No Need for Cable

Well the good news is that Summit is great about sleeping through the night, ironically that is about the only time he does sleep! He is good about hanging out in the crate (as long as I am close by) but he always keeps at least one eye open

So here was today’s itinerary:

-morning walk around the lake at the off leash park, lots of kids, dogs and playing with friend “Rush”.   Fell in the lake a couple times and met a couple big scary dogs.

-long drive to the doggie chiropractor

-recalls at the training field

-2 hours at Home Depot and Rona with buddy “Rush” where we hung out by the power tools center and played in the bumpy shopping cart

-Back to the training field to hang out

-Off to Pet Smart where we did recalls up and down just about every aisle

-Down to the river valley for a long walk with buddy “Will”

- hung out in a crate while I worked on the computer

-discovered the best kept secret in the puppy world – the squeaky ball!!!

I realize this cant be good for our retrieve training but it was just too entertaining   I know its long but you have to watch the whole thing!

Did I mention he’s Perfect?!?

I know, I know, everyone think their puppy is perfect, but he really is the most perfect puppy in the world! He stayed up until 2 am last night playing with me, he is just so entertaining its hard to put him to bed.

This morning we went down to the river valley for some socialization.  What was supposed to be a short trip turned into 2 hours.  We met lots of new people and even a few other dogs.  We played tug in the forest, in the parking lot, beside the path, while skateboards went by, in the presence of children, bikes, and lots of joggers.  How do those 2 minute sessions turn into 2 hour sessions…im not sure

One of our biggest adventures was when a toddler came running and yelling at us with a 6′ long tree branch, waving the branch and all its leaves with all his might.  Summit stopped tugging, looked at the branch then took off leaping into the air and grabbing hold of the branch and enjoying a game of tug with his new found friend…it was hysterical.

After the river valley we went to a friends house to groom dogs and we got to play with 11 dogs running around in the back yard for a good four hours before we fell fast asleep.  After that we went to agility class and got to visit our new friends Fly and Rush, also border collie pups.  He got to spend most of the night in my arms while I instructed or with one of the students.

After class we did some restrained recalls, it was only his second session with recalls but already he knows the game!  I really wanted my border collie to be one of those dogs that screams the whole way around the course, it just makes me laugh.  Bounder is my only dog that is vocal around the course and its really not the same since she has been de-barked.  Well…my perfect little puppy is a screamer!  He goes crazy as soon as I start to lead out or as he tries to catch me, he even screams while tugging, too cute!  I will have to get some video of his restrained recalls up soon, but for now we are off to work on “sit” and some hand targeting.

Something to Blog About!

I have been planning for a border collie pup for over four years and for the last six months I have been looking at breeders from all over north America.  I have done tonnes of research on different lines and kennels and dogs that I really like.  I had planned to get a female, she was supposed to be a red tri with a rough coat and a small blaze.  I was supposed to get the pup this fall after nationals and worlds were over…well things don’t always work out the way you plan them   Last week I was put in contact with a breeder in Oregon who had a litter of pups ready for new homes.  After hearing about the pups and the dogs from the past two litters I decided to take a smooth coat, split face, black and white male from the litter.  So on Monday I flew through Seattle to Boise, Idaho and returned with two 8 week old puppies.  I kept one and I brought one back for a student.

“Summit” is his name and he is absolutely, 100%, without a doubt PERFECT!  Even though I haven’t even had him for 24 hours, he is everything I wanted in my next puppy.  He is super outgoing, confident, independent guy with trouble written all over his face   He is a manic tugger and loves his kibble too.  After the 4 hour drive to Boise airport then 7 hours in the kennel for the trip home we stopped at a Tim Hortons parking lot at 1 am.  I let him and his brother out in the parking lots and as two motor bikes went by and a jet flew overhead he looked at me then attacked his leash and started tugging madly…I have been in love ever since!

Today was his first day home and because we had his brother for the day we didn’t get much training time but we did go to the pet store and meet lots of people, then we went to the park to play tug then we went to the river valley and watched the people, bikes and skateboards go by, and finally we went to agility class tonight and met lots of new people and did restrained recalls.  It was a busy day but we still went home and played tug and learned its yer choice and did some crate games.

He is a very cool puppy and wherever he goes he walks in like he owns the place.  I couldn’t help laughing while reading his aptitude test on the flight home; would not show any interest in coming when called or following people, picked up the toy on the retrieve and took off running and not a flinch  for loud noises and scary things like umbrellas…did I say PERFECT?

Here is a video of him and his brother playing in the yard today.  Oh and he sleeps through the night, doesn’t pee in the house and will never need to be groomed

Next week we are changing our “H” and heading to Ottawa for the AAC nationals, should be fun!

