I put out the teeter on its smallest pivot point and got him reved up. Once he was super excited about it, there was no excess slow down. Next time I will put it back on its PVC base, on the lowest setting. So excited about this.
Then I moved the board onto the staircase leading up to the main house. The neighbor's kids were out and I asked them to help me. Rather than doing a lead out and climbing up and down the stairs myself, I had one of the kids stand at the top of the board while I stood at the bottom, and I sent Tiny Dog up for treats and then called him down for more treats. We were able to raise it up to the fifth step, and he was much more jazzed up than when it's just me doing the exercise. I will definitely use their help again. They loved helping, of course, and it's great for building Dragon's confidence around children. (When I first got him he would growl and be suspicious of children, but through the liberal use of treats he's now happy to see children of the 6-10 age group.)
Back when I built the miniature equipment, I was cautioned by a couple of instructors about using it. Now I'm very happy that I have it. This is a great way to build his confidence and enthusiasm for the obstacles, and it's transferring well to our work in class. Otherwise I would be stuck paying out the nose for us to rent agility space and make progress at a snail's pace.
Showing posts with label children. Show all posts
Showing posts with label children. Show all posts
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Water Dragon
On Thursday we drove down to Gilroy to spend the afternoon and evening at my parents' house. Dragon loves it there because he gets to roam around their fenced-in backyard. He doesn't get that opportunity here because the yard isn't fenced and there's a chicken coop in it -- he's closely supervised and restricted.
But first, on the way, I stopped by the dealership to get maintenance done on my car. I brought Dragon's crate and set it up next to the couch where I passed the time on my laptop.
I left the crate door open the entire 90 minutes so that I could reward Dragon for choosing to stay inside. Only once, about halfway through the wait, did he try to leave the crate. I asked him to get back inside and he promptly obliged, and stayed inside. I had brought a hoof for him to chew on but stupidly left it in the back of the car, so he was restless and bored, but still he put up with having to be "contained." What an angel. As we were leaving he got to say hello to a little girl who had been shyly watching him, and got lots and lots of treats for being calm around her.
Later in the day, after cooking a plum pie with my mother and catching up on all the news, we took a trip to a little creek. I had been telling my mother that I was trying to teach Dragon how to swim -- or rather, at every opportunity I encouraged him to wade in and splash around shallow water, and hoped that at some point he would venture in far enough to start paddling around on his own. She had suggested that we go to Uvas Park. It turned out to be the perfect place.
There was an area where the water was about 20 feet across but no more than 2 feet deep, and even that was only in the very middle. The water was slow-moving along the wide, shallow banks. I walked into the middle of the creek and threw his floating ball a few times. He splashed around after it. Then I threw it into the middle of the creek, and sure enough, Dragon followed.
His eyes grew wide as he suddenly lost contact with the ground but his flailing quickly turned to paddling through the water. He managed to pick up the ball while swimming and get back to the shore.
Fortunately his surprise did not traumatize him -- he was ready to get right back in for another go.
Splashing...
Splashing...
Swimming!
I got the ball, ma!
Are you just going to stand there taking pictures or are you going to throw the ball again?
Taking a break to eat grass.
After the second swim he was tired and shaking from cold, so I put the ball away and let him just explore the area some more. I was grinning like a fool, so happy that I finally had a dog who would swim and play in water. When we got back to the car he buried his head and rubbed against a sun-warmed towel. In a week we're going on a rafting trip on a mellow section of the Russian River, and I hope he'll get more practice swimming then!
But first, on the way, I stopped by the dealership to get maintenance done on my car. I brought Dragon's crate and set it up next to the couch where I passed the time on my laptop.
I left the crate door open the entire 90 minutes so that I could reward Dragon for choosing to stay inside. Only once, about halfway through the wait, did he try to leave the crate. I asked him to get back inside and he promptly obliged, and stayed inside. I had brought a hoof for him to chew on but stupidly left it in the back of the car, so he was restless and bored, but still he put up with having to be "contained." What an angel. As we were leaving he got to say hello to a little girl who had been shyly watching him, and got lots and lots of treats for being calm around her.
Later in the day, after cooking a plum pie with my mother and catching up on all the news, we took a trip to a little creek. I had been telling my mother that I was trying to teach Dragon how to swim -- or rather, at every opportunity I encouraged him to wade in and splash around shallow water, and hoped that at some point he would venture in far enough to start paddling around on his own. She had suggested that we go to Uvas Park. It turned out to be the perfect place.
There was an area where the water was about 20 feet across but no more than 2 feet deep, and even that was only in the very middle. The water was slow-moving along the wide, shallow banks. I walked into the middle of the creek and threw his floating ball a few times. He splashed around after it. Then I threw it into the middle of the creek, and sure enough, Dragon followed.
His eyes grew wide as he suddenly lost contact with the ground but his flailing quickly turned to paddling through the water. He managed to pick up the ball while swimming and get back to the shore.
