As you did so good with your first homework, you're getting some more this time 🙂 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! 🙂
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 🙂
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! 🙂
Hey Sylvia and y’all,
I taught my boys 2 front paws on a object and then circle around it. We only did circle counterclockwise. Will work on the clockwise this week. I’m wondering What cues to use for this training? Left or right? I’m running out of cues now lol
thanks a lot!!
Angela
I use left&right for spinning left&right. For circling with hind feet, I don’t really have a name as an object as such is their cue what to do with it. Once they’re fluent in both directions, I start using it for teaching heel position so I only name it at that point and I call it heel in English for right leg heel position and heel in slovenian for left leg heel position 🙂
Ok! Since Toby and crash are pretty good with counterclockwise circling right now, then I’m moving to clockwise direction. So I decide which direction I want by clicking and treat if there is no cue involved, right?
Thanks sylvia and I love the idea using different language to cue. 🙂
Angela
Exactly! Have fun!
So what is heel in Slovenian? I’m running out of cue names too. : )
Poleg 🙂
Another question:
For Q5, are we teaching the hind feet on a object? Then add a release word to it?
Thanks!
Angela
Exactly, hind feet, staying on an object until the release word.
Okie gotcha!!!
Thank you!!
Angela
Question on the backing up… how straight should they be backing up, or should be be aiming for. We have a nice quarter circle arc pattern developing. Or should I try to do it in the hall or along a wall?
At the beginning I don’t mind a little curve, but yes, if it’s starts to look too much like a circle, try to do it next to the wall on a side she is usually curling into.
We started with go backwards as I love this trick 🙂
Very nice, he sure loves that ball! 🙂 Just make sure you’re clicking when he is still moving, not for stopping! And yes, I know -- it’s hard!
We worked on the 2 on 2 off position and the release cue.
I tried to reward the release with playing.
Very good! Just one little detail: if she leaves before the release, wait for her to go back but don’t immediately reward that as then they learn it’s equally good to wait or break and go back. So don’t reward for going back, but wait a little and then reward the waiting (vs. going back).
So unfortunately I didn’t have my video running but when I was working 2o2o with Mabel today she moved her back feet from the book I had intended on using all the way up the couch that the books were next to. I was so excited I needed to share!
Hopefully she’ll do it again when I make this week’s video! Ironically we are doing a lot better with that than paw crossing as she keeps wiggling closer to the hand instead of crossing them… but practice makes perfect!
Sounds great! For crossing, keep the hand very low, that should help her touch the other leg.
Here’s our video (heel, paw touch, 2on2off). I forgot to tape the backing up. Well, next time! As for sit up, I had started to shape it in the past since she used to offer it spontaneously. Should I try it with paw touch?
Thanks,
Laura
Wow, left leg position is perfect, I also just love the head position! I guess you saw the Heeling video 🙂 Others: you can see your next steps here 🙂 Laura, focus on right side now. I think rewarding from right hand for right side position would help a lot, head position on that side is somewhat too in, try to get the same straight, vertical head there as you have on left by rewarding from above, not from your left hand. Also, very nice job with other exercises! I love the plate work, she finds it very well. For sit up, you’re sometimes holding it too far from her, though, you need to hold it that close that when she is touching it, she is almost vertical, otherwise she falls down as she can’t balance that way. And hey, what happened to those ears?
🙂 Thanks, very smart advice! I’ll reward from right hand for right side position.
Oh, we weren’t trying to get a sit up here. We were just paw targeting in different positions. But, sure, for a sit up I need to remember what you said.
And the ears… you can see her mom here
http://nuke.delcapolucano.com/Ourdogs/Sydney/tabid/531/Default.aspx
Just like her…
O.k., very good for paw targeting then! 🙂 About the tugging… Why don’t you just use that towel until she really gets the game? And how about chasing? Would she chase a ball? Or that towel on a string, like Nancy and Evelyn were showing with their BCs, would she be interested in that? Don’t wait for that toy too long, just improvise something (paper or plastic bag on a string or in an old sock maybe?) -- the earlier you introduce them to playing, chasing and tugging, the easier. It’s sad some breeders don’t play with the puppies, it’s SOOO easy at that age and SOOO difficult later on.
