It's COLD!!! Working on Skills

Just like the majority of the country, the Seattle area is gripped by an extreme cold snap.

Today was 11 degrees when I got up. While that might be warm compared to the Chicagoland area which was at 2 degrees. However, the below freezing temps are well below anything that this area is used to having.

But there is good news - we have SUN! It's too cold to snow and way too cold for fog or clouds. I took the attached picture on Monday when the wind chill was well below 20 degrees and as you can see, it's nice and clear.

Another benefit is that the ground is now frozen so that means that darn mole can't make any more holes! Yeah, I'm really reaching now for highlights, but something is better than nothing.

As for the dogs, they're driving me bonkers...or more truthfully, I'm going nuts being cooped up! Poor dogs, they haven't been able to run outside for long periods for almost a week now and that's tough for this young bunch. Dan and I have been trying to play with each of them individually using tug & release games, fetch and anything else we can come up with. That reminds me, we haven't played hide & seek (which also works on Stays) in a long time.

Tonight I'll be bringing out a mini plank and the Manners Minder I recently purchased as well as playing a few target games. Last, but not least, Dan's going to bring an agility table in so we can practice our instant downs and sending at a distance (or at least the length of the hallway ).

Stay warm everyone!

What Happened to Our Attention?!?!

Beyond the Agility Equipment: Rouge, my young Dalmatian, never ceases to astound me. She is an amazing companion, rock solid in all situations and incredibly outgoing and confident.


Physically she was always comfortable in her own body and excelled when training our agility skills. So it was a little disappointing (although expected) when at our first and second agility seminars she was distracted and instead of working on technique and form, we mainly worked on a soft skill...attention.


The irony is that I've worked hard to foster her confident, love-of-life attitude and here her zesty character was temporarily biting me in the butt! The good news is that I have drive, the bad news is that the entire package of her agility ability has not yet come together....That's okay because as I mentioned above, these moments should be expected and are a normal part of the evolution stage.




Remember, we're our dog's mentor: In a previous post I brought up the notion that we are our dog's mentor. To recap, as mentor's we develop, guide, shape and mold our dogs in all sorts of agility skills. Ultimately the goal is to strike a balance between our dogs natural abilities and to develop those 'other things' that will ensure they are well-rounded and prepared to go out on course with confidence. Think of it this way, some days we work on Skill A (contact performance for example) and other days we work on Skill B (perhaps attention) and so on.


Getting back to Ru...and the seminars. Ru wasn't being belligerent, stubborn or willful at the seminars, but rather her technical abilities were far stronger than her mental ability to stay focused. Unfortunately, without the attention, our technical skills are worthless. And that's how a training opportunity is born!

The flaw in my training...I'll own up to my part in Ru's lack of training. I worked on the hard skills, shaped them and did a terrific job on that. However, I did not put as much work into creating attention once there was three or more obstacles in a row. Honestly, she was doing so good at home, that in my excitement, I rushed to do more course work and skipped a few steps along the way. Sound familiar? Yeah, lots of us do it and I'm human too.

What to do next...At first I was confused as to where our great work had gone astray. I mean it was so amazing! However, when I asked myself "What would you tell your students to do?" the answer hit me like a V-8 moment (you know the commercial where they slap their forehead and shout "I could have had a V-8!).

The answer was to break things down in such a way that I could now work on & reward the attention - I needed Ru to clearly understand what the expectation was BETWEEN the obstacles. So I followed my own advice and shifted my focus from obstacles & handling to shaping/rewarding the in between parts...You know, the places where I needed my dog to look to ME for direction and not elsewhere for an adventure. By doing this, it gave Ru something to do (that I was happy with) and we were able to keep our connection.


How's it working...GREAT! I recently took her out to a distracted area and was amazed at how much better she was doing in staying focused on the agility task. Was she perfect? Nope, but her recovery period was far shorter and her attention moments were a lot longer. I'll happily take that progress and continue.

Someday we'll have it all, but in the meantime we'll keep working through these normal growing moments and continue moving forward in our growth.

For the Love of the Sport

As the Puppies Grow...

