This is our last class for awhile - at least until after Christmas. Unfortunately Jo and Diane both had the flu, so we had the other guy to instruct us. He's not very effective, so it turns out to be no more than a guided practice.
Personal session video -
This is another session on teaching Gimme to back on a board. Gimme thinks just bumping the target with her foot should be enough, so she gets a little frustrated when I wait for her to actually step on it. She normally backs up so readily and fast, so I can sure see this is a challenge for her.
Sequence 1 video -
Just a simple little warm-up sequence.
Sequence 2 video -
This is the same sequence as before and the second time Gimme had difficulty starting with the "thru" pool noodles. It was set up so close to our barrier, so she had to turn sharply to get started into it.
Sequence 3 video -
This sequence starts with having Gimme only put two feet in or on props she is used to engaging with four feet, a simple challenge. We ended by going the other way. Gimme gets on the last prop so forcefully and ends up skiing across the floor until I get my foot behind it.
Sequence 4 video -
We again started with Gimme putting only two feet in/on those props. My goal was to make sure she didn't walk through the prop when we were done - which I think muddies the concept of "hands" on props she normally engages with four feet. The "walkies" board falling down right as Gimme stepped off it scared the crap outta me. Jo checks those kinds of things after every dog. Fortunately Gimme isn't bothered by strange, loud noises even if I am.
Sequence 5 video -
We hadn't done "bacon" yet and it is Gimme's favorite, so I let her do it on the tic-tac board. Then when we came back around I was going to let her do "bacon" on the yellow donut thing, but it kept running away from her. I love how she keeps trying.
Sequence 6 video -
Gimme did a nice job on this sequence. This time we did "hands" on the three props going one way and then "box" and "table" when we came back around the other way.
Sequence 7 video - Same sequence. Gimme did a nice job, especially at the last "thru" where she comes out just 5' from our classmate, who she pays no attention to.
It's been a long time since we've worked on anything hard in class, but it's still always a great chance for her to work near other dogs. We are going to miss class, but as we gear up for the holiday season, I just really can't spare 5 hours (long drive). It'll be great to get back to it afterwards. Meanwhile Gimme and I are already videotaping for her ADPL5 entries.
Showing posts with label Parkour Class. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Parkour Class. Show all posts
Friday, October 20, 2017
Saturday, September 30, 2017
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 180ยบ "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.
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 180ยบ "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.
Tuesday, September 19, 2017
Parkour (5/9)
This class was just the day after we learned about Gimme's mass, so I was pretty much ready to go with anything she wanted to do - which was all of it. It's who she is.
Since then we've learned Gimme has a really bad UTI, which has infected the wall of her bladder. She's now on antibiotics and I'm praying for a speedy recovery. She has low urine concentration that makes her more susceptible to UTIs, so we are exploring different ways to prevent them and to monitor her urine to catch any future problems much sooner.
Sequence 1 video - This is an easy sequence, except for the swinging board, which Gimme hates. I make it a point to pay her a lot for being on it. If she gets it shaking, then I steady it with my foot. It's the only thing she dislikes. I misunderstood the instructions for the yellow donut at end of the first row - thought we were supposed to do 4 on.
Sequence 2 video - Gimme has a bit of a challenge understanding we can actually "wait" in parkour. Who knew? At the end of the walk on I was trying to get her to play "whazzat" about the dog in the corner. You can see her telling me, "I don't wanna look at him". Good girl.
Sequence 3 video - Another easy sequence containing the evil swinging board and the challenging yellow donut. Gimme does really nice in this class, especially since the course takes her within 6' of the other dog.
Sequence 4 video - Yet another easy sequence. I keep adding control points to keep Gimme focused. She's really willing to do almost anything to get her fair share of cheese and peanut butter. Of course, by her way of thinking... it's all part of her fair share.
Sequence 5 video - The goal was to get two feet on the barrel. Since Gimme wasn't listening well enough to do "hands", I had her do "bacon" instead. I can always count on her to do a "bacon". The goal on the two black platforms layered on a third, was to get the dog to stop with front paws on one while keeping back paws on the other. We do this a lot with our control points, so it was very easy for Gimme.
Sequence 6 video - Another fun sequence.
Backward "walkies" video - Doing walk on going backward is the one thing Gimme struggles with learning. I think I need to freeshape it and then she'll totally get it. Here I tried doing it "bacon" on the two black platforms layered on a third, but it didn't seem to help. I think I've failed to make what I want clear to Gimme.
Backward "walkies" 2 video - Here it went a little better. I wish I'd had my clicker with me. It occurs to me I get to class over an hour before it starts, so I could go in and have a short session shaping this on one of the planks. A level plank might reduce her tendency to sit.
In any case, the big thing for me was seeing Gimme so enthusiastic about working.
Since then we've learned Gimme has a really bad UTI, which has infected the wall of her bladder. She's now on antibiotics and I'm praying for a speedy recovery. She has low urine concentration that makes her more susceptible to UTIs, so we are exploring different ways to prevent them and to monitor her urine to catch any future problems much sooner.
Sequence 1 video - This is an easy sequence, except for the swinging board, which Gimme hates. I make it a point to pay her a lot for being on it. If she gets it shaking, then I steady it with my foot. It's the only thing she dislikes. I misunderstood the instructions for the yellow donut at end of the first row - thought we were supposed to do 4 on.
Sequence 2 video - Gimme has a bit of a challenge understanding we can actually "wait" in parkour. Who knew? At the end of the walk on I was trying to get her to play "whazzat" about the dog in the corner. You can see her telling me, "I don't wanna look at him". Good girl.
Sequence 3 video - Another easy sequence containing the evil swinging board and the challenging yellow donut. Gimme does really nice in this class, especially since the course takes her within 6' of the other dog.
Sequence 4 video - Yet another easy sequence. I keep adding control points to keep Gimme focused. She's really willing to do almost anything to get her fair share of cheese and peanut butter. Of course, by her way of thinking... it's all part of her fair share.
Sequence 5 video - The goal was to get two feet on the barrel. Since Gimme wasn't listening well enough to do "hands", I had her do "bacon" instead. I can always count on her to do a "bacon". The goal on the two black platforms layered on a third, was to get the dog to stop with front paws on one while keeping back paws on the other. We do this a lot with our control points, so it was very easy for Gimme.
Sequence 6 video - Another fun sequence.
Backward "walkies" video - Doing walk on going backward is the one thing Gimme struggles with learning. I think I need to freeshape it and then she'll totally get it. Here I tried doing it "bacon" on the two black platforms layered on a third, but it didn't seem to help. I think I've failed to make what I want clear to Gimme.
Backward "walkies" 2 video - Here it went a little better. I wish I'd had my clicker with me. It occurs to me I get to class over an hour before it starts, so I could go in and have a short session shaping this on one of the planks. A level plank might reduce her tendency to sit.
In any case, the big thing for me was seeing Gimme so enthusiastic about working.
Monday, September 11, 2017
Parkour (4/9)
Originally I got an email saying we'd be the only dog in class, then when I got there, was told there would be another little dog there as a make-up. The make-up dog didn't show, so Gimme got to do everything off leash - a rare treat.
Jo was supposed to be here, but she's involved in search and rescue and was called out to search for a little girl. Haven't heard what the outcome of that was.
Sequence 1 video - This was a simple little sequence. It wasn't perfect, but you can see how much more focus Gimme has when she isn't distracted by the presence of other dogs.
Barrel racing video - Diane is familiar with barrel racing horses, so we were talking about how the sequence should go.
We spent a bit of time showing off Gimme's tricks. Diane is always so impressed with all Gimme can do. I like doing her tricks and moves in other places, since I think it furthers her understanding. Sadly, no video.
Sequence 2 video - Gimme was having difficulty with her 180° "flip" on this narrower board. Normally she does this better, but just didn't have her sea legs this day. Diane is very impressed with her immediate response to the verbal "halt". Actually she's impressed with a lot of things Gimme does.
Working "flip" video - I spent a little time working on her "flip" on this narrow board. I'm not sure why she was having difficulty with this. We have a board at home, about half an inch narrower, same height, and she does "flip" on it with no problem.
Between these two sequences, Gimme took the opportunity to check out the toy barrel. Turns out they've added some new ones and she found a red man toy she especially liked. She brought it to show Diane and me, being her best silly, wiggly self. I make her leave the toy for each sequence and then each time, after I release her, she runs back to it after I release her.
Sequence 3 video - It's not immediately obvious on the video, but there were 4 pool noodles in the "thru" and I think Gimme just didn't see a way through. To her credit, with a little encouragement, she tried and discovered she could get through it. The wide turn at the second cone was because her line of travel was taking her straight toward the red man toy and she forgot what she was doing for a second. She made a good effort to work through the distraction on her second try and her reward was to be sent to the very same toy.
Working "thru" video - We did a quick back and forth "thru" just to cement the idea it could be done. Easy peasy.
Sequence 4 video - I was definitely late with the "below" cue. We were trying to get a turn away from me, like we do in RallyFrEe. There really wasn't enough space. After the course I showed Diane what I was trying to do - whilst warming up the sequence for Gimme.
Working "turn" video - Diane increased the spacing for us so we could try the "turn" in a sequence. It worked best when I had a little lead out.
