Thursday, February 4, 2010
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Must Kill Squeak
Tonight I discovered how to melt my Border Collie's mind.
Lola and I are trialing this weekend and were working on equipment during practice tonight . For the past couple of weeks we've been working on handling skills, which is great for me, but usually right before a trial I like to work her on the dogwalk, the weaves, the table, and a few jumps just to see where she's at mentally and get in some last minute tweaks if I can.
Our normal equipment routine consists of using treats and a tug toy, both of which make her very happy. Tonight in the smelly dirty unheated barn, her tug toy got especially gross with dirt and her enthusiasm for grabbing it as a prize waned with each supposed reinforcing toss.
I needed to borrow a toy from Andrea. I hated to ask but the trial is only four days away and practicing with an undesirable tug toy would not do! I grabbed Phoenix's squeaky bowling pin* and proceeding to work the dogwalk with Lola.
*
I blew her mind with the very first squeak.
Her eyes bugged out of her head, her tail shot straight up as if propelled by an electric current and she bounced of the ground like it was covered with hot coals. MUST KILL SQUEAK! I sent her to the dog walk and she flew over it with little regard to her safety and her contacts.
MUST KILL SQUEAK! What was this madness?
Let me explain my astonishment. Normally I have an easygoing albeit excited, happy to play dog. She's motivated to weave well enough by toys and has lovely 2 on 2 off contacts for the right treats. I react smugly when my agility friends speak of spastic Border Collies and think to myself that I must be a good trainer since my dog is problem free. Sure there are mistakes here and there, but her demeanor remains relatively calm throughout class and we can work through the kinks easily enough.
MUST KILL SQUEAK! With those 3 words, Lola officially joined the ranks of super spazz. She jumped on me, she leapt for the toy, she raced through a tunnel, she parachuted off of the dogwalk, and this was all while I was trying to get her to sit. That toy definitely breathed new life into our training session. MUST KILL SQUEAK! My sense of accomplishment when she did effectively perform what was asked of her was matched only by her sense of satisfaction at being rewarded with the chance to kill the squeak toy.
Practice was so much fun and so productive that I'm going out today to invest in one of these:
THE BALL WITH FEET IS GOING TO BLOW HER MIND.
Lola and I are trialing this weekend and were working on equipment during practice tonight . For the past couple of weeks we've been working on handling skills, which is great for me, but usually right before a trial I like to work her on the dogwalk, the weaves, the table, and a few jumps just to see where she's at mentally and get in some last minute tweaks if I can.
Our normal equipment routine consists of using treats and a tug toy, both of which make her very happy. Tonight in the smelly dirty unheated barn, her tug toy got especially gross with dirt and her enthusiasm for grabbing it as a prize waned with each supposed reinforcing toss.
I needed to borrow a toy from Andrea. I hated to ask but the trial is only four days away and practicing with an undesirable tug toy would not do! I grabbed Phoenix's squeaky bowling pin* and proceeding to work the dogwalk with Lola.
*
I blew her mind with the very first squeak.
Her eyes bugged out of her head, her tail shot straight up as if propelled by an electric current and she bounced of the ground like it was covered with hot coals. MUST KILL SQUEAK! I sent her to the dog walk and she flew over it with little regard to her safety and her contacts.
MUST KILL SQUEAK! What was this madness?
Let me explain my astonishment. Normally I have an easygoing albeit excited, happy to play dog. She's motivated to weave well enough by toys and has lovely 2 on 2 off contacts for the right treats. I react smugly when my agility friends speak of spastic Border Collies and think to myself that I must be a good trainer since my dog is problem free. Sure there are mistakes here and there, but her demeanor remains relatively calm throughout class and we can work through the kinks easily enough.
MUST KILL SQUEAK! With those 3 words, Lola officially joined the ranks of super spazz. She jumped on me, she leapt for the toy, she raced through a tunnel, she parachuted off of the dogwalk, and this was all while I was trying to get her to sit. That toy definitely breathed new life into our training session. MUST KILL SQUEAK! My sense of accomplishment when she did effectively perform what was asked of her was matched only by her sense of satisfaction at being rewarded with the chance to kill the squeak toy.
Practice was so much fun and so productive that I'm going out today to invest in one of these:
THE BALL WITH FEET IS GOING TO BLOW HER MIND.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Saturday, December 19, 2009
They'll work it out
What does that even mean??
No, no they won't, is what I should have said. Unless by working it out you mean that your dog will continue being a bully and my dog will continue being scared. Because unless either one of us steps in, that is what will happen.