The attached picture of Ru was taken almost a year ago, but it's one of my favorites. She's not so puppy any more and is now almost 16 months old. While she is technically old enough to compete in AKC Agility, I prefer the 18 months that USDAA uses as their guidelines.

Ready or not, Ru will compete in the PSLRA Lab Trial that I'm co-chairing in mid-June. I mean hey, why not make her debut in front of friends! : )

I've been feeling the pressure a bit since I haven't been practicing as diligently as some, but I've certainly spent daily time bonding with her in non-agility ways - so there is a plus and she certainly isn't being ignored. On the contrast, she's a spoiled brat !

This is a hard age because she's probably ready physically for the challenges Agility has to offer, but I've intentionally chosen to be conservative and take it easy on this (as I have been with all of my prior dogs) and that's why I hadn't practiced as much as some at this age. 

For the record, mentally Ru has an incredible work ethic and LOVES to be with & interact me. I've known all along that she enjoys the parts of Agility we have trained, but was concerned when she was a bit slower and more cautious when it came to putting it all together with jumping AND handling. You could definitely see the wheels turning while she worked through the information being tossed at her at a faster and faster speed as she progressed (this is a good thing). 

Here's where training with Stacy P-G and Pinky way back when came in handy - Stacy taught me that as long as they're thinking, let them finish the thought and see what conclusion they come up with. Far too often handlers step in to make the decision for the dog - not the best way for the dog to learn. It's amazing how that sound advice from over a decade ago is still very relevant today and has quickly paid off.

Tonight I finally got a full glimpse of what Ru is capable of and I'm thrilled! 

• Tonight she was a little speed demon over the jumps (a first). While I had the speed over contacts, I hadn't had it during jumps & handling sequences so I was so amazed at the progress and enthusiasm she suddenly showed tonight. 
• Next, she took 3 jumps in a straight line, a very tough sequence for a young dog.
  
• On the first approach to the teeter, she did hesitate a bit earlier than I would have preferred. However, I'm proud that she recognized the obstacle and adjusted to fit her comfort level (although ultimately I'd like to heavily reward going to the end of the board & riding it down).  So I was VERY pleased that as the night progressed she ran toward the last 1/3 of the board with confidence and rode it down easily on her own accord. I was very generous for that teeter performance and am encouraged that she offered more on her own accord!
• Next, Ru loves her contacts and will often pull to those obstacles rather than follow my lead. I continued my work from last week on by-passing contacts and taking a different path. I was so pleased when this week she easily got the concept and again, I rewarded generously for her decision. (Note to self: remember to stop and reward the jumps as much as I had the contacts so that all obstacles have equal value).
• Next, what stuck out was that I really need to go back to my rear-cross work with her. As she gains speed and confidence, she is not reading (or I'm not executing properly) the rear-cross as it's been trained or to my criteria expectations. This is normal for the transitional phase and should be some fun homework for us to do over the next week or so.

I believe that one of the things that made us successful tonight was that I made sure to be very generous with my praise and treats over the last few weeks. I worked hard to focus on the positive and to change my attitude to look for those good things vs. the 'faults'. I also worked hard to break things down into smaller, more managable & successful parts.

As a bit of insight, there was a week in the past where I came to the conclusion that I was expecting Ru (my Dalmatian) to act like a Border Collie (namely like my now deceased BC, Coal, the last dog I trained from a puppy). Imagine my disappointment when she wasn't Coal and shame on me for inadvertently going in that directions. But, I'm human and since I allow my dogs the luxury of learning by doing, I need to give myself the same space. It was a good reminder on how every dog IS different and that just like when I'm teaching, I need to remember to adjust more liberally to my own personal dogs.

Additionally, I think it's easy to forget the amount of time and effort we put into our older dogs and that it's way too easy to expect our younger ones to 'just know' those things. Too bad osmosis doesn't work for dog training since I'd be soooo rich if I could accomplish that.

Emotions & Training

Emotions - we all have 'em and sometimes they're a blessing and sometimes a curse.  

I'm mentoring someone who, during the course of training their dog, is experiencing a range of emotions. I'll bet you can relate - they started off with their dog acting brilliantly.  Each week the brilliance increased and the dog & handler were having a great time.  Now as the handler experiences success, they expect their young dog to act brilliantly all of the time and at a moment's notice. They've now gone from a euphoric high to a ground-slamming low of disappointment as their expectations have surpassed the dog's ability.

