my HAPPY-houndz

I'm addicted! Frisbee Freestyle RocKS!

2011-09-13T22:38:00.000-07:00

It's so much fun especially when my pups are the ones who come up with inspiration for new tricks!

I'm hoping others in Squamish will want to join our little club, just for fun!

I've got your back

2011-04-03T08:11:00.000-07:00

I'm always on the look out for behaviours which are kind and respectful to reinforce. One important behaviour that I see all too many people overlook is the "look away".

The second I see one, I'm always checking to see what the other dog/person does in response to it. If there's any indication that they're not going to respect it, I intervene and try to time it so that the sender of this "look away" is reinforced for not following through with a more overt display. At the same time, the receiver also is reinforced for not pushing the interaction further.

The "look away" is one of the benevolent signals that should be respected. It can be as subtle as the eyes flicking away in the opposite direction or as overt as the complete head turning away.

Here's my own crew doing a great job....

Keegan my Aussie is so cheeky but from day one, I knew as a puppy that he'd grow to be 4times George's size so I have always been around to reward being respectful and it's paying off. Kee still has some growning up to do but atleast he's on the right track. I think it's sweet to see him give it his best shot...but even sweeter to respect another dog's request for space.

Holding something

2011-04-01T15:40:00.000-07:00

Inspired by Sylvia Trkman's shout out for videos on variations of "holding" an item. How canine/people teams problem solve. I thought it would be fun to give a whirl with my guys.

We're just in the early stages, and I was surprised how much fun and cute this was to teach. It's not at all something a dog does naturally holding something in this manner so the learning curve was a challenge to come up with ways to lead the dog in the right direction.

Here's our first session:

Here's Kee's second session a few days later:

This is the first behaviour that Keegan has gotten the hang of before Daizy!

Dr. Karen Overall's Relaxation Protocol to help wth CGN

2011-03-21T10:33:00.000-07:00

For Shadow's mom...

As promised, here's Dr. Karen Overall talking about Behaviour Modification where she mentions her Relaxation Protocol.

Here's Roxanne Hawn's blog, Champion of My Heart, with a link to the written work and created mp3's of Dr. Karen Overall's Relaxation Protocol. She does a wonderful job of sharing her experience with it.

Although it's really beneficial for reactive dogs, it also does a great job with young or worriers who just need a bit of help making sense of the busy world or when "life" happens.

*my only note is that I do not use a NRM or a correction like "no". I'll either redirect letting them know what I'd prefer they do instead or just wait until they reset themselves.

My beaglish rockstar at 9yrs old!

2011-03-05T22:03:00.000-08:00

I posted this to Fresh Start but wanted also to have it here for my scrapbook.

I'm so proud of Daizy my 9yr old beagle; our communication skills, her zest for life and learning.

There was a person in my puppy socialization class who mentioned something to the effect that they wanted their puppy to be better behaved than their other dog.

Here we are in a class at Dogsmart.ca recently.

I don't think age plays a really huge factor when you teach using EM/ clicker/ Lure Reward training methods. I believe positive reinforcement training (w/o any intimidation et al) promotes freedom to think and NOT having to be afraid of the consequences. I think that is one of the biggest factors that keeps the stream of communication fresh and exciting.

Behaviour is fascinating. The subtle things we can do to communicate more clearly is forever bringing a smile to my face.

Sniff n Playdates

2011-02-26T17:30:00.000-08:00

Sniff n Playdate with Quila :)

One happy, happy, fun, fun, patient, playpal at a time helps George overcome his fears of being rushed, rolled and attacked by other dogs.

Thank you Taquila Rose and Alice (dogsmart.ca) !

You do not know how relieved I am after a year or so now of off leash dog attacks and rushes, we've worked very hard on turning George's fears (lunge, machine gun bark to keep dogs away) around and George continues to bounce back. We've got our groove on :)

A few Frisbee Tricks!

2011-02-23T17:38:00.000-08:00

We had so much fun today!

A great distraction from my work! Playing with my pooches and learning something new :)

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We had the jump and spin down pat but this other trick was inspired by Kikopup's video
The Most Amazing Dog Frisbee Tricks

Can't wait to see what we come up with next!

What you THINK your dog understands...isn't always....

2011-02-23T13:49:00.000-08:00

Keegan surprised me the other day when I blurted out "okay" thinking out loud "that's gotta be annoying" as he went to charge after Daizy who was in retrieve mode chasing her favourite Air Kong ball.

To my surprise, he stopped on a dime, spun and with a happy, happy face b-lined back to me and sat front.

"Okay" is usually my reorienting word when we transition into a new exciting space. I learned this from Leslie McDevitt's work "Control Unleashed". The mechanics of the cue are EXACTLY what Kee did but NOT in the usual context.

Anyways...it made me think... just because we THINK we're teaching our dogs a cue to mean one thing to us....it is wise to NOTE what it actually means to the dog :)

What do Laundry and shaping games have in common?

2011-02-12T20:15:00.000-08:00

I LOVE shaping games!!!!

It just takes a couple mins of your time and works wonders to build a cooperative relationship with your dog.

Besides building confidence for shy, fearful dogs; it gives "hyper" dogs a challenge to stimulate them mentally and best of all establishes a 'TEAM" effort!

Just think of how calm and exhausted you are after you've worked on a puzzle or how much fun it is to play Pictionary, or Charades with your favourite friends!

It's also great if you need to burn off some of your dog's energy when you're snowed in or on downpour rainy days. Even when you're tired and feeling under the weather, engaging your dog to use his mind is a great way to entertain you and them! Thinking dogs ROCK.

George my little beagle is NOT a natural retriever, AND is very FEARFUL about the world and everything in it in general. Building his confidence by playing games is a win, win situation. There are a lot of dogs who are afraid to investigate and end up figuring that the best defense is a good offense so they'll bark and lunge at the most novel things.

Daizy and Keegan retrieve and put laundry in the basket and last night I taught George to pick it up and flip it out of the basket :)

When it's safe to interact with something, I make a game out of it. No pressure on George, I just make it hard to resist and reward every brave move to interact with something novel. Stationary or moving, the more practice he gets, the more confident he becomes and the less he needs to "control" his environment.

We work together to change the fear into confidence. When using SHAPING techniques, his job is to initiate behaviours and I'll reward him for those that lead him in the right direction to the final behaviour I wish to teach. Having George put his paws into the basket means he has to learn to balance himself, which develops his body awareness. Ever notice children playing on a jungle gym? Some children are fearless, others just need to learn HOW to move their body before they feel comfortable climbing up, sliding down, hanging on and having fun!

Part 2 of 3: You can play interactive shaping games if you have a multi-dog household! It's also great way to promote sharing!!!!

Part 3 of 3: Helpful around the house, if you're tired or have a bad back..."obedience work" of retrieving things for you ends up with everyone having fun and working as a team...after all that's what training's all about!

digg'n it

2011-02-11T21:31:00.000-08:00

I love this video! Sharing is not one of George's strengths, so anytime I can make something fun as a group, when all noses or bodies are snuggled together...I take advantage of it. Behaviour is reinforced by it's consequences.

Digging is also one of their rewards for a zippy recall! I put all the doggie things they love to do on cue so when out and about, it provides an alternative to food reinforcers.

Back to George ...having to snuggle in to investigate, without getting snarky, and having fun doing so, will make it more likely to happen again in the future. Finding play pals that are great about sharing is important too.

Re: Indoor soccer and being nimble

2011-01-12T15:30:00.000-08:00

I got all rev'd up about a Treibball "how to" video as I want to teach Daizy n Kee herding cues but I don't have a flock for them to work ;) The basics are teaching the dog to nose target the base of a ball to roll it, then directional cues come next.

Before I commit to buying yoga balls, I'll have to wait for spring as we have no room in the house to be loading it up with yoga balls for them to herd. I decided to use the soccer ball, and use the agility posts as goal. Daizy already knows how to play soccer, now it's George's turn!

It's important to be able to incorporate different training techniques to achieve your "training" needs. Not locking yourself into only one technique (shaping, prompting ie..targeting and luring)means the communication flows and you achieve your goals faster. Both of us, George and I looking to each other for direction and then celebrating the babysteps along the way. I love it!

My turn

2011-01-01T21:05:00.000-08:00

Almost there.

Hurry up.

Let's go already.

Sunset.

Don't want to leave.

Daizy n George got to go for their favourite walk this morning, then I headed out with Darrell and Keegan for some x-country in the afternoon.

There were some really not so nice dogs out there today. Let me tell you that MY dogs are no angels...BUT we work hard everyday and they've come light years!!! If only there was a rule that if you can't recall your dog to you in 1 or at the very most 2 times NO MATTER what they're up to...then really, I don't think off leash privileges are fair to dogs who rush others.

Kee did a great job trying to diffuse their posturing, but I can tell when he's had enough. He's true to his herding instinct and is happy to tell another dog off if he's in his face, by barking back at them if they won't let him leave, which I've got to work on. He had to duck down and around a couple of dogs who were blocking his way, standing there growling and showing their teeth. A large spaniel and white coiffed poodle. What a witch they were as a team. I actually yelled to the owners to call their dogs, because they're being rude.

I'm too old to fall into those traps, but Keegan is only 2 and needs to learn that leaving bullies instead of confronting them, is not only the safest thing to do, but in reality, he's letting them know their behaviour is unbecoming. If they can't be nice, then they'll be lonely.

Anyways, nothing I learn to overcome is ever a waste...if anything it it's just one more trick for my training tickle trunk to share with others.

All in all, the majority of dogs were really fun. Interestingly enough those fun dogs stuck close to their owners, where as the bullies were for the most part no where in the vacinity of their owners.

I also noticed that those irresponsible owners, like Mr. owner of rude who rushed us like a missile, white Shepherd, didn't even give a "shit" for others who use the trails, to pick up his own dog's poop.

It was a great day, just wish some would be more considerate of others or leave their dogs at home. I know that'll never happen...but it doesn't hurt to get the word out there!

Maybe they have an opening for a "dog patrol" :P

Around and Way to me

2010-12-28T18:45:00.000-08:00

Variety is the spice of life!

Today was the first rain free afternoon in 2wks so me and my crew enjoyed the afternoon hiking in the sun, out from under the old growth forest for a change!

Once home, I pulled out a few agility jumps and started polishing up our herding and agility directional cues "Around" and 'Way to me". If we can catch some more nice weather breaks, we'll be ready for fun matches this spring :)

What I love most about RM methods is when you teach your dog something new, whether it's finding an incompatible cue to counter an annoying behaviour (i.e. teaching quiet, instead of listening to your dog barking) or learning cues for sports like agility, rally-o, herding...teaching the behaviour happens within a few seconds to maybe a couple minutes when you understand how to capture, shape, use targeting and or luring (and fading asap). Generalizing the cue is the next fun part, and when done systematically, is quick as well.

"Around" and "Way to me" come in handy in everyday life. No fretting over wrapping a leash around a telephone pole, or yourself! Or if your dog is in the distance and you need them to go around a person, another dog, cat, biker...being able to let them know from a distance what needs to happen is helpful.

Much Love and Laughter to all during this holiday season :)

2010-12-23T19:56:00.000-08:00

From us kooks.

x-country pooch trail :)

2010-12-21T21:49:00.000-08:00

Whistler Olympic Park has a trail you can enjoy with your pooch. My partner took Keegan out for a couple hours while I worked. I'm so proud when I watched this video because Kee did a great job meet n greeting some dogs and ignoring others, while listening to my partner.

It's these times where I see proof in the pudding that if you take the time to teach your dog polite social skills, you can take them anywhere.

The more you enjoy doing with your dog, the deeper the bond you build, and the more they're eager to follow your lead...so they don't miss out on the fun.

Keegan is 2yrs old and still works for off leash privileges. He earns his off leash time, in short stints.

We have fun with recalls and he gets jackpots for checking in with me all on his own. Building a solid foundation of us being aware of eachother's needs, means there's little possibility of him blowing me off.

Long lines ROCK and working off leash in short quick, FUN stints...pay off tenfold down the road. Once a reliable check in and recall are established, I NEVER take it for granted, and always TEST their reliability with fun games. If they're slow to recall, that means more work needs to be done on my end.

STOP!

2010-12-19T12:26:00.000-08:00

Distance work pays off out here when we're bombing out around on the trails. Actually, even in the city, when at parks, I've had more than one occasion where I've been relieved to be able to tell my dogs to "STOP" when I see a ball hog dog racing after our ball. Most dogs who hog another's ball in my experience have been possessive of them, and it's not worth it to me to have my dogs injured in a dogfight because another person hasn't trained their dog.

I've used "STOP" when on trails and we've encounter motorcyles, ATV's, bikes, joggers, other hikers/dogs or even knowing there's cliff up ahead, being able to tell them to put on the brakes for safety reasons gives me a piece of mind.

DISTANCE work...besides STOP, SIT and DOWN have also come in handy. Distance work comes naturally when they understand stay's are part of a cue and you've done a ton of duration and distraction work when close by. Handsignals, more like arm movements, also help them out. Start off close then ping/pong the distance, next start adding distractions. I always reward in position at first so they find value in staying put.

*Remember that dogs don't have the greatest eye sight when it comes to picking something specific out in the distance. They are more perceptive to movement hence using your arm and exaggerated motion.

Insanity

2010-12-12T12:02:00.000-08:00

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Albert Einstein

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Albert Einstein :P

There's lots of times when this quote comes to mind. I can think of dozens of occasions where it even comes up in dog training.

These two scenarios are really tough for me to watch unfold. They are easily avoidable without the drama of you working yourself from frustration to anger to lashing out at your dog.

1-Repeating your cue over and over again, and expecting the dog to sit, come, leave something...whatever..the FIRST time you asked.

If you have to repeat your cue, your puppy/dog:

a/TRULY doesn't have a clear understanding of the cue or what was being asked in the first place.

b/IS emotionally or physically incapable of performing the cue. Fear or anxiety can get the best of us all and debilitate us from doing what may be otherwise a non-issue. On the flipside, if your dog is arthritic, or has another medical ailment, please consider this when asking them to do something for you...ie. a stand stay for an arthritic dog may be more comfortable than a down stay.

c/HAS NOT practiced and generalized the cue in enough new situations and environments, with enough distractions so that the cue has had a long history of being rewarded PROFUSELY the very FIRST time you asked for it. Practice makes perfect!

2-Being dictatorial and expecting your puppy/dog to be obedient just "because" you said so. Not seeing results, but rather just creative thinking on your puppy/dog's part to ramp themselves up and be as unruly UNTIL the warnings turn to punishment.

That's not a fun place to be in, for either party. It's not fun having to be grumpy, and it sure doesn't help enrich your relationship with your dog/pup.

Humans and dogs LEARN so much through play!

Just think about all the social skills you learn playing sports, or joining those of like mind for hobbies. Polite social skills, work as a team, everyone doing their share so things don't fall apart...if you're honest, have a good sense of humour, respectful, benevolent, chances are you'll attract more people in a social situation than someone who is a bully, dictatorial and uses physical means to control your every move.

If you're a bully, eventually you're kicked out or ignored, until you change YOUR behaviour.

Same applies to dog training and building a relationship with your pooch. If they had a choice...which home do you think they'd be racing towards?

a/DOGS LOVE to play and have fun. Use all of your puppy/dogs FAVOURITE things in life as training opportunities.

b/MANAGING their environment so they can't make a mistake in the first place, redirect them to do something incompatible rather than what is annoying you, and take the time to teach them polite behaviours using handsignal then adding verbal cues once they understand, can predict and commit to performing a behaviour which you find appropriate for the situation.

Take the time to teach your furry pal using what they love most in life as motivators for choosing to work with you to learn polite social skills. I promise it will not only enrich your life, but it will change the way you relate to others.

Nothing like a good...

