Urban Tracking Seminar day 3

I've continued to have problems getting video files from the new camera edited.  Its frustrating beyond belief.  I think I'm going to have to get my laptop (newer and more powerful than the desktop) in on the job.  For the moment, I'm using another work around to get caught up while I explore a more permanent solution.

August 29, Day 3 - As I said, since her second track on Sunday was so frustrating, I wanted to make sure she had a really good experience for her next track.  I asked for a simple TD-like track, with a young age. 

Sports field track video - Gimme started out nicely and got to her first article quickly.  This track is fully marked, so when Gimme wanted to go check out the backstop, I knew not to go with her.  Everyone got a good chuckle at how Gimme used searching to get me to give her all the line, so she could then go check out the backstop from a different angle.  No one would ever say she's not a real smarty pants.  After she got her own way, then she went to work on the corner followed by the second article.  She was kinda on a roll after that and got through to the end smoothly.

One telling thing about this track is how it took 11:30 to finish it.  And yet this weekend for our certification, she did a somewhat longer track in under 5 minutes.  When I considered the time, I thought she was slow.  But then it occurred to me we spend 30-60 seconds per article and including the start, end and mid-leg, that is 7 articles, which adds up to 3½-7 minutes.  The track was really good for her, she was having fun, and it was only a tad slow.

For this last day of the seminar I wrote notes about just one thing, but its a very important one thing.  What do you do when your dog is lost or not committing?  How do you help your dog without doing too much?  You may have a good idea where your dog was last certain of the track, but you can't just take your dog back there - its called guiding and will get you the dreaded whistle real fast.  The only thing you can do is organize your dog's search so they get to search all the area they need to search, without ever looking like you are leading them to it.

You'll do this with what Sil calls a spiral search.  Basically the handler spirals out from a central point, with the dog searching in a circle around you.

In this diagram, the central point is the large red dot.  The black spiral is the handler's path.  Pink dots are places where the handler might be on the spiral and the green dotted circles are the dog's path around the pink-dot handler.  The three concentric blue dotted circles represent the dog's path using more and more line - assuming your dog is comfortable using the whole line.  As you can see, when the handler spirals out, the dog gets to cover a much larger area.

I hope this next diagram is clear.  If I move forward as the dog moves in the same direction, it could be interpreted as leading or guiding my dog, especially if she's searching close to me.

Instead, when I move, I try to move backing up (or sideways) so my movement can't be misconstrued. Since you are pivoting 90° at a time (about 30-45° ahead of your dog), you can move in any direction you want, as long as the dog is in the right relative position.  I want to use my dog's movement so it appears I am following her.

Put another way -
If your dog is circling clockwise, she'll be between 2 and 4 o'clock relative to you when you step backward.  If your dog is circling counter-clockwise, she'll be between 10 and 8 o'clock relative to you when you step backward.

Clear as mud?  Thinking of it this way works in my mind, so I hope clearer than mud for you. 

Tracking Seminar notes

Here are my notes from the seminar.  Nothing earth-shattering, but good info if you ever plan to do tracking...

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

No exhibitor may show a dog under a judge if the exhibitor has participated in a training session taught by the judge within 30 days of the test.  If you have simply trained with the judge as a training partner, this rule does not apply.  Also the rule doesn't apply to tracking certification.

Articles must be in the tracklayer's possession long enough to ensure scent is well imparted, tracklayer must have an extra start article, all articles must be inconspicuous in color and not visible from 20 feet (except start article) and will not be covered or concealed.  She suggested a tracklayer stuff the articles in their shoes overnight, which is certainly more comfortable than sleeping with them, as I have done.

When finding an article or rescenting: praise and petting at article finds is allowed, no play with articles when testing, no tossing them to the dog and no throwing them on the ground.

Re-scent – Allowing dog to take scent from an article in a way which does not indicate direction or a point on the ground where the dog should begin to search.
Re-start – A behavior by the handler which would indicate to the dog to begin searching a specific area or track in a given direction.

Obstacles for TDX and beyond, test one or more of the following:
– ability to work changing scent conditions
– ability to continue scenting while overcoming physical obstacles
– ability to continue scenting under difficult and varied handling conditions 
The dog may be physically assisted by the handler when (physical) obstacles, barriers or terrain require it.