My pretty little con artist worked her magic on Diane and managed to come home with a new toy. Remember the little red man she got out of the toy barrel? Diane thought she looked so cute playing with it and clearly "needs" it, so she gave it to her. This is the third time Gimme has managed to talk one of our instructors out of a toy. It's her system and it certainly works for her.
By the way, Gimme says "con artist" must be a fancy word for "cute and charming". Just sayin...
Jo was supposed to be here, but she's involved in search and rescue and was called out to search for a little girl. Haven't heard what the outcome of that was.
Sequence 1 video - This was a simple little sequence. It wasn't perfect, but you can see how much more focus Gimme has when she isn't distracted by the presence of other dogs.
Barrel racing video - Diane is familiar with barrel racing horses, so we were talking about how the sequence should go.
We spent a bit of time showing off Gimme's tricks. Diane is always so impressed with all Gimme can do. I like doing her tricks and moves in other places, since I think it furthers her understanding. Sadly, no video.
Sequence 2 video - Gimme was having difficulty with her 180° "flip" on this narrower board. Normally she does this better, but just didn't have her sea legs this day. Diane is very impressed with her immediate response to the verbal "halt". Actually she's impressed with a lot of things Gimme does.
Working "flip" video - I spent a little time working on her "flip" on this narrow board. I'm not sure why she was having difficulty with this. We have a board at home, about half an inch narrower, same height, and she does "flip" on it with no problem.
Between these two sequences, Gimme took the opportunity to check out the toy barrel. Turns out they've added some new ones and she found a red man toy she especially liked. She brought it to show Diane and me, being her best silly, wiggly self. I make her leave the toy for each sequence and then each time, after I release her, she runs back to it after I release her.
Sequence 3 video - It's not immediately obvious on the video, but there were 4 pool noodles in the "thru" and I think Gimme just didn't see a way through. To her credit, with a little encouragement, she tried and discovered she could get through it. The wide turn at the second cone was because her line of travel was taking her straight toward the red man toy and she forgot what she was doing for a second. She made a good effort to work through the distraction on her second try and her reward was to be sent to the very same toy.
Working "thru" video - We did a quick back and forth "thru" just to cement the idea it could be done. Easy peasy.
Sequence 4 video - I was definitely late with the "below" cue. We were trying to get a turn away from me, like we do in RallyFrEe. There really wasn't enough space. After the course I showed Diane what I was trying to do - whilst warming up the sequence for Gimme.
Working "turn" video - Diane increased the spacing for us so we could try the "turn" in a sequence. It worked best when I had a little lead out.
My pretty little con artist worked her magic on Diane and managed to come home with a new toy. Remember the little red man she got out of the toy barrel? Diane thought she looked so cute playing with it and clearly "needs" it, so she gave it to her. This is the third time Gimme has managed to talk one of our instructors out of a toy. It's her system and it certainly works for her.
By the way, Gimme says "con artist" must be a fancy word for "cute and charming". Just sayin...
Saturday, August 26, 2017
Parkour (2/9)
It was a cooler day, so class was back inside.
Sequence 1 video - It took a couple of tries at the start to engage Gimme's listening ears. From there to the end she did nicely. I usually let her do whatever on the first turn, thinking to let her get it out of her system. Considering how well she did in this class, I think working on focus from the start is a better.
Sequence 2 video - This was the same sequence and Gimme did it nicely.
Sequence 3 video - Just a slight change so the board walk was no longer a straight shot. Easy peasy.
Sequence 4 video - Another easy sequence. This first time Gimme did the puny jump with no problem.
Sequence 5 video - This is not a hard sequence, but my timing was off for the "out" (or someone wasn't using her listening ears). This time she didn't think that little thing was a jump. Of course I was closer to it because of the angle, so she may not have been as comfortable jumping into my space. I see in one of the tries where I am moving toward the jump as she is approaching it, so she may have interpreted my motion as pushing her out and thus around the jump. I had her do the little jump three times in a row, so I could reward it. Then the next time she got it in sequence nicely.
Sequence 6 video - Gimme did well this time. For the send "out" around the chair, I moved closer to her. Sometimes I wonder how she is supposed to know which prop I am talking about, especially in a setting like this where we use everything there.
Sequence 7 video - Gimme does well with all but the send. It's hard to train it effectively in a sequence.
Jo set us up with two send options to practice.
Send to "table" video - We did "thru" with send to "table" first. Gimme did nicely with this. The hardest part was getting Gimme to stick the table and wait for me to bring the treat to her. This is a separate issue which I need to teach her. The other team was working the other send at the same time. Jo set up two dividers between our lanes and stood there as well. Gimme did well with the distraction.
Send "out" video - Gimme did well with this from the start. I wanted to practice it with speed and the leash kept whipping around and catching on stuff. It didn't seem right for Gimme to have to contend with the noise and these jerks on her halter, so we only did a couple repetitions.
Rebound video - There were only two of us in class and Jo had the other team wait out in the yard, so the working team could work off leash. The goal is for the dog to jump on, then off, touching the prop with all four feet. We haven't done this in quite awhile. I have the start of a training prop at home, but haven't finished it. Some of these were nice. I need to train this consistently.
Sequence 1 video - It took a couple of tries at the start to engage Gimme's listening ears. From there to the end she did nicely. I usually let her do whatever on the first turn, thinking to let her get it out of her system. Considering how well she did in this class, I think working on focus from the start is a better.
Sequence 2 video - This was the same sequence and Gimme did it nicely.
Sequence 3 video - Just a slight change so the board walk was no longer a straight shot. Easy peasy.
Sequence 4 video - Another easy sequence. This first time Gimme did the puny jump with no problem.
Sequence 5 video - This is not a hard sequence, but my timing was off for the "out" (or someone wasn't using her listening ears). This time she didn't think that little thing was a jump. Of course I was closer to it because of the angle, so she may not have been as comfortable jumping into my space. I see in one of the tries where I am moving toward the jump as she is approaching it, so she may have interpreted my motion as pushing her out and thus around the jump. I had her do the little jump three times in a row, so I could reward it. Then the next time she got it in sequence nicely.
Sequence 6 video - Gimme did well this time. For the send "out" around the chair, I moved closer to her. Sometimes I wonder how she is supposed to know which prop I am talking about, especially in a setting like this where we use everything there.
Sequence 7 video - Gimme does well with all but the send. It's hard to train it effectively in a sequence.
Jo set us up with two send options to practice.
Send to "table" video - We did "thru" with send to "table" first. Gimme did nicely with this. The hardest part was getting Gimme to stick the table and wait for me to bring the treat to her. This is a separate issue which I need to teach her. The other team was working the other send at the same time. Jo set up two dividers between our lanes and stood there as well. Gimme did well with the distraction.
Send "out" video - Gimme did well with this from the start. I wanted to practice it with speed and the leash kept whipping around and catching on stuff. It didn't seem right for Gimme to have to contend with the noise and these jerks on her halter, so we only did a couple repetitions.
Rebound video - There were only two of us in class and Jo had the other team wait out in the yard, so the working team could work off leash. The goal is for the dog to jump on, then off, touching the prop with all four feet. We haven't done this in quite awhile. I have the start of a training prop at home, but haven't finished it. Some of these were nice. I need to train this consistently.
Saturday, August 19, 2017
Parkour (1/9)
Glad to have Jo back, she always gives us a better class. There was only one other student tonight, so it made it easier for Gimme. Of course this owner is not very careful, which is not so easy for me, since I have to watch out for her. At least her dog is nice, mild mannered.
BTW you'll see Gimme gets distracted here and there. I learned there was a bitch in season in an earlier class. Gimme gets over it pretty quickly.
"Thru" video - This was a simple "thru" exercise. Gimme didn't hesitate the first direction. I did have to encourage her a tiny bit for the second direction; she knew there was stuff on the other side she couldn't see. Jo also had us do a sequence, but there's no video because I had it zoomed in for the "thru" exercise. It's pretty much the same as this next video.
Sequence 1 video - This was a fun sequence. The pivot on the bucket needed to be done in both directions. Gimme does CCW "pivot" independently, but we are still working on CW "tivo".
Free-shaping "tivo" video - We are working on Gimme's clockwise pivot, "tivo". I waited too long to start on it, so it's a challenge, since she has a huge success and reward history for doing it CCW. She was also more likely to get on with 4 feet with this larger diameter prop, especially toward the end of the session where she was getting frustrated. I used a little bit of movement to get her started. The suggestion on the MDSA workshop list was for me to toss her treats to my left, since she likes to be in front of me and this would encourage her to step in the right direction. Oddly, she wasn't as likely to center herself with this higher prop - I guess she sees things different when we are doing parkour. I saw she was tending to just do two steps and then stop. What I did learn from the workshop list was to watch the far back leg, since she moves it before moving the near leg. This was very helpful, but I really need a mirror to see it and respond with any timeliness. I thought Gimme did very well given I wasn't using a clicker, which improves my marker timing. The session was a bit too long - cutting 2 minutes would have been more effective.
I chose to end the session when the other student walked her dog right past us. I caught her in my peripheral view and was able to move away before she got too close. If I'd been thinking ahead, I would have set up to train with me facing the other direction, then I would have seen her much sooner. Lesson learned.
