Nosework (2/10)

Dorothy often sets up new and different scenarios and scenting challenges. 

For this class, we started with two vehicle searches.  One was a large white construction truck with a boom/hoist on top.  Along the sides were several compartments with rubber gasketed doors.  Odor was in one of those compartments and the door was closed, but not latched.  Most of the dogs only got into the vicinity and their handlers paid them for any sniffing of the compartment.  Gimme actually got her feet up on the steps next to the compartment and was sniffing along the vertical edge.  I waited for her to give me the look saying “I know its in here somewhere, but I can’t tell you any more”.  The second vehicle search was a simple wheel well hide.

We did three exterior searches, with channeling applications.  One was a pile of concrete blocks, with some openings in places which went through to the approach side.  Gimme got this very quickly.  The second was inside a stack of two empty wiring spools and the hide had been dropped through the center of the spool to the ground.  We could see there was an opening which was only inches from where the tin lay, but none of the dogs showed any interest in the opening.  Gimme stood up with her feet on the spools and sniffed as close as she could to the hole on top where the tin had been dropped through and then indicated by raising a paw.  I rewarded this and then tried to get her to "check-it” for the opening, but she was completely uninterested.  The third hide was on a shrink-wrapped pallet of plastic conduit.  The tin was laying on the pallet at the center of the pile.  Gimme found this and indicated at the far edge of the pallet where the scent was coming out underneath.

As these searches were done, I went to see how the wiring spools were constructed, trying to understand why the dogs paid no attention to the opening so close to the tin.  It was completely open to where the tin was and possibly if odor had been there long enough, some of it might have come out and been available to the dogs.  We decided the slight breeze was actually going in the opening and pushing scent up through a “chimney” to where the dogs sourced it. 

Class ended with two simple searches, easily accessible, among some huge boulders nearby.  At least Gimme found them easily accessible.  A couple of the other dogs, are not as bold and confident.  Gimme was completely unfazed by the close confines between two giant boulders.  And being part mountain goat, the need to step on a some big rocks to access the other was a complete non-issue.

At this stage in the nosework game, you really can't teach your dog anything.  To be clear, we passed the teaching stage a long time ago.  The only one who is still being “taught things” is the two-legged part of our team... and even this is up for debate. ☺ For the dogs as they get more advanced, all we can do is keep adding to their experience base.  As they become more experienced, they gain confidence and they start to draw on past lessons to make inferences about new situations/conditions.

When I taught flight and ground school in the military – a million years ago – one of the things we learned was the four levels of learning: rote, understanding, application and correlation (RUAC).  It’s a model for how an individual integrates comprehension for the things they learn.

• Rote – this is memorization, usually through repetition.  An individual can have rote learning, but not appreciate any larger meaning or can use what has been learned.  Think of this as the early level where you teach your dog a behavior in a specific place, under specific conditions.  They have memorized (experienced) the behavior, but only under those conditions.
• Understanding – now the individual attaches meaning to what they’ve learned.  At this level, we are seeing if the dog has sufficient understanding to do the behavior under different conditions.  When she can, then you know you’ve achieved understanding, which in dog training lingo is also known as  “generalization”.  This is where you work to expand the dog’s understanding of the rules for the behavior and it becomes useful.
• Application – here the dog starts to apply the things she’s learned in new ways and under even more unusual conditions.  At this point, what the dog learned becomes truly functional.  Generalization as a concept is essentially complete (though it will continue to expand throughout the dog’s life), so the dog can walk into different scenarios and apply what they know without having to really think it through.  They become much more efficient.
• Correlation – now the dog starts making connections and demonstrates deeper insights into how the skill works, using it in creative ways.  The dog will compare prior experiences to what it is seeing in a given moment and then infer how similarities and contrasts can be used to solve a given challenge.

In my career as a flight instructor and later teaching other things, I have seen many instances of human students who never got beyond the application level.  For pet dogs, most of the time they don’t get further than understanding.  Most performance dogs don’t get beyond application – though I think this is also related to what the performance skill is.  Some of the best dogs, with really skilled and thoughtful trainers, will get into correlation.  Though, just having an excellent trainer will not ensure the dog will get to correlation.  We’ve all seen trainer/handlers who have this one special dog and as a team they become famous, but then the person is never able to replicate the accomplishment with other dogs.  Often they wash out a lot of dogs along the way, while searching for the next special dog. For dogs to get to correlation, they must learn all there is to be taught and then be able to take it to the next level.

I see this in Gimme, she just naturally gets to application and often from there to correlation.  If I was more skilled and consistent, she’d probably be famous already (fortunately she doesn’t care).  An example of her skill has to do with bicycles.  We walk in a lot of places where people are riding bikes or skateboards.  In order for us to take advantage of the opportunity for a bit of off-leash time, Gimme has to be controlled enough so she doesn’t present a hazard to other users.  My initial plan was to make them all a “cue” for peanut butter.

Initially, while still on leash, I gave her peanut butter any time I saw a bicycle coming.  Then when she was off leash, whenever I saw them I called her to me and she got peanut butter.  She quickly picked up the connection and when she saw a bike, she turned to me.  This is rote – see bicycle, get peanut butter.  The next stage was to apply the rule to other wheeled-things, like skateboards.  Gimme only needed to get peanut butter one time for a skateboard to make the connection.  At this point we were also starting to use the rule in different places.  We used it on the fort’s training areas in a couple of places where we were walking along roads and cars might come along.  Thus, she had reached understanding.  As we’ve continued to expand our experiences, Gimme deduced correctly the rule holds true for some other wheeled-things, but not to all wheeled-things.  She knows the rule is true for recumbent bicycles, strollers and buggies.  It is not true for motorcycles and cars which are not on the same path we are using, such as places where a road crosses the Chehalis-Western Trail.  Also just because she can see it, doesn’t mean it is payable, as it must be within 100 yards.  So she has shown application level comprehension regarding wheeled-things.  Recently we were approaching a group of people who had stopped on the trail to wait for others.  Their bicycles were laying on the ground or leaning on sign posts and benches.  I saw Gimme watching the people and she could clearly see the bikes, but did not do her showing behavior, which she does to tell me she spotted a rule moment and expects payment.  People were milling around among the unused bicycles and I saw Gimme’s interest increase when a couple of people picked up their bikes from the ground.  However, she didn’t give me the showing behavior until a person actually straddled their bike.  Gimme had inferred on her own a set of similarities and contrasts to know when the wheeled-thing-peanut-butter rule was in affect, thus achieving correlation!

This same process can be applied to nosework, but will have to wait for another day.  For now, me and my genius need some couch time together.

All Whacked Out

This blog post is going to consist of a (very long) rebuttal to a recent blog post by Gary Wilkes, What is Real Clicker Training?  There is so much therein, which is counter to my entire paradigm about dogs and dog training. 

Wilkes believes it is a necessity to have "unpleasant consequences” for unwanted behavior or for failure to obey.  On the surface this sounds reasonable.  Missing in his analysis is a discussion of what is necessary or even appropriate "unpleasant consequences".

I maintain it is unacceptable to allow a guest to bait a dog into unwanted behavior and then to punish the same unwanted behavior (as shown in the video) with bonking.  The dog did not jump on the guest until invited up by the hands spreading wide.  To me this is patently unfair when you could just as easily set up a training session and teach the dog how to behave correctly and reward those successes.  If you are certain you are going to have a large number of stupid behaving guests who will make inviting gestures (spreading the arms toward the dog), then simply spend some time teaching this gesture as a new signal to sit.  Why not teach the dog an opening-door is another cue for sit?

So what is the problem with the approach shown?  For one thing, this is presented as only taking three tries to get from untrained to perfect behavior, still its clearly an edited video - so we don't really know how many times the dog got bonked.  In the first clip, the dog has a full body tail wag, a sign of a dog who is relaxed and comfortable.  By the end of the treatment, the tail wag, while still wide, is now lower and circular, showing a nervous quality.  The dog is now looking at the owner in a way which suggests anxiety.  Remember, just because the tail is wagging does not mean the dog is happy - in many dogs it is a simply a sign the dog is having an emotion, also dogs wag their tails to pacify others.

I will not say the bonking method mixed with marker training doesn't work, but remember, just because you can do a thing doesn’t mean you should.  This method has potential side affects.  One of the main side affects is a dog who now associates the bonk-giver with the bonk.  I don't know about you, but I want my dog to trust me and know I will keep her safe.  I don't think my dog should ever have mixed emotions about what to expect from me.  I don’t want her to watch my hands and ever wonder if the thing I’m carrying will be used to hit her.  I can provide relevant consequences without hitting her.  I don't have to use some tool and give it a cutesy name to cover up the aversive nature of the strike.

