Monday, May 2, 2011

Lesson 3 Week One Puppy/Tricks Class

PuppyII Lesson3

Time for a new to-do list!
1. take your dog to a city center, a store that allows dogs (pet store?) and on a train station
2. position yourself next to a high target and now only click for circling all the way to your leg (don’t click for steps in between) – name it with heel for one side and something else for the other and have a dog follow your leg when you move in a circle around the target away from the dog – then tell him to come to the other side and have him follow the other leg. Use different targets, try it on a very low one too.
3. build your own cavaletti and walk the dog over it – you can use the drawers or boxes of appropriate size and height, put them in a row and walk the dog through.
4. try the other version of 2on2off: instead of having them go on an object and off, stop in a position and wait, let’s try stepping back into 2on2off this time. Position your dog close to a low object behind his back, cue him “back” and reward for stepping on an object or trying to. Slowly, you can have a dog step on higher&higher objects, this is beginning of a handstand, but with young puppies, don’t overdo the height. Instead, you can have them back up stairs for example, to challenge them some more without making it too physically demanding. You need to build balance and strength slowly enough for the dog to never be sore after. You can also teach them a “pee” trick: click when they heave one leg, searching the object – before they find it and name it, it’s a fun one.
5. put your paw target on a drawer or doors or simply shape the paw touch to a drawers/doors and then select for stronger&stronger touches/pushes. The goal is to have the dog slam the doors or drawer with power, to teach them that they control the movement under their feet and the sound and that it’s FUN – my favourite trick for a great see-saw!
6. don’t forget on recalls and playing!!! Also, slowly add duration to a sit up, teach crossing paws with the other paw and fade the target, check if the puppy will stay in 2on2off position until “go” even with distractions (toys and food flying around)
Have fun!
Final version of 2on2off:



Our video of Lesson 3 Week 1



What I said:
"We had an awesome, but lazy week. I only trained with Tibby once (and taped it). I also only used a toy as a reward this week. Amazing! She LOVES these new balls that I bought her. They are made out of felted wool and have a bell inside. She goes crazy for them -- she would kill for one :)
Tibby and I won a contest! We entered a look a like contest at a walk for animals on Sat. We won $55 and also were interviewed for TV.
Tibby did really well with all the people and animals -- 100′s of people and dogs. We had to ride a bus to get from the parking lot to the event location. Tibby was just fine. It was very noisy and bumpy.
We also went to an agility trial on Friday, but I didn’t get any video of that.
There are only a few things on this video -- our ‘field trip’, back up, close door, baby steps of handstand, cavalleti.
I was feeling like I didn’t know where to start with this lesson (hence the lack of practice), but now I feel like it’s not too hard. It was really fun to PLAY with the ball instead of giving Tibby treats. FUN!!"

What Silvia said:
"Congratulations on winning the contest!!! :) She doesn’t seem to mind the crowd at all and looks really cool in her rain coat! And wow, she sure looks happier to work for her ball as for treats! Great job! Loved slamming of the door, that was a real slam already! Backing up and babysteps for a handstand are going well too! It’s very easy to progress from here on. Cavaletti would be easier if you set the boxes somewhat further apart to start with, but she sure is doing great, despite a scary bowl!"

What I then asked: "Can I use a toy for all the tricks?  For example: How can I use a toy for the pivot/heel excersise?  Off to try it......will report back on how it goes :)" 

2 comments:

Laura and The Corgi, Toller, & Duck said...

I love that you're using a toy to train tibby! Vito works much better for toys than food but I often don't use it when learning new things simply because of how much longer it takes for each rep. More power to you!

Adien Crafts said...

Brilliant, loved watching the video of you training, you're so good! Dex & Lou x