Exhibitors with disabilities are welcomed.  They should contact the club in advance and see the judge prior to the draw.  Judges should make reasonable accommodations at the test.  The accommodation cannot give any type of advantage.  The track must allow wheel chair access in, but beyond access to get in, it would be an ordinary track.  The exhibitor may have someone to follow in case their chair gets stuck.  A blind handler may be accompanied by someone to advise of holes or to assist if the handler falls.  Assistants may not provide any information instructing the handler regarding handling the dog.

Handlers may bring plain water or ice along on the track, but no food or toys within 30 yards of the track.  Praise or petting is allowed.  No excessive play with articles or throwing articles to the dog or on the ground, until after the test is complete.

Leash/line must be 20-40 feet in length and attached to the top of the harness and the handler will follow the dog no less than 20' for TD/TDX except while in dense vegetation, no less than 10' for TDU/VST.  Handler may unsnap the leash to untangle the dog, but the dog must remain under immediate control.  Any collar worn must conform to the obedience regulations.  Harness must be constructed of straps of plain, pliable material and only minimum restriction of the dog's movement is permitted.

To pass: The dog must closely follow the path walked by the tracklayer and find the article(s) dropped along the track.  The handler follows the dog, allowing the dog to work without guidance from the handler.  Judges must not pass a dog which has not met the minimum requirements of following the track unaided.  If the dog is not considered to be tracking, it will not be passed even if it finds the article(s).  Both judges must agree for a "pass".  If they do not agree, both judges will mark the dog failed and the exhibitor must not know there was disagreement.

Restraint vs. Guiding
Restraint is permitted to slow a fast moving dog or in event of an unusual distraction.  Repeated restraint which influences the dog's direction is NOT permitted.  Hanging on for dear life is not considered restraint.  Guiding which influences or determines the dog's direction is prohibited.  Verbal encouragement is allowed, BUT commands, signals or body motions used to indicate location or direction are prohibited.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I got to talk to Sil Sanders and told him about how fast Gimme likes to go and specifically how she still gets her corners and articles, even at speed.  I wanted his opinion because a couple of people have recommended slowing her down.  He said he doesn't recommend slowing a dog down if you can move along with them safely, because so many dogs develop other habits, such as excessive circling for no reason, in reaction to it.  Since I obviously can't run a whole track with her, I told Sil of my plan to reward Gimme with speed when she is going well, dead on the track and nose down.  He thought this was a good idea.

You Make-a Me Laugh

I spent the day at an AKC tracking judges education seminar.  I have less than zero interest in becoming a judge for any sport.  I figured out long ago the nit-picky nature of judging would not be a good fit for me; plus I just hate bureaucracy.  Besides, it would take too much of my time from the fun of working with Gimme.  Anyway, this was still a great opportunity to learn a lot from the judge's perspective.  I learned a number of things which will hopefully keep me from making handler mistakes (the #1 reason for tracking failures).

One of the most important discussions was the difference between "restraining" and "guiding".  Restraining is allowed as an important handling tool to aid the dog.  Guiding differs from restraining because it has the component of moving the dog in a specific direction.  I'll get my notes out another time and see if there are some gems I can share.  I loved the saying:

"Hanging on for dear life is not restraint..."

So I get home and Gimme has been cooped up alone all day and naturally, wanted my attention.  I still needed to fill the yard waste bin for emptying early tomorrow.  So I grabbed her ball and went outside.  I threw it once and didn't get to touch it again for awhile.  Gimme likes to bring it near me, drop it on the ground, stand over it, and dare me to try to get it.  I faked her out ONCE by offering her a leaf, which didn't work again.  From then on, she kept the ball in her mouth while inspecting my offerings.  I usually wait until she got bored and walked away from the ball and then I snatch it, call her name and throw it across the yard. So then she starts dropping it and leaving it if I'm not showing signs of joining her in keep-away.  I think I threw it 20 times overall.

At one point I was deep in a bush (dead-heading a rhody) and when I was done, turned around looking for the ball.  It wasn't in sight, so I asked Gimme, "Girlfriend, where is your ball?"  She trotted over close to me and stood looking at me with her "why are you asking me" look.  I figured it was elsewhere in the yard, so grabbed the rake and started raking up the bush trimmings.  Gimme watched with intense interest and then started attacking the edge of one of my piles.  At which point she snaked a paw in, dragged out her ball and then started tossing it around while doing the ah-hah-haaaa dance.

So now we know why she thought I should know where the ball was, since I was the one who covered it up with rhody trimmings.  Since then she's been parading back and forth in front of me with toy after toy after toy after toy - hinting doncha know...

