Nosework (2/3)

Gimme was sure glad to be back in class tonight.  Her first session did not show off her innate talent, since she was all over the place after finding the first hide on the threshold.  Second and third sessions were much better.   Clearly two weeks off is too much time off from nosework for this girlie.

Our first session used the whole room.  We each brought in "stuff" from our cars, which was scattered all over the room.  The actual hides were pretty much on the perimeter.  The second session we moved all the stuff and barriers so it was all against the walls and the hides were against the walls too and in the stuff.  Both of these had threshold hides to start with and Gimme did a much better job finding them than she has in the past.  I hope that trend continues as that has been her weakest skill.  For the third session, all the stuff was moved to the center of the room, in one long line with 6-8 inches between the different things.  The hides were hidden in the stuff; no threshold hide for this session.

One thing that was different was that about half of the hides used a little blue plastic container instead of a tin.  It was an empty dental floss holder and even without any extra holes the dogs could still smell the odor through the cracks in the plastic around the top.

Also, though not planned for, each of the dogs was potentially tempted by food.  I'd brought in my work bag and had forgotten it had a granola bar (sealed in wrapper) inside it.  There was no sign that any of the dogs paid any special attention to it.  Gimme and one other dog snooped around a bag of treats on the desk and Gimme took time to investigate the motherload, where we all leave our containers of treats for our instructor to use while setting up our hides.

Today between my two stores, it was nice enough that Gimme and I did a little heeling session in the parking lot.  We haven't practiced outside in about two months and she did a good job.  I'd lose her attention briefly as she'd see something, but she always stayed pretty much in heel position and brought her attention back to me on her own.   She's a good girl and doesn't even mind sitting her heiney down on cold wet pavement.

Our snow is almost entirely gone.  It rained a LOT yesterday.  We'd gone to the fort's training area for a woods walk and fortunately were on the way back to the car when it started raining (from a 4mi walk).  She really needed that walk, as did I.  There was plenty of snow back in the woods for her to play in and she had a great time at it. 

When we were about a quarter mile from the car, the driving wind, sleet and freezing rain started up.  Gimme would run ahead and find a tree to stand under and behind and wait until I got close, then would run ahead again.  She's no dummy.  I pulled my hood down over my face and stayed on the road by looking down at the road and making sure I stayed in the tire "track".  My chin wasn't covered and I discovered later that it has several scratches on it from the sleet hitting so fast due to the wind.  I had to really lean into it.  When Gimme's going ahead got her to the car... she started barking at me to get my ass moving.  She dove into her crate and curled up in the very back, trying to get warm again.  Brrrrrrr...

Ya Gotta Love It

I've been remiss about keeping notes since before letting Michael go and decided tonight to get a baseline on behaviors I'd been tracking in my journal.  There are other behaviors we've worked on, but this was enough for now.  So averaging 10 click/treats per behavior and 12 behaviors... that was an hour long session as it was.  I'm happy to report that even without focus on my part, the plinking around to keep Gimme from getting too bored has still produced credible progress.  Some of her behaviors are coming along very nicely.

Gimme clearly wanted more and so we did a quick shaping session of 25 click/treats to get a very nice bow (which we call "take-a", short for "take a bow - I don't use "bow" because it sounds too much like down).  I had to really fine tune my timing, because her start of the grape behavior is very much like a bow - she goes down in front and then rolls on one shoulder and its QUICK.  So I had to catch the very beginnings of the head and shoulder duck to isolate it and keep the grape from happening.  Once I got my timing right, she figured it out pretty quickly.

NOTE:  During the plinking, one day last week Gimme suddenly "got" the cue for Grape.  That has been one of the slowest cue attachments we have had.  There is something about that behavior that seemed to use all her focus.  I've tested it a couple times since then, outside training sessions, and while slow, she is doing the behavior.

So why do I say "Ya Gotta Love It".... because at the end of all that, while I was mentally wiped, Gimme didn't want to quit.  She again went into this whole glued to my side in heel, "you can't get rid of me" routine.  I had to lean down and encourage her to climb into my arms - that was the only way to get her out of heel position.  Then I carried her into the office and she knows we don't train in here, so now she is sound asleep.   I think the little booger was more tired than she realized - a bit like a kid that doesn't want to quit playing.  Granted I don't normally train that long, but its interesting that by going from one behavior to another to another, I can. 