Fortunately his surprise did not traumatize him -- he was ready to get right back in for another go.
Splashing...
Splashing...
Swimming!
I got the ball, ma!
Are you just going to stand there taking pictures or are you going to throw the ball again?
Taking a break to eat grass.
After the second swim he was tired and shaking from cold, so I put the ball away and let him just explore the area some more. I was grinning like a fool, so happy that I finally had a dog who would swim and play in water. When we got back to the car he buried his head and rubbed against a sun-warmed towel. In a week we're going on a rafting trip on a mellow section of the Russian River, and I hope he'll get more practice swimming then!
Monday, July 25, 2011
Control Unleashed class, week 3
This afternoon we attended week 3 of our Control Unleashed class. Jacques the papillon's mother brought along a boy who looked about 10 years old. Dragon is somewhat fearful of children, as is one of his other classmates, so the humans were happy to have a chance to do desensitization with this calm, well-mannered boy.
We did some mat work and crate work, of course, rewarding our dogs for calmly taking in the environment. Then the instructor had the boy walk in a circle around the classroom and we played the "Look at that!" game. Dragon's cue for the game is "Who's that?" It means that he should look at a person or dog nearby, and I will reward him for looking. It gives him an opportunity to get some information about who is around him, within a structure that lets him know that I will keep him safe and he'll get goodies. Over time, the sight of the things that had made him nervous becomes no big deal, and they're just something to glance at and then move on.
I don't come into contact with many children, and I really should make more of an effort to find some, so I can work to help Dragon overcome his anxiety sooner. However, thanks to my roommate's 8 year old daughter and the two neighbors of a similar age, he is quickly gaining confidence. Younger children, especially babies and toddlers, still evoke a growl when he hears them. They are unpredictable and make strange noises and movements -- in fact, toddlers are the most difficult age group for dogs be comfortable with. Dragon may be learning that 8-10 year olds are okay, but that won't change his opinions of children younger or older than that unless we specifically work with those age groups.
At the end of class, because I was confident that Dragon would be able to interact appropriately with the boy as long as it was a calm, controlled interaction, I asked the boy to sit on the floor and let Dragon approach him. Dragon carefully sniffed him all over, and on my cue of "go say hi", started climbing onto the boy's legs and planted his back feet on his lap. I fed him extra-yummy treats and had the boy give him a couple of treats. I am intentionally teaching him to back his ass up onto laps because it's a good intermediate step between no physical contact and having someone reach for his head to pet him, as humans instinctively do, yet dogs dislike. This way (when I see that he's comfortable enough) I can let the child pet his back, a less threatening gesture which provides a clearer escape route should the dog feel he needs it.
Next we practiced what's commonly called "leave it." I use the cue "off limits," because it feels like a silly cue rather than a harsh command for the dog to do something, and I wanted to avoid attaching any negativity to the cue. I had not taught it to him systematically but he had picked up some vague sense of the meaning -- turn away from what you're sniffing and focus back on me. I had used the cue with him previously in situations where I could use the leash to prevent him from moving farther toward an "off limits" item in the street, and I would reward him when he moved away or looked at me. I had also used it a few times in conjunction with my hand covering something I didn't want him to reach for. However Dragon is a soft dog and any body blocks or use of my hand to block his access are a stressor for him.
In class I practiced putting some treats on the floor and cuing "off limits." Dragon successfully moved away from the treats but quickly started skirting far around them to get back to me, not wanting to receive any "rebuke" for stepping too close. I had him do some hand touches to get him walking close to the treats without needing to focus on their presence, which helped to increase his confidence in the exercise. The treats on the floor are not out to get him!
I also asked the instructor to walk by and drop some treats nonchalantly from her hand, and within 3 reps Dragon would automatically look at me instead of trying to reach the food on the ground. Then I had her put some treats on the ground while he wasn't looking and cued "off limits" when he noticed them. He turned back to me but became nervous again and started avoiding the food. I cued him to move with me at my side and practiced walking by the food until he was more relaxed, and ended the exercise. (This is an example of the fact that dogs are much more comfortable and successful when their humans make it clear what the dog should be doing, rather than just teaching what they shouldn't do but not providing a clear alternative.)
The last thing we did was practice the "Give Me a Break" game within a box of ring gates. On our way into the ring Dragon wagged his tail and sniffed every piece of lint intently, hoping to stumble on more treats. Once in the ring he was not focused on working like he had been during the previous two weeks -- he spent a lot of time scavenging the ground! Unfortunately he did manage to find a few treats left behind from the previous class. Fail. He learned the opposite of what was intended. This can be remedied, of course. During our future training sessions, I will practice with food scattered on the ground, out of reach at first, and then closer and closer as he learns that he should ignore it and instead work with me. I will have to move and manage his movements carefully to prevent him from quickly snatching the treats up but also avoid stressing him out with too many body blocks. If I'm successful in laying a strong foundation with this concept, it will pay off for years to come in future classes and competitions.
