Today we didn't learn anything new, but worked upon what we have been working on during the past few weeks and added a new element... distractions.
Recall
The first thing we worked on was recall and building their drive. This was a fun exercise. All of the dogs were put alongside a wall while one dog would be in front of the class. Kristen, the trainer, would hold the dog while we took our place about 5 feet from the dog. She would let the dog get distracted and then we would have to call the dog over. If we were waiting for out turn, we would work on our dog and working on getting them to focus on you using "watch me", their name, and touches.
Stay with Distraction
Oh distractions... once this element is added, Mochie forgets about what she is doing and is more interested with distraction.
Distraction is another element in getting the dog to stay. When working on stay with distraction for the first time, start with short duration and no distance. Mochie does a much better job with down-stays, so we started her in a down. Then we asked her to stay and keep eye contact the entire time (1 sec). If she broke eye contact, we had to get her attention (kissy noise, watch me, etc) and had to start her stay again.
During this exercise, Kristen walked around and was the distraction. The moment Kristen came, Mochie thought "screw this stay business, I want to play with Kristen!" So Kristen helped us and gave us some suggestions in getting Mochie's attention. Kristen suggested that we don't repeat Mochie's name. We should just say it once so she learns to respond to it. If she doesn't respond to her name, we should stick the treat right around her face (if that doesn't work then her nose) and the moment she takes notice give her the treat. Then take another treat and lure towards us. We also learned another training tip involving the dispensing of treats. Kristen asked Mochie to sit and Mochie obeyed, but while Kristen was going to give the treat, Mochie came out of her sit and reached for the treat. Kristen removed the treat by pulling back and then Mochie sat back down. Then Mochie learned that if she were to get a treat for sitting, her butt has to remain on the ground to get the treat. So here we learned that in order to give the treat (or receive the treat), Mochie must do what is asked and if she doesn't we must remove the reward or else we are rewarding the wrong thing.
Wait
Hand signal - "L" with the fingers
We were first split up into two groups. One group worked with the doors, while the other group worked having the dog wait behind a line. Mochie was part of the group that had to learn to wait behind the line. To get Mochie to learn "wait," we first asked her to sit. Then we gave her the signal took a step forward, said ok and then rewarded her.
The door is a little trickier because a dog will want to bolt out of the door once it's opened. Teaching wait is a little trickier because it has to be broken down into steps. First we have them sit, then do the step/level of wait, tell them ok and reward. The steps: 1) touch doorknob 2) turn doorknob 3) open door (just a crack) 4+) open door wider and wider 5) have door open.
Next week is the last week of class and we are gonna have a trick show. The winner of the trick show is going to be named valedictorian of the class. The trick show is going to be cool. Each dog is going to do a trick and then each dog in the class will perform the same trick. For every trick they do, they get a point and who ever gets the most points is the winner. So for the next week, Mochie and I are gonna be "cramming" and we are gonna try to learn as many tricks as possible.
Showing posts with label Mochie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mochie. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Mochie Goes to School: Week 3
I LOVED LOVED LOVED today's class because it's practically everything that I want Mochie's mama to know. Ugh, I wish I took pictures of Mochie in class. It would make this look much more exciting.
Recall
The most important thing about getting your dog to learn come is to make it the most positive experience ever. That means do not call your dog over for something it doesn't like. For example, cutting its nails, taking a bath, getting its themperature taken... basically things it doesn't like to do. If you do that, then it just associate come with those things. I also learned that if you are at the park and you call your dog to come and then leave, then it will associate that coming with you will mean it is time to leave. We were also taught that if your dog is in a situation where they will not coming to you, it is better to just go up to the dog and get it. Lastly, when calling your dog, you have to make it the greatest thing in the world. Yes you may look dumb practicing it, but it's the way to get your dog excited about coming to you.
We learned a strict version of come and it's can be broken down into two parts. First part is getting the dog to come and the second part is having the dog sit and grabbing its collar/harness. The second part is important because the dog has to get used to having its collar grabbed so it doesn't run away from you when you call it and you have to grab its collar in an emergency situation.
