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:
Second film now. It seems that I just cannot make them under 5 mins, but atleast this one has more in it :).
It has pivots, backing up, sitting pretty (reatty proud f this one :)), crossing paws and the first version of 2 on 2 off, with some distractons.
eh, heres the film
Pivoting looks GREAT! Do try to reward high though yes 🙂 Nice duration on a sit up! To add distance on backing up, toss the treats between his front legs, but somewhat sooner and lower as you do… Maybe it would be easier if you sit on the floor? And maybe use a toy instead of food for that one? -- It’s actually much easier with a toy! Paw touches are nice too -- those are called paw touches to a target or paw targeting. Nice stay in 2off2off, but work some more on independent stop -- progress to walking normally, not backwards anymore, then to jogging and then running also when he is getting in the position, not only when he is already in a position. Great job!
do you have any advise on how to get the dog running fast to the 2 on 2 off? I know this is going to be a problem for us, since he knows he´s gonna stop he doesn’t care about running…. Also I would like to be able to send him to a 2 on 2 off and have him stepping off on the other side of the objekt (like it would be in agility) where I would still be behind. Would it be too much of a cheat to use a paw- or nose target on that one?
For those situations I will sometimes use a nose target, but mostly, I actually just use reward placement ahead (eventually a jump gets this function) -- meaning that the dog runs to an object into 2on2off to then be released forward to a toy that has been thrown or positioned in front, so that the dog is rewarded from in front even when the handler is behind.
Wow! You are doing a great job!
Lotta,
VERY inspiring. Nice job. I especially like how still your boy is in his 2o2o — he does such a nice job of waiting for his release. Nice change of directions on the pivots, too.
Silvia, do you have any extra information about the cavaletti? I’ve heard people mention this exercise before but I don’t understand the point of it or what the goal behavior is.
The point is that the dog needs to be stepping over obstacles one leg by one, thinking about where his feet are in relation to objects and how to get all 4 feet over them 🙂 It’s very easy to jump in and out, your goal behavior is stepping (no jumping!) over obstacles of different heights and at different distances. It’s not really a trick, but it’s a nice rear legs awareness exercise. -- Especially good for those dogs who run with hind feet close together (but that’s another, running contacts topic 🙂 ). It teaches them how to move more efficiently and smoother.
Thanks, now it makes sense!
Silvia we did this with boxes yesterday because I don’t have drawers to use. Because of all the work we did to get Spur to put all four feet in a box she tends to try to do that and then move on. Do you think I can use boards for cavalettis instead? I will try to post video tonight.
Sure, you can use anything else… Ladder, poles (or umbrellas 🙂 ) on the ground -- anything she needs to step over.
Here you have a video playing with Obelix, to see if I work hard this week and hang up video of the exercises this week
Awww cute! I like all the floppy hair 🙂
Very cute! Those Beardies are just too funny with all that temperament and all that hair 🙂
Hi Silvia, Hi classroom,
Here is our 1st video for lesson 3.
I’m still wondering about how including a toy as a reward to be able to click and reward with a toy instead of a kibble? What would be the steps?
Thank you and have a good week !
Céline
That was definitely a very crowded place! 🙂 And she did really great! Loved the door slamming, that last slam was great! You can stop rewarding the gentle pushes now to get more&more power. Nice backing up the stairs! For cavaletti, I would probably try finding something somewhat lower, to make it easier. In parch work, pay attention to how you reward. It’s hard to reward in a good position when you reward with the opposite hand: try rewarding from left hand for left side and the other way around. That will allow you to reward in a better position, with head vertically up. Now her head is curled in and as a consequence, her hind end is swinging out a little bit, so make sure she is completely parallel and the head is up and straight, not curled into you. But those are just very little details, she sure is doing GREAT for her age!!!
Sorry, forgot to answer the toy question… But it’s simple -- just click and throw a toy instead of a treat 🙂 If she is surprised and wants food instead, insist on a toy, do another easy trick and try to reward with a toy -- you can do a whole session with just a toy. Later on, you can reward some exercises with a toy (for example backing up) and some with food (for example holding a position) and then you can sometimes reward with a toy and sometimes with food for the same exercise. Once the dog understands it, though, I prefer toys. This is very easy with dogs who like to play, no steps needed, just click&play 🙂
Well here’s a bit of work with Obelix, we have much work ….
Looks like your other dog wants to join the class too! 🙂 Very cute sit up, great balance for such a big dog! Pivoting is going well too, but make sure you move slowly enough that he can keep the right position all the time -- his rear end is sometimes swinging out a little. Try to have him completely parallel to you all the time. You could also still do some full circles work without you in the picture to get him fluent and fast enough to immediately get all the way to your leg -- it’s harder for longer-backed dogs as for shorter dogs, but at the end of a video, he is doing it really nicely already, so I’m sure you’ll get there in no time! Happy training!
Boleta, my other dog is almost 6 years old, she’ll also be teaching tricks, for now I am working with her 2on 2off, to learn to keep your legs up, and I will put the video any day now …. 🙂
After trying Silvia’s advice about using more tug toys and making everything FUN, I had a major brake through this week. Thank you! I can actually train outside of the X pen now! I’m still way behind in the class but we are having fun.
Oh, my goodness! That’s AWESOME, John!!!! Great job!
