Recycling (3)

We've just done another session and she's progressing very well.

We started out with the tin can.  I clicked a few times for picking it up and then withheld clicks until she got it in the bin.  We worked on this for quite a bit and I did something different.  She got it in twice and then seemed to get stuck on picking up the can and then dropping it right away.  So three times, I'd pick it up myself, make a big show of tossing it in the bin, celebrate with an excited high pitched "Yaaaaay", pretend to eat a piece of cheese and then give her a piece.  Then I let her try.  When she still didn't get it, I repeated the demonstration.  Right after the second demonstration she started getting it in the bin consistently on her own.  She mostly dropped it once on the way, but got really excited about picking it up right away and dropping it in on the second try.

She was more excited by my excited high pitched "Yaaaaay" followed by a jackpot than she was by the click.  I've often said she works a lot for me and training is more about our interaction than it is about treats.  For instance, she is content to work for treats I will give her despite the main container being readily available to her.  She could easily snatch a mouthful and on rare occasions she has, so she knows she can and she knows I won't punish her for cheating, yet she still refrains.  Likewise she will not steal treats left in a dish on the end table when I'm in another room, though she could and I probably wouldn't even realize it.  This despite being the typical Dalmatian spotted bottomless pit.  She is the same way about her toys.  She'll try to entice me to play with her and the toys.  If she is unsuccessful and still wants to play, she brings the toy and lays across my lap to play with it.  So, if I won't join her in play, she'll bring the play to me.  Anyway, her response to the "Yaaaaay" fits this theme.

After the big success with the can, we worked with a plastic bottle.  Boyoh was it ever a challenge.  She's played with them before, so I knew she had no problem picking them up.  Then I realized she was looking for the can; she had associated the excited high pitched "Yaaaaay" to the can.  I had to use the clicker to get her interested in the bottle, but she wasn't as enthusiastic as she'd been with the can.  Finally she accidentally dropped the bottle in the bin, got a "Yaaaaay" and a jackpot, then she was all about the bottle, deliberately dropping it in the bin several times.

We ended with a test of her understanding about getting multiple items in the bin.  I put out a piece of rolled up stiff paper, a tin can and a bottle.  She very quickly got all three into the bin for me.  

At this rate, I think we'll do one more session of multiple items, solidifying the getting-them-in-the-bin part, no matter what item I indicate.  Then the next step is understanding to take them to the bin even when its not close to me.  She's brilliant, so I'm sure she'll get it.

Lordy she is fun to train.

Recycling (2)

Today I decided to try working on this behavior with items other than paper.  So I used a tin can.  I started with simply shaping her to pick it up.  It was a bit of a challenge, but she's a foodie and will do pretty much anything for more of it.  No matter whether we continue this trick - it still works to the good if we ever get around to scent articles. It took probably 25 treats to get her to pick it up, carry it to the recycle bin and drop it in.  Then we did it a few more times.

We'll practice this with a few other recycle items.  Then I need to start moving the bin further away from me - inches at a time.  Right now its almost in front of me, so its easy to get her to drop an item in it.  Eventually I'd want her to pick up/take something and carry it to the bin.  

We'll need that skill to get to my final goal of laying on the couch eating bon-bons while she collects up all the recycle stuff.

Recycling

When Gimme gets bored, she gets paper out of the recycle trash and shreds it in front of me to communicate her dissatisfaction with life.  Interestingly she understands the rule about making messes and NEVER shreds paper unless I'm there to see it.  We have an agreement, there is a big difference between making a mess and communication.  However, I've decided its high time for her to start picking up her messier communication.  So yesterday I started teaching her to pick up paper and put it in the recycle.

I planned it poorly, starting with the tissue paper she had just shredded.  It wasn't as easy for her because it stuck to her lips, but she finally realized I wanted her to pick it up.  The second session I balled up paper and tossed it for her to pick up.  I clicked for picking it up and moving toward me.  She would accidentally drop it in the trash, which I'd click and treat.  But I don't think she realized it was falling in the trash. 

When I switched to a bigger stiffer piece of paper and rolled it up, then it was more obvious to her where it was landing.  She would pick it up multiple times and drop it closer to the trash.  At the end I started withholding c/t if it didn't fall in the trash.  So she was making bigger moves toward the trash.  After she'd drop it, she'd look to see why I wasn't clicking, then would try again.  By the end she was learning to drop it in the trash - with flare.  It was still with extra steps between first picking it up and getting it in the trash, but she was getting better.

