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.
Thank you Silvia! Hope you had very good holidays 🙂 Yes, Kalhy is growing like a mushroom!
I will try to do like you say for the 2o2o because I’ll be using it for contacts (I reallywant to learn running contacts but we live in an apartment and with no garden it’s difficult to experience this technique ='( ).
Ok, I will pay attention to be faster to click when she’s MOVING (and I read you above saying that it’s better to click when they have the head away, right?).
Oh, I had very busy holidays, finishing my new DVD 🙂 And yes, click when she is moving, ideally when she is turned away from you. Happy training!
Thank you! See you soon! 😉
Ooooh I’m such a terrible student, I have real problem with the pivoting and the walking backwards…. I’ve made a “catch up” video to show you how I stand so far, every exercise real short….
With the pivoting, I’ll tried the rewarding with the head in an other position, but my problem is that Tess is going OFF the pot after the click…. Somehow I learnd here that click is end of the exercise… don’t now what to do now. ‘Now she’s constant going in the 12óclock position… when i turn she will turn with me around, but not on here own…. When I waith she only will stand and bark constantly…. Do you have an other tip of how I can work this?
The walking back i don’t have on video yet, but she does 3 steps nowm, but I have to walk into here…..
Looks great to me! Very nice 4in! Keep rewarding in a bowl to add duration to standing with 4 in to challenge her balance some more. Nice 4on on a pot too 🙂 For pivoting, stand closer to the pot so that you can reach in quicker and reward her when still on a pot, with a head turned away from you. It’s normal she comes to get her reward after a click if the reward doesn’t come to her 🙂 You need to be faster with those treats! Great sit up and almost there with paw crosses, you can fade the hand target into a hand cue now. Great understanding of 2on2off position too! And what a focused and motivated puppy!
Can’t see the video due to some music right violation -- anybody else having the same problem?
No, just Germany 🙂
Sorry germany….
Thanks! I try to stand closer to here and be quicker with the poviting. Didn’t realise that I was to slow…
Here is Garlic progress with back up : I stay down during this trick. May I try to stand up ? And perhaps could I try it outdoor for more space ? Is it possible to get more speed ?
I think she keeps stopping as you keep clicking her for stopping… You, again, need to click when she is still moving, not after she stops already! For more speed and distance, try outside and with a toy.
Silvia, just after your message, I try to see what happens when I click & reward during back up action. Now Garlic stops immediatly each time I click. Will this problem disappear with repetitions ?
Thanks for ur advice.
No, it won’t, it’s normal and it’s fine. The important thing is that you click the behaviour that you want to reward (and not AFTER it has happened!). It’s normal the dog wants a reward for that click then, it’s what this game is about! Just be quicker with the reward and toss it almost at the same time you click.
I was surprised with your unexpected answer, and I slept more clever !!!
In fact I already stand up on this video. And I throw a small treat after each click. Garlic touch with a paw for treat each time she comes back to me.
Sorry I posted my question in lesson 3 and should have posted here in lesson 2. I am stilling having problems with back for Tag. Tag will either sit or hop back and then sit. I cannot seem to get beyond that. I need some suggestions please.
Copying my reply from there: Are you standing up? And how are you rewarding? Sitting down often happens because of a head up, so it normally helps if you sit on the floor and reward by tossing treats low, on the ground between her front paws. Also, try to think of a situation where she backs up on her own – maybe through the door when you carry her dinner? Try to mark and reward whenever you see it. You can also try playing tug and have her winning it, so backing up as she is pulling on a toy. You can mark that too while she is backing up, pulling on her toy.
Hi Silvia, this is where we are with lesson 2, the most dificult for me is sit up and cross leg, With 2on 2off I`m making more dificult for Astro, trowing toys and food, and doing with backing up in a “hall” because with out it he gets lost 🙂
what should I continue?
thanks
Great job with 2on2off! The next step would be to slowly fade rewarding in a position and reward only the release in higher&higher %. Very nice, fast and fluent pivoting too, it looks ready for the next, “glued to the leg” step -- see Kathy’s video. Sit up looks perfectly o.k. for his age, it’s normal he can’t hold it very long yet, so just keep working on it and add duration very slowly. Paw crosses look good with the crate barrier too, you can now leave the target on the floor and use a hand signal and then just fade the target.
Hi Ana,
About paw crosses trick, I don’t know how to progress because my Garlic follows the target ( a white credit card format ), but I can’t get cross without target. I get the solution in your video : I leave the target on the floor as you do and I do a paws cross series with “cross” cue ( with increased speed ) and I suddenly remove the target, and Garlic goes on paw crossses without target ! Thanks !
What a smart girl!
Hi Silvia,
This video has what I have so far for 2on2off. Can I get some feedback please?
The video is poorly framed so please let me add a brief description:
The dog starts on their mat (off to the right). I cue “break” and then “walk on” for get in 2on2.
The dog goes on the perch and then I bend down and place a treat on the floor. Dog holds position and I cue “break” and click for coming off to get the treat on the floor.
The concern I have is when I release from mat, he always struggles to find the 2on2off position (he blows past it) and then has to loop back to find it. Do you think this will become a superstitious behavior chain, and should I go back to rewarding in position from his release from mat?
Any/all feedback please! Not really sure what I’m doing as I do not have an agility background.
Exactly. Rewarding “go over the object and then back up” is not a good idea, you need to make the task easy enough that he can succeed on a first try and then add difficulties more gradually. For now, try to sit next to the object, reward in a position, then release to a treat tossed ahead (to your left or right) and then have him come back to an object again, do 2on2off in the other direction, reward in a position, reward for a release tossing a treat ahead etc. Then slowly lower the % of rewarding in a position, but slowly enough that he is mostly successful. Don’t reward for going over an object and back on it, only reward when he stops on the first try.
Perfect, thank you!
Sometime during a trick, Garlic propose me another trick and I get confused. For example, during cross paws trick, Garlic stands up and propose backp up, etc … what to do in this case ? I can’t say “No” because for me it’s a good thing that Garlic propose !
Forget about the “no”s, we’re clicker training 🙂 If you want to follow the rules, just ignore the things she throws at you when you’re working on something else. However, I will sometimes break the rule and actually reward it: IF they offer something extra cute, something extra good or something extra innovative 🙂 Of course, it’s not right to do it, but I’m not very serious about tricks. And it’s definitely less “not right” as saying no!!! No “no”s please, we’re learning here!
Silvia, I just write “No” as a little provocation … I know since I started agility, that saying “No” is forbiden. Be reassured, I never use it during learning tricks !!! I suppose that Garlic propose me her prefered tricks as a more easy way to get treats !!!
Pivoting looks great! Try it with you in the picture again, just follow the advises in my last comment to your videos. Paw crosses look great, ready to try the other paw! Great 2on2off too! Try to proceed to sit up with the paw touches. Great backing up too -- to add even more distance, try rewarding at the distance, by tossing a toy or a treat towards her. Happy training!
Here is my video for lesson two. Things are going really well and we are having so much fun. With crossing paws we have not started it yet with the other leg. I think we need to start working on it soon as she is getting stuck with always wanting to paw with her right foot now.
Great job! The paw crossing looks really cool with her long legs! You can certainly go for the other paw now. Great job with pivoting too, you can now make that target lower. Nice backing up and 2on2off too, so you can try backing up an object next. Almost there with 4in in that small bowl! Keep adding duration to the sit up and fade the hand. And a really nice frog and great toy motivation, what a cool dog!