Training is a Mechanical Skill

I didn't get to do as much as I was planning to do today; I took a surprise trip to Milwaukee. But when someone offers to buy me books, I don't turn that down. I got Alexandra Horowitz' Inside of a Dog and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Not super impressed with it either so far, but I'm only forty pages in.

Behavior: Focus

Date	Criteria	Trials	Pass	%	Notes
06/27/10	1 sec of eye contact in bedroom	10	8	80%	I have trouble with duration criteria as I have no idea how long a second is
		10	7	70%	on second thought, I have three ticking clocks in my room. Why was I not using that?
		10	8	80%
		10	9	90%
	1 sec of eye contact in bedroom (handler standing)	10	9	90%
	1 sec eye contact in bedroom, standing, moving fist up and down	10	7	70%
		10	7	70%	got sniffy, distracted. Ended training session.

General Thoughts on Today: Mechanical skills were kind of crap. I was in a rush to do something with him that I wasn't as precise with treat delivery as I should have been. It's harder standing. Gatsby may be a Giant Miniature Schnauzer, but he's still a little dude. Some of my clicks were off. Duration of anything is a struggle for both of us.

Tomorrow: Pass 1 second of attention with moving hand. Short break, then move to the yard. Continue as per http://www.clickersolutions.com/articles/2001/attention.htm I'd like to shoot for three or four sessions: one refresher in the house, one in the yard, and one on the road (there is the possibility of a softball game tomorrow night?)

Future: Start Crate Games again. Think about reorientating points (CU) - Coming out of crate (no more zoomies!), collar touch. Work on a whiplash turn on name. Look at That Stuffed Dog (CU). Back of hand (or knee?) continuous nose touch.