2010-12-10T19:41:00.000-08:00

"Look AWAY" and "INCOMING"

2010-11-30T14:03:00.000-08:00

I've decided to test George's progress hanging around strange dogs by enrolling him into a regular intermediate class. I think he's ready. He used to LOVE going to classes. Every class he'd end up in LOVE and try his best to flirt. Last year in the on/off leash train and play he was smitten by Buttons a Bichon Frise:) Everything changed with the run of attacks. Thx to all the mentors listed on the side page and others I have yet to add, it's been an interesting process!

The last thing I wanted to do before class is put "Look Away" rght/lft on cue. I've been capturing and rewarding when George has chosen to "look away" from strange dogs, as a calming tool, to let the other dog know he needs space. Most dogs to date have respected the "look away", if it's established from a distance. If I notice the dog ignoring that signal, I'll just u-turn and walk opposite direction if they're coming head on, or I'll cross the street. I refuse to give bullies the reinforcement from getting into George's face and being intimidating.

"Look away" I used Emily Larlham's hand target method (kikopup)

This way if he gets stuck in anxiety mode, I can cue him from a distance and walk through what he can do to diffuse the situation. I would not have put this on cue if George had not offered this up himself. If you put a behaviour on cue that they're not comfortable offering up naturally, sometimes it BACKFIRES! They will perform the cue, only because you've asked them to but they're not emotionally ready to deal with the response from the other dog. When they don't offer it up naturally, within context of a situation where they'd naturally use that to cue another dog.
George already looks away:
1-when being pestered by Keegan and Taiki if they want to play and he's not into it at that time.
2-if Taiki sniffs George a lot longer than Geroge is comfortable with, I've rewarded George for being patient and looking away until Taiki's done sniffing.
3-George also uses the look away when dealing with the bossy old lady of the house Daizy :)
4-when approaching or being approached by strange dogs, which I've again, rewarded PROFUSELY!

If your dog needs to learn how to use this signal in context, it's easier and faster to find bullet proof dogs who once you cue it to your social nerd or fearful dog, the other bullet proof dog will act accordingly in response. Key is to ensure it becomes learned and predictable. If I do this...that happens.

Our 3rd session of the day, less than 1 minute. After dinner I was able capture repetitions without using prompt from both George and Keegan. I had George practice looking away from Keegan. Next up is naming it.

4th session one day later and VOILA- added verbal cue!

Incoming!!!! This was FUN to teach. Car crash game (Leslie McDevitt) deals with "plan of action" when things go sideways and the other dog invades their space.

Again, you need to make sure they're well on the way to being emotionally capable to deal with a flooding aspect of a charge. Luckily I have 4 dogs and George is a play machine, so I just added a fun spin on this game for him. We've done a little testing with strange dogs, with us running by them, and joggers w/dogs running by opposite way on the other side of the road.

Crossing fingers, toes and eyeballs it works, otherwise, it's back to the drawing board for me :)

Synchronized Beagles

2010-11-29T09:06:00.000-08:00

Wonder if there's a triple's category in Freestyle :) This was our morning kibble workout. Now that it's cold outside, we find ways to have fun inside.

Barking

2010-11-27T19:33:00.000-08:00

Once...is sooooo much fun to teach and has come in handy!

I chose a situation where a trigger would be heard in the distance (not seen but heard). One where I knew it would peak and then cease, then there would be enough time for us to forget about noise altogether, do our own thing, then silence until the next trigger happened. For dogs with impulse control issues...mine...I always have to be careful to ensure they have enough downtime right after a trigger. So they can truly reset themselves before learning can take place again. It takes their body longer to get back to relaxing and not concerning themselves about the busy, noisy world. That's what I find anyways, and if I pay attention to it, it speeds up their learning curve.

For me working in my backyard at first was ideal. It was an area where I could semi manage.
1-loaded myself up with George's MOST favourite outside rewards (steak, zucchini, cheese), and toy air Kong ball
2-positioned myself to hang out beside him
3-waited for a trigger to present itself
4-once George started his machine gun barking at the trigger (kids screaming, dogs barking), I started shoveling food into his mouth (CC & D) When he stopped barking, we played ball a few repetitions then I went back into boring mode and ignored him doing my own thing.
5-after a few repetitions of triggers presenting themselves, George stopped machine gun barking and slowed his barks down so I could time getting to him after the first bark
6-I then added a predictor, interrupter, a bridge... a verbal signal "thanks man" to delay doling out the treats so eventually, when George barked once, I said "thanks man". He now when I say it, he looks to me and I can call him to me and figure out a reward that he'd appreciate, or we carry on our merry way. It's a round about way of teaching "quiet". They way I set things up, is just a little different.
7-I didn't want to use the word "yes" as I didn't want him to become hyper alert to sounds to get to the reward. Normally when I use the word "yes", as one would a clicker, it's when we're learning a new cue. I didn't want George to think a bark was a cue. For George, putting bark on cue would be a disaster :) It worked for me!

*Bonus was it helped his reactivity with other dogs and being ambushed on trails. He totally relaxed once he realized he could use his voice to communicate information to me. Bonus was there is NO LONGER the anxiety related to his barking. Even if he becomes aroused and barks more than once at the neighbor's dog who runs around on our lawn, it's easy to say "thanks man" and he'll stop. The more rewarding you make it, and pair it with calming signals in the way to reply, the easier it is for them to chill out.

*I'm so glad I took the time to work on rewarding one bark. Learning what the differnt tones/ inflections in his vocalizations I can tell; when he wants to go pee outside, when he wants to come in, if he's frustrated, who's outside and how close are they, and I LOVE the fact he lets me know on trails if he spots someone before I do. It's interesting to note that he doesn't flag all people/dogs, just some of them. I've had some creepy people experiences on trails, so knowing in advance, gives me the opportunity to plan what how I'd like to handle the situation.

*NO anxiety towards the people/ dogs we walk by on trails now as long as they're respectful of George's body language. He's happy to have caught their attention in advance to let them know we're over here, and then more than happy to just continue on our merry way.

Nesting

2010-11-27T02:20:00.000-08:00

George's bed time ritual.

Opinionated

2010-11-25T13:05:00.000-08:00

I've worked with dogs who have had their growly drama beaten out of them. "Suppress" behaviour and you will be "creating a time bomb" as Dr. Ian Dunbar says.

I like Dr. Karen Overall's term "Information seeking". ie. If I do this...what will you do?" I call it being "opinionated".

It bugs me when people lump all displays into the "aggressive" term. Dogs use the tools they were born with to let you know they need your help. Majority of the time they've asked politely well before the drama. Some tv shows are NOT helping the matter.

My definition of "aggressive" is:
Intent to do physical harm. CONTACT and intent on drawing blood is where I believe the term "aggressive" may come into play.

My definition of 'opinionated":
In my eyes the problem starts when people don't realize they're ignoring all the non confrontational polite calming signals directed towards you. If you're doing something they're not comfortable with the majority of the time they'll let you know well in advance that it's not sitting well with them. Subtle signs like; the look away, lick lips, sniff, back away, yawn. If you don't take note at that time, the dog will kick things up a notch and use more overt agonistic signals like; freeze, hairy eyeball, growl, lunge, air snap, or even a pressure bite, barely felt by your skin. If they INHIBIT themselves from a full on bite, puncture and tear causing stitches...I call all those signals being "opinionated".

You're doing something that they're not comfortable with, for whatever reason, and they're providing you with feedback. Respect it.

Video courtesy of a foster Beagle Wags who used to be possessive of people and balls, watch him communicate with Daizy:

He went from a slight freeze right to lunge. NO NOISE.
Notice Daizy my Beagle's expression? She was like...'what was that all about', and looked up to me for information. She did the right thing by NOT taking things to the next level. She knew through our work, sometimes the best thing to do is diffuse a situation. I didn't yell or get physical, I just took note and we worked on creating a NEW association when people or other dogs were around his favourite toys or people.

It can be tricky if a dog has been punished NOT to communicate when they need your help reframing a situation to a more positive experience. Teach them HOW to use subtle body language and if need be, their voice before the lunge and contact has been at times a little hair raising.

Good news is once the lightbulb goes off in their head that someone is listening to the subtle signals, it's like a sigh of relief for the dog.

No need to guard food

2010-11-24T21:51:00.000-08:00

There's more than enough to go around to those who are patient and polite.

I'm not sure why some have a hard time using food to "train" dogs. It's such a helpful tool to use; be it a motivator, a reward, or a distraction. It speeds up teaching cues and also provides ample training opportunities, especially one very important issue that ALL dogs need to learn to be SAFE around humans and other dogs...RESOURCE GUARDING. Trading whatever they have for a treat or classically conditioning the approach of other dogs or people near your valued possession (be it toys, food, people, spaces...) = MORE TREATS for you!

Cleaning up my RM act!

2010-11-17T22:34:00.000-08:00

Now that I've started teaching, working towards my CPDT-KA , I've got to be careful about technique.

My faux pas is after the cue has been established, I'll use the word "yes" my RM, but truly that's NOT what its intended use is all about. I noticed it in videos, but I didn't realize how often I did it!

RM=Reward Marker, Event Marker, Bridging Stimulus, Conditioned Reinforcer...using something audible, visual, tactile (ie...sound from a clicker, whistle, your voice or gesture like a hi-five, peace sign, even a facial expression when you're teaching the dog something new) ... that is paired up with a primary reinforcer like food, something the dog LOVES without you having to condition them to LOVE it.

This one consistent signal to the dog, because it is paired up with something they LOVE, will eventually teach them to think about what they just did, so they can repeat it and be rewarded by it.

It's to be completely separate from praise. We want the dog to identify that signal and pipe up...learn to STOP what they're doing and take note. So they learn..."HEY, I heard that "word, click, whistle" which means that I need to remember what I just did, so I can repeat it and eventually I'll learn a new word to associate with this behaviour." It identifies a snap shot in time.

Normally it's used when teaching a dog a new behaviour that you have not put on a "command' or "cue' or under "stimulus control". Something brand new that you would like to teach and before they understand what the word or handsignal means. I'll go into fading the need for a RM after a cue is established in another post.

Now when I watch past videos I swear it sounds like a romantic comedy..Yes, Yes, Yes ...then someone walks in on the couple...

I'm not going to delete them and start from scratch because the whole point of this blog is to share our imperfect lives, challenges and how we work to turn things around.

So rather than this post being about my dogs, it's about me and how I can improve my communication skills.

This video I made a conscious effort to clean up my act. I forgot balls at home, but we had fun anyways! It always amazes me how simple it is to have fun with my guys. They've got a great sense of humour and make me laugh all the time. Kee is such a pain to Daizy, it's funny to watch them communicate with eachother. She's so serious, a keener. He's the slacker, who just wants to joke around and have fun.

Break= release word and power forward we're doing some agility work
Hup= jump up on what's infront of you
Zoom= my group recall, if I say it without identifying who specifically I'd like to come to me

I'll always be perfectly imperfect to my dogs and LUCKY for me, they'll always do a great job of picking up my slack and making me look good.

Happy 1 or so month of "Boring NONreactive Walks" for George :p

2010-11-14T22:23:00.000-08:00

I video'd today quickly just to continue keeping track of George's body language and my handling skills while walking in a new area.

New area, new day, transitioning into a new environment; ref: Alice @ Dogsmart.ca, Leslie McDevitt, Control unleashed, Dr. Patricia McConnell and host of others backed by my own experiences. Whether it's transitioning from car to a walk, house to backyard, car to dog class...test your dog's anxiety level. Whether it's doing some OC using treats or environmental rewards, test to see where they are emotionally BEFORE walking.

What does their body language tell you? Are they scanning the area? If you see a dog in the distance do they get stuck on the other dog or trigger? Are they SLOW to focus back on you? Are their eyes GLUED on your treat hand, pocket, using it to avoid dealing with the approaching trigger? I go through that mental checklist starting in a stationary position first, then if I or something in the environment is adding movement.

I find it's KEY to be ready to LOWER criteria and to help your dog out if they're having trouble focusing on you.

Even if it's a quick 10 sec of talking to them, joking around, asking them to do some simple tricks, just to see if they can do without my help of rewarding calming and or non reactive body language with treats.

Raising criteria....there's a few key things to look for in their body language to ensure you're raising criteria at a healthy dose. Always testing at each stage.

Today we got out of the car and just happened to be crossing the street, when a dog appeared, I didn't even notice they were behind us at first. George never alerted me. I took that as a good sign and was able to have George sit and watch the dog while I got out my iphone and then started with treats to test George. He looked good after about 10 sec of OC, rewarding relaxed body and ability to "watch" or check in with me, taking his eyes off the dog across the street. I quickly started to delay treats and watch him. His body remained relaxed so we just continued on our walk and shut the iphone off. Just because treats end, doesn't mean I stop letting George know that he's an awesome little possum from time to time. I don't take his relaxed behaviour for granted.

I ended up crossing the street and we walked behind these dogs, then cross the street with them. It just so happened that they had to wait for the lights, and George's body remained relaxed so I just went with the flow. It feels good to have our groove back on.

After the last round of attacks, George was hyper vigilant about notifying me and other dogs in the distance by barking and lunging at them, that he wasn't interested in any meet and greet. I wondered how long it would take or if ever to trust me to handle a situation for him, and or whether or not he would ever WANT to be close to another dog.

I'm so very aware that just like with us, the mechanics of learning what to do to work through your anxiety, the EMOTIONAL recovery to generalize the new routine, takes it's own time. Please realize that just because they're "doing what is asked of them" it DOESN't mean that we humans should let our guard down and not be ready to jump in when they need our help.

Being a reactive dog owner is a commitment for life; to understand and condition our bodies to pick up on the subtle signs that our dogs need our help from time to time to walk them though the process or get them the heck out of a situation they are NOT emotionally equipped to deal with.

We're all individuals that can handle only so much and need the help and support of those around us. After all, that's what friends and family are for.

The importance of play when you have a reactive dog

2010-11-13T00:41:00.000-08:00

Actually, even when you don't have a reactive dog. I can't stress how important it was for me to learn about George's body language and vocalizations during play, whether it's with me or with his dog buddies.

It is especially helpful for me to know what "interest" or an "I'll pass" looks and sounds like when another dog approaches.

Play has so much value in "training', building relationships, learning bite inhibition, impulse control...the list is endless.

Not to mention the fact that it feels great to laugh and find playful ways to communicate and have fun! You get to see a dog's sense of humour come out as well.

The flipside is you learn how quick it can turn into over arousal, trouble right around the corner.

I made this video for my puppy socialization class but wanted to post it here as well. I love Marc Bekoff's article on play from Scientific America. The-ethical-dog

Circle work based on Sylvia Trkman's heeling video

2010-11-09T23:22:00.000-08:00

My goodness!
I didn't expect so many AWESOME side effects with the heeling circle work!
Enthusiastic-SLICK-new tricks to boot!
Bonus was I thought of another fun way to interact with a toy using the circle work!

Silvia Trkman's heeling video

Keegan has a slick heeling performance:

Daizy is soooo funny and such a keener! 9yrs young and was the first to "get it"!

Georgie is soooo cute it melts my heart! It was especially great to increase the value of a frisbee for my non toy motivated George :P

Sleepy

2010-10-21T23:31:00.000-07:00

We had a ton of fun hiking today. GRRRREat puppy class tonight too. Time for zzzz...here's the last thing that I see, before closing my eyes. Sweetness.

So tired.

My untoy movitivated George..

2010-10-18T21:16:00.000-07:00

I think the beauty of having an open communication with your dog is that if you listen to what they're telling you...it helps you tweak the way you go about motivating them to "want" to buy into what you're trying to teach them.

Here's George my unmotivated toy guy...who has shown me that if I watch and listen to what he is trying to tell me...he's more than happy to teach me how I can use it to motivate him. Here's couple new games that he looks forward to playing with toys.

All I had to do is pair something he LOVES doing and finding a way to incorporate a TOY into the fun.

Out in the woods, is a great place to be creative as well with a Fuzzy stuffy pouch!

