Targeting for Shy Dogs

Hand Targeting for Shy Dogs - The best bloopers are a click away


Targeting Exercise For Fearful Dogs - Amazing videos are here

Control Unleashed Class- Java's Treat and Train

Java has a Treat and Train to help her be happy in her crate. She still gets in a bit of barking.

Parallel racing - Control Unleashed

I took a little bit of video of the Parallel Racing Game during our Control Unleashed class today.

The game is to keep your dogs attention while another dog is running next to you.

Note: I shot so little video because my Reddog was screaming and howling in his crate. Sigh.

Mat training the Control Unleashed way

This is my understanding of teaching a dog self-control using the Control Unleashed program based on reading the book (which I highly recommend), listening to the program creator, Leslie McDevitt, talk about her system and watching DVDs of Leslie work dog. These notes were tested in the Wednesday morning Control Unleashed class at TCOTC in Minneapolis.

If you try the program out at home using my notes (along with the book and a copy of the Relaxation Protocol), let me know how it works for you.

(a, b & c steps are trained at the same time but not in the same sessions.)

1. A. You teach Go To Mat. The end product is that the dog can be sent to the mat from a distance, downs on the mat and stays until recalled or released from mat.
1. B. You teach the Whiplash Turn towards you to the dog’s name. At home where the dog is very focused play a game where you toss a treat and send the dog to get it. As he's eating it say his name and click the second he turns his head toward you. Let him come back to you to get another treat. Then throw another one and start again.
That game lets you practice clicking the turning of the head. Practice it outside also with the dog on lead. If he doesn't turn his head towards you when you say his name, stand very still and hold the leash close so that he can't get too far away from you. Wait until he does turn towards you. Mark that and then release him to check out whatever was distracting him. This is using the Premack principle to reward the turn. Use Premack as much as possible.
1. C. You teach a Default Eye Contact. When the handler steps in front of the dog makes and holds eye contact with the handler.

2. A. You use the Relaxation Protocol and Bar Open/Bar Closed exercises to tell the dog that as long as the dog is on it's mat, strange stuff might happen but it just means that the dog will be fed on the mat. You do the RP in room #1 for all 15 days and then you do all 15 days in a new room. After four times through in four different places in your house, you take it on the road. The bar open /bar closed bar stuff can start anywhere at anytime during the process and seems to speed up the RP. Your goal is for the dog to melt into and be totally relaxed on the mat, not a dog that is just waiting to work. The clicker while doing mat work is too stimulating for most dogs.
2. B. You start training Look At That (LAT) on neutral objects. Work on the Whiplash Turn first, as turning quickly towards you is the most important part of the Look At That behavior chain. Then c/t the dog for looking at a neutral object you hold up or a piece of paper taped to the wall. The second step is that you ask the dog to look at the object. You are not waiting for him to select his own visual target, you tell him to look at something specific.

Whatever is drawing the dog's attention most in the environment is what you will be telling him to look at once he learns the LAT behavior chain. You can point towards the distraction or use some other body language to be very specific about what you are paying the dog to look at. When beginning, stand in front of the dog -- if you are in front of the dog it is supposed to make eye contact with you. That should be trained as a default behavior. Then move to the side, opening up the space in front of the dog to invite him to look at something specific.

3. Once the dog understands that the mat is a safe place where goodies happen, and can relax on the mat, you add the Look At That (LAT) game to the mat work. Dog looks at something first, then gets a treat.

4. You take the mat and the dog on the road to high distraction environments.

5. A. You then fade the mat and have the dog down in front of you and actively watch you.
5. B. You call the dog off the mat and work LAT with the dog just standing or sitting at heel.
5. C. After you do the RP through for each day, you can add a noise desensitization CD (kitchens, vacuums, dog show, agility, door knocking, dogs barking, door bells) at a low volume and go from there, gradually turning up the volume as the gets more and more comfortable with the noises as you go through the RP once again.

6. Do mat work with a couple dogs and handlers at once. Send the dogs to their mats parallel to each other. Have the dogs pass each other to opposite mats. Have one dog stay on a mat and the another one is sent to theirs and has to run past the staying dog.

The goal is for the mat to be a home base where the dog feels safe and knows exactly what to expect.