The other big side affect is when the dog associates an aversive with what they are looking at when it happens.  This dog could just as easily believe the approaching man is the reason he got bonked (i.e. not the jumping up behavior).  We don’t know how this dog will react over the long term.  It could be the behavior is only temporarily suppressed and may resurface.  Any question of potential negative side affects could have been avoided entirely with strictly reward-based training to teach better door manners.  I am particularly fond of how Victoria Stillwell (It’s Me or The Dog) approaches this problem.

Wilkes’ fault-finding of Karen Pryor’s book, Don’t Shoot the Dog, isn’t particularly accurate.  It said you can teach an animal to do anything they are physically and emotionally capable of achieving. I found her book made a point of a saying a dog could change/control their own behavior every bit as reliably (and perhaps more so) to earn rewards as to avoid punishment.  Punishment often gives a false impression of improved behavior due to the overall suppression of behavior, which is not always permanent.  Aversives do have potential for more side affects than reward based training.  Karen Pryor is not the only person to say these things.  Many authors with more actual dog training experience are saying the same things.

And speaking of Pryor’s experience in marine mammal and other not-dog training – why would we assume her training expertise is invalid because its not dogs.  Dogs learn by the same processes as every other species.  If zoo trainers can teach an orangutan to take a small urine sample cup, pee into the cup and then hand it back without spilling it – well I just think it shouldn’t be too hard to teach the family dog not to jump on people.  If you really want to understand the complexities of training other animals, check out Kathy Sdao’s blog about E.T. the Walrus.

Weighing in at two tons, hormone-laden E.T. could easily have killed any of his handlers and had killed other exhibit marine mammals.  Using reward based training and some environmental enrichment, E.T. was transformed from a dangerous bully to a talented boy.  One of his behaviors was to voluntarily permit a blood draw.  Kathy is fond of saying you learn what is possible in reward based training when you can’t punish the animal because it might kill you.

Wilkes says the four assumptions are “neither scientific nor true”, yet provides no science to prove them wrong.  He says the assumptions of “all positive” training are not applicable to predatory beasts like dogs.   So I guess the other predatory zoo animals trained with reward based training are some kind of anomaly.  You know the ones – lions, tigers and bears, oh my.

Wilkes unfairly describes the thinking of reward-based trainers in very all or nothing terms.  He also alludes to his reality where the “advanced clicker trainers” have only trained a few dogs.   I have used aversives, but only when I ran out of reward-based options and only to the minimum extent necessary to create an opening for reward based solutions.

Bob Bailey talks about people who say they had to use punishment because “nothing else worked”.  When pressed for what they had tried, they only tried 2 or 3 options before resorting to punishment.  I can think of ten different ways to teach a dog not to rush the door or jump on guests.  Doesn’t it behoove us to try most of them before bonking the dog?

Wilkes’ blanket statement, “only aversive control is capable of stopping a dog from being a dog when it feels like it” is not true.  If teaching a terrier not to chase squirrels is the gold standard, sorry Wilkes - its been done.  In fact the opportunity to bark at squirrels became the reward one owner used in agility training her terrier on her way to a MACH.  The chief difficulty with this kind of training is controlling the squirrel resource. 

I don’t know about the behavior of Karen Pryor’s dog, but found Wilkes’ mind-reading abilities astounding, the way he read her mind and knew so exactly her motivation and thinking for the things she said about training a squirrel chasing terrier.  I also do know the old saying, “the cobbler’s kids got no shoes”.  Many people admit their own dogs’ training suffers when they got famous and were so often gone on the lecture circuit, so its easy for me to assume Karen’s dog is not an exception.  Some famous trainers make it work, Denise Fenzi springs to mind, but I think its because they have an internal motivation and commitment to train their dogs and they have competitive goals to meet.  For someone like Karen, who doesn’t compete and only enjoys her family dog, I think spending the time tweaking every little behavior just doesn’t have the same driving force.

I do find it interesting he never defines “aversive control”.  He never discusses what the limits are for its use.  Certainly the example he showed in the video didn’t justify the breaking of trust, in my opinion.

Wilkes repeats his claim about there being no “real world examples of dependable performance with dogs”, which is simply false.  Service dogs of all stripes are trained using all reward training.   Many highly successful agility dogs are trained without aversives.  All the nosework and barn hunt dogs I know are trained without aversives.  I don’t know of any freestyle dogs who are bonked down the road to success.  Denise Fenzi’s dogs are trained without aversives…  so much so - her dogs find losing an opportunity to train/perform their biggest aversive.  Even if there were no examples of really reliable high quality training done with all positive training – the real fly in the ointment is how many thousands and thousands of dogs trained with aversives and competing at high levels are unable to demonstrate truly reliable behaviors.  So clearly “aversive control” is not all its cracked up to be – its not the panacea for all dog training problems everywhere.

Wilkes tries to claim scientific training is flawed and can’t be used reliably in the “real world”.  He completely side-steps the fact of how his own brand of bonk and mark training fits so neatly into the operant conditioning model.  While he states how “traditional dog training methodology has worked for more than 15,000 years in hundreds of different applications with hundreds of millions of dogs”, he fails to address the abuse and near torture which has been heaped upon many of those hundreds of millions in the name of traditional training.  In fact, at one point in human history, it was scientifically fashionable to say animals could not reason and had no feelings, essentially they were no more than meat-machines.  This view helped to justify the cruelty used to train and work animals for centuries.

Personally I’ve been to at least 300 agility competitions and have yet to see even ONE dog leave the ring to attack another dog.  Of the dogs with start line stay issues, as many were aversive trained as were positive reward trained.  One of the worst obedience stay problems belongs to a Weimaraner who is trained traditionally and jerked around or "accidentally" has its foot stepped on when it fails to stay.  The dogs I’ve seen with table issues were dealing with anxiety issues and I do not believe adding more anxiety in the form of punishment would suddenly cure the problem.

The reality is – any form of training, any training philosophy is only as good as the person doing it.  As Wilkes says, traditional aversive training has been around for 15,000 years, so it stands to reason there are many more people who are really good at punishing dogs.  Compared to the thirty years of reward based dog training.  Reward based training has come a long way and its getting better all the time.  To be sure, there are still many people who are ineffective all positive trainers.  My guess is they’d be just as ineffective with punishment.

Wilkes wants you to abandon an all-positive approach and return to a more traditional style of training.  Be very, very glad the Wright brothers, Cugnot and Rivaz didn’t abandon their early powered transportation attempts even though they were slower than the local mule.  If they had, you’d be driving a buggy instead of a Chevy.

The use of rats and pigeons by scientists is prevalent because of space constraints, its about economics.  Quite simply you can work with a lot more rats and pigeons than you can dogs for the same dollars.  Also, for a long time, studying dogs was considered unscientific and was largely frowned upon.  To leap from there to a conclusion saying learning processes are different is just unscientific.  I don’t know what dogs Wilkes has been around, but I have never met one who sneered at a treat when hungry because it was the wrong time of day. Seriously?  My dog can tell me down to the minute when her next meal is due.  In over four years, she has only refused treats a couple of times and it wasn’t because of the time of day. To say a dog doesn’t learn the same because its progenitors ate about once a week is just silly.

The failed examples he gives of early attempts to train dogs using Skinner-Breland style methods simply did not take into account the one thing which is truly unique about dogs – their relationship bias.  Dogs are far more sensitive and intune to human behaviors, picking up the subtle nuances of our moods and attitudes, than any other species.  I believe the early failures were because of trying to be too clinical, depriving the dogs of the relationship connection.  We’ve bred dogs to be connected and they notice the subtlest of things.  Successful trainers, like Denise Fenzi, get great results using all positive training because they use the relationship connection to enhance training.

His explanation about some carnivorous predators being more like grazers (dolphins) than others (wolves) doesn’t fly.  He states wolves eat things which are 10 – 15 times larger than they are.  The strongest studies on the diet of wolves shows they eat a huge variety of other animals, from ungulates to earthworms.  When they do eat large game, they prey on the old and infirm.  Its not because they don’t want to risk injury, its because they are conserving their own energy.

I found his argument about “instinctive drift” unconvincing at best.  While “instinctive drift” can be an issue, I saw nothing to suggest using Wilkes’ “aversive control” would resolve it.

Oddly, one of Wilkes’ arguments to refute the effectiveness of all positive training, actually proves the problem we, the ideologically myopic, have with punishment.  He said “a host of others have failed to integrate a dog’s ability to “take the hit” and continue to perform happily”.  For many dogs this is true… to the point where dogs will continue to perform despite showing calming signals and other negative symptoms of their internal stress.  This is more prevalent in some breeds than others.  Some dogs will tolerate more and more and more punishment, to where you must use excessive force to control/inhibit unwanted behaviors.  I fail to see where this is a good thing.  Again, just because you can doesn’t mean you should.

