Learning and Laughing

Over the past 2 weeks, Tana has grown and learned so much! I've been trying to balance the things we work on with lots of fun and relationship building. It's so easy to forget she's young and can't work for very long! Some of the big things we've worked on (and still have lots of work to do!):

11.5 weeks

"Under" Day - we focused on getting under or through things

• Under my legs (learning how to stretch back legs out, learning how to crawl with all legs under her body)
• Under the covers (pushing at fabric and exploring in the dark)
• Through a tunnel (Sam helping! They were having so much fun)
• Under the coffee table

Puzzles - we played different games to make her think and challenge herself

• Treats under tennis balls in a muffin tin
• Lotus balls with treats
• Empty water bottle with treats in it

Body awareness

• Fit Bone - getting all 4 feet on the bone
• Standing on objects (anything!)
• Paw touch
• Nose touch
• Wraping around my leg
• Tucked Sit
• Folding into a Down, with legs tucked in

Obstacle awareness

• Mat work (finding it and a little duration work - 3 seconds)
• Going around a bucket - introduction
• Going through stanchions/2x2 weave poles - start searching for them
• Looking and investigating what I look at
• Toy/Treat race games

Handler focus

• Lap turns and Tandem turns
• Blind crosses and front crosses on the flat
• Recalls - lots of treats!
• Tugging, releasing
• Re-engaging with me and asking for play without me asking her.

We also got to do a little photoshoot and have fun in the sprinklers (check the flicker link in the bottom right)! Who knew water could be so much fun!!! Loving this little sprite, even though she is a little terror at times.

Fretting over the little stuff is getting in the way of the big picture

Why is it so difficult to put the behaviors we've been working on for so long all together and finalized? It seems like I'm always waiting for it to be perfect, but things are never going to be perfect. (See Denise Fenzi's blog from today for her view). The slightly crooked behavior on their contact board, the not 100% confident weaves, even their jumping form, it's all a continuum that can go on forever!

While trying to train Rosey how to do her walk contact, I struggled and struggled. It was a real game of whack-a-mole that never ended! As soon as we were able to teach her one thing, she would start a different behavior. I think she finally decided that the end of the dog walk was filled with so much stress that she would avoid it all together! I ended up taking a summer and started training a running walk contact using Sylvia Trkman's method. I no longer had to worry about perfection, and neither did she, and we started to have fun!

The walk contact is still an issue realistically hasn't been "fixed," but it is consistent and I know where our weaknesses are. Her striding lands her comfortably inside AKC's contact zone (yay!), but too high for USDAA. I'd love to put more criteria on it or train it longer, but at 8yrs old, I don't know if the effort is worth the time. I'd much rather be out there running with her and having fun than worrying about a walk contact. Maybe it's a gamble, but with a little management from me, it's consistent and hasn't been an issue for a while. Doesn't mean I don't dream about perfect easy contacts, but with our past, I'm content with where we are at and I'll keep reinforcing what I need while practicing at home.

What I've learned about the whole process is to spend a little extra time at the beginning to assess their natural tendencies, what their body type is, and what they like. Some dogs have a huge powerful stride. With high arousal from a trial, it's unlikely that this type of stride will naturally flow into a dog walk contact. Other dogs are small and have short quick strides that naturally move them through the contact zone without a second thought; a running contact would be lovely with this type of dog.

It's not just the dogs. I am able and love to run, so a running contact for my long legged & lower drive dog is perfect. Someone with a fast, powerful dog and have trouble keeping up with them, will benefit from a stop of some sort at the end of the contact. There's no way to get down there in time to tell them what to do! In this case, it's up to you as a trainer to make the stopped behavior REALLY fun and totally worth their time. Easier said than done for some dogs :)

Take a look at your dog's structure, its temperament, it's drive to play the game. What best suits them? Can it work for you? There's so much more to a contact behavior than what everyone else is doing, each dog is so unique and it's up to you to be their advocate to make this game the best it can be!

Nosework - Continuing having fun

Over the spring and first part of this summer I took Nosework 101 and 120 from Fenzi Dog Sports Academy and Loved it! I did the first class with Sam and the second with Rosey. They both learn so differently and it was interesting to see how different their drive is for the game! Sam is so timid and so worried about doing the right thing that she will try and mark every box and forget the game is about sniffing. Rosey on the other hand is so driven to find the scent that she forgets to mark a the scent and would rather just destroy what ever is holding the scent to get closer. For entirely different reasons, I think these classes were perfect for them!

The second class started putting different search elements and moving the learned behavior outside. I found that I was having trouble remembering to keep things simple. The goal at this point, and like any new behavior, is to keep reinforcements high and encourage drive. I kept wanting to make the scent harder to find to really see her work and have fun finding it. Keep it simple and fun!

This is something we say all the time in foundation agility courses, Simple and Fun. I don't know how many times I've had to remind students to keep the reinforcements high, especially when adding a new distraction. Interesting that I'm having the same exactly problem when I start something new. Its just so fun! :)