I haven't talked about our walks or Gimme's reactivity for awhile, so thought I should catch up on it.
I decided several months ago to use classical conditioning when we passed other dogs during our walks. It went very well, and I soon noticed Gimme would see other dogs and then look at me with her "well?" expression. Its very much like what she does when she sees bicycles. On occasion when we had room to get off the trail for more space, I've had her play the eye contact game (Chris Bach style) with me.
Yesterday early on our walk she did the best ever playing eye contact when we were at the little park off the trail. So later when we were walking on the trail with only 10' space, I saw calm dog coming and I got her started playing the eye contact game. She did beautifully. Then a bit later I saw another seemingly calm dog and set up for eye contact. She did well and the other dog stayed calm until he got within 20' of us. Suddenly he was up on his back legs pulling and growling with the low guttural "I wanna kill you" growl (thank God his owner was strong enough to control him). It was too late for me to pull out the PB toob and there was no room to create more distance, so I just switched to constant feeding mode and when he was just past us, I threw a handful of treats on the ground for her. Gimme was brilliant and this with a snarling dog at just 10 feet! She really focused on me, then the treats, then more treats. When she finished them she looked back at him, but totally calm. I've never been more proud.
Today we walked again and did some more of this. We stopped for eye contact while we were passed by a lady who was actually training her reactive dog, giving it treats and being calm and positive. I think its a sad state when seeing someone training their dog makes me want to do the happy dance. I want to see this so often I'm blasé about it. Later as we were coming back I met her again, she had a different dog, and we stopped to talk awhile. This dog was much calmer and laid back. We shared the history of our dogs, meanwhile Gimme got treats for remaining calm. Between then and getting back to the park we passed two more dogs. Thinking Gimme might have accumulated some stress during the prolonged exposure, I switched back to classical conditioning for these.
When we got back to the little park, I set up my camera on a tripod and Gimme and I made four short Parkour videos. I think I have enough for the Training Level title and I have a couple which should be suitable for Novice. This afternoon while its hot I'm going to edit the Training Level videos into one and post it on the Parkour list to see if anyone notices anything I missed. If I submit it and one of them fails, I can resubmit all of them with the failed behavior fixed, but have to pay the fee again.
On my way home from church I stopped by Home Depot to get the things I need to turn a Go-Go Dancer platform into two TicTac boards. I'm making one normal width and the other narrower. I think it makes sense to have a narrower one to train on before I ask her to do it on a tree or something.
The Go-Go Dancer platforms I got for free and didn't have any idea what I'd use them for. So I'm making a pair of TicTac boards for myself out of one and will see if Pawsabilities wants the other to make a set for the classes I'll be teaching there. I keep telling myself I need to stop bringing home "free junk", but then I find a really good use for something and my junk collecting behavior is reinforced. Its on a variable schedule of reinforcement, which we all know creates the strongest, most resistant to extinction, behaviors. ☺
Gimme will be happily surprised to see Parkour toys appear in her very own yard.
Showing posts with label Walking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Walking. Show all posts
Sunday, June 26, 2016
Monday, April 27, 2015
Tracking Genius (8)
The darker grey is a paved road, which we crossed twice - a first. The light green backwards L shape is some very short grass. The two clumps of green squiggles is a bit of woods - the track went up a dirt path through the woods - another first. The thinner line of grey is a mixed dirt/gravel road we went on briefly as we came out of the woods - another first. And a challenge we didn't plan - the dashed purple line is another tracker who came into the area right behind us, crossing our track in two places and completely overlaying our track on the dirt path - a huge first.
Gimme went first, because Nadine had dropped treats for her every 10 yards. She did well up to the road, but then wasn't sure about crossing the pavement. I encouraged her and when she got to the other side, there was a treat waiting for her. She did really well in the short grass, just charged down it, barely a blip when she hit the cross track and then nailed the right turn. Gimme had a lot of difficulty deciding to turn up the path into the woods. Since the other tracker had gone up the same path and right over the top of where Nadine had gone, this wasn't a surprise. The next difficulty was making the left turn onto the mixed dirt/gravel road, because the other tracker had gone straight and Gimme seemed to get confused about who she was following, crossing into the grass path. I encouraged her to come back to where we had sliced off to the left and then she did good following our track. The second road crossing wasn't nearly as challenging and the rest of the track was pretty simple. There was a bit of notice given where the tracker had cross tracked on the last leg, but no inclination to follow it.
I followed Nadine a couple of times and on her last track, I dropped treats for Gimme, with extra ones to help her with the areas which had been most challenging. By this time the other tracker had gone by again with another person and a dog. Gimme did very well the second time around. The road crossings didn't seem to bother her, though she was off to the left of the track. She went up the path through the woods more readily and there was only a momentary casting about when the two tracks diverged again at the dirt/gravel road.
So I was pleased with her efforts on a track which is far advanced for her. Since she was in an early part of her false pregnancy when it was most intense, I was especially pleased with how well she did and her level of focus.
Speaking of the false pregnancy, Gimme continues to do well. I've been working in the yard a lot for the last few days to keep it from turning into a jungle. I leave the door open so Gimme can come and go from the house. She stays with me pretty much the whole time. She will bring a "baby" out and have it out for awhile. Sometimes she carries it around, sometimes it lays by itself. About every half hour she carries it back in the house and within minutes she comes out with another "baby". I guess she thinks they need the fresh air.
We've been walking a lot and there is a section where I can have Gimme off leash. The other day she was walking along and then all the sudden dashed ahead. Out of reflex I called her back and she turned on a thin dime to come back. It was just then when I saw what she was dashing toward - a bunny on the side of the rails-to-trails paved path. I was awed to have her come back to me from such a huge distraction. Needless to say she got a LOT of peanut butter for being such a good girl.
We have nosework class tomorrow night. Thursday morning I'll meet Nadine for tracking. On Saturday afternoon we have a level 1 vehicle element trial. On Sunday we have two level 2 element trials - containers and interiors. We are lucky to have these so close to home with just an hour drive each way. So we can come home to sleep in our own bed each night. Do cross your fingers for us.
Sunday, March 22, 2015
Practice and Tracking Genius (6)
Gimme was overdue for a long walk, an important part of her regular mental enrichment, so it was very high on our list of things to do today. On the way over I decided to drive by the tennis court. I thought I was being foolishly optimistic to think there was any chance it would be available on a weekend, but since its only 1/2 mile from my house, driving by for a look-see is a worthwhile effort.