We're at the neighborhood park, not the dog park, but our dogs are loose and they all know each other and Lola is just at that threshold where she won't be able to tolerate any more dogs especially ones she doesn't know. Sure enough, a couple I've never met before show up with their two big black Lab crosses and let them off leash to play. One runs over to where all the boys are running (you've already guessed that's where JC is, right?) and plays nice, the other charges towards our group, hackles up and full of loud noises. Oh don't worry, we're told, she's just all noise.
Of course that just means to me that these people have no understanding of how animals communicate. either that, or they've chosen to believe that a dog with an obnoxious personality is perfectly acceptable in a social situation.
It isn't.
That dog zoomed in on Lola immediately and proceeded to torment her, invading her personal space, growling and posturering.
My dog is timid. She doesn't like that, I said. I was being polite because they are neighbors and I also kind of expected them to contain their dog.
Oh, she won't do anything, I was told.
Yeah, but my dog might snap at her, I said, a little more forcibly this time and actually readying myself to step in because Lola was very agitated.
And then the lady said it. They'll work it out.
She didn't say, oh I'm sorry, let me get my dog. She certainly didn't say, hey dog, stop that!
I would have ok with either of those responses, more than ok, I would have been impressed.
They'll work it out.
Her husband called the dog off and kept a firm grip on it after that. I guess he has some understanding of how women communicate and he correctly picked up on all my signals.
No, no they won't, is what I should have said. Unless by working it out you mean that your dog will continue being a bully and my dog will continue being scared. Because unless either one of us steps in, that is what will happen.
We're at the neighborhood park, not the dog park, but our dogs are loose and they all know each other and Lola is just at that threshold where she won't be able to tolerate any more dogs especially ones she doesn't know. Sure enough, a couple I've never met before show up with their two big black Lab crosses and let them off leash to play. One runs over to where all the boys are running (you've already guessed that's where JC is, right?) and plays nice, the other charges towards our group, hackles up and full of loud noises. Oh don't worry, we're told, she's just all noise.
Of course that just means to me that these people have no understanding of how animals communicate. either that, or they've chosen to believe that a dog with an obnoxious personality is perfectly acceptable in a social situation.
It isn't.
That dog zoomed in on Lola immediately and proceeded to torment her, invading her personal space, growling and posturering.
My dog is timid. She doesn't like that, I said. I was being polite because they are neighbors and I also kind of expected them to contain their dog.
Oh, she won't do anything, I was told.
Yeah, but my dog might snap at her, I said, a little more forcibly this time and actually readying myself to step in because Lola was very agitated.
And then the lady said it. They'll work it out.
She didn't say, oh I'm sorry, let me get my dog. She certainly didn't say, hey dog, stop that!
I would have ok with either of those responses, more than ok, I would have been impressed.
They'll work it out.
Her husband called the dog off and kept a firm grip on it after that. I guess he has some understanding of how women communicate and he correctly picked up on all my signals.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
The methods behind the madness
Recently, I announced, mostly to myself, that I would be willing to work with other people's dogs and do some minor dog training and teach relatively easy tricks. In her usual critical manner (it's OK it's good for me) Andrea asked what method of training I was planning to follow. Because I had no set plan of action, that question led me to examine my own dogs and the systems I've put into place for them (See? It's good for me, really).
No matter what we are doing, I want to set up my dogs for success. I actually enjoy the learning process and I'm not impatient when it comes to getting them from point A to B. Most of all, I want us to have fun.
There are so many dog training methods out there that to actually make a conscience effort to choose the absolute best one could drive you crazy. I believe that people with a natural understanding of dog behaviors and a strong visual concept of what they want to accomplish will gravitate towards the process that best suits their purpose. At least, that's how it's been with me.
When it comes to agility, there is only one way I want to play with Lola. Nice clean straight lines, defined body language, and a strong connection with your dog are what I like best about Greg Derrett's system.
I admit that I haven't tried other systems but I know what feels right to me and how I want Lola to run a course and I'm fortunate enough to have Greg chart out our structured training path.
Here's an example of such a path. (note: this is not a video of Lola. I know it's hard to believe, but trust me, it's not)
When it came to herding, I dove into it head first, not even thinking that there could be more than one way to train a dog. But, as is my nature, I did my research and absorbed as much stockdog knowledge as I could. As I began to understand what I was doing, and JC advanced, it became clear that the techniques we were using to improve were actually part of a training system.
Derek Scrimgeour's system to be exact.
