Level Two - Distance

07/19/10	two foot length	20	17	85%
		20	-		only offered clockwise direction? Circled behind. Sluggish.
		10	10	100%	Dropped # of reps, got better response
	toes	20	15	75%	Added cue “Get By,” pole back to toes
		10	8	80%
		10	9	90%
	support at toes	10	9	90%
	foot length in front of toes	10	9	90%	poor handling, water break
	two foot length	10	5	50%
		10	7	70%	asking for too much, stick to the plan
		10	-		ended on 3rd or so rep, GOOD response, ended w/ jackpot

Good morning, internet! After a warm up, Gatsby seemed to be waiting for direction (and truth be told his heart really wasn't in it) and we were at about the distance this level requires so I decided to add a cue. I dropped the difficulty back to the beginning and added the cue as he started the turn. Click came as he finished it (so pi/2 radians between cue and click). My handling was kinda iffy on some parts, but not my worst. Mostly I was pushing for too much too fast. Like asking he return to heel and wait for the send. WTF did I do that? He's barely ever heard the word heel. But we got a lot done for so early in the morning, and I got caught up on Fullmetal Alchemist.

Level Two - Distance

Distance (Level 2): Dog goes around a pole from a distance of 2’ with no more than two cues.

Behavior:	Distance
Date	Criteria	Reps	+	%
7/16/2010	Crosses midpoint of pole	20	13	65%
		20	16	80%
		20	16	80%
	Move pole forward	20	18	90%
		20	16	80%
	Move pole forward	20	18	90%
	Move pole forward	20	19	95%
07/18/10	Pole support even w/ ball of foot	20	13	65%
		20	18	90%
	two inches beyond toes	20	18	90%
	foot length in front of toes	20	-	carpet to tile is different
	foot length in front of toes	20	19	95%

Once upon a time I bought some PVC pipe and built some jumps. That was so much fun, I bought some more PVC pipe with the intention of building weaves poles. Well, I built a weave pole. It's pretty neat, actually, I'm building them in a sort of modular way so I can add and subtract poles in any order to any number. 

But right now it's one. Pictures will come.

Our front hallway is tile, and Gatsby has surface issues. When I first brought him home he wouldn't go inside because he doesn't like walking on tile. He's gotten better about it, but does try to avoid slick ground when he can. At one point the distance from me was set up such that he would have to go from carpet to tile and then back. What was interesting was he way flying through going around the pole, but after one rep at that distance he stopped and started asking me if I was treating for heel position.

So I learned a couple of things. One, is that I give too many sympathy cookies and the spreadsheet method curbs that. I have stricter criteria for what a successful rep is, so I have more patience to wait for the behavior I want.

Second, when I have this under stimulus control, I'm going to go back and retrain this behavior at the change from carpet to tile. I think this will help him get over the tile thing. We need to do sits and downs there too, as well as other weird surfaces. And sitting facing away from me and at distances.

From: Susan Ailsby's Training Levels

The Great Gatsby

OH GOD OH GOD HE WAS SO GOOD. I LOVE MY DOG.

Ok, so I stacked the deck. It was hot, he was not full of his usual vim and vigor, and I pretty much just stuck a funnel down his throat for the treats (Natural Balance roll, nuked hot dogs, and some crumbly thing I bought at a show), but he had spent most of the day crated.

BUT HOLY CRAP. HE WAS SOOO GOOD.

We started just fooling around in the parking lot. Shaping pivots on a text book (and after we wandered away from it and then back, he offered it so strong as I went to pick it up!) and general loose leash/heeling (15 ft line) stuff and I really gotta put some effort in teaching him a recall.

There was a Golden practicing on the agility course, and as we gradually moved closer, she got distracted first! Ok, so, Gatz was like sniffing grass or something, not exactly focusing on me and ignoring the distraction, but I'll take it. He did have a few barks at the Golden, BUT HE WAS ABLE TO GET OVER IT and do a semblance of work.

We moved closer, into a small fenced portion where the warm-up jump goes during trials (July 17-18, Fond du Lac, WI, be there [even though I won't be]) and that didn't really go as well. But he was really getting too hot and I wasn't very focused or consistent in what I was asking for. It would have been better to do some pivot shaping in there, but I had left the book in my car. He actually does really well shaping under distraction.

Spent some time in the car (parked in the shade, with water, and I could watch him from the window) while we cleaned the building for the trial. Dinner. Meeting. Dog comes in for meeting.

HE WAS SO GOOD.

Now, granted there were only a handful of people and one other dog (in a crate) but HE WAS FANTASTIC. Super focused on me. Throwing behaviors. Sit, touch, left paw, right paw, even some stands (which we're just starting to add a cue for, and downs once he decided he was tired enough to not care if the tile ate him (it didn't). Holy smokes eye contact. Good response to name, but not yet the whiplash turn I want. Tends to look to feeding hand instead of my face.

Barked a bit when he was surprised by a toddler coming from around a table, and there were some clatters that put him a little on edge, BUT HE RECOVERED.

When did my dog learn to keep his brain for spilling out of his ears? Still can't walk on a leash, BUT HE WAS SO GOOD.

06/29/10	glance at handler in backyard (handler sitting)	10	7	70%
		10	9	90%
	½ sec of eye contact in backyard (sitting)	10	7	70%
		10	6	60%
		10	7	70%
		10			scanning with ears and nose. Could hold gaze, but wouldn't offer quickly

Just Chuck Food

06/28/10	1 sec of eye contact in bedroom (handler standing)	10	7	70%	still do not hear clock ticks
		10	8	80%
		10	7	70%
		10	9	90%	Good timing!