In any case, using reward based methods have greatly expanded the number of breeds which can be highly successful in performance sports.  Its no longer necessary to own one of the few breeds which are highly resilient or obsessive compulsive if you want to compete in dog sports.  From Bulldogs to Borzois, Dachshunds to Dalmatians, Huskies to Hounds – there are now breeds of every size and temperament able to compete in many different sports, because they don’t have to endure aversives to be trained.

Wilkes insists the only way to break through any dog’s special distraction is to use aversives/punishment.  Those of us who align with reward based training know we can split the elements of the distraction down to its smallest effect and teach the dog how to work through it one step at a time.  Those who work with reactive dogs (regardless of their trigger) know the most important thing we can do is to work through the individual bits of the trigger.  To quote Bob Bailey, “Be a Splitter, Not a Lumper.”

Wilkes assumes all clicker trainers have a rabid aversion to aversives.  He assumes there can be no reliable training without aversives, then demonstrates a training scenario where use of aversives was entirely unnecessary.  Any ten of my students could have solved the jumping up without hitting the dog.  Wilkes assumes aversives are a necessity – thus he jumps to their use almost immediately (just watch some of his youtube videos – I sure don’t want to be a bar setter in the ring with the agility dog he threw the bonker at).  Whereas I assume aversives are a last resort – thus I almost never need them.

To be clear, while Wilkes uses a clicker (the little plastic noisemaker) in his training, he only uses it as a marker signal.  Clearly (based on his article and the few youtube videos I watched) he has no interest in finding a less aversive way to modify dog behavior and even the simplest untrained dog behavior must and will be met with force.

Nosework (4/5)

Tonight started our four week focus on containers.  We are supposed to bring a different container and a different distraction to each of these four classes.  Tonight I brought a cookie tin and butter.  Our first two searches were outdoors. 

Search one was a dozen blank containers in a parking lot.  Blank means no odor.  Search two was three containers on the sidewalk next to the training building, with all of them having odor.

The dogs consistently did pretty much the same thing.  Gimme went around and checked all the blank containers and then not finding any odor, decided to bap a couple to see if I would pay up.  I did the same thing I always do with containers; I keep moving and if necessary walk around her to see if she sticks the container.  When she is faking or intent on a distraction, she leaves it.  Tonight this worked for her faking these blank bags.

From there we walked across the street and she got to find odor in all three bags.  She got the first bag and then the third bag, the the first one again.  The middle (second) bag was tighter and didn't have as much odor in it.  This made it very challenging because to the dogs, the slight odor between the two stronger odors seemed invisible.  

I posed the question of how the search would change if we'd 

1. put the weaker bag on the end 
2. between two blank bags
3. simply spaced them further apart.  

Between two blanks the dogs surely would have found it right away.  On an end with two stronger smelling bags, it may or may not have helped.  I think distance between them would have helped as well.
 
Our third and fourth search was 18 bags/containers set in three lines.  Odor had been there since Saturday and much of it was very strong (like 15 q-tips in one container), so the area was saturated with odor.  First we did the search as it was set up.  Then some of the containers were replaced with boxes with distractions in them.

Gimme did a lovely job on both these searches.  She really consistently leaves distractions if I keep moving, so we had no real problem with any of the distractions we had tonight.  I learned they've discovered dogs are most distracted by food items which are a combination of carbs and fat.  Who knew?  In any case, none of the dogs paid any attention to my butter.

We had a discussion about leash length and during our first search, both instructors wanted me to really rein Gimme in.  I do work with a shorter leash, but first I let her blast off the startline and then after the initial burst, I gently reel her in and if necessary provide direction.  If I kept her on a short line, she'd get an unintended correction as she left the startline, which is not a good thing.  I can't possibly keep up with her, so the unintended correction would be inevitable.  

They also think I should always keep her on a short line when we enter an interior or exterior search area to make sure she checks the threshold.  I haven't found it effective to start our searches pretending I'm an anchor.  The prevailing "wisdom" is - dogs who miss a threshold hide as they enter a search area rarely go back to find it.  This has not been the case for us - we've never missed a threshold in a trial.  If the situation allows for it, I stay close to the threshold (like for off leash interior searches) and Gimme comes back and checks it, without being frustrated.  If we're on leash, I know enough to bring her back by the threshold after she has scanned the search area.

I've found as she's gotten more mature she is more willing to take direction from me, but she still likes to burst into the search area.  We started nosework on a 25 foot line and now we use a 12 foot line for most searches.  I let her use most of the 12 feet to begin, but then I take it up and we do most of the search on 6-8 feet.  Since neither of these instructors were with us when we started, I told them where we'd started and the improvement since then.

They seem to think class is a good place to experience frustration.  I disagree.  I can see trying new things in class, but I'm disinclined to experiment to the point of frustrating my eager and talented girl.  Gimme is wonderfully persistent when the search itself presents frustration in the form of a challenge - she just never gives up.  I think she is this way because searching has always been a positive experience for her and she has learned she will eventually win.  Winning is important to her.  I doubt she would feel the same way if nosework included having to drag a 200 pound anchor around the search area whilst solving a scent puzzle.

Agility (5/3) & the One-Handed Gardener

I am puttering away at working on the yard, taking my time AND taking many breaks (the boy I had working on it has not returned).  I am determined to do what I can, a little bit at a time, while not getting my hand/finger to flare up.   I "talked" on line with a list-buddy who had the same surgery - she said it took her four months to get back to normal.  <yuck>  At least I can use it without undue pain and aggravation, provided I take my time.  It takes two to three times as long to do stuff.  Of course, bumps to my hand are still unbelievably painful.  Three months and one week to go.  <sigh> 

Fortunately my boss doesn't care how many hours I log to get my job done - he's just thrilled to have me back.  I stopped at my account for groceries and ran into him there; he's there to facilitate an impromptu account revision.  So we talked and he brought me up to speed on stuff.  Originally I was told I was the sixth merchandiser out over the Mother's Day weekend and subsequent reset week... not actually the case - there were ten people out!  Representing roughly 20% of the territory workforce and on one of the busiest weekends/weeks of the year.  The amazing part is how the remaining employees pulled together to get the job done and done well.  I have to say my four stores looked really good when I returned - and I made sure he knew it.

About agility.  Last night was the first class together in about a month.  Gimme was ecstatic to have her mommy back to play with.  Unfortunately she was excited and more than a little bit wild.  I worked with her to get her focus while we waited our turn and I thought we were ready.  However when we headed into the arena for our turn, she lost her head and bolted through the door hitting the end of the leash full force.  Fortunately I was holding it with my good hand, but it wasn't enough to keep me from slamming my other wrist (the bony part) against the door frame.  I have a lovely yellow and purple bruise there now.

It was very painful and I admit it, I yelled at Gimme about it - telling her to get control of herself and knock off the BS.  Despite being a devoted positive-reward trainer, there are some provocations which will push me over the edge and pain is one of them.  I looked up to see William taping my outburst, which of course made me mindful of what I was doing.

I heard my instructor comment, saying it didn't seem to bother Gimme, but she was wrong.   Gimme was definitely affected by yelling mommy; certainly she wasn't cowed, but she avoided reconnecting to play on the course with me.  When she did, she did a really nice job and I was very happy with her efforts.  The next time I came in, I was much more cafeful to take my time and work our Control Unleashed skills in the doorway too.  And while Gimme still ran amuck a bit, I switched to Give Me A Break game and she came back to work with me.  It seemed the second time around she reconnected faster - the proof will be on the tapes when I get them next week.

I could beat myself up about my outburst and, in fact, I do feel badly about it.  But I also know I am only human and going to make mistakes.  Our relationship is outstanding and I know Gimme forgives me my occasional failings, just as I forgive hers.  One of the benefits of having a close and loving relationship is, there is grace to get you past the rough spots.

I've just finished reading Bones Would Rain From The Sky, by Suzanne Clothier.  Its been a fascinating read and I'm going to start it over.  I kept thinking as I'd read, I want to write about this - it inspired so many things I want to share.  Toward the end, Suzanne admits her own failings, the times when she diverted from the positive-reward path or lost patience with her sizable animal tribe.  So, I guess you could say I'm in good company when I lose patience...

In chapter two she wrote:

"Each relationship with an animal and a human is a bridge uniquely shaped to carry only those two, and so must be crafted by them.  Though the work of a lifetime, the building and repairs are done slowly, in the heart's time, one beat after another.

