Time for a new to-do list!
1. take your dog to a city center, a store that allows dogs (pet store?) and on a train station
2. position yourself next to a high target and now only click for circling all the way to your leg (don't click for steps in between) - name it with heel for one side and something else for the other and have a dog follow your leg when you move in a circle around the target away from the dog - then tell him to come to the other side and have him follow the other leg. Use different targets, try it on a very low one too.
3. build your own cavaletti and walk the dog over it - you can use the drawers or boxes of appropriate size and height, put them in a row and walk the dog through, just as you can see on this video
4. try the other version of 2on2off (some already did that, I see): instead of having them go on an object and off, stop in a position and wait, let's try stepping back into 2on2off this time. Position your dog close to a low object behind his back, cue him "back" and reward for stepping on an object or trying to. Slowly, you can have a dog step on higher&higher objects, this is beginning of a handstand, but with young puppies, don't overdo the height. Instead, you can have them back up stairs for example, to challenge them some more without making it too physically demanding. You need to build balance and straight slowly enough for the dog to never be sore after. You can also teach them a "pee" trick: click when they heave one leg, searching the object - before they find it and name it, it's a fun one.
5. put your paw target on a drawer or doors or simply shape the paw touch to a drawers/doors and then select for stronger&stronger touches/pushes. The goal is to have the dog slam the doors or drawer with power, to teach them that they control the movement under their feet and the sound and that it's FUN - my favourite trick for a great see-saw!
6. don't forget on recalls and playing!!! Also, slowly add duration to a sit up, teach crossing paws with the other paw and fade the target, check if the puppy will stay in 2on2off position until "go" even with distractions (toys and food flying around)
Have fun!
I will be on holiday and on a work related course 3 weeks starting 26th March. I hope, I have time to post something before next Sunday. Dogs will stay home.
Keep me a spot for RC course if the entry is not open before I have to leave.
O.k., happy training till then! For the rest, you will catch up when you’re back.
Silvia, Piper tends to bounce/jump over caveletti and especially with boxes -- we’re still working on the 4-in-a-box because of it. Do you have any helpful advise for getting her to walk/trot. She’s kind of a full-out-run-run-run type, which I love, but makes exercises where she needs to slow down a bit hard. Belle (related to Piper, and the dog in my little picture) is the same way still, at age 11!
You can try putting her on leash, that usually tells them we’re not jumping for a change, but want calmer behaviour 🙂 Also, make sure boxes are big and very low to step in -- the higher the sides, the more likely she will jump. You can use higher ones later, but you definitely want to start with very low cavaletti.
Changed to lower box height and it worked very well, thanks! Cavalettis I had already made long ago for other dogs and we’re definitely starting at their lowest height. That hasn’t been an issue like the boxes were.
Here comes our first video. It includes heeling and slaming, which was a new trick to us.
I took sometimes Furi to work. We travel by bus to Helsinki and walk to my office. Normally we see cars, buses, trams, people etc. He is quite ok in the city.
We have started the other 2o2o-trick. The problem is that he cannot back up on straight line. He attemps to put same side legs on object. I changes low object to stairs, so he might get the idea backing upwards.
Very nice! He looks more&more enthusiastic from one video to another! Loved his speed and enthusiasm on circling the object, very cute! For backing up on an object, you don’t need him to back up from very far -- instead, position him so that the object is right behind him. Use very low and very wide object first. Some dogs will be uncomfortable with stepping on something behind them and will avoid it on purpose. If so, something like a blanket is the best to start with. Once they’re o.k. with it, it’s easy to add height.
Wow I loved your video. It really helped me to understand what I am trying to achieve. Thanks
Valori
PS I love your pup!
Thanks 🙂
Awesome video!! You set a very high standard 🙂 I love how happy he looks when heeling
I began with lesson three today, and recognized, that I haven’t done enough heelwork for the right side. Alice and Feline join my left leg very good and close, at the right side they are insecure, and need very small steps, and a lot of reinforcement.
For the cavalettiwork I have a question: What distance you would advice between the bars? I think about to build sth like a ladder, to have fix cavalettis which I can lie on the ground or put a little higher, but I’m insecure about the distance between the bars.
Today I did it with a normal wooden ladder, and it worked fine. What is the goal in this exercise? Should they look at me, while moving through the cavalittis? Now they look forward on the ground, and trot over the bars.
Sounds like you got the right distance for them. You want the dog to trot over, one leg by one, looking ahead and focusing on the obstacles to walk over. This is another exercise for body awareness: it requires they think and use each of the legs separately and understand where the objects are and how to get all their feet over them, one by one. You can challenge them some more by changing the distance and height a little.
Zushi is a little too enthusiastic with the cavalettis 🙂 i try to make her calm and able to focus.
Heelwork. We have trained to sit in the positom “plads” at my left side therefore she offers it. I’m trying to click right before she sits.
