Apologies...

I must apologize for the lack of blogging this week. I have been working out in our factory, building the prototype machine, and it is wearing me out!

We have an agility trial this weekend. Stout is running in one class on Saturday (Porter is running his usual).

So in anticipation of Stout's 2nd ever trial, here is his most recent training video  :)

Lots of playing to try to build more speed. Well, he has plenty of speed - I'm trying to get him to use it more often  :)

Another Online Class

Yes, I have signed up for another online class  :)

Stout is enrolled in Silvia Trkman's Foundations class again. Yes, this is the same class we took over the winter  :)

I think I may be a Trkman junkie... :)

But seriously, I love this stuff. We didn't even come close to conquering it all the first time around. Stout learned the teeter and some basic sequencing. A lot of the finer points were missed on us  :)

So this time we are looking to refine our skills and learn the things we skipped over the first time. I want to increase his speed & drive. I want to hit those hard weave entries. I want to work more on his jumping skills.

I mean, who wouldn't want to run like this?

The little Pyr Shep was the fastest dog out all heights!

 

I think Stout will be there in no time  :)

Full Height Teeter!

Stout did his first full height teeter last night! And he rocked it!  :)

I don't have any video of it uploaded yet, but I do have video from last weekend when he did an almost full height teeter...  It was only 2 or 3 inches shorter, so just pretend that this video is full height  :)






The above video was also our last one submitted to Silvia Trkman for our Agility Foundations class  :(     (Thank you to Beth & Megan for filming!)

I am soooo going to miss our online class. I even took my video camera to practice last night, before realizing that I didn't really need to tape anything anymore... But I recorded anyway.

So now I have to decide whether to take the class again (most people do) or continue to work on our own. I really like having the oversight of someone else. And it gives me the push to actually practice & train  :)  Which may be the biggest benefit for me! I can be fairly lazy...

But in the mean time, Stout will be attending another agility seminar. And I need to start actually teaching him the dogwalk & a-frame. And seriously start training weaves. And running novice type courses. And work on his jumping. And... I think I'll stay busy until the class starts again in May.

And... I did enter him in his first agility trial. Let's hope it goes as well as his first rally trial did!

And Another Video...

I didn't want Stout to feel left out, so here's a video of him!

I'm so proud of his teeter - we're halfway there!

His jumping on the other hand...

The Best Compliment Ever!

As you know, Stout & I have been taking an online agility foundations class with Silvia Trkman. She is kind of my agility idol  :)

Anyway, I submitted Stout's most recent video to her yesterday:

(http://youtu.be/0eLQt-OqUAA)

 

Upon viewing it, she gave me a critique that ended with the best (agility) compliment I've ever gotten:

 

"... very nice handling!"

 

Yes, Silvia Trkman complimented my handling!  I was giddy!  :)  So please excuse this bragging  :)

 

This is the Silvia Trkman I'm talking about:

 

 



(http://youtu.be/hRioLhBmuGc)

 

 

I feel like I should add this to my agility resume or something  :)

 



Wordless Wednesday: What We Worked With

http://youtu.be/PTysatrcJMM

http://youtu.be/_BEI5ijT0Cs



Stout - Trkman Class Update

We did our first real sequence in our online class with Silvia Trkman!

Well, I guess we did one for the last lesson, but it was shorter & easier. And strangely enough, it did not go as well as this one!

http://youtu.be/lSTM3md7d-M

This is the fastest he's moved yet. I think his understanding is growing, thus creating more speed. And the brand new toy didn't hurt either  :)

And instead of calling him funny or cute, Silvia called him "a fun dog." I think that's an improvement!

She said:

"He is definitely loving this game more&more!!! What a fun dog! I love how he goes and offers a wrap every time you take the toy!    ...  Great job with the teeter too, very cool pushes! That’s high enough for him yes – few more sessions like this and you can try jumping on it as well."

I'm not going to lie, I am very nervous about starting him on the teeter. I've seen so many dogs develop teeter fears from something simple, but weird, happening to them. Hopefully he continues to view it as a game. This was the first time I used a toy instead of food when banging the teeter. He really hit it harder & with much more enthusiasm.

