Rally Obedience; video

Finally getting around to sharing some video from last weekends fun and great APDT trial in Calgary March 19th and 20th 2011.
Starting in reverse order with the highlight of our weekend - Sunday afternoon, Annette and Maggio earning a 208 (of 210 possible) and a High in Trial for level 3. This was our second level 3 leg - now we only need one more leg under a different judge to complete Level 3 of  APDT Rally'O.

And then goig backwards in time...and into Saturday.
To get to compete in level 3, we had to first successfully complete and Qualify in a final leg of level 2 (under a different judge...we actually had plenty of Qs; just not under different judges)  - which we did Saturday morning (March 19th, 2011)
So, here is our final level 2 leg:

Very happy with how the boy worked! Back in the fall to hopefully complete level 3 with Maggio.

More successes in the ring

A second weekend of great trials! This past weekend both dogs were entered in APDT Rally Obedience, but with Pinot in heat - she had to stay at home...while Maggio and I got another one-on-one trialling weekend with more successes in the ring. Saturday morning he finished his Level 2 title and moved on to level 3 for the afternoon...

The level 3 course presented us with a couple of "firsts". While we have done a fair bit of dumbell and retrieve work, this was the first time for us to do a retrieve in a trial situation - and I could not be happier with his clear understanding;  he did as well as ever; "piece of cake!". The other "first" was the winged jump on course. While we have done a fair bit of jumping and Maggio absolutely loves to jump --  I wondered how the wing-jump would be received...as he had never seen one (let alone jumped one) before! None of my own jumps have wings, but the boy did not even hesitate when asked to go "Over!" - he flew out and over the jump like he had done it a hundred times before. Good boy! Bad trainer for not introducing him to a winged jump before a trial situation!
At any rate - I was thrilled with our 206 score (In APDT Rally 210 points is the best score possible...200 for the course and an additional 10 points which can be earned in a BONUS exercise) - which placed us first and got a High in Trial in level 3A. The point deductions came from a crooked sit and paw movements in the "moving stand/ walk around" exercise. Giving me good information about what I need to work on for next time :-)

On Sunday we returned for a second level 3 trial. By now, with two weekends of trials in a row and several appearances in the ring, I was actually quite relaxed! How absolutely nice to go in to the ring and not feel terrified!  :-) And I think Maggio picked up on my relative looseness, too. He was definitely "high" in the final run! This dog is going to keep teaching me so much about arousal - I will forever be a student, trying to figure out this arousal business and how to harness it to our best advantage. I am sure many people and experienced handlers who have trialled for a long time and have done this a ton, "get it". But I still consider myself a new learner in many respects - and also; Maggio is my first competition dog. What a great teacher he has been!

Anyhow - for this final level 3 run of the weekend - My boy was "ON" and did a beautiful run...his arousal almost a bit "too high", as was apparent by some whining and vocalizing - but he stayed connected the whole time and was totally a "thinking/listening dog" despite pushing the upper boundary or workable arousal... but mostly it was also obvious he really had a great time! I truly think he was enjoying himself and enjoying being in the spotlight. The applause at the end had him go totally silly and wiggly and bouncy and happy and goofy. What a fun way to end a great two weekends of trials! And the fact that it earned us another first place and High in Trial didn't hurt either! With a 208 now...two points deducted - one for slight paw movement in the same "moving stand/walk around" and one for the "off-set figure 8 with food bowls" looking at the bowls and thus taking a bit of a wide/slow turn...yeah - I am pretty thrilled overall... It is SO exciting to be at this point of our journey!

We're both willing students and keep learning from each other, we both love the moments of training and spending quality time together - and granted, some days it has felt like we will never be ready...now, I know I am mostly working on my own ability to stay calm, focused and normal...while we continue on this fun journey that has only just begun! What a Fantastic Dog I have been blessed with!

Backyard Agility Games seminar and thoughts on Arousal.

