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: 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 strength 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!
Final version of 2on2off:
A question about the 2on2off: In the first version (dog climbs up and puts front fet down), is it ok that the dog allways goes in the position facing you? and if not, how do you get him to do the behaviour sideways, or away from you? It’s hard for us to vary my position to the box since he´ll just do the behaviour on that side of the box 🙂
You can limit his options by positioning the box between the sofa and you, then he needs to do it sideways. Try to also sometimes move, sometimes stand still etc.
More questions for 2 on 2 off
How long should you wait with the handstand with a small breed? Of course you can to this excercise allready with any puppy but when can you go all the way? Also, is there a way of getting the dog to lift both hind legs at the same time? He allways first lifts up one leg on the box and then the other but doesn’t he need to push of the ground with both to do the handstand? I looked up some tutorial-vids in youtube but all those dogs just did it on their own. That’s what happens when you show how to train a trick with a dog that allready knows the trick ;(.
And when doing this version of 2 on 2 off, do you also allways let the dog go only on cue and throw a treat, or is it not that important for this exercise?
Also, can you name the behaviour “handstand” allready at the point when the dog reliably lifts his legs on the objekt? Or should you name it only when he is doing handstand on her own?
Many questions, I know 😉
Do you have a cue for 2 on 2 off and if you do, do you use the same one for both varations of 2 on 2 off. What do you call it?
With Le, my small breed puppy, I went to a vertical object when she was about 6 months as it was always very easy for her. But nevertheless, I left it alone then and only started to fade the object when she was almost 12 months. I call both versions of 2on2off “two”, but I don’t use it in agility -- if I did, then I would name it differently. My dogs all started to push up with both legs once the object got too high to step on with one -- they never had a tendency to climb, that mostly happens if you train it on an angled plank (that promotes climbing!) or with heavier dogs. If the dog has tendency to climb, make sure you jackpot when/if he hops up. You can also use “empty” objects like chair or table as those don’t allow climbing. Another good trick is to sit on the chair and have them put hind feet on your knees. If necessary, you can first allow climbing by stretching the legs out just enough that they can climb, then slowly hold the legs more and more vertical and eventually keep your feet under the chair, so they can’t use your legs to climb, then need to go directly on your knees.
Oh, and one more:
I’m trying to make him keep his head low with a nose target on the floor, but we have no duration what so ever on our nose touches so it is difficult… It is easy to get from 1 second to 2 seconds and so on, but how do you get duration from just a little touch? It is hard to click and treat several times in position since when he eats his nose moves away from the target. Have the same duration problem on our hide/scrach head trick…
To get duration, do both, delay the click and reward as close to the target as possible. Personally, I don’t use a nose target, I simply reward low (toss a treat on the floor), that’s good enough for handstand.
Hi Silvia,
Can you detail me the steps to get duration for a “barking frustrated dog”. I have been luring during only 2/3 weeks until you advise me not to proceed that way. Since then she only barks when when she doesn’t understand or when it gets difficult to her:
step 1- get the movement, c/r -- OK
step 2- get the movement and keep on c/r to make the movement lasts -- OK
step 3- ???
PS: Do you always give one kipple by one kipple except for jackpots or do you have different levels of rewardings?
Thank you
Celine
There are actually no steps, just following the feeling and change the exercise -- lower the criteria or adjust the environment -- before the frustration starts. In general, that means you need to reward A LOT, even if for only tiny steps forward -- the longer you wait, the more likely she will bark. Make things easy enough for her to succeed. With more&more successes, they don’t get frustrated as easily, but at the beginning, you need to be extremely generous with your rewards to avoid barking. More active tricks and chasing rewards help to relieve frustration through movement vs. barking, so keep it short and intense.
And yes, I usually either give one kibble or many for a jackpot -- and extra many for a big breakthrough 🙂
Question on #2 -- do you have any video of what this should look like? Spur is good on her perch going one way, but not so good going the other. I just want to see what I’m aiming for.
Also I stink at knowing when to add a word to a behavior. Any hints on that?
Mary
Here you go:
As soon as it looks like in the video, you put a name on it.
Thank you. Thank you. Although that Pyr Shep looks enough like Wispy to make me a little sad :-(.
We will get working on that tonight!
Silvia is there a trick to get the dog’s head up? Summer does not offer it readily… Do you just shape it? Or? All the dogs I watch seem to do it naturally!
Rewarding with high head usually does the trick 🙂
This is Blast’s version. I don’t know how to get him to move with me. He tends to let me get to s spot and then put himself in the position.
Laura
I think that’s good enough for a start! 🙂 It’s actually GREAT to your left leg already, I can only see what you’re talking about when coming to your right leg. Once he knows the verbal cue better, you can get rid of it by just telling him to “side”, so I wouldn’t worry about it, it sure looks great!