Fun in the woods today

2010-10-18T01:30:00.000-07:00

The day was sooo busy but we got to sneak in some fun adventures in the woods.

Fearful behaviour- Keegan barked

2010-10-13T13:40:00.000-07:00

at a doll...mind you this doll has a freaky resemblance to Linda Blair's ' performance in "The Exorcist" :)

During our Canine Good Neighbor class a doll in a wheelchair just so happened to be placed where she gave Keegan direct eye contact...which freaked him out. The anxiety came in the form of a bark and back up, and evil eye right back at the doll, to make sure that doll stayed put.

I brought the doll home...who's the evil one :)

I noticed that Kee didn't need Classical Conditioning right off the bat. Which would have meant, treat before Kee having to offer a behaviour. Just hanging out with me, when the scary thing was present, is enough to make treats or whatever trumps that freaky thing appear from my hands.

Working at a distance where his body is relaxed but you could tell, if we moved any closer, Keegan would not have been able to focus on me or eat any treats, it would be internally too much pressure for him. Classical Conditioning would have been used until he internally (emotionally) feels differently about the doll. "Doll, I love you! It's so much fun when you're around"....

To test whether or not Classical Conditioning has taken place...the mere sight or anticipation of being in the same area of the doll from a distance would have Keegan tap dancing for joy..in the ABSENCE of treats /reinforcers. Then I normally switch to Operant Conditioning.. Kee was interested in interacting right off the bat when I brought the doll out so I started with OC, Desensitization and Counter Conditioning techniques.

Keep working sessions short. Normally I start off rewarding any interest in interacting with me, before moving closer to the frightening object. Always making the dog come to ME and away from the scary thing for the reward. It ends up like learning a new dance. Dog trying to communicate to you that there is a threat, you trying to communicate that really isn't a threat, no need to fret :)

Biofeedback also plays a big part in communicating with the dog. It sure helps if you give them calming signals and they in turn receiprocate them, and relax their body language.

Notice doll is not facing Keegan, and is stationary. I won't add staring or movement just yet. Keegan's body language was a bit frenetic so a direct stare from the doll would have set us back to square one.

First session - Kee offering up behaviours and being rewarded for interaction (polite) with doll and also being able to take focus off the doll to interact with me or feeling comfortable with leaving the area on his own and going to his kennel.

Session #2 -Kee's body is less frantic, and he's fine with me directing him to interact, his eye's aren't that peeled on the doll. He gets that it's an object now rather than a freaky staring person that doesn't smell like a human or act like one :)

Session #3 -No treats, just interacting with doll and me, and at the end when I asked him to sniff, he didn't care to sniff the doll so I'm happy to praise him for finding the floor much more interesting than the doll :)

Lifting a leg trick

2010-10-03T20:40:00.000-07:00

Twightlight is coming earlier these days which means...more time for NEW TRICKS!

I've wanted to teach this for a while, but it's taken forever to try to capture this position until I realized that Daizy offers it up when I dry off her back feet. I think she lifts her leg because it tickles when I run my hand down to her feet :) Whatever works! There are multiple benefits to teaching this cue!

1-drying off feet and examining back pads is easier
2-it'll be funny when I put it on verbal cue to watch friends think I'm asking my dogs to pee:)

George's new trick...now we just need to globalize it

2010-10-01T10:41:00.001-07:00

Hodge podge of successful moments

2010-09-26T21:26:00.000-07:00

This weekend was a hodge podge of little successes. So many little lightbulb moments for us to celebrate :)

1-George continues to do a super awesome job being able stop himself from machine gun barking and throwing in a few lunges for ultimate drama when he sees another dog...hard to believe with a cute little face like that. After the attacks and off leash rushes, George became 'sensitized" to unknown dogs period. Whether they were stationary on the opposite side of the street, playing or ignoring us all together, by default all unknown dogs had become 'unsafe" in George's eyes. We still have a ways to go before Car Crash games but we're getting there. The anxiety that pushed him over the edge, atleast is dissolving.

Even when he puffs up now, he can and does choose to work through the drama on his own. I praise all the calming signals he offers up to deal with the stress and it gives him a job to do, other than barking and lunging, so we can just continue on our merry way. His success is not dependent on me doling out treats...classical conditioning portion of our training for this part of our rehabilition "checked off" our list :)

Now on to more functional rewards and operant conditioning, with a few treats every so often thrown in for a job well done :) Whether or not the other dog is moving, looking at us or ignoring him...atleast he's been consistently choosing NOT to continue the rest of his schtick.

2-Working towards CGN-Canine Good Neighbor with Keegan (I want to do it with Daizy too) has been a really good way to hone in on proofing polite social interactions. Inappropriate ones too!!! After being swarmed in class practicing the interaction tests...you heard me..it was grueling. Not kidding. Rita, (Dogsmart trainer) is so very strict about standards, there's NOOOO way that anyone will pass unless we have proven ourselves. No free titles given out there! They test your relationship to the max, and if there was any indication that we needed help (after the exercise) we'd work on D & CC'n. The extreme flagged our homework :) They're fair but very strict on quality and proofing behaviours for worst case scenarios.
After class we took advantage of being in town and proofed our walking on a busy street. Me holding an iphone (across an intersection as well) with 4 dogs in tow. No jumping up to greet people or being frightened by cars or buses or horns!!! Here's one intersection I video'd while walking, just to prove that we had our groove on. I'm sure people thought we were nuts, or I was a dog walker.....

3-Sunday's long story short, lost dog was found just around happy hour. We had spent the day hiking the trails around where he (Benny)was last seen. Cat Lake. Maren FOUND him!!! I brought Daizy n Keegan to sniff Benny's dog bed in the morning and played "find it" with the bed...which I will have to add to our "find it" games....only hiding dogs...just incase I ever have to say "find Daizy..." They are such keen sniffers...it'll be something fun to add to our out and about hikes. First round I took Daizy n Keegan and hiked with Christine and her shelties. Round two searching I was on my way with George n Taiki....Maren called to say she found Benny! We hiked a bit then joined in to celebrate with Maren. Cat lake is actually really pretty. Daizy n Kee did a super awesome job sticking close by and walking beside me then waiting until I released them to go have some fun. It was great to spend the day outdoors.
Trails around the lake

The lake and us

Returned later with George and Taiki

Head Halters (Gentle Leader)

2010-09-22T10:45:00.000-07:00

Interesting post on re: using head halters vs flat buckle collar from Susan Garrett. I so agree with Susan, especially for puppies that are out of their minds excited about life (Daiz n Kee), and have a tough time trying to calm themselves and focus on one thing at a time.

I'm not a fan of leashing dogs up to collars, it's just not healthy to put all that pressure around their necks, and also...if you want to hear horror stories about what happens when someone uses a collar as a "training tool" or 'steering wheel" and it goes very wrong...I've got a few! Well more than a few not so happy ending statistics. I truly don't understand how people justify using a collar and leash as a "correction" tool when it can do so much harm, not only to the neck but also for the relationship.

www.susangarrettdogagility.com

My fav is a Gentle Leader, if we're talking head halters. They are so beneficial, especially to help calm (acupressure points) or save one's back or arm from being pulled out of the socket when you're working with dogs who have impulse control issues. Dogs can still play ball/ frisbee/explore... whatever...and are happy little campers.

I use them from time to time with both Daiz and Kee, depending on how my back feels, and if we're going into an exciting environment (ie..recently Keegan's insanity over squirrels). One little excited jump ahead can have me flat on my back.

Only thing is the dog must LOVE (be conditioned to love) the halter and OWNER must not use it as a steering wheel...

Cant tell you also, how helpful they are when you're working with dogs who lunge at other dogs or people....

our favourite yoga pose

2010-09-21T15:45:00.001-07:00

Finally!

2010-09-19T20:18:00.000-07:00

Finally pulled together a sneak peak of what we cover in dog classes. Just a little teaser to send out for those wondering what they've signed up for! We need to make another taking the skills out into real life, but I think this was a good start!
ps. I love the wagging tails, relaxed happy faces and Daizy's jumbo perky ears when I dumped the toys on the ground :)

George's new job

2010-09-17T08:54:00.001-07:00

George's progress of recuperating from dog attacks, either they're off leash dogs rushing directly at us barking, lunging or George ending up in a dog's mouth... is going really really well!!!!

My trick this time around was to put calming signals on cue when I notice him using them with our crew. I watch George like a hawk during interactions,.any time George provides polite feedback to them, tons of fun stuff happens, tons of sweet talk and even my body language supports his decision to hold out just a little while longer and they will get the message and leave you alone or stop doing what annoys you.

This gives George a job to do when he begins to feel stressed or if he feels the need to "control" the situation...instead of acting tough...he sends out calming signals :) We're working also on a combination of BAT, CC, D & C and what I call J.A.C.K :)

Here is one of the few calming signals I've put on cue.

Tiny little box that makes a happy sound = $2.50

2010-09-14T14:24:00.000-07:00

$2.50 9yrs ago...This past weekend was really interesting and the theme each day came back to the fine balance of raising criteria and fading clicker and use of food once a behaviour is established. It's a process that needs to be repeated in each new environment until both you and your furry pal, know the drill with your eyes closed. Even D & Cc issues or BAT you've got to be selective and increase criteria sub-threshold otherwise you'll feel like a pez dispenser and their behaviour either plateau's or gets worst.

I LOVE this blog post written by Dr. Ian Dunbar. reinforcement-schedules
Please read Dr. Ian Dunbar's reply to Lee Charles.. I think it is gold in summing up how to streamline the process. "Hi there Charles. Ask Bob. However, I would imagine he means that "every time a dog meets criterion you would reward him." However, the criteria are progressively refined (tightened) as the dog's behavior improves. For example, if training a dog to pay attention, first you would reward if the dog glances at you, then a look for one second, then two seconds, then three, five, eight, ten, fifteen, twenty and so on, until when the dog is cued he is expected to look at you for 30 seconds. So, when the dog looks at you, he is NOT rewarded every time. However, if he meets criteria, he IS rewarded every time. If the dog looks at you for less than 30 seconds he is not rewarded but if he looks at you for more than 30 seconds he is rewarded, i.e., we only reward above-average responses. Carefully and progressively refining criteria in clicker training is exactly the same principle as test-train-test and rewarding the dog on a differential reinforcement."

I learned with Daisy my brainiac 9yrs ago that I needed to make a conscious effort to increase criteria each interaction otherwise she gets frantic and starts offering all sorts of stuff up that has been rewarded in the past while working her self into a frenzy. The other side of the coin is a dog (George...) will just shut down and offer nothing.

Being systematic and deliberate pays off. It's essential to ensure I don't create a routine that the dog becomes conditioned too. I find that once you do...if something "out of the routine" happens...then it causes an over reaction (or shut down) which is counter productive to what you are trying to achieve in the first place.

Back to the reason I started this blog post...clicker stuff! Sunday I went to our Squamish Pause for Cause w/ Keegan and Daisy to support our local SPCA.

Here's a highlight from our soggy day...a trick competition. We were the last to show a couple tricks.

I did a quick talk on clicker training, talk about how I use a clicker...to ensure people hear me say...it's used as a tool to capture a behaviour you'd like to see more often and put it as quickly as possible on handsignal or verbal cue (within 3 reps with Daisy), vary the rewards asap (play, environment, toys, sweet talk, cuddles), then fade the clicker and transfer the value for the behaviour to that cue word, add distractions and take the show on the road.

In my experience if you do not raise criteria asap and breakdown the behaviour so that it's a piece of cake for the dog to quickly grasp what the end behaviour is, you end up using a clicker as a crutch.

Just like the bad rap of using food has with some people... a clicker can become so exciting that it becomes a distraction and arouses the dog up to the point that they're no longer really concentrating on achieving the next step in the sequence of event you are trying to teach.

UNDER-I love thinking of ways to Globalize cues

2010-09-10T23:03:00.000-07:00

When Keegan and Daisy play, Daisy often goes under Keegan...it's very cute.

Tonight I thought I'd see if she understood when I ASKED her to go UNDER Keegan..

You can see she was a little confused but she did figure it out with help from me using my hand as something to target. Kee was sooo very patient! I LOVE my GUYS..they're so much FUN! I'll have to refine this cue, but I'm so impressed that she actually understood!

Simple cues sure come in handy!

2010-09-08T23:26:00.000-07:00

I came home late from work, too dark to play outside, so we had a little fun inside learning something new :)
I LOVE being able to help them out using cues they understand to chain behaviours together!

Less than 1min to boot for Daisy! I'll have to give it a try with Keegan and George too! I'll probably need to approach it differently with each of them. Just like us...some things come easy for some and others it takes a bit more creative thinking.

SO PROUD of Kee!

2010-08-24T22:34:00.001-07:00

Check out the video I did for default "eave it" if food is on the floor for my Fresh start blog........I haven't put a bowl of popcorn on the floor before, and my veteran beagles knew the drill. Daisy was so funny...I could hear her..."that's soooo mean! I don't want to back up!" but she did of course :P George is such a sweetie, just was fine going with the flow. Kee however...well just take a look. I'm AMAZED at his self handicapping. Got to work more on leave it training tho :)

what do you think...

2010-08-15T23:14:00.000-07:00

Shadow Handling my guys get this without having to say a word, and it is sooo helpful when you're out on trails and they're off leash.

TWIST on Zen....KISS it but don't eat it ...and George "IN" sooo cute!

2010-08-10T13:15:00.000-07:00

So much fun this lunch hour with dogs!!!!

Doggie zen progression to reinforce eye contact gives him access to all sort of great stuff...plus it's a game we play together..Here's Keegan....this was the first time I thought of adding to kiss or lick but don't eat before adding movement by dropping it Daisy also added herself into the mix....Daisy...don't know what I'd would do without her. She added the dog in your face while you play this game with MOI...part of the game.

This sort of training will help with Kee's distraction training around other dogs.

* I would not play this with a resource guarding dog...I have played a TON of zen games SLOWLY leading up to this point.
I had a foster who would make the hair stand up on my arms and give me goosebumps...we worked up to this point but it took weeks of very very careful timing and rewarding his impulse control and TRUST in me that I wouldn't do anything to harm him or push him beyond his emotional limits.

Here's George and me helping him generalize "AROUND" AND "WAY TO ME" AND new one "IN". He's such a scardy cat that when I can help him work through his fears or apprehension about something, I LOVE taking the time to do it. I noticed that he was worried about but at the same time really interested in how much fun Daisy was having jumping in and out of this tunnel...so I took the opportunity to show him ...if he's worried about something YOU can COUNT on ME to let you know what you CAN do with stuff you're worried about...then I just helped him out with "IN"

YAY!!! HE got BRAVE and did it! Now I can't get him to STOP..it's too much fun!

People must think we're NUTS!

2010-08-09T22:07:00.000-07:00

I know some get a kick out of us and have stopped their cars, to watch us, or some even have stopped to chat about how they can't believe beagles are so obedient. Then there's Keegan, who is just the biggest goofball EVv'a...who if left to his own devices will have you shaking your head and laughing at the same time..or pulling out your hair ;)

I took video yesterday on our walk to keep track of some of the stuff we do out and about to fill up my Fresh Start blog with ideas for training opportunities while out and about to reinforce polite social skills.

Here's another recall game I thought up yesterday to help reinforce that when I'm still...it's time to come chill...with me:) I didn't want to recall Keegan. I wanted him to figure it out on his own. Daisy did of course! At first you can see her expression......"okay...are we coming or going..." and both sort of thought..."I know we're going this way, so we'll just wait her out ;) Anyways...it will be worth repeating, I liked that at the end I bent down, and that's when they came to see me. It's been a bit of a trend that I've noticed that helps calm them right away. It's been awesome for George's anxiety too.

