clickerconcepts.com

Koda, Ace and I are venturing into some new for us training arenas. Truffle searching/hunting and ‘ball herding’ or Treibball.  Both promise to be rewarding in many ways!

Ace, retired agility boy, is really liking being able to learn new things at age 11 and getting to play new games.  For Koda she likes to do anything that involves activity, treats and/or her favorite game–fetch!

Our Truffle training is going really well.  In addition to a seminar given by a tried and true K9 truffle hunter we have also been teaching ‘sniff classes’ (other odors but the concept is still the same) and taking classes from renown trainers Jen and Steve White. Our journey continues this fall with forays with NATS members to learn more about the elusive truffles.

Treibball has been on my mind for over a year now and this summer I decided I needed to jump in and be in the forefront rather than trying to catch up with the train!  I’ve completed one session and am gearing up for the next as well as putting on a mini workshop in Sept.  In early 2012 I will have a full fledged seminar (hopefully!) with Sandi Pensinger.  There are already a few others teaching in the area so I’m sure the interest in the sport will grow quickly.

Watch for more on both of these new ‘sports’!

I’ve posted several blogs today so that I am up to date and current with info on the new dog!  I’m excited to be able to start training her.  Any time you are with your dog there is some sort of ‘training’ occurring.  It does not have to be a formal training session for the dog to learn.  Your dog is always learning from you and from how you react. 

I’ve set up formal traininig sessions with Koda to teach her about the clicker.  In our first session I used micro shaping to teach her to put her front two feet on a wobble board.  This session taught me: 1) she is a quick learner (as I’d hope she’d be) and 2) she is not afraid of moving surfaces beneath her feet (think teeter).  

In another session I wanted to work with her on my right side.  I noticed early on that she, like most dogs are taught, preferred to be on my left.  As an agility dog she needs to be comfortable on both sides. Using click/treat I again shaped her to being on my right and began moving about using my body to turn into her or away and using a high rate of reinforcement to keep her happily on my right.  She is now defaulting to the right, but is still comfy on the left as well.

This morning I discovered an added benefit of having her walk on the my right:  Ditto walks on the left.  I took them both for a walk at the same time and it was much easier to have them on either side of me rather than in front or on the same side.  No leash tangling and they weren’t playing the race horse game of trying to get ahead of one another. And while I know this is not a ‘new trick’ I did discover another use for my treat pouch: I unbuckled it and put the handle of each leash through the waist strap. I slid both leashes behind my back and adjusted their position so that the leashes were the exact length I needed to keep the dogs in perfect walking position!!  It worked awesome. With both hands free  I was able to C/T both dogs at the same time and they each kept to their respective side.  The leash had just enough slack but not too much.  I liked it and so did they!

Other ‘life lessons’ Koda is learning include:

• Waiting: to get out of the car, to go through a door, at gates and the all important wait until released for her food dish
• Do NOT drop the toy at me feet, I want you to hand it to me or I won’t throw it.  This is the opposite of what her foster mom taught her but it just shows you how flexible dogs can be!  (There is no right or wrong here, it’s just personal preference)
• Release toy on cue
• In the car she is learning that she has to stay in the back

Things she already does well:

• Walk nicely on a leash
• Sit
• Come when called both to a verbal and whistle cue
• Retrieves
• Tugs
• Most of the time takes food nicely

Next formal training goals:

• Teach her the opposite cues:  Feet Up/Off 
• Teach Aim For It and Race to Reward  from the Agility Start Right book
• Begin scent detection work
• Begin rally obedience work

Now that I’m caught up on this blog I will be posting frequent updates!!

Takoda with tug ring

I have to admit I was experiencing some  trepidation about adopting an older ‘rescue’ dog.  I know many people that have ended up with dogs that have huge issues and needs tons of work…but I have to say I’ve really lucked out!! 

So far Koda has experienced the following:

• Visited Home Depot–noisey push carts, hyster, odd smells, odd sights, people–adults and children*
• Traffic along a fairly busy road going by at 45 mph
• Dogs unknown to her–pit bull, poodles, another ACD, lab,
• Cats–at home and work
• A horse*
• A very nosey intact Bassett on a walk
• Two trips to the vet
• Slick Floors–home and stores, vet clinic
• A pet shop–got a new collar!
• Car rides–Lots!
• Crates
• Being left alone in the house–in a crate or confined to kitchen so far
• Being left alone in the car–during Ditto’s nosework class, wow she slept and didn’t get into anything!
• Dog Show–lots of dogs!  Did great with the whole experience!!
• Clicker training intro–learning about free shaping and how to walk on my right side
• Thunder–no reaction, perfect!
• A bath and being blown out–still doing good

She has far exceeded my expectations in all of these exposures!  I am so lucky! 

The two * above are two areas which I’m tagging for further controlled socializations.  When two young girls were petting her in Home Depot I noted some uneasiness.  It was understandable because both girls came up at once, they were very much ‘in her space’ and one of the them really liked to continually pet her ears.  She did not react negatively but she did back up a bit and I could see her unease. I directed the kids to give her some room and have only one pet at a time while I use C/T to keep it all positive.  Not a big deal but just something to continue to work on so that it does stay positive.