With #2 should they have mastered the circling in both directions before we can do this one? I started getting SOME circles counterclockwise so should I practice counterclockwise for awhile or start clicking clockwise to get the other circle? Since he is going counterclockwise, can I start teaching “heel”?
Do we want them touching our leg for “heel” and “side”?
Yes, I would actually only do this when the dog is fluent in full circles in both directions… So continue with that, start with other tricks, but wait with #2 a little longer. And yes, I like a touch as it’s clearer to the dog, but don’t reinforce leaning on you -- a gentle touch should do 🙂
Hi -- We are just getting started on Puppy Lesson III today. How far apart should I space the cavaletti boxes? It looks like 18 inches or a little more on the wonderful, awesome video 🙂 Or, is the point that the dog is supposed to adjust his/her stride… The dogs in the video are moving very smoothly -- Thanks!
Start with something that looks the most natural and easiest for your dog and then yes, vary the distances a little bit for additional challenge 🙂
About the back up.. I’m gonna teach my dog to to backword circles around me since it is a neat trick. I’m thinking that I wound use the “back up” cue and add barriers (a corner for 90` turn) to make him turn. Sounds easy enough but is it going to ruin my straight back ups if I teach it using the same back up cue at first?
It is funny how Leevi learned that one; I taught the heel just like you (even though I didn’t even know you existed yet ;)) and if you think about it, when he follows you around the box, he is allmost doing it, I just didn’t think about it at first. So when we were training and he got frustrated he started backing behind me and before I knew it, he had gone around me, funny, but I don’t want to teach Terra this way cause it might cause a problem with the heel-position (cause he bacs up a bit behind me).
We’ll get there, just teach a straight back up first. The circles, I get from the heeling trick, it doesn’t ruin heeling position. 🙂
Oh, so we will be doing that later in the class? I guess it can wait then…
Yeap, I think it’s coming in 5th lesson.
Hi ,this is Cubby on Day 1-2 of the current lesson. He is very quickly learning the handstand. Wrigley is stuck at the position you see her at. Cubby offers headstands when his leash is tangled!
We are doing well on the drawers and the box work but still having trouble with stays.
My editing needs improvement and if anyone knows how to delete part of a clip from imovie on the ipad- I could use some help.
We don’t have a working train in the area- so I am taking him to noisy places. He very luckily got to go to the incredible dog challenge dpwntown Atlanta -- ( as in big city) and met 100s of people- maybe a 1000. He may have no manners but he is very sociable. Manners are coming.- I hope.
I love the class and laugh through most of his training. The cats think he gets way too much attention and the other dogs know he does- so each one is learning one of his lessons this week!
Very nice! I laugh all the time watching Cubby too, I love his activity level! 🙂 His 2on2off looks very nice and independent now! For hand stand, I wouldn’t help with a hand, just click for pushing up when he is doing it against the wall. With Wrigley, you need to reward lower and closer to an object to get more vertical position -- that is needed to allow them to balance on their own vs. lean against the object. With the drawers, select for more&more of a push now. You want them to use as much weight and power to push as possible. For stays, just add duration slowly, still reward a lot in a position and don’t forget a release word every time you want him to move!
This is Fizz the Kelpie working through frog legs, crossed legs, walking around a bucket in either direction and opening and closing the cupboards and drawers.
Here’s Sarah’s Video. She is having technical difficulties.
Great job! Very nice paw crosses! Loved the opening&closing of drawers! Slowly select for more&more of a push, you want as much of a slam as possible 🙂 Keep working on a bucket, you want full circles before you go to next exercise. Getting there with frog legs!
Hi,
Tonight while starting #5 for the first time Wylie jumped INTO the kitchen utensil drawer, made me laugh 🙂 I think he was thinking of the jump on my feet trick 🙂
Silvia,
I signed up for this class mainly for the relationship building and for a fun thing to do with my dogs. Both of these are going well 🙂 I was wondering…. I always have a tough time keeping the focus of my young male Terriers when they are in different training environments so what if I started adding some of the easier tricks that Wylie has down very well at home in different environments like off leash walks? I know from your videos that you do healing and maybe other tricks while you are on your daily hikes. What would be some good tips to making this successful? For example would it be good to call them to me do a trick or two and then release to go play? thx Sara and Wylie
With my puppies, I take them everywhere with me from day 1 and play and do tricks they know to some degree anywhere we have 5 minutes of time, so I never had a focus problem in new environments… But of course, that’s easier with herding dogs as terriers… So if you’re expecting problems, make sure to bring extra good treats and the favorite toy, do something really short and intense and reward A LOT. Try to do it when the dog is not too much into something else (playing with other dogs, sniffing for mouses… -- whatever), maybe even before he is off leash so that he doesn’t have that many interesting choices that your attempt would fail -- and then let him go after a short session of his favorite tricks.