Sequence 2 video - Most of the sequence wasn't hard, but this thing with weaving through the PVC ladder was. Gimme just didn't seem to understand what I was trying to get her to do. The first time I was able to lure her through it. The second time, we really struggled. It was like she didn't see the third space - she'd go right up to it and then turn to go into the space on either side of it. I'm going to start wearing my wristband clicker to class - I think I could have gotten this easier with it. Jo's suggestion worked well - to move her away, do something else and then come back to it. At the time I thought I might be crowding her off the third space, but it doesn't look like it on video. One thing you'll notice is, no matter how frustrating this must have been for her, her tail wags constantly. As I've always said, her tail is useless as a barometer of her emotional state. I do know a place nearby where we can train this on something really similar to the ladder. I'll have to remember to take my camera to video the session. Gimme also got a little stuck when I wanted "table" on the flat disc, she was just sure she should "pivot".
For the last session of class we were given the option to work on whatever we wanted. I wanted to go back to weaving through the ladder, but decided (after the other person moved on) to work on backing through the ladder instead.
Cue discrimination video - The goal here was to get Gimme to listen to the cue and do the behavior I asked for. She had two choices, "jump" and "below". Of course, listening has never been her strong suit, so this is particularly challenging. She does seem to be picking it up toward the end. Part of the challenge may have been that we were so close to our cubicle and she wanted to go there - she gets peanut butter after every turn, so returning to the cubicle is high value. We need to work cue discrimination a lot more.
Gap jump video - This video shows three separate turns. Jo increased the space between the props with each turn. She wanted to make sure the dogs stepped on each of the three props, so I encouraged Gimme to stop on each one for a treat. She did well. Watching this I do think I should have paid her for stopping on the planter too.
Ladder back-up video - This is the final free-practice session. We worked on backing through the ladder. I don't need this behavior, but my thinking is this will prepare her for confidently backing up on an elevated prop. She does some really nice work toward the end. I love her willingness to try anything.
There was a lot of brain work in this class, so Gimme slept soundly most of the way home.
BTW we are working on our videos for ADP Level 4. Today after urban tracking we went by Long Lake Park and I walked the park planning our behaviors. Then we had a short training session to prepare Gimme for one of the things we'll need to do. Afterwards we headed to our usual spot and walked two miles. It was a busy day for the girlie.
BTW you'll see Gimme gets distracted here and there. I learned there was a bitch in season in an earlier class. Gimme gets over it pretty quickly.
"Thru" video - This was a simple "thru" exercise. Gimme didn't hesitate the first direction. I did have to encourage her a tiny bit for the second direction; she knew there was stuff on the other side she couldn't see. Jo also had us do a sequence, but there's no video because I had it zoomed in for the "thru" exercise. It's pretty much the same as this next video.
Sequence 1 video - This was a fun sequence. The pivot on the bucket needed to be done in both directions. Gimme does CCW "pivot" independently, but we are still working on CW "tivo".
Free-shaping "tivo" video - We are working on Gimme's clockwise pivot, "tivo". I waited too long to start on it, so it's a challenge, since she has a huge success and reward history for doing it CCW. She was also more likely to get on with 4 feet with this larger diameter prop, especially toward the end of the session where she was getting frustrated. I used a little bit of movement to get her started. The suggestion on the MDSA workshop list was for me to toss her treats to my left, since she likes to be in front of me and this would encourage her to step in the right direction. Oddly, she wasn't as likely to center herself with this higher prop - I guess she sees things different when we are doing parkour. I saw she was tending to just do two steps and then stop. What I did learn from the workshop list was to watch the far back leg, since she moves it before moving the near leg. This was very helpful, but I really need a mirror to see it and respond with any timeliness. I thought Gimme did very well given I wasn't using a clicker, which improves my marker timing. The session was a bit too long - cutting 2 minutes would have been more effective.
I chose to end the session when the other student walked her dog right past us. I caught her in my peripheral view and was able to move away before she got too close. If I'd been thinking ahead, I would have set up to train with me facing the other direction, then I would have seen her much sooner. Lesson learned.
Sequence 2 video - Most of the sequence wasn't hard, but this thing with weaving through the PVC ladder was. Gimme just didn't seem to understand what I was trying to get her to do. The first time I was able to lure her through it. The second time, we really struggled. It was like she didn't see the third space - she'd go right up to it and then turn to go into the space on either side of it. I'm going to start wearing my wristband clicker to class - I think I could have gotten this easier with it. Jo's suggestion worked well - to move her away, do something else and then come back to it. At the time I thought I might be crowding her off the third space, but it doesn't look like it on video. One thing you'll notice is, no matter how frustrating this must have been for her, her tail wags constantly. As I've always said, her tail is useless as a barometer of her emotional state. I do know a place nearby where we can train this on something really similar to the ladder. I'll have to remember to take my camera to video the session. Gimme also got a little stuck when I wanted "table" on the flat disc, she was just sure she should "pivot".
For the last session of class we were given the option to work on whatever we wanted. I wanted to go back to weaving through the ladder, but decided (after the other person moved on) to work on backing through the ladder instead.
Cue discrimination video - The goal here was to get Gimme to listen to the cue and do the behavior I asked for. She had two choices, "jump" and "below". Of course, listening has never been her strong suit, so this is particularly challenging. She does seem to be picking it up toward the end. Part of the challenge may have been that we were so close to our cubicle and she wanted to go there - she gets peanut butter after every turn, so returning to the cubicle is high value. We need to work cue discrimination a lot more.
Gap jump video - This video shows three separate turns. Jo increased the space between the props with each turn. She wanted to make sure the dogs stepped on each of the three props, so I encouraged Gimme to stop on each one for a treat. She did well. Watching this I do think I should have paid her for stopping on the planter too.
Ladder back-up video - This is the final free-practice session. We worked on backing through the ladder. I don't need this behavior, but my thinking is this will prepare her for confidently backing up on an elevated prop. She does some really nice work toward the end. I love her willingness to try anything.
There was a lot of brain work in this class, so Gimme slept soundly most of the way home.
BTW we are working on our videos for ADP Level 4. Today after urban tracking we went by Long Lake Park and I walked the park planning our behaviors. Then we had a short training session to prepare Gimme for one of the things we'll need to do. Afterwards we headed to our usual spot and walked two miles. It was a busy day for the girlie.
Sunday, August 13, 2017
Parkour (7/8)
We had a substitute instructor. This is the last class of the session and we were told our next session would start an hour earlier. This session was 15 minutes earlier than before. Apparently they have huge enrollment for STAR Puppy classes and so we get moved to accommodate the puppies. If they don't move us and put the puppy classes before and after parkour, she says all the parkour equipment has to be moved an extra time. I'm not sure this makes sense. It has to be set up and then taken down each time, since there is only one parkour class on Wednesday, so whether it happens before the puppy classes or between them - it seems like the same amount of work to me. Perhaps there is some other factor that wasn't shared with me.
I'm going to try the earlier time, but I'm not sure how well it will work. I'm already cutting a work day short to get there, because I have to leave so early to beat the rush hour traffic. I usually have to wait 45 minutes for class to start. If I try to leave later I get stuck in rush hour and arrive halfway through class. Perhaps I can just leave half an hour earlier. I'll see how it goes.
Warm-up-A video - The Akita person is working in the foreground, so it's hard to see what we're doing. I wasn't sure how Gimme would do with the other dog out working at the same time, but she was fine with it. The Akita's owner is very careful, which you can see from time to time when she stops and stands with her dog behind a divider. It sure helps knowing she's not going to do anything dopey like less experienced classmates are prone to.
We started working on some warm-up using the elevated ladder walk and the pvc ladder on the ground. Gimme also had to figure out to go around the tree and "thru" the barrel, with the goal being for me to not pass the tree (so no body blocking the gap). The challenge is that I also use "thru" to mean go between two things, so she was correct to think I meant go between the tree and the barrel. I used "chute" to cue the collapsed tunnel in agility, which she understood. Since she hasn't done agility in almost 3 years, I'm amazed she remembered it.
Warm-up-B video -
We switched sides with the Akita team. This was a short little sequence of: below, walk-on, around and thru. Gimme did it well and completely ignored the Akita working nearby.
"Walkies" video - This was short and sweet.
Sequence 1 video - This was a nice little sequence, bringing together most of what we'd already done. Then we did it in reverse.
Sequence 2 video - The instructor added the narrow board to make it more challenging for Gimme. The Akita still won't get on any board higher than his elbows. He's really young and so clumsy and it's part of parkour philosophy to not push him beyond his comfort zone. Unfortunately the last 2 props are outside camera view.
Sequence 3 video - This is mostly the same, except the instructor wanted me to add a front cross in a spot where it didn't work and there were two more props added - again outside camera view.
Elevated back-up video - We put the ladder down on the ground so I could work with Gimme about stepping backwards through it. I didn't really expect she would do much, rather I wanted her to be really conscious of her feet.
From there we went to the ladder, which is also a bit elevated. This was challenging because she needed to step between the rungs and when she got all four feet in one rung space, it pushed her hocks against the next rung. Rung height was just above her point of hock, so in order to take another step back she had to pull each back foot forward and then step back with it. Sadly this was outside camera view, so you don't get to see it. Right at the end, she backed through two rung spaces. She was (and always is) fabulous.
Just sayin...
I'm going to try the earlier time, but I'm not sure how well it will work. I'm already cutting a work day short to get there, because I have to leave so early to beat the rush hour traffic. I usually have to wait 45 minutes for class to start. If I try to leave later I get stuck in rush hour and arrive halfway through class. Perhaps I can just leave half an hour earlier. I'll see how it goes.