We're Home

I'm back from my trip and it was fabulous, the best ever.  The only downside was not having Miss Gimme to snuggle with and play with and walk with.

My flights up and back were uneventful.  I had arranged to share a room for the duration and was pleased to discover Doris and I are sisters who never met.  We were instant friends.  Every night we stayed up late talking and talking and talking.  I never thought I'd meet someone that could talk more than I do, but now I have.  It was awesome and I am inspired to new talkative possibilities!

The whole seminar followed that pattern.  My practice partner on the first day was Sherry, who it turns out I'd had email list conversations with.  Midway through the second day we joined up with our teams and I had full working partner Megan and auditor partner Naomi.  We would work together throughout the rest of the seminar.  Megan is another awe inspiring talker.  Two in one week, who knew! 

Our team leader was Ellen.  Ellen is the kind of person who can dish out a large helping of criticism in such a way that you walk away feeling good about it.  That's a talent that too few people have.  The hosting group were great and kept us all well fed and well cared for.  The site was great.  I ate so much and so often that I should have gained several pounds - instead I think I kept it from sticking by laughing my butt off all the time.

The seminar itself was great.  Grisha Stewart has become a very good presenter since the time several years ago when the 2 day seminar DVDs were taped.  She's very approachable and pretty darn funny.  She kept things moving and disseminated a ton of information.  We had practice sessions all the time, so it worked well to learn something, then get up and do it.  There is a lot more to BAT now than when the seminar was originally taped.  We were the 8th BAT Instructor seminar, so teaching that level is still an evolving process.  I have some suggestions and thoughts, but will be saving those to share with Grisha and Ellen when I have the time to write them up.

The written examination was very thorough, a combination of short answer and multiple choice.  I used all but 8 minutes of the 2 hours we were allotted.  It wasn't that I didn't understand the material; rather, as you who read my blog regularly know, I can't write anything briefly.  Can't believe I wasted 8 minutes when I could still have been writing on my little novella.

On the evening of the fourth day, I gave a presentation following the pizza party on the Fatal Fifteen reasons why people continue to use compulsion-based methods for dog training when the science and evidence shows that reward-based methods work better.  I ran over time, but everyone was so engrossed that Grisha allowed me to finish.  I got a lot of positive feedback about it.  I plan to write up the talk and will share it on this blog.

I had so much fun at the seminar, that it was hard to leave.  At the same time, I was eager to get home to Gimme.  I flew in at 1:30 a.m. on Thursday morning and got home an hour later.  By then I was so wired I stayed up another two hours.  Then got a few hours sleep before going to pick Gimme up from Camp Ursula at 9:00 a.m.  We spent the day snuggling on the couch, sleeping and watching old movies.  Since then we've gotten in two walks and a lot more snuggling.

All reports were that Gimme did fine, especially given she is 3 years old and had never been to a kennel before.  I'm sure I was more bothered by our separation than she was.  Gimme ate well and wasn't obviously stressed.  Sadly she did not get to play with any other dogs, since there weren't any suitable playmates there during her visit.  I understand Gimme did try to convince Ursula and Dave that their dogs could fit into her kennel, so she could be in the house and show them how a real dog snuggles. 

As it turns out, she got a lot of training on grinning.  She would grin at anyone who walked by her run and then they made a big fuss over her.  So when I got there I got the biggest grin I've ever seen.  In the past I've only seen the occasional small grin in the bathroom... this one was reminiscent of Sigourney Weaver and the Aliens movie. 

Since then she has been a little clingy, believing she is due all my attention when I am home.  She was fine on Friday when I went to work for 7 hours - then all evening insisted that I needed to devote every breathing moment to her.  She also has decided that if I'm not giving her the requisite attention, it is now entirely appropriate to indulge in misbehavior, such as trash diving and counter surfing; behaviors I haven't seen in a year.  Again, this only happens when I'm home and she "needs" my attention.  Envision me on the phone and someone getting a candy wrapper from the trash, to wave it in front of me.  As soon as I take one step toward her she drops the wrapper and leaps onto the couch, stopping just short of patting the couch beside her to indicate where I should sit. 

What's not to love?