GREAT!!! I see you’re catching up in no time now that we’ve got his attention! Loved the pivoting! You have no idea how many people there is out there, working really hard to one day be able to reward with a toy. And yet it’s always so hard to make people who have dogs who love toys to take that big advantage and simply use that toy! 🙂
We had an awesome, but lazy week. I only trained with Tibby once (and taped it). I also only used a toy as a reward this week. Amazing! She LOVES these new balls that I bought her. They are made out of felted wool and have a bell inside. She goes crazy for them -- she would kill for one 🙂
Tibby and I won a contest! We entered a look a like contest at a walk for animals on Sat. We won $55 and also were interviewed for TV.
Tibby did really well with all the people and animals -- 100’s of people and dogs. We had to ride a bus to get from the parking lot to the event location. Tibby was just fine. It was very noisy and bumpy.
We also went to an agility trial on Friday, but I didn’t get any video of that.
There are only a few things on this video -- our ‘field trip’, back up, close door, baby steps of handstand, cavalleti.
I was feeling like I didn’t know where to start with this lesson (hence the lack of practice), but now I feel like it’s not too hard. It was really fun to PLAY with the ball instead of giving Tibby treats. FUN!!
Congratulations on winning the contest!!! 🙂 She doesn’t seem to mind the crowd at all and looks really cool in her rain coat! And wow, she sure looks happier to work for her ball as for treats! Great job! Loved slamming of the door, that was a real slam already! Backing up and babysteps for a handstand are going well too! It’s very easy to progress from here on. Cavaletti would be easier if you set the boxes somewhat further apart to start with, but she sure is doing great, despite a scary bowl!
Thanks! Yeah Tibby is really happy now 🙂
Can I use a toy for all the tricks? For example: How can I use a toy for the pivot/heel excersise? Off to try it out……will report back on how it goes 🙂
Sure -- she will go off the target for every reward, but it’s no problem now that she can already do a full circle. Food is only very useful for completely new tricks, as it keeps the thinking flow and keeps the dog in a position when necessary.
I’m not getting full circles yet, so I’m still using treats. She gives me almost complete cirlces to the right, but when I ask for (or wait for) movement to the left she has a little melt down and gets frustrated. Then she offers back and ‘be shy’ (one of her tricks). She is now a big fan of back.
I do love using a toy, because it gives her a work out/good excercise. It’s fun too, but harder because she gets excited and offers all sorts of stuff. Harder to catch the ‘clickable’ moments.
Excitement and offering all sorts of stuff sounds pretty good to me! 🙂 Especially after your first lesson video! I know, it sometimes looks really chaotic, La is like this 24 hours a day, 7 days per week, even for the most boring kibble ever 🙂 -- and it often looks like it won’t get me anywhere, but actually, as she is offering so much, I have many things to pick from, so if I manage to get my timing super precise, it’s actually not too bad 🙂
Frustrated is not too good, maybe keep rewarding the good direction, but jackpot as crazy for any tiny movement in the other one?
She’s very cute! And quite tolerant of the rain coat. Didn’t you just LOVE our weather last weekend? 😉
Hi all,
We had a major breakthrough with backing into 2on2off this weekend! Thank you Silvia & others who responded to my question with my last video. I started with a low, wide box & Elsa would get into 2o2o the old way and then I lured her off a little & waited. She started stepping back up on the box & I began clicking for the action of backing onto the box. It took a couple of sessions of this but I think she understands now. Here is a video of where she is today with this exercise, along with our cavaletti work--with my bad spelling in the video caption… 🙂
Wow, great backing up the object! Very nice style for getting a handstand out of it as she hops up nicely with both feet (vs. trying to climb with one and then another leg) -- looks like you’ll get there in no time! Very nice and coordinated on cavaletties too! -- Not that I would have any doubts about it! 🙂
Tili and I have been having mixed success. Doing well with no distractions and starting to work with other dogs around and in the exciting outdoors.
1. pivot work which I have no video of is progressing well with full clockwise circles and nearly full anti-clockwise circle on a variety of objects and in various places. Waiting for circles both ways before introducing my leg.
2. 2o2o still needs me in position -- the seedling tray was being used for the first time in the video.
3. this is our first attempt at backing up onto something -- distracted by the environment and threw in some other behaviours when I added a bit of distance
4. Play -- find it, pounce on the inactive toy and tug
5. Sit up and wave -- she loves this, I have not asked for more duration because of her age (3 1/2 months)
6. Frog legs not on video are now being offered -- so am just capturing
7. She seems unable to do paw stuff in a down postion at the moment -- I am not pushing as she has a lovely neat down which I dont want to mess up as she will be doing obedience.
8. Visited an indoor market as our first place -- she loved all the attention the people gave her and settled well. Not sure I am going to manage a train station as they are not the safest places around here.
The hardest bit is the videos -- had some great work a couple of days ago and chopped TIli’s head off on the video. Think this one is OK if I get it loaded successfully.
1. Sounds like a good plan!
2. Yeah, I see she depends on your movement a lot. At this stage, I would probably stay static all the time and wait for her to figure out the position. Also, reward by tossing a treat at her front feet, so that she doesn’t focus on you too much. Once you start walking again, try to keep walking (very slowly!) so that she doesn’t start to cue from your movement again.
3. You actually don’t need distance for this exercise -- just slowly add more height. She is doing great on this height already, picks up her hind feet really well, no problems.
5. That’s actually very nice duration and balance already! Especially for such a young puppy!
8. Sounds great! I guess that will do, a train station was just an idea to get them to noisy environment, but you definitely don’t want to do it if it’s not safe!!!
Great job so far! Very smart puppy!