Jul 2005
13 months 1
2005/07/28
I spend the weekend at a llama show, working hard, and have no time for the dogs, who spend three full days alternating between riding in the car (4-hour drive each way), lying in the expen in the shade under the overhang of the fifth-wheel trailer, or stuck inside the trailer wishing something more interesting was happening. Zero exercise.
Ron's been taking them out to pee in the evening (he's got more stamina than I have - I work all day and then crash for 11 hours). In the morning a friend knocks on the door. As I open the door, Stitch squeezes past me and out the door. She jumps on my friend and... WHAT? PEES ON HER FEET! Good grief! Then... ohmygawd! She runs away! Around the side of the barn and out of sight. In the next barn over there's a bunch of horses getting ready for competition, and cattle in the one after that. I'm frantic, and I go peeling around the corner of the barn in my pjs to discover... Stitch pooping. When she's done, she comes ripping back as fast as she can to greet my friend again.
A young llama friend asks if she can take Stitch for a walk later. I warn her that Stitch will pull her around, but when they come back, she reports that there was no pulling at all.
When we get home, I start working on the buoy-line retrieve and discover that retrieving has deteriorated more than I thought. Sometimes Stitch thinks she's supposed to target the item and come right back. Sometimes she forgets what she's doing entirely. Sometimes she picks it up but it's heavier than she thought or it gets snagged on something, so she drops it and comes back to get her cookie. Remember, this is the pup who carries Leroy - a stuffed toy almost as large as she is - around everywhere she goes and regularly tries to sneak my husband's workboots (size 12) out the dog door, so I know she CAN work through retrieving problems when her mind is in the right place.
I spend a couple of sessions on retrieving various items - a dumbell, an empty plastic pop bottle (a favourite toy), a small plastic bumper with a long line attached, and one of hubby's boots. I shape her to pick up the pop bottle and bring it to me - she knows how to do this, the shaping is to tell her that's what I want. Then I toss it around the room. She has no trouble with this, nor with the dumbell. She runs right out, picks them up properly, brings them right back, sits, and holds them until I cue the release. Then I toss the bumper. That's good until the rope snags on a stair, and she abandons it. I sit and stare at it. She wanders around the room, pokes my hand, sits and tries to make eye contact, lies down, folds one paw over the other, and finally goes back and tries again. This time she manages to bring it all the way back but drops it when she gets to me. I continue to sit and stare. She stares. I stare. She picks it up, sits, and holds it until I ask for it. We work that until she can sit at Heel, watch the toss, run out to get it, bring it all the way back without encouragement, sit, and hold it until I ask for it.
Then I toss the boot. She has less trouble with that than she did with the bumper. Then I tie the boot to the bumper line. That's OK too, she can bring back the boot whether the line is snagged or not, she seems to understand that she'll have to work harder to bring the boot. Finally, I take the boot AND the bumper off the line and just toss the line. That throws her for a loop. She searches the entire room for the boot or the bumper. She comes back to me and stares. She sits and downs, then gets up and stands over the line staring at me. Finally she picks up the line and brings it back. Clever pup. And we're done.
Starting to panic about some graduation ceremonies - her American National Specialty, where I hope to have her entered in agility, obedience, Rally, and water trials.
Ron's been taking them out to pee in the evening (he's got more stamina than I have - I work all day and then crash for 11 hours). In the morning a friend knocks on the door. As I open the door, Stitch squeezes past me and out the door. She jumps on my friend and... WHAT? PEES ON HER FEET! Good grief! Then... ohmygawd! She runs away! Around the side of the barn and out of sight. In the next barn over there's a bunch of horses getting ready for competition, and cattle in the one after that. I'm frantic, and I go peeling around the corner of the barn in my pjs to discover... Stitch pooping. When she's done, she comes ripping back as fast as she can to greet my friend again.
A young llama friend asks if she can take Stitch for a walk later. I warn her that Stitch will pull her around, but when they come back, she reports that there was no pulling at all.
