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Kodi's scent articles 11/11/15

6K views 55 replies 8 participants last post by  krandall 
#1 ·
Thought you folks might enjoy seeing how Kodi is coming along with his scent articles. He's really "got" the idea that he needs to bring back "my" article. We've had some trouble with him getting over-excited about the whole "game" and just running out to grab the first article he came across. We started putting a cookie or two in the search area to slow him down and get him to engage his brain. GREAT success with that!

Watch the second send... Pretty funny. He brought it back, then dropped it. When I waited for him to pick it back up, somehow, in his little doggy brain, he thought he needed to take it back out to the pile and bring it ALL the way in again. It's SO much fun to watch them learn to THINK things through in Utility. ...No more "learning exercises by rote"... Too many things can go sideways, and they have to figure out how to make it happen anyway!:
 
#3 · (Edited)
I didn't understand why you waited a few moments before praising him on his return. It seemed like you were wanting another behavior?
I can't speak for Karen, but I don't give praise until the judge says, "exercise finished." Usually that means that on a recall, the dog has to sit square in front of me and then tell him to "finish" which means walking past my right side, behind me, and then sitting on my left side. And then the judge says "exercise finished." Lavish praise and petting follows. On a scent retrieve, I'm not sure yet how that works.

Ricky's Popi
 
#6 ·
Havanese aren't even close to the top of "scent hound" capabilities. However, all dogs enjoy using their noses! That's why nose work is the fastest growing dog sport in the country! :) There is a Boston Terrier in our class who is so funny. They have about the worst nose configuration a dog can have. That little guy goes out to his articles, has to put his flat little nose DOWN on every single article to check it, and he STILL hardly ever makes a mistake! :)

The strange noises in the back are just a dog in a crate who doesn't have very good crate manners. There are two classes going on at the same time in adjacent rings, so there are a lot of crated dogs waiting their turns. No parrots! ;)
 
#13 ·
Thanks Karen for the drop clarification, we have some work to do.

Another thing, I see in your video that the ring is neatly closed off with lattice. Is this common for competitions in the NE, held indoors and fenced off? I have observed at about 4 competitions here in Cali. They were all held outdoors and on grass. They were fenced in by simple stanchions, maybe 10 feet apart and cordoned off with a single rope about 3 feet off the ground. And the various competition rings were only separated by that single rope! I understand this is the norm here. These are very difficult conditions, not only for Ricky, but for all dogs. I saw many dogs last weekend who would break their exercise when they saw another dog running toward them at full speed or chasing a thrown object in the ring immediately adjacent to them. Ricky and I really need to up our game!

On a positive note, Ricky is catching on nicely to the 4 new drills we learned in class Tuesday night. We practice about 10 minutes for 3 or 4 times a day and he is a quick study. I am fortunate he is so motivated by treats and praise. In between his "school" times, we go for long. casual walks and I let him do his thing (sniffing, exploring within the limits of his leash, chasing blowing leaves, etc.) but he will often stop and let me know he wants to "play" school some more. Yes, you are right, each one of us owns the "best" dog.

Ricky's Popi
 
#14 ·
[/QUOTE] Ricardo;1038209]Thanks Karen for the drop clarification, we have some work to do.[/QUOTE]

Another thing I meant to mention is that in training, we often (mentally) a "what's more than" game. (This comes from Denise Fenzi). So, for instance, knowing that fronts often get not as tight in competition, (and this is particularly true with little dogs) for my dogs in training, "what's more than a front" for Kodi has become to actually get sent THROUGh my legs at the end of an exercise. For Pixel, who is still learning fronts, HER "more than" (because she's little enoug to do it) is to actually sit ON my feet. It's easy to back them off enough from these extra-close positions.

