Wow, it's your 5th lesson already! Here is your new list. As we were discussing, I'm underlining the assignments you should focus on in case you're somewhat behind and don't have time to focus on all those new tricks. But you sure want to try them all at one point!
1. heeling: make the "glued to the leg" exercise more like heeling: still do different kind of turns, but also some normal forward walking in different speeds (slow, normal, fast) to teach them to adjust and keep the right position in every situation
2. figure 8 backward: tell the dog to go into heel position and start spinning as we were doing on the target, then very suddenly stop and step back with the other leg (if the dog is at left side - with right leg), you can also make a gesture with left hand to try to get them to keep circling below the heeling position, eventually all the way around you leg, so that they come backwards between your legs back into front position. If the dog insists on staying in heel position, you can help with the hand a little bit, lure his head out (left for 90 degrees if the dog is on left side) and say back to have them back up in your direction. Step back with the other leg enough to have them back up between your legs. Reward and tell them to heel on the other side (right) and repeat the process. As soon as you get some smoothness with that, stop rewarding for coming in between, always first tell them to come to the other leg and reward at your side in order to avoid having them back up too far - they need to stay very close to your legs all the time.
3. skateboarding: try to find a skateboard (kids department) and reward for making it move with front feet. Don't reward 4on, but 2 or 3, the criteria is they make a skateboard move.
4. cik&cap: find a table leg, dog-food container, traffic cone or similar and shape the dog to go around it - first just a step, then two or three circles, both directions (you can reward both right from the start if you are getting it - if not, start with just one, but then on one session, don't reward that direction anymore but wait for the other)
5. fade the object for side legs: if the dog is already heaving both legs up at the same time, click&reward that before he even touches the object, so that he understands the idea is picking them up, not touching something. At the same time, try changing objects as much as possible. Going to vertical objects shouldn't be too difficult, then go to "empty" objects like a chair that looks like an object, but doesn't really offer much support, so at this point, the dog is already free-standing, the object is just there for mental support. Next step in table leg and then you don't need an object anymore. For free handstand, you go through the same process, only that it takes longer as it's physically more demanding - you can start working on it, but do not rush it, especially not with young puppies!
6. don't forget on recalls and playing, stays with distractions (you can combine it all in a really fun game), try the hug on a plastic bottle or something similar that is light enough for the dog to hold it and have them hold it independently, add more steps to backing up from you, tape the 4in the bowl trick again so that I can see to what size you managed to get: the smaller the better!
And most importantly: have fun!
Hi Silvia,
It’s a 5-min-video because I added last tricks we didn’t have time to get through. Hope you don’t mind.
Actually, those for which we have most difficulties are cik&cap and stay… those useful for agility:_(
Is it just a question of time and practice or would you ought me to change something ?
Thank you
Céline
Very good, what a great progress with all the tricks! Figure 8 backward is going really well already! Time to start helping her less: slowly start stepping back less&less so that she needs to do more&more of a job on her own. Heeling position is nice too, but I would really like to see higher head, I think she could have really beautiful heeling with high front legs if you could get that head more up. I would definitely reward from the same side she is on and so high she needs to leave the floor a little with front feet.
I think cik&cap is actually going well, other than we need to get some more speed coming into the turn, but we’ll work on that in Foundations class. For now, focus on tightness and multi-wraps. It’s o.k. to use left&right for cik&cap, but you will need to think of another two words for left&right spins that we’ll be teaching within Puppy class too. The difference between the two at this stage is that cik&cap is always around an object and left&right are free spins.
For side legs (and handstand too), I would stop rewarding just one leg on -- wait for both before you click&reward, she understands the exercise well enough at this point and if you click just one leg up at this point, you’ll teach her NOT to offer it at the same time! GREAT progression with bowl to bowl trick!!! Great 4in! For a hug, I would prefer something somewhat thinner, so that she can go more around with her paws. To advise you on stays, it would be good to see the video to see where you are and what’s the problem…
You’re right I forgot to tape the stay trick!
