bedazzledx2

Ptolomy may have been...I reckon 2 trips a week down the hill is enough so not me. I do Mondays and Wednesdays. bedazzled and ptolomy were you on the main oval at k9 tonight???

Brookie was stuffed after the double Bunbury trial....didn't even worry that the cat cuddled up to him!

I'm a wimp! I'll trial in the rain but not training in it!!! Besides...I don't like wet dogs on my bed

See the training thread....I thought everyone needed to see how to train signals....if at first you don't succeed...keep trying!!!!! ;) :p :D

A good example of a somewhat extended signal :p ;) Earth to Beans!!!!! http://www.youtube.com/user/bedazzledx2?feature=mhum

think I'd better speak to her about that first! I could win funniest home videos with that one!!!!!

Ptolomy and Cider CCD debut 97 This was taped from a distance so quality not that great. Also starts halfway through the heeling... but you can see she works lovely and

Watch this space! I'm downloading it and will have it up asap.

Yep! Anticipation is not the worst thing a dog can do! Shame it scores a zero but its easily fixed. Well done on the improvements Sorry to hear BUT Look on the positive, your problem in ethuasiam not the opposite!

Just got back from Bunbury. That new road is great but boring as bat sh*t!!!!! Morning trial Brookie won UD on 195, Scoota won Open on 195 and Cider put in a brilliant debut and won on 197 Afternoon trial Brookie put in another really nice round and won on 194, Scoota second on 193. RubyStar was on a nice pass and going for first place but unfortunately sat up in the down stay. A car backfired during the sit stays which unsettled all of the dogs and although she held it together for the sit she failed the down...bumma!

Yummmmm!!!!! Good luck cookies For the humans :D Peanut butter cookies with choc chips and Reece's Pieces (M&M type things but instead of choc, they are filled with peanut butter). I reckon Ruby would work for one

Woo Hoo !!! Well done Abby and TerraNik!!! :rofl:

Twas very close...lots of ducking and weaving! Before we all got video cameras thank God!!!! Although some judges still remember OMG did you dong someone on the head? ;) Now most importantly - who was it and do you have it on video?!

What's really embarrassing is when the judge hands you the dumbbell and then holds their clipboard over their head!!!! It was about then I decided to throw over arm I've changed my down and sit signal a few times...and don't get me started on footwork!!!! I've thrown the dumbell a couple of times and had it rebound off the solid jump post ;) So thankful that has only been in training, though! Waiting for my first real embarrassing dumbell mishap in a trial yet. It's bound to happen soon with my disgraceful throwing skills!! I am trying to get it right, believe me I am That is why I love being picked on :D My "sit" signal in distance control is not as neat as I would prefer at this point in time and has changed almost as many times as I have changed my underpants in the past month, but the current one seems to be working best so once the girls are a bit more solid I might refine it to something less bold? I'm basically using my right arm and pointing it directly into the air above my head. Poor Ruby, she's my guinea pig with those whole training/trialling thing! One day I'll get it together

That's just fugly!!!!!!! Did they pull up the old tiles or just tile over it? Looks good now! This was my old laundry floor, bet you can't beat this for ugliness Had it tiled recently, now it looks like this:

Changing hand positions will get pinged every time! ;) If your hands are in front when you start the exercise then you must return both hands to front for the entire exercise. Most judges will give you feedback if you ask at the end of your round but not every judge will remember specifics at the end of the trial unless it was particularly noteworthy! Video will tell you lots, sometimes we give unintentional signals we are not even aware of until we see it on the big screen! Lovely work Looking at that yes I am double signalling stuff. DOR I walk normally to the end, stand with hands at my sides and then use one hand for the drop and then both hands for the recall and return them to my "front" position (i.e. both hands in front clasped together). Retrieve I have my left hand in "heel" position (same as what you have with your right hand) but my left is at normal walking position at my side. I indicate to retrieve with my right hand and then return both hands to a front position as she leaves. Take the dumbell with both hands and then indicate heel with my left hand returning to its "heel" position. Sas I really don't know if asking the judge is the done thing at Open level. Maybe one of the more experienced guys can comment I've noticed that in CCD judges were really keen to give feedback and even in early Novice while it was really clear I was lacking ring work they were keen to give advice but now I'm in Open I've had no feedback at all. Given they are keen to get through all their competitors I've been reluctant to ask at the end of our run. I've thought about asking at the end but wondered if they would remember after they've been through 15 or so dogs (depending on the size of the class).

