Training started outside. With so many people and kids out, it was a perfect opportunity to work on him chilling out with a lot going on. He did really well chasing/playing with sticks, a ball, and a black plastic flowerpot for a good 15 minutes. Then, all of a sudden, he realized that there were bikes and people and kids, and he started to get stressed. We called it quits, and moved practice inside.
Back Paw Targeting - Charlie is finally starting to recognize that stepping on something with his BACK foot is what is getting him treats. He deliberately was putting both feed on the phone book - LOTS of treats.
Sheila's not ready for anything like this. Even being led, she just shut down on me - even with click/treats. I'll back up and try with just a piece of paper.
Object Discrimination - Sheila excelled! Interacting with objects is one of her favorite things. She had to repeatedly touch the box with her nose and not the box. Even when I moved their position, it took her only 2 or 3 tries to get the right object. Yeah Sheilas.
Charlie is getting there, but its because he offers so much now, including head and paw positions. I just take it slow and click any movement toward the correct target. He did "get it", but it took a bit longer. However, once he got the idea, he was pretty hard to fool.
It was a nice session overall, and everyone really had to think. Charlie's beat!
Monday, February 9, 2009
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Good, but Short Training
Sheila and Charlie are both getter better at targeting. I'm now able to get jumps out of Charlie - YIPPEE! Sheila's still a bit slow, but given her training background and her age, I'm very happy with her progress.
Charlie's is really starting to get very good at heeling, including sitting when we stop. I've also just about got the nail board on cue. Its such a relief to not have to trim those front nails. Now I can just focus on handling them with no clippers. Its really brought down his stress level.
I'm thinking about purchasing a Manners Minder so we can begin to practice without Sheila being locked up. I believe she is one of the reasons he's so reactive at class. He just doesn't trust her. If I could really keep her focused on something besides me, I think he could learn to work around her. The good news is that its not generalized to puppies!
Charlie's is really starting to get very good at heeling, including sitting when we stop. I've also just about got the nail board on cue. Its such a relief to not have to trim those front nails. Now I can just focus on handling them with no clippers. Its really brought down his stress level.
I'm thinking about purchasing a Manners Minder so we can begin to practice without Sheila being locked up. I believe she is one of the reasons he's so reactive at class. He just doesn't trust her. If I could really keep her focused on something besides me, I think he could learn to work around her. The good news is that its not generalized to puppies!
Monday, February 2, 2009
Training Yesterday
We had a small breakthrough yesterday. I've had a horrible time teaching Charlie to heel. Yesterday I switched to a combination of targeting (fingers near my face) and capturing. Success. I swear his look said, "really, you want me to look at you while we walk, okay". He might as well have shrugged, too. It needs some clean-up before I can name it, but at least he gets the idea now. I was also able to add some very pretty sits and downs.
We also worked on targeting (nose to fingers). I realized that I'd been letting this slip a bit. He did everything I asked, including up on his back feet, walk forward, walk around behind me, back up, and under my legs. All without a hitch. Where is the behavior when we go to school??? ARGH.
We've almost got the "go around the cone" in hand, too. I can't wait to see his face when I ask him to reverse it. Poor boy. To my amazement, he's now really offering behaviors to click like different head positions and placement in relation to objects, so things are going much faster. What changed? I have no idea what clicked, but wish I did. I have locked-up Sheila during Charlie's training (and the reverse). I knew that would relax things for him, but I didn't expect to get so many specifically offered options on his part. That brain really worked hard yesterday.
Sheila did really well, too. I worked her on targeting, and was able to get her to make a 180 degree turn around me - a big step for my baby doll. She also did some work with the game 100 things you can do with a cone. She's now offered a nose touch, a paw touch, and is even knocking it over! This from a girl who defaults to a down position within a few seconds of no instruction. She's much more cuddly these days too!
All in all, a really nice training session.
We also worked on targeting (nose to fingers). I realized that I'd been letting this slip a bit. He did everything I asked, including up on his back feet, walk forward, walk around behind me, back up, and under my legs. All without a hitch. Where is the behavior when we go to school??? ARGH.
We've almost got the "go around the cone" in hand, too. I can't wait to see his face when I ask him to reverse it. Poor boy. To my amazement, he's now really offering behaviors to click like different head positions and placement in relation to objects, so things are going much faster. What changed? I have no idea what clicked, but wish I did. I have locked-up Sheila during Charlie's training (and the reverse). I knew that would relax things for him, but I didn't expect to get so many specifically offered options on his part. That brain really worked hard yesterday.
Sheila did really well, too. I worked her on targeting, and was able to get her to make a 180 degree turn around me - a big step for my baby doll. She also did some work with the game 100 things you can do with a cone. She's now offered a nose touch, a paw touch, and is even knocking it over! This from a girl who defaults to a down position within a few seconds of no instruction. She's much more cuddly these days too!
All in all, a really nice training session.
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