The other reason to say "Ya Gotta Love It" is that I've somehow created a dog that simply loves to heel.  Given how little I know about formal obedience and not having a positive trainer in the area to rely on - I'm verrrrrry pleased with that outcome. 

Gimme is really quite happy to train a LOT and would train a lot more if I would.  By her way of thinking, its all play, she's got my undivided attention and I'm giving her treats for playing...  What better deal could a little spotted girl have?  I suspect, especially given her control issues, that she thinks she has trained me and is verrrrrry pleased with the results.

BTW Gimme is not convinced that the bathroom couldn't be a training space - especially once I'm a captive audience in the tub.  What a kid!!!

And just so you know... we are out and about now, even despite the snow.  Got out the first time on Saturday.  Between Saturday and Sunday I serviced all of my accounts.  Also did some shopping, so I never actually had to resort to drinking water.  Thank God. 

Sadly Snowy disappeared the very next day.  Gimme ran out first thing in the morning to check on her, sniffing all over where she had been.  She was disappointed to see that Snowy was gone, leaving only a snowball to remember her by.  Its probably just as well that she didn't have more time to get attached to her.  Most of my friends and family have their power, internet and TV back.  One friend and maybe my brother are still among those without power.  Hopefully they will rejoin us in the 21st century real soon.

New Addition

We have a new addition to our family.  She's a sweetie, not too much trouble and totally has the default sit down cold.  She hasn't learned anything else yet.  So far Gimme seems to like her and they are getting along well.  I was even able to feed treats with them sitting near each other. 

Here is a picture showing Gimme with her new best friend, Snowy, (named in honor of Snowmageddon 2012).

People keep asking me where her spots are.  Obviously she isn't a Dalmatian; I suspect Snowy is one of those very light colored Golden Retrievers.   I have some concerns about her conformation and don't know if she will be able to jump well enough for agility.  She doesn't seem to be very light on her feet and those feet are, quite simply, HUGE.  However, on a positive note, she seems very comfortable with the training dogwalk.  Also, she really has the coolest personality. 

Clearly being unable to get my car out for the fourth day in a row has left me with far too much time on my hands.  Fortunately I am not one of the many people in this part of the state that are without power, and even worse, without television and internet.  Also I have plenty of food in the cupboards.  Sadly I'm out of good things to drink and when the last of the wine runs out, I may be forced to drink <gasp> water. 

As hard as this experience has been, it gratifying that many people are able to enjoy my snowed-in complete lack of a life...

Lightbulb Moment

Realized today that I'm going to have to change one of my cues.  I'd been using "around" for one of my cues - moving around me clockwise to arrive in heel position ("behind" is counter-clockwise to arrive in side position).  Tonight when we were practicing heeling and fronts and finishes, a couple of times Gimme went into a down, instead of moving around me.  It occurs to me that simply spoken (i.e. without an artificial voice inflection) "around" and "down" sound a lot alike.  Years ago when I did more obedience I used to call it "finish", but I started using "around" and "behind" in agility.  I think I did that because I mentally paired "finish" with "swing", both of which end up in heel position.  So I'm going to do a session or two to change the "around" cue to "finish" and see if I don't get more consistent results.

I had to laugh tonight.  I was training Gimme and she literally DEMANDED to do heeling.  When she had enough of what I was doing, she just got into heel and I couldn't peel the little minx off of me.  It seems I did something right to turn heeling into a preferred activity...  Yeehaw...

And yes, she was in control.  Laugh all you want...

How 'Wude'

I am soooo laughing at Gimme. 

She's developed this tendency to bark at me when she gets a little frustrated, which so often happens in free shaping.  I'd been turning my face away when she goes on her barking jag, but it didn't help much and finally not at all.  Then tried physically turning away - to no lasting affect. 

Twice yesterday when she started in, I told her "enough", our cue for "stop that".  When she didn't stop, I put the clicker and treats down out of reach and walked away.  Both times she just stood there with her mouth open, clearly shocked by my rude behavior.  He he he...

