paddles Posted March 5, 2013 Author Share Posted March 5, 2013 A great way to build drive is Susan Garrett's Crate Games (then you can keep him in the crate while waiting your turn. let him out and BAM! he'll be on fire). She has plenty of stuff on YouTube and I'm happy to lend you the DVD for a few weeks. I find the agility people more advanced in terms of motivation, building drive etc. Megan, Can you give me the name of the dvd? please. Oh, Staff and Toller, I'd love to do k9 distance, apparently they MIGHT be up and going again in June, but I think they are getting sick of me enquiring all the time.... lol... I've had such issues with training, and really, although I know some people can work stuff out on their own, I am not one of those people. Mind you it would help if I could even find one person in Echuca interested in training with me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megan_ Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 I harrass them all the time too! Crate games is thename of the dvd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Natsu chan Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 (edited) Paddles don't loose heart. You deserve a huge pat on the back. What you are trying to do is very difficult, beyond difficult. It is so much easier when you have someone to show you what to do or even just to catch you when you do something that you aren't aware of. I have trained on my own for years and it is hard even with some sporadic help and some history of club trialing levels behind me. So you have set yourself a task. Yes the dear boy isn't perfect but he's not bad at all he just needs some get up and go. You should be so proud of yourself. Just you wait you'll get there in the end. Good on you for giving it a crack. The DVD is here: http://www.agilityclick.com/prod157.htm If that helps? Edited March 5, 2013 by Natsu chan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paddles Posted June 22, 2013 Author Share Posted June 22, 2013 Time has passed.. are we working any better? I don't know, but I have made the decision to enter another trial, there is going to be a double trial at knox in September, I shall aim for this... I'm sure there will be many laughs, crying jags, and despair while we try to get ready for this trial... please sit back and prepare to laugh, cry, and crack up hysterically as I try to do this.... there will be videos... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wobbly Posted June 23, 2013 Share Posted June 23, 2013 Hey Paddles! I once got handed a rather strong vodka prior to going in the ring at a Royal for our last pass for our title. Not sure my lines were really straight but I was rather relaxed!! We did pass ;) He looks like he needs lots of razzing and playing and trying to get some bounce back. Use whatever turns him on for his treats, food, ball, toy, tug, play with you etc. sometimes the hardest bit is finding what they love, or creating an addiction. Yes! This is what i am working on, finding the stuff my dog loves most, establishing her order of values - different foods, different toys, and the relative values of these compared to environmental distractions. A great way to build drive is Susan Garrett's Crate Games (then you can keep him in the crate while waiting your turn. let him out and BAM! he'll be on fire). She has plenty of stuff on YouTube and I'm happy to lend you the DVD for a few weeks. I find the agility people more advanced in terms of motivation, building drive etc. Ohh my copy just arrived on Friday, it's part of my homework for my Fenzi course. I would first and foremost reccommend Steve K9Pro too! But in the interim, while he has no distance courses going, there are other great online courses. I am doing one at the moment through Denise Fenzi called Obedience problem solving. There are 3 levels, gold level submits videos and Denise gives students second by second feedback on the vids. A lot of current students are working on focus now in that class (including me). She also runs drive and motivation online courses. I think the next round of courses begins Aug 1. These are great, the confidence building course might help Milo? Here is the link http://www.fenzidogsportsacademy.com/index.php/schedule-and-syllabus IMO you are placing a little bit too much pressure on yourself. All I am really aiming for right now is her looking like she's enjoying herself so much that she can keep sustained focus. Its only a little goal, and I have reached it so I am really happy with myself and her. Which makes training much more rewarding for ME, and thus for Jarrah too, as compared to aiming for perfection and falling short of the mark, becoming despondent about it. Just aim for you and Milo enjoying your training time together. After all that's ultimately why we have our dogs, to enjoy their company, sometimes I think people get so goal oriented they forget to enjoy the process, I know I have been guilty of this. What's Milo's favourite reward? Jarrah's favourite is soft toys, she loves tearing them to pieces, the rippability provides a "win" she can't get off a standard tug toy. She adores it, so I went to the Salvos and they were selling 10 fluffy toys for a dollar, I got 20 toys for her (they only last a session each, five reward events per toy since each toy generally has 4 limbs and a head to be torn off). They're making her really love training, even when there's no fluffy toys in the offing in a session, only kibble, training sessions being associated with the fluffy toy destroying has made sits and downs more rewarding in and of themselves for her. I think you are doing excellent, the only way to succeed is to make all the mistakes and learn from them. NB I am a noob trainer, so opinions that conflict with mine are probably more right than mine. XD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wobbly Posted June 23, 2013 Share Posted June 23, 2013 Oops that vid is from March, sorry! Only just realised. Milo is very handsome, also I ma jealous he is tall enough for pocket hand