For cik&cap, actually I speak different langages, so I’ll use diferent words for different tricks to not get confused myself!!
If we compare to your cik&cap video, I’m having trouble just after your 33:30min step and before your 35:47 step. I guess the step in between is time?!
For heeling, it’s pretty hard for me because I still have my salmon puppy proplan kibbles that are tiny. I drop them out so often with right hand and nails up that I don’t succeed using neither nails down nor left hand. Promice you: I’ll try more! Any case I have few kibbles left (1 month).
OK for the rest, I understood. Thank you so much!
Céline
Well, you can always get a small bag of big kibble 🙂 I can’t check the steps on this laptop, what is problematic step?
Hi Silvia,
only figure 8 backward is in lesson 5. The short heeling before figure 8 isn`t really good, but I think in a few days this might be gone. A short bowl in bowl; Fine did it the first time in this video. Then frog and stepping back, just for you to give us some advices now if there is going something wrong. I didn`t use a toy here because it is too slippery everywhere inside the house and it is raining all day long outside. Of course we are playing a lot outside just not recording it. And then the sit-up with a little bit of duration.
We will have a video of lesson 5 in a few days….
Wow, GREAT figure 8 backwards!!! Bowl to bowl is sure going great too! And GREAT progression with sit up! She sure seems to have perfectly good balance, she just didn’t know it’s about the duration! 🙂 So just keep working like this no, no rewards for quick sit ups anymore. Back up is going well too, just make sure you always click when she is still moving! If you click when she stops, you’re rewarding her for stopping, so always ask for few more steps if she stops before you click. Great job!
Hi, Silvia.
Here is our video for this week. Da Vinci ran out of juice before we got to the side legs and pole hugging so will have to get those later. Between RC training, tricks and weekend play time, he ran out of steam. Anyway, here it is. We are adding distance for backing up and started over for the handstand work…is it better? With “heel” and “side” should I go back to the perch to get him closer to my leg? The figure 8 is going ok. My husband noticed that I was stepping back with the wrong leg when going from side to heel so I need to go back and fix that. I’m just happy we can do it…even as clumsy as it is 😉 The skateboard may be Da Vinci’s favorite trick. He loves it and is all over it. I spend most of our training trying to slow him down so he stays on it and pushes along. This is only his 3rd time on it. Side legs and hugging the pole are going well…I’ll get video after the weekend. I’m taking him to an agility trial tomorrow so will try some tricks and practice stays too.
Great! He sure loves his skateboard! You are on a right way for a handstand now yes, just slowly make it higher&higher. Figure 8 is going well too, slowly start helping him less&less by stepping back less&less so that he needs to do more of the work himself. Heeling looks perfectly good to me, but if you are not completely happy with it, you can of course go back for some more perch work.
Thanks Silvia. Glad to hear you think the heeling/ side is ok. I wasn’t sure.
Are we at the point that I should start naming Cik & Cap or should I try to get more first?
Da Vinci was absolutely wonderful at the trial yesterday! We practiced walking on leash, tricks, matwork (which turned out to be delightful chill time ringside), saw lots of things, greeted lots of people and dogs, played with familiar dogs, hung out and just got to be a puppy. It was exhausting, but we had such a great day. I only asked for his favorite and easiest tricks (sit pretty, scooch, back up as well as some hand touches, between legs, sits, downs and stays). He did some nice sit stay practice ringside!
His confidence is really improving!
Yes, trials are great for puppy training! And yes, you can start naming cik&cap!
Here’s what we did this week:
We took lots of breaks because we were both experiencing some burn out! But we still had some fun!!
1. Heeling: we went back to the perch and did lots of small movements, then slowly increased to quarter and half turns as shown here. I think it looks like she is moving with me.
For the right side, I have to click for both moving with me, and staying still when I stop to solve our overturning problem. I think it looks better! 🙂
I guess our next plan is to slowly to go lower target and then try again?