"Everything... has... to be guided by this one elemental point: Does this help or harm the relationship?"

Its not the failures which determine our path, rather what we do about them.  Do we justify it?  I was hurting and it was Gimme's fault.  Or do we examine the instance, find what set us awry, and determine to do better in the future?  I can help Gimme do better.  I hope I always do the latter.  

Epiphanies

Epiphany = a sudden realization of great truth.  I’ve had two this week.

I’ve been reading a book, Zoomility, and am using colored pens along with my highlighter, to say different things about why I highlight (it’s a take-off from an inductive Bible study I’m doing).  By doing it this way, I am forced to slow down and give more thought to why I am highlighting a particular portion of the text and what it means to me – what I want to learn and remember from it.

(Epiphany #1) This week I was reading a section about least reinforcing stimulus (LRS) and was thinking about it.  One of the training issues I’ve struggled with is trying to get a straight “front”.  Gimme always angles her fanny to one side or the other – which I know is my fault and I’m sure I carefully, if unintentionally, shaped the angling behavior.  I’ve also been trying to get her to come in closer.  She is coming in close enough to not be faulted, but figuring on a behavior deteriorating under the stress/distraction at a trial… it could be close.

So the way LRS applies is the intentional application of 3 – 5 seconds on non-response.  We always try to fix the dog’s mistakes, which unfortunately risks rewarding the behavior by paying attention to it.  At the very least you create a dog who waits for you to give them the second cue before getting the behavior correct.  In the case of a crooked front or one which isn’t close enough, my fix has been to take a step back.  Over time it’s turned into me pushing my knees back, while not moving my feet (a nonverbal cue, eh).

I decided to use a small platform to give Gimme a physical target and one in which she feels when she’s not right, because she slips off the side.  I was very conscious to do nothing if she wasn’t right.  I also thought ahead about how and when I would reward her efforts.  Assuming I am facing 12 o’clock… if her butt angles toward 1 o’clock, the treat comes from my right hand, which causes her to turn toward it, thus straightening her butt.  If her butt angles toward 11 o’clock, the treat comes from my left hand, causing the same straightening.  If she comes in straight, she gets treats from both hands.  Note she gets a treat either way, whether she is straight or not, though she doesn’t actually get the crooked cookie until she has straightened some. 

When she is close enough, she gets a treat spit out of my mouth, which just barely clears my body.  If she is too far away, she has to move closer to catch it.  So she quickly tended to come in closer.  I was able to add the refinement where she got cookies from both hands if as she sat down from the catching, if she was straight. 

Needless to say, it took very little for my little genius to figure out the pay differential.  The difference was dramatic and in just two short sessions she was really working to be straight and close – taking responsibility for getting it right.  You know this kid always works the angles…

(Epiphany #2) At nosework class Dorothy asked me how our trial went and what I learned.  In the course of talking about it, I explained how frustrated Gimme got about not getting peanut butter when she thought she was supposed to and the disastrous consequences in containers. 

Which led to Dorothy asking me, and discussing with the class, why I/we weren’t using our best motivators for nosework.  (I always love how she uses examples from her own training too)  An odor obedient dog is one who actively searches for and goes to source odor and odor obedience is only as strong as the association a dog has between odor and the reward for finding it.  So… why wouldn’t a person use their dog’s highest value reward?

In my case, its been twofold.  One, using peanut butter is time consuming.  Gimme has to spend time licking the go toob and if she gets a blob, then she has to lick her leg to clear her mouth.  This will cost us in nosework where placements are separated by just a few seconds.  Two, I could use peanut butter cookies (as I do in agility), but if any crumbs drop on the floor, we’d be faulted.  So, those are the reasons I had for not using peanut butter.

The next day I was thinking about it and pondered whether there were such a thing as peanut butter chips (like chocolate and butterscotch chips).  A quick internet search and I discovered there are – they are made by the Reese’s division of Hershey’s.  So today I checked my local grocery and found them.  I tested Gimme when I got home.  Given a choice between PB chips and garlic pork - chips won, paws down.

Gimme and I have already started working with them.  I just did a quick session offering her two hands – one with odor and one with PB chips.  She quickly learned mugging the hand with the PB chips got nothing, while paw-hold and multiple nose-bumps to the odor hand made PB chips land there.  I was even able to really strengthen the concept by teasing her with the PB chips while she was doing the paw-hold/nose-bump to odor and she caught on to this distinction as well.  Lo and behold, resisting the distraction/attraction of PB smell gets you PB chips.  Who knew?

In class/training/practice I will mostly use peanut butter from the go toob (which isn’t going to result in a sugar high), because time isn’t a factor.  I could even use PB cookies at those times because crumbs won’t cost me.  But from time to time I’ll use the PB chips, so I can be practiced at using our highest value reward for a trial. 

I’m really excited to see how Gimme’s nosework changes when she realizes she gets her all-time-favorite-number-one-highest-value goodie.  She’s always been pretty solid at odor obedience, but I’ll be watching to see if it gets stronger.  You know I’ll tell you when it does…

Nosework (1/1)

I am starting over numbering my Nosework classes for classes for this new instructor.  There were a lot of things to like about classes. The atmosphere is different and Dorothy is much more organized and explains things a LOT better.  There isn't any constant nagging about talking between students.  Everyone talks, all the time.  In fact I was one of the quiet ones (shocking, I know).  In fact Dorothy talks during the runs, telling us what she is seeing.  All this talking doesn’t bother the dogs at all.

We started with two hides on vehicles, in a wheel and on the license plate.  Gimme found both of them very quickly.  Her indicator wasn’t as solid as I’ve been getting, but in hindsight I hadn’t warmed up her indicator at the car as I have been doing.  Bad me.

Then we moved inside where they’d set up two threshold hides just a few feet on either side of the door, and a floor hide well down along the wall. I brought Gimme in and turned her loose, knowing she would blast past the threshold and then come back to it.  She made a liar out of me and went shopping instead.  She was checking all the possibilities in the room and it soon became apparent she was shopping instead of working.  So I put her back on line and suddenly she went to work – the difference was dramatic and the instructor commented about it.  Gimme has never gone shopping before, even when we had a match in the store area of a dog training facility.  I commented about it and Dorothy said it was probably because the “other clues” were different so she wasn’t in working mode.  Still once on leash she did very nicely and would have qualified well within time, even including the shopping time.

For our third run they left one of the threshold hides and removed the other (leaving residual odor), and added a bathroom hide.  I told them Gimme would most likely just tilt her nose toward the bathroom and then go on by, which she most often does with closed spaces, preferring the hunting more than the finding.  When we came in, Gimme went straight to the threshold hide, finding it in mere seconds.  She paid no attention to the residual odor, following right down the wall, turning the corner and going straight in the bathroom - making a liar out of me again.  It took her a moment to narrow down exactly where the hide was, but she did and indicated nicely.

For our fourth run they only had a hide in the bathroom.  Again Gimme went straight in and indicated the right side bottom edge of the cabinet.  I rewarded her at the center crack where the odor should have been the strongest.  Then I opened the door and let her stick her nose on odor and rewarded her again.  This has been a problem ever since we went to the Inaccessible Hides seminar.  Gimme used to be really determined and persistent to get exactly to source and now she seems to think any old close indication is good enough.  It will be good enough for an inaccessible hide, but for an accessible hide she needs to push to source.

So all in all a good class, however…  They are giving me the same tired advice for pawing.  I hoped by sending a detailed description of what I was doing and how well it was working, I could avoid this – but it didn’t work.  I think I just have to accept they are CNWIs and tow the NACSW party line, so I’m not going to get any different advice than I'd been getting and likely not any better cooperation.

Dorothy told me in email she has the same on-going pawing issue with one of her dogs (many people do).  Still the NACSW approved method for dealing with each and every problem is the same one-size-fits-all approach, (a) pair everything and (b) reward sooner.  Given how many people continue to have the same problem, I don't think the one-size-fits-all approach is working for many of them.

As an experienced trainer I have problem with a one-size-fits-all approach.  Its not true of any other dog training issue where we often have to adjust the method for the dog or come up with something entirely different.  Any dog trainer who is any good will tell you there are at least 10 different ways to teach anything and no one of those ways works on every dog.  Nosework is no different, no matter how much NACSW says it is and no matter how many of their CNWIs repeat the mantra.