Shadow Handling w/ George while out and about, walking first, reward "go sniff" then once he checks in, I start running so we run together on the side I'm looking over my shoulder, then I stop...and he stops beside me to chill :)

Reinforcing that when bikes and screaming kids ride around...we chill out, practice for Keegan! I've go to set up some training sessions where bikes race by us or in the distance while he chills with me. Next step is to have dog racing by us and Keegan chilling with me to reinforce ...just because other dogs are racing after a ball or WHAT'eva...Kee can stay by me UNLESS its safe to go play CHASE with the other dogs. I'm still shaken up at the thought that he'd race after something fast moving. I've also got continue globalizing the herding cues...that may help him wrap his head around what TO DO with moving objects better.

SO much FUN in the woods today!

2010-08-07T23:13:00.000-07:00

Keegan's still in bootcamp, YOU can tell he's IRKed about it :)
My beagles make me proud :) I made the mistake of giving Keegan too much off leash time in the woods this past year....don't get me wrong...he's AWESOME but...he still has adolescent brain and after 2yrs of not chasing anything ( because of all the WORK we did )...he took off after a biker, because 4 other dogs we were walking with DID. He just circled the biker while 2 dogs barked at the biker.. and REcalled back to me, no biggie..BUT the fact that he JUST got caught up in GANG mentality... IS NOT SAFE. So....back to the drawing board and bootcamp. THAT was the ONE thing I didn't practice training...HAving him stay close WHILE OTHER dogs RUN away and take CHASE...Its dangerous having a dog that races off to chase. My beagles were on a long line for 2yrs, and just off leash for quick recalls and THEY ARE crazy AWESOME now!!! So I am soooo NOT EVER going to repeat this mistake again. You can tell by KEEGAN's ears and body language...he's irked at being on leash while beagles are off leash. TO BAD, SO SAD :)

The beagle and the aussie :)

pups n walk it

I LOVE nature...UNLIMITED source of REWARDS and FUN...no need to worry about running out of TREATS :)

Here we go....intro to how I go about "training" a dog from scratch

2010-08-04T09:25:00.000-07:00

Step by step.

http://fresh-start-dog-training.blogspot.com/

I'll use Happy Houndz to continue logging the fun and crazy stuff we get into...but thought it would be helpful to those who want to start from scratch...to have a place to go for my Coles notes on building a strong communication foundation; built on trust, fun and games...in the name of "dog training".

I couldn't have gotten to this place without all the BRILLIANT trainers (listed through out this blog and on my Mentors links) I've been so very fortunate to have worked with some, studied with, read their books, bought their dvd's, read their updates in their blogs, been to seminars with...really so very very thankful for their time and sharing their expertise.

I feel like I have found that magic between me and my guys..each personality different from the other and together...we have SO MUCH FUN...

We respect eachother limitations and the best part is...we're here to help eachother out. It's an awesome feeling, to know my guys have my back...when I'm feeling blue, and I'm the first to step up, when they need a hand to learn to work through something overwhelming.

My rebels...make me shake my head DAILY...

2010-08-01T22:02:00.000-07:00

It's hard not to let go and enjoy their antics even on our WALKS..I'm sure people think we're NUTS...SO WHAT... if we're not perfectly behaved all the time...as long as we're PERFECT for EACHOTHER...that's all that matters to me.

SHAPING games... Exciting and Relaxing!

2010-07-31T10:10:00.000-07:00

I LOVE it! Playing shaping games can be EXCITING or RELAXING...you get to choose what is right for the time. They are AWESOME for developing focus for you, patience, helps with impulse control issues as it teaches them to ignore the exciting (or overwhelming to some) world around them. Being able to relax or have fun despite what is going on in their environment is really tough for some dogs...like MINE :) These games help a ton!

STARTS OFF:
1- we started playing these in the house
2-then moved out in the back yard
3- now we take these games on the road and play when we're out and about on trails or walks.
4-you can play for as little as 1 min upWARDS ...really up to you and knowing what body language to watch for to ensure you END the game BEFORE they get bored of it.

EXCITING shaping game:

I CALL IT "SHAPE DANC'N with my guys which is great on so many levels to have fun and allow them the freedom to think! I say their name, they offer up a behaviour, or just look at one of them, dance a bit, then stop..to let them know it's their turn to offer something up. At first just reward everything...even if it's just standing still, then any movement, the soon enough they'll start offering up sits, downs, and all their favourite tricks in the book...reward with enthusiasm ALL of them! Remember though the structure of the game is you dance or step side to side, while they wait till you stop...then it's their turn to offer up something when you say their name or look at them.
I play it when:
* the weather is crummy,
*when I don't feel very energetic,
*when I need a injection of happiness myself...it's so cute to watch what they offer up!
*It's also a great way when you're working on a behaviour issue where they get stuck on being 'serious' or 'worried" ...if they can all of a sudden play your fun 'SHAPE DANC'N game" then you know they are working subthreshold. If they can't and they remain frozen...you need to add distance between whatever they are 'stuck" or fixated on before drama unfolds.
*It's also a great way for them to know...my owner's not worried, it's time for that fun game...so I don't have to concern myself with what had me 'frozen' in time.

RELAXING and CALMING shaping games:

Here's our "LAZY BUMS" game spin on Dr. Karen Overall's Relaxation Protocol. IT'S a great morning game for a SLEEPY morning person like myself. It's been AWESOME!!! It really does prove that providing feedback on what you'd LIKE to see more of behaviour wise and then letting them run with it works!
Goal of this shaping game is offering up, marking and rewarding relaxed behaviours, anywhere from:
*eye contact!
* looking in the direction of a noise and NOT barking,
*laying down preferable on their hip, rather than the pounce position...my guys offered up pounce position so I just ran with that, as they were calm and not going anywhere. Otherwise I could have used a handsignal to lure them on the hip
*sitting and chilling, standing and chilling, stopping their tail from wagging
*putting their head on the ground, laying on their side,
*even offering up sleepy eyes, a big sigh, a look away from me...all calming signals...will get them a treat! Then me upping the distractions by me moving and rewarding their relaxed states, then adding a dog moving and again rewarding their relaxed states....

Well, walking isn't the only thing KEEGAN needs a refresher on...

2010-07-29T14:29:00.000-07:00

I LOVE the video by Dr. Ian Dunbar about adolescent hiccup where you start noticing things fall apart ...video http://www.dogstardaily.com/videos/adolescent-changes.. and article..http://www.dogstardaily.com/training/adolescent-changes

Don't get me wrong...KEE is amazing. We've come so far it's flattering that other people comment on how well behaved he is, because it makes me realize how far we've come! Then KEEGAN humbles me and reminds me how much further....we need to go :P

Anyways...we've got some work to do on giving things up, when tugging, and reinforcing a retrieve rather than KEE adding the keep away game...

I found that out today when I tried to make a video of turning an annoying thing into a game for them to enjoy...thinking of an opposite incompatible behaviour to counter the annoying and or sometimes unsafe behaviour they're engaging in.

It was supposed to be Daisy's video...but Keegan stole the show :P

DAISY, was picking up sticks and eating them.......after this gland removal issue...which is still got me all worried...the LAST thing I need is for Daisy to be eating sticks! So instead of saying ...don't do it...I turned the table and have been asking her to pick up sticks and give them to me.

1-gives her a job to do
2- keeps her from eating sticks
3- saves me from picking up sticks ;)
4- keeps Keegan entertained at the same time...he loves to take things out of Daisy's mouth and join in on the game.

KEEGAN...who normally just takes the stick from Daisy's mouth and relays it to me...started racing around with it....cute...but that leads to a game that I don't like to reinforce "keep away" and also...he wasn't too eager to give up the stick...when playing tug...which is NEW too. I've reinforced playing tug and the cue to give it up is me being still since puppyhood so it was a bit of a surprise to say the least when he didn't....

We'll be working more on KEEGAN's:

1-tugging, reinforcing an automatic release when I'm still

2-also not bugging another dog taking toys out of their mouth ALL the time...that's going to get him in trouble with less lighthearted dogs than Daisy.

3-making coming to me after getting a toy or treat MORE rewarding than playing KEEP away, even though it was cute to see him all bouncy. I'll do that using the Premack Principle, he brings the stick or ball or frisbee to me...immediately after the retrieve, then I'll get him to jump up and grab it and release him to do as he pleases with it. That way, the retrieve loop is closed. Playing keep away is a whole other game separate from retrieving. It's a game that I INITIATE...not KEE :P He can play that game on his own time, with other dogs.

Walking w/loose leash has been such a treat these days !

2010-07-27T22:35:00.000-07:00

KEEGAN was doing an awesome job, then TURNED TWO...and has been going through an adolescent brain dead phase. He forgot all about how enjoyable walking BESIDE me could be :P I was crushed :(
He just wanted to race full speed ahead. I made the mistake of having him off leash too often when on trails so he totally got hooked on racing around and it was tough wrapping his head around remembering that he was limited by a leash when we switched from off to on leash. He has a great recall and checks in often which made it easy for me to ...be lazy. Kee is such a free spirit that it wasn't a good idea on my part to let things slide.

Now....I'm so so very happy to report that we're back on track. I walk him on and off leash on trails now without any issues. I made it irresistible for him to keep his eye on me so sticking close by is always so unpredictably FUN, tasty, and adventurous.

It's important to me for all my guys to be mindful of me at the other end of the leash. My beagie boo's are AWESOME and it's nice to see KEE back by my side with a happy face instead of racing ahead.

Today

Last weekend

We've come a long way since I shot this in the city!

THANKS TO:

1- practicing at home, in the yard, on boring sidewalks, on quiet trails at first, on and off leash, and of course adding the fun of Targeting and Shadow handling games!

2-Meet and greet practice w/family indoors and outside on and off leash!

3-Desensitizing him to being pat on the head...for when we meet people...he didn't like that much, and tried to avoid the hand landing on his head...truthfully I would have trouble with it too!

4-And of course having a history of FUN, TASTY, adventures and cuddles under our belt helps.

Sniff on cue

2010-07-25T16:29:00.000-07:00

One of the EASIEST and HELPFUL cues to capture. It TAKES THE CONFLICT out of so many situations! And makes my guys HAPPY! Dogs LIVE to sniff and explore! Why not make it work to your advantage.

Works wonders for dogs who need help controling their impulses like jumpy over the top meet and greeters ...KEEGAN....he was so embarrassing at first. I nicknamed him Keegan the Kangaroo as he'd wait till he was close, then jump up, bopping people in the nose...

Here's a vid of George sniffing. These people thought he was cute, said he looked like 'Wishbone" but prefer to admire dogs from a distance..so here's a way for George to interact (because he LOVES to say hello) without annoying or frightening these people;

IT'S a great cue to pull out of your back pocket to get the dog to leave something YUCKY to us...but irresistible to them like...horse poop! Warning this is gross but dogs love to sniff it...and eat it!

Also helpful for SOCIAL NERDS or over the top HERDING breeds...knowing what to do when they meet another dog, cat, bikers, skateboarder.... There are steps to work up to this point. ...below demonstration courtesy of Daisy. Crazy Daisy the party girl...went through a period where she'd bark, lunge at the end of her leash at other dogs after a couple of bully experiences. She'd had enough and just wanted to make sure other dogs knew to STAY AWAY.

The turning point for Daisy and her social awkwardness was I put sniff on cue. I also learned a ton from Dogsmart classes for 'reactive dogs", and Dr. Karen Overall, Dr. Patricia McConnell, Leslie McDevitt et al have come out with so much research on this very topic that puts everything into perspective. My latest favourite way of explaining the drama courtesy of the above mentioned Phd's.... is that they seek information by the only tools they have, their voice and body language (growl/bark/lunge).

Daisy's progression to understanding what TO do when meeting other dogs;

*I chose bullet proof dogs that are calm and were happy to just sit with their back to Daisy and ignore her while she sniffed from a distance.
*At first even eye contact from the other dog can make a social nerd get into the drama :)
*Eventually we'd play games parallel with eachother but again, distance ourselves so no contact could be made even if leash was fully extended and the dog pulled you off your feet until Daisy was comfortable.
*Sometimes giving the dog time to get to know the strange dog helps take the edge off the meet and greet. The more strange dogs Daisy met at a distance, the more comfortable and confident that she didn't have to be noisy to ensure the other dog respect her boundries ...ie: not being too in her face and ignoring her signals that she's overwhelmed.
*Lastly she learned to retreat if she felt overwhelmed instead of being dramatic :P

1-At first, from a distance (subthreshold), she was rewarded for air sniffing them,
2-then walking behind them and air sniffiing,
3-then beside them and sniffing, then when she was totally comfortable,
4-we worked up to this nice sniff meet and greet....all her decision.

She let me know when she was ready for each progression through her relaxed and happy body language, and I just made sure interactions were quick at first then added duration until she was able to make the right decisions on her own. I just rewarded her for the polite response and calm, friendly body language, each step of the way, always, always noticing if she slightly tensed up...we backed away and created distance, teaching her...if she's uncomfortable...retreat and leave. I call it, retreat with honour...I think it's from an article I read from Dr. Ian Dunbar. That's it.

George is a whole other blog post!

SMILEY faces and biofeedback

2010-07-23T21:13:00.000-07:00

Non verbal communication...learning how to read your dog adds such a rich dimension to your relationship. Their whole body tells a story, just like ours.

Their facial expressions especially eyes and ears are my favourite to watch. They can melt my heart, comfort me after a long day or bad day, make me laugh, let me know when they're bored and it's time to work or play. Most importantly let me know when they need me to help them out.

You can kick things up a notch by learning how to capture their happy relaxed expressions along with calming signals and create a biofeedback loop. That was/is essential to know when you are working through behavioural challenges.

I like the way Leslie McDevitt explained it in Control Unleashed; " Every time your dog is in a physiologically relaxed state, his behaviour reflects that state. If you mark and reward that calm behaviour, you are both reinforcing the relaxed state and sending your dog's nervous system a powerful message that eventually can cue relaxation."

I first learned about calming signals from Dogsmart, and they recommended 'Turid Rugaas book/dvd atleast 8 years ago...then I think it was after a Dr. Patricia McConnell seminar on emotions, there was more research out relating to dogs specifically! Mark Beckoff is one of my favourites who talk about, emotions in animals, to keep tabs on...(Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology).

I remember my "Ah Ha" moment...I was in a hurry to get to work and had brought my beagles outside to take their last pee before I left. I remember saying 'quick pee', 'quick pee', and then a couple seconds later "quick pee" .. then looking down to see both of them stopped in their tracks, looking back at me and licking their lips. The expression on both their faces was IDENTICAL...pretty much telling me to calm the $#()@ down, I was driving them NUTS. I laughed so hard! I was busted...

They tell me to calm down all the time, even now, as I can be happy excited about the littlest things. I turn the tables as well when they're being pests :)

We have captured quite a few facial expressions on cue or that we will reciprocate. Some even serve as a sort of inside joke. It's helpful when you're teaching them cues, playing, trying to diffuse a tense situation or when I'm in conversation. In conversations, I can let them know with a facial expression that I appreciate they're hanging out while I chit chat with happy, squinty eyes and tilt my head..a "how sweet and thoughtful sort of look".

I have made the mistake of being too excited in my expression when trying to tell them I appreciate their patience and to just stay put a couple more minutes. By using a wide eye expression... bursting with excitement.. they got up as if I had cued "let's go!". So if you can be consistent..and remember that if you want action, be expressive, wide eyes, big smile, excited! If you want calm...use the full range of sleepy, relaxed facial expressions, slow deep breathing, big sigh...It really helps them fine tune what your expressions mean when you're consistent. Wonder if anyone else notices that with their dogs. Click to Calm is another great book!

It also comes in handy to diffuse a tense situation when they are over their head emotionally and need direction on what to do to work their way out of a sticky situation (ie.off leash dogs...or people who are over the top). They spend much of their lives reading body language...so I don't see how facial expressions would be an exception.

HAPPY, soft, squinty EYES are my favourite! They're so very different from Daisy's 'Bert" expression, I call it. Closed mouth and impatient eyes when she's bored and wants a job to do!

