Here's George's and Keegan's version of the alpha rollover.
I call it schmalpha rollover as it's done in play, where I think
it belongs.
Body language is loosey goosey, lots of start and stop and
one rolls his own self.
When I brought Keegan the puppy home, I thought I'd be doing all
the training...George and Daizy and even Taiki did an aweseome
job helping to raise Keegan as well. George was the fun police, taught
Keegan awesome play skills and bite inhibition through play.
Daizy was in charge of teaching him how to share and to respect
his elders with one "that's enough" look or open muzzle on Keegan's
mouth if he doesn't get the hint. A year later, Keegan
will tease George by putting his own muzzle into George's mouth
when he knows he's being cheeky. It's very funny to watch.
I'm interested to hear what Dr. Patricia McConnell
calls appropriate play behaviours!
I ordered Dr. Patricia McConnell's dvd "Dog Play" and can not wait till
it arrives! So much is learned in play and that it has an important place
in the way we train. I'm hoping to be ready for spring with an
out and about puppy class and dog class where games are used
to teach the "obedience' cues.
I always worry after a seizure if there is some visual sign that it's affecting Daizy's
motor skills or worst yet her joie de vie...but as you can see she's still my crazy daizy!
Daizy seizure diary:
Nov. 23- 2:08 am - 2:25 - ictal stage for most- freezing, extending limbs, rocking side to side, focusing in and out of seizure. No paddling or worst so I consider ourselves lucky.
I think I'm going to have to get used to the fact that she seizures. I'll still continue on her raw food, vitamins, or cooked food. Staying away from commercial diet. It's healthier and I find myself eating healthier too :)
Thankfully so far she seizures while we sleep so I am there to comfort her while she's in and out of seizure mode, and to keep her safe from harm. Also, thankfully they are still more than 1mo apart. I'll put her on meds if they increase in frequency.
So far for 2009;
March - big one- 15 min-3am: includes above, paddling, drooling, throwing up (had an exciting day at agilty workshop, used commercial food in treat bag with other goodies)
Sept-13-big one-15 min- 5am: includes above, paddling, lots of drooling, gave her honey afterwards (had an exciting day at agility workshop, used commercial food in treat bag with other goodies)
Nov -22 - mid size-18min-2am: see above for details, gave her honey afterwards. She's been on raw light meat, veggies and or cooked (I ran out of raw and cooked until the weekend)
I'll continue to blog about my summer's review of books and
training to log the info, and of course pics, once I get a new camera.
My shift in focus is another path or journey to explore which
is to create an organic garden, delve deeper into the practice of
Buddhism which links body and mind, and share any inspirational
quotes I come across. So if ever you're having a bad day....
this new blog will hopefully lift your spirits, if not spirits,
it will make your stomach growl!
Brittania beach across from my fav coffee shop
My pups are superstars, I absolutely love how much we've learnt
and am very proud of our accomplishments. They are perfectly
imperfect for me. I've lost count of how many cues we've learnt,
and look forward everyday of their doggie antics, melt in your
mouth sweet things they do, and new games we make up.
What I love most is we have accomplished our goals without
one single "no!", "yank", "spank" or other nonsense ...
If anyone ever visits this blog and is looking for info on dog training....
I have a slew of resources from professionals (dvd's, books, blogs)
which are tried and true where there is no physical or emotional
abuse involved. I'm always happy to share!
Howe Sound, taken from the Spit- kiteboarding mecca
Our new journey begins! Be assured that my houndz will
be happy about their new jobs as testers of the organic
Before I loose these photos...I thought it'd be a good idea to put these up on this site.
These are the only pic's of Daizy n George, their other ones were lost in a computer crash :(
Crazy Daizy the party girl
Georgie my sweet pea
Keegan, Mikatura's Joker's Wyld. He melts my heart too.
I wrote a comment on Dogstardaily.com in response to people
objecting using treats as means to train their dogs.
Neil was charmed by "tv magic". I loaded him up
with info on positive reinforcement based methods
and we ended up doing a few private sessions after
"pinning" Milo for his puppy antics wasn't
working (surprise surprise) I recorded this video
for Neil's wife Lorretta who couldn't join us.
In doing so I could see first hand Milo (the wonder puppy)
read Neil's body language so clearly. Milo was brilliant!
Neil was awesome!
It brings a big smile to my face every time I see it.
I love the fact that you get to see them learn to
communicate with each other, and have fun.
I think that's what training should be all about.