This video is of the third session.  I thought she might pick up where we left off, but wasn't the case.  So I started clicking for picking up pieces and then would randomly not-click to get more behavior.  She's pretty funny when she's tossing it in the trash.  She tried cheating and even got away with it once.  I loved the last little segment the best - it shows she was really understanding it was supposed to go in the container.

Learning to Recycle

Agility Videos

These are some videos from classes.  I'm trying to get caught up on them.  The first two I never wrote anything about the class, so I don't exactly know what was going on.  I've pared them down to a nice sequence or two.

042414A Agility Class

We had a hard time getting the second session going.  When Gimme thinks she's done something wrong, then she really has a hard time focusing for a bit.  I've learned to do some tricks or something so she can be right and then get back to what we were doing, but I sometimes forget (especially in agility class).

042414B Agility Class 

Here are some training clips from the last class I did before surgery.  It wasn't the last class, just the last one I handled.  Gimme was really unfocused here - probably because I was hurting and in the back of my mind, worried about the surgery.  I wanted to show how quickly she picks things up.  She understood how to do the turn after two tries and only one successful and rewarded. 

050114 Agility Class

She's a very quick study.  If she had a better trainer, she'd be a genius by now.  Actually she is a genius - it should read, she be more accomplished by now.

Agility (6/5) & Video

I apologize for being so quiet this week.  No nosework class on Monday, plus I've had a mild migraine for 10 days.  I got back on caffeine to combat the lethargy from the drugs for my hand. Recently I've been so tired, sleeping all the time, but never getting rested.  I conclude its because of how caffeine interferes with the quality of my sleep.  Whenever I "quit" caffeine, I struggle with migraines for about 2 weeks.  Nasty business, but better than walking around in a fog 24/7. 

Since our last agility class, we've had two more sessions with Tonya.  Its taking a lot of effort to get this neck/back issue under control.  I had the session right after the head smacking (the barn hunt tunnel injury) and I thought it would be enough.  Clearly it wasn't and the time between then and when this flared up again a couple weeks ago seems to be enough for it to get deeply seated.  Our session this Wednesday required the least effort.  Tonya is about to go on vacation and will be gone for three weeks, so I'll have her check Gimme before she leaves.

Yesterday for agility class, Gimme did much better.  We jumped low and she was quite a bit more focused.  Blynn reminded me to move with determination.  When Gimme is unfocused and not reliably responding to my cues, my tendency is to compensate - essentially doing more than my "share".  This is similar to how I trained her when she was younger and it took a lot of Blynn's coaching to break the habit and teach Gimme to do her part.  Apparently its easy for me to fall back into those habits.  

Thus our first run was choppy.  Gimme was working well, having fun and trying hard, but I wasn't always giving her the cues she needed.  Plus when I'm compensating, then I'm also not moving out.  In a motion-based handling system, not moving out does not equal good cuing.  

Our second run was much better.  I was determined to really move and did a bit better.  One turn to a jump at the very beginning of the course was quite challenging.  Gimme kept bypassing it.  I finally got her on the correct side and said "jump" and she did just what I said - crashing into the uprights.  I was really surprised because she normally has a very good sense of self preservation.  I think she must've been so focused on me, she just followed my verbal cue without really looking where she was jumping.  Otherwise the course was really nice and she was focused and doing a good job.  

Here are video's from mid April, just two weeks after my hand first went kaflooey.  Gimme was focused and fast and back to her usual style; probably because I felt better.  We had a few challenging spots and were able to work through them nicely.  My verbal cues continue to be late - it would be just as effective to leave them out entirely.

Gimme started out well, but was distracted by treats left dropped someone right near the aframe.  Clearly a training hole we'll have to address at some point.  She shouldn't be finding food on a course once we are in competition, but sometimes they are held at sites where classes are taught, so she could be drawn off by enticing smells left behind.  Once I picked up all the treats, she did well until the 2nd to last jump - its easy to pressure her off a jump unintentionally.   

She really is the smartest dog I've ever worked with.  Early this year I taught her to send to a tunnel opening turned away from her and it took her a few tries then, but she figured it out quickly.  We haven't seen that exercise since then, but it was in tonight's course and she aced it as if we'd just trained it recently.  She rarely forgets anything.

We had difficulty with the poles because Blynn wanted me to handle it differently and I hadn't trained Gimme to the level required.  I still need to work on her commitment to the poles.  You'll see once she gets it right - afterward, she just does it like she'd been doing it all her life.