Well this is a bit overdue but our AAC regionals was a huge success!  Our regionals were in Lethbridge this year and flashing Canines and Go Dog Go put on a great event.  Unfortunately Chase re-injured his iliopsoas so I had to pull him from regionals and the steeplechase finals.  Bounder once again won her division for the 8th year in a row keeping her streak of winning every single regional she has every run at in both Canada and the US.  Bounders regional runs were the first time on a course since last fall but you would never know it.  The highlight of my weekend would have been her jumpers run where she beat every single dog in all height divisions beating the next fastest dog by almost a full second, not bad for 10 years old!

Riot and Preston also held their own and were running just about neck and neck all weekend until the last run of the competition where Riot and I took an unfortunate off course.  Preston managed to beat out his sister at his first ever regional competition placing 2nd overall with Riot in 4th place.  All three dogs made it into the steeplechase finals where Bounder came out in 1st, Preston in 2nd and Riot in 3rd.

Even more exciting than my own dogs was the success of my students at this years regional.  five placements on the 16′ regular podium, 5 placements on the 22′ regular podium and 7 more podium finishes in all other divisions.

2009 students and winnings

After regionals we headed out west to the Okanogan where I taught three days of agility seminars then enjoyed some time off and an AAC trial hosted by Dog O Pogo.  The trial was in the cold stream valley and was picturesque.  Here are a few runs of Riot and Preston, it was so relaxing running just two dogs

Practice Makes Perfect….right?

As lucky as I am to be doing something I love for a living and as much as I sincerely enjoy instructing dog training and agility classes there comes a point where it can become frustrating.  No so much frustrating for me but for the students and for the dogs.  One of the things I enjoy so much about my job is coming back to class each week and seeing the improvement in both dog and handler as they work towards accomplishing their own goals, but there are days where this does not always seem to happen…  Now I realize that everyone is not as fortunate as me and is not able to spend all day/every day training their dogs, I know people have jobs and families and other commitments but this post is about what I believe is 99% of most agility peoples weakness, and that is training efficiency. 

Most serious agility enthusiasts seem to go to some form of organized practice or class 2-3 times per week.  By the time you drive home, load up the dogs, drive to practice, set up, train, tear down and drive home it is basically your entire evening.  I would say that if I combined the time that I trained my four dogs in a week which is a before or after classes and one morning a week my weekly training time would not come close to that of most of my students…and I have four dogs.  So this blog entry is to share some tips on improving your training efficiency.

Test Your Training

Use your classes, seminars and competitions as purely a test of you and your dogs abilities.  From every class or trial I will always walk away with three things that each dog needs to work on.  Learn to prioritize your training goals as I find tackling three issues is much easier than a page long list of your dogs weaknesses.  Also make note of the things your dog did very well, not only as positive reinforcementfor you but as trainers we tend to train the things our dogs are good at, so if your dog tends to do the same things brilliantly you likely don’t need to focus your training time there.

Know What you Have and Know What you Want

I can tell you what each of my dogs performances on each piece of equipment look like and what each of their weaknesses and strengths are.  I can also tell you my idea of what a perfectly trained agility dog looks like and what I would like each obstacle, each skill and each handling maneuver to look like.  You can’t make training plans if you don’t know what your end result should look like.

“Be a Splitter not a Lumper”

Just like when training behavior Bob Bailey reminds us to split the overall end goal into smaller, more manageable pieces.  So if you know what you have and know what you want, this is where you devise your training plan.  In each training session you do whether it be 20 seconds or 5 minutes you should know exactly what you want to accomplish.  By setting a goal for each individual session you can ensure you progress and if you don’t accomplish your goal at the end of the session make sure to evaluate your timing, criteria and reinforcement then devise a new plan.

“Think, Plan, Do, Review”

Most people skip the thinking, planning and go straight to the doing.  Even though the thinking and planning does take time, the overall training time you will save is well worth the effort.  By splitting the overall goal into pieces and devising a plan you will become more aware of your progress and your dog will thank you for the clarity in your communication during each session.  After you do the doing remember to review and always ask the question ” am I better off now than I was before” don’t be afraid to change your plan if things aren’t going well.

Foundation, Foundation, Foundation…

When you have a training issue try to always go back to your foundation and fill in any and all hole in your dogs training.  I would bet that there isn’t a training issue that could not be fixed with a set of stairs, 4 weave poles, one jump, a crate and an open feild.  Going back and fixing your training issue away from the equipment will be faster, easier and better on your dogs body and mind.  I try as much as possible to avoid drilling exercises on the equipment not only for motivational reasons for for physical stress on the dog’s body.

