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!
Hi there we go away for a week tomorrow,Saturday to Saturday and our dogs are going with so i will carry on training but may not be able to see this site, however will try. I dont wont to miss out please on registration for the next course, please dont forget us. cool
looks like this is being away time… I am in Stockholm right now, just for the weekend though. We will be back home Monday and continue our training 🙂 I DO miss my dogs terribly !!
Regards to Stockholm! But hey, are you traveling instead of working on your homework!?! 🙂
Bob Bailey seminar 🙂 it is work !!
we been working on homework too -- video to follow next week 🙂
We were in a shopping mall today. The people on levels below were really interesting.
Cool! He seems to enjoy the trip!
Hi Guys,
Left and right heel position working well. He still favours left side a little bit more. After this we also did it with the frisbee. When I put the frisbee on the couch, he kept doing paw touches on it!! 🙂
And he barked at my husband for interrupting his training session! Hilarious! He is really warming up to the clicker/tricks training. Lots of fun.
Sounds and looks good! For right side, the problem is his head is turned in towards your left hand so much that rear end can’t get sufficiently in. Try rewarding from your right hand for right side.
OK. I just need an extra hand 🙂 I am already dropping kibble all over the place. Sit ups are much improved, will post video soon.
Thanks, Silvia!
Hi everyone.
Niah and I went to the city centre and pet shop today to do 1st homework.
It was the first time being very noisy and busy environment with many people, horse, tram, cars in the city centre and busy pet shop!
I tried to not give commands and reward for being calm. Sorry for a bit long video and loud sound!
Cool, he looks like as you’re doing that every day! What a nice, friendly pup!
Emi, you guys look like a great team! What a pretty pup!
Congratulations on your Wedding, too!!!
Thank you Jennifer 🙂 I am pretty happy with my little boy Niah, he is a naturally gentle puppy but shows very high drive when we play! I think he is perfect for me! (I’m basically quiet but love exercise and out door person)!
Here’s a not so good video of our visit to a horse expo with loads of people and dogs. I made a grave mistake at this that may have injured my dog for life. As we went through the area with vendor booths there were many dogs tied to their owner’s booths. One of those dogs was a rescue border collie that was looking for a home that looked just like my dog. As I greeted the owner the dogs started to sniff noses and the adult dog bit Nero’s face very hard. Nero yelped loudly for about 3 minutes. There was no blood or cuts but it turned out that the dog had cracked facial bones in his muzzle. It still swollen and may affect his growth plates. Nero was in a lot of pain and fearful of other dogs until he saw the goats. He worked the goats in front of an audience for about 5 minutes. Unfortunately I don’t have more than the 5 seconds of film here because I had to concentrate on the goats. The audience loved watching a puppy work and at the end when they applauded he looked at the audience of about 100 people and communicated “where did they come from”? We worked on his plate pivot, and two on two off in the barn with a few people watching and he did great. In this regard he was not like my Pyr Shep at that age.
Nancy and Nero
So sorry to hear about that accident… IT was good the goats distracted him then 🙂 Did he meet other dogs after that accident, is he still fearful? Great job with pivoting, he sure learned where his hind feet are by now, he looks very coordinated for his age!
Yes--It was perfect. He met a pup his age soon after the bite and they had a wild on leash play session. Later he had the herding dogs ignore him, and then passed many adults on leash. For thirty minutes he was nervous of adult dogs and then later it was as though it had never happened. That afternoon after a hike with the horses he met a smaller puppy and he played nicely with him. All in all a busy day! He’s seeming coordinated to me also, but when I see what he can do with his body on sheep and goats I remember that his line has many national and international champions in herding. He’s definitely the most carefully selected dog I’ve ever had and it shows in how easy he is to train.
Nancy
Wow, that’s good news! He sure is one cool pup!
Here is the start of the 3rd homework.
The first is Play backing upstairs we have just started this and only do really short sessions.
Second is circling on the bowl for heel position he has left fairly good but has difficulty with right. Most likely its because i’ve clicked wrong once or twice 🙂
Last is backing up onto something. I think I may have gotten this wrong as I merged 2 behaviors. Hopefully it doesn’t confuse him.
I must say I am LOVING this course!
Valori and Play
Cool, love his 2on2off, too cute how he hops up with hind feet! He doesn’t need to back up from far, the important thing is he knows to put his hind feet directly on an object behind him, just like he is doing it. For circling the bowl, I would work some more without you in the picture to get him really fluent for two or three circles. You should also do a couple of sessions rewarding him only for circling to the right to get a nice full circle to the right. You want them really fluent for two or three circles before you put yourself in a picture. You’re still helping a little bit too much, you want more independence before you start using it for heel position.
she kept swerving away from the chuck-it/bike-pump combination until she stepped on it… once I took the chuck-it away she handled them all more smoothly
she is much much stronger moving to her left -- the first side we worked on… and Sylvia was right, I kept forgetting the cues zer seite and bei fuss… Too bad, so we’re just using heel and side and I don’t think I have confused her, but I switched heel to my left side
Ha, ha, that was funny, umbrellas cavalettis! Great job with pivoting too! Keep rewarding in the position only now, she still seems to expect rewards for steps in between too.
I finally managed to upload this video on YT.
Here we have “door slamming”; she was a little scared by the noise, so we had to proceed very slowly. Now she’s ok with it.
Then we have the heeling positions. Thanks to your suggestions, Silvia, we’re doing way better now.
And then we have the handstand / pee trick.
Will post cavalletti soon.
I’ve always taken her to the city center / mall since she was 2 months. Will try to tape that one also.
Bye!
Laura & Shape
Great!!! Loved the peeing trick! To eventually get independent hand stand, you need to reward lower and closer to the wall so that she is more vertical. I wouldn’t do too much of it at that age, though -- here and there is o.k., but you definitely don’t want to do too much of it! Heeling and door slamming looks great, she definitely doesn’t look scared anymore!
Brava brava--very helpful and motivational video. Wow!
Thank you both! 🙂
You’re doing a great job too, Nancy!
Here’s our cavalletti video. Still have to post the last video for lesson 2 with playing and 2o2o.
Bye!
Great! You can try setting then in the other direction too, to challenge her some more.
I can’t see your video, because of the music you used
Howcome is that? I’ll post another cavalletti video soon with next exercises. Thanks.