Amazingly it was vacant, but I almost kept going. There was a lady outside and just behind the courts, throwing a ball for her Golden. My initial thought was it would make it impossible to get any valuable practice in. But at the last moment my trainer brain kicked in and I decided to at least use the situation for distraction training. I took Gimme into the court and kept her on my 15' leash. We did a bunch of perimeter walking, clicking for offered attention. I usually just start at the gate and keep walking around the inside of the court, but this time I kept to a "C" pattern using the part of the court away from the distraction. We gradually got closer and closer.
Much quicker than I expected, we were able to work along the side of the court closest to the dog, within 15-20 feet of it running back and forth and Gimme was able to stay in her thinking brain! She was able to look and then voluntarily turn her attention to me. I was so proud of her. I could have left then and been completely satisfied with the session. However, the lady chose this time to leash up and head off... so I decided to see how much brain Gimme had left.
We did a bunch of "heel" and "side", along with moving "spin" and "turn" (she still needs a refresher before she can do it without me pausing). Then we did our variation of what I call "the move" (something I saw on a Julie Flanery video). It is: "left" "around" "thru" "right" "behind" and "thru". Its a cute little sequence I can start with her on either side and either end up with a side transition or back where we started. After this we did a 360 degree center front pivot, in both directions. She had plenty of brain to work with me, so clearly she was doing even better with the running dog than I thought. Yeah Gimme!
Afterward we went to the place we've been walking lately, for a 4 mile walk. We met a number of dogs and were able to manage space well enough with most of them to just keep walking by. For the one where we couldn't, I just lured her past with her peanut butter go-toob. After all this, she is contentedly snoozing.
I promised you a report on Gimme's tracking last week. She did nicely. Keep in mind our big focus right now is to reinforce nose-down tracking. She's always had a tendency to air scenting, so we'll need to really reward this to make it a strong tracking behavior. This week we did our drops at 12 yard and 6 yard intervals. Its 12 yards most of the time, with two 6 yard interval drops after each turn.
I got there early, so set a simple warm-up track (180 yards). Gimme seemed confused at first and I thought it was because she was unaccustomed to following my scent, though she'd done it when she was still a puppy. She got over it by 1/3 of the way down the first leg and then did very well afterward, finding all three gloves easily. When the other dogs worked this track, they also acted distracted in the same place on my track, so it may have been caused by previous visitors or wildlife passing through the area.
Once Nadine arrived, she set another course of 300 yards. We alternated back and forth between the two tracks, so Gimme got to run Nadine's track twice. The first time it was with the 12 and 6 yard intervals and then the second time it was a little bit variable from about the same interval. It seemed to me she paid closer attention and kept her nose down better with variable drops, but it could just have easily been because it was her third track of the day and she was getting more focused by then.
Gimme is a good tracker and really loves it. She spends much of the time waiting, whining in anticipation. When one of the other girls is out and tracking - Gimme steps the whining up to a proper screech. She does not think she should be kept waiting. And she especially doesn't think she should be kept waiting while some other d-a-w-g is having fun on the tracks. Just sayin...
Amazingly it was vacant, but I almost kept going. There was a lady outside and just behind the courts, throwing a ball for her Golden. My initial thought was it would make it impossible to get any valuable practice in. But at the last moment my trainer brain kicked in and I decided to at least use the situation for distraction training. I took Gimme into the court and kept her on my 15' leash. We did a bunch of perimeter walking, clicking for offered attention. I usually just start at the gate and keep walking around the inside of the court, but this time I kept to a "C" pattern using the part of the court away from the distraction. We gradually got closer and closer.
Much quicker than I expected, we were able to work along the side of the court closest to the dog, within 15-20 feet of it running back and forth and Gimme was able to stay in her thinking brain! She was able to look and then voluntarily turn her attention to me. I was so proud of her. I could have left then and been completely satisfied with the session. However, the lady chose this time to leash up and head off... so I decided to see how much brain Gimme had left.
We did a bunch of "heel" and "side", along with moving "spin" and "turn" (she still needs a refresher before she can do it without me pausing). Then we did our variation of what I call "the move" (something I saw on a Julie Flanery video). It is: "left" "around" "thru" "right" "behind" and "thru". Its a cute little sequence I can start with her on either side and either end up with a side transition or back where we started. After this we did a 360 degree center front pivot, in both directions. She had plenty of brain to work with me, so clearly she was doing even better with the running dog than I thought. Yeah Gimme!
Afterward we went to the place we've been walking lately, for a 4 mile walk. We met a number of dogs and were able to manage space well enough with most of them to just keep walking by. For the one where we couldn't, I just lured her past with her peanut butter go-toob. After all this, she is contentedly snoozing.
I promised you a report on Gimme's tracking last week. She did nicely. Keep in mind our big focus right now is to reinforce nose-down tracking. She's always had a tendency to air scenting, so we'll need to really reward this to make it a strong tracking behavior. This week we did our drops at 12 yard and 6 yard intervals. Its 12 yards most of the time, with two 6 yard interval drops after each turn.
I got there early, so set a simple warm-up track (180 yards). Gimme seemed confused at first and I thought it was because she was unaccustomed to following my scent, though she'd done it when she was still a puppy. She got over it by 1/3 of the way down the first leg and then did very well afterward, finding all three gloves easily. When the other dogs worked this track, they also acted distracted in the same place on my track, so it may have been caused by previous visitors or wildlife passing through the area. Once Nadine arrived, she set another course of 300 yards. We alternated back and forth between the two tracks, so Gimme got to run Nadine's track twice. The first time it was with the 12 and 6 yard intervals and then the second time it was a little bit variable from about the same interval. It seemed to me she paid closer attention and kept her nose down better with variable drops, but it could just have easily been because it was her third track of the day and she was getting more focused by then. Gimme is a good tracker and really loves it. She spends much of the time waiting, whining in anticipation. When one of the other girls is out and tracking - Gimme steps the whining up to a proper screech. She does not think she should be kept waiting. And she especially doesn't think she should be kept waiting while some other d-a-w-g is having fun on the tracks. Just sayin...
Monday, January 5, 2015
Nosework (2/7)
Gimme and I are keeping busy. We've been doing a lot of training each day to make up for the long hours I've worked over the last two weeks. This week things are finally getting back to normal. We are getting in more walking time, which makes Gimme very happy, though she'd like more of it to be off leash. Unfortunately Fort Lewis hasn't made our favorite ranges available in a very long time. I'm going to stop by Range Control on Thursday and find out what the deal is.
