Puppy Class - The Final Chapter! TRICKS

Here's our puppy class picture!!
(I know, it looks like a boxer specialty!)
We took it the last night of class, just so all
of the puppies would be well trained!!
Isn't it AMAZING!!!

(Yes, that's Carol hiding behind her puppy!)

I truly believe one of the most important things
that make a great companion as well as
performance dog is your RELATIONSHIP!
If you remember nothing else, remember that!

The tricks you taught are a great way to
build that relationship and give your
puppy an opportunity to learn fun things!
It also helps them teach them "how to learn".

I feel you've all come such a long
way on building a strong relationship
with your puppies!
Keep it up!

One thing that I thought was
so impressive is the amount of
attention your puppies were giving you.
Even in a room with 7 other puppies!
RELATIONSHIP!!

You were SMASHING!!

As promised, here's the
spectacular puppy trick video!!






If we had 4 more weeks we would
have been doing THIS!!!
Who wants to join the circus with me!!
There is nothing more fun!
Than TRICKS!
Always train, like it's a TRICK!

Wentzville, MO - Thanksgiving Results & Superstitions

Dear Santa,
I've been VERY good this year.
Seeker

Carrie, Bill and I took Thanksgiving weekend to head to Wentzville, MO. The weather was AMAZING! They could have held the trial outside!

It was obvious to most of MO that the ‘orange’ people had ‘downsized’ for the Holiday. I’m not talking a weight loss program here! I was asked several times where the ‘others’ were, so know you were MISSED!!

We also brought along our own Turkey dinner which we dined on each evening.

Turkey, Martha's cheesy potatoes, yams, corn casserole and pumpkin pie!

Yes, we were CARB LOADING!

Carrie and Addie had an ALMOST perfect weekend with 3 DQs - 6 first places and she was a TOTAL MACH POINTS PIG! Her head ‘barely’ fit in the van on the way home. Thankfully she bought DQ!!! They would have been perfect, but she entered FAST on Friday. Oh well, lesson learned!

What the heck is she doing here???

She's just calling home!

HONEST!

Kruz and Seeker had the run of “one thing” going on!! It seemed almost every course caused us just a minor problem. Of course it was in the EASY part! GO FIGURE!! Seeker did come away with his first ‘official’ DQ on Sunday. The courses each day couldn’t have been nicer!

There was also a horse sale going on over in the ‘big barn’. If you like Saddlebreds or Hackney Ponies, this was the place to be! They all looked very polished and sold CHEAP!! The arena was decorated with Pine Trees and Poinsettias, which we took advantage from Saturday evening. I’m still not sure I like my new ‘point and shoot’, what looks good in the screen is not always what you get on the monitor. Oh well, I guess I’ll have to live with it.

Seeker tried to wear Addie out in the hotel room each evening. I think he was getting sick of being shown up by a corgi! It didn’t work!

Saturday and Sunday’s discussion involved ‘superstitions’. Anything from a ‘lucky shirt’, ‘lucky numbers, to ‘lucky socks’. We finally came to the conclusion that there was a ‘lucky stall’ in the women’s bathroom. I waited longer in line for that stall on Sunday and it paid off!! Do you have a superstition?

Congrats to Sceam and Ann Braue!

Ann and Scream have been selected to represent the
USA at Crufts in Birmingham, England March 2010!!!

Puppy Class - Week Three......

The puppies seem to be getting use to the idea of ‘class night’ and although they do exhibit some interest in playing with the other puppies, they seem to have a bit more self control. Of course there is an occasional unintentional ‘puppy encounter’.

Some handlers admitted to lacking patience and wanting to help their puppies too much. That's understandable, but in fact your puppy will be a happier and more willing participate if he figures it out on his own. I am not by nature a patient person. I LOVE instant gratification, however, shaping behaviors pay off in the long run and I don't believe I'll need to go back and re-train them in the end. Hum, patience, that reminds me of a comedian I really like. Have you ever felt this way?