Rather than go into the "Why's" of the situation, I thought it would be good to address the one thing nobody talks about - Training & the accompanying EMOTIONS!

It's natural for our emotions to take over at times. Like when you've just had an incredible agility run with your dog and you're certain you just conquered the world...or there was that equally frustrating run where you were less than pleased with either yourself or your dog....I'll bet you can immediatly blurt out how you felt in those moments.

The first thing I want to say is that emotions are NATURAL!  Like it or not, we live with them in every waking & non-waking moment.  Some of us are more prone to embrace (or be overtaken by) them and some are in denial that their parents passed on the emotion gene (I hate to tell you, but it's there).

Whatever type you are, I suggest preparing for "emotions" to sneak up on you at some point while training your dog.  It's going to happen. 

Unfortunately most coaches don't talk about this side of Agility and who could blame them? Emotions can be sticky, icky, uncomfortable, personal and honestly, not many agility coaches have a degree in Wading Through Emotional Sludge.

Let me say upfront that I've experienced both euphoric and just plain ugly emotions during my 13 year dog career and I'll bet you have too.  Some lessons I've learned the hard way and some lessons I did just right - life is about learning and you'll find yourself learning as you go too. Any way, since many of us commit ourselves to our dogs & to our training financially, physically and with our souls it's natural - and to be expected - that our commitment level comes out in emotions every once in awhile. 

Some handlers try to pretend that they're always positive and this is simply being untrue, unfair and undermining to themselves.  I say recognize & embrace your emotions because it is a part of who you are.  NOW, with that said, that doesn't mean emotions should necessarily run the show and run your behavior - especially if it highlights the inside ugly monster you swore you'd never let out of it's cage!

Seriously, be aware of how you're feeling (happy or not) and if you're not feeling "balanced", are overwhelmed, irratated, disappointed, etc. then stop, chose not to train, don't continue with what was eliciting the negative emotion, concentrate on breathing and resist the urge to replay the bad in your mind and instead chose to focus on things that went well.

Emotions are going to happen and it's our job to recognize them as they occur and if appropriate, immediately move toward an action that relieves any negative feelings - BEFORE we act upon them.

I share all of this because emotions and training do not necessarily go hand in hand.  Training is about our dog, is more factual based and focuses on a goal.  On the other hand, emotions are about US and they are sporadic and often can be unfair and illogical. 

So the next time you go to train your dog, check your emotions at the door (ok, just the negative ones!) and be prepared to focus on your dog and not your emotions.

As always, have fun and enjoy the training!  Oh wait, those are emotions....

Why & What Foundation Work?

Today I turn 40, so I might be a bit nostalgic - but I realized that I've been training/competing/teaching in agility for 13 years now!

Last year I got my 5th dog, a Dalmatian I named Rouge (or Ru for short). Since she is now 13 months old it's time to start thinking of agility training beyond puppy concepts. With that in mind, I attended a Foundation Seminar given by my favorite instructor, Stacy Peardot-Goudy. I've been working with Stacy for 12 years now and it's great that she is still my "go to" person.

Why go to a Foundation Seminar:

As I mentioned, I've been in Agility for 13 years, am on my 5th dog and I paid to go to a Foundation Seminar.  Some might ask why?  Well first, no matter how many times I may have heard something, it's always good to be reminded of it again - especially in Foundation work when most of us want to skip on off to the end result. Next, I might learn a great exercise, learn a new tip, be reminded of something I'd forgotten, learn by watching the other young dogs or have a chance to ask a knowledgeable person a question or two and to see their view point on various topics.

But the biggest reason is that no matter how much I've learned or how much I know, it's fun to be the student again!  There is so little pressure. I mean I don't have to prove myself, all I have to do is LISTEN and WATCH (the 2 best ways to learn) and it gives me an opportunity to work & focus on only my young dog.

History of Foundation Training for Me:

When I think back on the 5 dogs I've owned and the journey we've had together, I can see how things -including me - have changed.  My first dog was my FIRST dog ever.  With her, Agility was just coming into the main stream and training was a wing on a prayer (Foundation was never a thought).  