For drops, what's "more than" a drop? For us, we teach LOTS of practice "back up over a bar and drop without letting your front feet touch the bar". This gets it firmly set in their brain that "drop" means absolutely NO forward movement. Does it hold up in competition? Well, for a little, companion breed dog who REALLY wants to come back to you, you may not be able to get that skid-stop all the time in the higher excitement/anxiety of a trial, but you'll get MUCH less travelling... And because you taught it in a positive manner, as a game, the dog doesn't worry about it and start to come in slow on the recall part. (The kiss of death, in terms of points off)

[/QUOTE] Ricardo;1038209]Another thing, I see in your video that the ring is neatly closed off with lattice. Is this common for competitions in the NE, held indoors and fenced off? I have observed at about 4 competitions here in Cali. They were all held outdoors and on grass. They were fenced in by simple stanchions, maybe 10 feet apart and cordoned off with a single rope about 3 feet off the ground. And the various competition rings were only separated by that single rope! I understand this is the norm here. These are very difficult conditions, not only for Ricky, but for all dogs. I saw many dogs last weekend who would break their exercise when they saw another dog running toward them at full speed or chasing a thrown object in the ring immediately adjacent to them. Ricky and I really need to up our game! [/QUOTE]

I know, I've seen video of Cali trials. You guys have WAY different trial conditions than we do. Yes, even outdoors, most trials in the northeast have lattice gates. Some (PVC gates) don't have the stachions, and these become a BIG problem for dogs who have been taught "go outs" to a stanchion for Utility. (Directed jumping). But you hardly EVER see the "single rope over the dog's head" rings I've seen in Cali trials. ... And CERTAINLY not in mixed breed trials where there are small dogs, where the high rope doesn't even register!

We actually only HAVE a handful of outdoor obedience trials. Our weather is just too unpredictable. Even in the summer, you can find yourself in long, dewy grass in the morning, and heavy thunder/lightening storms in the afternoon. If the rain isn't a problem, it can be 103F with 95% humidity. And for more than half the year, it's too cold/wet/snowy for them to even CHANCE running an outdoor show. As a result, except those who do sporting dog specialties, (Goldens, Labs, etc. who couldn't care less about the rain) most of the people I know trial almost exclusively indoors.

Of course, indoors is not without its challenges, and our dogs have to learn to deal with those instead. The crating areas are usually VERY tight, with dogs' crates RIGHT up against each other. Very often there is little - no warm-up area. Your dog has to be able to come out of his crate, do a couple of stretches, and during the run just before yours, have maybe a 20 feet strip of floor space in front of the ring to get his head in the game. For those of us with little dogs, it's too risky to have the dogs on the floor in the crating area or on the way to the ring. (Going RIGHT under the NOSE of large breed dogs that you don't know) so many, if not most of us carry our toy breeds from their crate to that strip in front of the ring gate.

At the big, multi-ring indoor shows, there are up to 20 rings going at the same time, 5 or 6 of those obedience and rally, the rest conformation. Many of the conformation dogs are not well trained or well behaved, and are an added danger. The buildings where these multi-ring trials are held are large, metal buildings and NOISY!!! Last summer, Kodi NQ'd at one, simply because he didn't hear me call him on the DOR. HE has never EVER not come on a formal recall, and I am SURE it was because he didn't register my voice in the surrounding noise. I called him a second time, and his DOR was flawless. It would have been a mid-190's run... Instead, it was an NQ. Oh well! :)

At a smaller, 1 ring trial indoors last winter, there were MICE running around the ring when we arrived first thing in the morning. ...plus two cats, who had been put inside the building to CATCH the mice. (How well did THAT work?!? ;)) Plus, the heating system had these big, foil-y ducts, and a big blower. Every time the heat came on, the noise was incredibly loud and startling, AND the little dogs got practically blown off their feet. There were a LOT of NQ's that day! :laugh:

But we learn to do exactly what you're going to have to do. If you are serious about doing well in competition, make sure you get your dog to run-throughs or matches in the venues where you are likely to compete. LOTS of them. If you can't do that, rent ring time, and train by yourself there. Not AS good, because it doesn't replicate a trial situation (which, as you've found, ups the ante quite a bit!) but at least the dog gets used to working in those surroundings.

Our training building has a metal roof. MY dogs don't bat an eye at the noise of rain on it, but I've seen other dogs who are unfamiliar with the building totally freak out. Likewise, there are trains that come by quite close. My guys don't care. They've heard it several times a week from 9 weeks old. It's too much for some dogs who don't train there regularly.