Tonight was nosework class. It was a lot like last week. We did a search of the interior where there were four hides and one of the instructors went around putting blue painter tape on the floor wherever there was a Change of Behavior (COB), though this week they were calling it something else and I can't remember what the new term was. Our first search was off leash and Gimme was really fast and accurate. Two hides were under chairs, one under a stool and one on the lower leg of a table. The table hide seemed to be the hardest for all the dogs. Gimme had a little difficulty getting down to where it was, but she was still faster than the other dogs. Partly the difficulty may have been because the hide was fairly close to the door, so was getting a lot of air disturbance as each team entered and left the building, plus there was a lot of stuff nearby to catch the swirls of scent.
For our second search, they removed the table hide and we worked it on lead. Our task was to watch for the COB and then use the lead to hold the dog in the area. The term they were using had to do with boundary between two areas. One question I had - which couldn't be answered in black and white was - if you don't know where the hide is (like for trials), how would you know which side of the dividing line to hold the dog in. In particular, Gimme sometimes goes right into an area and sometimes veers around it. Usually, but not always, her veering around an area happens when the hide is in an enclosed area. She doesn't do it as much as she used to, especially now since she gets peanut butter for a reward, but I do still see it happen.
Clearly in this class, since we knew where the hide was, we knew which side of the divide to go on. I did find when doing this, Gimme was even faster and more direct in her searching. As we were searching and I'd already asked the question, I asked again on one part, which side would you have gone to. Dorothy said she might not be sure, you kind of go with what your gut tells you about the dog's behavior at the divide and even then she might go visit the other side with the dog. So I did this, taking Gimme to the other side of the divide and giving her a chance to check it out. She dismissed it very quickly and most decidedly.
Our last search one just one hide set on a table leg support. They set up a fan to blow across it and the intent was to cause odor to pool on some sheets draped across an expen. Interestingly all the dogs came in the room and pretty quickly dismissed the front half, then they all went to the fan to check it out and from there they went downwind. I expected them to have more difficulty narrowing down source, but all the dogs did well. Gimme was one of the fastest, certainly the prettiest.
It was an interesting class. I'm not sure how I'd use the information in a blind search. I think we'll get more chances to try it. I suggested a variation from the hide with the fan, where there would be two hides, one upwind and one downwind from the fan. All the dogs went immediately downwind, even though they hadn't gotten into odor yet, so as a curiosity, I'd like to see how they handle it when the fan is situated between two hides, blowing away from one and toward the other.
Gimme wants to make a proclamation from her exalted position as Empress of the Cosmos. She thinks we should have Christmas once a month from now on. She liked getting a present every day for seven days. She realizes this may be too much for most families, but thinks she and me should do it. There are no bad toys - just sayin...
Tonight was nosework class. It was a lot like last week. We did a search of the interior where there were four hides and one of the instructors went around putting blue painter tape on the floor wherever there was a Change of Behavior (COB), though this week they were calling it something else and I can't remember what the new term was. Our first search was off leash and Gimme was really fast and accurate. Two hides were under chairs, one under a stool and one on the lower leg of a table. The table hide seemed to be the hardest for all the dogs. Gimme had a little difficulty getting down to where it was, but she was still faster than the other dogs. Partly the difficulty may have been because the hide was fairly close to the door, so was getting a lot of air disturbance as each team entered and left the building, plus there was a lot of stuff nearby to catch the swirls of scent.
For our second search, they removed the table hide and we worked it on lead. Our task was to watch for the COB and then use the lead to hold the dog in the area. The term they were using had to do with boundary between two areas. One question I had - which couldn't be answered in black and white was - if you don't know where the hide is (like for trials), how would you know which side of the dividing line to hold the dog in. In particular, Gimme sometimes goes right into an area and sometimes veers around it. Usually, but not always, her veering around an area happens when the hide is in an enclosed area. She doesn't do it as much as she used to, especially now since she gets peanut butter for a reward, but I do still see it happen.
Clearly in this class, since we knew where the hide was, we knew which side of the divide to go on. I did find when doing this, Gimme was even faster and more direct in her searching. As we were searching and I'd already asked the question, I asked again on one part, which side would you have gone to. Dorothy said she might not be sure, you kind of go with what your gut tells you about the dog's behavior at the divide and even then she might go visit the other side with the dog. So I did this, taking Gimme to the other side of the divide and giving her a chance to check it out. She dismissed it very quickly and most decidedly.
Our last search one just one hide set on a table leg support. They set up a fan to blow across it and the intent was to cause odor to pool on some sheets draped across an expen. Interestingly all the dogs came in the room and pretty quickly dismissed the front half, then they all went to the fan to check it out and from there they went downwind. I expected them to have more difficulty narrowing down source, but all the dogs did well. Gimme was one of the fastest, certainly the prettiest.
It was an interesting class. I'm not sure how I'd use the information in a blind search. I think we'll get more chances to try it. I suggested a variation from the hide with the fan, where there would be two hides, one upwind and one downwind from the fan. All the dogs went immediately downwind, even though they hadn't gotten into odor yet, so as a curiosity, I'd like to see how they handle it when the fan is situated between two hides, blowing away from one and toward the other.
Gimme wants to make a proclamation from her exalted position as Empress of the Cosmos. She thinks we should have Christmas once a month from now on. She liked getting a present every day for seven days. She realizes this may be too much for most families, but thinks she and me should do it. There are no bad toys - just sayin...
Friday, July 11, 2014
Nosework (2/4)
I am behind on posting. Gimme and I are staying busy. We are doing a lot of walking to stay ahead. Sometimes going out early in the day because its been so warm here. In the evening we are doing some easy free shaping in the house.
I've been putting a lot of time into internet research and shopping on line to make all the decisions regarding my bathroom remodel. Who knew you could spend two and a half hours just deciding how to do the medicine cabinet. I am lucky because the guy doing my work is really a jack of all trades. So, I have a built-in corner cabinet (shoulder height to the ceiling) and he's going to build a matching freestanding corner cabinet to sit under it. The existing corner cabinet is very likely original to the house, based on the 1920's pictures I'm finding. So, after all that time spent on the medicine cabinet, I've decided I'll have him build it too, to match the others in style and period.
Class on Monday was pretty neat. Now that Gimme and I have our NW2, we are starting to really focus on learning the skills I'll need for NW3. Gimme really already knows her part, since her job doesn't really change. My biggest hurdle, other than learning to say "finish", will be learn to read when Gimme knows there are no more odors to be found. I can already tell when she walks into an area that has none; I just have to learn to see the subtle shift of energy when she goes from "more to find", to "there's no more".
