Wow, it's your 5th lesson already! I hope you had great holidays and you are all ready for your new list:
1. heeling: make the "glued to the leg" exercise more like heeling: still do different kind of turns, but also some normal forward walking in different speeds (slow, normal, fast) to teach them to adjust and keep the right position in every situation
2. figure 8 backward: tell the dog to go into heel position and start spinning as we were doing on the target, then very suddenly stop and step back with the other leg (if the dog is at left side - with right leg), you can also make a gesture with a left hand to try to get them to keep circling below the heeling position, eventually all the way around your leg, so that they come backwards between your legs back into front position. If the dog insists on staying in heel position, you can help with the hand a little bit, lure his head out (left for 90 degrees if the dog is on left side) and say back to have them back up in your direction. Step back with the other leg enough to have them back up between your legs. Reward and tell them to heel on the other side (right) and repeat the process. As soon as you get some smoothness with that, stop rewarding for coming in between, always first tell them to come to the other leg and reward at your side in order to avoid having them back up too far - they need to stay very close to your legs all the time.
You can see the steps at 2:51 of this video:
3. skateboarding: try to find a skateboard (kids department) and reward for making it move with front feet. Don't reward 4on, but 2 or 3, the criteria is they make a skateboard move.
4. cik&cap: find a table leg, dog-food container, traffic cone or similar and shape the dog to go around it - first just a step, then two or three circles, both directions (ideally, reward both right from the start if you are getting it - if not, start with just one, but then on one session, don't reward that direction anymore but wait for the other)
5. fade the object for side legs: if the dog is already heaving both legs up at the same time, click&reward that before he even touches the object, so that he understands the idea is picking them up, not touching something. At the same time, try changing objects as much as possible. Going to vertical objects shouldn't be too difficult, then go to "empty" objects like a chair that looks like an object, but doesn't really offer much support, so at this point, the dog is already free-standing, the object is just there for mental support. Next step in a table leg and then you don't need an object anymore. For a free handstand, you go through the same process, only that it takes longer as it's physically more demanding - you can start working on it, but do not rush it, especially not with young puppies!
6. don't forget on recalls and playing, stays with distractions (you can combine it all in a really fun game), try the hug on a plastic bottle or something similar that is light enough for the dog to hold it and have them hold it independently, add more steps to backing up from you, tape the 4in the bowl trick again so that I can see to what size you managed to get: the smaller the better!
And most importantly: have fun!
Wow, Pascal, your tic&tac looks amazing already! Congratulations!
Silvia, how should we start if the dog has no idea? If I sit and ait with a cone, Bisou offers everything she knows, but no movement at all around the cone. She does 2 legs up, hugging, trying handstand -- everything she has learned with objects, so I am a little clueless how to start this excercise that she walks around the cone for the first time…
I know, it’s too simple behaviour to get when they mastered all the other tricks with objects! 🙂 Try cheating with treat tosses. So click as soon as she does one step towards a cone, throw a treat another step closer and keep clicking&tossing treats one step further so fast that she doesn’t have time to do anything else! So when she is at the cone, you throw it one step in the direction around it and as she is getting it, you click that step she is making to get a treat and toss the next one as she eats the previous one. Of course, that’s pretty much luring 🙂 but you only do it for first two or three circles and then you can shape from there. If you want to avoid cheating, then just click for such minimal things in the right direction that she doesn’t have time to do something “bigger”, as a handstand etc.
Like Bob Bailey says: “click for action, reward for position” 🙂 So it’s not really luring, you’re simply placing the reward (after the action of taking a step) in such a way as to help the dog learn what you want.
Yeah, maybe not really luring -- but still feels like cheating 🙂 But I actually don’t have a problem with it: once the dog knows shaping and can think and offer behaviours on her own, some luring won’t kill it. With my dogs, I do shaping only when they’re puppies, but will lure later sometimes and I can really see they still have the brain on and fading a lure is very easy.
