As you did such a great job with your first homework, you're getting some more this time 🙂 I again marked the ones to focus on first. Post wherever you end up, we learn the most through problems, so you want to post those too! 🙂 So try to view other students' videos and my comments to them too!
1. experiment with different toys and ways to play with your dog. Tape his favourite game to give some new ideas to other participants (and me!!!). From my dogs, Le LOVES to chase things on a string, especially squeaky toys, plastic bags and everything else that makes sound! La hates squeaky toys, but goes crazy for real fur and ladder. Bi loves tugging - on anything BUT real fur, she finds it really gross and won't touch it. - Not that I would be trying in that direction either, only extra durable toys can handle her bite! Bu doesn't care so much about what toy we use, but she definitely wants ME involved: running and making silly noises. She also loves when she has a toy and I'm pretending I want to steal it from her, but am afraid to do so.
2. instead of a plate, find something a little higher this time to give them a better feeling of where to keep their front legs, click first for two front feet on an object (should be easy, you want the same thing as on a plate) and then observe hind legs and click for ANY movement (even just a weight shift) and then shape from there for more&more steps around the object. I first click both directions and once I get half of a circle in both directions, start clicking one direction only and reward with a head away from me in order to get a full circle - turning the head away from you in the hardest part, that's why you want to reward with head away at this point. The final goal are full circles in both directions, with you static (don't help the dog to circle with your movement!) - I think those that have my heeling video can already do that exercise, though 🙂
3. take the plate and hold it in different positions to see if the dog understands it's the same thing even when you hold it higher, under the angle, even vertical, to his left/right etc. Try when he is standing, sitting and lying down. If you didn't name touching an object with a paw, it's time to do it now! Also, try to change objects for this exercise, sometimes also use a hand as a paw target. Once he can do all that, you're ready for next two tricks we will get out of the paw touch:
- crossing paws: tell the puppy to down (or shape it if he doesn't know it yet), then hold the plate (or, you can use another, smaller and more convenient object, like a plastic lid or a piece of paper) close to the left paw and only reward touching it with left paw. Then hold it closer and closer to right paw, still only reward left paw touches, then hold it on right paw and eventually on the other side, jackpoting the touches of left paw on a right paw now in order to eventually get rid of a target.
- sit up: tell the puppy to sit (or shape it if he doesn't know it yet), then put the plate (or just use the hand if he will recognize that as a target) low enough first that he can reach it with a paw, but then every next time, hold it a little higher - not that high that he would stand up, but high enough that the other leg leaves the ground a little bit too. Jackpot. AGAIN, don't do too much of this exercise, it's great for building muscle, but it can also make them sore if you do too many repetitions every day!
4. observe your puppy and try to find situations when he would back up - it usually happens when they're moving out of your way - or sometimes when you're working on ignoring the food in the hand. You can try to sit down on the floor with treats in your hand and click first step back with hind foot. Don't wait for more than one as they usually sit down then. Click&reward the first step and reward by throwing a treat towards the dog. Rewarding at distance (by tossing a treat instead of giving it from your hand) will help you add more&more steps and more&more distance from you. At one point, switch to rewarding with a toy, it's easier to throw.
5. 2on2off - find an object big enough for the dog to go on with all 4 feet easily - maybe just put your first 4in object upside down? - Click for 2-3 legs on and then don't click the fourth one, you don't want any duration standing there! Only click again when the dog is leaving the object, try to catch him with 2 front feet on the ground and deliver the treat while he is still in this position. You want them go on an object and off immediately, stopping with front feet on the ground. Click&reward several times for a position, then say "go"/"o.k."/"free"/whatever your release word will be and throw a treat away so that he needs to leave the position to get it and click for leaving an object too. Do this enough times that the dog starts to expect the thrown treat after "go", so that then you don't need to throw it in advance, but only after he leaves the position on "go". Do not help with body language that you want him to leave after "go" - if he doesn't know it yet, go back to throwing a treat and progress more slowly.
