No, I haven't forgotten about my 12 tricks in 2012. But I have officially fallen behind because I chose the hardest trick IN THE WORLD. Or at least, it's hard when you have a dog with short, stubby little legs. We're working on "cross your paws," and honestly? We're getting close. See for yourself:
Showing posts with label tricks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tricks. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Training Tuesday: Trick 2
Here's our second trick of the year, "Splat!"
Maisy learned to offer lying on her side during our several years in reactive dog classes; I just never bothered to name it before. The naming has actually taken a lot of work. She is much better at visual hand signals, and this trick only has a verbal. We have spent literally hundreds of repetitions working on this, and it is still shaky. Still, she's getting it, and I wanted to show you the result before the month was over!
Any suggestions for next month's trick?
Maisy learned to offer lying on her side during our several years in reactive dog classes; I just never bothered to name it before. The naming has actually taken a lot of work. She is much better at visual hand signals, and this trick only has a verbal. We have spent literally hundreds of repetitions working on this, and it is still shaky. Still, she's getting it, and I wanted to show you the result before the month was over!
Any suggestions for next month's trick?
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Training Tuesday: Trick 1
Trick 1 of 12 is complete!
Okay, so maybe I cheated a little on this one, as I didn't start it from scratch. We actually started working on this trick years ago- 2009, maybe even 2008- but I never got around to putting it on cue (story of my life). As a result, it's a trick that she offers up on a regular basis, so it was pretty easy capture it. Once she knew that's what I wanted, she kept offering it, and offering it, and offering it, so it was pretty easy to give the cue just before she did it.
We did this for several nights, probably burning through 200 or more pairings, and still she didn't seem to understand. Looking at the video, I would guess that part of the problem is that I have two things going on at once- the hand signal and the verbal. I'll need to make sure to sort those out separately.
She seems to have it now. I've tested the cue "cold" (that is, giving it outside of a training session) in every room of the house, on a walk, and in the parking lot of a pet store today. She nailed it on the first try every time. However, in the manner of herding breeds everywhere, if I give the cue more than 2 or 3 times, she starts... well, let's say improvising. That sounds so much nicer than "doing it wrong."
Okay, so maybe I cheated a little on this one, as I didn't start it from scratch. We actually started working on this trick years ago- 2009, maybe even 2008- but I never got around to putting it on cue (story of my life). As a result, it's a trick that she offers up on a regular basis, so it was pretty easy capture it. Once she knew that's what I wanted, she kept offering it, and offering it, and offering it, so it was pretty easy to give the cue just before she did it.
We did this for several nights, probably burning through 200 or more pairings, and still she didn't seem to understand. Looking at the video, I would guess that part of the problem is that I have two things going on at once- the hand signal and the verbal. I'll need to make sure to sort those out separately.
She seems to have it now. I've tested the cue "cold" (that is, giving it outside of a training session) in every room of the house, on a walk, and in the parking lot of a pet store today. She nailed it on the first try every time. However, in the manner of herding breeds everywhere, if I give the cue more than 2 or 3 times, she starts... well, let's say improvising. That sounds so much nicer than "doing it wrong."
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
2012 Goals
What does 2012 hold in store for Maisy and I? Greatness, I’m sure of it! I have no idea what form that greatness will take, but I'm hoping it will look something like this...
1. Teach Maisy 12 tricks.
This was one of my goals last year, and I failed miserably at it. But Maisy loves to train, and anyway, we need to have something to show to friends and family members who just don’t appreciate a flashy heeling pattern.
I have a few ideas for tricks- like a bow, chin down, play dead, take it/hold it/give it with a variety of objects, spinning, leg weaves, crawling- but I would love to hear your ideas, too! Does your dog have a cool trick? Please, tell me about it in the comments.
2. Improve my heeling handling skills.
Although I took a class on heeling handling skills, I have yet to really use what I learned. Some of the moves are still difficult for me to do. It’s not that they’re awkward, exactly, it’s more that I just need to practice them so they’re second nature.
As I learn the skills, I also need to take time to integrate them with my work with Maisy. Some things don’t need to be explicitly taught to her, but others do, especially things like slow pace vs. halts. We're both going to be better at heeling this year.