I'm really not opposed to pairing a lot, though I will quickly get tired of hearing "the power of pairing".  However, I have major differences with founder Amy Herot's saying, "you have to accept less to get more", at least the way NACSW applies it.  A good trainer will often "accept less" to get a dog started.  It's called successive approximation (incrementation) and its common to start well away from your final goal behavior.  However if you never raise the bar, then you will get "less" forever.  Dogs are not stupid and they are going to give you whatever they get paid for.  If they continually get paid for giving minimum effort, then they will give you minimum effort, always.  In NACSW classes, it seems you always accept less - forever.  There is no plan for raising the bar... its always just "accept less to get more".

It's a catchy saying, but in practice there are a number of problems with it.  First and foremost is: you can only reward sooner (part b of the NACSW-approved method) if you know where the hide is.  Granted, in training you will almost always know where the hide is and you can indeed do it.  However, here's the rub, when you don't know where the hide is and so are slow to reward, the dog is going to get frustrated and revert to their default... which in the case of dogs with pawing tendencies is going to be vigorous pawing.  Pairing and rewarding sooner hasn't solved the pawing, it just masks the issue until you can't reward sooner because you don't know where odor is. Plain and simple.

I will admit this NACSW approach works for some dogs, probably those who don't have an innate tendency to use their paws.   So for dogs who were inadvertently taught to use their paws to indicate, it can be successful to teach them to indicate odor in a different way. Because it works for some dogs, NACSW and their instructors are essentially on a variable schedule of reinforcement for their one-size-fits-all approach.  And we know a variable schedule of reinforcement creates the strongest behaviors, so its unlikely NACSW and their CNWIs are ever going to change this approach.

However, I maintain, for dogs like Gimme, where pawing is their first line approach to doing things, this one-size-fits-all tactic is not going to work.  When Gimme was 3 months old I did the tracking indicator test and lined up 30 different objects down a long sidewalk.  Then we walked the row and I noted how she showed interest in the objects, rewarding anything she did.  Gimme pawed at 28 out of 30 objects!  It didn't surprise me because I'd already noticed her tendency to use her paws.  She is VERY paw oriented and always has been, its part of her make-up.  So her default is always going to be to paw at things.

To me its very much like the whole issue with biting and dogs.  Dogs use their mouth and sooner or later, most of them are going to bite.  Granted it takes extreme provocation to get some to bite, but if all your best efforts fail and they are put in an extreme situation, its natural for a dog to bite.  Back in the old days of dog training the answer was to teach a dog to never put its mouth on a person (many people still follow this approach).  This is fine until something happens to push the dog beyond their thinking brain and they default to their natural response, then a bite happens.

Along comes Ian Dunbar who popularizes the idea of teaching a dog to have a gentle mouth.  A dog putting their mouth on their person was fine, just teach them to be so very gentle about it.  A dog trained in this way develops bite inhibition - they learn early to inhibit the force of their bite.  After this is well learned, you teach them to not bite at all.  Then if the unthinkable happens and the dog bites, it won't be as damaging - which may save the dog from being euthanized.

So I see the same thing at play for dogs who use pawing to indicate where odor is.  If you only teach them "don't paw" by rewarding early, you haven't addressed the root issue.  Sooner or later you aren't going to be able to reward early (like at a trial where you don't know where odor is) and they will revert to their natural default.  Since they are going to be frustrated by your apparent failure to respond properly to what they've tried to show you, its going to be vigorous pawing.

So I will continue to teach Gimme to moderate the force of her pawing and we will continue to practice it a LOT.  We may not be able to practice it in class as much as I'd like, but I'm not giving up on it.  I've been seeing good results so far and I expect it to continue if I keep practicing.

I'm thinking as long as all we have to rely on for classes are these NACSW trained CNWI's, all we are going to get is the one-size-fits-all answer to any issue.  Thus, my plan is also to take the Advanced Nosework class at the Denise Fenzi online academy, taught by someone who is not a CNWI.  I'll take it at the bronze level and just learn what I can from it.  I may take it more than once, since different gold level students will bring different issues to learn from.

Now, back at the ranch.  I did learn that one of the students in my class has a spot at Nooksack.  She told me she is almost certainly going to withdraw.  If that happens, Gimme and I will get in.  Hopefully doing Barn Hunt the weekend before won’t mess us up.  Time will tell.  Meanwhile we have a lot of practicing to do.

Nosework (3/17), Agility and More

Gimme continues in her false pregnancy.  For awhile I thought it was going to pass without any real affect, but then we ran out of one of the two homeopathic remedies.  To make matters worse the store was out and it was 6 days before I found another place to get them.  So Gimme got a little needier during that time, but now that we are back with both remedies she is steadily improving.

Nose work class was at a local Home Depot.  The searches for the class were nothing special or even particularly challenging.  One hide 8 foot from the start line Gimme found in under 2 seconds.  To say she is fast is an understatement. 

This was our last class with Joyce.  I won't go into detail... just suffice it to say that the differences between her approach to training/instructing and what I would do is substantial in many ways.  No one who was present for the actual situation can really figure it out what made this particularly troubling to her.  I have my own thoughts, but they aren't really a proper topic for the blog.

In any case I have already found a class with another instructor and we start with her on January 6th.  Both of Dorothy's nose work dogs are fast, enthusiastic and confident like Gimme.  She has a number of students that are doing quite well and their dogs seem equally fast and confident.  Dorothy is well known and well respected in the nose work community.  Because she is used to working with faster dog, I think it will be a good match for us.  The only downside is that because so many of her student's dogs are fast - Gimme won't stand out like she has in the past.  She will just have to bring her game up to new levels, eh.

We also went to an agility fun run this week.  Gimme was very distracted for the first run in this totally new location.  The second run she was much better and the third run was nearly flawless.   I don't know if I've mentioned that Blynn is going to be teaching classes here every other Thursday night.  This will be wonderful for us and I'm very excited.  We are currently going every other week AND class in this location will cut an hour off our drive (each way).  I can hardly wait.

Plus Chris is going to start a two night a week agility handlers fitness drop in class.  I'm going to go at least once a week.  I think it will be good to have someone to be accountable for about fitness and weight loss.

Also after the first of the year I will be trying a new massage treatment for my foot called Gua Sha (pronounced gwa-shaw).  This technique is used to break up scar tissue and reduce inflammation.  While my plantar fasciitis has improved a lot with the new orthotics and better shoes, its not resolved and probably won't be until I lose some weight.  I can't lose weight without more exercise and can't get more exercise while my foot is so bad.  So I'm caught in a catch 22.  My chiropractor and I hope that Gua Sha treatment will help enough for me to get back to exercising like I was before.

Also after the first of the year (its going to be a busy and change-filled January), Gimme and I will be trying Barn Hunt.  We are going to Oregon on January 11th for a private lesson and group practice day.  Then we'll be doing four trials the last weekend of January.  I'll sign Gimme up for the instinct test both days, as well as two novice runs a day.  She already has a strong interest in all things rodent as evidenced by her fascination with enlarging the entryways for all the mouse holes on the Weir prairie where we walk.  So I'm sure we'll pass the instinct test.  Amy is pretty certain that we'll be able to get a novice title that weekend as well... Gimme needs to qualify 3 out of 4 novice runs.

We are 12.3 miles from our annual walking goal.  Gimme thinks we could/should do it all tomorrow.  I think we need to spread it out over several days.

Nosework (4/14)

Wednesday's class was held at a park where we used the individual public restrooms.  Most dogs did 3 searches then rested and did 3 more.  Gimme did all 6 back to back to teach endurance.  The endurance wasn't a challenge for her, since I've done practices with 8 hides before.

Mostly she did verrrrry well.  Two searches presented difficulties.  For one the hide was on the side of the toilet between the toilet and the wall and she alerted on the near side.  The space was very tight.  It was about 9 inches, so not too tight to get in there.  That is something I'll have to set up and practice so Gimme gets into those tight spaces.

I don't think she was worried by the tight spacing, just didn't see any reason to get into it when she could indicate from the near side - which is only 3 inches away.  Inaccessible hides could be a couple feet over the dog's head or many inches away behind a barrier.  So I am left wondering if doing a lot of inaccessible hides teaches the dogs that they really don't need to get to source. 

The other one she had problems with was two hides in the same bathroom and only about 18 inches apart.  So definitely converging odor and even the strongest parts of the odor cones would have been overlapping.  That's another problem I can set up in practices for her to solve.

Then we did two hides outdoors around some enormous utility covers.  Gimme found those so fast it almost wasn't any fun.  She went from one directly to the other as if she'd seen them placed.

