In Reverse

I've received some requests via my Sheltie Hair Facebook page for videos explaining how I do my training.

One request asked for a demonstration on how I train a "back up". So here it is!



And, while I was at it, I made a video showing how I train a backward heel. There are more techniques to clean up the backward heel once the dog has the basic idea, but this video shows the very beginning steps with a STRONG focus on heel position.

Further Proof That My Dogs Are Crazy

The video is pretty self explanatory ...

Oh Brother Where Art Thou?

"Cross Your Paws" & "Are You Sad?"

With the frigid weather, I'm trying to keep the boys busy indoors.

Romeo's list of "stupid dog tricks" is pretty pathetic, so I thought it was a good time to start on expanding a bit. We started working on "Cross your paws" and "Are you sad?". "Cross your paws" is coming along very well, the "sad" one is a work in progress.

How I teach "Cross your paws" ... (please excuse the scruffy paws, Romeo's toe-day is tomorrow)

1: Teach a "shake a paw" where the dog will place his paw in your offered hand.
2: Place the dog in a "down" and ask for the paw, only click/treat when they offer the paw while still laying down. Repeat ad nauseum.
3: Gradually begin to move your hand to the side so that the dog has to reach his offered paw over top of the paw still on the ground.
4: Eventually, you should be able to place your hand palm up on the ground on the opposite side of the still paw.
5: Once the dog is doing this step consistently, quickly move your hand out of the way as the dog offers the paw so that he places his paw on the ground instead of in your hand.

Gio already knows "Cross your paws" with the left over the right, so now we are working on right over left, which I am calling "Be a gentleman".



















Both boys are also working on "Are you sad?". Gio already has this trick, I'm just working on cleaning it up as he's been getting a little sloppy lately. Romeo doesn't know this one at all yet, so it's right from step one for him.

How I train "Are you sad?" ...

1: Get a piece of tape (scotch, masking, electric, medical, etc.) and place it over the dog's muzzle so that it sticks a little bit to the fur and/or whiskers. Just enough to be irritating.
2: When the dog paws at the tape, click/treat. Repeat ad nauseum.
3: Once the dog is consistently and purposefully pawing at his nose, remove the tape and hope that he repeats the action. If so, click/treat, HUGE praise! If not, replace the tape, making it a smaller piece and not sticking it as much to the fur. Make the tape smaller and smaller so as to still illicit the response but gradually fading the tape away.

Romeo isn't consistent enough to get a good picture, so here is Gio with his cleaned up version. It can be done standing, sitting, or laying down. What works best for you will depend on your dog. With Gio's long legs, laying down or sitting seems easiest. With Romeo's wee little legs, standing seems easiest.

Tricks

This time of year is quite slow for training. The different dog groups that I belong to take a break for the holidays, and most other classes and drop-ins are canceled for a couple of weeks as well.

I have to keep the boy's brains going during this time, or they will pester me to no end. As it is, the toy box is emptied and refilled a couple times a day.

I just have a small space to work them in, but small area work is beneficial as well. It would be glorious to have a great large empty room with good flooring and all the agility/rally-o equipment I could ask for ... But alas, I only have a 10'x6' opening in the living room if I push the coffee table out of the way. I try to use it to my advantage and get in some "tight space" work when I can. I have found that small crowded spaces have their advantages, though. The dogs learn to work in small spaces and around obstacles, so heeling into walls and pivoting amid physical barriers serves as great distraction practice for trials. You never know how a Rally-O course will be set up, if you will need to heel into a corner, send for a jump into a wall, or maneuver your way around a support beam.

Here is a video of our session from the other day ...

Christmas Presents

I hope everyone had a great Christmas! Some time with family and friends, good food, good drinks, and good times.

"Santa" brought me a lovely table lamp ...

So that means the boys got ...

A BOX!

And THAT means ...

MORE "101 THINGS TO DO WITH A BOX"!