Silvia, Do you recommend that we have a different verbal cue for each trick? Or only different verbal cues for specific feet… and use the prop as a second cue?
Here’s an example using this week’s homework #2. I use “paws” to mean “put both front feet on a target.” After his feet are on the bowl, my puppy lures many full circles in both directions already, so I’m ready to introduce a cue. What do you recommend for a cue for this trick?
Do I point to the overturned bowl as the only cue? (In that case, how does the dog understand which direction to pivot?)
Do I say “paws” to get the feet up, and then use hand signals to direct the pivoting?
Do I say “paws” (put feet on bowl) and then say a second verbal cue for “pivot left” or “pivot right”?
Or should the whole pivoting behavior be done with a single command for “pivot left” or “pivot right”?
Thanks!
First of all, I would start pivoting from zero without luring. They don’t think about their hind feet nearly as much when you lure it vs. when you shape it, so I would take the time and really shape this one. When you get it, you can certainly name it, but I’m very lazy when it comes to naming and let the object as such be a cue of the behaviour. I let them choose which direction they want to pivot -- and then just use a hand signal to get the other one. I only name pivoting once I start using it for heeling position (next lesson) and I call it “heel” and “side” then, but it’s of course too early for that, so you can either think of two different names or just leave it unnamed.
Thanks, Silvia. That clarified a lot. I just did a session of pure shaping for the pivots, and realized that Dash didn’t really know it at all. Following an empty lure hand doesn’t equal “understanding.” So we’re working on it from scratch now. I think it’ll take a few days, but he already started to move a bit to the side today.
Yes, the exercise has a whole new dimensions when shaped vs. lured (even if with an empty lure) and can actually take a while, but it’s well worth to spend some extra time on this one.
Oh boy I’m going to be busy this week!!
Yeap, some more homework this time 🙂
Silvia, I am happy to discover the content of this lesson. And yes I got your heeling video at the end of August, ( before I discover this class ) and I am totally blocked near step 2 or 3 of your video. Why am I blocked ? First, I never get -stick or touch the leg- ( or with some exception when I have Bermuda shorts, but never with a jeans ) Second, perhaps Garlic is small and distrusts that I walk her on paws ( it happens some times ! ) ? Help!
About learning 2on2off, I will keep it as trick, because for me RC is really more nice to see than stopping dog on zone, and I will be happy to learn RC with you in a future class. I started learning 2on2off trick recently, so still time to correct my faults !!!
Lot of to do for all of us next two weeks !!!
Oh, she is so cute!
Pascal, unfortunately, I don’t have Silvia’s heeling video (yet!), but I have successfully trained small-dog heeling with my Parson Russell and Papillon using a similar style with platforms.
My PRT (former #2 PRT in obedience, USA) got stepped on frequently, and wanted to heel wide. When we moved to the UK, we found they prefer a dog touching the owner’s leg (unlike USA, where this is forbidden).
So in the UK, I trained Piper to lean against me with his shoulder, first while I was sitting in a chair. We started each heel sequence with me giving the lean cue. I would then heel out a bit diagonally, so Piper would have to “think” and “fight” to keep leaning on me. It was a game where he “won” if he could keep his shoulder against my leg. Because I initially walked diagonally “away” from him, I never stepped on him, and this grew his confidence in staying close.
Here are some more tips that helped our heeling a lot!
1) Wear the smallest possible shoes, with the smallest possible sole. Don’t wear the typical shoe with a sole that sticks out 1 cm from the sides of the shoes.
2) Focus and either walk “straight ahead” or slightly away from the dog in initial practices. Don’t get distracted looking at the dog and lean/walk into their path.
3) Walk “pigeon-toed,” pointing your toes inward more than feels natural. It will NOT look strange to viewers--it just feels a bit strange.
4) With each step, roll your foot from heel to toe. Glide across the floor. Don’t lift feet off the ground and step back down.
These tips--which I learned from my obedience coaches over the years--were very beneficial for heeling with a small dog. Good luck!