2. Circling the object: We have a special guest in the video! 😉 (I am a medical student and this was a gift from my uncle.) She does this ok but a little slow? She can actually do 2 circles on her own already now 🙂
3. Skateboarding: we did 3 sessions but she usually used 1 paw to push the skateboard. This is the first time we got 2!!
4. Pole hug: I think its getting better. I can really feel her pulling on it, but its not going to her chest.She also offered 2 paw hug, but she was not sitting straight. Do you think we can start using an object with 1 paw? I tried once, with soft toys/big soda bottle, but she did not seem to want to take the object. Any tips?
5. 4in: we’ve progressed to an even smaller bowl! I don’t know if we can do even smaller, have not tried 🙂
Thanks!!
We have not started on the backward figure of 8 because I’m afraid she already has problems with pivoting and stopping. Will start in a few days… Side legs is going well but we need more practice to build the muscles. She understands but cannot really balance.
Looks great! She sure looks like she is moving with you, I think it should work this time of fading the target 🙂 Really cute hugs too! Maybe she just didn’t recognize the other object as something to hug? Try using as many different object as possible, first those looking as much as the ones she knows already and then going to other objects within the same session to help her understand it’s the same thing. Loved the skate-boarding and cik&cap too, she sure looks like she is having lots of fun with it!!! You can’t expect much speed on multi-wraps, tightness should be your focus for this exercise and she is bending her back really well. And wow, that’s sure a very small bowl for this size of a dog! 🙂
Hi Silvia,
Here is where we are with lesson 5. Heeling has been a lot of fun & we have been practicing this more than other tricks. I have been trying to keep my arms free & not on my waist like in last video. We had to do more of “ignore the toy” to get to this point--Elsa was a bit over the top for the first few sessions. 🙂 I only video taped one set of side legs but they are both at about the same point.
We’re hitting a few roadblocks with the backwards fig 8 🙁 I can’t use “back” as cue because Elsa thinks this means to go straight back at full speed 🙂 so she misses my legs completely! And if I put my hand out to the side she takes this to mean “spin in a circle” (something I had previously taught her) next to my leg. Our first couple of sessions were pretty good but they have gone downhill since. Not sure what to do…any advise?
Thanks.
Wow, the heeling is just beautiful!!! I like it very much that you can move hands normally and even keep the toy in the other hand and she is able to ignore it and focus on you. This was exactly the purpose of that #3 exercise of lesson 1 that we did. If anybody has problems moving hands normally, as Kathy is doing in this video, please do some more work on that exercise, it’s important you can move your hands normally when the dog is heeling. I usually keep the toy in the same hand though, behind the dog’s head, to be able to reward from behind and above -- I definitely recommend that if the dog tends to curl in too much. But Elsa is not doing it, so you can keep it that way, just so you have a plan B if she starts to curl in too much. Great job!
Thank you also for showing how to use a chair to fade the object for side legs! Elsa is sure doing GREAT already without an object too!!!
Great 4in and sit up too! Can you tape your tries of figure 8 backwards too, it would be much easier to advice then on how to help her understand. Maybe already standing in a corner would help? That way, she doesn’t have much room to circle and she has no room behind her to back up straight. Another way would be to spin really fast with her in heel position and then stop so suddenly that maybe momentum will take her behind your back and you can pretty much just step over her with the other leg and jackpot for coming in between your legs… -- Hope that helps some. Maybe I have a better idea after I see the video.
I like the chair idea too. I will have to try that when we are at the point of fading out the object. Thank you!
Beautiful heeling! Your video was fun to watch.
Thanks Silvia! Here is our video of the backwards fig. 8 using a corner as a guide. I first went back & did what you suggested with spinning/pivoting really fast & stopping quickly--we had some success with that method but Elsa is so quick I couldn’t get my leg back fast enough and sometimes she would crash into my leg as I was stepping back 🙁 so it was very confusing to her as to what I wanted her to do 🙂 So then I set up this corner with the table & cushion & I think we may be getting somewhere with this method. How does this look to you?