XD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paddles Posted June 23, 2013 Author Share Posted June 23, 2013 today's short video... right to the point my phone rang... http://youtu.be/_P0htqqCP9o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 He is looking much more motivated and much happier. He has some animation happening which is great and you are walking faster which also helps, if you can motor a little farster again as he is a nice tall boy. Well done and a fantatsic improvement. One little thing I do is I really practice keeping their focus as I step off. It can sometimes be the hardest thing to do. If I take one step and their eye's or nose drop I stop, get their attention, reward that attention then see if I can hold it for one step then reward, then reward, two steps, then 5 then 2 then 7 then 4 etc etc etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wobbly Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 Oh he's looking fantastic there! Great job! Whatever you're doing differently to before, it's working brilliantly! Only thing I would say is you're making the same mistake as me in regard to relying on hand signals rather than verbals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paddles Posted June 24, 2013 Author Share Posted June 24, 2013 He is looking much more motivated and much happier. He has some animation happening which is great and you are walking faster which also helps, if you can motor a little farster again as he is a nice tall boy. Well done and a fantatsic improvement. One little thing I do is I really practice keeping their focus as I step off. It can sometimes be the hardest thing to do. If I take one step and their eye's or nose drop I stop, get their attention, reward that attention then see if I can hold it for one step then reward, then reward, two steps, then 5 then 2 then 7 then 4 etc etc etc. Yes a friend showed me this, and I practice this a lot. he still looks down a lot, but less than before. we are working now on stopping me "luring" and him swinging around... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 What's Milo's favourite reward? Jarrah's favourite is soft toys, she loves tearing them to pieces, the rippability provides a "win" she can't get off a standard tug toy. She adores it, so I went to the Salvos and they were selling 10 fluffy toys for a dollar, I got 20 toys for her (they only last a session each, five reward events per toy since each toy generally has 4 limbs and a head to be torn off). They're making her really love training, even when there's no fluffy toys in the offing in a session, only kibble, training sessions being associated with the fluffy toy destroying has made sits and downs more rewarding in and of themselves for her. It's because the association of the reward is the object, not interaction with you. If you stop letting her play with anything except with you and if she isnt enthusiastic cut all play/toys she'll pep up in no time. It's a self rewarding behavior you're letting her do, she'll never focus on you properly if you keep letting her do it herself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wobbly Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 (edited) O yeah, I see what you're saying. We play tug with the soft toys - it's interactive! I generally get 5 rewards out of a toy - they mostly have 4 limbs and a head, each to be torn off individually. XD From a prey drive perspective, African wild dog hunting techniques are a bit of a model for me here, they way they tear up a carcass together. One dog has a leg, the other dog may have another leg, and both dogs are working together to tear apart the carcass. Its a cooperative effort. I think it's all about the interaction (I hope) we both win when we finally rip it up up together! So Jarrah will get a leg off (usually pretty quickly, she adores it and really puts her all into it), and she finds that so incredibly satisfying, I don't think she gets as much of a sense of "WINNING!" out of a tug because it doesn't rip up like the soft toys. Since I conditioned her over years with swim/fetch/tug as her primary joy, just tug, or even just tug and fetch (without the swim component) is not quite the be all and end all for her. Mea culpa conditioning wise, I could have directed her gusto to just tug, but I didn't because I simply didn't have any depth of understanding then, and our swim/fetch/tug games also really suited our lifestyle. Lucky I don't have kids though, teddies wouldn't survive long in this house, they are a cooperative reward, but they could still be nearly as good for a solo self satisfying reward for her too, were she to happen across one without my input. Definitely not something you'd want to use for tug if you have kids dropping their toys around the house. XD Edited June 25, 2013 by Wobbly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 I think it's all about the interaction (I hope) we both win when we finally rip it up up together! No it's about winning and possession, she's allowed to tear off and 'own' the piece whereas with the tug she has to share it with you. The more you let her tear up and possess the bigger rod for your own back you will create. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wobbly Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 O wow, OK i really do need to reassess the fluffy toy thing don't I, thinking about it, you are probably right, she is a possessive dog, again for this mea culpa. And it's something that in other contexts I have been working so hard to overcome, and I have been really successful. But here I am again unwittingly fostering it. Derp. Well the more mistakes I make, the more I learn I guess. Thanks for that Nekhbet, so much stuff I need to learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wobbly Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 OK back to the tugs then, luckily I have managed to generalise them now, she loves whatever I offer be it synthetic, linen or leather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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