I think we're ready for the next list!
1. see in what situations your dog gets really crazy and exited or runs as mad and name it - my "magic" word is "ajde, ajde" and you can really see how much speed they add when hearing it - in agility or when running in the fields. I got it by saying anytime they would be playing the BC games, chasing each other in full speed or go crazy and run in circles on a wet grass.
2. make the front feet target lower&lower and then smaller&smaller and then fade it completely, still circling away from the dog and have him follow your leg. Then, add movements to the side, forward and backward and reward your dog for being glued to the leg.
3. side version of 2on2off: try to get side legs (the two left or the two right legs) on an object. The easiest is to choose an object that is angled (I put a pillow/plank/drawer under the angle against the sofa or a wall), so that the dog can't climb on it with all 4 feet. Because of 2on2off, they will probably try hind feet on, but position yourself next to an object so that the dog is parallel to it and will probably first try just one hind foot (it helps if you have a pee trick down already!): reward a couple of times so that he keeps it there as opposed to try to put the other hind leg on too and then see if you can get front foot on too. You can tell them to paw touch your hand that you keep close to an object and eventually fade the hand to have both feet on an object. Jackpot if the dog puts both feet on at the same time (vs. first hind, then front). Do it with both sides right from the start, you want to build muscle and balance on both sides.
4. one object into another: shape the dog to pick up an object, then to carry it around, then to carry it in the direction of another object, then to let it go close to it and eventually to actually put it in another object. I usually start directly with two bowls of the same size, but to make it easier, you can also use a toy and a box or something similar. Do try it with a bowl too, though, they require more precision.
5. hug the pole/umbrella trick, first clicking for any paw touch, then for sliding to the side and then for going more&more around the object, the final goal is a firm hug with one or both front feet around the object - see 
6. stays with distractions: tell the dog to sit or down and continue with proofing the stay until the release word as we were practicing in 2on2off position already in the last lesson: have them stay in a position with you running passed them, throwing toys and treats, making different hand gestures etc. - then say "go" (sometimes standing still, sometimes while moving) and reward, preferably with a toy as you want a fast start out of the position on "go"
Pick up a bowl : Yesterday when I began with this trick, it was very fun because Garlic propose me a review of all she knows and some plus like circling in a bowl, one foot in each bowl … See the final …
Not bad for a second day at all! I had to laugh at the peeing on a bowl at the end! Very cool that you got some “making noise” already -- like at 1.18 -- you want to jackpot that!!! You can help some with how you position the bowls, but what she does at 1:18 is exactly your next goal! Once there, it’s very easy to get a bowl into a bowl.
Garlic is too cute!!
I, too, am regretting only auditing!
Silvia, on the hug the pole trick, Byrdie has a very good, strong hug with one leg while sitting down. He prefers to do it with his right leg but will do it (a little less strongly) with his left leg if I ask him. I’m using a smooth wooden pole like from a closet rod. My questions are:
1. Should we stay at this stage until he’s equally good with both legs, or is it okay to give him his preference?
2. When I let him stand up to do it, he does grip it, but slides right down. Should he be able to stand still while hugging it? If he should stand, then should I put something grippier on it like rubber?
3. Do I put it on a cue before moving to a stuffed toy?
Thanks! We’re having so much fun with this. Since we started so late, I don’t know if we’ll get everything before class ends, so I might end up joining the next session, too!
Sounds great, you can definitely try both legs hug too, BUT he needs a very good sit up for that… If he is standing up, he won’t be able to hold it on his own and if you let him lean on it while standing up, leaning will be hard to get rid of as it’s so much easier for them that way. So if he he has a good duration and balance in a sit up, tell him to sit up and offer him a stuffed toy (you can do some one paw hugs with it first to let him understand what you want) -- should be easy to get it then.
And well, it’s still possible to upgrade to a participant spot… Or, as we’re at 4th lesson already, join the next session for half-price.
Okay, well, we are still working on sit up--so should we wait until we have good duration on that before going any further with hug?
Yes, I would add duration to the sit up before trying two legs hugs. But you can go for an independent hold of a toy or a plastic bottle with one leg! It will make two legs hug a piece of cake! 🙂
Hi, Silvia! From today till the 9th of genuary me and Wanda are on holiday and it’s hard for me to do her exercises. Is a problem if I will send you the videos later?
Merry Christmas 🙂
Sure, you can send it then! Happy holidays!