Focus on the Small Stuff

Rather than going to your weekly practice and running courses or handling sequences use that time to focus on those three things that you aim to improve that week.  I believe most students would be better off only working handling drills in class and at seminars where they have someone watching them.  It is too easy to execute your handling in an inconsistent manner and teach and reinforce behavior that are counter productive to your dogs understanding.  Even when handling and running drills successfully your dog does not receive near enough reinforcement for the things they do well because it is so hard to stop mid sequence to reward that tight turn or their response to a threadle arm.   If you really want to run sequences I suggest you plan the drills to reflect those three things you have been working to improve.  This is a good way to test your training progress thus far and a good opportunity to build more reinforcement for the things you aim to improve.

Condition

I strongly believe that any agility dog should be in great condition as it is so important for the health and motivation level of the dog.  After a long winter off I would not work my oldest sheltie Bounder on any equipment until she had slimmed down and built back up her endurance and muscle mass.  It was just this week that she started to work some jump grids.  I have seen so many dogs whose careers have ended far too soon and it is really not fair to a dog to ask them to do things that they are not physically capable of.  For all those handlers who tell their dogs to “hurry up, run faster!” I would really like to see them run through the course at full speed for an entire evening after sitting at their office desk all week.    Rather than doing agility three times a week use one of those nights to take your dog for a run.  I am trying to keep up to Silvia Trkman’s 2 hour off leash run a day and even if I am very busy I will get them out for 15 minutes of fetch or recalls.  Use your off leash walk to train some startlines while you throw the ball for the other dogs or work on your circle throughout your walk.

Every Day Life

Since we don’t have all the time in the world to train dogsports make those other hours your dog is around you at home proactive to your agility training.  By teaching your dog to show self control before being released to go outside or out of the kennel you can strengthen your control behaviors on course.  Work on your loose leash walking, does your dog respond to your decel cues when you stop walking or do they continue to lunge forward?  Does your dog rehearse behaviors that are counter productive to your handling system when you are away from the agility field?  Does your dog respond to their recall every single time you call?  You never know when that recall may save an agility run or more importantly the dogs life.  Always remember that you spend far more time at home than you do on the agility Field and your dog is always learning. 

Here is a video of Riot’s last training session from Sunday night.  Circle work is almost always on Riot’s list of things to work on since she has a history of ignoring my body.

So for the next month I challenge you all to become more aware of your training efficiency.

Have Fun!

“Timing, Criteria, Reinforcement”

I have a confession to make… I really am a lousy blogger.  This blog reminds me of all the record keeping books I have started; the first few pages are packed with relevant information and comments but the pages following are completely blank.  But as I sit here pool side in Arizona soaking up the hot desert sun I can’t help but feel a titch of guilt, so here I am back in the blogging world!  Seeing as my “quantity” has been lacking lately I will try my best to make it up with some ”quality” posts.

Today’s post is dedicated to all the students and fellow dog trainers out there struggling with an issue that they feel is somehow specific to them and their dog and seems hopelessly impossible to fix.  We have all been there and every dog has their issue, but how is it that you endure and overcome these struggles?  My dogs have all had their fair share of struggles, whether it was Bounder who was timid and extremely soft, Chase and his bar knocking issues, Riot’s inability to show any form of self control, or Preston who managed to run full speed between obstacles and somehow still managed to pick up a horse turd to snack on half way through a course. 

Every dog will have their own struggle, but its how you react and respond to these issues that will result in either triumph or defeat.  I am of the opinion that it is never the dogs fault, likewise Susan Garrett has a well known quote that reads “Your dog is a reflection of your abilities as a trainer”.  The quote is not meant to punish people for their lack of skill or understanding but rather to give them hope.  If the dog is merely a reflection of what you do and what you know than that means rather than giving up on the dog you have the power to change your own behavior and consequently fix the issue.

It sounds far too simple but all dog training is is finding a way to communicate to the dog what it is that you want, then making it worth the dogs while.  One of the most important things I have learned about dog training from Say Yes  is to view behavior as a science rather than becoming emotionally involved.  If you dog is giving you an unwanted behavior it is because it has somehow been reinforced, not because the dog is stubborn or wants to frustrate you.  Bob Bailey says its all about “Timing, Criteria and Reinforcement” if things are not going well evaluate those three things and you will find the answer. 

By simplifying your seemingly unsolvable issue into just three simple things you can find a way to communicate to the dog what it is that you want and then follow up the correct responses with loads and loads of positive reinforcement, its just that easy.

Happy Training!

Great Dog Training

I have been living under a rock for the past couple months just getting classes and seminars scheduled, teaching every night and during the day and haven’t really had much to post about.

I just returned from NB for the third session of a five part mentor group series.  I have three different level groups that I teach there and all showed huge signs of improvement.  I walk away from most seminars I teach knowing so much more and being very motivated to go home and train.  Seeing students who didn’t have much knowledge of positive dog training or students who new little about handling improve so dramatically over a short period of time is really so inspiring.  The thing I enjoy most is seeing dogs enjoy working and thinking and gaining confidence and speed.  Agility is definitely a huge passion of mine but much more important is that there are fewer and fewer dogs who are trained and treated like crap, anyways I am going on a tangent here. 