When we get home, I start working on the buoy-line retrieve and discover that retrieving has deteriorated more than I thought. Sometimes Stitch thinks she's supposed to target the item and come right back. Sometimes she forgets what she's doing entirely. Sometimes she picks it up but it's heavier than she thought or it gets snagged on something, so she drops it and comes back to get her cookie. Remember, this is the pup who carries Leroy - a stuffed toy almost as large as she is - around everywhere she goes and regularly tries to sneak my husband's workboots (size 12) out the dog door, so I know she CAN work through retrieving problems when her mind is in the right place.
I spend a couple of sessions on retrieving various items - a dumbell, an empty plastic pop bottle (a favourite toy), a small plastic bumper with a long line attached, and one of hubby's boots. I shape her to pick up the pop bottle and bring it to me - she knows how to do this, the shaping is to tell her that's what I want. Then I toss it around the room. She has no trouble with this, nor with the dumbell. She runs right out, picks them up properly, brings them right back, sits, and holds them until I cue the release. Then I toss the bumper. That's good until the rope snags on a stair, and she abandons it. I sit and stare at it. She wanders around the room, pokes my hand, sits and tries to make eye contact, lies down, folds one paw over the other, and finally goes back and tries again. This time she manages to bring it all the way back but drops it when she gets to me. I continue to sit and stare. She stares. I stare. She picks it up, sits, and holds it until I ask for it. We work that until she can sit at Heel, watch the toss, run out to get it, bring it all the way back without encouragement, sit, and hold it until I ask for it.
Then I toss the boot. She has less trouble with that than she did with the bumper. Then I tie the boot to the bumper line. That's OK too, she can bring back the boot whether the line is snagged or not, she seems to understand that she'll have to work harder to bring the boot. Finally, I take the boot AND the bumper off the line and just toss the line. That throws her for a loop. She searches the entire room for the boot or the bumper. She comes back to me and stares. She sits and downs, then gets up and stands over the line staring at me. Finally she picks up the line and brings it back. Clever pup. And we're done.
Starting to panic about some graduation ceremonies - her American National Specialty, where I hope to have her entered in agility, obedience, Rally, and water trials.
13 months
2005/07/23
And now it HAS been months since we worked. The little hooligan has basically been allowed to wander through life like any "ordinary" pet dog. As Life slowly recedes from Hysterical (Red Alert, no time to think, do NOT discuss anything complicated with me) towards Normal (Yellow Alert, several hours a day of actual possible thought, try to keep yourself to one subject at a time, hmmm?), I start thinking about where she is, what training has stuck, and what training hasn't. Since I have very little memory - and considerably less during Red Alerts than Yellow - I feel guilty about how little she knows. I'm starting to feel the pressure of the PWD American National Specialty coming up in - holy cow, 9 weeks - during which I'm planning to enter her in conformation, obedience, agility, Rally-O, CGC, and the water trial, and I suspect she knows nothing.
The first thing I do is look at her Levels checklist, and I'm shocked to discover that she was last working on Level FIVE, having successfully completed all the Levels up to and including Four. Well! Isn't THAT a nice surprise! She can't know NOTHING! Time to take stock.
Things she does NOT know: how to Heel. A solid retrieve in the face of distractions. Being In The Game with distractions and low-value treats (kibble). A solid on-cue first-time every-time retrieve of her dish. How to walk through a room without picking up everything she passes. How to love strangers touching her. To swim without following Scuba. How to greet people without appearing to be trying to bite them (she greets me by holding my wrist in her mouth. I think it's cute, but several people have recoiled in alarm when she tried it on them).
Things she does know, shocking as it may be: How to ride politely in the car. How to go from the house to the car, and car to house, off lead and without taking off after the cats. How to stay in the car even if I leave the door open while I go back in the house to get whatever I inevitably forgot. How to stay on the grooming table even if I leave the room to get the scissors. Loose Leash Walking. How to be shaped (she's not as good as Scuba is at it, but she's willing to work at it). Staying in the crate without whining. To love the agility obstacles. To stay with me and/or come back to me even if other dogs are running around nearby (was that me frantic about her running off on the agility field just a couple of months ago? We went to a new dog park and she demonstrated astonishing self-control and teamwork).