Thanks Verana, but now I must work on the multi-wraps ( table leg ) exercise !!! Perhaps to help you, I began to shape get arround or walk behind the object from me. At this step, sometime Garlic walk arround both me and the object. Then when I get it, I reward threwing a treat precise position in direction where to close the circle at foot of object … But when she understood this new game, sometime my clever Garlic anticipates this position and don’t get arround but go direct to the treat ( due to my body mouvement ), so I must be faster than her !!!
Have fun !
I haven’t really gotten to the Lesson 5 tricks yet. Still working on Lesson 3 and 4 :-). Not sure if I should post the backing up into 2o2o here, or on Lesson 3? But this is today’s progress.
With Tat I think I may have tried going too high too quickly. I’m not getting any push off and she wasn’t able to reach this new height. I need to find a different prop. And with Trumpet he is still trying to lift one leg at a time. I’m not really getting any push off with him either. Any suggestions?
And sorry about the video, it has 3 dogs on it, but only the first two are in this class.
Yeap, looks like this was too high for Tat. Try to add height more gradually, but she is really systematically using one leg first, so you will probably get stuck once getting to the height she can’t step on anymore. To make the transition easier, you can then for a while use an angled cushion to help her get higher with some climbing -- and then relatively fast angle it up to a vertical cushion to avoid too much climbing.
With Trumpet, I think that won’t be necessary, he is pushing up a little bit. I would do few more sessions on this height and then try the next one, he won’t be able to step on it anymore then.
Hi Silvia, thisvideo with the cik & cap, I did with a trafic cone and with jump wing, how do you see us?
thanks
Looks good, but I think I would stay with a cone a little big longer, the wing is somewhat confusing because of an empty space in between. But you could already also do some sends to a cone or maybe play with two, still doing some multi wraps too of course to keep him tight.
Ever Garlic and me ! Bowls + Tic&Tac around table leg :
Wow, Garlic really understands the bowls! So impressive!
She is sure very systematic and precise with the bowls, very cool! With cik&cap, make sure that you click when she is still moving and when she is the closest to the object. That’s usually when she is on the far side of an object, so you can for now mostly click there and then make it more unpredictable, so that she never knows when and where the reward is coming. You can also introduce verbal cues at this stage: just say it while she is circling one or another direction.
I have a question about cik & cap (or what I call zip & zap). Can we use a hand movement as a cue? Without food in it? When I throw a frisbee I taught my dogs to go around me first, to get me to throw it. I say “around” and flip my hand in a circular motion. While trying to shape cik&cap if I said “around” and flipped my hand they understood and circled the object, but if I said nothing and tried to shape it, I’d get a bunch of other stuff, or just standing there staring instead. As long as I was flipping my hand they would continue to circle the object.
And if that is okay, I’m assuming I should just use the hand movement and not the verbal cue “around” since I’m guessing that at some point we’ll be adding “zip” and “zap”? Will those cues be just for one tight wrap? Do we need a different cue for multiple circles?
Yeap, you can use a hand movement, as long as that will refocus the dogs on the object and they won’t keep staring at the hand -- something like Ana does in her video is perfectly o.k. For now, you could also use “around” + zip/zap and then fade the around once they have an approximate idea on what the zip/zap is. I use the same cue for multiple circles, one circle or eventually not even a full circle, but anything that requires collection&tightness. The important thing for them to know about cik&cap is to land close to an object (wing/stanchion) and all the rest is told by the body language.
Hi Silvia,
Happy New Year!
When Ruby and I stand next to each other, her head comes up to my waist. Any suggestions how I can do the “figure 8 backwards” with her? I think it is a neat trick, but all my dogs are as big as Ruby or bigger. 🙂
Thanks,
Amelie
Yeap, that makes things a little harder 🙂 I would first start with backward circles around you (legs together), in both directions -- that should be easy even with a tall dog. Once those are really smooth, you can try the figure 8 too, will be easier then and will give you an idea if you she can do it or not. I had a students with a male Borzoi who could do it, but he needed to crawl some and didn’t like the trick too much. But it’s definitely worth trying and the circles around you are a fun trick to teach too!