I'll have to take pic's this weekend, my laptop died along with most of my photos...what a hard way to learn to BACK UP photos!!!! ...

Happy Daisy waiting for me to play.

We're almost to the Estuary, one of George's favourite trails!

GVH- here's a Puppy class outline, normally 1 1/2 hr class covers

2010-07-22T11:36:00.000-07:00

My step by step training blog is my latest project.......if you wish to take a peak

FRESH START - DOG TRAINING

http://fresh-start-dog-training.blogspot.com/

SHADOW handling to the rescue!

2010-07-20T11:07:00.000-07:00

When it comes to off or on leash "HEELING" a few of my mentors are; Silvia Ttrkman, Susan Garrett even Greg Darrett...I ABSOLUTELY can not tell you HOW much FUN it is for the dog and human to play shadow handling games. BONUS is you end up with a rock solid velcro dog, who LOVES to be close JUST because it's FUN and really rewarding!

Come to think of it, for those who never can find time to carve out for exercise...it's a great way to exercise! Race around, burn calories and SPEND TIME building a bond with your dog. I have yet to meet a dog that doesn't LOVE this game! You'd be surprised that even the aloof ones get in on the fun.

You don't need to be goofy all the time, just sneak it in on your walks from time to time and they'll walk politely while keep their one eye on you for the slightest indication that you'll start the fun. Works with the Premack principle as well...walk politely without tension on the leash and...we'll play a few shadow handling games on our walk!

You can sneak this "training' in any time...ANYWHERE...and if you time it right...you can use the environment as a "THANKS" for sticking to me like crazy glue :)

I'll update the steps and take video with my guys sometime this week, but for now...here's a perfecto example from Sylvia Trkman's new puppy vid!

1- following you in the water (how much fun is that on a hot day!)
2- coming to you means cuddles or jumping up into your arms!
3- coming to you means we get to play games and learn tricks w/treats!
4-coming to you means to down in front of you then scoot in beside you
5-start your heeling exercises, rewarding them for backing up, beside you, circles through your legs, tugging playing with their favourite toy as a 'thanks" for sticking so close
6-more tricks! Sneak on your belly, go to your mat
7- play with me! race with me! Then race with other dogs then come back for more fun with me!

All this builds VALUE (Susan Garrett term) for paying attention to you and provides you with the opportunity to be "in tune" with eachother. The end result is there can be other dogs, people, noise, action going on in the distance but FOCUS for you is much more FUN.

SAY goodbye to those problem behaviours of chasing, barking, lunging...the environment becomes white noise...and YOU the APPLE of their eyes. In the end, they don't want to miss out on the fun with you. It gives dogs who worry about other dogs, people, leaves falling, cars, bikes a job to do. Leslie McDevitt also covers this in her work as well!

There are body language cues that help the dog figure out which side to stick close to, how to move around into different positions which keep things interesting for the dog.

I've been doing "shadow handling " for years without knowing that there is a method to it which kicks things up a notch and makes it even more fun for the dog after attending a Susan Garrett Foundation Skills workshop.

I love this video, as you can see Susan's body cues clearly. You should see how amazing her dogs are on an agility course. In person they are a riot.

It's a way to keep your dog focused and learning...and provides mental stimulation! If you watch them play amongst themselves they often play this game as well!

Bonus is it's exhausting to concentrate on a task, we do it all the time. Ever feel tired after reading or when you're learning something new? You'll find it's an ideal way to burn off some steam and take the edge off, when your dog is looking for something to do and racing around is not an option.

why I LOVE TARGET training...

2010-07-15T21:24:00.000-07:00

The majority of all tricks and OBEDIENCE cues actually, that I teach my guys...are all based on the same foundation skills..which include MATwork & the TOUCH cue! (special thx to Leslie McDevitt for all her crazy awesome mat & give me a break games)

Targeting a place (MATwork) and nose touching something (touch cue)also come into play when teaching polite walking with a loose leash, meet and greets, stays, recalls, retrieving. Even IMPULSE CONTROL issues like; chasing bikes, people, cars, ...you name it! Who would think those two simple cues...can open up a means by which to communicate and teach behaviours!

ie. TARGETing a skateboard...then shaping them to ride it...the skateboard itself is place to target just like targeting a mat!

I had put the skateboard away and forgot all about it until tonight when trying to think of something fun for Daisy to do that wouldn't involve too much racing around. I'm still careful about not over doing it with the collar on and her still not completely healed.

ie.RETRIEVING games....when you think of it, there are a lot of steps involved in retrieving! Nose touch an object, take it in your mouth and hold it, then bring it to me...and drop it in my hand. Great thing about retrieving is you can get them to help you around the house!!!

Not only limited to things that shouldn't be laying around in the first place...but also....

Daisy normally lays quiet while I eat on a mat, but tonight, she was full of beans! I could have told her to go lay down, but really, truly...when they choose to communicate with you, enjoy that moment! She had shear happiness in her bouncy step bringing me the shoes and with her and Keegan relaying the toilet paper. All I need to do is say "thank you" and then just go back to eating...and they go back to their mats and snooze :)

The POWER of letting someone be HEARD, and then going back to what you were doing in the first place....is surprisingly effective in dog training too!

Mornings...when you're a slow moving morning person ;)

2010-07-14T07:41:00.000-07:00

Kee and Daisy (I'll start spelling her name correctly, although she'll always be Crazy Daizy the party girl to me) are morning birds...who LOVE to work period. I have no flocks of sheep to herd or foxes to chase after....so, I keep them mentally stimulated with goofy games. They LOVE it. George does too but he's more chilled then those two Cracker Jacks.

For example now that Daizy's getting better but still not ready to take the cone off....I have to be creative in balancing her mental and physical stimulation....ie. 101 things to do with a soccer ball!

If George were a superstar he'd be George Hamilton, always finding the sunny spot to lay in, or even Johnny Depp..who is a magnet but enjoys his privacy...doesn't like to get swarmed by the Puparazzi ;P (off leash dogs). Keegan would be Jim Carey; a firecracker, just crazy, funny things come out of no where! Daizy would be Joan Rivers; bossy, sensitive and you can't help but shake your head at her sassy humour ;) I wonder if anyone else thinks of famous people that their dogs remind them of?

Back to the post topic...I LOVE waking up early but I'm a sleepy morning person. I need to have time to take in all the morning country sounds and scents, enjoy coffee outside, read and goof around with my guys, BEFORE I start my day. I love that happy relaxed space before the insanity hits. Waking early also feels like I've actually had time to enjoy the day before zipping off to work or diving in from home.

All our cues are taught in short "training" sessions. Pretty much a couple minutes tops at a time spread through out the day. It leaves us looking forward to the next quick session.

I LOVE Dr. Patricia McConnell's blog and her dvd's and her books and her seminars!...she's always so informative, funny and real. This morning's blog is so sweet AND true!

http://www.theotherendoftheleash.com/whats-in-it-for-me

What I had intended to link from her blog is a post from a while ago which was from a book she read called "The brain that changes itself" (which I've now since read as well). The more I read about neuroscience and what new research unveils, the more I'm in awe with all that goes on in the learning process. We really are remarkable beings capable of wondrous things when we put our minds to it! This is the post I was looking for..talks about training schedules.

http://www.theotherendoftheleash.com/training-schedules

Pretty much saying that learning in short sessions ( ours are anywhere from 10 sec - 2 min).. really does keep their enthusiasm high, everyone engaged, neither of us (dog or me) get bored or frustrated from one too many boring repetitions, and it sure works with my insane work schedule. Plus...proven to work with how learning takes place!

Dr. Karen Overall's dvd FROM LEASHES TO NEURONS & PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY explains how from a molecular level the brain actually works to learn something...I HIGHLY recommend that dvd!!!

Crossing my fingers, toes and eyeballs Daizy continues to improve!

2010-07-12T20:38:00.000-07:00

This evening was the first time in over a week that Daizy seemed back her her happy, feisty, cheerful, playful self.

I didn't let her play much only because I didn't want the stitches to open up, but it was tough when it made my heart happy to see her all bouncy and trying to get in the thick of things.

She's still oozing a bit from stitches and still swollen under her jaw but only about 1/4 of what it was so...here's hoping the meds will continue to work their magic!

Daizy surgery to remove Mandibular and Sublingual Salivary Gland

2010-07-09T17:36:00.000-07:00

What a crazy couple days. I wasn't going to write about this but I should document it as there wasn't much on the internet when I searched for it. Maybe it will help someone else if they have to go through this.

What started out:

Jun 26- Sat = afternoon feeling lethargic and not wanting to eat (I ended up coaxing her with a smoothie in 1/8cup at a time portions..water,greens, cucumber, and added roast chicken)
Jun 28- Mon = noonish noticed her throat swollen all of a sudden
Jun 29- Tue = vet appoint, bug bite/allergies...wait a couple days
Jul 2- Fri = swelling went down in throat, but jaw still swollen around bone
Jul 4- Sun= swelling returned worst, under throat and down throat,
Jul 5 - Mon= vet check- anti inflamatory and antibiotic prescribed, talked to Rita she helped me clear my head and look at options (talked about Dr. Susan)
Jul 6 - Tues= noticed small clear patch under jaw on fur...thought it was drool
Jul 7 - Wed= morning, swollen so much started to bleed through her skin, looked like she was shot in the throat, vet appoint afternoon, decided surgery only option.
Jul 8 - Thurs= surgery (home I fed her greens smoothie, roast chicken, and then honey later on)
Jul 9 - Fri = Daizy seems in better spirits, hoping she can keep meds down & body takes care of swelling...and makes sure no infection is left over.
Jul 10-Sat= Dr. Honey took a look and took the drain out.

Warning Graphic Picture at the very end....

Here's Daizy the day after surgery. I kept things pretty low key but still fun in short bursts.

I'm hoping that things will continue to get better. Now's just a waiting game and making sure I keep the area clean and feed her healthy foods, rest,keep things as happy and normal as possible(just less racing around), continue on with anti inflammatory and antibiotics.

In the Raw Pet Food is where I get all my scoop on what foods can help her heal, and boost her immune system. For smoothies I'm avoiding all milk products, acidic veggies/fruit, and using soothing veggies (cucumber, zucchini, greens...) and fruit (blueberries, melons...), with a teaspoon of honey (without milk products so the antibiotics can work full strength). Meat I'm feeding her is cooked chicken (white meat has anti inflammatory properties), or scrambled egg. A quarter piece of toast and peanut butter to help hide those pills! So far so good!

link below has info I found really really helpful:

http://www.acvs.org/AnimalOwners/HealthConditions/SmallAnimalTopics/SalivaryMucocele/

Post Op care to keep area clean. Daizy was grouchy because the drain and stitches area was red and swollen, so I came up with this compromise. I soaked a dish towel in the saline solution (warm water and salt), leaving quite a bit of water in the towel, so it sort of rinses the area at the same time. Then wrapped it around the her head,and put a bit of pressure where I needed to make sure it was blotting the drain area and removing the gross stuff. I did this twice. First time to rinse and absorb the guck, the second time to make sure the area was clean. Incase anyone needs an alternative to blotting a sore area to clean it out...thought I should post it.

Daizy helps dry her stitches

Photo Courtesy of the amazing surgeon Dr. Tom Honey. You don't know how lucky I am that Squamish has such high caliber veterinary care out here! Plus wonderful wonderful warm, compassionate spirits to boot!

Bite inhibition 101

2010-07-08T11:16:00.000-07:00

Learning how to play gently using their mouth is such an important social skill. George was great with Keegan as a puppy...and it sure has paid off, especially since Keegan is 4 times the size of George! Bottom vid is of Taiki and Keegan...they're a riot.

They learn so much through play. How much pressure from mouth is enough or too much and even how to have a squabble and not leave a mark! All my guys went through puppy class. They met tons of puppies all shapes and sizes and also gentle older dogs (Owner of Dogsmart , Alice Fisher's dog, Quilla and Kiernan, Trainer Rita's dog..both LOVE to work ).

Then I tried my best javascript:void(0)to pick the calmest dogs on we met on the street and at the park as well.

ps...I work on human bite inhibition as well, through games with toys ... I don't use my mouth :P

Kee vs Georgie

Kee vs Taiki

Taiki just LOVEs to zoom under Keegan and has even inadvertently bitten him in the privates :O

Using nature as rewards to practice cues

2010-07-06T23:38:00.000-07:00

I just love finding ways to use their environment as a reward when practicing a cue.

Last weekend tall grass was a favourite to practice "go", which means to race ahead.

Working on "Leave- it "games using a mat ( Control Unleashed )

2010-07-04T11:57:00.000-07:00

I'll just load this page up with Leave-it video clips as we play them.

1- Videos working on LEAVE -IT from a mat first

My favourite mat to use is a yoga mat these days, ever since working on Passive Attention on it in the yard. I've built a Conditioned Emotional Response for that mat now = mat is HIGHLY valued, and REWARDING place to hang out :)

I LOVE that it is big enough for me to:
*work on calming exercises on it, massage, tummy rubs, chill-axing
*easy to take anywhere (outdoors, to a friend's place, in home), rolls up, compact,
*washes up quickly
*comfy with some padding for the dog, no slip....
*big enough so I can throw rewards or treats on it!

My criteria for dog's body position:

*body parts on the mat in a down position.

I'm looking to capture the action of the dog turning his head to 'look back" to me. So they check in with me before chasing something; bike, car, skateboard, person....or even eating something on the ground....

Starting in the quiet of your home with stationary objects is the first step. You'll gradually add tougher distractions once they have solid down/stays, sit/stays, stand/stays... without asking for them. If you build from a solid foundation...the end result will be a dog who looks to you before acting on their impulses. And best of all who becomes desensitized to the triggers that drive him nuts!

I only introduce a word or cue once they offer up the behaviour 99% of the time. That's when it's safe to introduce the word you will use for 'leave it", as they'll begin to associate that word with what they do when you say it. "Leave it" will mean to look back at me from whatever you're engaged with, and I'll let you know what comes next.

What you're going to capture and reward...the purpose of these games:
:
1- when the dog begins to look away from whatever's on the ground, mark that second in time with a crisp "yes!" then immediately give them a reward. You will slowly get longer eye contact once they understand what the game is all about.

Trouble shooting if the dog moves towards the stationary "distraction"

1- if dog moves forward, use your body and move slightly forward, or cover up whatever's on the ground, normally puts enough pressure on the dog to back up. Using your body language to let them know what you'd like them to do...move away and leave whatever is on the ground alone. No yelling, or charging at them or aggressive displays from you required.

2- or having a cue like "back it up" which lets them know they need to move away..is handy! I'd prefer to redirect them and let them know what I'd prefer they do, if they need my help to be successful in staying away from whatever's on the ground.

Here's a variation with Daizy using a bumper mat. I like these too. I prefer that the mat is larger than the dog when they're laying down.

BAckyard fun ( peace and quiet)

2010-06-26T21:51:00.000-07:00

It's been a couple weeks since I've been working on restoring peace and quiet....back into our yard...

I thought I'd share a couple of things that have made a huge difference in turning their triggers, into "white noise". All the people, baby, toddler, crazy adolescent screaming teenagers and dog noise that we hear ....I'm happy to report that we're less than 5% of that !

What's helped a TON...
1- first taught George that one bark...is all I need to hear...which was easy as I just rewarded one bark and associated the cue "thank you" with coming running for treats, throwing treats out the window, or his favourite ball, or playing with him...so 1 bark and he'll actually look back from a distance when I yell 'thank you" or "quiet" from inside the home :P We make eye contact so that's my chance to do something fun...so his barking has cut down dramatically from the machine gun bark! Every now and then he'll do it but it's easy to call him away now with "thank you!".

Here's a clip where George barks twice and I say 'quiet" and he is ;) It really does work. There are steps involved, but if George can learn to curb his "enthusiasm" then I have high hope for other dogs! He LOVES the sound of his own voice.

