got Nose?

Inspired by Steve White and my cousin I introduced "Nose Games" to my Puppy and Basic Manners classes. One of the games is finding food in plastic containers with wholes in the lid. All puppies and dogs catch on very quickly and love using their noses. Hiding the food under wash cloths or dish towels is another favorite. Or hiding a toy under a sheet or blanket and letting the dog sniff it out is a favorite of Rylie, my Cattle Dog.
The video shows another simple game that is now being used by many dog trainers to help dogs learn to use their noses.

Reactive Dogs

Working with a reactive dog and keeping him below threshold takes practice, knowledge, dedication and understanding of the dog's needs. No amount of pressure, force, dominance, yelling, hitting, hanging, kicking will get these dogs to perform at any level, pet or competition without some fear. It only suppresses the unwanted behavior for a short time. Then there are dogs that are shy and somewhat fearful or concerned about what is going on in the environment. Pressure is the last thing a dog needs in that situation. Controlling a dogs behavior is not letting the dog control his behavior. Eye contact should be earned by the human, not forced. Asking for permission for everything is not putting the dog in control of his emotions. The dog that are in control are the ones that are more relaxed in a situation. Keeping a dog below threshold is a very important part of training. If the dog is reacting, training can not occur. The brain is in a sensory overload mode. Progression form flat buckle collar to prong collar is not the solution. Causing any kind of discomfort will only make the matter worse.

Operant Dog

Dogs that are operant seem to be happier. I clicker train all my dogs and I would not train them any other way.
When I teach a new behavior I like to start out by shaping. Shaping is an advanced form of clicker training and my dog has to be operant. That means, offering a new movement if I don't click and reward. That is why mixing clicker training and non reward markers (NRM) does not work well. Dogs will stop to become operant.
Once a behavior looks like the end product, I add a verbal cue while my dog is doing the behavior. Shortly after that is when I stop using the clicker and start using the verbal marker instead.
No more clicking needed, at that location with that behavior. Timing of the verbal cue is important and if it is being used to soon my dog does not know what behavior I am asking him to do. Once the behavior is on verbal cue I do not reward my dog for offering that behavior. That is were some trainers get confused and claim that clicker dogs can't do a long sit or long down.

Threshold

Training a dog can not be done if the dog is over threshold. Threshold levels are different for every dog. Once the dog is over threshold it needs to be removed from the stimulus. Giving a leash correction while the dog is over threshold can add aggression or fear towards the stimulus. If the dog stops barking, can you say for certain that he is below threshold?
The key is to keep a dog below threshold and slowly adding the stimulus and rewarding the dog for staying below threshold. Dog handlers, trainer, owners must learn to read their dogs and reward the correct behavior.

Seminars and Expo and Camps, Oh My!!

It has been a busy year. I attended my 3rd Clicker Expo, several seminars and Stacy's Camp.

Clicker Expo was great. It is a 3 day event with speakers that come from as far as Europe.
I have enjoyed every one of them and wish for them to last forever. I have decided to skip the 2009 Clicker Expo and will look forward to going again in 2010.

In February a friend and I traveled to Colorado to attend a Silvia Trkman seminar with Ryker. She is magnificent. Following her training philosophy for several years and seeing the results not only in my own dogs, but also my students is very rewarding. The dogs learn how to think for themselves. Her puppy classes are fun and produce thinking dogs. She showed me how to teach some of her more difficult tricks and her running contact method. She liked Ryker's work ethics and loved his flea trick. The highlight of the event was seeing her run an Agility course with her little La. I am looking forward on attending her next seminar in the U. S.

Leslie McDevitt has the same attitude. Positive and very understanding to the individual dog's needs. Leslie, however, is more about the dogs state of mind. How to keep an over-reactive dog calm (below threshold) is one of her specialties. The dogs should never be over threshold when using her methods. If the dog is going over threshold the handler has asked for to much, to fast, to soon. A dog learns to re-orient to the handler for more fun or food. I was able to attend her seminar with Ryddick and learned that we have accomplished a lot and that I need to start trusting him more.
I am using CU methods in all the classes I teach with great results.
Going out to dinner with Leslie, Bill and a friend was very rewarding. Leslie even encouraged us to give a workshop and give CU classes.

C-Spot Win Camp was great Agility Camp. It was held over 3 full days in Laramie, WY. I singed up for Contact and Weave Poles with Rachel Sanders. Rachel wrote an article in Cleanrun magazine about her contact training method. She also showed us some Weave Pole trouble shooting methods.
Another part of the Camp was working with Rhonda Carter, Karen Holik, Gerry Brown, Stephanie Spyr, Dana Pike and Stacy Peardot-Goudy. Looking forward on visiting again in 2009.

Leslie And Bill McDevitt.......

........visited my home, the goats and the fowl.

They both enjoyed the goats and Bill took some really cute pictures. They played a bit of fetch with the dogs and we talked a little. Leslie was impressed with how much my friend and I have worked with our dogs. Getting them ready for live, training and even trialing. We have been in tune with our dogs and their needs and it hasn't been about getting them ready for trialing and exploiting them. There is no need to rush. We have nothing to prove. Leslie encouraged me to continue with classes and even do a workshop. That was pretty awesome. All my hard work is paying off.
Thanks Leslie and Bill for coming to Utah.

Control Unleashed #3 (private lessons)

Today Raygen and I were helping another team with being the surprise dog for a lesson. Raygen was great. He is calm and seems to know the other dog needs a bit of space on does not want to be visited. He did not show any interest in saying hi.
I also watched 3 other dogs and their lessons. Two of whom I knew. Leslie was spot on with making observations about the dogs.