Our first search was a single van with an unknown number of hides on it. Gimme found one right away and before long found a second one. I took her around the vehicle again to make sure we didn't miss a third one and she kind of dawdled around and then showed interest in one spot. Since she wasn't indicating, I said "show me" and she dutifully indicated, but it wasn't odor. Dorothy said I'll have to be really careful with using the "show me" cue. If there is odor there, Gimme precisely indicates where it is; if there is no odor, she'll obediently indicate just to please me. So I have to find another way to know when I can and cannot use the cue. The real purpose for the cue is to have her re-indicate when I missed it. Basically I have to read that subtle energy shift.
Our second search was an exterior area. Gimme found both odor sources pretty quickly. Then I took her on a tour through the area, mostly hitting the perimeter, and then called "finish". I was right, but can't articulate why I knew she was done. Though, I have noticed she will sometimes try to go back to one she's already been paid for when there are no more.
Our third and fourth searches were indoors on containers. For the first time in (third search of the class) they were all boxes, up on chairs and small step stools and Gimme did a good job. For the second time in (fourth search of the class), they'd moved odor boxes and some of the boxes from the chairs were now under the chairs. Gimme again did a good job. These searches were made more challenging because the overhead fans were on. We've searched with the overhead fans on many times it doesn't really present a challenge for Gimme.
I am going to have to get back in the habit of bringing my camera and getting someone to videotape our searches. Then I can study them and hopefully pinpoint what changes for Gimme. Once I can see it frame-by-frame on video, then I'll be able to pick it out in real time. Dorothy says she can see it and its pretty subtle.
I used videotaping for the issue of peeing during outdoor searches and it worked beautifully. I basically videotaped her for a 15 minute walk, then studied it until I noticed she sniffs in front of her feet when she's smelling something, but her nose goes between her feet when she's about to pee. Once I could identify it, I started interrupting her and she quickly learned to not pee during searches. She's only peed one time in the last 18 months... There are a number of dogs competing at NW3 who still have issues with peeing during searches.
I've been putting a lot of time into internet research and shopping on line to make all the decisions regarding my bathroom remodel. Who knew you could spend two and a half hours just deciding how to do the medicine cabinet. I am lucky because the guy doing my work is really a jack of all trades. So, I have a built-in corner cabinet (shoulder height to the ceiling) and he's going to build a matching freestanding corner cabinet to sit under it. The existing corner cabinet is very likely original to the house, based on the 1920's pictures I'm finding. So, after all that time spent on the medicine cabinet, I've decided I'll have him build it too, to match the others in style and period.
Class on Monday was pretty neat. Now that Gimme and I have our NW2, we are starting to really focus on learning the skills I'll need for NW3. Gimme really already knows her part, since her job doesn't really change. My biggest hurdle, other than learning to say "finish", will be learn to read when Gimme knows there are no more odors to be found. I can already tell when she walks into an area that has none; I just have to learn to see the subtle shift of energy when she goes from "more to find", to "there's no more".
Our first search was a single van with an unknown number of hides on it. Gimme found one right away and before long found a second one. I took her around the vehicle again to make sure we didn't miss a third one and she kind of dawdled around and then showed interest in one spot. Since she wasn't indicating, I said "show me" and she dutifully indicated, but it wasn't odor. Dorothy said I'll have to be really careful with using the "show me" cue. If there is odor there, Gimme precisely indicates where it is; if there is no odor, she'll obediently indicate just to please me. So I have to find another way to know when I can and cannot use the cue. The real purpose for the cue is to have her re-indicate when I missed it. Basically I have to read that subtle energy shift.
Our second search was an exterior area. Gimme found both odor sources pretty quickly. Then I took her on a tour through the area, mostly hitting the perimeter, and then called "finish". I was right, but can't articulate why I knew she was done. Though, I have noticed she will sometimes try to go back to one she's already been paid for when there are no more.
Our third and fourth searches were indoors on containers. For the first time in (third search of the class) they were all boxes, up on chairs and small step stools and Gimme did a good job. For the second time in (fourth search of the class), they'd moved odor boxes and some of the boxes from the chairs were now under the chairs. Gimme again did a good job. These searches were made more challenging because the overhead fans were on. We've searched with the overhead fans on many times it doesn't really present a challenge for Gimme.
I am going to have to get back in the habit of bringing my camera and getting someone to videotape our searches. Then I can study them and hopefully pinpoint what changes for Gimme. Once I can see it frame-by-frame on video, then I'll be able to pick it out in real time. Dorothy says she can see it and its pretty subtle.
I used videotaping for the issue of peeing during outdoor searches and it worked beautifully. I basically videotaped her for a 15 minute walk, then studied it until I noticed she sniffs in front of her feet when she's smelling something, but her nose goes between her feet when she's about to pee. Once I could identify it, I started interrupting her and she quickly learned to not pee during searches. She's only peed one time in the last 18 months... There are a number of dogs competing at NW3 who still have issues with peeing during searches.
Saturday, July 5, 2014
More Special Bowl
For the last week we've been doing a bunch of extra walking to get caught up on our mileage goal. Between walking and yard work, my knees have really been hurting. So decided today we'd just do a training session outside.
I decided to get back to working on special bowl, which we haven't trained in almost six weeks. I picked it up off the shelf and Gimme got really excited. Clearly she remembered it.
Our training session wasn't anything special in what we worked on, but more about doing some little smidgen of obedience stuff and then releasing Gimme to special bowl. I clearly need to do more obedience outside. I wish I had set up the video camera.
I also wish I had planned more clearly what I was going to work on, instead of just noodling around. Twice I put treats in the bowl and Gimme, initiated "yours" on her own right after I filled it, snagging the treats before I could interrupt her. I think these were caused by lack of clarity on my part, but I was sure I'd damaged our training. To make it clearer after that, I put her on a standing "wait" about six feet from the bowl as I walked over to drop treats in. It didn't cause any lasting problem.
Then we'd do a simple exercise part and I'd click, then cue "yours". On two occasions, Gimme decided she'd done enough and started to dash to special bowl without the cue. I was able to interrupt her by calling her name. Then we'd do something else, click and "yours". After that she didn't try it again. We've done training before where a container of treats was at nose level and she had to work for me to give her some, without self rewarding. She has a really good work ethic and learned that lesson well, though we haven't done it in a long time. I like special bowl better - I think its clearer. So today was just part of her evolving understanding. Clearly we have to work some more before she's ready to heel right by it.