2- they do their business on the perimeter of the yard which I pick up as soon as it happens (seeing as though I race around doing agility with them...don't want to step in anything)

3-after business, I make Kongs for them. Their breakfast peanut butter, toast n banana kongs are served outside.

Daizy and Keegan pick up the kongs and return them to me so they're not littering the yard. Buys me about 20mins...of them concentrating on their kongs while the morning dogs, kids et al...goes unnoticed :) I normally read outside, or am on my laptop.

4-then we'll play reorient games and their reward is a kibble treasure hunt.....buys me another 20 or so mins...background noise goes unnoticed

5- I go inside and they'll just start to play or relax (full bellies)...then every so often, I'll open a window and tell them they're superstars then recall them inside just so I can send them outside :)for another game but this time with toys!

Sometimes I give George his favourite ball and he just chews it before we play the game...He's the one who normally starts the barking...so if I keep him busy...then all remains peaceful :)

Or I'll do some passive attention work between yoga stretches.....

6-then I'll go out and play ball with them for a bit, then inside and I get ready for work, they hang out inside

7-after that it's time for their morning walk around the neighborhood to check their peemail, then I'm off to work.

Evenings are a bit different because after they do their business, then we go out on a hike. Then back to race around the yard and do some agility or something then inside to eat , clean up and chill out.

ZOOM! PUPS! POP! BONK! I love using fun words for ACTION cues!

2010-06-23T16:33:00.000-07:00

I love choosing words for ACTION cues that make me smile. Saying them gives me an immediate HAPPY fix...lightens the mood and gives me a boost of energy, when I'm cheering my superstars along!

I have been on a roll recently choosing words like;

1- POP!, BONK!, ZOOM!, PUPS! (I also use words that sound slow, quiet and calm which are for stationary cues...that's another blog post! )

2-have been creative with my verbal praise to let my dogs know I LIKE that!..WOW!, AWESOME!, THANK YOU!, CHA CHING!, WHOOHOOO!

3-Yes! is the word I use as a marker ...learned that 9yrs ago at Dogsmart and I've lost count how many tricks, cues, I've taught my guys because of that one word ...to let them know I LIKE WHAT they just did. It's a special word used particularly when I'm teaching them a new behaviour or chaining babysteps together.

I think in the learning stage it helps to be consistent with your marker word, same word, sort of like a click from a clicker.

So they understand:

"Yes ! " or click & immediate treat, life reward, toys, praise = please do that one thing more often..I like it! Mind you I'll often say "yes!" before their praise word as well. I think just out of habit.

ZOOM! PUPS!

Recalls...I have a few different cues depending on the urgency and where I am
1-NAME alone = if I'm in the woods, my emergency recall, said in the panicked tone of voice, if I just have a split second to get one to run to me...I chose to say their name as a recall just because it's the first thing that came to mind when I was stressed and just had a slit second to react (bear involved) = go with what you think will come out of your mouth and never poison that cue with any activity that the dog will think is the end to the fun so chances are when they hear that word...they'll come running no questions asked!
2-PUPS!...is just an everyday check in group recall
3-Dog's name and Zoom is my everyday recall = they just need to come running placement is not required

POP!

BONK!

Hah! Those rude, off leash dogs...

2010-06-19T10:46:00.000-07:00

Well we're in the fist stage of learning how to do a drive by to another dog without interacting with it. My guys already know "sniff" , "touch", (Dogsmart.ca classes) "cuddle in", "around", "way to me" but that doesn't seem to help out in situations where we encounter off leash or on leash dogs who you can tell by their body posture are going to be trouble but owner doesn't seem to "get it" or do anything about it ...I wish people would respect that my dogs don't want to be rushed, or sometimes rather not say hello.
I have called this new cue "say hello" but really it's a drive by without interaction and return to me. My dog ends up with back to other dog and focused back on me, sort of morphing the re-orienting/ look at that/ leave it,..Control Unleash games... kinda...I don't know how else to describe it.

My hope is that it will diffuse the situation..

I'm happy to let my guys meet other dogs if I see a few of these signals: soft eyes, avoiding prolonged eye contact, loosey, wiggly body, slow to approach, licking lips, play bow, arc around my dog...as they WAIT to see my dog's reaction to their invitation to interact...

Turid Regass dvd rocks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj7BWxC6iVs and Dogsmart "Train and Play' class is awesome for teaching dog body language 101.

You can tell I'm still irked by this whole issue...

my how clouds change ...

2010-06-18T23:27:00.000-07:00

Our evening hike went from sunny to cloudy to down pour in a matter of 1 1/2 hrs...

clouds starting to roll in

Silently moving across the sky

Along came the rain clouds...

The Chief looks so majestic with the moody backdrop and front face lit by the sun

Reality check- some things will never change

2010-06-17T20:16:00.000-07:00

As much as things have been progressing having time to work on issues with my crew as they come up...I've come to realize that some issues are going to be hardwired for George. Especially after listening to (Karen Overall's seminar) and reading up about how if the "fear" center of your brain is firing like the 4 of July... when you or an animal has to deal with a situation...in the end...whether or not you can ever fully recover is individual.

Daisy has come through all her fear issues and recouped after being attacked by other dogs and bulldozed, and she's fine with them now. Is happy to say hello and is a great first neutral dog to meet and greet fosters. She totally takes them under her wing.

George on the other hand will always need time to make sure another dog is 'safe" and will not bulldoze him or attack him. Tonight I realized that his anxiety is so much bigger a dragon that I can ever slay for him and make everything as it used to be.

He started out a very optimistic pup, but through out the years, we've been on a roller coaster where just as we think it's safe....and he starts to trust interactions...another attack happens and we're back to square one.

It sucks that sometimes life keeps knocking you down, rather than lightening up a bit.

I have no control over other off leash dogs. Even if I pick him up...they still try to get at him. I feel like I live in a war zone.

It really really really sucks that people don't give a hoot, when another dog goes after yours.

Tonight George started barking at another dog from a distance again...obviously generalizing the behaviour once again....I'll always be known as the crazy lady with the barking dog. It sucks. Did I mention how much it sucks? Well it does.

We'll still work on up to "Car crash" scenarios while George's job is to "ignore" the background noise...or other dogs...and focus on playing the game...but the progress will be slower because as much as I try to manage his environment...I can't when an off leash dog comes barrelling from a football field away to charge my guys.

We've even run the other way as a game and still because the off leash dog has NO RECALL ...have ended up with an extra dog, trying to manage the situation until the owner retrieves him.

Anonther fun addition to "Re-orienting work"

2010-06-17T11:51:00.000-07:00

I love the look and enthusiasm they have...even George who is usually into his own thing...makes me feel like a rockstar!

Around and Way to me cues

2010-06-15T13:22:00.000-07:00

Teaching dogs how to go around other dogs or bikes or skateboards or...insert whatever they are likely to chase...and come back to you for ANOTHER round of celebration & rewards!

So you have something beside your recall (which if unreliable...) that the dog will understand what TO DO with that herding or chase instinct that got the best of them.

Here's a quick and dirty video of what I took 5 mins to teach them, well less than that...we've got some refining to do, but for now I thought it added some humour to the serious subject.

There are traditional herding cues to use:

"Way to me" is for counter clockwise going around the flock"
while
"Come bye' or "Go bye" are for clockwise.

I use "go" meaning to move away infront of me and "come" well...that's a recall.... so I thought it would be confusing. For clockwise, I already use "around" for going around poles when on leash so I kept that cue for the clockwise movement.

Progress with Daisy and passive attention body work!

2010-06-14T10:40:00.000-07:00

I should NEVER underestimate the power of going back to the drawing board, and NOT GIVING UP. I found the right mix to negotiate (thank you Cynthia for that word!) a compromise and teach Daisy that being still isn't half bad afterall :P

I just conditioned pairing LAYING DOWN w/ HEAD ON THE GROUND and SHORT increments of bodywork with a "thank you" in between each for being patient. I LIKE what happened....

Adding Yoga into the mix!

2010-06-12T14:00:00.000-07:00

This spring/summer has unleashed sound triggers; babies, toddlers screeching, teenagers racing back and forth on bikes and skateboards on our street, giggling girls and young adolescent boys...cats ..back neighbor renters in their early twenties...who did have a reactive pit/mix .... I've just been pretty much treading water with my guys trying to get used to all this new stuff going on. I don't have those genetically calm dogs...so first I worked on 1 bark then 'thank you" loads of treats to "find" for alerting me to something rather than a machine gun bark....then...

..for the past week, rain or shine I've been taking their breakfast and dinner outdoors, fruit, veggies, and kibble or chicken or beef or cheese and we'll sit either on our front lawn ( one at a time) or the back yard (all together) working on a medley of 3 things ....

The outcome has been dramatic what has transpired over the course of 1wk.

Video attached for an example of this morning's work...they were so relaxed by the end. If I can continue this...I may have calm chilled dogs after all!

I contribute all this to:

1-Leslie McDevitt's (Control Unleashed, dvd & book) passive attention...(Rita @ Dogsmart was the first to introduce me to Control Unleash methods in her classes) then active attention games ie. "leave it", "look at that" from a default down ...no cuing down other than I am still... is the most rewarded position when outside in the back or front yard until I release them to do as they please. So I guess it's a fusion of sorts...but essentially low key and in default down/stay..I don't ask for the stay, they're just getting used to staying on their own until they hear a release cue. I'm in no rush to ramp things up...they've got that covered already :)

If they don't have the attention span to switch into that calm quiet state, like Daizy.... you use the Premack principle and end up slowly conditioning them to calm then reward for calm is getting to do something then return to calm... sort of like Jazz up and Settle game that Ian Dunbar plays or I call it 'coze coze" as my guys need to come in for a standing quiet time before I give them the cue to jazz up.

Dogsmart.ca calls it "Silly sit". Slowly building up duration of calm and up to massage, or quiet talk or scratches in their favourite spot...the great thing about Leslie's work is it's individual to the dog but the DVD goes into more detail and gives more examples of what you can try with your dog. http://www.dogwise.com/itemdetails.cfm?ID=DTB1048

I have the book and it has been a bible, but together with the dvd, she goes into more detail about all the exercises and why they work so well together. It's soooo worth every penny.

Here's a passive attention example for my guys;

2-Karen Overall's relaxation protocol...which I tweaked to gear it more for sound distractions. Only one thing I do not ever do with my dogs is give them a verbal correction. I don't say "no', "bah", whatever... my silence, sleepy eyes, deep breath, tilt head to the side or a yawn is the only clue to them to try something else or default down and they'll be rewarded.

3-Yoga! I have brought my mat outside. I've got to do more research on the connection but I have seen a leap in their calm and ignoring the "background noise" since adding this half way into the week. Really....I'm sure it's because of the breathing and Hatha exercises that I do while in between working with my dogs.

I work on the exercises anywhere from 10 sec - 10 min or so (ping- pong the time so it's not predictable), then a yoga break, or go inside, then back outside in total we're outdoors for anywhere between 1 - 2 hours in and around our home depending on the weather. When working it's either Leslie McDevitt or Karen Overall exercises then I release them to do whatever they want, or play ball or tug for a few minutes or I go over to my yoga mat and yoga out :P

End result is that they play in short increments, then will come over to where I am and chill next to or on the mat with me while I meditate or am in a yoga pose :)

Next step is taking this on the road....one dog at a time, and then in a group.

So much for the agility circuit this year, we've got more important "background noise and trigger" work to do!

Dr. Karen Overall - From Leashes to Neurons ....and jungle gyms

2010-06-11T08:49:00.000-07:00

Speechless. What an amazing and myth busting seminar.

If only those who use terms such as "dominant", 'you must dominate", "alpha", "submissive"... could listen to her seminar.

If anyone is interested, I ordered the DVD from Dogwise.com

Here's a clip:
http://www.dogwise.com/video/video.cfm?itemid=DTB948

The science and history behind what is really taking place in a dog's brain; how on a molecular level learning really takes place is crazy! Truly we are incredible beings, animals and humans! It puts our shared biology into perspective.

How important your choice of teaching style is when you communicate; whether it be with another human or animal...

How what you say and do affects what people/dogs learn about their environment and human race, and the long term sociological effect it has is thought provoking. What footprint are you leaving....

Below are a few more invaluable topics that she spoke in further detail:

1/ the truth behind dogs differential displays meant to open communication with us.... in trusting ways...... which are misconstrued...just brought tears to my eyes.

2/ how they go about seeking information from the world around them, and how important it is to understand their vocal and visual cues.

3/ biological evolution and how "social orders are not created or maintained by social force...imposed force situations always, always fail.... as there is no evolutionary basis for them"

4/ how best to communicate with dogs...simple steps.

5/ biology behind psychopharmacology, it's place in behaviour modification and how it helps dogs work through their anxieties whether genetic in nature, created by humans (abuse in the name of training) or their environments.

6/ how much of the damage can be "undone", from a biological point of view once something is learned by stimulating the fear region of the brain.

To off set this serious subject...

a video of me using this site as a jungle gym to practice recalls, cues and maintain my status of "Explorer of unusual but FUN stuff"...plus the more they explore the less they'll be afraid of!

Zen n fun

2010-06-09T11:04:00.000-07:00

The weather was so beautiful yesterday we spent the day outdoors! I packed my yoga mat with me along with treats for me and the dogs to go hiking and find places to hang out. Here are some of the highlights:

Early afternoon: Tall grass fun and "Zen"n out

What a treat, Daizy found this rock and it was the perfect "Zen" lookout, after finding this open space off of the wooded trail.

My Zen - out spot

Video to remind me of the dancing grass:

Later we went to hike the Malamute and goofed around there too:

1 - 3

2- of 3

3 of 3

3 Musketeers

Pretty flower (Avalanche Lily) has an amazing view

Crazy Daisy my adventurer

Balancing just before the leap

So many scents to take in and adventures to enjoy...that was our day.

Time off = 2 x 2's

2010-06-07T15:54:00.000-07:00

FINALLY....official time off to hang out and work on things around the home, relax, hike, work on our workshop idea (Maren and I are going for it!).

I love these types of holidays...decompress from all the workstress and do some spring cleaning for the soul!

I've been to a workshop that touched on 2 x 2's and I bought Susan Garrett's dvd...

www.clickerdogs.com/2x2_weave_training.php

That was a year ago! I didn't want to start until I figured some other things out like; shadow handling, building tug & toy value, making time to go through my notes and the DVD. Today was the day we official began the training!

It's really fun! I have to amend it a bit to make up for my guys lack of tug toy insanity...but so far so good! I'll transfer the value for their favourite air kong ball after this first stage, I'll start mixing in toy and food. I've got to say that you really have to know what comes next, as the learning curve for the dogs is fast. Your timing is everything! AND proofing the entry angles first is so valuable! Being able to add a couple poles means that they're less likely to pop out of one as their body will be soooo used to the movement and speed. I just need to be pretty much bang on so I don't mess up my guys learning curve. Lining the sets of poles up is easier if you draw an imaginary line and try think of you could serpentine through them yourself!

Rant about bullies and their owners

2010-06-07T10:05:00.000-07:00

My dogs are far from perfect...but really...I tell people from a distance to "call your dog" or "leash your dog", because I don't want to play twister when I'm responsible and have mine on a lead...and theirs is off....even though we ARE in an ON LEASH AREA....so technically.....their dogs should be ON LEASH!!!!!

I had Keegan with me, and after visiting Maren, I thought a nice treat would be for he and I to go for a walk on an "ON LEASH" trail.

A biker and his off leash dog came down the trail, so we've moved off to the side so they can pass.

The dog came over to Keegan...then was a complete jerk to Keegan. Keegan who did a beautiful, curve, and sniff, then the dog postured over top of Keegan, stiff, the Husky's expression TOTALLY CHANGED, not moving, trapping Keegan.