The evening began with a math problem! Yes, MATH!! All that was required was to add a couple 9 digit numbers together. Oh, you had to do it in your head. One other thing, I was reading a complicated story problem with multiple numbers rather loudly. Coach was helping with some background noise of his own.

The point of this exercise was not to impress the others with their math skills, but to show how distracting and frustrating it was to try to concentrate on something and have someone chattering about after you.

How does this relate to dog training? When you’re working on shaping a behavior, please be quite and let your dog think. When you’re running an agility course, do so quietly and let your dog concentrate on what he needs to be doing.

This reminds me of an old John Wayne Movie, Rooster Cogburn. Rooster and Eula are sitting out in the woods finishing up some stew. The verse goes something like this, Eula speaking to Rooster. “A wise old owl sat on an oak, the more he heard the less he spoke. The less he spoke.the more he heard. Now wasn’t that a wise old bird.” I know there’s a lesson in there for me anyway.

We worked on some recalls with a clicker, treats and a puppy. Being sure at this time just to use the puppy’s name to call him, click when he looks and give the treat on the handler’s thigh or lower leg. Occasionally taking a hold of the puppy’s collar and giving them another treat. As the puppies became more attentive to their handlers, the pairs began to get closer to other puppies and handlers. They did very well!

Next came the time to show off those TRICKS!! Luckily for the class, I’d forgotten my FLIP at home, so no pressure until NEXT WEEK! Then I promise some BRILLIANT puppy tricks.

No matter what the trick, remember to get the behavior ‘before’ you name it. Seeker is getting pretty good at his skate boarding, but I still haven’t named it! I don’t LOVE it yet.

We worked on some ‘agility’ equipment. Remember to find yourself a plank to work that ‘pouncing’ into position. An elephant board works WONDERS for rear end awareness. Use a large box as a tunnel. Speaking of boxes, is your puppy putting all 4 feet in his yet? If so, maybe it’s time to down size and get a smaller box?

Don’t forget your ‘jump circle’. It not only builds value for the jumps, it helps your dog start to get some obstacle focus. You’ll want that down the road when we start working on zig zag jumping! Okay, so that will be NEXT SUMMER! Remember Michele, no matter HOW HARD you SQUEEZE the CHEESE, it will NOT CLICK!! LOL

Again, these behaviors should not be named until you LOVE what they are doing. For example, having them offer going back and forth through the tunnel is GREAT!! You can name it as soon as you have 100% certainty they are going to do it every time. If not, what’s the harm in waiting a little longer?

One more thought before I close this post. Something we haven’t talked about yet, but I don’t want to forget to tell you. Please do not let your puppies run down an open ‘chute’ of weave poles. Think about what information you are giving your puppy. “I see a row of poles and I should run by them as fast as I can!” Is this the behavior you really want to see from your puppy? Now, think about if you “name it”, you’ve just told your puppy, when you see a row of poles I want you to run past them just as fast as you can. No wonder we have so many weave issues!

My hope is you will continue with your shaping and ‘naming when you love it’ training. Then, when your puppy is 12-15 months (or older), we can talk about 2 by 2 weaves. By then your puppy will know “how to learn”. You’ll have a FANTASTIC relationship and you’ll be pleasantly surprised how quickly (literally in days) they learn to weave.

In the mean time, have fun loving, squeezing, training and ENJOYING your puppy!

Grand Prix N Steeple Chase - USDAA

We traveled south to Lawrence, KS over the weekend to attend a USDAA trial.
Seeker is in Starters, which is the entry level. This was his second trial and it continues to be a lot of fun.

The biggest difference between AKC and USDAA is the jump heights.

AKC jump heights = 8/12/16/20/24.
USDAA jump heights = 12/16/22/26.

The 22” jump height cut off is 21” and under, thus those that fit into the 20” class (22” and under) in AKC, may find themselves jumping 26” in USDAA.