Thanks!
Great! She sure is quick! 🙂 Once you get used to her rhythm, things will get very easy.
Thanks Silvia! Yeah, getting used to Elsa’s rhythm & quickness is a bit of a challenge for me 🙂 Before Elsa, my dogs were always Bernese Mountain Dogs and they move in “slow motion” compared to this girl… 🙂
Hi Silvia,
You mentioned naming the behaviour of running fast.
My dogs run fastest when released together to run in the off leash park, and it should be easy to call that something.
Can you explain where and how you use this cue in agility?
Thank you,
Carla
I use it on a dog-walk 🙂 and any time when there is an open, straight forward part of the course: instead of calling obstacles names, I will just say “ajde, ajde” on that part and they will charge forward with full speed. I use the same word on a dog-walk when there is a straight exit (vs. left/right when there is a turn), it sure gives them some extra speed 🙂
Hi! Now we focus on heeling. Azja is still too much in front. Of course I made mistakes and rewarded her from opposite side. I know that now! When I watch this movie I see many of my mistakes. So I have a plan to keep a toy in left hand behind her when she walks on my left side. Will it be OK? What else can I do? I think that her position is better than the last time, but I am not sure. She can heel outside with a toy. This is progress! We will practice this week and I will send a film later. I love beautiful heeling so we will focus mainly on this exercise! 🙂
Great! Very nice side legs and bowl to bowl and definitely a progress with heeling! Just try to reward from behind, that should help. Lots of left circles are good too for that problem, but I see you’re already doing that! For right side, I would still work on a target. Nice stay too!
Hello Silvia, I leave you here what we have been working this week, although in the video are not much progress because there were so many distractions at the park today.
I have several problems. In the paws sideways, Obelix often tend to sit up the back leg, not how to fix it, and straight walls that do not get to lift the rear leg, and a chair or table can not hold the balance.
On the other side at 8, I can not pass under my leg, by accident when you start working the exercise you stepped tail and do not know how to fix it, and that when it comes to my back if it is separated by to step back …. ????…. as under
Wow, he will make a great skateboarder! I think he is actually doing GREAT for so many distractions around! A nice reminder for all: take your tricks on the road! Very nice heeling too, amazing rear end awareness for such a big (and long!) dog! Just get rid of that hand, you want to move your hands freely. Cik&caps are pretty nice too, but sometimes somewhat wide. I would still do many multi wraps and really focus on tightness. If he is tight on multi-wraps, but goes wide on sends, resend him to the same object and do some multi wraps on that one to remind him of that criteria. But well, he is sure having fun! -- And that’s the most important thing! Getting there with side legs too! That’s a great object to use as it has different heights! 🙂 To prevent sitting down, reward much lower as you do: kneel down and reward almost on the ground and very close to an object, not so high and away as you do now. I don’t completely understand your last question, if you taped it it would be easier to guess… If not, write it in Spanish and we’ll ask Celine for translation 🙂
Ok, I’ve put it in Spanish … 😛
En el 8 hacia atrás, accidentalmente cuando empecé a trabajarlo, al intentar pasar Obélix por debajo de las piernas y al ser el tan grande, le pisé la cola a Obélix y ahora no soy capaz de reconducirlo, ya que cuando llega la posición de empezar a pasar por debajo de las piernas se aleja de mi por si le vuelvo a pisar… como puedo arreglarlo?????
Celine… HELP! 🙂
She said that when she was starting to train the figure 8 she accidentally stepped on Obelix’s tail, because he is very big. Now when she tries to get to the position to have him pass beneath her legs he gets scared, because he thinks she is going to step on him.
How can she fix this?????