Ptolomy is the best thrower I have ever seen....superwoman!!!! I'm a chucker....all I care about is getting it over the jump and not landing on the judges head!!! I've had to train my dogs to go out and get it from wherever the damn thing lands, return back over the jump and present straight!!! Poor dogs Between Ptolomy and me you've got no chance!!! :p Get it right girl!!! :D Your signals are lovely and neat! You're an "over arm" dumbell thrower, I don't see many of those! I'm a real crap throw myself, but got a dumbell throwing tip on Monday night from a fellow Lab owner and it really did improve my throws! I'm still more than capable of throwing some awful ones, but managed to throw quite a few straight ones in a row :D It's all in the flick of the wrist :D I'm an "under arm" thrower for the dumbell. I might have to get a few practice sessions in before this weekend P.S. If you're not in the ring when I am this weekend, hopefully you can check out my newly amended signals in DOR and distance control and see if they're any better than the last trial And if not, give me a stern picking on :D

There are lots of places to lose points in these exercises. Are you sure its only your signals Jess? A run on for the DOR, shifting in the sit wait, crooked front and finish can lose lots :D A fumbled pick up and or fronts and finishes are other places to lose points. Try to be as neat as you can but still be clear to your dog and if possible ask someone to video you...it can be the greatest teacher!!!!

Here you go... the judge is in the way for the DOR but you can sort of see my signals. The retrieves are fairly clear You can see my crappy throws!!! and I've chucked in the change of position just for fun!

You need to fade the reward and even get to the point where you can use a remote reward for the behaviour to become reliable. Many people don't realize that clicker and positive training requires you to raise the bar to the point of the dog performing the actions without a hint of a reward in sight. My interests are in high level competition performance where you cannot reward (with food or toy) between exercises and there may be up to 8 or more exercises with multiple behaviours in each in the UD ring. Therefore good training must have good foundations and attention to detail and duration under distraction. Not as easy as just waving a piece of food in the dog's face!!!! The dog learns that reward is contingent on performing the behaviour which you have taught carefully by splitting, not lumping and then proofing to performance level. A terrific side effect is that all of these behaviours bleed into normal life and because they are so well taught and proofed, we have dogs that comply with a level of joy because they have been taught without the need for adversives. If my dog doesn't do what I ask (cue) then I look to my training. Rehabilitating a dog gone wrong is a whole different argument and not one I will enter into but teaching a dog from scratch is all about good teaching and foundations. Taking into account that my training background is aversive methods, so I am relatively new to positive reinforcement methods and I have never used a clicker, my 12 months old Malinois has terrible sits without a reward. His sits are perfect with a toy or food reward to follow and without, I get one maybe two sits, in other words unless he sees what's on offer, he won't work for free Disobeying a known command like he does, I would have in the past administered a leash correction, I can train the behaviour I need, but without using an aversive which he has never experienced to date, where do I go from here, how do I fix it without an aversive to get a reliable sit without a reward on offer:confused: Fiona :D

Have they sent flyers to all the airports? Probably a dumb suggestion as most probably they have but you never know. They don't ask for confirmation of ownership and you could fly a small dog anywhere as accompanied baggage and none would be the wiser.

Same here. Although I know the premise of the Look at That! game is to treat the dog for noticing the distraction, my training is a bit simpler than that and I prefer my dog look at me from the get go. I wait the dog out. Dog looks at other dog, dog look at me = click/treat. I don't use an interruptor to get the dog to look away from the other dog to me. The dog chooses to look at me after looking at the other dog, knowing that looking at me will get the reward. Quite different to trying to distract the dog by shoving a treat under its nose. I stay still and quiet and don't say anything to the dog (no cue word).

Don't go there!!!!!

Don't worry...he is fine! After I did my initial shriek and lept into the air a few meters, my nephew came out wondering what the fuss is all about. He picked it up and put it somewhere safe :D

Agree Rommi. Bob Bailey said to use your clicker like a scalpel...I try I dont get it either corvus. In the scenario above how would a dog know its an interupter not a marker. Agro dog looking at the other dog just about to lunge and you click? That could be very dangerous marking the totally wrong behavious! That is my thinking as well. Click means mark, means treat. I am only going to mark what I want to reinforce and reward. I think to use it as an interruptor is a bit dangerous as to the dog, you could be marking and reinforcing something that could come back to bite you on the bum later. I wonder also if it will, over time, reduce the "power" of the clicker when rewarding what you do want? Probably not, but got me thinking.