Hello Sharon
Thank you for these tips. My pooch is small too, so that is all good advice. 🙂
Sharon
me, Ivana, again. You mentioned a heeling video. Can I have access to it too? I am having trouble navigating this site. I have no problem with the content but I am forever scrolling and am not sure where things are. i.e answers to posts etc.
Ivana, Pascal is the one that has the video--I only WANT the video! Here’s where you can buy it: http://www.lolabuland.com/training-videos/heeling.
O.K. Sharon re the Heeling DVD. I a new here, so a bit slow on the up-take. 🙁
Sharon, thank you for all these tips and advices !!!
So I will be careful to choose better shoes and not to walk as a duck, but
like a pigeon-toed ! Gliding across the floor, walking “straight ahead” etc…
And first, I will try your -sitting in a chair- method, and post the result video.
Naturally that after I get Silvia feedback.
Thank you for the encouragements !
Pascal,
Garlic is doing such a great job, must be your training. 🙂
I am new to all this so it is good to see you work.
One other thing… can you tell me how you put the little picture of Garlic next to your comments?
Ivana, look in the top left corner of the black area of your screen (while viewing this comment). You should see your name. Click on the little triangle and choose “Edit My Profile.” It will then provide a way to add a profile photo (sometimes called an “avatar”). Good luck!
Hi Sharon 🙂
Thank you for your reply. I can’t see a triangle anywhere. But I just found a way… I have gone to Dashboard at the top of this page on the right hand side, there I was able to update my profile. I didn’t see the Dashboard before.
I find this website quite hard to navigate. Also reading white on black isn’t great. I think your pooch is lovely.
Sharon
Have you been able to Subscribe to the Feed? I clicked on Subscribe to feed and there is just continuous text of sort.
By the way, duh (!), I finally found the triangle with the drop down menu!
How embarrassing.
Not sure why subscribe to feed doesn’t work for you… Did you see “recent comments” link -- that also helps a lot on staying updated on all new posts. I’m sorry about all your problems with the site, I was away for trials last 3 days, so I couldn’t help, but I see you mostly solved the problems by now. It’s hard to make things easy to find with so many comments though (other than following “recent comments” -- that’s how I find all the posts 🙂 ) -- if you have an idea how to do it, definitely let me know!
Thank you for the compliments, Garlic is 8,5 months old, and last 5 months I tryed to keep her always dynamic and alive. So I try to anticipate some training before this class. But it is not easy to train without feedback !
Pascal & Garlic,
at least you have some experience, I am totally new to this but I have read a fair bit about operant conditioning and looked up tutorials and YouTube, otherwise I would not be able to keep up with this class:)
Garlic is sure too cute! Can you please post her pivoting also as lesson 2 is describing? I think that the step before the one you’re showing might be the reason for what you’re getting now and we might fix the problem by addressing step 2, so please post how she pivots on her own without you moving! Try 2on2off without your movement too, sitting on the floor and shaping her to go on with 1-2-3-4 feet vs. luring her on with your movement. She will need to think more about what she is doing that way. Being static and sitting on the floor will also allow you to deliver her reward quicker so you might be able to have her eat still in the right position and then you can click&treat again several times for duration, help her memorize the position and make it easier to introduce the “go” cue too.
Thanks Silvia. I saw on my previous videos that I am too frequently luring. About pivoting, this evening I just check what happens staying static and silent. First check, Garlic is thinking static then proposing any things like 4 feets on or 2on2off or sit down etc. but not circling. Second check, Garlic propose 2on ( I click&reward ), 2on2off ( I static ), chewing the object ( I static ), Garlic gets bored and going away ( I static ) then Garlic is back and 2on ( I click&reward ) and moving hind feets ( I click&reward )
that’s all for the moment ! New videos including 2on2off soon.
Here is a video of last check this evening ( excuse me for bad quality and synchro). No luring / no cue / silent, now Garlic is thinking, understanding she gets reward when mouving her hind feets. She also try to get by moving one front paw or she try to put a third paw on object !