March 6th and 7th 2011, Wags unlimited and Sit Happens! (in Calgary) co-hosted a second round of Backyard Agility games with Catherine Thomas, from New Brunswick, as the instructor. What an amazing seminar with great little gold nuggets of learning for each participant individually. 


Apart from being the trainer who really got me inspired to learn more about dogs and the one "responsible" for my current obsession with the canine-human bond, I consider Catherine to be one of my main mentors, a trainer with an amazing eye as well as fantastic communication skills. I have learned so much from her over the years, and continue learning all the time. The most recent epiphany happening just a mere three days ago - about a week after she returned back to N.B after the seminar.


The massive "light bulb moment" is all about AROUSAL.
I have been on a massive roller-coaster learning curve with my flat-coat Maggio in regards to AROUSAL. He is an interesting dog, great worker (!) but to try to paint an image of his story: one who balances his own "stability" on a fairly wobbly teeter, if that makes any sense. As long as there are no outside stresses to his life, I have a pretty good chance of predicting how he will respond to things and where on the arousal curve I may find him. However - environment does affect him a lot - and the the longer his environment is unfamiliar/ or adds stress to his overall being, the more his behavior will be affected - as well as his overall arousal. So far this all should seem pretty natural and logical. As human beings, most of us are affected by stress and environment, too - so it only makes sense. 
For Maggio and me, the learning and journey has been a long one, and in frequent moments of frustration or disbelief,  I have often picked Catherine's brain about "what to do?" and have gained much insight through her and from her experiences.


Last weekend I was entered with Maggio to compete in obedience. I had entered him for three trials in Novice B, and certainly knew he was Ready and well prepared for the exercises. Mostly I was really only concerned about myself - and my ability to come across as "normal" to my dog (HA!) my ring nerves are not the greatest; I have a tendency to want to perform Really well and thus I put a lot of stress and pressure on myself, which can result in a very strange looking human being....all of course in turn affecting the performance of the dog.
At any rate - I am happy to report, my ring nerves held together and in watching video of my runs, I seem normal :-) and had scores I am completely thrilled with!
195.5, 197.5 and 192.5 - three Qs (Qualifying scores) thus resulting in a title: CD.

 (If unfamiliar to obedience; a dog and handler team need to pass all parts of the "test" with at least 50% of full points for each exercise, a total minimum score of 170...with 200 being a perfect score. To get a title, this performance then needs to be repeated three times, under at least two different judges.)


After our first trial - with a score of 195.5 - which placed us third - I reviewed the video of our run and also played back the visual memory of the two higher scoring teams. And - oh...video is so great for learning (!!) -- I watched and actually I was not 100% content with the heeling! There was a bit of lagging and a couple of wide right-turns. I knew we could do better and spiffier heel-work. When we are completely connected as a team - there is no lagging and the turns are tight! 


So, now I tried to analyze what I should try to do differently before the next trial in less than 24 hours? And, apart from handler experience and perhaps training - what set the performances apart? What was different about what Maggio and I did, to what they had done? And the answer in its simplest form, was AROUSAL. Both higher scoring dogs, had been working in a much higher state of arousal. 


So, day 2 of trials I went in with a plan of going in with Maggio a bit "higher" on the arousal scale. Warm-up routine was a bit different than day 1, we played more, let the arousal build more and indeed we walked into the ring connected, together and "ON". And did it ever pay off?! 
Our score went up by 2 points; to a lovely 197.5. The heeling was spiffier, tighter - and we were connected. All because of being ready to understand an internalize and also use this new understanding of arousal...a lesson that has been in the making for many years now, really for all of Maggio's life - and often a source of frustration...


As Catherine - and others - have often reminded "We can only learn when and what we are READY to learn". 


As much as I am on a high from this newly earned obedience title and doing well together with a dog I love so much - I am overwhelmed by this new insight and my own internal learning about arousal...It is all so much clearer now! "seeing" the bigger picture of this magical scale so often talked about....a curve that extends on one side into "low" arousal and on the other into "high" arousal...neither place a great one to be if we try to get the very best out of our dogs....