We have so much stress in our lives....our dogs
bring us so much joy...I think it's only humane and
compassionate to find ways to communciate our
wishes with the same unwavering love, humour
and joie de vie that they bring into our lives.
Trust remains intact and grows stronger each
time we teach them something new.
Milo and Neil were fun to work with. We started
off working on leash, but Milo was so focused on
Neil that we worked both on and off leash at a
distance far enough away where people and
activities were going on in the background...
sub threshold... where Milo ignored all the
excitement because Neil was MORE FUN,
so he engaged with Neil :)
Milo had his share of separation anxiety, and pretty
intense herding "nipping" behaviours to curb.
But as soon as we put Milo's mind to work and not
try to squash inappropriate behaviours, everything
fell into place. I was lucky to be along for the ride.
I am developing a puppy and beginner class where you play
games, learn tricks which teach dogs the social skills they
need. Feedback is so far so good!
ie.. one of the tricks I teach for "off' starts out as a party
trick "backing up"..takes a couple sec's to get the basics..
all dogs know how to back up....so the dog learns how to back
up before he learns the cue "off". I've found that teaching
tricks first that also address emotional control issues,
the mindset of owner and pup having fun goes a long way.
So when a "command" cue is issued....the basis for it has
been a history of rewards, laughter, cuddles = dog is more
likely to be happy to oblige.
ie.. I teach "touch" ..which takes a couple sec to a min
to get the basics...first before walking or come, and a
student whose dog made a run for it out the door of her
condo complex, when she said' Devo , come" no response.
.....but when she yelled "Devo, touch"....he came running
out from the bushes to touch her hand and play the game.
I love it when that happens!!!! I also love the bio-feedback
for us dog-guardians, play with your dog, neat party tricks,
building a foundation of communication & you spend the
majority of your time laughing, sweet talking... gooey stuff, rewarding (treats, toys, life rewards) and praising your pup
for being a superstar.
With the weather being crappy, and not having replaced my
camera yet, I have time to review my
summer project which was to learn more about shaping and
chaining behaviours.
What I have learnt from Susan Garrett's workshops
and Pawsitive Steps Aglity Outreach program
has been invaluable. I've put my new skills to
the test with fosters, my crew and with privates
and am very pleased at everyones success.
I loaded my training tickle trunk up with DVD's ,
and books of Susan Garrett, Susan Salo and Greg Darrett's
work, another Patricia McConnell must have and Leslie McDevitt.
Whether you are luring, prompting, and or shaping, each
skill is invaluable.
Another golden nugget from my summer was
Susan's blog when Bob Bailey was a guest!
(co-author; How dogs learn)
My favourite parts of Bob Bailey's post for Susan Garrett's blog:
1- When I wanted behavior I targeted, lured,modified the environment,
essentially anything to get the behavior going. BUT, and this is
important, I never did any more prompting than necessary to get the
behavior
2-usually let the animal tell me what behaviors it had. I then (prompted)(shaped) as needed to get the behavior as quickly as possible. 3-To change an animal’s behavior quickly you should change your behavior ASAP. Doing more of the wrong thing does not make it right. 4-About repressed animals, I suggest high rates of reinforcement for anything (non-destructive) the animal does. 5- Don’t always feed in the same place, which will get the animal moving around.
Here's an example where Daizy, George and I were working on
shaping value for an object or behaviour .
I'll elaborate on all I've learnt in the upcoming months.
I rewarded three things separately that this video is where it all
came together...they did brilliantly I think!
1- follow me on the side that I'm looking over my shoulder
2- if I'm leading out past all the jumps or running past them....
take all the jumps!
3- if I stop before a jump , wrap around it.
Rewards were treats and chasing their favourite Kong air ball.
This was my first attempt of putting all those behaviours together
after having built value for each separately.
It was so much fun, my guys make me laugh at some of the
things they come up with
... I love how shaping brings out their sense of humour, sassiness,
and joie de vie.
I also can't believe how easy it is to chain behaviours once you and
they get the hang of it.
My camera lens is shot. No new pictures or video to share (indoor soccer with Daizy and Keegan will have to wait).
I did find this set of pictures, which inspired me to get a new pair of comfy -20 below, waterproof, cute hiking boots so I can get back on the trails!
Any forest conservation activists looking for new recruits?
I didn't realize watching them turn around would be such a nail biting experience...they are not exactly the graceful type!
I was out for coffee at my favourite coffee shop, Galileio and out of the gloomy sky across the way a rainbow caught my eye. If it were not for the grey sky I would have missed that rainbow. I guess I could say the same thing about life.