Mochie got to the be example dog for come. Yay! It was her first time to be the example dog and I was excited for her. Kristen (our trainer) let Mochie sniff around a bit and let her do her own thing. She called Mochie and made kissy noises and lured Mochie towards her while she backed up. Mochie looked at her and ran towards her. She praised Mochie and gave her a treat. Next, Mochie went back to sniffing and Kristen tried to get her to sit. Mochie took awhile, but she sat. So Mochie got her 2nd treat even though it took awhile. Yay!
Practicing this is so much fun! I tried to do what Kristen did, and it worked! I let Mochie kinda sniff around and let her explore the floor. I then called her and the moment that she looked at me I said good girl and she came running towards me! =D I gave her her treat and praised her. Then I asked her to sit, gave her treat and grabbed her harness. I even showed Anthony later that night and Mochie showed her that she knew what to do.
Stay w/ Distance
Last week, we worked on Stay w/ Duration. This week we added another D - Distance. With all dog training it is important to take baby steps. Which means don't ask your dog to stay 1 foot away from you and then expect them to stay 20 feet away from you. It's not going to work because they don't generalize well. For now, we are working on a 1 foot stay. So we ask her to stay 1 foot away from us and when we step back towards her, we make sure she stays. She kinda gets it, I kinda get it...it's a work in progress. I also learned that Mochie is much more successful at down-stay rather than sit-stay. So for now, we are gonna work on her down-stays. Always have to remember to set her up for success.
Loose Leash Walking
I am not really a religious person, but THANK THE LORD! We have FINALLY come to Loose Leash Walking (LLW). What is LLW? It's where your dog walks loosely on a leash. Sounds simple, right? But it's not. First, walking on a leash is very unnatural for a dog, so they must learn how to walk on a leash. Second, it is a dog's natural instinct to want to pull on their leash. Third, on a walk the dog and human have their own separate agendas and in 99% of most cases that's what causes the pull.
So how does one get their dog to walk loosely on a leash? First we have to get them to understand that pulling and feeling that tension in their collar/harness does not get them a reward. But when they don't feel that pulling sensation, they get a reward. To teach that, we let the dog get interested in whatever at a distance. For Mochie we let her sniff some treats our hand and place them in at a distance - not too far not too close. Of course Mochie would try to lunge for it, but we can't let her. Once she stopped and the tension in the leash is gone, she would get a reward. Then we would step forward and repeat the whole cycle again. Kristen said it could take up to 40 minutes just to walk from your house to your neighbors house when doing this for the first time because it takes a lot of repetition and consistency.
In class, Mochie just worked in her own corner, and Kristen helped us. Mochie's momma held the reins while I observed. Kristen showed the treats to Mochie and placed them at a distance. Mochie tried to lunge at it, but we wouldn't let her. Once Mochie stopped and released the tension, she got a reward and we took a step forward. Eventually we got to the treat pile and Mochie got to eat it. So hah! Whatever I learned on the internet is what I learned in class, except I wanted Mochie to sit before we move on.
After class I asked Kristen a few questions, especially about Mochie's shyness/fear of other dogs. She recommended that we try to find another small calm dog, maybe another pom, and let Mochie approach the dog, and maybe have a trainer involved. *sigh* I asked if daycare would help her, but she said being around a bunch of other dogs might freak her out. I guess daycare is out of the picture. =(
In class we also did some sits and downs and ugh. Mochie is being told to "sit sit sit" instead of "sit" Ugh. No wonder this dog gets confused. Once is enough! That teaches her to respond to "sit sit sit" instead of a good ol' "sit" blah. We need to fix that and work on it ASAP.
Anthony had a funny observation last night. He noticed that Mochie would try to look occupied anytime his mom was in her little play area trying to tidy up things. Mochie would kinda half ass chew her toy instead of being engrossed in it and glance up trying to see if she was around. hmm.... He realized that Mochie is very smart, and indeed she is. If she figured out to do that, what else can she do? Oh the possibilites! Anthony also thinks that the novelty of owning a dog has worn off for his mom. She's slowly realizing how much work it is to own a dog. So ya... See what happens when you jump in feet first? And who has been right all of these months? hmmmmm???
Ooo I have been trying to teach her shake hands. She is slowly getting it and it starting to offer her paw a bit higher. Now I need to take away the lure out of my hand and see if she will do it. I had her practicing it in class to keep her occupied. hehe.