With each individual dog, it becomes our challenge as the human handler to get to know them well enough to see where they are in any given moment. 


And what happened to the third score? I guess it revealed some gaps in training/ proofing / preparing, which had the performance dip a bit, but certainly also fatigue played in. It had been a long two days already by the time we stepped into the ring for the third time. 


My goal and dream was to have all three scores over 190 - which we did! So, even though, by comparison the final score was 'low' - my boy was still "on", happy to perform and work; did a great job finishing the day with a third and final Q to finish his title of CD. And on top of a title, I had a great epiphany of learning...something that will definitely stay with me always!
Now, onto the next training challenges! And Rally trials next weekend.....

body awareness tricks and fun

Tricks that teach a dog about their body and how to use their rear end are very helpful in teaching not only agility-type skills, but also for obedience: tight turns in heeling, pivots and getting in close; fronts and finishes. 

I have been working a fair bit on body awareness skills lately with my dogs Pinot and Maggio to brush up and get ready for starting weave-pole training with Pinot for agility. Maggio being a big boy needs the rear end awareness mainly for obedience work and keeping his big body close to mine; but he also enjoys this stuff "just for fun".

Some of the things we have worked on are:

• backing up
• backing up onto something
• backing into an overturned cardboard box - lifting rear legs one leg at a time to find the way into the box
• getting onto a box/ stool with front legs and pivoting around with rear legs
• walking/ trotting through the rungs of a ladder
• doing tight turns around pylons
• tight turns around a jump standard in both directions (the focus being on the tight turn; not the jumping - so keeping jump height low)

Here is a little video showing some of these things in action. The video is a short 2 min. compilation (don;t know what happenend in the upload to youtube that makes it be listed as 5 minutes). Video editing done by my fantastic editor and son Saxby, 12 years old :-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4YBZas0w20

Seeing the animal's point of view

If looking at the technical side of animal (dog) training, the important components can really be boiled down to just a few key concepts (think things like "timing" and "rate of reinforcement" just to name a couple)...there are actually not that many individual concepts that will affect the technicalities of training, however, one of the things that sometimes (or often?) gets forgotten, is the ability to see the situation and circumstance from the animal's point of view. I think we often forget about this part. We get wrapped up in today's "agenda", our plan, our goals and what we want to accomplish or things WE want to do - and sometimes forget that there is another individual and living being at the other end of the leash.

We tend to forget not only that there IS someone at the other end - but sometimes also forget that there is an INDIVIDUAL. I can't tell you how many times I have heard the words "But my last dog used to...(fill in the blank)...why does this dog not?"
or "But I want to...(fill in the blank again)...with this dog. It is part of my lifestyle, so why is the dog being... (choose one: reactive/ aggressive/ fearful/ too shy etc..). It's part of my lifestyle to do "X"."

How did we forget to consider the individual dog in those statements? Why is it that we do recognize individuality when it comes to humans so much faster and more readily, but often fail to recognize that the same individuality holds equally true for our dogs?

To really be truly in touch with your dog and develop a real connection and relationship that goes beyond just being a one-way street, you must embrace the thought of opening your eyes to see the unique individual you have in front of you. Not a "breed" or "generalized traits common for the breed or breed mix" - but the unique traits that make your companion just who he or she is.

Sometimes a "problem" could be solved by a simple shift in OUR way of thinking. Sometimes all it would take, is a change of our goals - or a change in how we do things.
Of course, all the technicalities of training have their time and place - what I am trying to point out is simply - that "training" for the sake of "traininig" should never overshadow the big picture and seeing the individual for who he/she is.

I would like to share a couple of my favorite resources if you'd like to read up/ challenge and expand your thinking on this topic.
One of my absolute personal favourite books (warmly recommended!) is called:
If a Dog's Prayers Were Answered...Bones would Rain from the Sky. Deepening our relationships with dogs. Written by Suzanne Clothier.(2002). You won't find another book quite like it!