Yeah, you’re right. I try to play with different things for tugging. But maybe the towel would be the best thing for now. She chases things only sometimes, but maybe I need to try more with the towel on a string or something… I haven’t tried that yet. In the next video I’ll show you. Thanks. Have a good night.
Hi Silvia,
Is it better to train just one thing in one session or different tricks together? I usually do different tricks in one session, because I don’t want Buddy to get bored, but sometimes that might also be confusing for him.
What do you think? How much time per session on one trick?
In Agility class he gets bored after doing the same thing 3 times.
Another thing, he has trouble with backing up. Can I use my body? He steps back if I take a step toward him. I call it “Beep, Beep” like a truck backing up.
His paw is healing and we are going back to the vet today to make sure it’s fine. So in a couple of days we’ll be back to training.
I usually only do one new trick per session and it’s the first one in a session I do. Then I switch to other tricks they know to some degree already, always with a little play break in between to make it clear we’re doing something else now. Hard to say in minutes, depends on a dog and a trick, it’s important to observe the dog and stop before the the dog gets bored or too tired to think. For a back up, try without you moving first, but if you can’t get that first step, you can help by moving a little bit. Hope his paw is all healed!
We have a problem with switching play and treats. He knows that dinner time is training time. When I offer him the toy he completely ignores it and instead gets the frisbee or bowl to step on it and start training! He also ignores toys outside. I read your post above about starting to play early…Buddy didn’t know how to play at all when I got him; he is a rescue and was already 10 months old when he came to me, abused and neglected. He will also often just run away with the toy, but I just ignore that. I will tape his toy refusal and maybe you can help.
His paw is much better, not 100% though.
Yes, it is much more difficult to introduce play later on. Running away with a toy is not too bad, definitely much better as ignoring it! If you know he won’t play at dinner time, don’t even try it! Surprise him with a new exciting toy at time when he doesn’t expect anything. Initiate the play and play if he does, or just put the toy away and go back to your normal work if he doesn’t want to play. Do not go to treats when he refuses to play, that would reward him for not playing. Just give him two options: play or do nothing.
Here is our video of circling around and 2on2off.
I am not sure if I am doing right because Darwin have difficulties passing me in the circle.
I am trying to reward with the head in the opposite direction but as I am very prone to tell him what to do, this time I tried not to give him any clue so I didnt want to exagerate the direcction with my hands….so I was rewarding from above..Am I doing it right?
Great progress, now he is actually offering behaviours and trying things! I loved the part when you sit on the floor, he is offering very good circling there! When you stand up, you still tend to help with a hand and that just distracts him, let’s try to do that trick with you sitting on the ground and rewarding just as you did when you were actually trying to get 2on2off 🙂 Let him do the job and then just reach in with a hand very quickly to reward, without keeping it there to lure 🙂 To avoid the confusion with 2on2off, work on those two tricks in two separate sessions for now and with two different objects. Still, some confusion is no big deal, in that confusion, I see more initiative and offering from Darwin as I’ve ever seen before, so I wouldn’t worry about it. That second part was really just great, loved the circling and loved how he is searching for an object with hind foot. You can click that lifting of one foot and put it on a different cue, it’s a cute “pee” trick! Great job!
I can’t find it anymore. Somewhere you asked Lotta for the ball on the picture. I guess its the Horsemans Pride Pferdeball http://www.tradoria.de/weidebedarf/horsemans-pride-jolly-ball-pferdeball-origial-horsemans-129834276.html?cid=google_base&utm_source=preisvergleich&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=googlebase-2010-07
O.k., great, thank you! That’s already closer and easier to ship! 🙂