Silvia, is it this kind of working way that you want ?
Yes, let’s continue like this. I think that once we get to really independent speedy pivoting around the target, that will really make a big different to her heeling position, so it’s really worth to spend some more time on this one.
Trumpet likes to slap himself with those rubber cow “milker” thingys. Here is a short video to show what I mean. I have one that is 6 min. long where he is simply running around slapping himself silly the whole time. it’s quite funny. I just use the rubber milkers for rewards in training (easy to stick in the back pocket) but in this video this one has some fleecy pieces attached to it.
Trumpet is very cute. Really trying to kill that rubber rabbit! 🙂
Hey, Papu has the same favorite toy! But he does not kill it as enthusiastically as Trumpet. Trumpet is so funny slapping himself with that thing! 🙂
Oh, that’s too funny! And he only does it with this kind of a toy, never with a fleece only tug for example? Just wondering if I should get this toy and see how my dogs like it, my dogs rarely do this.
He does it with any toy that is long enough to hit him and with the snakes he catches in my yard. I usually have to give him a bath after the snakes because he has snake guts all over him :-(. But the rubber milker is definitely his favorite. Same goes for his son. I’ll put up the 6min. video of Trumpet running around with the milker; it’s too funny. He is not normally playful.
You can get these for free from farmers. I buy them for $1 from a gal who sells them at agility trials. Cheap and the dogs LOVE them. I send all my pups to their new homes with one.
For those in the U.S., you can get all types of ready-made udder tug toys from http://www.helpingudders.com. 10-50% of each purchase goes to the rescue of your choice, and they’ve donated $177,000 in the past 7 years. I’ve bought several from them, and have more on order.
Oh, doesn’t sound like so much fun when they do it with a snake! 🙂 I’ll see if I can find that toy here, I only saw them in US so far.
It’s gross but I’m happy that he keeps my yard snake free 🙂
Silvia, can you comment on this video in the context of the problems I am having with Secret lacking drive in our agility work? I wasn’t sure whether to post the video in the Puppy/Tricks classroom or in the Agility Foundations classroom? Should I post it in the Agility Foundations classroom too? I am getting alot of good feedback from the nice people in that class.
Secret played for about 10 minutes at lunchtime…running and tugging. Then we played for about 15 minutes when we got home from work. The video is of this 15 min session. After about 45 mins of resting, I took her outside and we did 4-5 passes thru the weave poles. She is very tired now.
Robin, love the play style. You look like so much fun, I’d be out there going nuts chasing you around too. 🙂
Silvia, I just got the results from Secret’s full thyroid test and it is absolutely normal. I still think that she should be able to play hard for longer than 10 minutes! Should I continue to try to build her play endurance in this manner and also throw in some weave poles and cik/cak jumping? Thank you!
I would work on her endurance though jogging, biking and swimming and keep playing sessions short and fun!
Great! She sure looks very enthusiastic, fast and intense about those games! And you too! -- That probably helps too! 🙂 She doesn’t look she wouldn’t like to tug at all! Let her win even more often and as she wins it, run away making silly noises and having her “attack” you with a toy for more playing, just like at 0:22, she seemed to really liked that and was really fast running to you with a toy. You can try including a wrap or a tunnel into those games to make them even more fun, being able to send her some and then run away with a toy and have her chase you. Just do one wrap every minute or two of playing. Keep it short and end it before she is very tired.
Whew, Robin, I’m tired just watching you play! I need to do lots more of that. And if I may suggest… when you throw the ball, just say “Go” once, then when you know she’s on her way to the ball turn and run the other way to encourage her to really speed back to you! And you’ve given me incentive to go find an old whip and tie a toy to the end of it. Looks like great fun.
For 2. If I don’t keep clicking for the paws on the bowl, he sits down with his paws on the bowl. No way to click rear end movement when he does that. How do I keep him standing and get that rear end movement????
After sleeping on it…. Lance’s default behavior when he wants something is to sit. I think he is sitting with his paws on the bowl because he’s not sure what to do. So I think I need to figure out how to get rear movement before he decides to give up and try sitting in front of me.