Yeah, I had the same problem with cavaletti. It’s hard for them to understand you simply want walking over. If you want an automatic sit in heel position, then that’s perfectly fine, she can sit for this exercise, no problem!
HI All,
I’m looking for suggestions of what everyone is using for right/left Heel cues for the Pivot/Heel trick…
Sometimes we just can’t think of what a cue should be named… silly I know… Stella is coming around pretty nicely to our right side and we named that cue HEEL as you suggested Sylvia, but my daughter and I can’t think of (or agree) what to name coming to our left side????????
thanks, Dinah
PS: I love the way Telja’s pup just zips around! Stella is still much more tentative in her pivotting…
I call my left side “sin” from the latin root of the word (sinister)… right is “ter” as the latin root of that is dexter. I think they just roll off the tongue well even if to anyone else it sounds silly.
I use side and close
Val
I am using the cue “plads” for my left side and “heel” for the right side.
“plads” is the danish word for “heel”
in german we say “Fuß” (foot) for heel, and therefore I say “Hand” for the right side
I also use the German for Heel (Bei Fuss) on the left, and Side (zur Seite) on the right. I don’t have anything good for 2on2off either. In Agility class on contacts I just say Wait.
Gitte, I had the same problem with “too much obedience” if there is such a thing 🙂 I have trouble with backing up because of this, he sits politely when he wants something. For circling, just keep moving before she sits, only click for sit if you told her. I also use a hand signal for halt/sit. I hope this helps.
We haven’t done cavaletti yet, but I am planning on using a command he already knows for “slow” (langsam), I have been doing heeling practice at different speeds where he has to adjust pace, normal, slow and fast. It actually makes heeling more fun for us. there’s a video in lesson 1.
Happy Training! I am very impressed with all your videos, and they really help me to work through our particular training challenges. So, thank you all!!
H
Jennifer, what is the German for “left”? I like the sound of sur seite, but we started with Heel for “right”… hmmmmm is it too late to switch cue? midway through training this?
Dinah
Links 🙂 Also, why do you need to use sur seite for right side? You can use it for left side if you like, I don’t think Stella would mind 🙂
Ok, yes, what does Stella care! We’re going with bei fuss (which I am probably pronouncing incorrectly) for coming around to my right and zer seite for coming around to my left… and yay -- she’s beginning to spin her butt around with much more enthusiasm!!
Now you just need to remember it! 🙂
Silvia is right; Links means left. Traditionally heel position is on the left, that’s why I use German heel command. For the right side, I just made that up for myself because I would automatically something like “other side” (Seite).
I use left and right (Links/Rechts) for turning to that direction.
But Just use something that makes sense to you, or that comes easily when you talk to your dog. 🙂
That’s funny, you switched it around! 🙂 I do it exactly opposite.
Hi i use heel and close. can i ask what do you use for the 2o2o command?
Hi, I use heel (“piede” in italian) and “close” too. For 2o2o I use “two” 🙂 well… “due” in Italian.
I use “two”. Many of my students do and then it’s so funny when they do 2on2off on dog-walk and call the dog-walk “two”.
Cool! I didn’t know you used “two” as well. 🙂
I use “touch” Val
Yipes-I started the exercises from Puppy Lesson 1 with my 10 year old Pyr Shep and she moves so fast in her offerings compared to Nero. It’s going to take a little longer with her since she throws out so many things. Mostly backing a quick circle around my leg. She knew a lot of this stuff in the past, but we have never been so systematic. I started teaching her some tricks when she was 7 after doing a Sylvia agility seminar in Colorado. Everyone is resting now--next session when they wake up!
BTW--Nero loves the heel/side game. He caught on right away.
I wonder which of these exercises I could teach to my horse? He’d certianly move slower than a Pyr Shep!
Nancy and Nero
Pivoting horse would be nice! 🙂 And yes, there definitely is a difference between BC and PS! I love my BCs, I think they’re lots of fun, love their little BC obsessions and games, but when they were puppies, I definitely missed the PS activity level 🙂 They woke up only when fast-growing phase was over 🙂
Tried it today, but I had to set new goals. We went to the first weeks homework and had to shape not mugging for the food. he caught on to clicker like he’d been born knowing it and we ended up with “head down” for not trying to get the food. Started shaping the “plate” but I need to do some modifications to it to make it work more easily. It’s going to be interesting to see where the PS and and horse can get in this first session for them!
Nancy, Nero, Hijo, and Saales du Val Soaanan
Cool! What does he get for a treat? -- Yeah, I don’t know much about horses, but I sure hope to have one (or two for some company) one day now that we live in a countryside!
I just noticed this old comment. For the horse I’ve been using packers pellets. They are pretty big with very low nutrition. Basically they re packed down hay. This horse loves food and would work for anything.