His training method can best be described as:
As for how I've actually lived my life, well much like the herding training JC receives, I've always been fairly easy going, very forgiving of my own mistakes, and accept that every experience is part of the learning process.
This is probably, why to me, it is easy to accept that agility is the greatest sport ever, and that herding is a way of life.
So back to the original question of what training methods would I use if I was just teaching basic good behavior to other people's dogs. I'm still not too sure, but I know that I reward mediocrity and that my own dogs are smart enough to have shaped my behavior through precise operant conditioning. Put it all together and I believe I must have the breakthrough training system right at my fingertips!
No matter what we are doing, I want to set up my dogs for success. I actually enjoy the learning process and I'm not impatient when it comes to getting them from point A to B. Most of all, I want us to have fun.
There are so many dog training methods out there that to actually make a conscience effort to choose the absolute best one could drive you crazy. I believe that people with a natural understanding of dog behaviors and a strong visual concept of what they want to accomplish will gravitate towards the process that best suits their purpose. At least, that's how it's been with me.
When it comes to agility, there is only one way I want to play with Lola. Nice clean straight lines, defined body language, and a strong connection with your dog are what I like best about Greg Derrett's system.
When Greg walks a course he never has to wonder how he is going to handle it. This is because he has developed a system of handling which is logical and clear to the dog. His consistent signals never cause the dogs to question what he is asking them to do.
I admit that I haven't tried other systems but I know what feels right to me and how I want Lola to run a course and I'm fortunate enough to have Greg chart out our structured training path.
Here's an example of such a path. (note: this is not a video of Lola. I know it's hard to believe, but trust me, it's not)
When it came to herding, I dove into it head first, not even thinking that there could be more than one way to train a dog. But, as is my nature, I did my research and absorbed as much stockdog knowledge as I could. As I began to understand what I was doing, and JC advanced, it became clear that the techniques we were using to improve were actually part of a training system.
Derek Scrimgeour's system to be exact.
His training method can best be described as:
" all about proper communicating with the dog, he says, not confusing gestures and 'barking' at them. 'These dogs are looking for logic all the time,' he says. 'They will keep guessing and guessing because they love the work so much. But the way we train them here, we give them the logic. I don't want to put the dog in a position where it has ever got to guess what I want. Sheepdogs are, he says, highly sensitive animals who can be brought to the brink of a nervous breakdown by poor training and bad treatment. 'I used to love fast, pushy dogs,' he says. 'Now I appreciate other things - like bravery, intelligence and control. In dogs, as in people, it's often the deeper, quieter, less immediately obvious qualities that matter most. His training is also about ironing out bad habits - which, in the process, can reveal as much about the dogs' owners as it will about the dogs themselves."It's funny but my preferred method for training agility is much like any of the games that I enjoy the most. Sports with black and white rules and definite structure. Anarchy is not fun.
As for how I've actually lived my life, well much like the herding training JC receives, I've always been fairly easy going, very forgiving of my own mistakes, and accept that every experience is part of the learning process.
This is probably, why to me, it is easy to accept that agility is the greatest sport ever, and that herding is a way of life.
So back to the original question of what training methods would I use if I was just teaching basic good behavior to other people's dogs. I'm still not too sure, but I know that I reward mediocrity and that my own dogs are smart enough to have shaped my behavior through precise operant conditioning. Put it all together and I believe I must have the breakthrough training system right at my fingertips!
Friday, November 13, 2009
Patience is a virtue
This week we have been working a lot on patience patience patience!
Eventually I'd like for each dog to hold a nice stay until verbally released regardless of the distraction. At this point both dogs will stay while others are playing or if I purposely try to distract them, but split them up and it's anarchy.
JC is actually starting to show more willpower than Lola which I give credit to his herding training. I mean, if he can lie down on command while working livestock he can just about do anything. Lola is another story, mostly because she's spoiled. Her tolerance level while watching me play with JC is really low and my goal is to build it up much much higher.
I think I'm going to need a lot of patience.
Eventually I'd like for each dog to hold a nice stay until verbally released regardless of the distraction. At this point both dogs will stay while others are playing or if I purposely try to distract them, but split them up and it's anarchy.
JC is actually starting to show more willpower than Lola which I give credit to his herding training. I mean, if he can lie down on command while working livestock he can just about do anything. Lola is another story, mostly because she's spoiled. Her tolerance level while watching me play with JC is really low and my goal is to build it up much much higher.
I think I'm going to need a lot of patience.
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