With the masters group in New Brunswick we ended the weekend with some courses and the first course we ran was not overly complicated and almost every dog ran clean.  So I told them we were going to run the same course once more but this time people were to put in as much effort as they expected from the dogs, everyone was lined up and tugging waiting to go into “the ring” they left their dog on the line and ran out to position and drove ever line and ran hard as if it were the steeplechase finals.  Well I almost killed myself laughing because half the dogs broke the start line, didn’t hold contacts, mislead the lead out, knocked way more bars and took way more off courses.  Which dogs do you think they will have in a trial?

When you go out to your clubs practice night it is usually extremely hard for me to watch.  People get lazy and just “practice” rather than training something specific and ensure that in that hour session there is huge improvment in both dog and handler.  This blog was inpired from the video below:

In this training session Greg gives the dog absolutely no time to be distracted or disinterested.  The transitions from reward to work and back to reward are flawless.  Even though this is not a young dog it gets 6 rewards in one sequence.  I think it every dog was trained this well not only would they show much more improvement in a short amount of time but there would be no unmotivated dogs.

So next time you go to class or practice be aware of how much time your dog has to lose that 110% effort and focus that we all aim for.  Think about the dogs rate of reinforcement, are you more worried about running the sequence or are you looking for specific things that you would like to see more often.

For the last month I have focused on keeping sessions short and having a plan of something I would like to improve within that one session.  I have tried to run every sequence as if it were the world championships so my dogs learn how to deal with that level of arousal and still respond to all cues and keep the bars up.  When my dog makes a conscious effort to turn tight, increase speed, respond to a cue such as deceleration or a shoulder turn I immediately reward.  Reinforcement builds behavior and the more you reinforce a certain behavior the more it will occur.   Which dog will be faster and which dog will learn more, one that receives a reward every 20 obstacles or every 5 obstacles?

Teaching Old Dogs New Tricks

Since I have been back from Florida I have been focusing on teaching Bounder (9 1/2 years) and Chase (7 1/2 years) lots of new stuff.  They miss working and hate seeing me take Riot and Preston into the next room for training.  I decided to go back and teach them  all the foundation games that I have learned at Say Yes.  Our biggest focus has been teaching Susan’’s nose target method for contacts but we have also been working lots of it’s yer choice and shaping new tricks.  I figure this will be good practise for my next dog and there’s not much else I can do inside. 

So every night for supper time all four dogs gather round and wait patiently on the couch for their turn at nose targets on the travel plank.  I have gone back and fixed Riot’s nose target and it is near perfect after these past two weeks.  In two weeks I have worked all my distractions and generalizing with Chase and we are just about ready to fade the target.  Bounder has taken a little longer as a foot target is the first thing she learned and getting rid of the foot movement has been a struggle.  Neither dog ever learned a hand target or the it’s yer choice game so the biggest struggle was to get them focused on the target rather than the food…Pavlov was definitely on their shoulder

Also since last week I have decided to try Chase and Bounder with running contacts.  Bounder has learned many different methods, none that I ever followed though with or could classify as independent and Chase has always had a 2 on 2off but they are very slow.  I figure if I can teach these old dogs an independent running dogwalk it will be easy for my border collie puppy (thats right!). 

With Preston I have been working on lots of proofing with the rnning dogwalk as I want it to be gamble proof if we see it at regionals or nationals this year.  Here is a quick video of a bunch of different challenges:

Classes are busy as ever and I am very excited for this trialing season as there will be lots of students who will be ready to start trialing.  I am even teaching three classes on Friday night for competition specific training.  We will be focusing lots on handling and strengthening the dogs understanding of driving lines and reading position and motion.  Also I am hoping to have two regional/national preparation groups starting in May so keep an eye out for the info on my website.

Fanny Gott is Coming Back!

Fanny will be coming back for some more workshops in June.  She is planning on coming for our AAC regionals with her cocker Shejpa.  I don’t have details yet but she will be doing a 2 day advanced handling seminar, a double box day and one day on dog training or foundation.  I should have all details sorted out by the end of the week so check back soon!

It is so nice to have someone come teach that has such a great understanding of positive dog training AND a great understanding of Greg Derrett’s handling system.  A combination like that is hard to find!

For more info on Fanny

http://www.fannygott.com/about-me

also check out her video’s on you tube, lots of good stuff!

http://ca.youtube.com/user/klickerklok

Video from Florida

Here are some of Riot’s runs from the Vero Beach USDAA trial:

And from the Orlando trial: