• 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 français
    • 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 français
    • In Deutsch
  • Online classes

Puppy Oct lesson 2

As you did such a great job with your first homework, you're getting some more this time 🙂 I again marked the ones to focus on first. Post wherever you end up, we learn the most through problems, so you want to post those too! 🙂 So try to view other students' videos and my comments to them too!

1. experiment with different toys and ways to play with your dog. Tape his favourite game to give some new ideas to other participants (and me!!!). From my dogs, Le LOVES to chase things on a string, especially squeaky toys, plastic bags and everything else that makes sound! La hates squeaky toys, but goes crazy for real fur and ladder. Bi loves tugging - on anything BUT real fur, she finds it really gross and won't touch it. - Not that I would be trying in that direction either, only extra durable toys can handle her bite! Bu doesn't care so much about what toy we use, but she definitely wants ME involved: running and making silly noises. She also loves when she has a toy and I'm pretending I want to steal it from her, but am afraid to do so.

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 two 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 for more&more steps around the object. I first click both directions and once I get half of a circle in both directions, start clicking one direction only and reward with a head away from me in order to get a full circle - turning the head away from you in the hardest part, that's why you want to reward with head away at this point. The final goal are full circles in both directions, 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 the angle, even vertical, to his left/right 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 the 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. AGAIN, don't do too much of this exercise, it's great for building muscle, but it can also make them sore if you do too many repetitions every day!

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 you're working on ignoring the food in the hand. 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 step and reward by throwing a treat towards the dog. Rewarding at distance (by tossing a treat instead of giving it from your hand) 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 the 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. You want them go on an object and off immediately, stopping with front feet on the ground. 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 and click for leaving an object too. 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.

 


373 Comments

  1. Louise Hoelscher November 2, 2011 at 14:01 Log in to Reply

    I just love it when you’re trying to teach one trick and you end up with another, lol.

    I was not getting any success with Tat in backing up because she lays down all the time (her default behaviour) so I couldn’t shape any backward movement. I would move into her and roll the treats towards and behind her but she just wasn’t getting it and kept laying down. So last night I tried again but this time in the bathroom on a hard floor (she doesn’t like to lie down on hard floors) and used a toy instead. FINALLY the lightbulb went on and I was getting a couple of steps backwards.

    So…this morning I gave her another little session but on thin carpet. She laid down but still offered me some great backing up, but lying down!!! So I now I have nice scootch backwards 🙂

    • LoLaBu November 2, 2011 at 23:12 Log in to Reply

      Too funny! And yes, many of the tricks my dogs know are their own ideas! Vault being La’s invention, scotching backwards and two-pawed “be ashamed” Bi’s ideas, side-legs limping being Bu’s idea etc. -- I often like their ideas better as my original plan, so I’m always flexible to teach some extra tricks on a way too 🙂

  2. Angela November 2, 2011 at 18:09 Log in to Reply

    Silvia, I started perch training with Smores when she was almost 4 months old, we didnt train it every day. here’s where she was at by the end of Sept. I will keep working more on the right side this week.

    Progress on Pivot work with Smores Sept 28, 2011

    • LoLaBu November 3, 2011 at 11:13 Log in to Reply

      Great! Very nice left side position, while right side could be tighter yes. You can maybe still work just the circling on a porch some and select for really smooth speedy pivoting, it’s a great rear end awareness exercise for growing puppies and I think it will help with right side position too.

  3. Angela November 2, 2011 at 18:11 Log in to Reply

    oops here’s the video again

    Progress on Pivot work with Smores Sept 28, 2011

  4. Louise Hoelscher November 2, 2011 at 21:18 Log in to Reply

    This is how much Trumpet likes this toy. All my dogs love this toy, but Trumpet can self-entertain for hours with it, lol.

    Trumpet's warm up

    • LoLaBu November 3, 2011 at 11:25 Log in to Reply

      🙂 Too funny!

  5. Giusy Nicoletti November 2, 2011 at 21:24 Log in to Reply
    Esercizi Wanda silvia 3 prova

    what do you think? is that the right way to let her go around the object?

    Wanda wouldn’t touch the plate when in down position. She doesn’t like that position so much. I tought that i could practice that position. than, maybe, click and reword any head movement in the plate direction and when she’ll get that shape her to do the same with her left paw. is that ok?

    • LoLaBu November 3, 2011 at 13:22 Log in to Reply

      Great, really nice hind feet movements already. You’re getting more than enough movements that there is no need to move with her: the more you move with her, the more you reinforce her staying in almost front position to you, while we actually want her to take her eyes off your hand and turn away from you to do a whole circle on her own. To get that, start rewarding with a head turned away from you. Hide your hands behind your back so that she is not staring at them so much and when you reward, reach in quickly and deliver the reward so that her head is turned right if she is circling to the left and and the other way around.