If you are a movie-buff... Rent this one: Temple Grandin. (DVD, 2010) Fantastic true story on someone who has been the trigger for much change in how we see and treat animals today. This is really a different perspective on things. Temple Grandin herself is autistic and shares many of her insights through literally seeing things very differently than the neuro-typical human. She has also written several books. Animals in Translation, and Animals make us Human are two I have read and can also warmly recommend.

Finally, for the real keeners, a link to hear Temple Grandin speak about some of the change she has been part of creating in regards to how animals for food-processing are treated. The video is over an hour in length, and is a presentation-style speech. If you are more of a movie-type (rather than "listen-to-a-speech-type") - rent the movie instead.
http://news.duke.edu/2011/02/grandin.html

Weave pole training

Excitement is building here on the home front...we are preparing to start Pinot's weave pole training for agility! I am picking up our weave poles tomorrow, and will start her on the 2x2 method in the coming month - 2x2 is Susan Garrett's well known method for teaching weaving. See a short video clip here: http://www.clickerdogs.com/2x2_weave_training.php

In preparation for weaving, we have worked a fair amount on body- and rear end awareness, tight turns as well as the oh-so-important ability to focus forward and go out ahead of the handler..."the keep going" thing. She is ready! And so am I. I am hoping to post some video here over the coming months as we get rolling, so you can follow our progress. For now - we are just vibrating of excitement knowing that weaves are coming to our house tomorrow! We'll be READY to start!

Cute puppy antics or the beginnings of problem behaviors?

From time to time, while problem solving with a client about their dogs’ current problem behaviors, the person will clearly remember the first time they saw (and encouraged!) this behavior in their dog. Often, if they’ve had the dog since it was a puppy – the “budding problem” was noted way back when; at 9, 12  weeks of age…except – it was not a “problem” then – it was “something cute, something we laughed about”.

Just to name a few of these “cute behaviors”…have you ever seen a totally stick-obsessed dog? One who will run around when loose looking for sticks at every turn, bringing them back to their owner – insistently pushing the stick into the humans’ hands begging for a throw?  Any accidentally kicked stick (or rock/stone!?)  is received like a written invitation to chase; regardless of  where this takes place. Imagine this behavior in the environment we live and with the number of dog-owning active hikers: want to take this dog on a hike high up on a rocky slope. Cute? (I think: dangerous.)

What about the little puppy who protectively growls over his bones or his sleeping area? He’s just 10 weeks old and it is “sooo cute” – everyone just laughs and thinks puppy is pretty special to be guarding already at this cute and tender age. (It won’t be so cute when he is 100lbs and has learned that this is Really a good behavior that works!).

Or what about the dog whose owner thought it was a great idea to exercise the puppy during the cold winter days with a laser beam light in the living room. The dog happily chased the light around; going up and down over couches and chairs, ripping around the room in a frenzy…only to crash later on and have a loooong nap. Convenient?

Cute? When 6 months later, the same dog now cannot tolerate any kind of reflection without going berserk…the dog does not only go ballistic in the presence of any kind of reflection, the behavior has also generalized to shadows, fast moving shade/contrast, leaves falling from trees, and even butterflies. Cute?

There are tons of examples out there. All of these behaviors are perhaps innocent enough when you first see them – but can become huge problems, very annoying, even dangerous and highly problematic for people if they are encouraged and rewarded. As with all of us: habits can be either good or bad. Before encouraging your puppy’s antics – try to think ahead and see what this behavior can become…is the behavior truly a good habit that you love and want to keep – or is it a budding problem – fairly easy to prevent now, but really time-consuming and difficult to fix after months and months of rehearsal?

Have you seen or do you have a dog with a behavior you wish you would have stopped when you first saw it? What are your real-life experiences with “cute puppy antics” that are no longer so cute? Please share in the comments section below.