Thanks Catalina for the translation
Thanks! 🙂 And yes, this trick is significantly harder with big dogs, not only because it’s hard to step over them, but also because they need to be so precise: one step in a wrong direction and they miss the gap 🙂 When something scary happens (like stepping on a tail), the best way to react is to have a big party and then leave the trick alone for 2 weeks for the dog to forget about it. The harder you try, the more you’re rehearsing the fear. Still, as you would have the same problem when starting again, let’s try to first teach him circling you backwards in both directions: stand in a corner, spin, stop and have him do few more steps behind your back and eventually all the way around your legs and back to the side position. The objective is he can circle backwards around you two or thee times fluently, in both directions. When he knows to stay close to your legs, you can try figure 8 again, it will be easier then as he will already know what it is about. The only difference between circling backwards and figure 8 is that you need to change his direction when he comes in between the legs -- you can help with hand signal.
Hi Silvia.
Da Vinci is progressing with the pole hugging. He will wrap a paw around while standing and sometimes grab with both briefly. If I ask him to sit and hold the pole, he will wrap a paw around and gets very good duration. He isn’t pulling hard, but he holds the wrapped paw on the pole. What do I do next? Is there more with the pole or do I now try with a bottle? He doesn’t have a lot of duration on the sit up yet…getting there, but I doubt he could balance and hold something with both paws.
While he is holding it, can you feel he sometimes puts more pressure on it? If yes, click that! If not, you can try to move a pole a little bit to see if he puts more pressure on it then. -- That’s what you need next. You can either do that part on a pole or a bottle, whatever is easier for you. You could also try with something wider as a bottle, might be easier for such a big dog.
I just did some work with it. He is definitely pulling the pole in. 🙂 I held the pole just slightly off of the ground and he wrapped his paw and pulled it to his chest. I even pulled back slightly and he held onto it. I tried moving to the bottle…not so good. he was only swiping the bottle or pawing my hand instead of the bottle (1 liter water bottle). Do I need something longer that I can let go of when he pulls on it and also keeps my hands at a distance?
Yes, maybe he doesn’t see it as the same thing. Try to think of something that looks more like his pole… Rolled newspaper? Also, start a session with a pole and then switch objects in between.
I felt that we were having trouble with the cik/cap. Tibby would just go back a forth around the pole and not go all the way around it. As it usually happens, when I turn the video camera on Tibby starts to do the trick! 😛 She only performs for the camera LOL!
We have taken some steps backwards in the heeling/perch. Tibby is now back to doing just a few steps in one direction and then a few steps in another direction. I broke her! 🙁 It sort of frustrating for both of us.
The only trick she really likes is the cupboard door slam. *sigh*
Well yes, cik&cap is going really well now! Few more sessions to get more fluency and then you can name it. When did the problem with the perch start? Before you started to work on her coming to the leg? I think things will make much more sense to her when you put yourself into the picture and start clicking for touching you. It’s never good when things gets frustrating… -- I think at this point, it’s better to lure 🙂 as to get frustrated! And since she clearly understands shaping by now, we can cheat a little with this one -- try to lure her to do enough steps on a perch to touch you and reward that and after few sessions of rewarding for touching only (no steps in between anymore) -- and naming it! -- fade the lure into a hand signal and then minimalise that one too. It should be easy as she learned the bahaviour by shaping first, we’re just helping with the final touches 🙂 -- Definitely better as getting frustrated over it!
I was still practicing Tibby going around the perch and I started rewarding for left and right turns around the perch. Then Tibby just went back to small steps in one direction and then in the other direction. I will try to use a lure this next week and see what happens.
I can tell Tibby isn’t as excited about the perch, because after a few tries of back/forth movement she will do 2o2o on the perch. She will wait a little bit to see if this is what I want and then she will walk away. She does this even if I am using her favorite ball as a reward.
I just want her to be excited about it again!
Sure! As I said, it’s better to help some as to get frustrated over it!
Just wanted to let you know the luring is working. At first Tibby was like, “What the ?” She thought it was a leave it test, but thankfully she isn’t very good at leave it 😉 so she pick up on turning with the treat.
Great! After a couple of lessons, switch to an empty hand and then slowly make the hand gesture less&less pronounced. Have fun!