For those that enjoy running multiple times a day, USDAA might be a good choice for you. The “Titling” Classes include; ‘Standard’ and it does have a table. The table position is ALWAYS a down (sorry Michele and Packer!). They also have games; Jumpers (no weaves), Gamblers (the gamble is at the end of the run), Snooker (you learn what red jumps are!), and Pairs (you run with another handler/dog and have to hand off a baton).

Just when you think that’s enough, they have the
Tournament Classes!
These are the classes that qualify you for the
USDAA National Tournament.

Grand Prix which involves all the standard agility equipment,
minus the TABLE!!
(GO PACKER!).

They also have the Steeple Chase, which has jumps, tunnels, broad jump, the A Frame and Weaves. One day you do the weaves twice, the next day you complete the A Frame twice. I guess I should tell you that the only way you get to run the second day is if you Q the first day. (It’s complicated!! Well, not really….just at the moment I’m finding it challenging to explain.)

This is the PAY OUT CLASS!!

Yes, you win MONEY!!

So, let me tell you about Seeker and Dervishes Tournament Class results.
Both classes were on Saturday. I think that’s the norm?
Being so experienced with this venue and all, let’s say they are.

Dervish runs the Grand Prix in FINE fashion with a clean run and a Q!
Seeker also runs clean and gets a Q!
We are all very happy and getting a little full of ourselves.
It was a LOT of fun.
You must be clean and under time in Grand Prix to Qualify.

So, off to Steeple Chase! We have the A Frame twice today.
Most USDAA handlers run through contacts,
but since our boys are younger we hold ours for a second.
Dervish runs, does a great job, but drops a bar. BUMMER!!!!
Seeker also runs well and RATS, was that a bar down too!!
So, we’re very happy with their runs, but disappointed with the bars.
Well, next time!!

So, I’m up at the scorers table and come to find out that
you don’t have to be ‘clean’ in Steeple Chase!
Dervish and Seeker each had a 5 Point fault
(5 added seconds to your time)
for a dropped bar, but if you’re ‘fast enough’
you can still qualify!

GET OUT!!

A certain percent of the class moves into the finals
and as long as you weren’t eliminated
(AKA – have an off course),
you can get in! YIPPEE!!!
We’re both in the finals the next day!

Of course when I tell Wendie she thinks I’m making it up.
Geez, why do people think that! I would NEVER kid about a Q!!!
So, we’re on cloud 9 again.
We’re making plans on how we’re going to spend
all our cash after we win it the following day.

NOT SO FAST!!! You have to Qualify in the finals first!!
WHAT!!!

Luckily, Finals is just for fun and cash.
You don’t have to Q the second day in order
to earn your Q for Nationals.

Sunday we had weaves twice, A Frame once.
The course looked challenging,
but I was pretty confident we could do it.
Wendie was too, and she showed me how
she was going to do the ending.

She’s so smart!!
I decided to it that way too.

We walked and walked and finally we’re ready to go!!

Wendie and Dervish are off running!
Over the frame, into the weaves, tunnel, jump,
jump, chute, broad, jump,
weaves (rear cross)…Dervish pulled out of the weaves.
Not a HUGE deal, it’s only a Major Fault (5 pts),
they head into the end 180 and circle,
the last wrap and Dervish blind crosses
Wendie and takes the off course “DEATH” jump. UGH!!!!

Seeker’s up.
Looking great until the second approach to the weaves.
I just HAVE to front cross and end up driving him to an off course
“KISS OF DEATH” jump.
The rest of the course was nice and Wendie’s closing idea worked nicely.

Bottom line, both boys LOST their LUNCH MONEY!!
Seeker lucked out as I found a DQ gift card in Bill’s billfold! G

It was a lot of fun and we look forward to playing again some time.

USDAA - Lawrence, KS

We just got back from the Casa De Canine of Greater Kansas City -
USDAA Trial in Lawrence, KS.