Keegan barked at him to back off....it happened quickly and as soon as I saw the Husky freeze I called Keegan, but he had already barked.

THEN... the owner tells me, he's PROUD of his dog...that HIS DOG is normally the one who picks the fights and isn't that "nice" to other dogs.......WHY DOES THIS PERSON NOT HAVE A LEASH ON HIS DOG????????

Keegan WASN'T picking a fight!!!! He was telling the dog to BACK OFF and let him leave!!!! Keegan barked at the dog, that's it.

I said that ..."standing on over another dog ACTUALLY isn't nice or appropriate and that's why my dog barked." I also said..." it would have been nice to know in advance that your dog wasn't always friendly with other dogs. I would not have let mine meet yours."

Man that bugs me.....can't leave on a sour note...SO.....Vid of Keegan and George :)

George the fish!

2010-06-05T22:35:00.000-07:00

Well, I hope he's enjoying water more! We spent the afternoon at the beach. This was the first time George has actually swam back and forth! Water was only knee deep, the perfect height so George wouldn't panic.

After hanging out at the sand bar, we headed back to the shore and tall grass...They LOVE IT!!!

Dirty button nose

Sweet beagle happy ears.

Time to head home...My sweet sweet pups are all tuckered out :)

TAKE leash and give

2010-06-04T20:02:00.000-07:00

Daisy loves having a job to do, and retrieving a leash is not new but retrieving it when another dog is at the other end of it is :)

I'm going to have to come up with a cue for George to let him know he's supposed to follow along...and "thank him" with a handful of treats for being such a good sport!

more wild flowers!

Crazy ink blot in the sky....beside the rainbow

We had the pleasure of the sun coming out during our walk....we started our walk with rain...then rainbow..then sun by the end of it ....keeps things interesting!

WHAT a day!!!!

2010-06-03T22:05:00.000-07:00

My 2nd tunnel arrived and ready jumps! And thankfully....although rain was in the forecast...it was nothin' but blue and marshmellow white clouds in the sky today! We pretty much spent the day outside.

Here are highlights from our hike tonight :)

Keegan, my sweet sweet clown whom I adore. I am so lucky. Of all the puppies I saw (there were many) he was the one for me.

See....sunny!

I just LOVE beagle tails! No matter where they are, I can always see them! I just adore beagles period. They're the perfect buddy for me. They're foodies like me, love the outdoors, or indoors, or whatever I'm up to for that matter. They're bite size and fit on your lap, as smart as Border Collies and they keep me humble.

More flowers popping up everywhere!

NEW tug game twist

2010-06-02T17:25:00.000-07:00

Watching Leslie McDevitt's Games Demo dvd, there are a ton of really interesting tidbits she goes over that aren't covered in the book.

We worked on stays adding distractions of the furry kind and Leslie's tug game twist tonight after our hike. Having a multi-dog household and working with one dog at a time, is the perfect opportunity to teach patient and polite = your turn may be NEXT :P

The NEAT-O twist when playing tug with your dog in the Games Demonstration DVD was when Leslie was tugging with her dog Easy they naturally came up with this twist to "drop" the tug toy and then wait to start the game again. She uses her body to cue the tug game is over, and the only way to start it back up again is for the dog to perform a default behaviour. That's pretty standard body language 101. You use it when walking (stop when dog starts to move ahead), or to calm a dog down, just by standing still, not doing anything and it's natural that they'll follow suit.

Leslie's twist....

Either eye contact in a sit, or eye contact in a down starts the game. To cue which one she'd prefer, all she did was stop the game by holding the tug toy close to her body either at her waist or below her knees, and was quiet and waited Easy out.

By the placement of her hands either;

1-at her waist = Easy stopped tugging and performed a sit/stay and looked at Leslie...the default behaviour.... in hopes that the tug game would start up again.
or
2-lower down near her knees = Easy would release the tug toy and automatically down and look at Leslie in hopes the tug games would start back up again.

I love it when together you and your dog make up a game/cue by being open in your communication. Not just you looking for a behaviour, once you've given a cue, then waiting for the "right' or "wrong" response.

Shaping games are great for that. It's a fun way to exercise your and your dog's creative side :)

I love this! Adds yet another fun game when playing tug AND is GREAT for dogs who are easily over aroused...who need these games to teach them that keeping their enthusiasm in check means you get to PLAY the game!

I don't mind rain when...

2010-05-31T23:53:00.000-07:00

rainbows appear and the sky opens up just in time for us to go for our evening hikes

it creates lush vegetation...everywhere!

flowers and berries appear...check out how plump that raspberry is!

....1 1/2 hrs later coming to the end of our hike....blue sky!

...time to head home.....dirty nose from digging and all tuckerd out :o

Things always seem to happen in 3's

2010-05-30T19:51:00.000-07:00

The story of my life....First Keegan, then Daizy and now here's George's vs CAT video... we were JUST about to do door work after coming back from a hike, and standing under our tree on the front lawn, I JUST put my iphone on video mode, to capture George race to the front door and down when I say "Go home!" and down from the tree we were standing below, jumped a cat!!!.... TOTALLY took me by surprise and I tried to make the best of it....by saying 'ohh...hello..cat" in a sugar voice but George didn't fall for it..... TO ALL YOU CATS OUT THERE...this was NOT nice.

Edited to split clips to explain what was going through my brain, but otherwise, you'll see me doing the best I could to make a crazy situation into a learning curve for George. It's definitely not perfect, but ..well...nothing in life really is. It's a night at the symphony...you need a little bit of everything to make it into a robust, body tingling experience.

I love the fact that I can review to see what I could have done differently and what worked, like;

*don't repeat "George"...when he's over threshold. He normally does a great whiplash head turn when I say his name...so in my mind at the time, being flustered myself, as this totally caught me off guard...it took a couple minutes for me to get into 'THINKING' mode ...hey...he's not responding to his name...so try something different because you're only making him more tense by repeating it!!!!

*I had better luck saying words that had a reward or were informative like...."sniff", "take it", "good boy", "show me"...for not lunging and keeping his distance, it took a lot of will power for George, and even if it wasn't what I would have liked to see happen...he did show restraint...and that's a great place to start with Control Unleashed exercises! Like...LEAVE IT :P

*I tried to create distance and keep his leash loose at the same time.

*Tone of voice is so important! I think the turning point was praising him for sniffing and playing the show me game. That's when I notices his body becoming more relaxed.

*re: biofeedback, any and all instances where George's body looked like he switched from ALERT to a more semi-calm state I "yes'd" him and when he looked over to me, I was doing my "I'm so proud of you squinty eyes, slow blink and smile" when he looked at me after I praised him for 'sniffing" and "showing me" the cat. BEING CURIOUS is not a CRIME in my books...so if they show interest, even if it's with a stressed body posture...giving them the go ahead to "SNIFF" OR investigate...REALLY helps to calm them....you'll notice George's body and whole mindset change when I let him know "SNIFFING" at a distance IS allowed and encouraged!

*I also tried to take deep slow breaths and move slowly and fluidly, no quick jerky motions. It went against what I was feeling but in the end made ME CALM DOWN faster, and get back into doing what it takes to diffuse the tension.

*the fact that he did NOT LUNGE, MACHINE GUN BARK or go in to attack the cat....I 'YES'D" HIM for that as well....it took a whole bunch of emotional self control to keep his distance when I'm certain his body was loaded and firing adrenaline & host of "take action!" chemicals.

I followed through only because;

1 - George is a scardy cat, he does not attack cats, but this was by far the most intense cat experience we've ever had. Normally his tail is raised but he's easily distracted to keep moving alone. I think because the cat came down from the tree on our property, and WE did't expect it...it totally set off a trigger for George.

2- This cat loves to tease dogs, I don't know how else to describe his behaviour...w this is the second time in one week that he's come out of no where and done this. First time with Daizy, now George and it was on our property. He seems to tease but has never tried to attack my dogs anyways. His movements are slow...but really I wish cats were a bit less taunting....

Finally....this is YET ANOTHER reason to pack treats with you!!!! I had kibble and cheeze in my pockets from our hike and chips in my walking bag (they were for me)...so that's what I used!

door dasher update #2 !

2010-05-29T21:43:00.000-07:00

YOu can tell who I've been working with most....Daisy n George normally ride up front with me and they chill in cozy dog beds, so we've worked in dog beds but not recently ...since the last video.....from kennel in the trunk area....so you can see first hand their expressions.."huh...what am I supposed to do?"
You'll see where our history of the way we communicate comes into play. They are quick to catch on to this game :) I absolutley LOVE this side effect of positive reinforcement training! You don't hear one peep about "sound buzzer!!!!WRONG answer!!! ", you just hear me redirect or repeat what I'd like to see happen, then we repeat to see if they catch on. Repeating a cue in the learning stage just lets you know YOU need to go back one step and reinforce (or cheer on and reward) what you'd like to see happen. You'll see what I mean :)

Seizure averted! The power of food!

2010-05-29T09:13:00.000-07:00

Yet ANOTHER GOOD REASON to train with FOOD!!!!!

Well it's taken a few years but I think, thanks to Daisy's holistic vet, Chinese herbs (she has a windy constitution), nutritionist Jill, owner of In the Raw petfood, research....trial and error....I THINK we've nailed down ANOTHER of the triggers of Daisy's seizures. Hypoglycemia.

Luckily Daisy LOVES food...and all my guys are on a raw food diet 40 MEAT: 60 FRUIT VEGGIES organic WHEN possible. Raw bones for dental hygiene.

It's so convenient too...just open the fridge door... chop and go! I use the blender to add veggies to their raw meat though because it's easier for them to digest. I do use some kibble as well, I just have to be very careful of the type with Daisy. Kibble is dry and easy to put into my pockets. I do normally have a treat pouch in my hiking bag or Tupperware for chopped veggies (carrots, cauliflower, zucchini, cucumber, apple, blueberries...no mushrooms, onions and there are a few other veggies to stay away from...I'll dig up the site with info). Being on a raw diet has cleared up Daisy's ear infections too. We found out that she's sensitive to red meat & fish. Which makes sense due to the fact that white meat has anti-inflammatory properties while red meat and fist do not ( fish you have to watch the pollutants in them as well).

Her body is very sensitive to additives so right now I am using Dick Van Patten's Venison and sweet potato dry food. http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dogformulas/VenDog.html

I really like it because the kibble is thin pieces so you can actually break it up even smaller, plus it doesn't expand like other kibbles when wet. I actually take that into account as I see so many dogs that look like they swallowed and are shaped like a bag of economy size kibble! Some kibble expands to 3times the dry size so I stay away from them.

Keeping their blood sugar levels balances is yet ANOTHER Good REASON TO train w/FOOD! Hah! I'm a snacker, I can't eat big mound of food then wait 5hrs to digest, then feel my body crash because it's out of fuel, so it totally makes sense to me!

Here's a site that I've found very very helpful and would recommend to anyone whose dog has begun to seizure and they're looking for information:

http://www.purelypets.com/articles/epilepsyarticle.htm

Normally when I come home from work, we hang out in the yard, they do their business, then play a bit, then we all come back inside and I grab snacks, pack my hiking bag and get ready to go out with them.

Yesterday, Daisy came back into the house after doing her business, and I came in a few minutes later. It was unusual....when you have a dog who seizures ...the unusual in routine is something to take seriously. I came into the house to find her under a sofa, glassy eyed, starting the side to side movements in the "aura" stage of a seizure.

I grabbed a spoon and started with:

*honey (organic from our local beekeeper..quote from link above regarding how to get their glucose levels raised in a hurry! " The best source is honey. Honey, is made up of 35% protein & contains half of all the necessary amino acids. It is a highly concentrated source of many essential nutrients, including large quantities of carbohydrates (sugars), some minerals, B complex, and C, D, and E. Therefore, honey will immediately raise the blood sugar putting the body in balance and stabilizing the blood sugar level". thankfully... she was still aware of everything around her, and licked it up...

*Then I grabbed a banana (potassium) and gave her some of that and

*lastly a scoop of peanut butter (organic).
A few minutes of cradling her, talking to her to keep her alert and stroking her and she snapped out of it. PHEWF.

Lucky for her, we have been able to keep her off meds, and have a pretty solid plan of action for her type of seizures. I'm so thankful for all the resources available out on the internet which have helped me, along with finding a good holistic vet.
So...now I've added a spoon full of honey into her morning pre-breakfest, toast w/peanutbutter and banana stuffed kong :)

i love spring

2010-05-27T22:33:00.000-07:00

Stage 2 of D & C complete!

2010-05-27T12:15:00.000-07:00

I need this reminder to pump me up for Stage 3 w/George's D C work w/off leash dogs.

HE'S.....R E A D Y ! ! ! !

He's been through the D & C drill before, that's not new, so I account his speedy progress to:

*bio-feedback, me also using and rewarding any calming signals...even if it's something simple as he licks his lips, or yawns, looks away for a brief second or just stands still and lowers his tail.

*slowing down my pace when I see his tail raise or his body looks tense

*packing his most favourite toys with me for our walks.
* He also LOVES the SHOW ME game! (Leslie McDevitt 'Look at that" game)
*rewarding the One Bark...and having conditioned him to when I say "thank you" a whole whack load of treats to search for are thrown for him or any of his highest valued rewards are presented at that time....so now he'll bark once then look at me...CHA CHING!!! I know he loves to bark too much to ever be a chilled out dog, so this way we meet half way.

I don't play intense highly repetitive toy games with him. Just happy go lucky and in short increments; like hiding the Skinnez, playing light teasing and tug and having him interact with it, by nose touching it, targeting it(laying on top of it) , getting him to down and then hide a treat under neath the toy so I can release him to 'find it" and plain old retrieving it. My body language is relaxed, my tone of voice is well, annoyingly sweet to those around me but...it's worked wonders. !

Calming signals from me that George responds nicely to and seems to diffuse the situation;

*When I squint my eyes and blink slowly to let him know I think he ROCKS!

*He LOVES when I lower my head and look shy too. Don't know why but it melts him :)

*Also he loves when I wiggle, like Patricia McConnell's signature friendly meeting wiggle.

It was hilarious to watch, I saw her do it in a seminar and the strange dog...TOTALLY got what it meant. She also talks in a goofy voice and it totally worked! Almost like the play bow. Seems universal.

*I just watch the calming signals he gives me and if there's a human equivalent .... I just reciprocate.

I charmed a shy beagle in a class (she was a rescue from a cancer research lab) who came out of her shell using Patricia McConnell's wiggle. Her name was Bagel. I'll never ever forget that day. I was assisting at Dogsmart. What a sad start to life, she was used in cancer research. An approach from the side, averting eye contact only a quick look then look away, a little wiggle and goofy voice from me and it totally lit her up. She came out from under the chair and started to wag and interact with me.

It's AMAZING how much information we can help them to decipher when we communicate with our body!

Keegan and cats

2010-05-26T23:18:00.000-07:00

Keegan is such a curious, happy soul it's AWESOME but at the same time....he's highly triggered by movement and anything 'alive".

When I get the opportunity to work with him in a short increment with something that peaks his herding instinct....I do so if possible on and off leash. On leash first for safety reasons if possible, but in this case he's met Maren's cat before and he was already off leash.

Goal was to arc and go in for a sniff then return to me in short couple second increments. I LOVED HIS DISTANCE ARC'S! SHORT drive by, not rushing the cat head on. Keegan's eyes did not do a hard stare, he looked away, averted direct eye contact so that also was a CHA CHING moment for Keegan... that's polite and safe.

The cat stayed stationary, and didn't hiss so it was safe in that respect too. BUT...the cat didn't initiate any walking up and relaxed or tease to come closer to rub up against him...SOOOOO I sure as heck was NOT going to ask Keegan to cozy up to the cat.

I always consider the emotional states of each player involved in the interaction.

You can tell he's not relaxed but is curious and cautious around the cat. I'd never ever think of asking him to stop, sit or down beside the cat...his body language was in motion, not relaxed, tongue flick, ears alert then back...he's not ready for that.