Therapy Walk & Seminar Recap

Today we were able to use a training area and Gimme was thrilled to run free, stretch her legs and sniff and snoop.  We walked 3 miles and at the end Gimme didn't want to get in the car.  That's the first time she has done that since she was very little.  This is our first off leash walk in 10 days, so I think she was pondering whether these delightful episodes might indeed come to an end, which had never occurred to her before.  I plan to take her out again after the ORT on Sunday.

The painting and yard makeover crew put in another full day today.  The transformation from day-to-day is really astonishing.  I know I said the useable area in my yard would grow by 30 percent, but I wasn't thinking clearly.  I think its more likely to double.  Its kind of exciting...

I've been planning for quite awhile to give you a recap of the exercises we did in the Debbie Decker seminar.  She does a lot more luring than I do.  She was a good presenter and a lot of fun.  She thought Gimme was charming and talented and brilliant and gorgeous - so what's not to like.

Our first morning session was to teach the dogs to nod their head and to paw at their head. 

• Nodding was created by standing in front of the dog and simply tapping the ground between you and the dog with your foot.  The dog looks down and then you click and toss the treat down by your foot.  After they look up, you repeat.  The dogs quickly learn to anticipate and you can add a cue then.  Some dogs didn't look down and in that case, you bent your knee and tapped behind you - which worked for them.  Gimme got this faster than I mastered the mechanics of it.  Your cue word could be something you use in a sentence asking them a question - just make sure the question is asked in a way that requires a "yes" answer. 
• Paw at head was created by taping a piece of paper to the dog's forehead, then click/treat when they use their paws to try and get it off.  A couple of dogs just ignored it, so I came up with the idea of using a clicker wrist bungee around the nose and that worked to get them started.  Gimme did well at this and ate her tape/paper in lieu of a treat the third time when it stuck to her paw.  Possible cues are "shy", "nose", "cry", or "salute".

The second morning session was all focused on paw behaviors.  We were to work on paw to hand, high five, high ten, paw on either foot, and then paw lifts.  Most of these Gimme already has and most are close to being on verbal cue. 

• She will shake hands with which ever hand I present and will put her paw on whichever foot I present on cue "paw".  I've even taught her that she is supposed to use her paw that is closest to the hand or foot that is presented - i.e. no crossing over.  I say she is Ambipawstrous.
• For her high-ten we use Gimme's "pretty".  Its on cue (sort of), though we are still working on duration.  I think its a core strength issue. 
• As you know, we have been working on "high" (R) and "five" (L) for quite awhile, so we were able to show that off.
• The way we taught the paw lifts ("right" and "left") was a variation of the paw to foot.  Debbie suggested exaggerating the knee bend before bringing your foot out for the paw to foot touch and they'll quickly lift the foot in anticipation.  She thought Gimme was so smart that I could skip exaggerating and just give the paw lift cue, which is to simply bend your knee, bringing your heel up and keeping your toe on the ground.  Sure enough, she was right, Gimme was THAT smart and just did it each time.  So now I have to attach a verbal.

The first afternoon session was to teach a behavior chain - a pivot from standing front to back through your legs and then come into standing position on either side.  Which leg you move to make room for them to get under, cues the side the dog ends in.

• With the dog standing in front position (our "center") she lures them to do a 180 degree turn ("about").  Then you use the food lure to pressure/push the dog to move backward into "under".  From there the treat moves to whichever side you want the dog to end in ("hip" [L] or "thigh" [R]).  Naturally you build this chain the usual way and then put a cue on the whole chain.  
• Gimme is in the process of learning these parts.  I have been using a target stick to teach "about" and didn't have one available, so I put her in a stand stay, moved behind her and worked the end pieces of the chain.  She was doing well.  
• Options for the ending are: 
• end standing in heel or off-side
• stay behind you
• paws on your fanny
• dog stays behind you, handler pivots 180 degrees and repeat behavior
• dog from behind you repeats behavior - 180 degree about, backing through legs to end up in standing front.

The second afternoon session was backward weaves.

• Her way of teaching this is to use a lure to turn the dog's head away from the handler, which makes the rear swing toward you, while handler simultaneously steps back on the leg furthest from the dog, push with the lure to get them to back through and repeat in the other direction.
• This didn't really work for Gimme.  In hindsight, her brain was likely used up.  We worked on her staying in heel position while I pivot left.
• Now that I've thought of it, I wouldn't teach it that way anyway.  Gimme already knows to to stay in "heel" if I pivot toward her (she will do it but is less proficient on the other "side").  So all I'd have to do is get that on a verbal cue.  I think I could use the wire guide sets to make this go really quickly.