Warm-up-A video - The Akita person is working in the foreground, so it's hard to see what we're doing. I wasn't sure how Gimme would do with the other dog out working at the same time, but she was fine with it. The Akita's owner is very careful, which you can see from time to time when she stops and stands with her dog behind a divider. It sure helps knowing she's not going to do anything dopey like less experienced classmates are prone to.
We started working on some warm-up using the elevated ladder walk and the pvc ladder on the ground. Gimme also had to figure out to go around the tree and "thru" the barrel, with the goal being for me to not pass the tree (so no body blocking the gap). The challenge is that I also use "thru" to mean go between two things, so she was correct to think I meant go between the tree and the barrel. I used "chute" to cue the collapsed tunnel in agility, which she understood. Since she hasn't done agility in almost 3 years, I'm amazed she remembered it.
Warm-up-B video -
We switched sides with the Akita team. This was a short little sequence of: below, walk-on, around and thru. Gimme did it well and completely ignored the Akita working nearby.
"Walkies" video - This was short and sweet.
Sequence 1 video - This was a nice little sequence, bringing together most of what we'd already done. Then we did it in reverse.
Sequence 2 video - The instructor added the narrow board to make it more challenging for Gimme. The Akita still won't get on any board higher than his elbows. He's really young and so clumsy and it's part of parkour philosophy to not push him beyond his comfort zone. Unfortunately the last 2 props are outside camera view.
Sequence 3 video - This is mostly the same, except the instructor wanted me to add a front cross in a spot where it didn't work and there were two more props added - again outside camera view.
Elevated back-up video - We put the ladder down on the ground so I could work with Gimme about stepping backwards through it. I didn't really expect she would do much, rather I wanted her to be really conscious of her feet.
From there we went to the ladder, which is also a bit elevated. This was challenging because she needed to step between the rungs and when she got all four feet in one rung space, it pushed her hocks against the next rung. Rung height was just above her point of hock, so in order to take another step back she had to pull each back foot forward and then step back with it. Sadly this was outside camera view, so you don't get to see it. Right at the end, she backed through two rung spaces. She was (and always is) fabulous.
Just sayin...
Saturday, July 29, 2017
Parkour (6/8)
Gimme killed her bed under the computer desk before we headed off to class. She's also become a little more obsessed with babies. It might be time to adjust her remedies. I wasn't sure what to expect for class.
Crawl trainer - I didn't get a video for this. Gimme has done it before and it wasn't set very low, so she just zoomed through it and back. It was great to have something easy to start class with.
Sway bridge video - Gimme isn't really fond of the sway bridge so she tends to race over it. I let her race the first time and then inserted a control point on the way back. She stopped very nicely and you can see her relaxing as she's getting the treats.
Hoop trainer video - Gimme has a bit of a challenge with the hoop trainer. We work on it and get some success, but not quite what I'd like to see. It's hard because she gets ahead of me so quickly. In hindsight, I should have used our "halt" as a control point to help her listen better.
Sequence 1 video - Gimme does a good job with this, though not perfect. She misses the "halt" cue on the sway bridge, but then does the hoop trainer perfectly. She's doing much better than I expected.
Cue discrimination video - This exercise was about cue discrimination. We had two platforms on the ends with the barrel between them. The discrimination was between "hands", "out" and "table" using the end platforms. Gimme did well with the "hands" and "table", but not with the "out". She was getting ahead of me, so I couldn't use my motion to help her. I tried to use "halt" to slow her down coming out of the barrel, but she wasn't responding to it. Jo thought "halt" and "out" sounded too much alike. They do, but if this was the issue, I would have expected Gimme to do the "out" instead of getting on the end platform. Once I got the "halt" in as a control point, then she did the "out" nicely.
Sequence 2 video - This was our final sequence and Gimme did a really nice job. I was ready to add a couple of control points, but found we didn't need them.
Crawl trainer - I didn't get a video for this. Gimme has done it before and it wasn't set very low, so she just zoomed through it and back. It was great to have something easy to start class with. Sway bridge video - Gimme isn't really fond of the sway bridge so she tends to race over it. I let her race the first time and then inserted a control point on the way back. She stopped very nicely and you can see her relaxing as she's getting the treats.
Hoop trainer video - Gimme has a bit of a challenge with the hoop trainer. We work on it and get some success, but not quite what I'd like to see. It's hard because she gets ahead of me so quickly. In hindsight, I should have used our "halt" as a control point to help her listen better.
Sequence 1 video - Gimme does a good job with this, though not perfect. She misses the "halt" cue on the sway bridge, but then does the hoop trainer perfectly. She's doing much better than I expected.
Cue discrimination video - This exercise was about cue discrimination. We had two platforms on the ends with the barrel between them. The discrimination was between "hands", "out" and "table" using the end platforms. Gimme did well with the "hands" and "table", but not with the "out". She was getting ahead of me, so I couldn't use my motion to help her. I tried to use "halt" to slow her down coming out of the barrel, but she wasn't responding to it. Jo thought "halt" and "out" sounded too much alike. They do, but if this was the issue, I would have expected Gimme to do the "out" instead of getting on the end platform. Once I got the "halt" in as a control point, then she did the "out" nicely.
Sequence 2 video - This was our final sequence and Gimme did a really nice job. I was ready to add a couple of control points, but found we didn't need them.
Friday, July 21, 2017
Parkour (5/8)
While her false pregnancy hasn't been as intense as in the past, it's slowly gearing up, so I wasn't sure what to expect from her in class. She did well, it just took a bit to get her brain into what we were doing. BTW the reason I think her f.p. is less intense has to do with the addition of Sabina (a homeopathic remedy). We added it last time, but she was already halfway through the false pregnancy - this time we started it much sooner and it seems to make a big difference. She's still not as focused and easily frustrated, but far better than the past.
2-on moving prop "hands" video - This was easy for Gimme. She spent time on the egg ball when she was a puppy of just a few weeks old (while still with the breeder) and she's been on mine, so this just doesn't bother her. Being paid for something so easy is a really great deal for her.
Scaffold work video - Again, easy for Gimme. So easy she just wants to go ahead and do without waiting for me. I add two control points to encourage her to listen/wait for me.
Going "thru" props video - Gimme cut the corner, which was a natural mistake. I tried repeatedly to get her to "wait" so I could get a little ahead and help her. She knows her stays very well, but was unable to focus enough to stay put. Maybe focus isn't the right word - it is more an issue of impulse control. I'm sure it's related to the false pregnancy. Anyway, once I got a tiny little stay, then she did it beautifully and was equally flawless on the way back.
Boardwalk video - This was a simple sequence and I just let Gimme do it without any control points. Sometimes my little girl just deserves to have a some fun.
Sequence 1 video - This was a nice little sequence putting together everything we'd done thus far. Gimme did a nice job.
Sequence 2 video - The was the same sequence, only in reverse. I still hadn't gotten Gimme's full attention, so I added a lot of control points this time. I know they aren't as fun for her as going-going-going, so I try to pay well for each "halt" to make it worth her while. After all, food is always fun for this girl.
Sequence 3 video - This sequence was a shortie - using the bench boardwalk and ending with an under-over. I sent Gimme "below" and then called her to come. I assumed she would jump over it, since she likes jumping. She assumed I meant to come back "below". Clearly I need to be more specific.
Sequence 4 video - Another simple sequence with a couple of obstacles added in. We did control points and you can see on the video she is really thinking and listening better.
Sequence 5 video - Again a reverse of the last sequence, with control points.
Sequence 6 video - Another sequence with a table send added in the middle. Gimme did a great job with this.
I love parkour for Gimme. She always wants to do-do-do and parkour gives her plenty of things to play with.
2-on moving prop "hands" video - This was easy for Gimme. She spent time on the egg ball when she was a puppy of just a few weeks old (while still with the breeder) and she's been on mine, so this just doesn't bother her. Being paid for something so easy is a really great deal for her.
Scaffold work video - Again, easy for Gimme. So easy she just wants to go ahead and do without waiting for me. I add two control points to encourage her to listen/wait for me.
Going "thru" props video - Gimme cut the corner, which was a natural mistake. I tried repeatedly to get her to "wait" so I could get a little ahead and help her. She knows her stays very well, but was unable to focus enough to stay put. Maybe focus isn't the right word - it is more an issue of impulse control. I'm sure it's related to the false pregnancy. Anyway, once I got a tiny little stay, then she did it beautifully and was equally flawless on the way back.
Boardwalk video - This was a simple sequence and I just let Gimme do it without any control points. Sometimes my little girl just deserves to have a some fun.
Sequence 1 video - This was a nice little sequence putting together everything we'd done thus far. Gimme did a nice job.
Sequence 2 video - The was the same sequence, only in reverse. I still hadn't gotten Gimme's full attention, so I added a lot of control points this time. I know they aren't as fun for her as going-going-going, so I try to pay well for each "halt" to make it worth her while. After all, food is always fun for this girl.
Sequence 3 video - This sequence was a shortie - using the bench boardwalk and ending with an under-over. I sent Gimme "below" and then called her to come. I assumed she would jump over it, since she likes jumping. She assumed I meant to come back "below". Clearly I need to be more specific.
Sequence 4 video - Another simple sequence with a couple of obstacles added in. We did control points and you can see on the video she is really thinking and listening better.
Sequence 5 video - Again a reverse of the last sequence, with control points.
Sequence 6 video - Another sequence with a table send added in the middle. Gimme did a great job with this.