I've also been scared to raise the jump bars. He is a year old now, but it just seems so early yet. I did try a little at 4" but he completely ignored them. There was nothing to reward because he was walking through them  :)  

Update on Stout's Agility Foundations Class

After all the Porter videos earlier this week, I thought I'd give you a couple Stout videos  :)

We received Lesson 2 in our online class with Silvia Trkman. We have only begun to scratch the surface. We still haven't perfected Lesson 1!

But I went ahead with the contact portion of the new lesson. I think I will try for Running Contacts with Stout. Porter has running contacts, but I didn't train them. Mostly it was a lack of training anything else that led to his contact performance  :)

But I figure I can't get that lucky twice, right? So as long as the beginning stages are part of this class, I may as well take advantage of them!

So I got out some carpet (which according to Silvia was too short) and got started.

http://youtu.be/SLh22-DhmZ0

 

Before I critique the video, I just want to state that it is so nice to have a dog who will almost fetch. Or at least wants to chase a ball... So far I have been able to do the bulk of Stout's agility training with toys.

 

Anyway,  Silvia started her critique with "He sure is having fun!"  All of my videos so far have been met with "He's so cute!" or "He's so funny!"  I feel that this is going to be a common theme in what everyone says concerning Stout & agility...  :)

 

She said I should have jackpotted the try at 0:50. Um, you mean I have to try to watch those stubby little legs and click while I also throw a ball? This may be harder than I thought...

 

 

So then I submitted a video of us still working on wrapping the jump stanchions. I was pretty proud of this. He was finally running after the turn! He didn't flop on his back & bark! He didn't hump my leg when he got frustrated!

 

But I still have a looooong way to go:

 

 

http://youtu.be/2UTtyS8-qt0

 

 

Silvia is happy now with his driving out of the wrap. But I need to get him to drive to the wrap as well. Most people help create this by restraining their dog. Did you see the video of me trying to restrain Stout? It didn't go so well.

 

She suggested running more with him into the wrap. Which I had done but didn't submit because I thought I was supposed to show him being "sent" to the wrap from some distance. The ever-clever Silvia explained it perfectly to me: "with more speed, getting distance will get easier too! – Things get closer faster when they run full speed :)"

 

So far I LOVE this class! Seriously, I have learned so much and we are only on the 2nd lesson!



Stout Videos!

I thought we'd take a little break from vacation photos & post a couple Stout videos!

First, here he is playing with his newest girlfriend Dezi, a Portuguese Podengo Pequeno puppy.



(http://youtu.be/VxifEobvvPc)

Dezi held her own pretty well. Occasionally she would run under the bed to get away. That did not deter Stout, but it did slow him down considerably... Stout had quite a few "time-outs" too so to give her a break.

And I continue to work on Stout's agility foundation skills:

(http://youtu.be/ioLibxyKDkg)

I had the jump chute set up for the class I teach, but thought it might be fun for Stout if I put all the bars on the ground (kind of like stride-work for him). I was really pleased that he chose to run down the chute instead of coming out to jump at the toy (or hump my leg).

We also worked briefly on our pre-homework for our Agility Foundations online class with Silvia Trkman. Class doesn't officially start until October 15th, but she gave us a few assignments already to prepare us for class.

I was working on the "burst of speed from a restraint" (my lame phrase, not hers). As you can see, it didn't go too well. He's not supposed to back out of my restraint  :)  But I'm not real comfortable with having a collar grab meaning that it's time for him to pull against it. So I thought a chest-type restraint would work better. Maybe not a good idea either, especially for a short dog...

Is That A Prairie Dog?

Nope, it's just Stout!

Another Video: Stout Learning to Wrap

Wrap jump stanchions, that is! (not presents...)

(view larger)

This is the last week of our online class with Silvia Trkman. I cannot recommend it enough! We have had a blast!

Stay tuned for more videos in the coming days, plus a graduation video featuring all the tricks we've learned in the session!

Back to Class

With all the Specialty news & photos, I realized it's been quite awhile since I posted Stout's progress in his online puppy class with Silvia Trkman!

The biggest news: we finally have a full independent pivot!

(Click here to view larger)

I'm sure the video isn't very impressive to some, but I am so proud! We have worked damn hard on this!