My dog does the same, just sits and waits for me to do something or ask something … a little bit frustrating, isn’t it? I’ve lured him twice and now he offers me movement, I’m not quite happy about luring but it is hard to click anything when nothing is happening for a long time :/ The same is with “frog” …
Donna, are you using a lure to get him on the bowl? You might try luring his head to the side JUST as he gets on the bowl so he has to shift his head (and therefore his balance) before you click. Then you might throw the treat away from the bowl. That way, he won’t be able to sit, because you’re keeping him busy turning his head and shifting his weight. By throwing the treat, he will be up and ready to come try for a little more head and body rotation each time.
I’m not luring as he goes right to the bowl. Maybe I’ll try luring his head/
No, no, don’t lure this trick, it looses the point if you’re luring! The solution is easy: use something higher 🙂 Use a bucket or something sufficiently high that he can’t sit! 🙂 -- Problem solved, no luring please!
Thanks Silvia. Sorry, Donna, for my erroneous attempt at advice. I’m now following the “no lure” mantra!
I’m actually not completely against luring and will sometimes lure too (as in frog case), but this specific exercise is really not serving it’s purpose when lured as the dog never learns he can earn the click by moving his hind feet: and that’s exactly the aha moment we are trying to get with this exercise. We want them to realize they have hind feet and that they can make us click by using it in that or another way. It’s a very important lesson for all the hind feet awareness exercises we’ll be doing. We really want them to think here.
I’m a bit hesitant to teach Papu 2on2off as I have just started to train this with nose peck. I’m worried Papu might get confused if I teach regular 2on 2off as well. Should I modify the exercise and include nose touches on target here too?
We’ve been doing a lot of nose touches lately so Papu often gets confused when we do paw targeting. I think I should get that on cue as soon as possible…
Right, we definitely don’t want to confuse him, so yes, just post what you’ve got!
Hi Silvia,
Uh oh I am going to have trouble with the hind end exercise. Why? Because I greedily only have reinforced my dog for going counter-clockwise, because I only had use for a finish on left at the time.
Getting him to go clockwise will be tricky. If I put a paint can down on the floor now he will automatically hop onto it and spin counter clockwise only…
I knew this day would come where I’d pay for it (and have to fix my error!)
Andre
Yeap, it’s definitely harder once they are really good in one direction 🙂 You can try using differently looking target (much higher maybe?) AND position it next to the wall so that he can’t keep circling in one direction. Once he meets the wall, he might step in the other direction (even if only to be able to go counter-clockwise again) and you can then reward that and then slowly add more steps.
Fellow classmates, Here is a video of our 2o2o and some paw touches in different positions.
Previously we have done work on 2o2o on an actual dog walk and on a slanted plank. It went horribly and caused Secret to go very slowly because she wasn’t sure where she was supposed to stop. I stopped working on it about 6 weeks ago because it was such a downer. This is the first time that we have ever done 2o2o on a box. I was very surprised how well it went! I’d love to have a 2o2o on the dog walk, but I was starting to think it wouldn’t be possible with Secret. I can’t wait to see how you will lead us on the 2o2o!
Cool! Do try to kneel down through as it will be easier to reward her when still in the position and add duration + a release word. -- And it’s actually better to reward with a low head. I usually simply drop treats between their front paws to keep their focus low instead of checking out for the treat hand 🙂 She also generalized the paw touches really quickly, what a smart girl!
Robin, Secret is so cute. She seems to be really having fun working with 2o2o too. I noticed that both of my dogs really only like to play hard for 10-15 minutes at a time also. After that they slow down, and are not as rough and not as into what we are doing. When they were in better shape, and we were exercising for hours a day wow they could play with me for a long time with incredible enthusiasm. For my dogs, I think the lack of endurance for playing has to do with recent lesser fitness.