I love parkour for Gimme. She always wants to do-do-do and parkour gives her plenty of things to play with.
Sunday, July 16, 2017
Parkour (4/8)
Gimme is in her false pregnancy, so I wasn't expecting a lot from her. It took a little bit to get her brain focused, but then she did nicely. About a half hour from home, she had a meltdown. The first thing she did when she got home was run to her new blue bear toy. Later she got big bunny out of the bottom of her toy basket and laid down with it for awhile. So I'll make sure to take both whenever we go anywhere until this passes. There were five dogs in class, including Gimme.
"Below" video - This was an easy "below" to do, just with a different prop. Of course, I did have to remind Gimme to actually listen to me.
"Walkies" video - This was easy enough, but again Gimme needed a reminder to listen to me, not just assume what I wanted.
Sequence 1 video - Gimme was getting better focus at this point. It was a little challenging for me to think ahead of where to put my front crosses in so I could direct her efficiently. I missed one.
Sequence 2 video - She did a really nice job with this, staying well focused the whole time. Good work for such a large class of five dogs.
Sequence 3 video - This was a repeat of the same sequence and Gimme got distracted by me having food when she was on the boardwalk, so we went back and started at the beginning of the boardwalk. She tends to easily get food obsessed when she is in a false pregnancy, so I put in a control point to help her remember to think about what she's doing. We had to do this again when she forgot to think about where her feet were and what they were doing.
Sequence with gap jump video - Here we go back to the original "walkies" sequence with a little gap jump added. Gimme does it nicely.
Sequence with bigger gap video - Same sequence with a bigger gap to get to the tub. Gimme did well with this.
Gap jumping video - Gimme was kinda hit and miss with this. She seemed to do better going toward the tree planter - probably because the landing was so much larger. Going the other way to the tub didn't leave any room for an additional step or two on landing, so it was more challenging. Plus I really don't think she saw the point to it. Of course, once I decided to bring out the PB gotoob for a reward, she no longer cared whether there was a point to the exercise. As far as Gimme is concerned, peanut butter is all the point she needs.
Between peanut butter and chicken nuggets, Gimme will do anything she can physically accomplish to be certain she gets her share. Ya gotta love working with a dog who is so easy to motivate, eh.
"Below" video - This was an easy "below" to do, just with a different prop. Of course, I did have to remind Gimme to actually listen to me.
"Walkies" video - This was easy enough, but again Gimme needed a reminder to listen to me, not just assume what I wanted.
Sequence 1 video - Gimme was getting better focus at this point. It was a little challenging for me to think ahead of where to put my front crosses in so I could direct her efficiently. I missed one.
Sequence 2 video - She did a really nice job with this, staying well focused the whole time. Good work for such a large class of five dogs.
Sequence 3 video - This was a repeat of the same sequence and Gimme got distracted by me having food when she was on the boardwalk, so we went back and started at the beginning of the boardwalk. She tends to easily get food obsessed when she is in a false pregnancy, so I put in a control point to help her remember to think about what she's doing. We had to do this again when she forgot to think about where her feet were and what they were doing.
Sequence with gap jump video - Here we go back to the original "walkies" sequence with a little gap jump added. Gimme does it nicely.
Sequence with bigger gap video - Same sequence with a bigger gap to get to the tub. Gimme did well with this.
Gap jumping video - Gimme was kinda hit and miss with this. She seemed to do better going toward the tree planter - probably because the landing was so much larger. Going the other way to the tub didn't leave any room for an additional step or two on landing, so it was more challenging. Plus I really don't think she saw the point to it. Of course, once I decided to bring out the PB gotoob for a reward, she no longer cared whether there was a point to the exercise. As far as Gimme is concerned, peanut butter is all the point she needs.
Between peanut butter and chicken nuggets, Gimme will do anything she can physically accomplish to be certain she gets her share. Ya gotta love working with a dog who is so easy to motivate, eh.
Wednesday, July 5, 2017
Parkour (2/8)
This class started off with 5 dogs, including Gimme. There was one behind the fencing (behind Jo in the first video), one who camped to the back of the room and then two more on the left side of the room. Gimme was a bit distracted, but handling it. Then the nice calm Tervuren showed up and it really was too much for her. I didn't realize at the time she was starting into her false pregnancy - I saw the first real signs when we got home. The next day in RFE practice she also showed signs. So far she hasn't gone over the edge into false pregnancy, but according to my calendar, it'll be this coming Saturday.
Boardwalk work video - This was just a little bit of work on the boardwalk with extra control points along the way for Gimme. It is easy for her, but it was also a good chance to work through the distraction of two other dogs somewhat close.
"Thru" obstacle video - The obstacle was a channel with a 90ยบ bend with pool noodles stuck through it at various heights and angles. Gimme has seen this set-up several times, so it was easy for her. She wasn't even distracted by the proximity of the Akita, about 6' away.
Sequence 1 video - This is not a challenging sequence, but you might be able to see the increased distraction. Her effort here was just moments after the Tervuren arrived. She normally "likes" him, because he's so calm and well-behaved. In this case, I think his late arrival created sudden environmental change (SEC). She wasn't too bad, just a somewhat frantic edge to her - I see it. To her credit, Jo notices it too.
Multiple uses video - We were to take one prop and use it in as many ways as possible. We used the barrel and did: "thru", "hands" (2 ways), "table", "out", and "bacon". Oddly the "out" was the hardest to get.
Multiple uses 2 video - This is our chance to show off to the class what we've done. I added her doing "bacon" into the barrel and doing "bacon" on the barrel tipped on its end. This turned out to be easier than "bacon" to the side, because she had traction available much lower.
Special uses video - She set out a large group of props and we were to find unusual ways to use them. Obviously, we did "bacon" to everything... because we can. I didn't realize the cone would flip up against her. The other challenge was the little step platform - I thought she would back onto the low step on the end. When she tried to get on the top, it kept scooting away from her. I love how Gimme is so willing to try, even when things don't cooperate. I asked the lady who owns the Tervuren guy if she thought we were overdoing our "bacon" skill. She said, "Never. Always go with your strength."
Gimme was so tired she slept all the way home and didn't wake up until I stopped to get our mail. Poor baby.
Boardwalk work video - This was just a little bit of work on the boardwalk with extra control points along the way for Gimme. It is easy for her, but it was also a good chance to work through the distraction of two other dogs somewhat close.
"Thru" obstacle video - The obstacle was a channel with a 90ยบ bend with pool noodles stuck through it at various heights and angles. Gimme has seen this set-up several times, so it was easy for her. She wasn't even distracted by the proximity of the Akita, about 6' away.
Sequence 1 video - This is not a challenging sequence, but you might be able to see the increased distraction. Her effort here was just moments after the Tervuren arrived. She normally "likes" him, because he's so calm and well-behaved. In this case, I think his late arrival created sudden environmental change (SEC). She wasn't too bad, just a somewhat frantic edge to her - I see it. To her credit, Jo notices it too.
Multiple uses video - We were to take one prop and use it in as many ways as possible. We used the barrel and did: "thru", "hands" (2 ways), "table", "out", and "bacon". Oddly the "out" was the hardest to get.
Multiple uses 2 video - This is our chance to show off to the class what we've done. I added her doing "bacon" into the barrel and doing "bacon" on the barrel tipped on its end. This turned out to be easier than "bacon" to the side, because she had traction available much lower.
Special uses video - She set out a large group of props and we were to find unusual ways to use them. Obviously, we did "bacon" to everything... because we can. I didn't realize the cone would flip up against her. The other challenge was the little step platform - I thought she would back onto the low step on the end. When she tried to get on the top, it kept scooting away from her. I love how Gimme is so willing to try, even when things don't cooperate. I asked the lady who owns the Tervuren guy if she thought we were overdoing our "bacon" skill. She said, "Never. Always go with your strength."
Gimme was so tired she slept all the way home and didn't wake up until I stopped to get our mail. Poor baby.
Tuesday, June 27, 2017
Parkour (1/8)
There were five dogs in class, including Gimme. One she didn't know and three she'd seen before. It used to be this would have been very challenging for her, but this time she was quite calm about it.
"Box" practice video - We were supposed to practice having our dog get into something, "box". Of course Gimme used this opportunity to practice "bacon" a few times. She is certainly consistent.
Crawl trainer video - Gimme totally rocks the crawl trainer. This was too too easy, since she's done it set much lower. It takes too long to reset it, so she did it the same height as the beginner dogs.
Scaffold sequence video - The challenge here was how the two scaffolds were set staggered, creating a narrow space to get from one to the other. Gimme did fine with this, naturally.
Sequence 1 video - This little sequence was pretty easy. To make it more interesting for Gimme, we did a number of control points - "halt" and "flip". They used to be so hard for her, but now she's really used to them.
Sequence 2 video - Gimme did a great job on this. None of it was hard for her and we had a lot of fun with it.
Sequence 3 video - This sequence had a couple of tight spots and Gimme did very well with them. As we approached the crawl trainer I noticed a treat had been dropped inside it and was sure she'd notice and clean it up as she went through it. She didn't notice it, so I pointed it out to her when we finished.
Another great class and a contented Gimme all the way home.
"Box" practice video - We were supposed to practice having our dog get into something, "box". Of course Gimme used this opportunity to practice "bacon" a few times. She is certainly consistent.