We also did a smidgen of personal play, followed by a release to special bowl. I did figure out that I do use my body different when I'm pushing at her with my right hand. I feel comfortable when I am doing the first push with my right hand. But once we have started playing and she's moving too and could move unpredictably (potentially causing a finger jam), then I tense up and she changes too. She reads me too well. This will take time.
I decided to get back to working on special bowl, which we haven't trained in almost six weeks. I picked it up off the shelf and Gimme got really excited. Clearly she remembered it.
Our training session wasn't anything special in what we worked on, but more about doing some little smidgen of obedience stuff and then releasing Gimme to special bowl. I clearly need to do more obedience outside. I wish I had set up the video camera.
I also wish I had planned more clearly what I was going to work on, instead of just noodling around. Twice I put treats in the bowl and Gimme, initiated "yours" on her own right after I filled it, snagging the treats before I could interrupt her. I think these were caused by lack of clarity on my part, but I was sure I'd damaged our training. To make it clearer after that, I put her on a standing "wait" about six feet from the bowl as I walked over to drop treats in. It didn't cause any lasting problem.
Then we'd do a simple exercise part and I'd click, then cue "yours". On two occasions, Gimme decided she'd done enough and started to dash to special bowl without the cue. I was able to interrupt her by calling her name. Then we'd do something else, click and "yours". After that she didn't try it again. We've done training before where a container of treats was at nose level and she had to work for me to give her some, without self rewarding. She has a really good work ethic and learned that lesson well, though we haven't done it in a long time. I like special bowl better - I think its clearer. So today was just part of her evolving understanding. Clearly we have to work some more before she's ready to heel right by it.
We also did a smidgen of personal play, followed by a release to special bowl. I did figure out that I do use my body different when I'm pushing at her with my right hand. I feel comfortable when I am doing the first push with my right hand. But once we have started playing and she's moving too and could move unpredictably (potentially causing a finger jam), then I tense up and she changes too. She reads me too well. This will take time.
Sunday, March 23, 2014
NW2 Trial Report
Our trial was a good experience... Gimme did very well. I messed her up on the very first search - the exterior. She was working in the dreaded panties and as usual, paid almost no attention to them, though she did get progressively more resistant to letting me put them on as the day wore on. We went up the night before, staying at Motel 6. Susan and I went out for gluten free pizza.
Exterior
Gimme did well, but I didn't work my plan. The size of the area was reasonable, not nearly as large as at Clackamas. I had noticed the cracks in the black top when we did our walk through, but didn't notice the two drainage grates, so my plan was to do a perimeter search, followed by checking the middle of the area and in particular the cracks. We did the perimeter and then I noticed the grates for the first time... so I had her check them (she was decidedly not-interested), meanwhile checking the cracks flew out of my head. I should have made it a point to have her check the middle ground of the area, with or without cracks or grates. Gimme showed some interest in the edge of the vegetation on either side of where the hide actually was and I basically "sold" her on one spot... part of me knew she wasn't committed, but I was also so close to time, so I still called it. This was a small courtyard, enclosed on three sides with only slight air movement - so she was probably catching odor from the hide where it drifted over and clung to moist vegetation. When the judge had me walk her along the crack she found it in just seconds.
I called the false alert at 2:25.65, with available time of 2:30. The judge's comment was "Search was good & dog indicated a couple of times near hide location - Keep workin' it!" She absolutely did not "indicate" near the hide location... she did show interest, but it wasn't her indication. Given he saw how her indication looks when she actually found it, I don't know why he used those words. Sometimes I think because the judges know where the hide is, they read into the dog's behavior, things which aren't definitive for the particular dog.
I have two things I would change. I had decided since the area wasn't big, to do the search on our 15' line, instead of the 25' line I usually use for exteriors. Had I been using the longer line, I would not have been as close to Gimme's line of travel, working further from her. Thus she might have moved closer to the actual hide location on her own. I'm sure I walked right over it a couple of times, thus making it harder to find. I'm equally certain others had too, so there was a lot of trace odor tracked all over the search area. The other thing I'm thinking of is to make a "sleeve" I can wear on my arm with a plastic cover, so I can slip a list behind it to remind me of things I saw in the walk-through. Even if I forget to check it, I think purposely deciding which reminder words to write might make it more memorable. In this case, I would have chosen: perimeter, cracks, center, finish.
Interiors
Gimme did a great job in interiors. The first room had one hide and 2:30 in time. Gimme found it in no time (likely 10 seconds), but I fiddle farted around rewarding her, clipping her leash on and was preparing to walk out when I noticed the judge looking at me with his head quizzically and expectantly tilted, and then remembered to call "finish", a new requirement. We aren't faulted for not doing it, but the time keeps running until we do, so our time of 35.83 seconds doesn't reflect Gimme's efforts. For the second room we had two hides and 3 minutes. Gimme nailed both of them and I called finish in a timely way, so our time was just 44.89 seconds. Our total time was 1:20.72 and we got 3rd Place. Given how long I took calling finish in the first room, I was not expecting a placement. It'll be interesting to see how far we were behind the first and second dogs, so I can berate myself for costing us a higher placement. The judge's comment was "Nice job!"
One thing I was especially pleased to see happened with the second hide of the second room. Gimme localized where the odor was, but kept on detailing until she was sure exactly where it was on the swivel chair - and then she marked the exact spot with her paw. Ever since we did the Inaccessible Hides seminar last Fall, Gimme has lacked precision, tending toward "good enough". I always prized her accuracy before, so was really happy to see signs she is getting it back.
A funny thing happened in the second room. As I was rewarding Gimme I knelt down to make it easier to clip the line on her harness. Although she loves her new PB chips, she thought she deserved more and did a nose dive into my treat back just as I was trying to stand up. Gimme has learned to pick her feet up off the ground when she bag-dives, to make it harder for me to dislodge her. In this case, not only couldn't I dislodge her, I could barely get to my feet. Everyone found it quite amusing. I love even the twit in this girl.
Containers
There were 24 containers (4 boxes and the rest all luggage and small containers) set in four parallel lines. I did stick with my plan to let her rush in and then gradually become more directive. Gimme squashed a couple boxes stepping on them, but then got fixated on a black bag at the far end. I could tell she wasn't giving me all four parts of her container indication, but was still sticking to the bag. So I said to her, "I can tell you are lying, so lets move on." To which she gave a very audible and theatrical sigh before moving along. The spectators were really struggling to keep the tittering down to a dull roar (people were still talking about the "lying Dalmatian" as I was getting into my car to leave 2 hours later. I guess we all have to have our own claim to fame.