I've been working on the hysterical greetings this week. When I let the dogs out of their crates in the morning or when I come home, I ask each one in turn to Sit, and then slowly and gently massage her ears, her neck, her shoulders, and down her sides. If, in her enthusiasm, she breaks the Sit, I turn and ask the other one to Sit and do the same with her. Each dog gets two turns. In four days, this regimen has dramatically reduced the noise and enthusiasm of letting them loose - and to my surprise, Stitch is better at it than Scuba is. I'm glad it's so effective, I was starting to get a little frantic myself as they barked and spun and grabbed things to parade with every time I was out of sight for 30 seconds or more. That way lies separation anxiety.
We've also been to a lake several times. Stitch and I worked first in her water bucket, then in a wading pool, and her Underwater Retrieve is superb. She has no qualms about putting her whole head underwater to get something, gently blowing bubbles to keep the water from going up her nose. At one point in the wading pool, I tossed her bumper and she missed it, thinking it had gone underwater. She was down for a LOOONG time trying to find it. She's thrilled to follow Scuba as Scuba chases a ball or bumper out into the lake, and she's a strong swimmer, but she's not yet confident enough to voluntarily let herself float without Scuba leading her out. Here's where her retrieve breaks down, her enthusiasm for it decreases as the water gets closer to swimming depth. I need to really concentrate on getting her retrieve back up to speed.
This morning I spent training llamas. After lunch, hot, sweaty, and tired, we set off to spend an hour in the park in the shade. I took four wieners, planning on using them for four different training situations, depending on what Stitch gave me when we got there. There's a big party in the park this weekend, which they're setting up for - tents, trucks, chairs, etc. Also kids running "loose", big guys playing hacky sack, joggers, walkers, and bikers. I've got my hands full from the car to a bench, but we don't meet anyone walking by us and Stitch keeps the leash loose brilliantly. At the bench, I use the first wiener for some shaping practise. I put my book on the ground and shape her to touch it. That's quick and easy, considering how long it's been since we worked together - maybe 20 clicks. I pick up the book and shape her to go to a garbage can a few feet from one end of the bench. Even quicker, maybe 12 clicks' and I'm thinking about getting her to go around it, but we've used up the first wiener.
We spend the second one on remaining sitting while being petted by kids (not difficult, kids aren't scary, but I wanted to reward it anyway), and giving me her paw (which we have apparently worked on in the past, since she starts shoving it at me almost immediately). We get to putting a cue on it, and the second wiener's done.
All the kids have left the playground equipment, so we go to explore it. The first thing we find is a little slide about 5' high with wooden steps leading up to it. I lure her up the steps, and I'm getting ready to bring her gently down the slide, maybe holding on to her to keep her from sliding too fast, when she takes one too many steps forward and slides down - good form, front feet leading, back feet tucked, weight back - but I'm horrified, shove half the wiener in her mouth, and hope to heck I can get her up the stairs again. While I'm busy being shocked, Miss Adventure runs back around to the stairs, climbs them, and launches down the slide again. Eight times before I drag her off to some pause-table-like equipment. Did I mention she loves her agility equipment? She should learn to love swimming since she isn't afraid of yaw, pitch and roll any more. A far cry from the pup who wouldn't roll over!
The fourth wiener discusses Heeling around the park and back to the car. Better than I expected it to be, by a long shot, given the lack of practise putting it together. She's a bit wide, and a bit forward, and not aware she has to sit when I stop, but definitely passable and an excellent place to start working it up. We work 300-Peck Heeling and get up to 6 steps with excellent position and attention. An excellent day!
The first thing I do is look at her Levels checklist, and I'm shocked to discover that she was last working on Level FIVE, having successfully completed all the Levels up to and including Four. Well! Isn't THAT a nice surprise! She can't know NOTHING! Time to take stock.
Things she does NOT know: how to Heel. A solid retrieve in the face of distractions. Being In The Game with distractions and low-value treats (kibble). A solid on-cue first-time every-time retrieve of her dish. How to walk through a room without picking up everything she passes. How to love strangers touching her. To swim without following Scuba. How to greet people without appearing to be trying to bite them (she greets me by holding my wrist in her mouth. I think it's cute, but several people have recoiled in alarm when she tried it on them).