Also, LLW in a playground by the "throw treats down the throat" method. ;) Got a few clicks for a nice head-up/eye-contact heel. Two women almost ate Gatsby. That is, walked across the other side of the playground and entered a building. He was remarkably good about the street sounds though. His reactivity is very sight based. Oh how I wish I could find a reactive dog/CU class here! It's not aggression, and I don't think I'd really call it fear either, he just doesn't like it when stuff happens and he can't investigate. Off-leash he's a little rude in the approach (rushing, very fast movements) but doesn't sound like he's being fed to a woodchipper. Also need to do a closer reading of Feisty Fido.

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.

Back in the Fold, Day 1

I love science, tables, and data.

Behavior: Focus

Date	Criteria	Trials	Pass	%	Notes
6/26/2010	not sniffing offered treat in fist	10	6	60%
		10	7	70%
		10	9	90%
	Ignore 1 sec	10	4	40%	offered treat in flat hand to differentiate from touch cue. Protecting treat=failed trial
		10	7	70%
		10	9	90%
	glance away from treat fist (held away from body) towards handler	10	8	80%
		10	7	70%
		10	9	90%
	glance towards handler in bedroom	10	8	80%
		10	9	90%
	½ sec of eye contact in bedroom	11	11	100%

Tomorrow (later tonight?): 1 sec of eye contact in bedroom

Dogs are Hard, Let's Go to the Mall!

So I have no idea how I'm going to get through a show weekend when I'm actually showing. I was EXHAUSTED just from being there and watching and chatting (though I cannot WAIT until I can say, Yes, I have the Miniature Schnauzer that jumps 16" and runs like a whippet on speed). But I saw a lot less depressing behavior from dogs and handlers at Fond du Lac's show than I did at Oshkosh's. Apparently Wis/Ill/Minn is super competitive for obedience. Apparently it's hell to get OTCH points. In Wisconsin. Who knew?

I'm sure I'll post collected thoughts from the show later, but right now I want to verbalize some training thoughts I had but couldn't tell anyone about. So, I turn to the internet.

I'm never quite sure how to tell people I'm a clicker trainer. I'm not really sure it's appropriate, but at the same time I really really want to talk about dog training with these people (one man had a BEAUTIFULLY trained Elkhound in Utility A; the dog took the wrong jump and so wasn't lined up properly for a straight front. The dog realized it's mistake and corrected it's position by shifting over. It was stunning to watch) and feel like I the way I train is a relevant point. I also am dying to find other positive trainers in my area because I've realized I'm really pretty atrocious mechanically. I can quote you theory until the Long Down is over, but when I try to do it I'm a mess. I want to work with someone who can show me what I'm doing wrong and help me fix it. I just need help.

I want to train WITH people so bad, I'm considering trying a choke chain on Gatsby. Or maybe a prong. Or maybe signing up for my club's training class and clicking in a corner. I don't know.

See, GOOD training is good training, regardless of methods. I think of it sort of like cutting the Gordian Knot. A really good trainer just trains dogs and gets results without to much fussing from any party, dog or human.

Bad training is bad training, and I've talked about why bad trainers should choose positive methods until they stop sucking before.

And another thing. I've heard it said, "Obedience is about HAVE to, agility is about WANT to." I've started to realize how reactive Gatsby is. He doesn't do really well with restraint and he doesn't like sudden changes in his environment (adding or subtracting people, sudden movements, sudden noises). I have some hope with agility, because he's much better if he can be DOING something and I really do think he enjoys it, but honestly I have doubts about that too. Run-throughs start next week, for the first few we're just going to go play Crate Games and try to stay under threshold.

But I wibble on Obedience. I wibble on competing at all. I'm very very competitive. Trialling would be almost exclusively for my enjoyment. I want to show off, I want to beat people, and I want people to think that I am a competent and savvy person. I want people to think "wow, there may be something to this clicking nonsense after all." A lot of people in this area still see Obedience as the gold standard (this is because they all have Golden Retrievers) and to be honest I wouldn't mind having an obedient dog. I am so damn lucky Gatsby turned out to be more or less easy to live with. I struggle with balancing what I want to enjoy and spend my money on versus what is best for my dog.

It sort of comes back to the idea that "you can't get reliability without corrections/aversives." How much is fair to expect of the dog? I read a Koehler e-mail list and they talk a lot about making the dog responsible for his actions and avoid the correction. (Koehler and learning theory is a whole 'nother post to put in the queue.) When is it alright to say, "No, you MUST do this, even if you don't want to, because I say so"? Is behavior modification really any better? I read a conversation about how a dog wasn't getting a clicked retrieve, but just got it when an ear pinch was introduced. "Now he loves his dumbell!" How ethical is it to condition a dog to LOVE a hunk of plastic?

Future Plans, Long and Short.

Gatsby is progressing nicely through basic obedience. "Stay" is kicking our butt, what a wonderful time for me to lose the clicker. We're about halfway through the Petsmart beginner class and just signed up for intermediate with a 10$ off coupon. The two classes actually overlap by a week, but they move to Sunday mornings instead of Friday which I need because school starts on the first. I really like the trainer, who happens to be certified to conduct Canine Good Citizen tests which I definitely want Gastby to earn. I know my aunt wants to get him into therapy work. Baby steps. I've got to get this dog to FOCUS! first. That is hands down our biggest hurdle. Then can come the actual hurdles of agility, which I am dying to do.

I'm making vet and groomer appointments tomorrow. I think I'll stick with his current vet, at least for this first visit. Gotta pick up a new rabies tag, one that doesn't have his old name on the back and get an updated id tag. I've got a good recomendation for a groomer and reference pics of how I want him to look from a mini schnauzer magazine. The last groomer took him way too short (as if this dog needs to look any ganglier!) and nicked him a few times besides. One last sigh for a clipped-not-stripped terrier coat.