From there Gimme went on to find the real two odor bags. She wasn't locating the second one, until I remembered to make sure I moved her around the outside of the containers (a perimeter) and then she was right on it. Our time was 2:04.08, out of 3 minutes. The judge's comment was "Search pattern might help so you don't miss anything. You might get faults in future NW if dog continues to be overzealous w/container pawing _ Just a suggestion. Otherwise, very nice search."
Personally I thought she should have been faulted - I would have had I been the judge. She did so well with her indicators in the last two trials, so I admit I've been lax about her indicator training since then. Clearly, since pawing is such an ingrained preference for her... keeping up with the moderated paw-hold-nose-bump indication training will be something we need to continue throughout her nosework career. Funny the judge thought we might benefit from a search pattern - he was seeing us with a search pattern. <eg>
Incidentally, there was NOTHING in the lying bag... no distractors, no nothing. However it turns out a number of dogs alerted on it and were quite persistent. Since we were last for being in season, Gimme was catching the smell of their excitement and likely reacting to it. Thank God I can read her and know the difference between what she did and the real deal.
Vehicles
Gimme was brilliant! There were three trucks and a tractor towing a disc grader. The disc grader probably had dead vermin smell on it and they said a lot of dogs were fascinated by it. Gimme never went near it. As we crossed the threshold, she did the head/shoulder wag Dorothy saw at our last class, then turned left between the two nearest trucks. She briefly sniffed the near side of the third truck and then sped around it to nail odor on the back tire. She was moving so fast, I was only barely able to keep up. We called "alert-finish" at the 19.77 second mark (3 minutes allowed). Judge commented: "Nice job." We got 3rd Place for our efforts. There was less than 2.5 seconds between first and third placements, so I don't think we could have improved our time. Gimme was delightfully direct.
I do think Gimme is really liking the peanut butter rewards. It doesn't mean she doesn't try to get me to give her PB while we are waiting, but she is not frustrated if she doesn't get it. And, I can always give her PB chips instead. I actually played Ping-Pong treats with her while waiting to go into the vehicle search, keeping her well entertained. Interestingly, vehicles were our fastest and most focused search, despite being the end of a long day. So I'll be trying Ping-Pong while waiting for all the elements at our next trial to see if it helps overall.
I was very happy with her efforts. I just wish I could get some decent handling and trial strategy instruction instead of learning everything the hard way. Based on my conversations with other competitors, handling and strategy does not seem to be available from CNWIs. Which explains why so many people are spending an inordinate amount of time in NW2.
Exterior
Gimme did well, but I didn't work my plan. The size of the area was reasonable, not nearly as large as at Clackamas. I had noticed the cracks in the black top when we did our walk through, but didn't notice the two drainage grates, so my plan was to do a perimeter search, followed by checking the middle of the area and in particular the cracks. We did the perimeter and then I noticed the grates for the first time... so I had her check them (she was decidedly not-interested), meanwhile checking the cracks flew out of my head. I should have made it a point to have her check the middle ground of the area, with or without cracks or grates. Gimme showed some interest in the edge of the vegetation on either side of where the hide actually was and I basically "sold" her on one spot... part of me knew she wasn't committed, but I was also so close to time, so I still called it. This was a small courtyard, enclosed on three sides with only slight air movement - so she was probably catching odor from the hide where it drifted over and clung to moist vegetation. When the judge had me walk her along the crack she found it in just seconds.
I called the false alert at 2:25.65, with available time of 2:30. The judge's comment was "Search was good & dog indicated a couple of times near hide location - Keep workin' it!" She absolutely did not "indicate" near the hide location... she did show interest, but it wasn't her indication. Given he saw how her indication looks when she actually found it, I don't know why he used those words. Sometimes I think because the judges know where the hide is, they read into the dog's behavior, things which aren't definitive for the particular dog.
I have two things I would change. I had decided since the area wasn't big, to do the search on our 15' line, instead of the 25' line I usually use for exteriors. Had I been using the longer line, I would not have been as close to Gimme's line of travel, working further from her. Thus she might have moved closer to the actual hide location on her own. I'm sure I walked right over it a couple of times, thus making it harder to find. I'm equally certain others had too, so there was a lot of trace odor tracked all over the search area. The other thing I'm thinking of is to make a "sleeve" I can wear on my arm with a plastic cover, so I can slip a list behind it to remind me of things I saw in the walk-through. Even if I forget to check it, I think purposely deciding which reminder words to write might make it more memorable. In this case, I would have chosen: perimeter, cracks, center, finish.
Interiors
Gimme did a great job in interiors. The first room had one hide and 2:30 in time. Gimme found it in no time (likely 10 seconds), but I fiddle farted around rewarding her, clipping her leash on and was preparing to walk out when I noticed the judge looking at me with his head quizzically and expectantly tilted, and then remembered to call "finish", a new requirement. We aren't faulted for not doing it, but the time keeps running until we do, so our time of 35.83 seconds doesn't reflect Gimme's efforts. For the second room we had two hides and 3 minutes. Gimme nailed both of them and I called finish in a timely way, so our time was just 44.89 seconds. Our total time was 1:20.72 and we got 3rd Place. Given how long I took calling finish in the first room, I was not expecting a placement. It'll be interesting to see how far we were behind the first and second dogs, so I can berate myself for costing us a higher placement. The judge's comment was "Nice job!"
One thing I was especially pleased to see happened with the second hide of the second room. Gimme localized where the odor was, but kept on detailing until she was sure exactly where it was on the swivel chair - and then she marked the exact spot with her paw. Ever since we did the Inaccessible Hides seminar last Fall, Gimme has lacked precision, tending toward "good enough". I always prized her accuracy before, so was really happy to see signs she is getting it back.
A funny thing happened in the second room. As I was rewarding Gimme I knelt down to make it easier to clip the line on her harness. Although she loves her new PB chips, she thought she deserved more and did a nose dive into my treat back just as I was trying to stand up. Gimme has learned to pick her feet up off the ground when she bag-dives, to make it harder for me to dislodge her. In this case, not only couldn't I dislodge her, I could barely get to my feet. Everyone found it quite amusing. I love even the twit in this girl.
Containers
There were 24 containers (4 boxes and the rest all luggage and small containers) set in four parallel lines. I did stick with my plan to let her rush in and then gradually become more directive. Gimme squashed a couple boxes stepping on them, but then got fixated on a black bag at the far end. I could tell she wasn't giving me all four parts of her container indication, but was still sticking to the bag. So I said to her, "I can tell you are lying, so lets move on." To which she gave a very audible and theatrical sigh before moving along. The spectators were really struggling to keep the tittering down to a dull roar (people were still talking about the "lying Dalmatian" as I was getting into my car to leave 2 hours later. I guess we all have to have our own claim to fame.
