Cue list

Everyone knows that I'm a nerd when it comes to dog training. At Michele Pouliot's prompting, I decided to make a cue list. This is an excel file that lists all of Dragon's tricks, with verbal cues, any relevant hand signals, other body cues, context/environmental cues, a description of the final behavior, and a quick note about our progress. I listed 72 cues.

Does that seem like a huge number? It includes the basics, such as reacting to his name (a cue to look  at me), cues about when we are or are not working ("Ready to work?", "go sniff," "take a break," and "run free"), and various words meant to encourage him, amp him up, or help him through interactions with other people. These are the kinds of things that people usually don't think about as cues, but we are communicating with our dogs all the time. But does what we are telling them mean the same thing to them as to us? One of the reasons the cue list is helpful is to think hard and methodically answer this very question.

The list also includes the different "positions" used in obedience and tricks (sit, down, stand, meerkat/sit pretty, playbow, etc), classic freestyle moves (spin, turn, jump to hand, weave between legs), and cues for competition obedience, agility, nosework, and just plain ol' tricks. Most of them aren't on verbal stimulus control and I don't expect them to be. I'm okay with pointing at an open door to cue Dragon to close it, pointing at one of his chewies to cue him to bring it over, and then patting my lap to get him to jump up. A lot of them are cued by the presence of specific objects (climbing into a box or stacking some bowls) or by where my arm and body are pointing (run up this tree).

Another advantage of listing all his tricks this way is to look for any similarities between verbals or hand signals that might confuse the dog. It also allows me to note where we're at with each trick and what I need to work on. I was reminded of some tricks we haven't practiced in a very long time (balancing on two legs, for example), and I'd like to bring them back into the rotation to keep his fitness level high.

At the bottom I also listed a number of neat tricks I've seen other dogs do, and which I hope to teach him someday: circling around me backwards, opening his mouth on cue, rolling up in a blanket, retrieving a hot dog or other high value edible, and blowing bubbles in water.

Challenge yourself and give it a try with your dog! A final perk of creating the cue list is that proud feeling you get when you realize just how much you and your dog have learned together.

Tiny Dog has tiny dumbbell

Following up on play concerns

I brought up my concern about Dragon not wanting to play with my trainer friend Elissa. She reassured me not to worry about it, and not to bother trying to get him to play until he's clearly feeling better and initiating play on his own. Otherwise I might end up altering his play style weirdly or teaching him to be worried or suspicious of playtime. So, although I'll miss it, I'll put away the toys until he shows me that he wants to play, and just use food in training. He's normally a playful dog, so in the end I should be able to get his play drive back up again.

In the meantime we're making steady progress with his obedience training. I just received a teeny plastic dumbbell in the mail and I did a session of dumbbell = liver treats, woohoo!

Loss of enthusiasm

Dragon has almost completely lost interest in tugging since his eye injury three weeks ago. Even the rabbit fur tug only brings out half-hearted chasing and mouthing. (Before the injury, he went crazy for it and would chase it in circles and was putting noticeable wear on it.) Even his drive to chase a rolling ball has diminished. I am sad to lose the opportunity to play with him in this way. It was a fun way to bond and get some energy out, as well as a great reinforcer in training.

I've been bringing the rabbit tug out every few days when he pesters me for something to do, and putting a lot of energy into encouraging him to chase it and mouth it. I'm trying not to put pressure on him and stress over it, though. I'm telling myself that while switching to using just food as a reinforcer for a few months will impact his play drive for a while, he is a very playful dog and in the end I should be able to get all that tugging joy back. It won't affect him permanently. (I should say that I wasn't looking to play vigorous games of tug anyway, since we want to avoid jarring/shaking actions. Just any excitment over a gentle tug game...)

On the other hand, I'm happy that the prednisone is getting him to consistently eat all his meals, which was a struggle before. Silver lining.

Training session with Janette and Brooky

One dog doing silly tricks is fun. Two dogs doing them at the same time is funner!



We worked on stays and recalls, the dogs learned to target each other, and Dragon took Brooky for a walk.

sparkly blue tutu harness

Finished it this morning.










With his auntie Agnes.

Check-up with ophthalmologist, 2 weeks post-injury

Dragon's eye is on the road to recovery. The blood is slowly draining but it may take three months or even longer for it all to be re-absorbed. The pressure has come down to the same level as his good eye. He's going to continue taking the same four medications as before, but now he only needs each med twice a day, rather than having them spread out over five times a day. (Thank goodness! It was hard to keep up.)

I told the doctor that I was concerned that he is not interested in tugging or wrestling like usual. She theorized that it might be that his vision is affected and that makes him uncomfortable with it. She didn't think that he's in pain, which is a relief. He's also been sleeping more than usual, but I can't tell if that's because his body is recovering or simply because I've restricted his activities and he's adjusted to that.

He's still restricted from doing much jumping or practicing the teeter. Next week we're starting our group agility class, but the class is starting from the top and I assume will spend the first few weeks on handling and low jumps, so it's okay for us to continue the break from doing fast sequences and teeters and such.

Dragon was working me for treats while I talked to the doctor. One of his tricks is to back up and target a person with his back feet. Usually he just ends up sitting his butt onto a person's lap or putting one back foot up against their leg. Today he ended up doing a whole hand stand against the stomach/chest of a vet tech standing next to the exam table. That was a real conversation stopper.