Communicating Clearly

Yesterday, I set up a jumpers course from a NADAC trial we went to in mid-October at the Quad Cities Dog Center in Davenport, Iowa.  When I saw where the bonus line was, my heart sank.  Too many turns to even consider the bonus line.  It was a fun course to run with Belle, but  I decided to set it up in my yard yesterday and work on trying to work it from the bonus line.

Here's the video I posted of Belle:


This is video of Dusty:

In running the course from the bonus line with Belle, it became very apparent that we have to work on "turn" some more.  With Dusty, I want to eliminate head checking that was so noticeable after the jump #11 in the four jump pinwheel.

===================================================

I went out this morning without the camera and worked on the rough spots.  I finally came to the realization that I may not really want to train Dusty and Belle to go out a great distance as I stop moving.  Stopping with Belle has a tendency to produce wrap or a tight turn, or, worse, a very confused dog who proceeds to the next obstacle without conviction. 

Actually, this is similar to running up to the handler line in Chances and stopping.  You've just given a very strong collection cue, yet what you really want is for the dog to go out away from you.  You want obstacle focus and speed; not handler focus and collection.

This problem was much more noticeable when I was running the course with Belle and Dusty.  I wanted to be able to send them into that pinwheel and be ready for the tricky bits that followed.  Well, I can do that.  But I may have to pass the plane of the first jump and support their path out to the second and third if I want to be clear in my handling.  That still leaves me plenty of time to get in position to handle the tricky bit that's coming up.  The more laterally distant I was from them, the better I handled it.  But there was still room for improvement on my part even at a distance.

O would some power the giftie gie us --Robert Burns

An invaluable tool for analyzing your handling is a video footage of your runs.  This is especially true for those of us that train alone.  Since I have moved to an area where the closest instruction is 70 miles away, video has become an extremely important part of my training.

It doesn't really make a difference if you use the video recorder available on your camera or a video camera.  You're not making an Academy Award contender; you're recording your runs so that you can view them to see:

• what went right
• what went wrong
• if there is something you'd like to try handling differently
• if there are any gaps in your dog's training

An important consideration while filming is keeping both yourself and your dog in frame as much as possible.  If your dog goes off-course, the video can't tell you why if you can't see what you did to send your dog off-course.  If you did nothing wrong, then maybe you've found a gap in your training.

If you don't have someone readily available to film you, then a tripod is invaluable.  Just make sure you set it up far enough away from your course that you capture everything of interest.  The jumps will seem small in the viewfinder, but on a TV or computer screen the video will be big enough for critiquing the run.


I find it extremely helpful to be able to view my videos in slow motion.  Many video cameras offer slow motion viewing as an option.  If yours doesn't, just download it to your computer and view it with VLC Media Player.  The minus key on the number keypad engages slow motion; the plus key increases play speed.  VLC Media Player can be downloaded for free here.

Happy filming. 

In the Blink of an Eye - Working on Calming the Pack

Back in October, I posted about my efforts to end the frenetic behavior that Dusty displays when my neighbors come home.  I still have never had a chance to joyously beat the fence, and amuse my neighbor--the one imitation I did of insanity at the bay window left its desired impression on the dogs.  (Probably left an undesirable impression on the neighbors though ;-)  Dusty (and the other three) will still bark at the fence when my neighbors come home, but not as insanely, and the moment I open my window or the patio door, he and the others come away from the fence.

Tuesday night, I was able to run him on an AKC JWW course, and we had what was possibly the best run we've ever had.  (I'm sure it didn't hurt that David and Micky had already run him three times.)  However, despite the excellent run, Dusty still did some air-biting as we lined up at the start line.  He does this with me in many situations; he does not air-bite when David or Micky runs him.

About a week ago, I started working Karen Overall's relaxation protocol with Dusty and Belle.  A few days later, I decided to work with Libby and Max also.  I will be so over-joyed if eventually we can answer the front door without all bedlam breaking loose.  Dusty is going to repeat Day 6; Belle is on Day 7; Max has progressed to Day 3; and Libby will be repeating Day 2.

I also started reading Control Unleashed by Leslie McDevitt.  That got me trying to shape an eye blink.  All four dogs have been exposed to shaping behavior with a clicker, and until now the hardest thing that I have ever tried to shape was getting them to strutt.  In fact, we never truly perfected that one, but at least we got a start on it.  I think shaping the eye blink is even harder.  I was very surprised that Max, my Airedale, seemed to get the idea more quickly than the Aussies.  He did have an advantage though since I tell him to lie down every time he gets up, but he responded quite quickly to my "eyes wide open, followed by a blink" clue.  The Aussies, didn't seem to get that clue at all.

This morning, I decided to give everyone a chance to work on eye-blink shaping before breakfast.  I had everyone go into the sunroom and then brought them out one at a time.  Dusty was first and as he came through the door, he gave his customary air-bite and leap in the air.  My clicker was in my hand and spoke to me:  You can make him come through that doorway again (and again), and when he does it calmly, click and treat.  Oh, duh!  Of course.  Why did I never think of that before?  It took several times before Dusty did it correctly, but he did do it.  From now on, he will not be allowed to proceed through a doorway or gate or to his dish unless he does it calmly.

Wish me luck on my winter project of bringing calmness to the pack.

JWW Practice Course

This evening at the Quad Cities Dog Center, they set up a JWW course designed by Jacqueline Hoye from the 2008 Great St. Louis Agility Club’s Thanksgiving Weekend Trial.  What a treat.  A JWW course that allowed for distance handling.  I ran this course using three rear crosses and one front cross a couple of times.  Unfortunately, Belle is not quite fast enough to allow me to do the rear crosses unless I put an extra wide curve in my path.  If I would remember to go into pinwheels with her, I could probably take some of the curve out of my line, but staying out of a pinwheel is very, very ingrained into my psyche.


I also tried taking a lead-out and doing two front crosses, a rear and then a final front cross.  I must admit that I liked this way of handling the course better.  I wasn't standing around waiting to rear cross, and I didn't have to take a loopy line to allow Belle to pass me.  It was also resulted in a run that was about .8 of a second faster.

David and Micky took turns running Dusty this evening, but I got the final run with him.  He did some air-biting at the start line, but the only other static I got from him was a couple of barks--no spins, no coming back at me for being late.  Just full steam ahead.  I ran him with the three rear crosses and single front.  He moves so much faster than Belle that I almost didn't make it for the front cross despite the fact that I sent him just as I did Belle.  

Here is the footage of Belle and me.  Unfortunately, :( my videographer was too busy chatting to capture my run with Dusty.