Hi Silvia,
Here’s a video of Star working on her handstand. What would you suggest for the next step?
Thanks!
Deb
Great to see Star again, always fun to watch all that enthusiasm! Jackpot tries like at 0:12, that one was great as she really pushes off with both legs and all the way up, without any climbing. I would next try that chair again, but from the side, so that it’s higher and she can’s climb on it. Once she can do that, a wall would be your next step, always jackpotting the best style (pushing up both legs at the time and as high as possible). And then you can fade a wall by using thinner and thinner objects, eventually just a pole that she can’t really lean on.
Thanks Silvia! I did her handstand to the side of the chair like you suggested and it worked great. Then I moved to a wall and she was really working it well, so it won’t be long….
Yeap, you can usually progress to the wall pretty fast. Fading the wall takes the longest as they need to build lots of strength and balance for that one.
Deb, Star just looks great! And Zen was amazing last week at the trial. I am so jealous because your house is beautiful and CLEAN! Mine is a wreck of holiday wrapping paper and mud. There is no way I can take any videos.
Thanks Robin! And thanks for the compliment on Zennie too! My house was only clean because I hadn’t even started getting ready for the holiday. Today is a VERY different story :-}
And here’s Star putting plastic rings in a box. My goal is to have her stack them up on the stand they come on.
Deb
Very cool already! In the next step, I would go for a smaller box that requires even more precision and then the stand should be easy. My dogs got putting rings on the stand right away, I just warmed them up with stacking bowls and then offered a ring and a stand for the first time and they just did it, right away. Got to love those generalization skills!
As I’m not sure everybody will see those suggestions on how to take that trick further where I originally posted it, I’m posting it here too, as an extra challenge for Star and others who can already put one object into another. To take the understanding of this trick even further, you can also generalize it further and try putting toys in a drawer, a lid on a pot, socks in a washing machine, spoons on a table, rings on a stand or, if you want to make it even harder, coins into a piggy bank, one of the previous participants actually trained that and is now working towards inserting a card into a money machine!!!
Here are a couple of things we’ve been working on & I had time to video. Finally got the backwards 2o2o…it took a long time for Zephyr to understand that he could back up into 2o2o. 🙂 We started on a blanket & are now up to this point. And Zephyr used to go nuts when I would work with Elsa so we’ve been doing a lot of down stays while waiting his turn…and now he almost falls asleep! 🙂 Yay!
He sure doesn’t have any problems with backing up an object anymore! Time for a pee trick! Make sure you spend same extra time on the right leg pee trick, as he is always going up with left foot for now. Great stay with distractions! Not only he stays with no problem, he is even playing not being interested at all, that head down and away was too funny! Great job to Elsa too!
Hi Silvia,
I recently received an email from someone who wanted “to help me with my clicker training skills”. She wrote:
“Remember that the function of the clicker to mark a behavior. Once you have used it to do that, you can feed for duration, but do not continue to click IF you are not pinpointing a change in what the dog is offering at the time. The clicker can be a powerful tool. but used as I am seeing in the beginning of your youtube, it looses its power to mark..for the dog.
You have to put yourself in the position of the dog sometimes. click treat…click treat…click treat..If he offered you something new in that session, and you liked it…how would he know?
I just notice a little confusion in this with what you are doing with Zephyr right now. As you are working the hind end up on the step, you are clicking before every treat….but then when you are asking him to lay quiet while you work with Elsa, you only treat (which is correct)
To clarify, once the dog has offered the behavior that you want, click it and feed. If you are looking for a longer time for a position to be held, randomly feed, but do not repeat the click.”
Hmmm…I thought I was clicking for duration with “bums up”. 🙂 And this is what I did initially with the “down” but in this video he has progressed beyond clicking for duration so it is no longer needed so I just randomly treat for keeping the down. Silvia, I’m curious how you would respond to this. Are there different styles of clicker training?
Thanks!
Yes, I’ve heard before about only clicking for action and not for duration. However, as La is my first clicker dog, getting action was easy -- and adding duration was close to impossible. Delaying a click with such a hyper dog as La is very close to impossible as if she doesn’t get a click for that one behaviour, she always has 100 other behaviours to throw at you at the very next moment. So I decided “to mark a behaviour” of holding that or another position -- and it worked like a charm. As soon as I’m fast enough to click&reward twice in a row without her making any other action, she understands immediately that the “action” I’m clicking is holding that or another position. I used it the same way for all my other dogs and all my students and I love the results it gives.