 041714A Agility Class
 

Between her runs, everyone was complimenting her and talking about how smart she is.  They really like watching her learn things because she puzzles through it and then when she gets it, she's so obvious; like, "ohhhh, why didn't you just say so..."  Then she's cocky about it.  Everyone loves her attitude, and of course, how cute and pretty she is.

The second run was nice.  Not a lot to comment on.  Gimme was really doing her job, so all Blynn's advice was about me.

 041714B Agility Class

Agility (5/5)

Today we met with Tonya for another treatment.  Poor Gimme was still really out of whack, though it was mostly neck and shoulders, the hips and low back held the prior treatment.  Gimme had a lot of muscle knots.  Tonya really had to work on her for a long time to get everything back to normal.  I was going to skip class and keep her home, but Tonya thought it would be better to get her moving.  So we decided to jump her with the little dogs in class and do no weaves.

For our first course, Gimme was eager to work and attentive, but the first few starts she would not do the first jump.  Each time she just neatly stepped around it.  I immediately realized she was concerned about it hurting, so I lured her over the jump with a tossed treat a few times.  From then on she was fine with jumping.  

In fact in both courses I noticed a bit her wanting to just run and jump and not really pay attention to my cues.  She was paying attention, but was also focused far ahead and not making some turns which I was cuing correctly.  I know she knows the cuing.  It was like she was running along, playing and singing to herself, "la la-la la lah..."

I've been wondering what brought all this on and had a thought coming home. When this latest discombobulation started, it was exactly a month from the incident when Gimme ran headlong into a barn hunt tunnel and smacked her head so hard on the wooden tunnel roof.  We saw Tonya for a treatment right away.  The neck/head area was what needed work then and the same area has needed a lot of focus for these two treatments.  So I'm thinking the struggle over being positioned for the x-ray was enough to cause the same thing to resurface.  Adding in the affect of the x-ray disruption to her energy/chakra just made it really pronounced.  It wasn't such a huge struggle, but I suspect the issue was primed to crop up again and this was all it took.

Anyway, Gimme had fun in class, is clearly feeling better.  As we speak she is sound sleep.

Nosework (1/5)

Here are the videos from class this week.  I noticed Gimme wasn't as perky as she normally is.  I found out later her back/hips are still hurting, so she is getting another treatment tomorrow.

The first search was an interior with one hide.  The hide is under the seat on a stool right next to the big black chair (left foreground against the wall).  On the other side of the stool is a baby gate flat on the floor, to add to the puzzle for access.  When I found out where the hide was, I was surprised Gimme didn't just push right in there.  Of course hindsight knowing she's still experiencing discomfort, it makes perfect sense.  She wasn't at all bothered by the man walking through the search area.  She does spend a lot of time checking other stuff, which could be pooling odor due to the overhead fans.  Because of the access issue, this is considered an NW2 level hide.  She sucked me in on the folding chair - or maybe I sucked me in, because she didn't do a real indication there.  I just called it because she went so far under it with her head and the search seemed to be taking F-O-R-E-V-E-R.  You'll note she finally decides where it is, but still doesn't commit to telling me its there - I waited for a strong alert. It was a long search, but I see value in letting her figure it out and decide to really insist this is it.

090114A Interior

Clearly she got all warmed up on the interior, because she nailed the container hide in 12 seconds!

090114B Container

The warm up stuck with her and Gimme nailed this vehicle hide in 10 seconds!

090114C Vehicle

Gimme actually left the designated search area here, but I let her.  I've learned to let her chase odor in the way she wants to.  Good idea, since she nails this - again in 10 seconds!

090114D Exterior

Gimme found the threshold hide very quickly - 9 seconds.  This was totally on her, since I didn't actually stand in the door so she'd come back to check the threshold like I usually do.  Clearly she detected it from the startline.  Having the garage door open makes the search a different challenge.  Letting her sort it out on her own the first time around worked well, since she found it in less than half the time the second time.  It took just 1:30 between the first and second hides, compared to 3:30 to find just the one during the first search.

090114E Interior

She found the first hide on the vehicle even faster this time - just 6 seconds!  Gimme normally isn't hesitant to go in tight spaces, so I chalk this up to her discomfort again.  Once I lead her in, she goes right in and finds the second hide in just 30 seconds.  

090114F Vehicle

Clearly I don't want her to be in pain or uncomfortable.  Still its nice to know she will work through it if the work doesn't make the discomfort worse (comparing her response to nosework vs response to agility).  She loves work and so will always try.  On the other hand, she's smart enough to not beat up her body for it.  

Tomorrow she gets a treatment and I surely hope it will resolve this for her.