The third afternoon session was playing with a lot of props - mostly large children's toys.  I waited until the session was almost over to bring Gimme in because there were just so many dogs on the floor.  When I did bring her in I had a small tub upside down and used it to do her forehand pivot.  She was very distracted and had a hard time focusing - which I knew meant her brain was used up.  So I got her to do it one time, rewarded heavily with peanut butter and then back to the car she went, partying all the way.

Debbie also explained to us the process for how she teaches a dog to get in a suitcase.  While I think heelwork to music is beautiful, its not my style (though I don't rule it out).  I like the skit type routines better for me.  I am so intrigued with the suitcase trick that I've already half-choreographed an entire routine around one song that features that trick. Now to get to work and teach all the behaviors I need.

Pouliot Seminar

Another great day.  Michele Pouliot is amazing.  If you have any interest in freestyle, she is definitely the person you want to spend your money seeing.  Her routines are so creative - it just amazes me how she thinks and comes up with stuff.  Her approach to teaching things is also very creative.  What a day.

And to make it even better, Gimme had another great day.  She did very well on all her work sessions.  The morning wasn't as good as it started yesterday, but then when I simplified and made it easier for her, she really got into what we were doing.  I was very pleased with her focus and attitude. 

Again at lunch we did a long session of playing look-at-that so she could just look at the things that distract her and get it out of her system.  So in the afternoon the first two sessions were really good.  She was very focused and working very hard.  There we are working just twenty five feet from the nearest dog team - and there were a dozen of them. 

I was so thrilled with how she did this weekend... with just a little bit of CU work, she was able to mostly ignore the other dogs.  Not ignore as in compelled to ignore, rather ignore as in not really interested in them, preferring to win treats from me.  That is a very huge milestone.

During the last session of the day she didn't do well.  She was well-behaved, just unable to focus.  That's understandable - there were a LOT of the teams that were pretty wiped out by then.  So I just made it all about rewarding any effort to keep her attention on me, which was about all she was up for.  I was very liberal with the treats, so it was a good experience for her, even if we didn't accomplish anything in terms of what the session was for.

When we got home she just crashed for the evening.  Today we had a nice shaping session and has been crashed ever since then.  Tomorrow we'll get to walk on the fort, so that will be nice for both of us.

BTW I met another lady with a Papillion that is working the CU stuff.  Both she and her dog were nice.  The dog was doing really well handling the distraction.  "Control Unleashed" works and I highly recommend it. 

Sdao Seminar

What a great day today. The seminar was just full of information... Much of which I knew, but presented in a new way or using new examples, so I am seeing different ways to apply it. Cool stuff.

The best part was the working slot I had with Gimme. Since today was basics (& more), and since there were a number of people who were less experienced, the structure of today's working sessions worked out just perfectly for us. The first session was all about the mechanics of clean clicker training. First we practiced without the dogs. Three one minute sets: how fast can you deliver treats, how fast can you click and deliver treats and then what affect do subtle changes in delivery have on your rate of delivery. Then we repeated the process with the dogs. So Gimme started by getting 26 treats for being cute. It is a system she really likes. Getting clicked and treated for really nothing suited her well too. Then the third set was clicked and treated for any head movement. Despite the distraction of all the other dogs, Gimme really was getting into this easy stuff.

Our second session was to shape a simple touch of our training partner's hand. Since Gimme already knows a hand touch, learning to do the same with someone else was very easy for her to figure out. So essentially two sessions early in the day -- easy, fun and with a very high rate of reward. During lunch we did a lot of CU look at that. That really set her up well, since I spent a lot of time on it and basically satisfied all her need to look.

By the time we started the afternoon sessions, Gimme was really primed to have fun. She had all the focus I could ever have wanted. She did really well and barely even noticed all the other dogs working on the floor at the same time (12 teams at a time). I was so proud of her. This was a huge jump in ability from last weekend. Her understanding and ability to focus despite distraction, is really just growing all the time.

BTW Gimme was a very popular photo subject. I think there are about 200 more pictures of her floating around the universe now. A man from Shanghai took at least half of them and has promised to email me copies. I got to hear how beautiful she is at least two dozen times. You know I really get tired of hearing that, not...

So, really looking forward to tomorrow with Michelle Pouliot. Gimme is clearly the cutest puppy on the planet -- I sure enjoy showing that this beauty comes with brains. Yah baby...