container 1 video - This first search was a threshold hide. Gimme overran it, as usual, but must have caught the scent because she turned herself back to it, indicating in just 7¾ seconds. The other instructor said I ran her into the search, causing her to pass odor. I've watched this video repeatedly and don't see any running - I walked fast to keep up with her and have exactly one step, which was faster than a walk, and which was also just as Gimme turned back. I really don't see how we could have done a nicer job of it.
Container 2 video - This was pretty much the same start, me walking as fast as I needed to keep up with her. Gimme had the hide in 7½ seconds. She wasted no time at all.
Container 3 video - This didn't go as fast because my position was between Gimme and the hide at first. I was just thinking about moving outside the row OR getting Gimme to search on the other side of me when Dorothy asked the question. "Where do you want her to search and where could you move yourself?" Before I could reply, Gimme took matters into her own capable paws and went straight to the hide. Gimme is so talented, she really doesn't need my help. Howevah... what other handlers do to help their dogs, I need to learn so I'm not a hindrance. Even with my unintended blocking of odor, Gimme still had the hide in 30 seconds. BTW I did take three "running" steps. I do this to keep the line slack, so Gimme doesn't get an unintended leash correction for hitting the end of the line. I do the same thing in tracking.
Interior 1 video - For this off-leash search all the hides were in the near part of the room and the larger back two-thirds was blank. I really expected Gimme to zoom through the near area and then work her way back to it. Actually Gimme caught the threshold hide from the doorway/startline - stretching her nose toward it (sadly not caught on video) and caught it right away. She circled a little into the back two-thirds, but came back quickly to catch hide two on the black cart. From there she again circled a little deeper into the empty part of the room, but then brought herself back to the black cart. She very briefly paused to see if I'd pay a second time and when I didn't fall for it, went quickly to detail and locate the last hide. She had all three hides in about 1:15... very nice.
She did a nice job in class, despite being cooped up for a couple of weeks and bored out of her mind. She was happy to see Auntie Janice waiting to give her a manicure. I don't really think she likes the manicure, but she loooooves all the peanut butter she gets.
I will say I wasn't clear on the purpose of this class' exercises. Normally Dorothy explains them very well, but didn't this night.
Container 1 video - This first search was a threshold hide. Gimme overran it, as usual, but must have caught the scent because she turned herself back to it, indicating in just 7¾ seconds. The other instructor said I ran her into the search, causing her to pass odor. I've watched this video repeatedly and don't see any running - I walked fast to keep up with her and have exactly one step, which was faster than a walk, and which was also just as Gimme turned back. I really don't see how we could have done a nicer job of it.
Container 2 video - This was pretty much the same start, me walking as fast as I needed to keep up with her. Gimme had the hide in 7½ seconds. She wasted no time at all.
Container 3 video - This didn't go as fast because my position was between Gimme and the hide at first. I was just thinking about moving outside the row OR getting Gimme to search on the other side of me when Dorothy asked the question. "Where do you want her to search and where could you move yourself?" Before I could reply, Gimme took matters into her own capable paws and went straight to the hide. Gimme is so talented, she really doesn't need my help. Howevah... what other handlers do to help their dogs, I need to learn so I'm not a hindrance. Even with my unintended blocking of odor, Gimme still had the hide in 30 seconds. BTW I did take three "running" steps. I do this to keep the line slack, so Gimme doesn't get an unintended leash correction for hitting the end of the line. I do the same thing in tracking.
Interior 1 video - For this off-leash search all the hides were in the near part of the room and the larger back two-thirds was blank. I really expected Gimme to zoom through the near area and then work her way back to it. Actually Gimme caught the threshold hide from the doorway/startline - stretching her nose toward it (sadly not caught on video) and caught it right away. She circled a little into the back two-thirds, but came back quickly to catch hide two on the black cart. From there she again circled a little deeper into the empty part of the room, but then brought herself back to the black cart. She very briefly paused to see if I'd pay a second time and when I didn't fall for it, went quickly to detail and locate the last hide. She had all three hides in about 1:15... very nice.