We had a BLAST and both Seeker and Dervish did extremely well!

I'll post more tomorrow 'if' I find the time.

Seeker took his Skate Board with him to KS.
We got a few practices in at the trail and hotel.

Here's a short clip of him 'testing' it out in the
parking lot at the hotel.

I think he's actually GETTING IT!

Puppy Class - Week TWO!

Guess who got a SKATE BOARD!!!

GOOD GRIEF!!

Our Floors and Base Boards will NEVER be the same! G

Night Two of Puppy Class was action packed!

First off, a review of the first 3 Phases of Crate Games.
It sounds like several of you need to spend a little more time on
Phase I – Building Value for the Crate.

Seeker did a Demo of Phase 3 – Yer Out Yer In and the ‘Collar Grab Game’.
You should all start playing this as soon as you have graduated through Phases 1 & 2.
Remember not to play too many back to back games of ‘Yer Out Yer In’.

*************

We moved on to our “Clicker” Training/Shaping behaviors.

Key things to remember –

DO not try to help the dog! What I mean by this is mindless chatter while the dog is 'thinking'. He should be working out what you want by trial and error. He'll know he's right when he hears the click and gets the treat. Think of it as if you were trying to figure out a math problem in your head, and someone is continuously chatting at you and asking your opinion. It would be hard to focus, right? The same is true for your dog. Let him think!

Shaping creates a better problem solver.
It also creates a confident and happy worker.

Split the behaviors into their smallest components. (vs. lumping it all together)

• Body awareness (yours and your dogs)

How will this help Agility?

It will help your dog learn -
• How to get on an obstacle.
• How to get across and obstacle.
• Control body at contact. AKA – rear end awareness.
If something goes wrong you can split out the key pieces.

The Down side of clicker is that you can accidentally teach a behavior you didn't want.
Only the dog knows for sure what he thinks you are clicking.

Criteria – the more specific you can be, the easier the behavior is to define.

You can ask for 'more' from your dog, if you are getting an 80% success over 2 consecutive training periods. If less than 80%, give it more sessions and possibly ease up on the criteria. Sessions should be very short.

Too much work time without a cookie = a puppy that quit trying.

If your puppy is struggling, then you are probably asking for too much too soon.
You'll want to break your components down further.
You'll also want to get a behavior you can "PAY them for" to get them back into the game.

*************

Our first exercise involved getting our puppies to put their feet in a container.

We had some pretty great success with this.
As your puppies become more successful, your box can get smaller!



Why do this exercise?
You get to interact with your puppy.
It’s a great relationship builder!
It’s a great shaping behavior!
Body awareness for your dog.
It’s fun!
The most obvious reason for me...
I've got 5 cookies, 30 seconds and a clicker...and...
….Because YOU CAN!

Seeker can actually get into a smaller container!
He likes this game.
He's funny like that.

-------------------

Next we played our Dumbbells.
No, not the weight lifting kind!

YES as in OBEDIENCE!!
We began shaping the behavior of a dumbbell retrieve!
These puppies did BRILLIANTLY!!
It was so EASY!

Why pick up things you drop on the floor when you have a perfectly
willing 4 legged friend that’s able to do it for you!
Not to mention they are closer to the ground than you are!

------------------------

We also played another Susan Garrett Game.
It’s Yer Choice.





What a wonderful way to teach Impulse Control.
It fits in so well with Crate Games and the whole ‘getting your dog to think’ process.

--------------

Finally we ended the evening with some chase games.

Remember to work on your tugging with your puppy.
Be careful not to over power them and be careful of the puppies that are teething.
We don’t want them to associate tugging with pain.

Remember you need to have a NEW trick ready to show us next week!

Seeker will be demoing his Skate Boarding Skills!

Seeker says,
"This would be easier if I could just chew these round things OFF!"


Have FUN with that PUPPY!!!!