From there Gimme went on to find the real two odor bags. She wasn't locating the second one, until I remembered to make sure I moved her around the outside of the containers (a perimeter) and then she was right on it. Our time was 2:04.08, out of 3 minutes. The judge's comment was "Search pattern might help so you don't miss anything. You might get faults in future NW if dog continues to be overzealous w/container pawing _ Just a suggestion. Otherwise, very nice search."
Personally I thought she should have been faulted - I would have had I been the judge. She did so well with her indicators in the last two trials, so I admit I've been lax about her indicator training since then. Clearly, since pawing is such an ingrained preference for her... keeping up with the moderated paw-hold-nose-bump indication training will be something we need to continue throughout her nosework career. Funny the judge thought we might benefit from a search pattern - he was seeing us with a search pattern. <eg>
Incidentally, there was NOTHING in the lying bag... no distractors, no nothing. However it turns out a number of dogs alerted on it and were quite persistent. Since we were last for being in season, Gimme was catching the smell of their excitement and likely reacting to it. Thank God I can read her and know the difference between what she did and the real deal.
Vehicles
Gimme was brilliant! There were three trucks and a tractor towing a disc grader. The disc grader probably had dead vermin smell on it and they said a lot of dogs were fascinated by it. Gimme never went near it. As we crossed the threshold, she did the head/shoulder wag Dorothy saw at our last class, then turned left between the two nearest trucks. She briefly sniffed the near side of the third truck and then sped around it to nail odor on the back tire. She was moving so fast, I was only barely able to keep up. We called "alert-finish" at the 19.77 second mark (3 minutes allowed). Judge commented: "Nice job." We got 3rd Place for our efforts. There was less than 2.5 seconds between first and third placements, so I don't think we could have improved our time. Gimme was delightfully direct.
I do think Gimme is really liking the peanut butter rewards. It doesn't mean she doesn't try to get me to give her PB while we are waiting, but she is not frustrated if she doesn't get it. And, I can always give her PB chips instead. I actually played Ping-Pong treats with her while waiting to go into the vehicle search, keeping her well entertained. Interestingly, vehicles were our fastest and most focused search, despite being the end of a long day. So I'll be trying Ping-Pong while waiting for all the elements at our next trial to see if it helps overall.
I was very happy with her efforts. I just wish I could get some decent handling and trial strategy instruction instead of learning everything the hard way. Based on my conversations with other competitors, handling and strategy does not seem to be available from CNWIs. Which explains why so many people are spending an inordinate amount of time in NW2.
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Who's Brilliant?
Gimme is! Clearly and without a doubt...
We just did a short session doing rear crosses with jumps. Out of 10 attempts she made just 1 mistake. At this point (her second session) - I think 90% success is just dandy.
Her jumping style was rather like a pronghorn antelope, but she was really trying to apply what she learned last night. Given that my ground is so rough and I can't move normally... I was very pleased that she did so well. I figure she will show off her genius at class on Thursday.
And this was after a rather busy day. She had to be in the car for about three hours while I ran errands. Then we went to walk around Capitol Lake. Since the weather is really nice (for winter), everyone and their cousin was out -- we saw 30+ dogs. That's the busiest I ever remember. The same weather during summer and I would have had the place to myself. She did well with all the distractions.
She also rooted out three Nutria and sent them swimming. These are very large web footed rodents. They're about 20 inches long, not including the tail that may be another 15 inches. They are more agile in water than on land and can swim underwater quite a distance. Despite what the websites say, I say they move damn fast on land. I hear they are supposed to be good eating, at least in Louisianna bayou country. Gimme sez she is practicing for Barn Hunt. After these guys, rats in tubes will be a piece of cake.
We had an "exciting" moment during our walk. There was a man jogging toward us, I saw something swinging behind him a knee level and Gimme noticed it too. So, I got her on the far side of me and shortened her leash. She's usually wonderful about joggers and such, but something here had her attention. Sure enough the guy goes running by with the longest nastiest dread locks I've ever seen. I'm sure this is my prejudice showing, but I could almost feel the bugs jumping in our direction, while Gimme was just sure it was the most huge tug toy on the planet. I was so glad she didn't get them or I would've had to rush her home to wash her mouth out with peroxide. Yeeeeelcccchhhhh...
When we got home I thought she might be too baby-needy to work outside. I gave her some time to get reacquainted then went outside to set up. The door was ajar so she could have come inside at any time. Instead she choose to work with her Mum.
Now we have an empty peanut butter jar to lick clean and movies on the TV to watch.
We just did a short session doing rear crosses with jumps. Out of 10 attempts she made just 1 mistake. At this point (her second session) - I think 90% success is just dandy.
Her jumping style was rather like a pronghorn antelope, but she was really trying to apply what she learned last night. Given that my ground is so rough and I can't move normally... I was very pleased that she did so well. I figure she will show off her genius at class on Thursday.
And this was after a rather busy day. She had to be in the car for about three hours while I ran errands. Then we went to walk around Capitol Lake. Since the weather is really nice (for winter), everyone and their cousin was out -- we saw 30+ dogs. That's the busiest I ever remember. The same weather during summer and I would have had the place to myself. She did well with all the distractions.
She also rooted out three Nutria and sent them swimming. These are very large web footed rodents. They're about 20 inches long, not including the tail that may be another 15 inches. They are more agile in water than on land and can swim underwater quite a distance. Despite what the websites say, I say they move damn fast on land. I hear they are supposed to be good eating, at least in Louisianna bayou country. Gimme sez she is practicing for Barn Hunt. After these guys, rats in tubes will be a piece of cake. We had an "exciting" moment during our walk. There was a man jogging toward us, I saw something swinging behind him a knee level and Gimme noticed it too. So, I got her on the far side of me and shortened her leash. She's usually wonderful about joggers and such, but something here had her attention. Sure enough the guy goes running by with the longest nastiest dread locks I've ever seen. I'm sure this is my prejudice showing, but I could almost feel the bugs jumping in our direction, while Gimme was just sure it was the most huge tug toy on the planet. I was so glad she didn't get them or I would've had to rush her home to wash her mouth out with peroxide. Yeeeeelcccchhhhh...
When we got home I thought she might be too baby-needy to work outside. I gave her some time to get reacquainted then went outside to set up. The door was ajar so she could have come inside at any time. Instead she choose to work with her Mum.
Now we have an empty peanut butter jar to lick clean and movies on the TV to watch.