Let them know what they're doing right and it'll build confidence as well as prepare them for the next cat encounter. Not all cats (or dogs or humans) like close dog encounters so a distance arc and drive by sniff is a great way to satisfy their curiosity while keeping them safe.

Happy trails = wagging tails!

2010-05-24T20:57:00.000-07:00

Morning hike with Maren her dogs Opal, Trixie and boarders (Lexy, Chester n Maggie)...crossing my fingers, toes and eyeballs that she'll partner together to do trail clinics for beginner adolescent dogs working on polite trail etiquette on and off leash; recalls, attention, polite meet and greets (body language basics of dogs and how yours can help them decipher English ;)

Also how to D & C for motion reactive dogs (dogs racing after moving bikes, kids, people)... which is soooo lacking in our area! I put this together to show her how easy it is to let nature provide ample training opportunities with a few things we'd talked about as we walked that we noticed people in our area seemed to be completely unaware of.

ie... their idea of walking or training their dogs is basically, open the car door and let them run.

All the dogs checked in often, and we were creative in using nature to peak their curiosity to come running and join in the fun..that way you're not always using and abusing your golden recall! Plus you're building a history of fun and adventure!

We covered so many things that I would have appreciated learning in a class, mainly because we were in the environment! Also being in nature really helps calm dogs, and there are natural distractions and rewards EVERYWHERE! So people will learn to improvise and not feel like they'd have to rely on treats. OR go into HOLY...mode..and panic because they are out of treats...which the dog reads their body language and PANICS TOOO!

I think that's where a lot of people give up. Plus... dogs, being dogs...end up training the owners for the treats rather then the other way around.

There's so many other rewards that trump treats that people haven't been taught to take advantage of. ie..TTouch. I used TTouch on George when we were at the Chief doing D & C around dogs in the distance...a couple of TTouch circles along his back and he flipped over for a tummy rub and just instantly relaxed. It's kinda like getting a shoulder rub when you've had a stressful day. Or a hug when you're feeling overwhelmed.

Afternoon hike to Radio Hill with Darrell, Daizy, George and Taiki. Keegan was pooped after 3 hours morning hike, so he rested at home :)

I just LOVE my beagie-boos! GEORGE DID A CRAZY AWESOME JOB NOT A PEEP WHEN ENCOUNTERING OFF LEASH DOGS!!!! They're so much fun and sweet as can be. They LOVE adventuring!!!! I just have to make sure I keep our on leash skills sharpened

City walking w/3 dogs

2010-05-23T22:10:00.000-07:00

I went to pick up some raw food today for the dogs and took Daizy, George and Keegan for a walk afterwards in a novel area of North Vancouver. It's so important to keep their city walking skills sharp otherwise it's not second nature. I always start on a quiet street then wrap around to the retail area. That way we can get our groove on before things get noisy and busy.

Walking in the woods on trails, or even in our neighborhood is not like being in the city where the sidewalks are busier and there's retail along with residential, creating a buzz of new sounds, smells, people and other dogs to run into! So today we went back to square one at first and before I knew it, Keegan remembered what the drill is when walking in the city :)

George was great today w/people and other dogs. I don't stop to greet other dogs when mine are on leash on sidewalks as it gets to be a gong show playing leash twister. PLUS....George is still fussy about the dogs he meets so I err on the side of caution. We either step aside in the grass and let people / dogs walk by or I'll cross the street.

I need a helmetcam or something to strap to my body :P...

Sometimes the best gifts

2010-05-23T09:30:00.000-07:00

come from having to dig deep inside.

For a quiet person the dynamics of having two trigger happy Beagles and a crazy Aussie have provided me with countless hours of; me shaking my head and laughing while enjoying their daily comedy skits or having my heart swell with happiness when we all have a lightbulb moment.

As there is balance with everything in life, I've also spent (and continue to) countless hours scratching my head going back to the drawing board...no complaints! Being able to communicate my wishes and have them happy to learn, deepens our bond and truly is a gift.

It was today that I made arrangements 2yrs ago to go on a road trip to see Keegan puppy. Out of all the puppies out there at the time (33 of them) I'm so lucky that he was the one meant for us. He's such a clown.

April showers bring May flowers

2010-05-22T20:48:00.000-07:00

I LOVE spring hikes! LUSH vegetation and WILD flowers sprinkled EVERYWHERE!

Hmmm....

Including Keegan......

my guys make me smile

2010-05-21T20:20:00.000-07:00

Dogs on video work.....

2010-05-20T14:31:00.000-07:00

Oh George...I forgot all about this...thanks for reminding me!

It's actually a good way to practice indoors in the comfort and low distraction area of your home...what would I do without my beagles who think of ways to keep me humble and on my toes...forever finding ways of loading my training tickle trunk up!

Leslie McDevitt dvd arrived!

2010-05-19T22:26:00.000-07:00

Her new DVD arrived!!! I love her book and am looking forward to the dvd of game demo's. It's always interesting to watch someone work through the babysteps and trouble shoot. They had free delivery too...boy that saves a bundle. www.cleanrun.com
I'm just about to settle in with some icecream and the dvd :P

<
AND....we came up with a few more DOOR GAMES :)

I've got to say that my goal is to incorporate more distance like Cynthia has but for now, I'm really pleased how much fun we're having with the reorienting and door games.

Distance work always comes easily after criteria is clearly established. I already have Patricia McConnell's door games under my belt where they sit and I'll release one at a time, from "Feeling Outnumbered". I use that game as well, their release word is "name of dog", then "go" but this reorienting is really valuable as well.

I like that it's a game and they whip their body around to face you. You'll see in the video how Keegan tweaks things to make it his own. I wasn't expecting him to reorient but he did and he downed! 'Go" normally means just move away from me and he'll just run to the door and wait for me. I'll have to change the word for this new twist behaviour to race away then turn and down towards me....all these words to keep track of and be consistent with! I love giving them the freedom to come up with twists that I can capture and shape into cues think would be fun to add to our ever growing repertoire.

It sort of reminds me of agility 'table" work, where they have to down on a table until they're released.

Right now my criteria is to build value for this game...which is when we walk through doors...going into or to the outside (freedom) to reorient to me first instead of racing out the door and piling on top of eachother or racing away:

1- no door dashing
2- no jumping on me
3- reorienting to me when we're going through or I'm coming in, as long as there's no motion forward I'll take a stand but sit or down preferred.

I'll raise criteria this weekend to:

1- either a sit or down before they are rewarded, without prompting
2-then I'll work on more space in front of the door by getting them to target to mats I'll place a few feet before the door.

Starting distance work is always easier if they have some place to target...hence...Leslie McDevit's Mat work!

Adding distractions will come once I get them targeted to their own mats positioned in front of the door.

I'll video that too it'll be interesting to see the progression and whether I can get all the way up to closing the door then opening it to find them sitting patiently on their own mats. I love the idea of video'n them while I'm outside so I can see what happens behind the scenes when I'm not in the same room :)

I like using the mats with the bumpers around them. That way when I throw food or kongs for them to chill out with, everything stays on the mat.

Reorienting theme with a twist! I really really find that handy.

whoooo hoooo!

2010-05-19T13:47:00.000-07:00

I walk each dog separately in the morning so they get alone time with me...just a slow walk around a couple blocks each. It's so sweet, the other ones watch in the window and wait patiently for their turn.

Each get alone time with me. They check their peemail...we work on loose leash walking, and our obedience cues (stays, interrupted recall, bonk, walking around them, front, goofy tricks), then after each have had their turn.... games in the backyard before I leave for work.

My little George and I were walking along and he initiated LOOKING AWAY from a dog that was... BARKING AT HIM!

George's signature snobby but effective "look away" :P

THEN very calmly and slowly looked at me without a peep :) We played the 'show me" game while dog in yard barked his head off...then slowly walked away.

A few minutes later we passed another dog (still body posture, thankfully w/owner) and we stopped to play "show me"....same relaxed tail and relaxed face! He even offered up a PLAY BOW without me cuing him to do so!!!!! No signs of stress!

YIPEEE!!!!! YOU DON'T KNOW HOW HAPPY THIS MAKES MEEEEEE!

Playing w/toys on our walks...building value!

2010-05-17T21:41:00.000-07:00

I think it helps George to remain more relaxed when we're out and about if we mix in some play w/toys into our walks where there's more of a chance we'll run into other dogs. I pack a Chewber, a Skinnez, a ball into my walking bag (along with treats, and sometimes small kongs or those bully chews if we're going to stop and chill for a while) to keep things interesting. It sure has helped with recalls and making me part of their adventures when out and about. Mind you we go out in the evenings on 1-2hrs on and off leash hikes where we're in the bush and then out in the open spaces, so we've got lots of time to kill.

It also keeps George in a happy place and he's less obsessed with searching the environment for triggers. Daizy, Keegan, n Taiki all like to play with toys but George was the last to get into it. It has sped up his progress (along with D & C) to be able to relax and ignore the distractions and triggers.

Tonight we played car games then they sniffed around for a bit, hiked, did their business, then I threw cheese into the tall grass for him to "find it" to get him ramped up for playing with toys...then the games began!!!!

It's especially helpful to be toy motivated when we went to agility classes.

Actually I pack them for last round of Obedience trial prep and Train and Play classes as well. For Keegan it came in handy to have the bully chews as he needed something to do until he calmed down (still in adolescent dog brain mode where anytime he sees dogs...it's time to PLAY) until he realized that we go to classes to be a team and chill to wait our turn .Daizy is bossy, LOVES TO WORK and is very impatient by nature, so I learned 8 yrs ago the benefit to bringing toys and chews to help keep her chilled in classes.

That way when other dogs are working, my guys can play, or chew or chill which prevents them from being whiny, fixated and vocal for being left out of the fun. They come in handy in agility as we also use toys to get the dog to target to or reward for performing or for building value for an obstacle or cue. An alternate reward to using food.

Plus chewing and play relieves stress (endorphins et al released in your body)if you keep the games moderate intensity and ask them to interact differently with the toys so it's not a mindless game of retrieve or tug which can ramp dogs up out of control. Leslie McDevitt has great section in her book Control Unleashed about games.

Ttouch is another big helper to calm them if they're over aroused. Biofeedback as well. Cues like "calm" and "coze coze" and even singing a silly song also help to relieve stress and work wonders in class.

As you can see....NONE of my dogs are those perfect chill dogs BUT....with all the games we've played and the calming cues, massage, toy play...they are focused on me in class. All that fun stuff going on around us and they have loose happy body language. Not focused to the point they're afraid to look at anything, or have that crazy maniac addiction for toys or stimulation.

I have a hard time sitting still... so being able to interact with my guys is really nice while we wait for our turn. I love their enthusiasm, and would probably drive a couch potato dog nuts!

Also...interacting with toys is a great way for me to know if George is stressed...if he stops playing with his favourite toy all of a sudden...time to move away and get some space between us and whatever George is being distracted by.

car work and other stinky stuff

2010-05-16T17:47:00.000-07:00

What a fun morning. We were hanging around the estuary for 2hrs.
Working and having fun...the way it should be.

Car work -Leslie McDevitt's 'Control Unleashed" re-orienting cue
1-getting in and out safely (waiting for a release cue, my new one is "okay" to reorient to me after jumping out of car)
2- going for a walk and returning to car then playing in and out games, so coming to the car doesn't mean all the fun is ending, then go on another walk
3 standing around car...waiting for people/dogs/bikes/ cars to come by and I'll either call them to me "here" (I don't use their recall word for this game it's entirely different context) and we play "show me" games where they look at and then look back to me for treats and stays while dog/person/car/ bike goes by...then we go back on walk...mixed up treats and life rewards ie... like releasing them to "go sniff" or "go play" after working on car releases and focusing on me while things pass us by.

I started all this on leash first..then worked my way to off leash.

It feels really good that we've practiced this (adding the reorienting cue last week "okay") and in the end, they all stick close by me until I let them know what comes next :) That's when you know your hard work has paid off... they have learned how to balance the work with the rewards and have YOU at the top of the REWARD list. The dogs finding you most interesting even when they are off leash, where they could easily bust off into nature, not looking back...is such a sweet feeling :)

Keegan especially loves to bust out and race free...so I knew this was one thing we'd have to work on since last year's on start of adolescent doggie brain. It's paid off!

Sometimes I'll even throw treats in the car then close the door and then release one...out of 4.... to "find it' search for treats..I must say that it promotes really really nice stays waiting their turn to go into the car for treats :) The silly games I come up with....

back on track w/people and getting there w/dogs

2010-05-15T11:36:00.000-07:00

We're back on track w/George and people. Above is George at the dog beach in happier times...before this last year of attacks. He LOVED racing around with other dogs. Especially bigger ones :(

The one bark reinforcement has worked wonders! The rest of the dogs take that cue to come running to me for treats, so they ignore the other dog or people right now until I let them know what comes next so things are back on track.

Show me game has George back on track too! I'll now say "Show me" and he has to search the environment to find something to "show me" ie...dog, cat, person, bird..." I've lumped all those things including his triggers (people/dogs) into one category again so dogs and people aren't "special" or of any more value...they get him just as many points as looking at a bird and looking back to me :)

Phewf!

He's still wary of large dogs but it's been funny as yesterday twice we were walking and dogs in the distance, and one biked right by us before George remembered that he barks at them. He actually seriously forgot until they were long gone and then all of a sudden he looked around and barked once then looked at me with his lip stuck :)

Again, George having the time of his life zipping around in the sand, racing around with other dogs....not right now though :(

Each of my guys reacts differently to the approach of another off leash dog.

Daizy, as a force not to be reckoned with, she's happy to say hello but those posturing dogs automatically lower their tails when greeting her.

Keegan can been just as excited to meet another dog and race to them (which he'll put on the brakes before too close) or let them race to him and will quickly change his approach if he sees he's meeting an older dog and switches to a respectful distance greeting.

Taiki the pug is a neutral happy go lucky guy who is not at all threatening nor does he display any posturing. He can sense if a dog is a bully and will stick close to your heels.

George is the one that every dog seems to want to get close up and personal with and I have no idea why he's such a magnet. All dogs can see George's red flag waiving to PLEASE....back off...after a quick sniff...EXCEPT... those who have stiff, posturing, or are adolescent and full of themselves! They just ignore his polite signals that they're being pushy and he's not interested. So he'll bark in their face.

My main worry with that is in the past it's proven to provoke an attack from the bully who I have no idea what sort of bite inhibition they have.

Last year was horrible. He ended up with puncture wounds one encounter (not a scratch on the other dog) and then having back trauma is what the vet said. $$$ later and me worried to death with George shaking in so much pain and on strict rest and injections and pain killers!

And a few mountings by large dogs, a few rushes where they didn't hit the brakes hard enough and barreled over George...or sent him doing somersaults. It's really no wonder that he's pretty much done with pushy dogs. He's a fearful dog to begin with so that didn't help one bit. All the work we've done over the years was erased by a stream of unfortunate encounters.

Hopefully we've come up with a better escape route with the practice from our last "Train and Play" class.

We're still a work in progress but have made a ton of progress this week!

Dogsmart classes, Feisty Fido and Control Unleashed are my favourite references.

Love getting a quick fix of agility!

2010-05-09T10:49:00.000-07:00

Backyard agility rocks! Yay my tunnel made it to the backyard! I can't tell you how much fun it is to just race around in little bits. Low distraction environments definitely help my crazy gang of rebels.

Door work!

2010-05-08T14:01:00.001-07:00

Cynthia, hope it was okay to mention you and your furry crew in the video (let me know if not and I'll edit it out)...it was your door work that reminded me we've got work to do and then I loved Leslie McDevitt's video clip promoting her dvd...so we got working on it this morning!

http://www.cleanrun.com/images/productvideos/CUGamesPreviewClip.wmv

then some fun!!!!