Parkour (4/3)

Since last week when we did the balance board against the wall, where Gimme had to tuck her butt to turn, I've had her do our 6" board a couple of times.  She's dropped the pivot/hop turn she was doing.  Just the one session against the wall and she is now tucking her butt and doing the turn (the cue will be "flip").  She's a very smart cookie.

Jo had some other obligation, so Diane was our substitute instructor.  Class was a bit challenging for Gimme because all three dogs were there.  Plus, with the way the course was set, we all spectated from the end of the room where we had our station set up.  Thus the last half of class was closer proximity than Gimme is completely comfortable with.  Still she handled it well and I was proud of her.

We started class with individual warm up.  I tend to focus more on warming up Gimme's brain, to get her thinking and responding to cues.  From there we did a session on the sway bridge, which I didn't get video for.  Gimme was very good.  I had her sit and down on the sway bridge, which is pretty challenging and for which she gets paid very well.

Sway platform video - This is Gimme's least favorite obstacle, so she gets lots of treats to make this the best place ever.  It got to where she didn't want to leave the platform.  At one point you'll see I get her off the platform and she immediately wants to go back on.

Crawl trainer video - Gimme likes the crawl trainer and is really good at scooting through it.  Too bad you can't see it better on the video.  She is awesome.  Later when we are doing it in course work, I used the peanut butter go toob, since she's headed toward other dogs and I want to make sure her mind is on getting back to me and getting paid.

We did several sequences and Gimme did well on all of them.  Sequence 1 video  She started by walking through the ladder (out of view), then forgot to listen to what I wanted her to do with the bench.  From there to the end she did well.  After the crawl trainer and before the flaps-thru, there is a cone she had to go out around.  Sequence 2 video  She did a nice job on this sequence and was very focused.  After we finished everyone was commenting about her speed-ladder (out of view).  She trotted through it very quickly. Sequence 3 video  She did equally well on this third sequence.  We have an egg-ball of our own and she's been on it many times, so she made an assumption about getting 4-on, when I asked for "hands".  I often have to remind her to use her listening ears.

Gimme continues to really enjoy parkour and is making steady progress.  I'm also loving the opportunity to work when other dogs are around, in a controlled environment.  She always sleeps contentedly most of the way home.

Birthday For Me

I spent Friday evening working on Gimme's training level Parkour title submission.  Unfortunately we were going to be well over time in the 4-on, which requires two examples (one at elbow height) in a 30 second or less video.  I have a really skewed sense of time and was making her wait way too long for 5 seconds, plus the video has to show her getting on and off the prop.  So I got up early Saturday and took her to a nearby park to film another example.  Training level title compilation video

You see in the first "table" she looks a bit uncertain and this is because a man walked by just a few seconds before this with 2 large dogs on leash.  The path they were on came pretty close to where we were working.  The other thing to notice is in her creativity, for the "hands" portion, I see the right rear foot was starting to come up, but halted when I said "yes".  So this is a good thing to know in training as we keep trying to get stimulus control between these two behaviors.  I also noticed during "box" when my Mom spoke ("box" and "walkies" were filmed at her house), my hand which was up to remind Gimme to wait, turned toward Mom - shame on me.

After we got the video title submission done, I had a quick breakfast before Glenn showed up.  My friend Bonnie recommended him to reclaim my yard.  He's a very hard worker and did tons of work.  Because he was using a brush cutting blade and Gimme has no fear of weed-eaters, I made her stay in the house all day, for her safety.  Plus the back gate was open much of the time.  We worked for 9½ hours straight.  I was helping move and sort stuff he uncovered as he removed ivy, blackberry vines and general overgrowth.  I was also working to finish clearing the stuff from the carport and to power-wash it in preparation for bringing my agility equipment home from the arena.  The yard is a work in progress, but Glenn is reasonably priced and I plan to have him do all the mowing from now on.  This means the yard won't get away from me next spring like it has each spring for the last ten years, plus I can focus my efforts on other things.

By the end of the day I was thoroughly exhausted.  It wasn't your typical birthday activity, but I'm very happy to see the progress in our yard.  I took a hot bath and soak for 2 hours, then indulged in a late night, more usual, birthday activity.  Went to see the movie Free State of Jones, which I thoroughly enjoyed.  Matthew McConaughey outdid himself, easily his best acting ever.