But even your OWN training place is "diifferent" for a trial, and it can be a big adjustment for the dogs. We have moveable walls, and they are in different positions for a trial than for every day training. There are also lots of unfamiliar, often stressed, dogs there for a trial, who aren't there on "normal" days. The other thing that can be surprisingly stressful in small building trials is the LACK of noise. People are sitting watching, either intent on watching, or trying to be respectful of the team in the ring. As a result, the place becomes as quiet as a church. CREEPY as far as many dogs are concerned. (Again, especially ones who are "regulars" there, and used to it being a different way)

[/QUOTE] Ricardo;1038209]On a positive note, Ricky is catching on nicely to the 4 new drills we learned in class Tuesday night. We practice about 10 minutes for 3 or 4 times a day and he is a quick study. I am fortunate he is so motivated by treats and praise. In between his "school" times, we go for long. casual walks and I let him do his thing (sniffing, exploring within the limits of his leash, chasing blowing leaves, etc.) but he will often stop and let me know he wants to "play" school some more. Yes, you are right, each one of us owns the "best" dog.

Ricky's Popi[/QUOTE]

There are very few dogs who aren't motivated by treats and praise... There are just people who have not yet become believers! ;)

For what I've heard about you and Ricky, it is ALL positive! He's a very young dog, learning at exactly the RIGHT pace for HIM. You work with him diligently and keep it fun. You and he are both REALLY enjoying your training time and the bond that it forges. When something goes "wrong", you analyze it, learn from it, and make a plan to improve it. What could be better!?!?

As far as getting into the COMPETITION ring, while Kodi started at 15 months, this is very unusual, and most EXPERIENCED trainers (which I, of course, was not) don't recommend it. I was lucky that we didn't have a lot of fall-out that had to be "fixed" later by starting him so young. As it was, there WERE (still are) some stressy things that have taken a long time to work through. Would we have had them anyway? Maybe. Who knows? I'm ahead of you, but I'm learning as I go too! ;) Havanese ARE a soft breed. But if he'd had a stronger foundation before he started competing, maybe we wouldn't have seen the stress things crop up.

Most seasoned trainers have a "sort of" goal of getting their young dogs into the competition ring by AROUND 2 years old. And that is dependent on MANY variables. (For instance, some breeds are harder than others, and intact males ALWAYS take the longest to get reliably ring-ready) There is NO HURRY... Especially with a long-lived, healthy breed like Havanese. I have a friend with the top Havanese in Agility in Canada, and her Hav is 13 years old. She has told me that Bella (you can find her in the agility archives here) really started to come into her own at about 8 years old! :)
 
#17 ·
Great work Kodi. He is such a happy little man when he is working, he is such fun to watch.
Thanks! When training is all positive, there's nothing for them not to like! The whole thing is a fun game!!! :)
 
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#20 ·
"Traveling" is when you ask for the dog to drop during the "Drop on Recall"exercise in formal competition obedience, and instead of responding immediately by dropping into a "down", they keep moving toward you (for x distance) before they drop. If it's a short distance, they lose a few points, if it takes them longer to respond, they lose more points.

An "NQ" is "non-qualifying". There are oh, so many ways to "NQ" in an obedience run... especially in open and utility, where the dog is expected to do very complex tasks in a very specific way, and all of it is off leash. Here is one of Kodi's CDSP Open runs from earlier this year. He received 198 (out of 200) for High in Trial on this run. The exercises (and rules) are slightly different than AKC, but it's mostly the same. I mostly wanted you to see the drop on recall. In AKC, you can only use EITHER a voice or hand cue, not both. In CDSP, you can use both, as long as you use them simultaneously. (which I did in this instance)



I find CDSP to be a really fun venue, because you can help your dog a bit more than in AKC, and you can treat at the end of an exercise in the ring. I find that if we do a couple of CDSP trials in between AKC trials, it keeps Kodi's motivation and interest level up!
 
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#23 ·
Oh, just wanted to add, for those who aren't used to watching Obedience, Kodi did not lose points for "kibitzing" with the judge, because that was BETWEEN exercises. Unless the dog does something pretty horrible (like leaving the ring and not coming back, biting the judge or peeing in the ring) they are not being scored until the judge says "Are you ready?" and the handler says "Yes!" :)

Can't remember where he lost the 2 points... I'd have to go back and watch the whole run closely. :)
 
#24 ·
Thanks for explaining things to me and congratulations on such a high score. Also thanks for explaining about Kodi's little adventure over to the judge. I was wondering if that is where he lost points but good to know it was in between activities. Just amazing to watch you and Kodi. I love how he moves and you both look like you enjoy it so much. You must spend so much time training. I don't think I'd have the patience for that kind of training.