The second asterisk involved seeing a horse for what I believe would have been her first time.  The horse was a bit scary!  It was a big Belgian in a field and luckily the field was actually slightly below street level so it wasn’t even as big as it could be. She hackled some and was in a typical fear response with head forward but body pulled back–”I want to get a whiff of you but I’m ready to bolt if I need to” posture.  She recovered well and slowly began to relax.  It was not a major reaction and recovery was good but another area to work on.

In all other experiences she has been very solid!!  I’m not sure why this little girl was an unclaimed stray!!

OK–she is not PERFECT, but who is and what dog is.  But her ‘issues’ are minor and can be worked on, or not if I’m lazy!  These are her ‘faults’ if you wish to call them that:

• At times she INSISTS that she NEEDS to jump up on you. If you try to push her off she is well practiced at hanging on to your arm with her paws and long toe nails. Sometimes she will give an extra little jump and bop you in the face with her nose
• When on the computer if she wants your attention she jumps up and puts her feet on the keyboard
• She counter surfs and will do it right in front of you
• Once, when eating something on the rocker chair outside, I pushed her off me and/or the chair 30 times in a row before she gave up and stayed with all four on the ground.  I wanted to see just how long this would last.
• When she jumps up on you she will often follow with her mouth on your arm, but it is usually without any pressure or only light pressure but she is sure she NEEDS to do this

As you can see we need to work on keeping four on the floor as this is the largest area of needed work.

Koda resting on the couch

Her hips passed!  Yippee!!  We will keep her.     Which is good because her temperament has been just what I was looking for!!

Up until we knew about the hips, I hadn’t committed to a name.  I didn’t want to name her until I knew for sure I was going to keep her.  I couldn’t afford to bring in a fourth dog if she wasn’t going to be able to do the things I wanted her for. It may sound harsh but in the long run it’s realistic. 

But…she did pass so I got to thinking seriously about names.  We made a long list which included many beverage names–many of my past dogs and current critters have beverage names but in the end I settled on “Takoda”. In the Sioux language the name Takoda means “friend to everyone”.  I thought this was a good thing for an ACD to live up to. Additionally “Koda” rhymes with “Soda” which was the JRT I lost 2 yrs ago.  She was one of those very special dogs, and naming this dog a similar name was a tie to Soda that I liked.

So there you have it…that’s how she got her name!

Takoda

After we brought her home there was still one big hurdle to overcome before deciding to keep her.  I wanted to make sure her hips and general conformation was sound enough for agility training and competing. I set up an appointment  for xrays and a general check up the first week.

While waiting for her appointment we were getting to know each other.  She does remarkably well with the cats–and is a normal dog she will sometimes try to get them to run for a game of chase, or she will run at the fence which they are behind but it’s obviously in fun and she calls off easily.  Perfect!!

With the other dogs Koda is likely to rely mostly on Ditto for dog play and dog to dog games.  Ditto is a Corgi/Pomeranian cross and weighs 23-24 lbs., he plays like a typical Corgi and likes to shoulder bump and body slam.  Up until know he was the ‘big dog’ and bumped JC around.  With Koda, he’s had to adjust to her being the bumper and he being the bumpee!  It took him a while but he is learning to hold his own and they are having fun playing.  At times her ACD comes out a little too strong and I will step in and intervene on Ditto’s behalf.

JC early on set the rules: don’t be too pushy with me and remember I’m the boss and I’m the play police!  JC will growl, show her teeth and communicates this very clearly–but also very fairly.  She is a lot of sound but doesn’t do more than that.  Koda is respectful and they will often lay next to each on the couch.  They also travel well together in the car and are in my office together at work. As long as Koda is not trying to goad her or push her around they co-exist just fine!

Ace is my Malinois.  He is 10 years old and I knew he would be the least happy with a new dog in the house.  He is doing better than I expected however!  Twice he has ‘told her off’ but both times were without leaving any marks on Koda.  She is learning–you don’t play with the old man!  He will not ‘go after’ her but she does need to stay out of his space.

They are a good pack and can learn much from each other about communication!  Will the hips pass….?

Resting on the couch

I lost my Jack Russell Terrier about almost 2 years ago and I recently felt the urge to get another dog.   My competition dogs have been retired and my youngest dog, now six, does not have the correct body type nor good enough hips for agility.  So I started looking for a new agility dog prospect, along with the ability to to be all around nice companion dog.

I’ve always liked the looks and smarts of the Australian Cattle Dog.  But their temperament can be iffy sometimes–often not so friendly with other dogs and some not friendly with people.  So I thought I would look for a Cattle Dog cross and was hoping to get some of the looks and most of the smarts!