After we finished the work and the gate was securely closed, I let Gimme out to see the changes.  Her reaction was quite comical and I sure wish I had it on video.  She trotted around, with her head on a swivel, looking here and there with a definite "Whaaaaaat happened."  Because of the ivy and blackberry overgrowth, Gimme hasn't see the back part of the yard for two years and so I'm sure she'd forgotten there was anything there.

I did it all for her...

Nosework (1/19)

We had two different types of search tonight in class.  As is often the case, there was a puzzle for the dog to solve, plus a handler challenge.

The searches in the foyer involved letting the dog work at a distance from the handler (handler had to stay behind tape on the floor except when rewarding) and for the dog to work through close converging odor.  In both searches the two odor sources were only 6 feet apart.  The hides were just under the front outer edge of the chair seat.  Gimme really was kind of over-thinking this search.  At one point early in the search her nose passed within inches of the hide on the left chair, but she was moving so fast she didn't get it.  Once she got one hide, the other quickly followed.  First search in foyer, video

The searches in the big room contained two hides.  The room was divided into thirds based on the cracks across the concrete, and numbered areas 1, 2 and 3.  For each search, Dorothy and the other instructor moved the hides, so each was a blind search and as students we could watch all the searches.  We were told which areas the hides were in and were to treat them as two separate searches.  As handlers we were to try to verbalize what we are seeing and what we think it means.  All these years I've been chastised for talking too much when my dog is working and now when I have permission, I couldn't get a word out until Dorothy asked me a question.  The puzzle for the dogs was to find source and not get fooled by lingering odor, which was plentiful.

Area 2, search 2 video  I let Gimme select her own way of searching and just tried to support her and made sure my body language wasn't selling her on lingering odor.  She spent a lot of time on the one side of the room and wasn't finding anything, so when she went toward the other side, I moved with her to encourage her choice.  From the time she moved over there to when she located odor was only 10 seconds.  I wasted 6 seconds before calling alert.  Gimme liked having a little boy there and it took me a bit to get her to leave him to do another search - she thought he should be part of her prize.

Area 3, search 3 video  This hide was inaccessible and Gimme actually located it right off the startline.  She left it and checked a couple of lingering odor options and then took herself back to it.  Dorothy wanted me to reward earlier than I chose.  I wanted to wait until Gimme made a decision and you will note she never looked at me, but then did her paw indication.  It was a nice quick search.

Foyer search 4 video  For the second foyer search, the chairs were folded and leaning against the wall, with the hides less than 4 feet apart.  As close as they were, it only took her ten seconds longer to sort out the puzzle.  I didn't register at the time the comment "she isn't wrong to look up", which was in response to my comment about how much Gimme loves high hides.  The instructor was thinking she might be following the plane of odor coming from the hides, which could be true.  But honestly she checked the same window sills when the chairs were out and the hides were about 16" lower. 

Area 2, search 5 video  Gimme had this one soooooo fast, but they wanted me to wait for more from her.  It was still a very fast search.  Don't blink!

Area 3, search 6  This was kind of a hard puzzle because the hide was very close to a lot of lingering odor.  There is a stack of skateboards next to the chair where the hide was.  There had been a hide in those skateboards about five minutes earlier.  Gimme did an awesome job sorting this out quickly.

She's sound asleep as we speak...

Urban Tracking (17)

We met last Thursday at the Auburn Cinema for some urban tracking.  The conditions were dry (no rain for a few days), cool (low 60's) and a slight breeze.  We set up a series of mini-tracks with turns away from the curb.  The tracks were about 15 minutes old.  Gimme had five of them and the layout looked like this:

We'd start with the one on the right, run the track and then arc over to the sock starting the next track.  Though not shown in this diagram, we did vary where the turn was relative to the curb, though all were in the second half.

Gimme really struggled with these.  She spent a lot of time turning into the curb and checking in the dirt and vegetation - as if expecting the track to go in the other direction.  Granted this area is often frequented by overnite RVers and their dogs, but only once did she seem to be crittering.  Once I helped her a little bit, then she put her nose down and was able to go directly to the glove. 

It seemed to me she was drawn in the direction where the slight breeze was coming from.  So after we finished our five mini-tracks, I had Nadine go ahead of us and lay another one turning toward the breeze.  Gimme nailed this one.  Of course it was only a few minutes old.