In a similar concept, Dragon is already well on his way to automatically ignoring any food that I drop. If I have clicked or used another reward marker, or if I'm praising him, and I toss or drop food, he is free to eat it and happily does so. However if I accidentally drop a treat or human food in a moment that I'm not engaging him, I expect him to ignore it. I taught this by quickly, reflexively covering up the food or picking it up. Because he has never gotten the opportunity to snatch it up, and sometimes I hand it to him as a reward, his automatic response is to leave it alone.
We did some mat work and crate work, of course, rewarding our dogs for calmly taking in the environment. Then the instructor had the boy walk in a circle around the classroom and we played the "Look at that!" game. Dragon's cue for the game is "Who's that?" It means that he should look at a person or dog nearby, and I will reward him for looking. It gives him an opportunity to get some information about who is around him, within a structure that lets him know that I will keep him safe and he'll get goodies. Over time, the sight of the things that had made him nervous becomes no big deal, and they're just something to glance at and then move on.
I don't come into contact with many children, and I really should make more of an effort to find some, so I can work to help Dragon overcome his anxiety sooner. However, thanks to my roommate's 8 year old daughter and the two neighbors of a similar age, he is quickly gaining confidence. Younger children, especially babies and toddlers, still evoke a growl when he hears them. They are unpredictable and make strange noises and movements -- in fact, toddlers are the most difficult age group for dogs be comfortable with. Dragon may be learning that 8-10 year olds are okay, but that won't change his opinions of children younger or older than that unless we specifically work with those age groups.
At the end of class, because I was confident that Dragon would be able to interact appropriately with the boy as long as it was a calm, controlled interaction, I asked the boy to sit on the floor and let Dragon approach him. Dragon carefully sniffed him all over, and on my cue of "go say hi", started climbing onto the boy's legs and planted his back feet on his lap. I fed him extra-yummy treats and had the boy give him a couple of treats. I am intentionally teaching him to back his ass up onto laps because it's a good intermediate step between no physical contact and having someone reach for his head to pet him, as humans instinctively do, yet dogs dislike. This way (when I see that he's comfortable enough) I can let the child pet his back, a less threatening gesture which provides a clearer escape route should the dog feel he needs it.
Next we practiced what's commonly called "leave it." I use the cue "off limits," because it feels like a silly cue rather than a harsh command for the dog to do something, and I wanted to avoid attaching any negativity to the cue. I had not taught it to him systematically but he had picked up some vague sense of the meaning -- turn away from what you're sniffing and focus back on me. I had used the cue with him previously in situations where I could use the leash to prevent him from moving farther toward an "off limits" item in the street, and I would reward him when he moved away or looked at me. I had also used it a few times in conjunction with my hand covering something I didn't want him to reach for. However Dragon is a soft dog and any body blocks or use of my hand to block his access are a stressor for him.
In class I practiced putting some treats on the floor and cuing "off limits." Dragon successfully moved away from the treats but quickly started skirting far around them to get back to me, not wanting to receive any "rebuke" for stepping too close. I had him do some hand touches to get him walking close to the treats without needing to focus on their presence, which helped to increase his confidence in the exercise. The treats on the floor are not out to get him!
I also asked the instructor to walk by and drop some treats nonchalantly from her hand, and within 3 reps Dragon would automatically look at me instead of trying to reach the food on the ground. Then I had her put some treats on the ground while he wasn't looking and cued "off limits" when he noticed them. He turned back to me but became nervous again and started avoiding the food. I cued him to move with me at my side and practiced walking by the food until he was more relaxed, and ended the exercise. (This is an example of the fact that dogs are much more comfortable and successful when their humans make it clear what the dog should be doing, rather than just teaching what they shouldn't do but not providing a clear alternative.)
The last thing we did was practice the "Give Me a Break" game within a box of ring gates. On our way into the ring Dragon wagged his tail and sniffed every piece of lint intently, hoping to stumble on more treats. Once in the ring he was not focused on working like he had been during the previous two weeks -- he spent a lot of time scavenging the ground! Unfortunately he did manage to find a few treats left behind from the previous class. Fail. He learned the opposite of what was intended. This can be remedied, of course. During our future training sessions, I will practice with food scattered on the ground, out of reach at first, and then closer and closer as he learns that he should ignore it and instead work with me. I will have to move and manage his movements carefully to prevent him from quickly snatching the treats up but also avoid stressing him out with too many body blocks. If I'm successful in laying a strong foundation with this concept, it will pay off for years to come in future classes and competitions.
In a similar concept, Dragon is already well on his way to automatically ignoring any food that I drop. If I have clicked or used another reward marker, or if I'm praising him, and I toss or drop food, he is free to eat it and happily does so. However if I accidentally drop a treat or human food in a moment that I'm not engaging him, I expect him to ignore it. I taught this by quickly, reflexively covering up the food or picking it up. Because he has never gotten the opportunity to snatch it up, and sometimes I hand it to him as a reward, his automatic response is to leave it alone.
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