When I got my bulldog I took her to a basic obedience class. The instructor was not the most pleasant man and during one of the classes he embarrassed me terribly. My dog didn't perform as expected and I commented that she does it at home perfectly and he ended up yelling at me saying that just because she does it at home well doesn't mean she is going to do it with distractions and he was "sick of hearing people say that". Obviously I wanted to crawl under a rock. I felt like a little kid being scolded in class. Anyway, I was determined that would never happen again so I really worked hard at training and my dog did great. By the time the class was complete and we had to do the final test run, my bulldog got first place. He said he has never seen a bulldog win first place at obedience. I was so proud but would never take classes from this trainer again. He used food based rewards but also harsh corrections which I really didn't like and didn't use with my dog. I never went further with her training because I think this trainers methods turned me off. That was in NJ and I now live in Florida so when I get my Havanese I will look for a good trainer here and maybe I can take it further than just basic obedience. I'd really love to have my dog get therapy dog certified so I can bring her to nursing homes.
 
#25 ·
Thanks for explaining things to me and congratulations on such a high score. Also thanks for explaining about Kodi's little adventure over to the judge. I was wondering if that is where he lost points but good to know it was in between activities. Just amazing to watch you and Kodi. I love how he moves and you both look like you enjoy it so much. You must spend so much time training. I don't think I'd have the patience for that kind of training.

When I got my bulldog I took her to a basic obedience class. The instructor was not the most pleasant man and during one of the classes he embarrassed me terribly. My dog didn't perform as expected and I commented that she does it at home perfectly and he ended up yelling at me saying that just because she does it at home well doesn't mean she is going to do it with distractions and he was "sick of hearing people say that". Obviously I wanted to crawl under a rock. I felt like a little kid being scolded in class. Anyway, I was determined that would never happen again so I really worked hard at training and my dog did great. By the time the class was complete and we had to do the final test run, my bulldog got first place. He said he has never seen a bulldog win first place at obedience. I was so proud but would never take classes from this trainer again. He used food based rewards but also harsh corrections which I really didn't like and didn't use with my dog. I never went further with her training because I think this trainers methods turned me off. That was in NJ and I now live in Florida so when I get my Havanese I will look for a good trainer here and maybe I can take it further than just basic obedience. I'd really love to have my dog get therapy dog certified so I can bring her to nursing homes.
What a horrible experience! Yes, people who are new to dog trIning DO say that a lot ("he does it perfectly at home!" ;)) but, as a trainer/instructor, he should KNOW that new handlers need to be taught the need to help their dogs generalize their training to other settings. Shame on him, not you!!!

And as you've heard me and Ricky's dad say, in dog training, you will get good results and a much better relationship with your dog with positive training methods. Many of the "traditional" obedience breeds, like Goldens and Labs can take the harsh corrections and keep working. (Which is why they BECAME the "traditional obedience breeds", but even they can CERTAINLY be trained with totally positive methods. Everyone at my training center only uses positive training, and we have MANY high-level competitors! But with small, soft dogs like Havanese, you can shut them down forever with harsh corrections. Not a good way to train this breed! So when you decide on a training place, make sure you go and watch first and make sure you agree with their training methods!

As far as how much training Kodi and I do, I do train almost daily, but often it's for no more than 10 minutes or so. When Kodi was a puppy, and now with Pixel, I try to train about 3 times a day, but no more than 5 minutes at a time. You can do it during TV commercials! ;)

Of course, I have always also worked with a trainer at least once a week with each dog... And Kodi has a separate agility lesson each week. But that's only because I love training so much. You can CERTAINLy make good progress with only a few minutes of training a day, and a lesson every week or so. And it is the BEST way to develop a really strong bond with your dog! :)
 
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#26 · (Edited)
Let me throw in my dos centavos on trainers. Robert, our trainer is an imposing man in his late 40's. He is about 6-3 and around 300 pounds, and no I am not exaggerating! He is one of the top trainers in SoCal and has many competition awards to prove it. He is also a respected judge. He is not a warm and fuzzy personality.....until you have earned his respect. He rarely interacts with a student's dog and he emphasizes only positive reinforcement for the dog, but human handlers are a different matter. We started out with 17 in our advance training class and we are now down to 11. Some handlers just couldn't take the public criticism (and rightly so) and dropped out. I have been yelled at so many times in class that I can't count how many. I NEVER argue or make excuses to him, I just say, "okay, we'll work on it!" because, I know that Robert is right. Last Tuesday one of the handlers was called out in class for obvious errors in her handling. As we continued on in our heel exercise she was 4 feet on my left (my good ear) and she was swearing under her breath at Robert in language that would make a sailor blush! :pound: There are 5 of us in that class who want to go on into serious competition. He is much harder on the 5 of us than the others who are just trying to achieve a well trained dog around the house.