I had another pondering the other day about motivation.  Joyce has been saying over and over and over again regarding Gimme's excessive pawing that I should fix it.  Its always bothered me that there is never any mention of how she's improved AND that the only solutions she gives are punishment, which I'd never do.  Her plan to motivate me is to mention repeatedly the possibility that Gimme could fault-out (more than three faults) at a trial and cost us a title.  Of course, that is unlikely to the extreme and until this last weekend we'd never received any faults for pawing...  so the threat was vague and unbelievable.  Thus it had no motivational value whatsoever.  If anything, I was almost determined NOT to do anything.

Then I go to a trial and Gimme gets her first fault for pawing.  It was annoying and no more, since I've been prepared all along for the occasional fault.  The reason we didn't title was solely because of my dunce-head mistake.  In our last trial we were a couple minutes behind the HIT Aussie (the same dog that beat us by over a second on that exterior) so it never occurred to me that we could be in the running.  However, in reviewing the trial stats... it becomes evident that had I not screwed us up and had there not been a fault, Gimme would have been High in Trial by a comfortable margin.  Now suddenly I'm motivated to work on modifying (de-excessifying) her paw indicator.

Just goes to show that reinforcement, even one that could easily never happen, is far more motivating than the threat of punishment, that is also unlikely.  Hmmmmm...

Well now I really must get to work... and when I get home, quickly pack up for our weekend seminar in Oregon...

Comparing Public Dog (13) & Agility classes

Monday was supposed to be our out-and-about class, but Ursula wanted the opportunity to work the dogs off leash in a fenced in space so we met at the training building.  The rest of us were in the building, with the enormous industrial door open to the outside.  I set up off to one side with our own personal door leading right to my car.  I also set up a visual divider, but only one so Gimme could still see the dogs around the side.

While Ursula and I have discussed using distance more to relieve pressure, I am still not doing it effectively.  Partly I unconsciously think I have to listen to exercise instructions, despite whether Gimme needs a break.  I agreed to Ursula's recommendation to follow along in the class and heed hers and Elizabeth's suggestions.  So I think I have to live up to that too.  Also there is a certain social pressure to look like I'm not babying Gimme.  In reality I'm not living up to my primary obligation, which is to look after Gimme's needs.

I want to talk to the Ursula again to say that I want to remove any "expectation" that I will participate in class exercises.  I will participate only when Gimme is comfortable and able to have a decidedly positive and confidence boosting experience - not just get through it.  Maybe its okay for pets to simply "get through it", but with my performance goals I'm going to need a lot more than that.  I want confidence and attitude.

I also have to talk to Ursula about Elizabeth's lack of familiarity with Gimme.  Ursula and I learned early that Gimme does not show her stress in obvious ways.  One deceptive thing is that she has what I call "leaky tail" and her emotions leak out her tail.  All of her emotions: happy, joy, fun, stress, anxiety, fear and uncertainty; they all result in wagging.  To complicate things there isn't much difference between the quality of the wag either.  Her tail only stops wagging when she is totally relaxed, asleep (though it often wags then too) or when she is about to have a reactive outburst.  Frankly, a wagging Gimme tail just means she is still breathing.  In any case, I'm going to tell Ursula that I'm going to "Just Say No" when Elizabeth suggests things unless I am confident that doing the exercise will be "a decidedly positive and confidence boosting experience".

During this last two classes in the building, while Gimme wasn't becoming emotional or reactive, no feeding frenzy, etc... I've noticed a couple of things. She is externally still, but not able to relax.  Her responsiveness to cues has dropped way down.  Sometimes she doesn't hear me at all.  Other times she responds with the wrong behavior (like down when I cued "sit") or responds very slow. This tells me the environment is still putting too much pressure on her and she's still too close to threshold.

Also, after the first few minutes in class, she is no longer able to work for cheese - which she's always loves. She still eats cheese, but after that first few minutes the only way she can "work" is if I bring out the peanut butter. On a scale of 1-10, PB is a 20 for her. I refer to it as her "doggie crack". She will do anything she is physically capable of doing to get it. In the past, I've used it in tight situations to lure her through and as a reward for her best efforts.  Now in this situation, I find I have to use it to get any focus and still her responsiveness has an erratic quality to it. She does what I ask and we get through the exercise, but its certainly NOT "a decidedly positive and confidence boosting experience". I think of her desire for PB like an addict's desire for their drug of choice.

In this case I think her knowledge that I have PB and will reward with it for everything, is acting as a lure, but one that has a compulsive nature to it - as in obsessive/compulsive.  I don't mean compulsive as in compulsion training - though there could be that element as well, since I'm essentially using it to "force" her to work when she otherwise couldn't.  I am also concerned that she may be learning undesirable lessons - such that working around other dogs is uncomfortable, Mommy doesn't look out for me and the training building is no longer a fun place.  There is also the possibility of peanut butter becoming poisoned.  For example, if it shows up most often when she has something to worry about, then it could become a predictor of yucky stuff.  I want to get back to where I'm using the peanut butter for a lure in a pinch, counter-conditioning as needed and to reward her best efforts.

The other concern I am seeing is there is no increase of offering rewarded behaviors. For instance, if I reward check-ins with PB in this situation, I don't get a noticeable increase in the frequency of check-ins. She is still looking at the other dogs, somewhat intently and getting stuck. Then she'll offer me a check-in, almost like when she needs another "hit" and once she gets it, she goes right back to looking.

To me, it all comes down to the same thing, I must manage the distance better to help her feel comfortable.  Gimme could easily do all these behaviors if she were starting from her usual comfortable base.  I need to step back and regain the stable footing we had, before I can ask her to stretch to achieve more. After all, if you have to stretch up to get something way out of reach... do you pile up a bunch of unstable boxes and other stuff - or would you prefer a nice sturdy a-frame ladder.  So, I think we are going to be spending a lot more time right outside the building.  Frankly, I would be perfectly happy to spend our whole hour sitting right outside the door next to my car with Gimme relaxed and doing light training, while knowing the other dogs were nearby. I'd rather do that, than spend the hour inside with the dubious benefit of "getting through" exercises, where no positive experience is accruing. 

So, in reviewing this I made a list of signals that she is near/over threshold.  Thus far I have: 

• inability to work well for rewards other than PB
• incorrect or slow responses to cues
• lack of response to cues
• getting stuck looking 
• lack of offering rewarded behaviors

I know that was a long blather about where we are at and what I'm seeing in class... but indulge me and read the difference between that and tonight's agility class...

 

Blynn, our instructor, is a real gem and lets me do what I want. We started out relaxing 40 feet from the building and Gimme was distracted and unfocused, unable to LAT... not because the distance wasn't enough, but just that her mind was not in the training game, yet. Our first turn on the course was a bit wild at the beginning, the middle was lovely with some nice work and then I messed up and let the rate of reinforcement fall off when we were working the final challenge, so I lost her attention. 

 

Our second session of relaxing 40 feet away was much better, she was at times comfortably relaxing and even playing LAT while still laying down sphinx style. We walked on a loose leash into the arena and she did a really nice job on course with pretty close to full attention. When we were walking off the course, another team was walking in just 25 feet away and Gimme was able to LAT a couple of times, still on a loose leash, and then just ignored the dog in favor of getting to the water bowl. 

 

BTW this was all done with a combination of cheese, peanut butter and toy. I used a little more PB to start with, but then was able to reserve it for her best efforts.  This really encourages me. It feels like my instincts are supported by the results when I do it my way. Ideally I'd want to have focus and attention throughout the session, but if I can't have it all the time --- I think its better when I have more focus and attention at the end of class than at the beginning. To me that says our rewards are working, the training is progressing and she is learning. 

 

Another thing I realized today was how different Gimme was driving home and throughout the evening between Monday after Public Dog class and last night after agility.  On Monday Gimme was exhausted after class and was asleep before we got to the main road, but still alerting to every little road bump or noise.  When we got home she continued to act tired and when I tried to train there was no brain left.  During the evening she was more edgy - alerting then barking at noises outside.  Candy can testify that during the course of our phone conversation, I repeatedly had to check to see why Gimme was barking and all four times it was things I couldn't see or hear.  I had noticed that Gimme has been edgier since the false pregnancy and I just thought it would take time to dissipate.  However, last night was an eye opener. 

 

After agility Gimme snoozed comfortably all the way home.  She woke up from time to time and looked around, but then quickly resumed napping.  Once we got home she remained relaxed.  While outside she found a toy that had been unearthed by the yard man, and brought it in to destroy it.  After that she laid around comfortably snoozing, without alerting to anything outside even once.  And last night I heard noises outside.  She'd have happily trained if I asked her to. 

 

This comparison makes it clear to me that the classes are still too stressful for her.  With agility class, she leaves contented and happy.  I should also mention that while we were outside before our second session, we were snuck up on by an off leash black lab (black dogs are a special trigger) and I had to do an emergency u-turn to get her out of there.  Minutes later she was working with focus and attention and a happy waggy butt - which shows what her bounce back should be like. 