Things she does know, shocking as it may be: How to ride politely in the car. How to go from the house to the car, and car to house, off lead and without taking off after the cats. How to stay in the car even if I leave the door open while I go back in the house to get whatever I inevitably forgot. How to stay on the grooming table even if I leave the room to get the scissors. Loose Leash Walking. How to be shaped (she's not as good as Scuba is at it, but she's willing to work at it). Staying in the crate without whining. To love the agility obstacles. To stay with me and/or come back to me even if other dogs are running around nearby (was that me frantic about her running off on the agility field just a couple of months ago? We went to a new dog park and she demonstrated astonishing self-control and teamwork).
I've been working on the hysterical greetings this week. When I let the dogs out of their crates in the morning or when I come home, I ask each one in turn to Sit, and then slowly and gently massage her ears, her neck, her shoulders, and down her sides. If, in her enthusiasm, she breaks the Sit, I turn and ask the other one to Sit and do the same with her. Each dog gets two turns. In four days, this regimen has dramatically reduced the noise and enthusiasm of letting them loose - and to my surprise, Stitch is better at it than Scuba is. I'm glad it's so effective, I was starting to get a little frantic myself as they barked and spun and grabbed things to parade with every time I was out of sight for 30 seconds or more. That way lies separation anxiety.
We've also been to a lake several times. Stitch and I worked first in her water bucket, then in a wading pool, and her Underwater Retrieve is superb. She has no qualms about putting her whole head underwater to get something, gently blowing bubbles to keep the water from going up her nose. At one point in the wading pool, I tossed her bumper and she missed it, thinking it had gone underwater. She was down for a LOOONG time trying to find it. She's thrilled to follow Scuba as Scuba chases a ball or bumper out into the lake, and she's a strong swimmer, but she's not yet confident enough to voluntarily let herself float without Scuba leading her out. Here's where her retrieve breaks down, her enthusiasm for it decreases as the water gets closer to swimming depth. I need to really concentrate on getting her retrieve back up to speed.
This morning I spent training llamas. After lunch, hot, sweaty, and tired, we set off to spend an hour in the park in the shade. I took four wieners, planning on using them for four different training situations, depending on what Stitch gave me when we got there. There's a big party in the park this weekend, which they're setting up for - tents, trucks, chairs, etc. Also kids running "loose", big guys playing hacky sack, joggers, walkers, and bikers. I've got my hands full from the car to a bench, but we don't meet anyone walking by us and Stitch keeps the leash loose brilliantly. At the bench, I use the first wiener for some shaping practise. I put my book on the ground and shape her to touch it. That's quick and easy, considering how long it's been since we worked together - maybe 20 clicks. I pick up the book and shape her to go to a garbage can a few feet from one end of the bench. Even quicker, maybe 12 clicks' and I'm thinking about getting her to go around it, but we've used up the first wiener.
We spend the second one on remaining sitting while being petted by kids (not difficult, kids aren't scary, but I wanted to reward it anyway), and giving me her paw (which we have apparently worked on in the past, since she starts shoving it at me almost immediately). We get to putting a cue on it, and the second wiener's done.
All the kids have left the playground equipment, so we go to explore it. The first thing we find is a little slide about 5' high with wooden steps leading up to it. I lure her up the steps, and I'm getting ready to bring her gently down the slide, maybe holding on to her to keep her from sliding too fast, when she takes one too many steps forward and slides down - good form, front feet leading, back feet tucked, weight back - but I'm horrified, shove half the wiener in her mouth, and hope to heck I can get her up the stairs again. While I'm busy being shocked, Miss Adventure runs back around to the stairs, climbs them, and launches down the slide again. Eight times before I drag her off to some pause-table-like equipment. Did I mention she loves her agility equipment? She should learn to love swimming since she isn't afraid of yaw, pitch and roll any more. A far cry from the pup who wouldn't roll over!
The fourth wiener discusses Heeling around the park and back to the car. Better than I expected it to be, by a long shot, given the lack of practise putting it together. She's a bit wide, and a bit forward, and not aware she has to sit when I stop, but definitely passable and an excellent place to start working it up. We work 300-Peck Heeling and get up to 6 steps with excellent position and attention. An excellent day!