• About us
  • Training articles
  • Training videos
    • Xtreme Foundations
    • Agility Diary
    • Puppy diary
    • Weaves
    • Agility Foundations
    • Running Contacts
    • Ready, steady, GO!
    • Tricks for better thinking skills
    • Tricks for a great bond
    • Tricks for balance, strength&coordination
    • Heeling
    • Cik&Cap
    • En franรงais
    • In Deutsch
  • Online classes
facebook
youtube
email
  • About us
  • Training articles
  • Training videos
    • Xtreme Foundations
    • Agility Diary
    • Puppy diary
    • Weaves
    • Agility Foundations
    • Running Contacts
    • Ready, steady, GO!
    • Tricks for better thinking skills
    • Tricks for a great bond
    • Tricks for balance, strength&coordination
    • Heeling
    • Cik&Cap
    • En franรงais
    • In Deutsch
  • Online classes

Puppy Lesson 2

As you did so good with your first homework, you're getting some more this time ๐Ÿ™‚ No worries if you don't manage to do everything in 2 weeks, you can always come back to those tricks. Post wherever you end up, as I said, we learn the most through problems, so you want to post those too! ๐Ÿ™‚

1. experiment with different toys and ways to play with your dog. Tape his favourite game.

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 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 to more&more steps around the object. The final version of this trick is full circle around, 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 ๐Ÿ™‚

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 angle 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 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.

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 they really want something, but know they can't get it. 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 one and reward by throwing a treat towards the dog. Rewarding at distance 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 a 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. 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. 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.

And I guess this really is enough fun for next 2 weeks! ๐Ÿ™‚


209 Comments

  1. Sandy April 5, 2011 at 00:17 Log in to Reply

    So, finally our lesson 2 on tape…

    Comments:

    1. She like tugging, but only if we do it this way. I am building up tension for the toy, and when we tug.. we both growl ;).
    Other then this, there is one (latex squeeky) toy that she loves the most, but it is not really playing together. We use it as special toy for forward movement in agility (old one is used with backing up).

    2. I am proud of this one, as we have tried to do this many times and never finished it as a trick because “it didn’t work”. Well.. thanks to lesson 1 I know it didn’t work because I was clicking to slow :)). So now it was almost a piece of cake. Clockwise that is.. because counterclockwise she really needs me to help her get the direction. Is it ok to start heelingposition now, or do you think we need to train counterclockwise more first?

    3. Ooohhh. Pff… Maybe I should try clickertrain chickens first. Csilla is so much faster then me, that I am training her to be very sloppy in touching. She gets frustrated, I get frustrated…. aaaarrrggghh! She can do the touch, no problem. But combine touch with a sit/down is very confusing. So now I try to calm us both down first by stroking her, and then try to get some touches. Seems to work, so I’ll continue this for now.

    4. I started training this when she was still a puppy, and then she choose to go down, jump backwards, and go down again. That was funny to, so I started to click for that. You still see her hopping backwards now, from time to time ;).

    5. Was fun!!! I absolutely love the tries we did with the recall :). Smart little girl.

    • LoLaBu April 5, 2011 at 12:09 Log in to Reply

      Oh, she is too funny with 2on2off (and sometimes too fast ๐Ÿ™‚ ) Playing and backing up looks great too. I know the problem with paw targeting from La, she can’t understand why should she be moving just one leg when she can move two or even all four ๐Ÿ™‚ and will just throw herself on a target. So I actually taught her paw crossing by shaping, clicking for any paw movements first and then selecting for moves in the right direction. It took me much longer as with a target with other dogs, but with her, it was just too chaotic with the target. You could also shape sit up -- different dogs, different approaches. For the circling: can she do it also without your hand there as a cue? If yes, then you could start with heeling, if not, I would first get rid of that hand.

      • Sandy April 5, 2011 at 13:00 Log in to Reply

        Ok. thanks. I think it is hard for her because I am really to slow and sloppy for these fast movements! So I am not sure if I will do better with shaping ;)) I will try a few sessions and if we’re getting frustrated I’ll ask for help again! ๐Ÿ™‚
        She can do the circling without the cue clockwise. But for counterclockwise she needs the hand cue. Maybe translate it to a verbal cue? (round for clockwise, and circle for the other way)
        2on2off I was teasing her, just for play, but it was so funny I couldn’t help to put it in the video, hihi.

        • LoLaBu April 5, 2011 at 15:36 Log in to Reply

          You can use the hand cue, but minimalize it -- ie. show direction with a gesture, but keep the hand at your side, don’t have it above her head all the time as that promotes looking at your hand and that can cause problems in heeling.

  2. Laura Gissara April 6, 2011 at 14:20 Log in to Reply

    Oh my goodness… I’ve been sooo busy this week that I didn’t have time to edit and upload the video. Here’s our final video for lesson 2:
    2o2o and some playing.
    More videos coming soon on next lessons.
    ๐Ÿ™‚
    Laura & Shape

    Tricks class 8

    • LoLaBu April 6, 2011 at 15:47 Log in to Reply

      Be careful with timing, you often say “o.k.” and she is still standing when you click and then you throw, so basically, you’re rewarding her for staying after a “o.k.” ๐Ÿ™‚ For now, say “go” and throw a treat at the same time and click when she is leaving as you ARE clicking for leaving, not staying ! -- and then split the two as we were discussing with Gitte and Dinah.

      When playing, try to be more active, go down on the floor with her, push her around with another hand, growl etc. You need to play with her as much as another puppy would play with her as possible to make it even more fun. But well, that sure is a good start, she sure is playing now, just make it even more exciting!

      • Laura Gissara April 6, 2011 at 16:21 Log in to Reply

        Thanks Silvia. I’ll do that both for “go” and playing. Now I have to find where you discussed about it with Gitte and Dinah. I’ve been so busy this week that I had no time to read all the comments and everything…

        • LoLaBu April 6, 2011 at 16:24 Log in to Reply

          Yeah, I’m having hard time keeping up with all the comments too! ๐Ÿ™‚


  1. Pages:
  2. «
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Login with:
Facebook Google

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

 

 

The classes you can join at the moment: Beyond Foundations and the two Handling classes! All without time limitations – you can work at your own rate!

 

  • Log in
  • Register
Login with:
Facebook Google

Search Forums

My classes

Tags

articles beyond foundations bi bu busting the myths camps EO foundations hiking la le my philosophy my videos photos puppies! puppy class running contacts students' videos ta To trials tricks world championships xtreme xtreme foundations
sialaSilvia Trkman is known for bringing every dog, from her first dog on, to the very top of the sport. Her dogs are known for great speed, tight turns, running contacts and long and injury-free careers. Silvia is in agility since 1992 and is
– 3x World Champion (with two different dogs)
– 5x European Open winner, with 4 different dogs (Lo, La, Bu, Le)!!!
– National Championships podium and World Team member with every dog she’s ever had
– National Champion for 22-times (with 5 different dogs of 3 different breeds)

– World Team member for 19-times (mostly with at least two dogs at the time – sometimes four ๐Ÿ™‚ )

RECENT COMMENTS

Contact me

silvia.trkman at gmail.com

Copyright Silvia Trkman, 2010-2016; All rights reserved
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Reject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT