Atteeeen HUT!
Had a terrific class last night!
Puppy class went well with Indie and Diane. He hung in there until the end, where at his first class last week he'd really checked out by the time the hour was over. It's still a long time for his attention span. Diane said he was a gem when they introduced surface work (walking through ladder, walking across baby dogwalk, etc), so our wobble board practice and other desensitisation work seems to be paying off. He's still skittish with other dogs, so I'm going to step in during that part of class next week and see if I can't help get him to feel more comfortable.
Ebby's class was the real high point. There are six-session classes roughly every two months, so there is about a two week gap between each session to allow for breaks and make-up classes where necessary. Each session there's an entirely different group of dogs, which is weird but the way it is. Last session was almost all bordie collies in training for agility. This session is very large and is entirely made up of big dogs, many of whom are rescues. Because Ebby's real challenge is distraction by other dogs including a subsequent sudden lunge/leap toward them, I've been expecting a real challenge by being in a group of half sensitive and half reactive big dogs, especially when it's a large group and we're in tight quarters.
But... last night was great! Her attention and focus were incredible, even when other dogs were right next to us and being goofy. There was one single time that she pulled toward another dog, and it was very subdued. I also didn't need to shorten up on the leash as much during close work with other dogs. Mostly it was just a real thrill to have her be so focused on me in such a high distraction environment. There's hope yet!
Three things contributed to our success last night.
1) Since last week, I've been working on eye contact. No longer clicking for looking at me, only clicking for looking at my eyes, and especially clicking for duration of one second. We'll build up to more, but she was giving it last night even when I wasn't always asking.
2) I re-upped our treat value. I'd been getting sloppy about dropping down to a higher ratio of boring Charlie Bears from exciting hot dogs or other high value yummies.
3) Using my hand to target during heeling. I've been practicing "touch hand" on our walks, where I put my hand where I want her nose and ask her to target it. This has been a MAJOR breakthrough in getting her into a true heel position and getting her to stay there even after reward. I don't forsee a major issue with later transferring Touch Hand into a Watch Me once we establish comfortable heeling activities. The other strong benefit of Touch Hand is that while she's focused on my hand, she's NOT focused on the nearest dog. I can't say that about regular old heeling, since it doesn't keep her busy enough to keep her from scanning who's around us.
Training has its ups and downs, and there have certainly been those nights that make me want to cry, but it's nights like last night that keep a person going. Whoo hoo!
Puppy class went well with Indie and Diane. He hung in there until the end, where at his first class last week he'd really checked out by the time the hour was over. It's still a long time for his attention span. Diane said he was a gem when they introduced surface work (walking through ladder, walking across baby dogwalk, etc), so our wobble board practice and other desensitisation work seems to be paying off. He's still skittish with other dogs, so I'm going to step in during that part of class next week and see if I can't help get him to feel more comfortable.
Ebby's class was the real high point. There are six-session classes roughly every two months, so there is about a two week gap between each session to allow for breaks and make-up classes where necessary. Each session there's an entirely different group of dogs, which is weird but the way it is. Last session was almost all bordie collies in training for agility. This session is very large and is entirely made up of big dogs, many of whom are rescues. Because Ebby's real challenge is distraction by other dogs including a subsequent sudden lunge/leap toward them, I've been expecting a real challenge by being in a group of half sensitive and half reactive big dogs, especially when it's a large group and we're in tight quarters.
But... last night was great! Her attention and focus were incredible, even when other dogs were right next to us and being goofy. There was one single time that she pulled toward another dog, and it was very subdued. I also didn't need to shorten up on the leash as much during close work with other dogs. Mostly it was just a real thrill to have her be so focused on me in such a high distraction environment. There's hope yet!
Three things contributed to our success last night.
1) Since last week, I've been working on eye contact. No longer clicking for looking at me, only clicking for looking at my eyes, and especially clicking for duration of one second. We'll build up to more, but she was giving it last night even when I wasn't always asking.
2) I re-upped our treat value. I'd been getting sloppy about dropping down to a higher ratio of boring Charlie Bears from exciting hot dogs or other high value yummies.
3) Using my hand to target during heeling. I've been practicing "touch hand" on our walks, where I put my hand where I want her nose and ask her to target it. This has been a MAJOR breakthrough in getting her into a true heel position and getting her to stay there even after reward. I don't forsee a major issue with later transferring Touch Hand into a Watch Me once we establish comfortable heeling activities. The other strong benefit of Touch Hand is that while she's focused on my hand, she's NOT focused on the nearest dog. I can't say that about regular old heeling, since it doesn't keep her busy enough to keep her from scanning who's around us.
Training has its ups and downs, and there have certainly been those nights that make me want to cry, but it's nights like last night that keep a person going. Whoo hoo!
posted by Erica at
10:03 AM
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