With my second & third dogs, training was better, but both dogs were rescues and there was a ton of "other" baggage that had to be worked through before I could even think about Agility (Foundation Training was called "Obedience").  This is when I also became more interested in behavioral shaping and decided to greatly expanded my training skills beyond the basics and even beyond Agility. 

My 4th dog was brilliant and I could experiment on his agility training and behavioral shaping as much as I'd like because he loved to work and was very high drive. Unfortunately he knew how to push my buttons so the unexpected lessons learned (via the school of Fort Knox!) was to stay calm (even when he was a whirling dervish) and break the training steps down into TINY pieces and TINY time frames so that both of us could be successful. 

This is when I first heard the term "Foundation Training" as it relates to Agility.  A "well known" seminar person said "you need to work on Basic Skills," but when I asked for specifics, they couldn't define them!  I love their theory, but I work much better in reality and so I've since been on a mission to better define all of the skills I've acquired and taught dogs so that I could come up with a definable and relevant Foundation Skill Set & Plan for myself.

Foundation Training Today:

I'm happy to say that before the seminar, I had about 80% of my Foundation Plan formulated in my head and had been actively doing it with Ru over the last year.  After the seminar, I feel I'm 99% there.

After 13 years and 5 dogs, this is the first time I really know EXACTLY what outcome I want when it comes to her agility related performance and I have the hands-on experience to know exactly how to train it.  Maybe I'm a slow learner, but more than likely it's because I've been growing and learning during the last 13 years and now have a solid definition, skill set and a plan for Foundation Training.

What is Foundation Training To Me:

My definition of foundation training is the general & "every day" skills that I teach my dog that can easily be translated into basic agility skills. While these are the ones that are important to ME and since each dog is different, plans may need to be adjusted to take that into account.  

I should note that thanks to Stacy's Seminar, her influence and smart training over the years, there is no doubt she is the master behind this list.  Especially since she is the creator of the Contact Training Method 2-on-2-off, which I have spent a lot of my time playing with and having fun shaping.

My Basic Foundation Skills Plan:

• Attention - okay, this is Stacy's word.  Mine would have been the sentence "ensuring the dog doesn't zoom around the ring, race off to another county or leave you frantically yelling "come" as you chase the dog down"  However, the point is still the same.  Without you and the dog working together, there is no team work - only frustration and conflicting agendas.
• Name Recognition - ah, it's so basic and yet there are still dogs out there who don't know their name or more importantly, don't care about their name when there are other exciting things happening!  When naming my current Pup, I knew it had to be a short, fun name. While Rouge is her formal name, it was automatically shortened to Ru and when I call her, it's a fun "Ru-Ru!".  That name gives a positive feeling for both of us since I keep it light and up beat.
  
• Play Drive - this is definitely Stacy's word!  Each dog is different and my Dals love their toys, but not in the ring.  I'm sure it's something that I've done (or not done) and this is an unfinished item for me in the plan. Food has been a great motivator for the Dals, but toys were easily used with my Border Collies. Note to self: I need to experiment in make toys a higher paycheck for my Dals in the ring if at all possible.  Second note: Play doesn't have to be about toys - it can be a game of chase, etc. Now that I'm good at!
• Eye Contact - I just love this one and work hard to share with my students the impact and information eye contact can have on a course.  I encourage my dogs to make eye contact at a start line when appropriate, when I need to be very specific about something (collection, come into my hand to go between obstacles, etc.). It's a powerful tool that most people don't think about.
• Hand Touch/Lead Hand - Stacy uses Hand Touch, which is the first step to teaching my favorite term, Lead Hand.  The end result is to teach the dog the importance of following your hand cue - a must if you want to make it around an agility course or snake your dog through a crowd.
• Parallel Path Work (Stacy's name) - Heel & Side (the terms I use).  It's interesting that I learned this skill set wwwaaaayyyy back when after having done quite a bit of obedience work with Pinky (this would have been 12+ years ago). I don't remember what led up to it, but I got the idea that Pinky should learn to work not just on the "heel" but also on the other "side" as well.  I'm not terribly creative with names and "side" stuck.  I worked it various ways and played lots of games with it.  The one detail part that Stacy's seminar definition added (& that I will be incorporating) is that the dog must be parallel to you and not kind of parallel or sitting crooked.  I know I had that with Pinky because of Obedience, but not so sure I would have been that much of a stickler in detail with my new pup - it was a great point to relearn.
  