Everyone else in the class accomplished this back in March. But we just couldn't get it. And I was so frustrated, which in turn made Stout so frustrated. So we took a break from it, only trying it a couple times here & there to test. But when I tried again Sunday night, it was a miracle! A little corgi miracle!

So why is this little trick so important? It's the secret to great heeling. Check it out here.

And his progress in "4 in a box:"

(Click here to view larger)

Other people in the class have their dogs standing in little food dishes. But those dogs are also not corgi shaped with corgi legs! I like the arch I'm seeing in his back and the understanding of where his feet are. Normal dogs (aka border collies) in the class are exhibiting the same things, they just have to work down to a 6" diameter bowl before you see it  :)  Corgis do it in cake pans  :)

Time to catch-up...

Our online class with Silvia Trkman has been on a 2 week break  :(   This gives her a break from constantly watching videos & commenting in the forums, and gives us a chance to catch up! And Stout & I have caught up on a lot of things! We had quite a few big breakthroughs!

So, a list of our trick assignments and where we stand on them:

• Paw Touch - Stout will offer "Paw" & "Other Paw" really well. He's doing them on cue so I've faded the clicker.
• Crossing Paws - Unfortunately we didn't make any progress here. But I also never worked on it. Oops...
• Slamming doors & closing drawers - We worked on slamming cupboard doors quite a bit. First I had to get him to start targeting my hand with his paw while I held it in a vertical position. Then just target my finger (which I think will make the "crossing paw" easier too). He was very confused on all this, but once he actually struck the door & it closed, I jackpotted him & I think he got it. Now he will touch it with a paw (but a lot of times he still just kind of waves in the air - no contact) and will occasionally hit it hard enough to shut it. We may have had a breakthrough last night when he jumped at the door with both paws up high and slammed it. I am waiting to get a reliable close on the door before I ask for closing a drawer.
• Sit Up - I have named this "prairie dog." We do this a lot and have made some progress! He has finally found a balance point & is adding duration. I can feed him 2 or 3 cookies while he sits up now! He still needs help sometimes to remember that the position requires his butt on the ground, not "meerkat" position. (And Porter is also starting to push himself up into "prairie dog!")
• "Frog" - I had actually given up on this  :(  But last week I was working outside in the grass with him and thought maybe I'd try it again. I lured him under my leg and moved just low enough so that he didn't have room to move a rear leg up underneath himself. And he got it! And I got it on tape! His first "frog!" So we are continuing to work on it, but he is nowhere near ready to do it without the slight pressure from my leg - I test him a lot  :)
• 4 feet in bowl - I had also given up on this  :(  But his sudden ability to "prairie dog" and the advancement of his other body awareness tricks prompted me to work on it again. And he is getting it! Last night I moved to a smaller box (well, actually a cake pan, but whatever!). I really think he just didn't have the coordination or muscle strength to do it before. Nor the clicker experience. I hope to have his 4 feet in a shot glass before long!
• Pivot around object - Ah, the most frustrating trick... But... I think we almost got it! I finally found a better bowl to use (the plastic one was too light - he kept tipping it over, the heavy ceramic one was too slippery - his paws couldn't stay on it, but this one is just right!). Last night he pivoted over 90*. He almost had his back to me! I clicked and would treat further around, prompting him to continue his circle as he reached for the reward. He did offer the spin off the the perch as he would position himself to try again. We are apparently at the hard point now, I just have to get his head turned and finish the rotation! I thought it would never happen...
• Back Up - He is a fool in reverse! He has straightened himself out. I have named it "Beep Beep Beep" - you know, because he looks like a little dumptruck backing up! He's not quite offering it on a verbal, I have to bend over with a closed fist in front of him and "beep," but he's getting there!
• Cavaletti's - Do you know how hard it is to do cavaletti work with a dog with 4 inch legs? I scattered my weavepoles on the ground & had him walk his way through those. I also had him do a little anti-cavaletti by walking on the boards of our new picket fence (before John installed it). After I teach my class on Monday nights I've had him do it over a ladder lying on the ground.
• 2 On/2 Off - He is doing this well. I haven't done any proofing for duration or my position. And sometimes he will come off the object without stopping in the 2on/2 off. But overall I feel he has the basics down. I'm not really concentrating on this though because I assume I won't use it on the agility contacts. But I do see the benefits of using it to teach a moving wait...
• Stepping back into 2 On/2 Off - This combines our 2 on/2 off with the back-up. I was the dumb one when it came to this trick  :)  I was having him back-up way too far before reaching the object. And he couldn't back up very straight. So I had this long, low barrier stretching across the room so no matter where he backed to he had to step up. But then I watched someone else's video in the class... Yeah, I'm an idiot. They only need to back up 1 step or so before stepping onto the object. I had him too far away  :) We have been working on this, but not comletely. I thought I should get the "pee trick" first (see below).
• "Pee Trick" - I think I've finally started to figure this one out! Basically, you do the reverse into 2 on/2 off as above, but as they lift that first leg to step back onto the object, you click. So you are clicking the raising of the leg. I wasn't real hopeful about it, but last night he was starting to offer it! I didn't have a high enough object to really see it in the beginning.