 

It all gets back to me doing my job to honor and support her needs... first and foremost, above all else.  PERIOD - END OF DISCUSSION...

Space, the Final Frontier

Yes, I do love Star Trek, the shows and the movies.  No, this blog entry is not about Star Trek.

I have a fairly mindless job.  It is mostly routine and seldom requires much of my attention.  So, my mind is free to wander and ponder.  I do much of my best thinking while on the job.

Today I was thinking about where Gimme is at in her reactivity training and how our efforts are going in regards to the Public Dog class.  I was thinking about the relapse in her abilities that was caused, or at least exacerbated, by her recent false pregnancy.  I was thinking about what I've been doing long-term and in the recent short-term.  I was thinking about my future plans to become a certified BAT Instructor.  Naturally, that led me to think about the studying I've been doing to get ready for the BAT course in November.

All this thinking came together in a realization.  All that has happened, the failings and the successes, the relapse and the progress... indeed, the issue itself...  it all relates to issues with space.   (thus, with my fondness for Star Trek, the title popped into my head)

BAT uses distance as the main reward for the dog making good choices.  A BAT training set-up manages distance very carefully.  And by "set-up", the intention is always to set the dog up for success.  So:

1. First, the dog must be well-under threshold,
2. Yet, close enough to notice the trigger,
3. And, having a decision to make, 
4. Still, able to choose well, and
5. Then, is rewarded with more distance (which relieves even the slight pressure regarding the distant trigger).

We've already made a lot of progress, with her just working for treats and trying to win.  Gimme is determined, if anything.  Still it occurs to me that my use of distance is not as skillful as it needs to be, both to recover lost ground and take it to the next level.

Thus the title for this post:  "Space, the Final Frontier"  

• Space is about "distance", which is both important for where we are and where we need to go...
• Final refers to the "decisive" factor...
• and Frontier is another word for a "new field of learning" for both of us.

I'm fond of my thesaurus... indeed these are all synonyms that popped up as I was playing with the title.  Appropriately so, methinks...

Public Dog (7)

I tried giving Gimme some Rescue Remedy before class today and it seemed to help.  She still wasn't her usual brilliant self, but she was able to focus better and at times did very well.  We lucked out that the co-instructor was gone this week and only 4 of the 5 dogs scheduled for class showed up.  Plus we had a huge park to work in, so it was much easier to adjust distance between Gimme and the other dogs. 

We did a lot of check-ins, pretty much any time she seemed unable to do more.  Also we practiced our loose leash walking... not getting very many steps at a time, but at least no hard pulling.  She was distracted with lots of sniffing, so I focused on making sure that I clicked when her nose was off the ground and the leash was loose.  

She seems uninterested in Tor - probably because he's so big (Alaskan Malamute) and always fairly calm.  Max is a big black Schnauzer-mix and is sometimes reactive, but usually good.  Gimme is fairly comfortable with him.  At one point he was laying down and his owner was standing talking with Ursula, so I eased closer and told Gimme to "chill".  We started about 12 feet away and gradually got to about 8 feet.  Then Tor came up and joined our group in the shade, about 15 feet away.  At that point Gimme got up and re-positioned herself so she could watch both of them and in doing so, moved closer to Max who continued to ignore her, so that she was then about 6 feet from him. 

The only dog she didn't like, indeed none of the dogs like him, is Bo.  He's a very stressy yellow Lab, who is always whining and fussing.  All the dogs seem to be uncomfortable with him to some degree or another.  They act like he's contagious - though in reality I think they are trying to send him calming signals and he doesn't seem to get it.  Gimme always knows exactly where he is.  I told Ursula about a stress-support supplement that I just learned about and she's very interested in it.

I came upon this quote by Walt Disney:

“I can’t believe that there are any heights that can’t be scaled by a man who knows the secrets of making dreams come true.  This special secret, it seems to me, can be summarized in four Cs. They are curiosity, confidence, courage, and constancy, and the greatest of all is confidence.”

That to me sums up the attitude we most want in our dogs -  curious, confident, courageous, and constant (faithful, dependable and steadfast), and the greatest of all is confidence.  You really only get that kind of attitude with consistent positive reward training. 

Nosework (3/13)

Tonight for class we met at Mary's house - not our friend (Grafton's mom), but another Mary who is a friend of Susan's.  She let us use her house to search in, a very large double-wide mobile home with 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, laundry room, kitchen/foyer room and living/dining room.  Joyce was able to set up 13 hides for us.

The first time Gimme got to search 2 bedrooms, both baths and the laundry room.  She enjoyed having so many hides (6), but was frustrated by what Joyce was doing.  Because these were all separate rooms, once the dogs went in a room, Joyce wanted them to stay there and search until they found the hides.  Gimme would try to move through a doorway and Joyce would body block her.  I could tell Gimme found that frustrating and I decided to do the other searches on leash, which worked fine.

The other thing was that Joyce was particularly talkative tonight.  She's just convinced that Gimme will damage someone's stuff with her pawing, though she never has.  She's also convinced Gimme will be faulted for excessive pawing at a trial - though it never happens at trials or matches.  I've told her this, but she doesn't remember it from one class to the next.  What I've noticed before is that the more Joyce talks, the more excessive pawing I see.  At trials and matches and practices, no one talks to me while we are working and Gimme does fine and is moderate in any paw action.

During our second search... while we were searching the living/dining room, Joyce watched quietly.  Gimme did a great job and was very calmly pointing out hides with her paw or using her nose, no scratching/scraping.  When we got to the kitchen/foyer area, suddenly Joyce starts talking to me and the next thing you know, Gimme is more actively pawing.

After we did that search and I came back in, I shared my observation with Joyce.  Basically, I think when Gimme knows she has my full attention, she is able to give me a less forceful indication.  When she knows my attention is divided between her and Joyce, she dials it up a few notches to get my attention.  Joyce's response was that Gimme is just like some dog she had, that had to be watched every second or else crated, because he would "take advantage of it" any time he didn't have her full attention.

I have to admit right up front that it really bugs me that she is so willing to ascribe conniving intentions to Gimme, who is the best dog ever.   A little while ago she came in the office to see what I was doing, and then returned to the living room where she is calmly napping on the couch - not taking advantage of my inattention to get into things - though God knows there is plenty of possibilities for misbehavior if she were so inclined.  She just doesn't have the need or desire to do so.  If Joyce had a dog that did - then I suggest that was an issue between her and that dog and has nothing whatsoever to do with Gimme and me or this situation.

When we are working together, I expect Gimme to give me all her attention (within the limits of her abilities and training) and in turn, I give her all my attention.  I don't abruptly end training or leave her hanging, I don't answer the phone in mid-session, or watch TV while we are training.  While we are working, I expect her to give me all the focus she is capable of and I return the favor.  That's the deal and she knows it.

So I suggested that Joyce should refrain from talking to me while we are actually searching and her answer was that she has to give me coaching.  I didn't reply at the time, but thought about it on the way home.  Coaching does not have to be while we are actually searching.  When I'm running agility, Blynn rarely gives me directions while we are running.  Mostly we do a sequence and if we need to talk about it, Gimme and I stop and I pet her while Blynn talks to me or sometimes I put the leash on.  When Ursula is working with me and wants to give me feedback, I stop and pet Gimme while we talk. 

So from now on, I'm going to ask Joyce to do the same.  If we are searching and Joyce starts talking to me, then I'll either interrupt the search (if I can possibly do so without unintentionally punishing Gimme's searching behavior) or ignore Joyce.  If need be, I'll wear ear plugs.  Gimme and I are a team and its not fair to her to just drop the connection.

The other thing Joyce said that I thought about on the way home, was that Gimme goes to excessive pawing because its been rewarded before and has a long reward history.  That is true.  However, the answer is not to start punishing pawing, which was Joyce's suggestion.  The answer is to reward more nose touching... which we've been working on and are getting more of.

From Gimme's point of view -- she's learned that when I'm distracted, it takes a stronger behavior on her part to get my attention.  She plays this game with me because its fun and she wants to win her reward.  So, it makes perfect sense that she would dial it up a few notches when she sees my attention is divided.  I think that shows she is motivated, determined and persistent.  I see that as a good thing.

In any case...  for our third search, Joyce remained quiet and Gimme did a lovely job... indicating the hide in the cabinet with repeated nose touches and the one on the door hinge with her nose and one paw whack.  I rest my case...