Recall
The most important thing about getting your dog to learn come is to make it the most positive experience ever. That means do not call your dog over for something it doesn't like. For example, cutting its nails, taking a bath, getting its themperature taken... basically things it doesn't like to do. If you do that, then it just associate come with those things. I also learned that if you are at the park and you call your dog to come and then leave, then it will associate that coming with you will mean it is time to leave. We were also taught that if your dog is in a situation where they will not coming to you, it is better to just go up to the dog and get it. Lastly, when calling your dog, you have to make it the greatest thing in the world. Yes you may look dumb practicing it, but it's the way to get your dog excited about coming to you.
We learned a strict version of come and it's can be broken down into two parts. First part is getting the dog to come and the second part is having the dog sit and grabbing its collar/harness. The second part is important because the dog has to get used to having its collar grabbed so it doesn't run away from you when you call it and you have to grab its collar in an emergency situation.
Mochie got to the be example dog for come. Yay! It was her first time to be the example dog and I was excited for her. Kristen (our trainer) let Mochie sniff around a bit and let her do her own thing. She called Mochie and made kissy noises and lured Mochie towards her while she backed up. Mochie looked at her and ran towards her. She praised Mochie and gave her a treat. Next, Mochie went back to sniffing and Kristen tried to get her to sit. Mochie took awhile, but she sat. So Mochie got her 2nd treat even though it took awhile. Yay!
Practicing this is so much fun! I tried to do what Kristen did, and it worked! I let Mochie kinda sniff around and let her explore the floor. I then called her and the moment that she looked at me I said good girl and she came running towards me! =D I gave her her treat and praised her. Then I asked her to sit, gave her treat and grabbed her harness. I even showed Anthony later that night and Mochie showed her that she knew what to do.
Stay w/ Distance
Last week, we worked on Stay w/ Duration. This week we added another D - Distance. With all dog training it is important to take baby steps. Which means don't ask your dog to stay 1 foot away from you and then expect them to stay 20 feet away from you. It's not going to work because they don't generalize well. For now, we are working on a 1 foot stay. So we ask her to stay 1 foot away from us and when we step back towards her, we make sure she stays. She kinda gets it, I kinda get it...it's a work in progress. I also learned that Mochie is much more successful at down-stay rather than sit-stay. So for now, we are gonna work on her down-stays. Always have to remember to set her up for success.
Loose Leash Walking
I am not really a religious person, but THANK THE LORD! We have FINALLY come to Loose Leash Walking (LLW). What is LLW? It's where your dog walks loosely on a leash. Sounds simple, right? But it's not. First, walking on a leash is very unnatural for a dog, so they must learn how to walk on a leash. Second, it is a dog's natural instinct to want to pull on their leash. Third, on a walk the dog and human have their own separate agendas and in 99% of most cases that's what causes the pull.
So how does one get their dog to walk loosely on a leash? First we have to get them to understand that pulling and feeling that tension in their collar/harness does not get them a reward. But when they don't feel that pulling sensation, they get a reward. To teach that, we let the dog get interested in whatever at a distance. For Mochie we let her sniff some treats our hand and place them in at a distance - not too far not too close. Of course Mochie would try to lunge for it, but we can't let her. Once she stopped and the tension in the leash is gone, she would get a reward. Then we would step forward and repeat the whole cycle again. Kristen said it could take up to 40 minutes just to walk from your house to your neighbors house when doing this for the first time because it takes a lot of repetition and consistency.
In class, Mochie just worked in her own corner, and Kristen helped us. Mochie's momma held the reins while I observed. Kristen showed the treats to Mochie and placed them at a distance. Mochie tried to lunge at it, but we wouldn't let her. Once Mochie stopped and released the tension, she got a reward and we took a step forward. Eventually we got to the treat pile and Mochie got to eat it. So hah! Whatever I learned on the internet is what I learned in class, except I wanted Mochie to sit before we move on.