She did a nice job in class, despite being cooped up for a couple of weeks and bored out of her mind. She was happy to see Auntie Janice waiting to give her a manicure. I don't really think she likes the manicure, but she loooooves all the peanut butter she gets.
Saturday, December 7, 2019
RFE practice (107)
Gimme is finally out of her false pregnancy, so she is nearly back to normal. I was hoping to get some videos to use in our Intermediate/Advanced Skills entry. I let Gimme investigate the environment and very soon she found a toy in the bookshelf, of course. [Gimme was in the other room as I was reviewing this video and when she squeaked the toy in the video, the real Gimme came running to make sure I wasn't playing with her toys again; which is definitely not allowed unless I'm playing with her and the toys.]
Freeshaping video - The goal is for Gimme to put her back feet on the Lazy Susan (LS) and then move her front feet around to create a rear-hand pivot. I started out clicking her for leaving the toy and then clicked when Gimme was close to the LS. The toy proved too alluring, so I had to put it on a higher shelf. In the video it looks like her feet are slipping on the LS, but it's really just turning - the surface is textured. It turns much easier than I anticipated. I noticed Gimme's rear legs were trembling. Because the front legs weren't, I take this as a core strength challenge - as opposed to being afraid. I'm going to shove some fleece in there so it doesn't turn so easy before we try it again. I'm really only using it to build a concept, so there's no reason to do more.
Center front pivot video - This was just a little warm-up we did at the start of her second session. Just to get her brain in gear as we work on segments for the skills test. She always tends to get ahead of me going CCW, so I took it slower, doing tiny slices of a pivot and being careful to be sure she was in position before she got a reward.
"Back" video - We haven't done this in quite awhile and it's clear she's forgotten, so I give her my jacket to use as a target. We did several different variations on this, but couldn't refresh it enough to have something for the skills test. Clearly we'll need to work on it again.
This facility is so much quieter than Pawsabilities, which is both a blessing and a curse. It's definitely preferable to not contend with screeching daycare dogs or a puppy class with toy play right over the divider. On the other hand, it's so quiet - even a little noise is noticeable and distracting.
Freeshaping video - The goal is for Gimme to put her back feet on the Lazy Susan (LS) and then move her front feet around to create a rear-hand pivot. I started out clicking her for leaving the toy and then clicked when Gimme was close to the LS. The toy proved too alluring, so I had to put it on a higher shelf. In the video it looks like her feet are slipping on the LS, but it's really just turning - the surface is textured. It turns much easier than I anticipated. I noticed Gimme's rear legs were trembling. Because the front legs weren't, I take this as a core strength challenge - as opposed to being afraid. I'm going to shove some fleece in there so it doesn't turn so easy before we try it again. I'm really only using it to build a concept, so there's no reason to do more.
Center front pivot video - This was just a little warm-up we did at the start of her second session. Just to get her brain in gear as we work on segments for the skills test. She always tends to get ahead of me going CCW, so I took it slower, doing tiny slices of a pivot and being careful to be sure she was in position before she got a reward.
"Back" video - We haven't done this in quite awhile and it's clear she's forgotten, so I give her my jacket to use as a target. We did several different variations on this, but couldn't refresh it enough to have something for the skills test. Clearly we'll need to work on it again.
This facility is so much quieter than Pawsabilities, which is both a blessing and a curse. It's definitely preferable to not contend with screeching daycare dogs or a puppy class with toy play right over the divider. On the other hand, it's so quiet - even a little noise is noticeable and distracting.
Monday, December 2, 2019
Thanksgiving Walk
On Thanksgiving I hoped to meet Nadine for tracking in the morning, but it didn't work out. So, I took Gimme for a 2½ mile walk around the perimeter of Flaming Geyser Park before going to Mom's for the family get together. Here's some photos from our little excursion.
She loves her sniffing...
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