3. Complete the Relaxation Protocol.
If there is anything I’m likely to fail at doing, it’s this one. I worked on the Relaxation Protocol once before, and oh my gosh, but it was mind-numbingly boring. Maisy probably doesn’t need to do the protocol, but I want to work on it for two reasons.
First, we haven’t worked on it since she started taking medication, and I want to see how that changes things. I imagine we’ll have a very different experience this time around. And second, I frequently advise students to do the protocol with their dogs, so I feel like I need to follow my own advice, you know?
4. Work on some Open and/or Utility Skills.
Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself, since we haven’t even completed our novice-level obedience title, but I’d like to start working on open and/or utility exercises this year. Well, we’ve already started working on some- like retrieves, the drop on recall, and directed jumping- but we haven’t worked on others at all.
I feel like we have a pretty good handle on how to start working on most of the open/utility skills… except go outs and scent articles. I know there are a ton of different ways to train both, and I’d love to hear how you taught your dog’s go out and/or scent articles. Which method did you use? Did you like it? Would you use it again? What were the benefits and drawbacks?
5. Take (and hopefully pass!) the CPDT exam.
I’m a little nervous to post this one publicly, but here it is. I’m hoping to take the CPDT-KA exam in the fall testing period. I don’t need it, strictly speaking, but I like the idea and the added credibility it lends me. And besides, this gives me a very good excuse for going to seminars!
If you are a CPDT (or if you’re in the process of studying for it), I’d love some book recommendations. I have a pretty good handle on learning theory, but am mildly concerned about some of the other sections. Let me know which books you’ve found helpful!
Anyway… this is what I’m hoping 2012 will bring. It might not, of course. So much can change over the course of a year that it’s hard to know what to expect. Still, this is the direction I'm hoping it will go. And if it doesn't? No big deal. As long as Maisy and I have had fun together, that's all that matters.
1. Teach Maisy 12 tricks.
This was one of my goals last year, and I failed miserably at it. But Maisy loves to train, and anyway, we need to have something to show to friends and family members who just don’t appreciate a flashy heeling pattern.
I have a few ideas for tricks- like a bow, chin down, play dead, take it/hold it/give it with a variety of objects, spinning, leg weaves, crawling- but I would love to hear your ideas, too! Does your dog have a cool trick? Please, tell me about it in the comments.
2. Improve my heeling handling skills.
Although I took a class on heeling handling skills, I have yet to really use what I learned. Some of the moves are still difficult for me to do. It’s not that they’re awkward, exactly, it’s more that I just need to practice them so they’re second nature.
As I learn the skills, I also need to take time to integrate them with my work with Maisy. Some things don’t need to be explicitly taught to her, but others do, especially things like slow pace vs. halts. We're both going to be better at heeling this year.
3. Complete the Relaxation Protocol.
If there is anything I’m likely to fail at doing, it’s this one. I worked on the Relaxation Protocol once before, and oh my gosh, but it was mind-numbingly boring. Maisy probably doesn’t need to do the protocol, but I want to work on it for two reasons.
First, we haven’t worked on it since she started taking medication, and I want to see how that changes things. I imagine we’ll have a very different experience this time around. And second, I frequently advise students to do the protocol with their dogs, so I feel like I need to follow my own advice, you know?
4. Work on some Open and/or Utility Skills.
Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself, since we haven’t even completed our novice-level obedience title, but I’d like to start working on open and/or utility exercises this year. Well, we’ve already started working on some- like retrieves, the drop on recall, and directed jumping- but we haven’t worked on others at all.
I feel like we have a pretty good handle on how to start working on most of the open/utility skills… except go outs and scent articles. I know there are a ton of different ways to train both, and I’d love to hear how you taught your dog’s go out and/or scent articles. Which method did you use? Did you like it? Would you use it again? What were the benefits and drawbacks?
5. Take (and hopefully pass!) the CPDT exam.
I’m a little nervous to post this one publicly, but here it is. I’m hoping to take the CPDT-KA exam in the fall testing period. I don’t need it, strictly speaking, but I like the idea and the added credibility it lends me. And besides, this gives me a very good excuse for going to seminars!
If you are a CPDT (or if you’re in the process of studying for it), I’d love some book recommendations. I have a pretty good handle on learning theory, but am mildly concerned about some of the other sections. Let me know which books you’ve found helpful!