Nosework (5/12)

Joyce did come with an exercise for food distraction that was different than what I'd heard and have been doing.  We set the food distraction exercise inside the building for Gimme and Tucker (both trialing NW2 this Sunday - do cross your fingers for us).  Outside we set up a regular box container exercise for the other dogs (one is trialing NW1 this Saturday).

The food distraction exercise inside the building was set up with about a dozen containers, two with odor and no food distraction.  Then the room dividers were pulled across the room dividing it in half and another drill was set up on the other side that was another dozen containers that had food in most of them.

The exercise was to bring the dog into the first side (with the odor containers) and let them find both odors.  Then you move through the dividers into the other side and the dog sniffs them, but isn't permitted to "linger" too long by gently pulling them away or jiggling the leash.  After the dog is less distracted by the food distractions, then you move back through the divider and work to find the odor containers again.  Gimme was very good at this and I was sure glad we'd done all the work on it before this class.  There is no way that one exercise would have gotten her ready for the trial this weekend.

After we'd done that search twice, our third search was to do the outside boxes.  Gimme was just coming from her second inside search and was thrilled to see all the boxes.  She started searching and picked the wrong box and I called "alert".  It was actually quite a ways from the correct box, so I'm not sure why she thought it was correct, but her indication had all the features I look for, so I think it was a genuine error.  In her defense, it was a pretty strong wind and the odor box had been down no more than a minute.  I encouraged her to try some more and she did.  Then she picked another wrong box, which was actually right next to the correct one and again I called "alert".  Then she got really frustrated and started just trashing every box, one after the other, without even trying to search (not sniffing them).

After the fourth trashing in a row, I took her out of the search area saying "that's enough" to her, walked to the other side and restarted her.  Joyce expressed how happy she was to see me "finally correct her for something".  After the search where we were able to settle down on the right box, Joyce and I talked.  I explained that I only removed her from the search area because she was no longer searching as evidenced by the serial-trashing, thus she needed to be restarted.  Joyce says it would be perfectly "legal" to be presented with a bunch of boxes at any level of container search, so she thinks I should correct her by removing her from the search area any time she trashes a box (even if its the right one!).  She did admit she hadn't actually seen an all box container search for NW2 or NW3, but it could happen.  Personally, I don't think it would be fair to suddenly start correcting Gimme for trashing boxes, and certainly not the odor box, especially given that she has been allowed to trash boxes until now.

Joyce and I are clearly not on the same page.  I have explained my philosophy to her so many times, but she just doesn't get it.  I want to protect Gimme's enthusiasm and confidence in every way I can, while gently nudging her into better search habits.  Gimme enjoys any training/work and given the choice would be doing much more (darn that pesky day job of mine).  She is enthusiastic and confident... as evidenced by her ability to do a hard exterior search (at converging odor seminar) that lasted well over 7 minutes.  Most NW3 dogs won't persist that long if they don't find odor and I think I have every right to be pleased and proud of that kind of attitude.  Joyce's priority is that Gimme learns to be "efficient" and she's inclined to use corrections (a/k/a punishment) if need be.  That's just not going to happen while I'm at the helm.

I told Joyce - again - that until my nose is as good as a dog's and I know for sure what Gimme is smelling, I'm not going to correct her for a mistake.  Joyce said that Gimme has too good of a nose to be making mistakes.  Seriously!?!  Because she has a lot of innate talent, she can't make mistakes?  I find that an utterly bizarre line of thought.

So anyway, I've been pondering why Gimme got so frustrated.  I don't think that search was really too hard for her.  I also don't think that coming from the indoors exercise was too much for her.  I do think the excitement of seeing the boxes could have been a factor in her initial error, but not by itself enough to cause the frustration that led to serial-trashing.

Then it occurred to me as I reviewed it over and over and over again...  I think Gimme believes "alert" is a verbal click and when she didn't get rewarded the second time I said it, she got frustrated.  And as we know, frustration is her Achilles heel.  Up until now, she has almost always gotten her goodies right after hearing the a-word... so she has every reason to expect a treat after hearing it by her understanding.  It was never my intention that she think it was a verbal click, but logically with its usage, that's a fair conclusion on her part.  I tested that theory by saying "alert" to her awhile ago and sure enough, she whipped around with an expectant expression. 

So from all of this I see three training issues that I'll want to address (though, naturally, not until after this weekend):

1. Undo "alert" as a verbal click association.
2. Desensitize the distraction potential of a field of boxes.
3. Teach a new behavior that doesn't include trashing boxes.

This is how I propose to cover each issue:

Undo the "alert" as a verbal click association

• say "alert" frequently when not near NW practice or stuff, so it looses the association
• in practice or class use another word in place of it, such as "tree", "ball", "truck", "popsicle", picking a different word each time
• use "alert" only at trials, which will be infrequent enough that it shouldn't be a problem

Desensitize the distraction potential of a field of boxes

• when setting up container practices for myself, set up a field of boxes nearby
• first set them up on the far side of the container exercise
• later set them up closer and/or walk near them on approach to other containers
• goal is to walk through boxes on the way to search other containers
• then mix in higher and higher number of boxes with other containers

Teach a new behavior that doesn't include trashing boxes

• teach her a "perch" behavior where she puts two feet on an item
• use non-box items to start, like a bucket or stool
• transition to boxes that are unlike nosework boxes
• do the behavior on nosework boxes
• when its solid, put odor in a box and when she indicates, cue "perch"

also...

• put trashing on cue - its like the scratching for doing her nails
• set her up with situations where she can have the fun of trashing - like all the boxes that come into my life that have to be cut up into small pieces for recycle

Nosework (1/12)

First, last night was agility class.  Gimme wasn't as focused as she can be, mostly because she hasn't gotten to run for five days.   She really needs that about twice a week.  It didn't help that the arena was pretty messy either; tons of "field cookies" to self reward with.  She did better when I remembered to bring out the peanut butter...

After that I went to my parents and fed them dinner.  After dinner we did the Gimme Show... showing off the latest tricks we are working on.  They were suitably impressed with her learning to crawl backward - its very cute.  Unfortunately, she offered me a "grape" (roll-over) in a spot I would never have cued it, and rolled right into the low brickwork curb around their wood burning stove.  I know it hurt a lot.

After that she wouldn't even do grape in another spot where she had plenty of room.  I spent about ten minutes encouraging her and she finally did it - so she got paid with a leftover slice of pepperoni pizza.  Today she is doing grape very willingly.

Tonight we were supposed to be getting introduced to food distractions in a container search.  Our trial is just 5 weeks away and I think we should have been doing that a long time ago.  When we got to class Joyce was setting up to play another game.  It was a fun game, but doesn't really get us ready for the challenges we'll face at a NW2 trial.

Thus, I've decided I need to just get busy and do what I can to get us ready, instead of relying on Joyce.  She is giving us challenges that are barely more than NW1 stuff and calling that prep for NW2.  There are two of us entered in the NW2 trial the end of April and I know she isn't covering half of what we'll need... so I'm just going to have to get in gear, make a plan and train it on my own.

Tonight our class consisted of multiple chairs scattered around the room (11) and multiple hides under the seat.  Joyce said she wasn't going to tell us how many there were, but quickly let slip that there were 6 hides.  The goal was to see how many each dog could find in 3 minutes.  Naturally Gimme did the best, finding 5 of them.  This was despite being distracted by people from the private lesson (upstairs) coming and going to the bathroom.  No one else got more than 3.

The second time Joyce set the chairs in sort of a row and turned some over and some on their sides.   Again Gimme found 5 of them.  All the dogs improved and a couple found 5, but that might be because their owners were kinda helping them, by subtly guiding them near chairs where they could see the odor.  I didn't help Gimme, but then, she doesn't need it.

Gimme did get into some major paw whacking toward the end of the second search.  Joyce sees that as evidence that a paw indicator is going to cost us faults.  I think Gimme did it because we stayed there so long because she hadn't found the 6th one yet and was caught up in converging odor - Gimme was basically doing her best to get me to pay for that one again and when it didn't work, she got frustrated.  She would never be faced with this kind of set-up in a trial... besides I'm willing to take the occasional fault to maintain her enthusiasm.

For the third search - we had 7 chairs in a row and one hide.  Gimme took waaaay too long to find it.  It didn't help that our friend Mary got up right as Gimme got started, to go get Grafton.  So Gimme had to go visiting and that ate up time.

I did ramp up my enthusiasm for her finds throughout class and could see that she liked it.  I am also encouraging her to pull into her harness at the start line.  Joyce didn't like that... oh well...  I have some ideas for how to train that a little at home.  I want her to know she can pull hard even when she has not yet been given the search cue, in preparation for implementing some of the things Josh suggested.

After class we went walking...  my toes are still cold...