So we're really coming along! I've been videotaping almost everything, hopefully I'll have time to do some editing & uploading tonight. I'd like to get it done before we leave for the Cardigan Specialty on Friday. Porter is entered in the herding trial (both ducks & sheep!), agility, and obedience (Novice A again). I'm obviously a glutton for punishment. The only thing I'm not stressing about is the agility!  :)

Newest Class Videos

Here are our newest videos that we submitted to Silvia.

I have to say, we aren’t making near the progress that some in the class are making. At times it is a little frustrating, but then suddenly he will have a huge breakthrough & my hope is restored. And it’s hard to know who in the class is doing this for the first time like we are. Some have taken it with other dogs and so have worked ahead. Some are able to devote much more time. And some aren’t doing it by shaping (I can’t know for sure, but Silvia seems to be able to pick up on it).

Why is shaping these things so much better than luring? Well, first of all, shaping is kind of fun  :)  I think it gives you an insight into just how your dog’s mind works. You learn how they learn. I’m learning Stout’s frustration level, and how to avoid it. I’m learning that it’s all the small details that eventually lead to the big outcome.
For example: I called John into the room last night to see Stout’s “reverse.” We had finally had a breakthrough. As John came in, I had Stout backing up all over the room, going in circles, running into things… Kind of like a little bumper car stuck in reverse. He would just keep backing up until I finally clicked. He was impressed.

“How did you even teach him that?” Well, I explained that I clicked for him moving one foot backwards. “And he did this?” Well, no. I then clicked for 2 feet going back. “So then he started doing this?” No, then he sat down. But as he sat down, he would move 1 more foot backwards. Then his 2 front feet backwards. Finally he’d have to move his butt backwards in order to have room to move his front feet backwards. The day before I had him scooting around the room backwards in a sit.

Video submitted of Stout backing up.

You can see we are just starting to break out of the butt scooting...

“So how did you get him to stand up?” Good question. I didn’t get him to do anything. In his own little corgi mind, he figured out that it was faster & easier to walk backwards rather than sitting. And the moment he did, I “jackpotted” him. Next thing I knew he was backing further & faster across the room!

So can Porter back up? Nope. And I’ve been trying to teach him just as I have Stout. I think he will in time, but it will take longer. As I said before, Porter doesn’t have the history of shaping. He has mostly been lured. Porter hasn’t learned how to “think” like that yet.

By luring, you are speeding up the process. But actually going slowly & letting the dog think & learn how to think first is the fastest way to the ultimate goal. Luring is bribing, which gives them the power – they decide if what you have is worth the effort. Shaping gives them a completely different attitude towards work. They are asking us what they can do for the reward. It’s a subtle power shift.

Stout is paw targeting a wooden spoon.

This is a precursor to learning to "cross his paws" & other tricks.

I'm not sure he'll ever cross his paws with those stubby little legs...

Silvia Trkman Class - Lesson 2

Here are 2 videos that I submitted to Silvia Trkman for our online puppy clicker class.

She only sent out the lesson plan Monday and this is our first session trying these newer tricks. But I wanted to get videos made & submitted so I could ask her a couple questions!