Anyway… this is what I’m hoping 2012 will bring. It might not, of course. So much can change over the course of a year that it’s hard to know what to expect. Still, this is the direction I'm hoping it will go. And if it doesn't? No big deal. As long as Maisy and I have had fun together, that's all that matters.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Trick 2- Wave!
I've been a bit lazy with training lately. Between a yoga injury (don't laugh- it was awful) and job hunting (I got it!), I've been busy, stressed, and just not in the mood to train.
Still, here's our second trick: wave!
This was taught by targeting and a bit of shaping. She already knows to offer a paw to a hand target, so I just moved my hand up higher and higher, and then clicked for movement. Simple.
This trick is not under verbal cue, it's not under stimulus control, and honestly? I don't really care. It's a trick, and people are just so darned impressed when your dog can sit on cue (even if it takes a second cue), that I figure this will suit my purposes just fine.
Still, here's our second trick: wave!
This was taught by targeting and a bit of shaping. She already knows to offer a paw to a hand target, so I just moved my hand up higher and higher, and then clicked for movement. Simple.
This trick is not under verbal cue, it's not under stimulus control, and honestly? I don't really care. It's a trick, and people are just so darned impressed when your dog can sit on cue (even if it takes a second cue), that I figure this will suit my purposes just fine.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Training Tuesday: Trick 1- Prairie Dog!
One of my goals for the year is to teach Maisy twelve tricks. Today, I bring you the first one: Prairie Dog!
My husband chose the cue word, which is good, because I would probably have chosen something boring like “beg.” Nothing wrong with that, of course, but I do appreciate fun cues for fun behaviors, and I’m horrible at coming up with them. The hand signal is my right hand held palm up and moved towards Maisy/away from my body.
I have to confess, I taught this trick with luring. I tend to prefer shaping behaviors, but luring just made so much sense for this one. I was careful to do it right, and only used the lure half a dozen times or so before moving to air cookies. I did air cookies for a session or two (so maybe 10-15 reps- I didn’t write it down, and should have), then switched to the hand signal.
Once she was reliably sitting up for the hand signal, I started adding the verbal cue. Since I was curious how long it would take her to figure it out, I kept good records on this. In her book The Thinking Dog, Gail Fisher says that it takes 25 to 50 reps to attach a verbal cue to a behavior. Initially, I thought Maisy was going to do well, because performed the behavior following the verbal cue only on the 23rd time. Unfortunately, that must have been a fluke, because she didn’t do it again until the 57th time!
Here’s the video of trials 56 to 65:
Out of those ten times, she only got it on the verbal three times. (I didn’t reward the offered behavior between trials 7 and 8 because Gail says that once you name a behavior, you should only reinforce the dog when you’ve asked for the behavior. This is supposed to help get behaviors under stimulus control.) During the next ten times, Maisy got it on the verbal cue 9 out of 10 times- and that was in a room I hadn’t trained in at all! Therefore, I’m going to call this behavior done!
My husband chose the cue word, which is good, because I would probably have chosen something boring like “beg.” Nothing wrong with that, of course, but I do appreciate fun cues for fun behaviors, and I’m horrible at coming up with them. The hand signal is my right hand held palm up and moved towards Maisy/away from my body.
I have to confess, I taught this trick with luring. I tend to prefer shaping behaviors, but luring just made so much sense for this one. I was careful to do it right, and only used the lure half a dozen times or so before moving to air cookies. I did air cookies for a session or two (so maybe 10-15 reps- I didn’t write it down, and should have), then switched to the hand signal.
Once she was reliably sitting up for the hand signal, I started adding the verbal cue. Since I was curious how long it would take her to figure it out, I kept good records on this. In her book The Thinking Dog, Gail Fisher says that it takes 25 to 50 reps to attach a verbal cue to a behavior. Initially, I thought Maisy was going to do well, because performed the behavior following the verbal cue only on the 23rd time. Unfortunately, that must have been a fluke, because she didn’t do it again until the 57th time!
Here’s the video of trials 56 to 65:
Out of those ten times, she only got it on the verbal three times. (I didn’t reward the offered behavior between trials 7 and 8 because Gail says that once you name a behavior, you should only reinforce the dog when you’ve asked for the behavior. This is supposed to help get behaviors under stimulus control.) During the next ten times, Maisy got it on the verbal cue 9 out of 10 times- and that was in a room I hadn’t trained in at all! Therefore, I’m going to call this behavior done!
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