Nosework (1/3)

Class tonight was too too fun.  We started off with two rounds on containers.  There were 25 boxes laid out in three parallel rows.  There would be one hide, then we'd go back outside and wait for it to be reset.  Gimme did well on this and was having a blast.  She likes to "ski" on nosework boxes just like she does with her melon cube.  There's definitely no doubt when she has the scent.

Her slowest find was the box that was near the threshold - since, as usual, she blasted past it.  Joyce works a lot of threshold hides, so I know at some point Gimme will realize that she ought to look there too.  Joyce doesn't want us guiding them, rather we let them think it through.

Our third round was a interior area search.  The boxes were all taken up and piled in the corner.  The first hide was right inside the door and we were to wait just outside the door with the door open until we knew they had the scent.  I knew when Gimme had the scent, since she dragged me through the opening and already had her head cranked toward the hide before I was even ready.  While she was getting her treats there, Joyce set another hide high on the wall across the room.  I think Gimme was the fastest to find that.

Naturally I have to brag that Gimme is very likely to have her picture (maybe more than one) in the April/May issue of Animal Wellness. The article will be about nosework and I've been working with the author over the last few weeks.  She's been reading our blog and loved the video's and pictures.  So, I did a special field trip to get more pictures and sent them to her.  The editor decides which pictures to use, so there is no guarantee.  We'll know when it comes out.

I'm including some pictures here.  The first one is a picture of the tin.  That little silver disk inside it is the magnet that I've mentioned.

This first grouping is Gimme doing a search in the Nails and Ladder aisle.

"Hey Mom, its right here..."







This second grouping is from the end of a search in the Lumber aisle.  I've since talked to Joyce, our instructor, and decided we'll be avoiding that aisle for awhile.  As most of you have no doubt noticed, the smell of cut lumber is pretty strong for us humans, so its really going to be a challenge for the dogs.  Plus, if you think about it - what are we searching for?  Birch oil.  What is Birch?  A tree.  What is lumber made of?  Uhhhh trees...  Naturally that is a pretty difficult distinction for any of the dogs to make, much less one as young and inexperienced as Gimme.  To her credit - she does find it.  Whatta girl...

"Got it!"

Busy Girl

I've come to the realization that I'm just going to have to keep a separate calendar for Gimme's schedule.  I keep running into conflicts between what I have planned and what I want to do.  I feel like a soccer mom who is desperately trying to keep up.  All Gimme wants to know is whether her new purple leash is in the car and do I have enough cheese.

We've been keeping busy lately with a little bit of plinking here and there on different training things.  A lot of focus is going into nosework... which is how I discovered the calendar double booking.  The trial I planned to go to in April is on the same weekend as the Sdao/Pouliot seminar we are signed up for.  So now am looking at a couple others - March or June, both in Oregon.

We are playing with the Project behaviors again - which we haven't done since October.  I have been working off and on with the target stick "wait for the cue" and its coming along.   I still haven't fixed the "apple" box, so that will have to wait. 

Grape - dead bug (on back, feet in the air)

I wanted to do this since I now have interlocking floor matting to cushion Gimme from the hard floor (and provide better traction for other things). Since we haven’t trained this for three months and since it wasn’t on cue when we left off, it took awhile to get Gimme back to offering it. Even though she has been doing the Grape in my lap when she wants attention (which started 4 days after we let Michael go). She offered me a lot of "pretty" instead (we’ve been free shaping this), got frustrated and barked some. I kept clicking a "down" and when she was solid on that, I started clicking for movement while she was down. Finally in frustration she did a movement that was almost a grape and she got two treats. Next thing I knew she was throwing a LOT of  grape behaviors at me. I started putting it on cue and will continue in the next session. She sure is cute.

Melon - push cube with nose

Again a project behavior we haven’t done in three months. Gimme knew what to do the moment she saw her cube. There was a short bit of skiing on the cube and batting it, but she settled down to using her nose very quickly.  I started putting it on cue and following our earlier Grape session, she seemed to understand what I meant. She was even pushing it with her paw or using her mouth to get it out of corners and away from the walls so she could then push it with her nose AFTER I’d cued "melon". Smart cookie.

My friend loves to alter pictures and such and add sayings and stuff... so I usually get things from her that have pictures of Gimme that she's taken before.  Just got this one...