While Romeo is playing, Gio is in a down-stay behind the camera. You can hear him "protesting" that Romeo is getting treats and he isn't. Gio is a work in progress with the Box Game. He had a short session tonight, but as he is more inclined to killing the box, we are taking it slow. I'm trying to break him of the "101 Ways to Destroy a Box" version of the game by keeping sessions short and only clicking for his calm approaches to the box. I find it helps if I ask for a "down" before introducing the box, then he tends to do his tricks from a down position and less harm comes of the box.

101 Things to Do With a Box ... #2

Even if the amount of snow on the ground is quite pathetic compared to what we are used it, it is still winter time, none the less. So that means that it gets dark very early in the evening, usually around 5pm or so. By the time I get home from work, there is no light left to enjoy the back yard with the dogs or to take in any park-action. As such, I am sure to find things for them to do in the house that will exercise their brains and bodies.

Tonight was another round of "101 Things to Do With a Box". (See our previous entry for more explanation.) I did not have a suitable box handy, so decided to use a plastic step stool instead. It holds up much better than a cardboard box anyways.

Here is a video of Romeo's attempts. Gio did have a good go with the stool as well, but his footage didn't make the final cut. He had decided to position himself between the stool and the camera, so I got a lot of video of his very happy tail and a lot of fluff, but very little else. Near the end of our session, Romeo was pulling out some really cute stuff ... including wedging himself halfway under the stool and sticking his head out of the side. Unfortunately, the camera had cut off without me noticing so that was missed. Next time, I will try the stool again and maybe Romeo will pull out those cute tricks before the camera decides to go to sleep.

Backin' It Up

And another DWB e-card!

"101 Things to Do With a Box"

This is a great game that has been explained in numerous places online. As such, I'm not going to detail how to play the game with your dog. If you haven't heard of this game before, here is a great website that explains it quite well:
Karen Pryor: ClickerTraining.com

Whenever I get my hands on a solid and sturdy box, I break out the clicker and treats for a game with the dogs. I've found that I can get different levels of tricks depending on the box I choose to use. Larger boxes usually result in better actions, and Romeo has presented some really cool ones on occasion. A favorite of his seems to be standing on the box with all 4 feet, then progressing to sitting on the box and laying down on the box. Today, I only had a small box handy, so the tricks are much less entertaining. The boys have a lot of fun, nonetheless!

Below is a video of Romeo's session. Gio's session isn't included, as he is significantly more exuberant about the game, and it often turns into "101 Ways to Destroy a Box" quite quickly.

Some of our favorite tricks!

I have a meeting this evening with the kennel and obedience club that I belong to, so we just had a short "work" session focusing on some fun tricks. Here are a couple that are great as "crowd pleasers".

"Put your head down" in tandem

"Right paw" and "Left paw"

"Take a bow"

"Cross your paws"

And doubling it up ... "Put your head down" while "Crossing your paws"

Teaching fun little tricks is a great way to bond with your dog! They are fun, quick and rewarding for both of you. Teaching tricks also teaches the dog how to use their brain, differentiate between commands, and think about what they are doing ... all the time while having fun and getting lots of treats. While taking pictures of the various tricks, it also helps the dogs work on their "stays" and "waits", adding duration to a trick by requiring that they hold that position until released rather than just giving one quick movement in order to get a treat.

The boys love playing their trick games, and after a fast and furious session of 10-15 minutes, they are completely tired out mentally. We all know the importance of physical exercise for our dogs, but we can't forget about mental exercise as well. Dogs are very intelligent, and many breeds (herding, working, sporting, guarding, terrier breeds) have been bred for decades, and in some cases centuries, to work and perform a task every day. Our breeds have changed a lot over the years, but that instinct and drive to work is still there. So many small behavioral problems can be solved by simply "working" your dog on a daily basis. It doesn't need to be for hours on end or be something where you have to leave the house. But even working on fun and silly tricks for 10 minutes a couple of times a day can be enough for some dogs. And who knows, you might surprise yourself and actually enjoy it to the extent that you want to pursue an extracurricular activity with your dogs!