• Verbal Release - Ah, the age old proofing of not moving and using a single word to release the dog from a position.  It's been around for a long time and yet it seems to be one of the hardest to maintain, especially as we begin to compete and potentially forgo the release word in our excitement to be on course.  Yes, I found myself doing this with dog #4 in our very first run.  That was a HUGE mistake and I'm going to have to work HARD at not doing that again .
• Directional Commands - Some folks can use Right & Left (refers to the dog's right and left), but I am NOT that talented so I tend to focus on relative directional commands such as "Get Out" (means move away from me), "Here" (means move into me), and "Back" (means 180 degree turn).  Other commands you may have heard are Switch, etc.
• Rear & Front Cross Hand Signals - Defining what your Front & Rear cross signals are is the first step in this process.  After all, if you don't know what you're trying to teach, it won't get taught very clearly to your dog. Details are important on this one and should be done on the flat first.
• Reinforcement/Shaping - It's important that trainers/handlers know and understand what actions or steps they want and are actually shaping or reinforcing. We may have an idea in our head, but the reality of the situation may not match what's happening. This piece of Foundation Work is for the handler/trainer as it will help in communicating your expectations to your dog.

So even after the hands-on experiences, training, seminars and other education I've received, a Foundation Seminar is still relevant.  I would suggest everyone go with their new dog, even if you know the content it's GREAT to be a student and have fun with your dog.

Beyond Weaves - the other things

Well, Ru is just starting to come into season and so I haven't been diligent on my weave pole work.  She tends to be very needy the first few weeks and requiring a bit of distance & independent work from her during this time period is just too much for her hormonal brain to embrace.  No problem, there's so many other things to do!

Last week I had planned to start her on the chute (she's confident on tunnels and has been for a long time) and after setting up the chute up I was talking with another student - there went Ru, through the chute, checking it out as casually as possible.  OK, so much for "teaching" it to her - she's a natural.  Good dog!

I did some sequencing with her for the first time and she really caught on to that concept quickly.  I started out working 1 obstacle at a time until I could chain 3-4 together.  I've learned that she is very quick to head off to the contacts - clearly I've made those a worth while obstacle in her mind!  It's funny to watch her because she recognizes them and runs over as if to say "here it is Mom!".  I just stop where I'm at and wait for her to come back to my lead hand of course treat and praise - then go on.  It was neat to see Ru piece together the concept of multiple obstacles.

I've done quite a bit of ground work for front and rear crosses so adding those in was very easy.  of course I would work it through with her and take the time to reward those steps that were on the path to success.  I'm careful to break down each action into tiny steps to help her be successful throughout the experience.  That keeps it fun for both of us!

I just bought a large (3' high) construction cone to work on some additional send & turn work with all of our dogs.  I like this cone because it's tall enough that even the big dogs can't go over it.

Young Dog Skills for Life, Obedience & Agility

My puppy, Ru (short for Rouge), turned 1 year old on Jan 5th. Although small and petite, she's still a growing girl and up until now, there wasn't too much I could directly do in Agility (and I'm fine with that). However, there have been training skills we've been working on.

She's been active in:

• Conformation
  
• Socializing with the world
  
• Playing and getting to know all kinds of people and different dog breeds
• Working on her basic obedience & home skills (sit, down, stand, stay, walking on a loose leash, ignoring distractions, going on car rides, hanging out at dog shows, etc.
  
• working a 2 on 2 off position on a flat board in our living room
• working on Agility Flat Work such as a rear cross on the ground, a front cross, following the lead hand, etc.
• Trick training such as crawling in a suitcase, playing with cardboard boxes, balance boards, etc.

I think any positive interactions you can create with and for your puppy will add to their experiences and make them a more well-adjusted dog as well as a positive family member.