I love the results it gives too!!! It wasn’t until I used your method of clicking for duration that I was able to train any tricks with Elsa, who is my first clicker dog. Action is very easy for her too but duration not so easy! 🙂
Thank you for this explanation! Not that I needed convincing 🙂 I think your style of clicker training is the BEST!!!
Merry Christmas!
Dear classmates and Silvija.
A little smile, a word of cheer,
A bit of love from someone near,
A little gift from one held dear,
Best wishes for the coming year… These make a Merry Christmas!
Best wishes from us -- abaloo.
And yes, we are still here, working tricks, only video production is still in slow process. Coming soon in cinema near you. ;))
Best wishes to you too! Looking forward to the new video! 🙂
Since everyone else is busy celebrating the holidays, I’ll keep you busy with questions! 🙂 Byrdie will bring a toy and put it in a box when I hold it like Deb holds for Star, but he thinks part of the trick is to jump in the box with his front feet as he deposits the toy. If I try selecting for not using his feet, I don’t have anything clickable. He’s deeply convinced the game involves front feet!
What if you try smaller&smaller boxes and holding it lower&lower? Jackpot any tries without feet in, but keep rewarding any successful try for now.
Ha! I was positive that wouldn’t work--thought he would just paw it no matter what--but he got it, three times in a row! Shows how much I know. 🙂 Thank you.
Wow, that sure was fast! What a smart boy!
Diane, I also commented on this phenomenon. Because I have a small breed (Papillon), his 4-in object is already only 3-4″ across. So even when I present the world’s tiniest box, he gets at least the front paws in there. Silvia had some great suggestions in response to my post which I’m in the process of trying.
Another thing I’ve found that worked with Dash was to simply keep moving the box. Every time he got a leg into it, I pulled the box away so his feet would fall out of the box. Eventually, he dropped the ball in frustration--thinking he’d gotten it “wrong” because his feet weren’t in. By chance, the ball would sometimes go into the box during these times, and I gave jackpots and the “happy dance.”
Though he’ll still try feet at first, he’s now less persistent about continuing to put his feet in the box during a practice session.
But only try this with a dog that doesn’t give up easily and that is confident even if he loses his footing. Dash is very confident and persistent (i.e. pesky) so he was a good dog to try this experiment with.
To take the understanding of this trick even further, you (meaning a general you: for anybody wanting to play some more with it) can also generalize it further and try putting toys in a drawer, a lid on a pot, socks in a washing machine, spoons on a table, rings on a stand or, if you want to make it even harder, coins into a piggy bank, one of the previous participants actually trained that and is now working towards inserting a card into a money machine!
Hi Diane!
When I first tried that exercise and put the box on the floor Star was convinced she should put her front feet in it. That’s why I picked it up and held it higher (between my knees). This last session I was able to put it back on the floor, but put it off the one side of me rather than in front of me (which seemed to mean to Star that she should put some body part in it!)
I also went to a smaller box, just big enough to hold the biggest ring.
Deb
Thank you everyone for your help! He’s gone back to using his feet again, but we’ll keep trying with your suggestions. Looking back, I think what I might have done is to click just a beat before he jumped up, which made him open his mouth in anticipation of the treat, and the toy fell out and into the box, so I’ll try fooling around with that idea, too.
Happy Holidays to all of you!
I’m sure he will get it soon! You can also try as I suggested to Sharon, first having him put a toy in your hand, then on a piece of cardboard you hold in your hand, then on a plate and finally into a bowl in your hand.
He’s got it now. 🙂 What worked was to switch to a tiny box and click the very second he got his mouth over it, before he could jump. He also got the bowls right away, which surprised me. It thought that would be harder.
That was sure fast! I’m also always amazed at how fast they get that one, it always looks like they will never get it right the first session 🙂
Here’s our side feet up video. Left side was really good but on the right side I kept clicking hind leg lifting for far too long. As you can hear Papu starts whining when I start asking for more and he gets confused.
Oh and Merry Christmas to everyone! 🙂
Well, he worked through the frustration perfectly o.k., with some complaints 🙂 but offering nice side legs at the end, so that’s fine. -- Almost there with both sides, you can try to angle the cushion even more next, then work on a side of a sofa and then try the wall. Merry Christmas to you too!