I went to Petfinder.com as they have a large number of rescue groups that post on their site.  My criteria included: around a year old +/- a bit, must be friendly with dogs, must be good with people, must not want to kill the cats…and be cute!  I admit it, I’m a cute snob!!  I looked at many, found a few that met my criteria and contacted the rescue group through Petfinder.

Eventually my search narrowed down to three…it’s amazing how many where ‘just adopted this morning’—I’m thinking this may be the common response if one is behind in updating the status of posted dog?   Of the three, we went and looked at two.  One was a very cute Whippet/ACD? cross, about 9 mos. old, male and at a shelter in Yakima.  His name was Speedy.

Speedy looked like he could live up to his name!  He was built more like the Whippet parent and he was wildly out of control.  Still that wouldn’t have been a deal breaker. What was though, was that he had very little interest in interacting with people, zero toy drive (even if the toy was moving), and only ok but not high food motivation.  All things combined I just didn’t want that big of a project dog.  His biggest motivator was other dogs. Even if they were a hundred yards away dogs were still more interesting than Gary or I, or food, or a toy…sorry more work than I have time to for. 

We sadly left Speedy at the shelter but I’m confident he will find a home.  He was cute and would make a great running partner for someone!  We then headed to Pasco to meet the second dog on the list: an ACD rescue.

According to her bio she met all the criteria for friendliness.  Her age was estimated to be slightly higher than what I was looking for but we were going to be ‘in the area’ more or less so I thought why not?  The foster mom that had her was gracious enough to drive 2 1/2 + hours to meet us on just a days notice!  Thank you Terri!

Gary was worried that looking at two dogs would be hard–that we might want both or that it would be too difficult to choose which one.   The choice was easy!  The two dogs were like night and day.  The ACD was immediately interested in us both. She quickly showed her toy motivation by instigating a game of tug.  Terri said she had not allowed that game but for agility training it’s very useful, so I broke her rules and let her play.  She LOVES tug!  We did some other ’testing’ and she passed them all. She has that very intelligent dog look in her eyes and makes great eye contact as well.  She was on the small side (fine with me) and cute (but honestly she is not exactly a show type ACD if you know what I mean).

It was not a hard choice…we brought her home!! 

The New Dog--Takoda

What is Clicker Training?

Simply put it is a method of training which allows the trainer to communicate clearly what is desired and gives positive rewards for correct actions. A sound is used, usually a clicker but it could be a whistle or another short crisp sound, to ‘mark’ a desired action and is immediately followed with a food reward.  Action-click-reward…a simple principle!

More on how it works…

Let’s talk a little more about how the clicker philosophy works.  Think of the clicker like a shutter on a camera and your goal is to capture the action! The dog puts his rear on the ground and “click” you take the picture! You then quickly give him a reward to seal the deal. Sweeeeet!

Going a little deeper…once your dog understands the concepts, that click = treat, there will soon be one more doggie revelation.  He’s going to learn that He Controls when the Click Happens!  When He sits, when HE lays down, when HE stops barking, when HE comes, when HE does x,y,z…This revelation will make your dog a happy and excited worker and will enjoy trying to find out how to MAKE YOU click and treat! As the purported higher intelligent species we can use this training to get what we want but the dog feels like HE IS IN CHARGE! This is a very powerful training tool. When a dog does something because he wants to, and not because of a threat of correction, he is going to be happier and your relationship will be solidly built on trust and respect.

I’m not very coordinated, I don’t know if I can do this?

Anything new has a learning curve. Think back to when you learned how to tie your shoes or ride a bike. How about when you learned how to drive. I can still remember having to THINK about every action I needed to make from when to signal, when to brake, when to apply the gas and how much. After a while though you just do those things automatically and you don’t have to remember all the individual actions involved. There are parts to driving though that are very important NOT to do automatically–It is very important to stay tuned into traffic for instance and know what the vehicles around you are doing. Clicker training is similar, at first you have to think of the little nuances and each step but soon your timing will improve and you will click without having to conciously think about it…BUT you always need to be watching for the right behavior to click (like watching for traffic).  So the mechanics will become easier the more you practice.

Why should I use this method of training? I’m seeing and hearing this other guy that is all about being the pack leader and having to show the dog who is dominate.

I too think you should be the leader of the pack. Being a good leader does not have to use force and dominance to get their point across. A GOOD leader provides guidance and directions, sets attainable rules and treats the family (including all animals) with fairness, clarity and consistency while providing reinforcers for good and correct behavior.  

Wouldn’t you prefer your relationships based on respect, trust and good communication over a relationship based on fear and intimidation?

My dog’s having a great time at the beach doing what dogs love to do…RUN!

Oh boy, here I go…jumping into the deep end of the pool when I barely know how to tred water! This blog stuff is ‘greek’ to me (no offense to anyone!) and I am going to have to learn the language quickly!
My desire is to write mostly about DOGS, which is what I know best. But I’m sure I will throw in some cat and bird tails (ok ‘tales’) as well. Specifically I would like to share experiences and thoughts on the concept of clicker training which is part of positive reinforcement training. So as soon as I figure out how to work this techno stuff I’ll be back!!