Yes, Ricky is perfect when I train him at home in our back, brick driveway with no distractions around. But in class, on grass, with a dozen dogs going every which direction within 4 feet of him, he is less than perfect, but he is making huge improvements each week, to the point that we are being recognized for kudos in that tough class with some dogs who are repeating this class for the third time!

Last week, I used both hands on either side of Ricky to gently move him into the place where I wanted him, when he wouldn't respond to my commands. Robert came down on my like a ton of bricks!!!!!!! He said, "Never use your hands for corrections. Hands are for petting, massaging, and playing with your dog. Corrections should be made with proper cues and proper and skillful use of the leash!"

So yes, Laurmann, I feel for you. I've been through it too. I don't blame you for looking for a different trainer, someone who meets your needs. But I have developed a thick skin, as well as the others in our class. And at this point, I welcome a loud "verbal correction" from Robert because he is trying to get ME, the handler, to the next level.........AND.........it just reinforces why I NEVER want to yell at Ricky, I know what it feels like.

I probably train with Ricky too much, 5 or 6 ten minute sessions a day. But he is always begging me to go to what I call "school." He loves all the routine of training and all the praising he gets. I have been cutting way back on the number of treats he gets and that doesn't seem to dampen his enthusiasm for school. This morning we are not training outside. A cold front has moved in with moderate winds and the wind chill is in the 30's. We will do a few things inside the house later this morning just to stimulate his brain or maybe we will go over to Home Depot and train inside their store for 10 minutes. Its all good.

Keep us posted on your experiences, you have my support and encouragement.

Ricky's Popi
 
#27 ·
Just wanted to say that truly positive trainers don't use the leash for correction either. It is there ONLY as a "safety net" for novice (and not yet novice) dogs. Pixel hasn't yet worn a leash during heeling work. When we have ALL the babies out on the floor at the same time in our class (which includes a HUGE adolescent Terv, who thinks Pixel is the cat's pajamas ;) ) we do keep leashes on them as a fail safe. but more often than not, we don't even have the leashes in our hands... just on the floor where we can step on them if the puppy makes a sudden dart in a wrong direction.

One of my obedience instructors OCCASIONALLY loses her cool with someone who's just not listening, or keeps repeating the same mistake, but she rarely yells at people. I'm glad. I ALWAYS try hard, and so does my dog. I don't think getting yelled at would make EITHER of us learn faster! :)
 
#28 · (Edited)
Just wanted to say that truly positive trainers don't use the leash for correction either.
Interesting! Ricky and I will often train off leash, now more than ever. Actually, although some lagging and sniffing, he did pretty darned good off leash in the trials last week. I think this week we will be mostly off leash in our advanced training class which should be interesting. I am looking forward to training Ricky some new exercises without a leash. This is going to be a challenge for me! For example, how do you teach a dog something simple like "sit" without a leash and without touching them? How would touching them and forcing the back down to learn how to sit, any more positive than using a leash to gently guide them in place? I guess I am going to disagree that using a leash properly is by definition negative training.

I guess we have a tough group out here in SoCal!

Ricky's Popi
 
#31 ·
This is an interesting thread! I had assumed that a positive-based trainer would apply that to people as well as dogs! But it seems not!

Janet
One would hope! :) Our trainers are very kind. :) (and also OTCH producing AKC judges ;) )
 
#32 ·
Gee Karen, thanks for taking the time to make this video. I now understand how your technique works. Although Ricky already knows these cues, I'm going try some of your techniques on him. I'm going to try them in class tomorrow night and see what kind of a reaction I get! In fact, since it is too cold and windy to go out tonight, I'm going to try these techniques right now! What are the treats you are using in this particularly video?