Crawl trainer video - Gimme totally rocks the crawl trainer. This was too too easy, since she's done it set much lower. It takes too long to reset it, so she did it the same height as the beginner dogs.
Scaffold sequence video - The challenge here was how the two scaffolds were set staggered, creating a narrow space to get from one to the other. Gimme did fine with this, naturally.
Sequence 1 video - This little sequence was pretty easy. To make it more interesting for Gimme, we did a number of control points - "halt" and "flip". They used to be so hard for her, but now she's really used to them.
Sequence 2 video - Gimme did a great job on this. None of it was hard for her and we had a lot of fun with it.
Sequence 3 video - This sequence had a couple of tight spots and Gimme did very well with them. As we approached the crawl trainer I noticed a treat had been dropped inside it and was sure she'd notice and clean it up as she went through it. She didn't notice it, so I pointed it out to her when we finished.
Another great class and a contented Gimme all the way home.
Monday, June 19, 2017
Parkour (7/7)
We had the substitute instructor. She had some interesting exercises for us.
Bridging practice video - We were to take two props and then teach our dog to get on one and then step just their front feet onto the other prop. Naturally Gimme thought this was easy peasy. It was so easy for her, I tried to get her to "bacon" from one to another. I haven't even taught her to back along a prop yet, so we didn't get anywhere with it. She just didn't have any idea what I was asking her to do. Doing it on the two oil pans was only partially successful. She could walk onto them, but if she stepped off, then trying to get her back feet on again made them move too easily until they were too far apart.
Backing corner practice video - We each had a channel to back through, with a corner in it. Gimme did really well the first direction, her easiest direction. All it took was a couple of tries for her to figure out what I wanted. Then we added backing through the channel without walking in first and lastly, removing panels. The second direction was harder for her, because she isn't as confident backing clockwise, but she did get it before we were done. We didn't get nearly as far clockwise, but it was a good opportunity to reinforce what we are working on for RFE ("izzy" backing clockwise around me). I can't decide if she was offering "hands" because she thought I wanted it or because she was frustrated.
Distance sequence 1 video - Here our goal was to get them to go out around the dividers and do "thru" the barrel. Gimme did a lot of distance work in agility, so this was easy for her. Gimme did things so well and easily, so she didn't get as many turns, but she got more time at once so she could show off.
Distance sequence 2 video - This time was the same sequence, but with a "box" to get in. Easy peasy. Gimme pretty much thinks she invented this stuff.
Distance sequence 3 video - This time was to a table, which was snagging the leash, so I took it off her. It makes me really uncomfortable to have her off leash with other dogs around, but she did well while she was working. She briefly started to go toward another dog after we finished working, but before I got her leash on. Fortunately she came back immediately when I said her name.
This was a fun class - the best one we've had with the substitute instructor.
Bridging practice video - We were to take two props and then teach our dog to get on one and then step just their front feet onto the other prop. Naturally Gimme thought this was easy peasy. It was so easy for her, I tried to get her to "bacon" from one to another. I haven't even taught her to back along a prop yet, so we didn't get anywhere with it. She just didn't have any idea what I was asking her to do. Doing it on the two oil pans was only partially successful. She could walk onto them, but if she stepped off, then trying to get her back feet on again made them move too easily until they were too far apart.
Backing corner practice video - We each had a channel to back through, with a corner in it. Gimme did really well the first direction, her easiest direction. All it took was a couple of tries for her to figure out what I wanted. Then we added backing through the channel without walking in first and lastly, removing panels. The second direction was harder for her, because she isn't as confident backing clockwise, but she did get it before we were done. We didn't get nearly as far clockwise, but it was a good opportunity to reinforce what we are working on for RFE ("izzy" backing clockwise around me). I can't decide if she was offering "hands" because she thought I wanted it or because she was frustrated.
Distance sequence 1 video - Here our goal was to get them to go out around the dividers and do "thru" the barrel. Gimme did a lot of distance work in agility, so this was easy for her. Gimme did things so well and easily, so she didn't get as many turns, but she got more time at once so she could show off.
Distance sequence 2 video - This time was the same sequence, but with a "box" to get in. Easy peasy. Gimme pretty much thinks she invented this stuff.
Distance sequence 3 video - This time was to a table, which was snagging the leash, so I took it off her. It makes me really uncomfortable to have her off leash with other dogs around, but she did well while she was working. She briefly started to go toward another dog after we finished working, but before I got her leash on. Fortunately she came back immediately when I said her name.
This was a fun class - the best one we've had with the substitute instructor.
Thursday, June 8, 2017
Parkour (6/7)
The weather was unseasonably warm, in the mid-eighties. Gimme repeatedly told me she was thirsty by going to an empty bowl in the building and trying to lead me outside to where the other bowl usually resides. I ended up taking her out to the car to get her bowl and a coconut water. She drank it down like she hadn't had a big bowl of water before we left home. After class she got another coconut water before we headed home. It was her day to pretend she's a camel.
Sequence 1 video - This was a simple little sequence starting with the narrow 6" boardwalk, then over the barrel onto the wider boardwalk, "flip" and then back to the beginning. There was a little table on either side of the barrel, so it wasn't too hard getting onto the next board walk regardless of its width.
Sequence 2 video - The idea here was to do "hands", "table", "thru", "out" (around the little blue chair now obscured by the bench in the foreground), then back to the beginning. The goal is to do the "out" without stepping over the boardwalk. We tried several times, but never could achieve the send. I tried tossing a treat, but the cheese stuck to my hand. I actually have a barrel, so we can practice this exact send.
Sequence 3 video - This easy platform jumping sequence had such a small space between them, there was no jumping needed. Another goal was to have the dogs pause on each platform.
Sequence 4 video - These were a little farther apart, but still easily doable.
Sequence 5 video - These were even farther apart. Gimme starts out well, but then on the last segment decides she can't do it. I don't know why she suddenly couldn't do it, but after several tries, we ended without a reward. I have some unfinished platforms at home and when they are done we'll work on this, making the increase in spacing more gradual. Another option is to place a jump between them to encourage jumping.
Sequence 6 video - Here we put the three short sequences together into one sequence. We still had difficulty with sending to an "out". It's just something we'll have to work on.
Sequence 7 video - This short sequence was easy peasy for Gimme. Going up the boardwalk to the scaffold against the wall is challenging because it feels crowded, but Gimme quickly figured this out a long time ago. Her biggest challenge was keeping all four feet in the "box". She doesn't get her treat until she gets all four in, but it still remains a challenge.
Sequence 8 video - Here we added another segment to the sequence. We did a little better with my treat-tossing strategy to get the send to an "out", but then my timing was off, so she jumped onto the little table instead of returning through the barrel.
In watching this, I'm struck by Gimme's bit of reluctance to get all four feet onto the little stool. This hasn't been an issue before, but it did seem to be an issue this night. I'm thinking of this along with her sudden inability to jump from one platform to another and wondering if there is something more to this. It may be that she was experiencing some discomfort with the jumping, especially since she was jumping from a stand still and needing to land in a stop, as opposed to a jump in the context of multiple strides. In any case she has a chiropractor appointment scheduled for next Thursday. I'm making a mental note to not push her to do anything next Wednesday if she shows reluctance.
Sequence 9 video - Here we were to practice something with backing up. I chose to use a baby tunnel on its end, just because it would be a little weird. She did fine at it, though I do note a tendency to back through it and not stop with her back feet in and follow with her front feet. This may also be happening if she is having an issue with discomfort. I'm sure glad we have an appointment scheduled.
Sequence 1 video - This was a simple little sequence starting with the narrow 6" boardwalk, then over the barrel onto the wider boardwalk, "flip" and then back to the beginning. There was a little table on either side of the barrel, so it wasn't too hard getting onto the next board walk regardless of its width.
Sequence 2 video - The idea here was to do "hands", "table", "thru", "out" (around the little blue chair now obscured by the bench in the foreground), then back to the beginning. The goal is to do the "out" without stepping over the boardwalk. We tried several times, but never could achieve the send. I tried tossing a treat, but the cheese stuck to my hand. I actually have a barrel, so we can practice this exact send.
Sequence 3 video - This easy platform jumping sequence had such a small space between them, there was no jumping needed. Another goal was to have the dogs pause on each platform.
Sequence 4 video - These were a little farther apart, but still easily doable.
Sequence 5 video - These were even farther apart. Gimme starts out well, but then on the last segment decides she can't do it. I don't know why she suddenly couldn't do it, but after several tries, we ended without a reward. I have some unfinished platforms at home and when they are done we'll work on this, making the increase in spacing more gradual. Another option is to place a jump between them to encourage jumping.
Sequence 6 video - Here we put the three short sequences together into one sequence. We still had difficulty with sending to an "out". It's just something we'll have to work on.
Sequence 7 video - This short sequence was easy peasy for Gimme. Going up the boardwalk to the scaffold against the wall is challenging because it feels crowded, but Gimme quickly figured this out a long time ago. Her biggest challenge was keeping all four feet in the "box". She doesn't get her treat until she gets all four in, but it still remains a challenge.
Sequence 8 video - Here we added another segment to the sequence. We did a little better with my treat-tossing strategy to get the send to an "out", but then my timing was off, so she jumped onto the little table instead of returning through the barrel.