      Would she touch a plate in a sit position? If so, you can start with that and try it in down too, clicking for any attempts in the right direction and then build to the real touch.

  6. Giusy Nicoletti November 2, 2011 at 21:35 Log in to Reply
    wanda rodeo

    This is how wanda play.. on her own….
    she doesn’t like to play very much with human, she likes to go after with the intent to chatch lizards and cat =D

    • LoLaBu November 3, 2011 at 13:13 Log in to Reply

      Maybe you should get a toy that Trumpet has, he is doing the same thing with snakes and that toy, so maybe she would play with that too and you can become a part of the game. Try to put a toy like Trumpet has or another lizard-like toy (or maybe some real fur?) on a string and pull it around in a quick, unpredictable way, just as a lizard would move and see if you can get her interested in that. Finding a way to play together is a very important part of building the bond with the dog, so I would definitely try to get her insterested. She obviously has a chasing instinct, so something fun on a string might really work for her!

  7. Deb Jones November 3, 2011 at 00:39 Log in to Reply

    Here’s some video of Star playing with her dragon. She loves to make lots of noise and sounds very fierce, but she is not getting overly aroused or excited. She can disengage very quickly when asked. If a different dog sounded like that I’d be concerned, but that’s just Star!

    Star playing

    • LoLaBu November 3, 2011 at 17:45 Log in to Reply

      Very cute! And she sure talks a lot!

  8. Deb Jones November 3, 2011 at 00:41 Log in to Reply

    And here’s Star’s 4 in the bowl work from last night. I’m pretty pleased with her progress and how hard she’s working to balance.

    Deb

    Star bowl work

    • LoLaBu November 3, 2011 at 17:45 Log in to Reply

      Great progress and really great balance! Looks ready for a smaller bowl 🙂

  9. Robin November 3, 2011 at 01:17 Log in to Reply

    A question for all my classmates about pivoting around an object. I haven’t done any of this before. The problem that Secret is having is that she thinks the point is to turn the object over. She does not nicely leave her two paws on the object. She only does one paw at a time and she “rakes” at the object until it turns over. She is fully grown and over 30 lbs, so I need a big, heavy object. Any suggestions on what to use and how to get both paws on the object? And stop the turning over?

    Thanks!

    • Ivana Janousek November 3, 2011 at 07:48 Log in to Reply

      Hi Robin
      I am new to this too. What about a brick? If it is too small, what about two pavers on top of each other? That would be a heavy item. I guess you would have to be super quick C/T before she can start ‘raking’
      I wonder what Silvia will suggest. 🙂

    • Sharon Yildiz November 3, 2011 at 14:25 Log in to Reply

      I’ve used a round patio brick for my Border Collie in the past--worked great and un-moveable, un-tippable.

    • LoLaBu November 3, 2011 at 18:14 Log in to Reply

      A brick or dog food container full of food maybe? Also, try to stand up for this exercise and reward high so that her weight is on a rear end and she can’t push the object around.

      • Robin November 4, 2011 at 15:20 Log in to Reply

        Last night I used a round dog food container that was about 18″ tall and12″ in diameter. I think that the added height made it easier to understand. Also the tip to reward high to keep the weight on the rear end. It was extremely successful and fun.

        • LoLaBu November 4, 2011 at 18:31 Log in to Reply

          Yay! Very cool!

  10. Verena November 3, 2011 at 01:19 Log in to Reply

    Hi everybody,
    this is our first few sessions of circling around an object -- in fact I already know after reading the other postings that I was luring way too much! The video is on faster speed as except for tail wagging not many things happened -- she tried 4on or started singing, but no sign that she had the slightest clue what I want from her. Will be a good training for my patience, too!

    Bisou umlaufenesObjekt1

    • LoLaBu November 3, 2011 at 18:19 Log in to Reply

      That tail in fast forward is hilarious! What a fun puppy! And yes, you lure too much and want too much 🙂 You are actually getting tons of movement -- maybe not to the side just yet, but forwards and backwards. Start with those and then select for side movement. And yes, this trick really takes a while. If you get a full circle in 2 weeks, that’s great! Expecting it much sooner as that is pretty unrealistic…


  1. Pages:
  2. «
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. 9
  12. 10
  13. 11
  14. »

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.

 

Last call for May classes! You can still join us in Tricks/Puppy class – or Running Contacts Repeaters class!!!

 

  • 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's videos students' videos 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 🙂 )

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