That Pixie Pixel is certainly cute and a quick study......must have something to do with the handler and her techniques. :thumb:

Ricky's Popi
 
#35 ·
Ha! She's a smarty pants, but she was just "demo dog" in this. She knows these cues at this point! ;)

I think the "cookies" were a packaged one called "My little wolf". I just grabbed something off the self. Nothing special. I like this brand because they can be easily broken into TINY pieces by hand.
 
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#33 ·
Well, we just finished 10 minutes of intense training indoors tonight using Karen's methods and it was a smashing success! I tried a new cue tonight, "set up" that Ricky was totally unfamiliar with. It took about 3 minutes for him to master that and I didn't touch him once! I have not been rewarding with treats as much as Karen does, and tonight, with more treats, the results were spectacular. Ricky didn't want to quit working but I cut it off after 10 minutes and then we played together. We will continue to work on "set up" until it is completely ingrained in Ricky. Thank you Karen from both of us!

Now I need to figure out how to get Karen to post a 5 minute video on the "back" cue using no touch! :wink2:

Ricky's Popi
 
#34 ·
Thanks Ricky for sharing your experience with your trainer. Robert sounds a lot like my old trainer and if I remember correctly his name was Robert also. About the same size as your trainer with lots of tattoos but mine was at least late 50's. There were some people in my class who also quit because of him. Anyway that was in NJ and I'm in Florida now so even if I wanted to go back to him I couldn't. Anyway, I have to get my Havanese first. LOL. But I love the education in this thread and I'm soaking it all up. It's so great that Ricky enjoys the training sessions with you and obviously you do too. Would love to see a video of Ricky if you ever make one. It's killing me having to wait to get my puppy and watching videos and looking at pictures helps me get my fix. LOL Now what I need is to find a show that I can go to so I can meet some Havanese IRL. I can't believe I've fallen in love with a breed that I have never met. Although I may have met one at some point in my life but didn't know what it was. But that doesn't count.

Karen, OMG, Pixel is adorable and amazing. The way she bounces on her hind legs is just too cute! You do such a great job guiding her with those treats. I used that method to teach sit with my bulldog but I could never get her to go to a down without her sitting first. You demonstrate it so well. I'm going to keep referencing your video when it's time. Thank you so much for posting that. Also it's so nice to see Pixel. Most of your videos are of Kodi, who you know I adore, so it's great to be able to see his sister. Though he was just too funny walking in front of the camera. Had me laughing out loud. With Pixel's all black coat, it's hard to see just how cute she is in photographs so the video really lets you experience her adorableness. Karen, how did you teach her to jump into her crate?
 
#37 ·
Thanks Ricky for sharing your experience with your trainer. Robert sounds a lot like my old trainer and if I remember correctly his name was Robert also. About the same size as your trainer with lots of tattoos but mine was at least late 50's. There were some people in my class who also quit because of him. Anyway that was in NJ and I'm in Florida now so even if I wanted to go back to him I couldn't. Anyway, I have to get my Havanese first. LOL. But I love the education in this thread and I'm soaking it all up. It's so great that Ricky enjoys the training sessions with you and obviously you do too. Would love to see a video of Ricky if you ever make one. It's killing me having to wait to get my puppy and watching videos and looking at pictures helps me get my fix. LOL Now what I need is to find a show that I can go to so I can meet some Havanese IRL. I can't believe I've fallen in love with a breed that I have never met. Although I may have met one at some point in my life but didn't know what it was. But that doesn't count.

Karen, OMG, Pixel is adorable and amazing. The way she bounces on her hind legs is just too cute! You do such a great job guiding her with those treats. I used that method to teach sit with my bulldog but I could never get her to go to a down without her sitting first. You demonstrate it so well. I'm going to keep referencing your video when it's time. Thank you so much for posting that. Also it's so nice to see Pixel. Most of your videos are of Kodi, who you know I adore, so it's great to be able to see his sister. Though he was just too funny walking in front of the camera. Had me laughing out loud. With Pixel's all black coat, it's hard to see just how cute she is in photographs so the video really lets you experience her adorableness. Karen, how did you teach her to jump into her crate?
She's just a jumping bean! Her favorite "Purple Monkey" lives in her crate, and she just started jumping in to get him. When I saw that she could easily jump in, (I have only JUST started letting her jump out!) I started to encourage her to do it at bed time too, by putting a cookie in the crate (while she watched) and saying "Go to bed!". Now she will do it without the cookie, but they always get a bed-time cookie anyway. (their only "freebie" cookie of the day! ;))