Blue Working

Lynnda took video of me working Blue. She also provided the notes under the videos to explain what I was working on with Ms. Blue.

Here is Robin working to desensitize Blue, her GSD, to the small & medium two dogs lying quietly in the ring to the camera’s right. Robin is doing Look At That with Blue as well as moving to add more distance between Blue & the dogs.

Here is Robin working to desensitize Blue, her GSD, to the small & medium two dogs lying quietly in the ring to the camera’s right. Robin is doing Look At That with Blue as well as moving to add more distance between Blue & the dogs. Robin is probably giving Blue a bit too much leash; if the leash was shorter, Blue might have had more opportunities for reinforcment.

Here we are having Robin demonstrate the choose-to-heel exercise, clicking the dog the moment it drives towards heel position, with the handler to deliver the tidbit in heel position. Think Click for Action, Reward for Position -- as clicker master Bob Bailey often says.

These two Teaching Heeling videos are for Minnesota 4-H dog project leaders & trainers. The kids in 4-H have to pass an obedience test that emphasizes heeling [like most obedience competition] before they can do agility with the dog.

Robin or Blue have never done this exercise this way (and it is only the third time Blue has ever been to that building).

Dog in Your Face

This is the dog in your face game at Control Unleash class.

Mat Training the Control Unleashed Way - Java

Java drives to her mat at Control Unleashed class.

Blue's Halloween

Blue was NOT an angel today. She started out pretty well. Every time the door bell rang, I sent the dogs to their mats and rained cat kibble on them. They sucked up the treats while I answered the door and passed out candy.

Red and Blue would bark a couple of times as they headed for their mats.

And then THIS came to the door.


Poor Blue lost her mind. Not even roast lamb would get her attention. All the hair was up on her back and she was using her "I mean business" bark.

So I asked the kid to wait a minute and put Blue in the kitchen out of sight of the door with a raw meaty bone. She calmed right down when she could not see the four foot tall monster at the door.



She didn't even bark later when the door bell rang to announce even more mini monsters. I know it was only because she could not see them.

Tent

The folks next door had a huge party with a tent, noise and a crowd today. I did not take photos while the party was going on.

My dogs were able to go out and potty (with me) and not react to the people. Red did run up the fence on one outing to wag at his tail at a chicken eater but came away when called.

Blue seem to pretend that people did not exist. Good dogs!

@#$% Rabbits - The Movie

Notice Red's signs of arousal?

How can I Premack bunnies?

He watched for a long time before he started barking. Blue never did join in. Red came to me a couple of times - on his own instead of locking and loading on the rabbit family. And when he started barking, I turned the camera off and called him in to the house. He came right away.

Red the Napaholic

Dogs

Who parked in front of our house? Do you have a tennis ball?

Raw chicken wings. The breakfast of champions.

My Red dog after his Control Unleash class

He only got up to have a very small dinner and then again - because I insisted - for his before bed trip to the doggy outhouse.

Control Unleashed Class

This dog is working in the box. The are doing "Give me a break." That is why there is a chair in the ring.

This dog is almost asleep on his mat.

This dog is working for treats. She did relax a bit later into the class.

This dog is watching the instructor work with a handler and dog in the box.

This handler is watching (and waiting for) a clickable moment. Personally, I would have rapid-fire clicked this particular dog for just being on his mat.

This dog finally rolled on one hip while watching the dog in the box.

This puppy is getting extra special canned dog food from a squeeze tube while watching a dog in the box. It was his first time doing mat work around other dogs.

Crate Games

Jave and Blue in their crates at tracking.

Red resting in his crate at Control Unleash class.

Java works her crate at Control Unleash class.

Control Unleashed Class- Red Relaxing

Red is learning to relax in Control Unleashed class.



During the before class twilight time, Red is mostly on his mat. He was so relaxed today on his mat that he almost fell asleep twice.

Red's kennel in not in the ring near all the other dogs because he has a history of crate screaming. He has gotten alot better but I still worry that he will disrupt the other dogs (and handlers!) Today was the first week that he was relaxed enough in his crate to put his head down and close his eyes.

We have also been working on calm crate behavior at home.