I hope to get everything packed up Thursday night, so we can leave right from our field tracking on Friday morning to head up to Bellingham and Bow.  We are entered in a TDU & VST clinic with Sil Sanders.  We will each get one track and will lay a track for someone else.

I told him I wanted: a Partial length, partial complexity TDU.  Saying: length and number of turns is not an issue; no Hard surface moment-of-truth (MOT) turn (okay with turns on hard surface at a curb, but is challenged by turns away from the curb, unless they are into the wind); 30 min or less Age in minutes or hours; an article in the middle of each leg; marked corners with chalk on hard surface; marked corners with clippies on vegetation; coaching desired; does well on pavement OR vegetation, it’s the transition she’s having trouble with.

We're waiting like the cat that ate cheese and sat breathing down the mouse hole -- with baited breath.

Parkour (3/3)

I actually got our mini-boardwalk put up last weekend - its 6" wide.  My plan is to work this until Gimme is completely comfortable walking and turning on it, then will take a saw to it and just trim down ¼ inch at a time until we are at the width she needs.  Gimme's approach to doing the "flip" (180º turn) is to pivot on her forehand, while hopping her back feet around.  She doesn't always get it and I'm not sure its a good habit to get into.  I want to catch it on video and then post it to the Parkour list to see what the experts think.

I left home by 4:00 and got to class in a reasonable drive, with a little bit of time left over for some manuscript review.  Class was great, as always.  One person wasn't there, so it was only us and the young BC mix.  Jo had us start with some warm up, so I used the time to review stimulus control between "hands" and "table" for Gimme. 

In class the first thing we worked on was a balance beam against the wall.  Balance beam against the wall video #1  The dogs have to learn how to tuck their butts under to turn, since the wall is in the way.  And, of course, since its low, they see no reason why they shouldn't put feet on the ground to make the turn.  I treated her the first couple of times even though her feet went on the ground, but then didn't unless she could do it with her feet up.  Gimme didn't seem to understand what the heck I wanted, so Jo had me block Gimme so she couldn't put her feet on the ground and then support her with the harness.  To motivate her to want to get turned around, I put a pile of cheese on the board behind her.  Of course, being brilliant, she thought it would be much simpler to back up on the board until the cheese was no longer behind her.  She did much better for the second session.  Watch her and you'll see her getting the idea to lower her bum.  Balance beam against the wall video #2
For much of class, Jo had us do sequences.  She adds on things and changes the route.  Of course by this time Gimme had forgotten all about stimulus control, thinking "why go behind or below when you can get on".  Sequence 1 video  I am always amazed by how quickly Gimme catches on.  Lure her through something once and she pretty much has it from then on, such as going through the sheet.  Through a sheet video  Then we repeated the exercise and had them go through in a different way.  More through video

We did more sequences and Gimme did well.  She remembered what she learned before and wasn't the least bit concerned by the rolling barrel.  Sequence 2 video  Gimme did a nice job on her next sequence too, though she momentarily forgot about going behind the chairs.  Sequence 3 video  You can't see the first part of this video on a balance beam, where she must stop, "sit" and "down".  Sequence 4 video  Jo added bars behind the chairs in the through at the beginning and a box was added under bench to make it a tighter "below". Gimme did much better "sit" and "down" on the balance beam you can't see.  She did an excellent "hands" on low item she'd done "table" on before.  I forgot to have her pivot.  As it turned out we never really got the pivot, since we've been working on "dumbo" ("spin" on a prop).  Plus it was hard because of the distracting noise from agility part of building.  Sequence 5 video

We ended with training Tic Tacs.  The other team used a toy and once Gimme heard it squeak, she was all about wanting to have his toy.  She thinks all toys are hers.  I got her somewhat interested in another toy and got some play there.  Then for the second session I got SkinnySquirrel from the car.  She wasn't as interested in him (tonight I'm seeing some evidence he may be the baby this time around), so we went back to the other toy.  Tic Tac video  For the third session (not on video) I used her peanut butter and it worked well.  I think next week I'll make sure I have some raw steak to toss for Tic Tac work.  I have a TicTac board made for her, just need to add traction strips to it.  Unfortunately there's a bunch of chaos going on, so probably won't get it done before the next class.

Gimme really likes Parkour and is always very content on the way home.

Nosework (6/18)

We had a two week break from classes while Dorothy and the other instructor went to the big annual nosework camp.  Sadly I forgot to take my camera last night, so no video.