Thanks Silvia. I will try it.
Amelie
Hello everybody!! Happy new year!
I´m sending two videos.
The first one has cik&cap and the hug .
After watching some of my classmates videos I realized that I was doing the cik&cap wrong. I was doing the “wrap and go”.
This was our first session with the circling. I think Trono understood it right away! I don´t know exactly when to click, after each lap or after the whole exercise? I think I´m using a lot my hands… with the wrap and go I was only using a verbal command and my body….
With the hug I`m a little bit stuck. Trono is standing up to hug the pole…. we have been doing the same thing for one week. I don´t know what is the next step for this trick….
Watching the second video I realized I´m confusing Trono in the wall…. I want him to lift his legs but I don´t know if I´m doing it right…
Thank you a lot!
Welcome back! Great tightness on wraps, but yes, he is watching your hands somewhat too much -- try to use some less of hands. Also, reward closer to the pole, reaching in really quickly to deliver the reward at the object, not away from it. You could also use a toy and toss it at the base. You should click when you see something really good (good tightness, nice bending back) and reward after that. You don’t need to click&reward every circle anymore.
For the hug, he is going around the pole really nicely, but it would be good to get one paw only, so that you can work on independent hold. If you go directly to two legs hug, they normally get into the bad habit of leaning on a pole and then it’s hard to get them to hold it instead of lean on it. So maybe try a plastic bottle next, in a sit position, and try to get firm grip on one leg hugs.
In heeling, I think you progressed too quickly, his rear end is swinging out and you need to use a lot of a lure… I think I would do some more circling and then very slowly add side and forward motion, rewarding every step for now to work on precision.
Side legs look great, ready to go to the wall and then a chair. With a handstand, I wouldn’t be rushing him too much at this age, maybe work on lower objects for now and not too often. Make sure to reward it low though, his head is too high and that pushes him off balance. I think the wall is too much for now, work on low head position on a lower object first.
Breakthrough! Pippa has finally understood that the same trick can be done from different positions! AND she seems to have figured out that sometimes her head should turn away from me. Both of these were just very difficult concepts for her! I’ll save the heeling video (on both sides) for graduation — but here is her “zig” and “zag”. I’ve learned a lot this week too about her learning style -- she likes to drill the same trick over and over for a day or so before trying a different one. And she likes verbal encouragement and “happy talk”. But, if we’re at a sticky spot where she can’t figure it out she wants quiet verbals. She’s my finicky little student!
Looks great!!! Looking forward to see heeling too! And yes, dogs sure have their own preferences. My PyrSheps REALLY like me to talk and my BCs don’t like me to disturb them 🙂
Thank you very much!!!!
Our Cik & Cap.
Tat, as always, is deliberate and methodical (my little thinker!) but I think she is too slow for this exercise isn’t she? I get more speed if I just send her around once and take off running with a toy. But for multiple circles this is what it looks like. Should I be trying to speed her up, and if so, how?
Trumpet is much better going clockwise since that’s the way I send him around me for his frisbee. I need to work the other side more. And I also think he’s watching me too much. Any ideas on how to fix that
You can’t expect lots of speed with this exercise. Somewhat faster would be nice, but I think it will come with more understanding and after you start asking for more circles in a row for one reward. Switching to toy rewards help with speed too. For now, maybe just try tossing treats, so that she needs to do additional step or two around the object to chase it. I would do the same with Trumpet as it might help him look at you less and help with lower head position. I would also prefer a thinner object so that you can really focus on tightness, Trumpet’s rear end swings out some sometimes and you could see it better with a thinner object and click when he is as close to it as possible.
I find with both Cik&Cap, and skateboarding, my dogs try to offer me some pivoting as well. I think that’s what is making him swing his butt out. I was getting full pivots on the skateboard, lol. Do you think I can just use the cone? Or is something taller better?
Could be the pivoting yes 🙂 The cone should work great!