After class I asked Kristen a few questions, especially about Mochie's shyness/fear of other dogs. She recommended that we try to find another small calm dog, maybe another pom, and let Mochie approach the dog, and maybe have a trainer involved. *sigh* I asked if daycare would help her, but she said being around a bunch of other dogs might freak her out. I guess daycare is out of the picture. =(
In class we also did some sits and downs and ugh. Mochie is being told to "sit sit sit" instead of "sit" Ugh. No wonder this dog gets confused. Once is enough! That teaches her to respond to "sit sit sit" instead of a good ol' "sit" blah. We need to fix that and work on it ASAP.
Anthony had a funny observation last night. He noticed that Mochie would try to look occupied anytime his mom was in her little play area trying to tidy up things. Mochie would kinda half ass chew her toy instead of being engrossed in it and glance up trying to see if she was around. hmm.... He realized that Mochie is very smart, and indeed she is. If she figured out to do that, what else can she do? Oh the possibilites! Anthony also thinks that the novelty of owning a dog has worn off for his mom. She's slowly realizing how much work it is to own a dog. So ya... See what happens when you jump in feet first? And who has been right all of these months? hmmmmm???
Ooo I have been trying to teach her shake hands. She is slowly getting it and it starting to offer her paw a bit higher. Now I need to take away the lure out of my hand and see if she will do it. I had her practicing it in class to keep her occupied. hehe.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Mochie Goes to School: Week 2
This is what we learned the during the 2nd week of canine middle school. =)
Down/ Lie Down/Lay Down
I was excited to do this trick in class even though this is Mochie's default behavior. Lay Down means chest and butt on floor. There are several ways to get the dog into the down position. First method is the "L" method. First have the dog standing, and using the lure, slowly bring the lure to the ground and then slowly bring it out forming an "L." The second method is a little harder to describe. We lure the dog under our leg to get them into the down position. Take the lure and lure the dog under the leg to get them into a down. With Mochie, a variation to the "L" method worked. I taught her by taking the lure and bring it straight down. From there, she learned to go down and to not paw at the. Once she had her chest down, To get Mochie to lay down, we would have the lure in our hand and bring it down slowly. Once her butt and chest are on the floor (no pawing), mark and reward.
Watch Me
Watch Me means look at me. First stick the lure in front of their nose to get their their attention and slowly bring it up to your face. The moment they look up at your face, mark and reward. They get a bigger reward if they give you eye contact. It's kinda hard to do at first because Mochie's attention span is so short, but it is doable. I just have to be very quick.
Stay
Stay is an important command for a dog to learn. The trainer taught us that stay means "stay how I put you, where I put you until I return to you and release you." So if I put Mochie into a sit, she must stay in a sit position until I release her. Before starting stay we had to choose a release word. A release word a cue that's used to tell the dog they are free from the behavior. "Ok" is Mochie's release word. For Mochie's sit-stay, we asked her to sit. Then right in front of her face, we put up the stop walking sign. If she moves, we correct if she doesn't move we say good girl, reward and release. Right now we are working on duration, so a 1 sec stay is good.
Leave It
Leave it means I want you to leave that object alone, and I don't want you to have it at all. Leave it requires the use of two treats that differ in value. The lower value treat will act as the lure, while the higher value treat will act as the reward. With the lower value treat in my right hand, I lure Mochie with it. I place it on the floor and cover it with my right hand. Mochie tried everything to get the treat, but I couldn't let her have it. Next, take the higher value treat and lure her away from my right hand. Once her nose is away from the right hand, mark and reward. After we did this a few times, we incorporated the verbal cue. So I tempted Mochie with my right hand and then I said leave it. The moment she stops, mark and reward. She would get a bigger reward if she actually looked up at me. The important thing to remember is that I have to say "leave it" while she is pawing my hand. If I don't, then she's not actually learning the behavior.
Down/ Lie Down/Lay Down
I was excited to do this trick in class even though this is Mochie's default behavior. Lay Down means chest and butt on floor. There are several ways to get the dog into the down position. First method is the "L" method. First have the dog standing, and using the lure, slowly bring the lure to the ground and then slowly bring it out forming an "L." The second method is a little harder to describe. We lure the dog under our leg to get them into the down position. Take the lure and lure the dog under the leg to get them into a down. With Mochie, a variation to the "L" method worked. I taught her by taking the lure and bring it straight down. From there, she learned to go down and to not paw at the. Once she had her chest down, To get Mochie to lay down, we would have the lure in our hand and bring it down slowly. Once her butt and chest are on the floor (no pawing), mark and reward.