Class was about "odor bombs" - about 30 q-tips.  The dogs are used to searching for a tin with 3-5 q-tips.  So when there is so much odor, they have to learn what it means and how to work it.  Think of it like being around a person who wears waaaaaay too much perfume or cologne. Luckily for humans after a certain point, we don't smell it anymore.  It takes a very long time for a dog to go nose-blind to a smell, like hours.

We started with a vehicle search - 3 vehicles and 1 odor bomb. Gimme quickly eliminated the blue truck as part of the search.  It didn't seem to take her any time at all to decide it was on the white trailer.  It was inaccessible between and behind the two tires (on an axle).  I was pretty certain it was the trailer, but Gimme kept leaving it.  She checked out the white van's front bumper and near tire.  She went around the trailer a twice more and kept wanting to check out stuff nearby which wasn't part of the search.  At first I thought she was goofing off, but I belatedly realized she was really trying to avoid so much odor.  I think she was trying to figure out a way to get paid without getting her face near the bomb. 

For the second search, they added another bomb on the wheel of the van and brought the first bomb out so it was accessible too.  This time Gimme didn't avoid the bombs as much as before.  It probably helped she was very motivated to get more raw steak - just sayin...  She found the bomb on the van first and then went to the other.  She was more reluctant for it than for the other, but still got in and indicated much faster than before.

Our last search was in the training building.  Two odor bombs at opposite ends of the room and one regular hide.  The front bomb was in an expen and the other was in an airline crate.  The regular hide was in a floor crack between them.

Gimme found the bomb in the crate at the far end of the room first, but didn't indicate.  She went around checking other things before going back to it.  Then she found the bomb in the expen at the front of the room, but again didn't indicate.  From there she got the hide in the floor crack and then went to indicate the bomb in the expen. 

I can't say she particularly likes odor bombs.  I get it, I don't like people who wear too much perfume or cologne.  I find it intrusive.

Dorothy shared something she learned at camp about odor bombs in the real world.  There was a time when drug sniffing dogs had difficulty with detecting drugs.  It was because the drug pushers learned to ship huge amounts and it had the effect of an odor bomb.  The dogs would avoid it.  They had to be trained for this circumstance so they knew how to react.  We won't see an odor bomb at a trial until we get into Elite.

Gimme says she wants to be trained on a steak-odor-bomb.  She got steak last night because I got a super good deal on some steak.  I did a side-by-side test with peanut butter to see which Gimme preferred.  It was pretty clear she still likes peanut butter best, but was able to leave it for a brief moment to grab the steak in my open hand.  She was very excited by the raw steak as a reward, but we know dogs are attracted to novelty.

Urban Tracking (16)

Sorry I'm so far behind in blogging.  Too much to do and too little time.

We met last Thursday at Auburn's Game Farm Park.  Our last time there Gimme's track was unintentionally aged too much, so we made sure it was only 35 minutes this time.  The weather was just perfect - overcast, pleasantly cool with a very slight breeze.

I'd bought golf tees to mark corners, since you can't see them until you are within a couple feet of them and if we lose a few, no big deal.  Plus we don't have to worry about them being an issue for park mowers.

This track is nothing complicated. The two rectangles at the start are two large cement blocks.  The track started in an outdoor amphitheater and immediately went through an area with a lot of mole hills. 

Gimme was completely unconcerned about the moles.  However she was fascinated by the squirrels.  We figure there are 3 squirrels per tree and at least a hundred trees.  They are everywhere.  Gimme is convinced squirrels are just rats with better tails.  The squirrels proved to be a very big challenge for her and its going to take awhile for her to learn they aren't part of this game.  Her best part of this track was crossing the sidewalk, which is sometimes a challenge.  She did well on leg 3 and leg 4, which were out in the open and so may have had less squirrel contamination.  The last leg took us back into the trees.  The final article grew legs and walked away, so Nadine reminded me to toss an article "ahead" of where Gimme was, when she wasn't looking. 

Gimme was relieved to find the final glove, but she really thinks she should get a better-tail-rat for her efforts.  Tomorrow we are meeting at Auburn Cinema for more urban tracking, then next week will be a field tracking week.  The weekend of July 16/17 we will be up in Bellingham for an urban tracking seminar.  Cross your fingers we do better tomorrow without so many better-tail-rat challenges.