In watching this, I'm struck by Gimme's bit of reluctance to get all four feet onto the little stool. This hasn't been an issue before, but it did seem to be an issue this night. I'm thinking of this along with her sudden inability to jump from one platform to another and wondering if there is something more to this. It may be that she was experiencing some discomfort with the jumping, especially since she was jumping from a stand still and needing to land in a stop, as opposed to a jump in the context of multiple strides. In any case she has a chiropractor appointment scheduled for next Thursday. I'm making a mental note to not push her to do anything next Wednesday if she shows reluctance.
Sequence 9 video - Here we were to practice something with backing up. I chose to use a baby tunnel on its end, just because it would be a little weird. She did fine at it, though I do note a tendency to back through it and not stop with her back feet in and follow with her front feet. This may also be happening if she is having an issue with discomfort. I'm sure glad we have an appointment scheduled.
Tuesday, May 30, 2017
Parkour (5/7)
Jo set up a low platform in the middle of a circle of 8 props, which were: bucket, carwash, box, barrel, jump, jump upright, table and bench. Each sequence we had a different task. Sorry you can't see it all, I had to have the camera out on the floor and didn't realize I didn't get the angle right.
Sequence 1 video - For this first sequence we were to start on the platform in the middle and do each prop one at a time, then return to the platform before going on to the next. It was challenging to get the presentation right for some of them.
Sequence 2 video - This time we just went around the ring doing each behavior in turn, which goes really fast. You'll see Gimme does "hands" then steps across the prop doing "table" as I'm trying to move her around it and onto the next prop. I really have to move her away in a larger way to prevent this.
Sequence 3 video - This time we repeat the first sequence and follow it immediately with the second sequence. Since we've just done a fast trip around, the challenge is to have the dog respond to cues and not just assume it's another speed circle. You'll see how I pull her away after doing "hands", to prevent her from stepping across the prop.
Sequence 4 video - The challenge here was to do props in pairs across from each other. It wasn't hard to do physically. The hard part was keeping it straight in your head.
Sequence 5 video - The task for our last sequence was to use each prop in a different way. Naturally I chose to use this sequence to show off Gimme's backing up skill on every prop. Everyone thinks she's amazing and would make a very heroic action figure. Her special power will give her the ability to get really close to the bad guys while they think she is moving away - truly a very special power. There are plenty of action figures for boys and a few for girls. It's about time there was one for dogs, doncha think...
This next Wednesday is a skip week for us. Gimme will be disappointed to miss class, but I welcome the extra time in my week.
Linda and Ron just moved and before they left they gave me a nice couch and loveseat, almost new. They are currently outside, between the house and carport, covered in sheets and a tarp. I have some guys who will be moving them in and the old stuff out on Friday and I have a lot of decluttering to do before then. The forecast shows sprinkles on Thursday and Friday, but I hope the forecasters are as wrong as they usually are.
Sequence 1 video - For this first sequence we were to start on the platform in the middle and do each prop one at a time, then return to the platform before going on to the next. It was challenging to get the presentation right for some of them.
Sequence 2 video - This time we just went around the ring doing each behavior in turn, which goes really fast. You'll see Gimme does "hands" then steps across the prop doing "table" as I'm trying to move her around it and onto the next prop. I really have to move her away in a larger way to prevent this.
Sequence 3 video - This time we repeat the first sequence and follow it immediately with the second sequence. Since we've just done a fast trip around, the challenge is to have the dog respond to cues and not just assume it's another speed circle. You'll see how I pull her away after doing "hands", to prevent her from stepping across the prop.
Sequence 4 video - The challenge here was to do props in pairs across from each other. It wasn't hard to do physically. The hard part was keeping it straight in your head.
Sequence 5 video - The task for our last sequence was to use each prop in a different way. Naturally I chose to use this sequence to show off Gimme's backing up skill on every prop. Everyone thinks she's amazing and would make a very heroic action figure. Her special power will give her the ability to get really close to the bad guys while they think she is moving away - truly a very special power. There are plenty of action figures for boys and a few for girls. It's about time there was one for dogs, doncha think...
This next Wednesday is a skip week for us. Gimme will be disappointed to miss class, but I welcome the extra time in my week.
Linda and Ron just moved and before they left they gave me a nice couch and loveseat, almost new. They are currently outside, between the house and carport, covered in sheets and a tarp. I have some guys who will be moving them in and the old stuff out on Friday and I have a lot of decluttering to do before then. The forecast shows sprinkles on Thursday and Friday, but I hope the forecasters are as wrong as they usually are.
Thursday, May 25, 2017
Parkour (4/7)
Jo wasn't there, so we had a substitute. She's not nearly as good as Jo at coming up with creative and fun things to do. The one positive is - she often has me do the exercise and then demonstrate some part of the next exercise, so Gimme gets a little bit extra floor time, because then she gets to do it again when her turn rolls around.
"thru" sequence video - There's almost no video to show here, since the instructor chose to stand in front of the camera. Gimme got to go through the dividers with the pool noodles and then for extra measure, to "back" through the carwash. I started cuing "bacon", but it only seemed to confuse her. Then when I tried "back" she was still trying to find some way to get her feet on it. What finally worked well was to let her come through normally and stop her halfway, then encourage her to back up from there. Then she totally got it.
Sequence 1 video - You can see our Tervuren classmate through this video. He's a nice, calm boy and Gimme is completely unconcerned about him. I know I can rely on his owner to be careful, so I'm sure my attitude helps. The big deal about the ladder was because it was on the ground and the other dogs just walked through it, instead of on it. Gimme was the only one who immediately walked on the rungs, but she's done it enough to know she won't get paid unless she does it right.
Sequence 2 video - This was a nice sequence and you get to see Gimme "back" through the carwash. She really picks stuff up so fast - this time on cue after getting it right once in the first turn. You'll hear the instructor ask me to show Gimme doing a 180ยบ turn on the boardwalk ("flip"). I don't have to tell her to "halt" first, but I do sometimes if I'm not sure she's completely focused.
Sequence 3 video - This is another sequence. The big to-do was because I had Gimme "bacon" on the tub. We were told to do "two on" and since she didn't specify which two, I was making a funny. Gimme loves backing on stuff, so I try to work it in from time to time.
Sequence 4 video - This short sequence was just more of the same, except with the narrow board. None of the other dogs had done the narrow board. Next to Gimme, her Tervuren friend was the best. It took him a bit to figure it out, but then he did it nicely, being his usual calm and thoughtful self.
Unfortunately this was the end of class for the night. Gimme could have played parkour for another hour.
"thru" sequence video - There's almost no video to show here, since the instructor chose to stand in front of the camera. Gimme got to go through the dividers with the pool noodles and then for extra measure, to "back" through the carwash. I started cuing "bacon", but it only seemed to confuse her. Then when I tried "back" she was still trying to find some way to get her feet on it. What finally worked well was to let her come through normally and stop her halfway, then encourage her to back up from there. Then she totally got it.
Sequence 1 video - You can see our Tervuren classmate through this video. He's a nice, calm boy and Gimme is completely unconcerned about him. I know I can rely on his owner to be careful, so I'm sure my attitude helps. The big deal about the ladder was because it was on the ground and the other dogs just walked through it, instead of on it. Gimme was the only one who immediately walked on the rungs, but she's done it enough to know she won't get paid unless she does it right.
Sequence 2 video - This was a nice sequence and you get to see Gimme "back" through the carwash. She really picks stuff up so fast - this time on cue after getting it right once in the first turn. You'll hear the instructor ask me to show Gimme doing a 180ยบ turn on the boardwalk ("flip"). I don't have to tell her to "halt" first, but I do sometimes if I'm not sure she's completely focused.
Sequence 3 video - This is another sequence. The big to-do was because I had Gimme "bacon" on the tub. We were told to do "two on" and since she didn't specify which two, I was making a funny. Gimme loves backing on stuff, so I try to work it in from time to time.
Sequence 4 video - This short sequence was just more of the same, except with the narrow board. None of the other dogs had done the narrow board. Next to Gimme, her Tervuren friend was the best. It took him a bit to figure it out, but then he did it nicely, being his usual calm and thoughtful self.
Unfortunately this was the end of class for the night. Gimme could have played parkour for another hour.
Friday, May 5, 2017
Parkour (2/7)
The Akita didn't show up. Instead we had a big calm Tervuren boy. He was very well behaved and they did well. His owner was suitably impressed with Gimme, so I'm sure she is brilliant.
Interestingly with the recent Wait For The Cue work we did, Gimme was much better in class in a couple of respects. Usually as we walk out to the start point for a sequence, Gimme is trying to do 3-5 things on the way. You never see this because I edit the videos to only include the actual sequence, not the silliness on the way. This time there was almost no silliness. Also, I reminded her one time to wait for my cue to do the first prop and rewarded her waiting, and she waited every time after. I'm surprised and pleased at this. I like what we are doing with WFTC, but I really didn't think we'd gotten very far with it, so wasn't expecting it to carry over.
Sequence 1 video - I left in the video the reminder about waiting at the first prop. The second board was one of the narrow boards. Gimme has done boards skinnier than this one, but she wasn't expecting it. Our classmates in the classes this year have been just fresh out of beginner class, so this is the first time we've seen this one in a long time.
"thru-out-thru" video - Sorry I didn't aim the camera better. This was just too too easy.
Sequence 2 video - I was especially pleased with her quick response to the first "halt". Normally we have to do a couple before she is fully focused. I made it a point to do a control point on the narrow board so she has to focus to balance on it. Slow and/or stopped is often harder than fast. Try it yourself some time.