She jumps into the back of the car to get into her crate too. (and is NEVER allowed to jump out of there!!! ;))
 
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#47 ·
We just came in from our 45 minute morning ritual of training, walking casually on leash, and playing. .There were lots of blowing Sycamore leaves and everyone of them was a new, best toy for Ricky! I did ignore them while in "school" but during his frequent "recesses", he thought he could catch every leaf. We also meet up with some f his amigo dogs on the walk and he has to ignore them while in school, but then I usually release him for a couple of minutes of raucous play. This makes his "school" that much more fun, because when he follows my cues, he knows that it is going to pay off big with some playtime.

This morning, we were in school on the lawn, practicing routine exercises. Then amigo Bertie, a chihuahua mix rescue, came walking by with his Momi. I thought this is a golden opportunity for training! I put Ricky in a "sit/stay" with his back to Bertie. I walked about 60 feet over to Bertie and played with him for about a minute. Ricky's neck swiveled around 180 to watch, with much dismay, but he DID NOT BUDGE! :whoo: Then Bertie's Momi says can Ricky come over and play a minute? I thought another opportunity for training!!!!! I gave Ricky the "front" cue and he took off like a shot........straight to Bertie! :frusty: We're going to need a bit more work on this! Ricky must have thought, screw Popi's reward cookie, I'm going to get in some serious playtime with amigo Bertie!

Karen's "no touch", "no leash pull" technique is working out GREAT! Ricky is responding to the reward treats with enthusiasm. I found some treats at Petco called "Crazy Dog Training Treats" The package says they are 1.6 cal. per treat. The primary ingredient is pork. Ricky loves them. The company headquarters is about 40 miles down the road from me and I called and asked them technical questions about the composition. They were very cooperative. They said they formulate the ingredients with a veterinarian dietitian and then contract with a company in Minnesota for manufacturing and packaging. They said it IS NOT Diamond Foods.

I give Ricky a cookie (usually a dehydrated banana slice) at bedtime. No tricks are required it is now part of our routine. Ricky is so grateful and goes to sleep immediately as a happy, happy dog.

So many good ideas on this Forum! Thanks to all of you and in particular to Karen and her menagerie. :cheer2:

Ricky's Popi
 
#48 ·
Awesome! You guys are doing great work. As far as the situation with the stay/ failed front. A couple of thoughts. First, I would never ask for a front from a stay. You don't want the dog to ever think that the right answer is to leave the stay on their own. In competition, the dog NEVER gets up from the stay until the handler has returned to heel position and the judge says "Exercise finished". For the short "stay" for a recall, retrieve, etc, I use the cue "wait" rather than stay, just to differentiate.

In a "real life" stay, you don't want the dog to think they can move from a stay until you return for safety reasons. What if they misunderstand and try to return across a busy street? They need to understand that "Stay means stay. Period. Until I return to you and release you."

I also think you were asking a HUGE amount from Ricky asking for a front, when he'd already maintained the stay not only in the presence of the other dog, but with you PLAYING with the other dog. That is a HUGE level of distraction. Some dogs, even good obedience dogs, could NEVER do this. If I'd wanted to work a front in front of this dog too, I would have gone back to Ricky, given him a jackpot for being so good on the stay, then set him up somewhere else and asked for a front from a very short distance. That way, I suspect he would have been successful (and rewarded) twice, rather than ending up with no reward for the good stay, then failing on the front.

Ricky is a young dog. Take your time. Many, many solid experiences of doing it right will get you farther, faster, than testing the limits too often. :)
 
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#54 ·
Sounds like you and Ricky are getting close to taking the show on the road!
It looks like we are headed for the AKC Obedience trials in Palm Springs, January 10. I'm trying to figure out what the difference is in: beginner Novice A, beginner Novice B, Novice Class A, Novice Class B, and Pre Novice. Which one do we enter? Then I need to memorize the AKC rules for that particular trial.

As far as getting a video, I need to find a stranger who will video us, because if I use a family member, Ricky is not ready for that distraction. He is still too "green."

Thanks to all for your encouragement.

Popi and Ricky Ricardo
 
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