Pivot / Perch Work:

I was worried about starting this with Stout because Porter has never figured it out. I was afraid it might be something that I'm doing wrong. But Stout seems to get it so far, so I'm guessing it's just Porter's lack of foundation shaping skills that is holding him back  :)

I am clicking for any movement of his back feet (I only clicked a couple times for putting his front feet up on the bowl - he seemed to understand that). A couple times I shouldn't have clicked when he tried to put those back feet up onto the bowl. But it's hard to see just where those stubby little legs & chubby little paws are going!

The end product will be rotating around the bowl with his front feet on it. Hopefully in complete circles both directions. With no luring from me. This is eventually used for heelwork. Here is a video of her dogs heeling using this method. I had bought this video and tried teaching Porter...  :)

Here is the second video I submitted:

I'm concerned with how much he thinks before offering the paw touch.Other people's dogs in the class are throwing themselves at it as soon as it's presented. But when I do wait him out, he very deliberately places a paw perfectly in the center. And it could be because I upped the difficulty by holding the target (it was always on the floor before).

Porter's Herding Lesson

Porter's herding lesson went really well this morning. Probably the best we've had yet!

So of course we had to stop for ice cream on the way home:

Porter gets the whole dish, Stout just gets the spoon. Don't want to upset puppy tummy.

Dana even sent me home with a cat toy she had knitted. Zero & Squeaker were VERY excited!

And Stout's newest "Frog" video for our online class with Silvia Trkman:

His little butt is so cute  :)  And I especially love what happens at about 2:30...

Videos for our class with Silvia Trkman

Here are the first videos we submitted for our online class with Silvia Trkman. I'm also including some of her observations on Stout's videos (Porter is technically not in the class, therefore his videos are not submitted to her).

First video - Paw Touch:

This was the longest video I submitted to her, mostly because I wanted her to see how I got to the result (to make sure I was doing it right). It was also a good thing because I learned I am working him for way too long! I need to keep the sessions short & fun.

 

Silvia says:

Stout is adorable! And sure trying really hard! He gets a bit frustrated at times and asks for help instead of offering action… Did you try exercise 3 yet? How is he with that, how much action he offers there? To get more action in first two sessions, I wouldn’t reward on a plate, but away, so that you could click more then (for nearing the target), keep frequency of clicking higher and avoid frustration. I’m sure he will figure it out soon that way or another, but that would get you to the goal even faster. – Just an idea for your next trick, he seems to master that one already!

This is the video for exercise 3 that she requests:

I hadn't realized that we were supposed to still click for action, not just ignoring the treats.

Silvia says:

Good, he actually is offering action. Just staying back is not ideal, but do click for any other action but barking.

4-in-the-Box:



I had started with the smaller box originally, but he was having trouble. So I switched to the larger one until he got the idea then went back to the smaller one. I think this was over 2 or 3 sessions. I currently have him in a slightly smaller box! Video will be coming later this week.


Silvia says:

It’s always better to start with a bigger box to help them succeed! Just make them smaller&smaller gradually, to keep the successful rate high.





Frog:



This is supposed to end up being what people call the "flying squirrel position." She uses it as a good stretching exercise. I think I will have to wait and "capture" it as he does it on his own. I don't think our skills are good enough yet for me to trick him into it!


Silvia says:

Yes, just keep working like this + try to capture (mark it with a voice if you don’t have a clicker at hand) anytime he does it on his own. I think he will get it soon!

And a "bloopers" video (which I did not submit to Silvia):

Damn cats!



And Porter's video:

In Porter's defense, I didn't really do a lot of free-shaping with him (which is why I'm doing it with Stout now). He never learned to offer behaviors. Everything I've done with him has been luring. And he knows a lot of stuff - he's just waiting for me to tell him what stuff I want!
But everything Porter has learned has been through positive methods (no compulsion). So that is one plus  :)

New Puppy / Tricks Class!

Well, I did it.

I signed Stout & myself up for our first long-distance class: Sylvia Trkman's Puppy / Tricks Class!

There's even another Cardigan in the class! It starts February 27th. So be prepared for lots of videos as we try to master all these tricks  :)  And of course, I'll be training Porter the same things, he just won't have his videos submitted to Sylvia for review.