Sequence 3 video - I asked Gimme to "sit" on the narrow board for an added challenge. She had to remember what to do with her feet to get her heiney down on this smaller space.
Sequence 4 video - Gimme remained very focused for this sequence, even though we added little excursions off the boardwalk.
Sequence 5 video - Same sequence. I'm seeing a lot better focus during this class, almost no instances of her missing a cue or doing her own idea. She really had her listening ears working.
Send practice 1 video - Here we have a bit of individual practice for sends.
Sequence 6 video - Here we added the sends into the sequence. The first one we hadn't done even close to it, so Gimme needed a little help. The second one was just like what we'd done before, just with me a bit further back, so naturally, she aced it.
Sequence 7 video - This was so funny. I'd been paying Gimme for waiting for the cue, so when I said "box", she wasn't sure. Then when I encouraged her, she had to do it with flair, hopping in sideways. She can be such a clown at times. Of course, then she was so impressed with her own cleverness, so she turned off her listening ears for a minute. Seriously, this was her 9th time working, so she may have been getting a bit brain tired.
Sequence 8 video - Same sequence. This time I didn't have to help her with the first send.
Send practice 2 video - This shouldn't have been so hard to start, but I think the appearance of an open door distracted her. Speaking of which, I made sure we finished our send work before people would be likely to start showing up outside the door. After more distance, we switched to using the toy bucket for an added challenge. Overall she did very well, given having two distractions at one time (toy bucket and open door).
With only two dogs in class Gimme got a lot of working time, so she was sound asleep before we got out of the parking lot.
Interestingly with the recent Wait For The Cue work we did, Gimme was much better in class in a couple of respects. Usually as we walk out to the start point for a sequence, Gimme is trying to do 3-5 things on the way. You never see this because I edit the videos to only include the actual sequence, not the silliness on the way. This time there was almost no silliness. Also, I reminded her one time to wait for my cue to do the first prop and rewarded her waiting, and she waited every time after. I'm surprised and pleased at this. I like what we are doing with WFTC, but I really didn't think we'd gotten very far with it, so wasn't expecting it to carry over.
Sequence 1 video - I left in the video the reminder about waiting at the first prop. The second board was one of the narrow boards. Gimme has done boards skinnier than this one, but she wasn't expecting it. Our classmates in the classes this year have been just fresh out of beginner class, so this is the first time we've seen this one in a long time.
"thru-out-thru" video - Sorry I didn't aim the camera better. This was just too too easy.
Sequence 2 video - I was especially pleased with her quick response to the first "halt". Normally we have to do a couple before she is fully focused. I made it a point to do a control point on the narrow board so she has to focus to balance on it. Slow and/or stopped is often harder than fast. Try it yourself some time.
Sequence 3 video - I asked Gimme to "sit" on the narrow board for an added challenge. She had to remember what to do with her feet to get her heiney down on this smaller space.
Sequence 4 video - Gimme remained very focused for this sequence, even though we added little excursions off the boardwalk.
Sequence 5 video - Same sequence. I'm seeing a lot better focus during this class, almost no instances of her missing a cue or doing her own idea. She really had her listening ears working.
Send practice 1 video - Here we have a bit of individual practice for sends.
Sequence 6 video - Here we added the sends into the sequence. The first one we hadn't done even close to it, so Gimme needed a little help. The second one was just like what we'd done before, just with me a bit further back, so naturally, she aced it.
Sequence 7 video - This was so funny. I'd been paying Gimme for waiting for the cue, so when I said "box", she wasn't sure. Then when I encouraged her, she had to do it with flair, hopping in sideways. She can be such a clown at times. Of course, then she was so impressed with her own cleverness, so she turned off her listening ears for a minute. Seriously, this was her 9th time working, so she may have been getting a bit brain tired.
Sequence 8 video - Same sequence. This time I didn't have to help her with the first send.
Send practice 2 video - This shouldn't have been so hard to start, but I think the appearance of an open door distracted her. Speaking of which, I made sure we finished our send work before people would be likely to start showing up outside the door. After more distance, we switched to using the toy bucket for an added challenge. Overall she did very well, given having two distractions at one time (toy bucket and open door).
With only two dogs in class Gimme got a lot of working time, so she was sound asleep before we got out of the parking lot.
Saturday, April 29, 2017
Parkour (1/7)
There was a new dog in class, a large black Akita. If you look past us on the videos you can see the handler's head above the divider. She is really careful with her dog and I assumed he was reactive. Jo said he's still quite young and the handler, knowing the propensity of her breed, is doing everything she can to make sure he doesn't become reactive.
We had one specific layout created with 8 dividers and pool noodles. They were set up with:
1. pool noodle between divider 1 and 2
2. space between divider 2 and 3
3. pool noodle between divider 3 and 4... and so on
We did a different sequence each time, sometimes building on what we'd done before and sometimes changing it. We also used some props set up at the ends of the channels. The channels with pool noodles were for the dog's to go through and the ones with space (no pool noodle) was for the handler.
Sequence 1 video - This time it was very simple - "jump", go "out" around cone, "jump", turn, "jump", go "out" around cone, and "jump". Then we reversed direction. Ya gotta love Jo's ability to rhyme on the fly, "Your dog was great and you were late."
Sequence 2 video - This time we changed it up, making it - "below", go "out" around cone, "jump", turn, "below", go "out" around cone, and "jump". Then we reversed direction. Gimme found it challenging to respond to the "below" cues. She didn't get a sequence with a "below" correct the first time until the last sequence where I slowed her down a lot.
Sequence 3 video - This time it was the same sequence, but with a "wait" in the "box".
Sequence 4 video - Jo replaced the cones with a "table" and the carwash "thru". We still needed to do the "wait" in the "box". On the reverse direction, it almost seems like Gimme thinks if I am late with the cue on the first try, then she is under no obligation to listen for the cue on the next few attempts. Or maybe she had no plans to listen anyway.
Sequence 5 video -
This time Jo replaced the carwash with a "thru" barrel. Then as we finished the sequence in the first direction, there was "out" around a cone, then go right into the reverse direction (no "wait" in the "box"). I'm having to really slow her down so she can do it right and hear my cues.
Sequence 6 video - This time we did one turn through and then ended with a short sequence of parkour behaviors: "box", "table", "below" and "hands". I took Gimme through it slowly, reinforcing a couple extra times for her "wait" in the "box", and she got it all right. Good girl!
Gimme didn't seem to pay any attention to the Akita, in fact I never had a moment when I thought, "she just noticed him." Of course, she was having a little difficulty with focusing on my cues, so perhaps she had noticed. Then again it was only the "below" cue she seemed to have a problem with, so maybe not. Don't you love how decisive I am?
I've noticed a warm spot between her shoulder blades since then... which I think may be from all the jumping. We work on rubber mats, so it could just be from doing so much jumping at a slow speed, which is physically entirely different from doing a lot of jumps when running. Of course it could be from something else. I have to check my calendar for her next chiropractor visit.
We had one specific layout created with 8 dividers and pool noodles. They were set up with:
1. pool noodle between divider 1 and 2
2. space between divider 2 and 3
3. pool noodle between divider 3 and 4... and so on
We did a different sequence each time, sometimes building on what we'd done before and sometimes changing it. We also used some props set up at the ends of the channels. The channels with pool noodles were for the dog's to go through and the ones with space (no pool noodle) was for the handler.
Sequence 1 video - This time it was very simple - "jump", go "out" around cone, "jump", turn, "jump", go "out" around cone, and "jump". Then we reversed direction. Ya gotta love Jo's ability to rhyme on the fly, "Your dog was great and you were late."
Sequence 2 video - This time we changed it up, making it - "below", go "out" around cone, "jump", turn, "below", go "out" around cone, and "jump". Then we reversed direction. Gimme found it challenging to respond to the "below" cues. She didn't get a sequence with a "below" correct the first time until the last sequence where I slowed her down a lot.
Sequence 3 video - This time it was the same sequence, but with a "wait" in the "box".
Sequence 4 video - Jo replaced the cones with a "table" and the carwash "thru". We still needed to do the "wait" in the "box". On the reverse direction, it almost seems like Gimme thinks if I am late with the cue on the first try, then she is under no obligation to listen for the cue on the next few attempts. Or maybe she had no plans to listen anyway.
Sequence 5 video -
This time Jo replaced the carwash with a "thru" barrel. Then as we finished the sequence in the first direction, there was "out" around a cone, then go right into the reverse direction (no "wait" in the "box"). I'm having to really slow her down so she can do it right and hear my cues.
Sequence 6 video - This time we did one turn through and then ended with a short sequence of parkour behaviors: "box", "table", "below" and "hands". I took Gimme through it slowly, reinforcing a couple extra times for her "wait" in the "box", and she got it all right. Good girl!
Gimme didn't seem to pay any attention to the Akita, in fact I never had a moment when I thought, "she just noticed him." Of course, she was having a little difficulty with focusing on my cues, so perhaps she had noticed. Then again it was only the "below" cue she seemed to have a problem with, so maybe not. Don't you love how decisive I am?
I've noticed a warm spot between her shoulder blades since then... which I think may be from all the jumping. We work on rubber mats, so it could just be from doing so much jumping at a slow speed, which is physically entirely different from doing a lot of jumps when running. Of course it could be from something else. I have to check my calendar for her next chiropractor visit.
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