Watch Me
Watch Me means look at me. First stick the lure in front of their nose to get their their attention and slowly bring it up to your face. The moment they look up at your face, mark and reward. They get a bigger reward if they give you eye contact. It's kinda hard to do at first because Mochie's attention span is so short, but it is doable. I just have to be very quick.
Stay
Stay is an important command for a dog to learn. The trainer taught us that stay means "stay how I put you, where I put you until I return to you and release you." So if I put Mochie into a sit, she must stay in a sit position until I release her. Before starting stay we had to choose a release word. A release word a cue that's used to tell the dog they are free from the behavior. "Ok" is Mochie's release word. For Mochie's sit-stay, we asked her to sit. Then right in front of her face, we put up the stop walking sign. If she moves, we correct if she doesn't move we say good girl, reward and release. Right now we are working on duration, so a 1 sec stay is good.
Leave It
Leave it means I want you to leave that object alone, and I don't want you to have it at all. Leave it requires the use of two treats that differ in value. The lower value treat will act as the lure, while the higher value treat will act as the reward. With the lower value treat in my right hand, I lure Mochie with it. I place it on the floor and cover it with my right hand. Mochie tried everything to get the treat, but I couldn't let her have it. Next, take the higher value treat and lure her away from my right hand. Once her nose is away from the right hand, mark and reward. After we did this a few times, we incorporated the verbal cue. So I tempted Mochie with my right hand and then I said leave it. The moment she stops, mark and reward. She would get a bigger reward if she actually looked up at me. The important thing to remember is that I have to say "leave it" while she is pawing my hand. If I don't, then she's not actually learning the behavior.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Mochie Goes to School: Week 1
Today was Mochie's first day of school. I was super excited for her to go to school and learn! It sucks though that the dogs don't really get to socialize until later on in the class.
Actually, this week was Mochie's first week of school, but my 2nd week of school. Confusing? Well the first week of school was for humans only, no dogs. During the first session, we learned how to teach the dogs the desired behaviors we wanted.
Touch
First, we learned touch. To teach touch, we hold a treat in the hand that we want the dog to touch. Then we stick our hand in front of our dog and have the dog's nose touch our hand. When the dog touches theier nose to the hand, mark, and reward. We did this a few times with the treat in our hand. Next, we phased out the treat by taking it out of our luring hand and just presenting our hand to the dog. The dog touches it hand and the other hand rewards. Then we learned how to add a verbal cue. We would first say touch, present out hand and then the dog should touch, mark and reward.
Sit
I am glad Mochie knew sit, but it was good for her to learn it in a new situation. Sit means, butt and 4 paws on the floor. To get Mochie to sit, we got her interested in the treat, and then slowly raised it above her nose to get her butt down. The moment her butt was down, we marked and rewarded her for the treat.
Stand
From sit, we lured our Mochie out into a stand. We put the treat in front of her nose and slowly pulled the treat forward. From there she should stand and then we did the same, mark and treat.
And that's what we learned.
Actually, this week was Mochie's first week of school, but my 2nd week of school. Confusing? Well the first week of school was for humans only, no dogs. During the first session, we learned how to teach the dogs the desired behaviors we wanted.
Touch
First, we learned touch. To teach touch, we hold a treat in the hand that we want the dog to touch. Then we stick our hand in front of our dog and have the dog's nose touch our hand. When the dog touches theier nose to the hand, mark, and reward. We did this a few times with the treat in our hand. Next, we phased out the treat by taking it out of our luring hand and just presenting our hand to the dog. The dog touches it hand and the other hand rewards. Then we learned how to add a verbal cue. We would first say touch, present out hand and then the dog should touch, mark and reward.
Sit
I am glad Mochie knew sit, but it was good for her to learn it in a new situation. Sit means, butt and 4 paws on the floor. To get Mochie to sit, we got her interested in the treat, and then slowly raised it above her nose to get her butt down. The moment her butt was down, we marked and rewarded her for the treat.
Stand
From sit, we lured our Mochie out into a stand. We put the treat in front of her nose and slowly pulled the treat forward. From there she should stand and then we did the same, mark and treat.
And that's what we learned.
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