Gia, I think you are making a very good point that I need to increase Secret’s level of fitness. Silvia said the same thing. Now that I have thought about it, I realize that she has been doing alot less free running because I haven’t been letting her run free in our large backyard (she gets muddy and rolls in stinkum + I like to see what everyone’s bathroom duties are like…call me crazy).
I’d like to increase the level of free running that all my dogs do. The problem is that I live in the USA and everywhere there are leash laws that dogs must be on leash. Can you give me some ideas on how I can get more free running every day without having to drive a long distance to get to a special hiking trail that allows dogs to be free?
Thank you!
Silvia’s probably a bad one to ask for this, as Europe is 100x more tolerant of off-leash dogs than America is. 🙂
As a fellow American (now in Istanbul), here are some ideas.
When I lived in an apartment, I had luck going to school playgrounds and soccer fields on empty days. Be meticulous about pooper scooping, and leave if kids come to play there--they get priority.
Do you have a dog park nearby? I lived in Madison, WI, which had a dozen parks--one was 180 acres fenced in and with trails and bag dispensers. Most people didn’t know these existed--you had to ask around to find them. Look for little-known county parks. I found one a mile from my house that was virtually empty except on Saturdays, and had a 1-mile dirt road around a scenic lake--perfect for off-leash. I’d lived nearby for years and never knew the place existed. There were no park rangers or anything--just a dirt parking lot and acres of fields and forests ready for my off-leash dogs.
If you have at least half an acre + access to occasional herding lessons, you could consider keeping a few herd-able ducks. I kept Indian Runners and Khaki Campbells and herded them with my 3 Border Collies for an hour a day after work. That’s great mental/physical exercise. If you live in the suburbs, check zoning laws and consider getting all males (male ducks are virtually silent).
If you have a bike, consider getting a dog-attachment like a “Springer.” You can ride without holding the leash, and the dog can’t pull you over. If you bike on pavement, don’t go faster than a trot.
I know several people whose dogs enjoy running on treadmills indoors--that’s another possibility.
That’s what I do. I go to a little park that nobody seems to use during the day. There are some soccer games there in the evenings but I go right away after work, and use a tennis ball with a chuck it and just toss it til the dogs get tired. My dogs (whippets) are sprinters so this works well and it doesn’t take long to get the whole crew tired out.
A friend of mine has whippets in PHENOMENAL shape. She puts them on a treadmill for 20min. 3 times a week.
Yes, off leash running is extra important. I don’t even count running in the yard as exercise as they pretty much never run full speed in my yard despite it’s a big one: only the puppy will do some full speed circles around the rest of the gang, the rest of playing is rather low-key. But we run in the woods up and down hill for at least 2 hours a day. We do some jogging and the dogs do some sprints, playing a stupid BC game “ready-steady-go” when they all run full speed into nothing 🙂
You can walk anywhere here, also on private properties if not fenced and you’re not doing damage, so it’s no problem to find tons of places to walk. I don’t live that close to the lake anymore though, so to avoid too much driving, I also got them a little pool so that they can swim in a summer, they swim for like 20min every other day.
When I had a Samoyed with weak recall that couldn’t be off-leash in the woods because of hunting as a youngster, I did tons of biking with him, as it was impossible to do any decent exercise with him on leash and me by foot.
Normal activity level of my dogs now is 2 hours of running&sprints in the woods, swimming in the summer, playing with me for 15-30min (with breaks in between) per day (what includes some agility), playing with each other whenever they want to, running around the yard as much as they want to whenever they want to, doing some conditioning tricks and a hike to the mountains on weekends.
Every vet that ever listened to their hearts commented what a great hearts they have and while most vets think they’re too skinny, I think they’re just about right for sports dogs. With their activity level, I actually can’t make them fatter, the only time I had fat dogs was when I was in US for seminars and the dogs were living with my boyfriend’s activity level…
Vets are so used to seeing so many fat pet dogs that when they see *fit* dogs they’re not the norm and they think they’re too thin. Their perspective has been skewed. When I get comments about my dogs being too skinny I simply reply “they’re athletes”.