Monday, December 16, 2013
Most Clever Girl
Gimme continues to be on-again-off-again with the false pregnancy. One minute she is fine and seemingly normal, the next she goes all hormonal and fragile. As a result, I haven't been doing much. Basically we are sticking to our routine stuff. Mostly walking (still have 19.5 miles to goal and 14 days to do it in) and our usual nosework and agility classes.
I'm taking an online course with Fenzi Dog Sports Academy called "Relationship Building Through Play". Denise is known for her focus on play both as a relationship building activity and as a training tool. While Gimme and I have things we do together that are fun, I wouldn't say we play as such, other than tugging and tossing toys. Sadly Gimme is too weird and unpredictable right now to actually try any of the things I'm learning. I don't want to risk her being spooked by something because of her hormonal state and the possibility of creating a permanent icky association. So, I'm taking copious notes and will have to save trying things until she is back to normal.
Meanwhile, Gimme is up to her usual smarty pants stuff. Her nails have gotten a little long, so that they are clicking whenever she walks on linoleum (bad Mommy). While on the computer I heard her nose at the gate to the kitchen, but I thought I had latched it and didn't bother to check. When I finished what I was doing and walked toward the kitchen, I saw the gate was nosed open. Gimme was in perusing the possibilities - walking around silent as a church mouse. Apparently she has learned to walk silently so as not to attract attention. Who knew she had the stealth gene. I just never know what she'll come up with next...
I'm taking an online course with Fenzi Dog Sports Academy called "Relationship Building Through Play". Denise is known for her focus on play both as a relationship building activity and as a training tool. While Gimme and I have things we do together that are fun, I wouldn't say we play as such, other than tugging and tossing toys. Sadly Gimme is too weird and unpredictable right now to actually try any of the things I'm learning. I don't want to risk her being spooked by something because of her hormonal state and the possibility of creating a permanent icky association. So, I'm taking copious notes and will have to save trying things until she is back to normal.
Meanwhile, Gimme is up to her usual smarty pants stuff. Her nails have gotten a little long, so that they are clicking whenever she walks on linoleum (bad Mommy). While on the computer I heard her nose at the gate to the kitchen, but I thought I had latched it and didn't bother to check. When I finished what I was doing and walked toward the kitchen, I saw the gate was nosed open. Gimme was in perusing the possibilities - walking around silent as a church mouse. Apparently she has learned to walk silently so as not to attract attention. Who knew she had the stealth gene. I just never know what she'll come up with next...
Sunday, November 17, 2013
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?
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?
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Nosework (5/15)
Class last night was held at a classmate's friend's house, we searched her garage. It was a 3-car garage and cars were taking up two bays, so we only searched one bay and the area between it and the door to the house, filled with a lot of interesting stuff. The start line was the threshold of the garage door.
A couple of the hides were threshold hides and Gimme did a great job on them, pretty much going right toward them.
I've noticed lately on harder hides or when there is a lot of residual odor, Gimme tends to get frustrated and then throw an indication at me to see if I'll pay for it anyway. So for the foreseeable future, I'm going to continue to search blind in class, but then have a hand signal or make eye-contact with Joyce when I'm ready to call "alert", "banana", "truck" or whatever verbal I'm using that day. Then she can give me a thumbs up or thumbs down. I don't really want Joyce to tell me where it is, preferring to let Gimme sort it out, but I do want Gimme to believe I always know where it is, so she'll push to source.
I wasn't seeing this before the inaccessible hides seminar, so I'm thinking its a by-product of that day - an unintended lesson that its not necessary to try to get to source. Gimme is also tending to leave odor without indicating, which she used to do a lot and then had stopped. Now its back. <sigh>
On the last search there was a hide that normally Gimme would have accessed, instead she was bracketing all around and not pushing in for it. So we left the search area and Joyce paired it. Then Gimme really pushed in and got it. Since we had the time, at the end I asked Joyce to leave it set and let us run it unpaired. I wanted to see if Gimme really learned anything from the pairing. In fact, she did search the whole area and when she caught that odor, this time she did push in.
So that tells me the pairing does in fact teach the dogs something when a hide is difficult. I know we all believe it does, but I've never actually had the chance in class to search it again without pairing to see if it really taught them to solve that puzzle. As a training practice, I think we probably should repeat the search without pairing, to cement the lesson.
So all in all a good class. Tomorrow Susan and I are going to search at Home Depot. I'll go there before work and set some hides for us. I've also offered to do that next Wednesday for class.
This morning we had a walk around Capitol Lake with Frank and Tor. There was some kind of walking event held by a local casino and many had brought their dogs. I think we passed at least 25 dogs - overall Gimme did well.
A couple of the hides were threshold hides and Gimme did a great job on them, pretty much going right toward them.
I've noticed lately on harder hides or when there is a lot of residual odor, Gimme tends to get frustrated and then throw an indication at me to see if I'll pay for it anyway. So for the foreseeable future, I'm going to continue to search blind in class, but then have a hand signal or make eye-contact with Joyce when I'm ready to call "alert", "banana", "truck" or whatever verbal I'm using that day. Then she can give me a thumbs up or thumbs down. I don't really want Joyce to tell me where it is, preferring to let Gimme sort it out, but I do want Gimme to believe I always know where it is, so she'll push to source.
I wasn't seeing this before the inaccessible hides seminar, so I'm thinking its a by-product of that day - an unintended lesson that its not necessary to try to get to source. Gimme is also tending to leave odor without indicating, which she used to do a lot and then had stopped. Now its back. <sigh>
On the last search there was a hide that normally Gimme would have accessed, instead she was bracketing all around and not pushing in for it. So we left the search area and Joyce paired it. Then Gimme really pushed in and got it. Since we had the time, at the end I asked Joyce to leave it set and let us run it unpaired. I wanted to see if Gimme really learned anything from the pairing. In fact, she did search the whole area and when she caught that odor, this time she did push in.
So that tells me the pairing does in fact teach the dogs something when a hide is difficult. I know we all believe it does, but I've never actually had the chance in class to search it again without pairing to see if it really taught them to solve that puzzle. As a training practice, I think we probably should repeat the search without pairing, to cement the lesson.
So all in all a good class. Tomorrow Susan and I are going to search at Home Depot. I'll go there before work and set some hides for us. I've also offered to do that next Wednesday for class.
This morning we had a walk around Capitol Lake with Frank and Tor. There was some kind of walking event held by a local casino and many had brought their dogs. I think we passed at least 25 dogs - overall Gimme did well.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)