Obedience Proofing Games And Fun Exercises

[Ptolomy]

Leopuppy it sounds like very time you take Leo out you always run him through an entire UD round - so you are trying to pattern train? Is this right?

Just wondering if that is where some of the problems stem from in that if any one little thing changes, the dog's understanding of the exercise goes down the drain?

# 3 Put all the UD exercises in a hat - including the stays and choose three exercises out and do them in the order you picked them and reward at the end.

[Ptolomy]

and in answer to your question - I don't train UD with Scoota at all and I will never do another seekback with the seekback obsessed child if I can help it, ever again.

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

You're way more advanced than I am on the UD and stuff.

For the box work...

Susan Garrett recommends doing loads and loads of repetitions from up close. She did a challenge with her students and split them into two groups each had 4 days to train - group faraway - had to see how far they could get and send their dogs to the box. Group silly poses - had to see how many silly poses they could make and send their dog to the box.

Guess which group won the far away challenge.

For the stays - I practice with my dog in front of her dinner. Close up. No problem... Or out of sight. I mix it up. And I practice dodgy release words. Ie I have a release word, and I try a few different ones, after doing some stuff to try to fake her out and get her excited, I will say a word with enthusiasm - that is not the right word... if she breaks her stay - I just put her back and try again... She is so thrilled when she gets it right and she finds the game really exciting - go figure. And she is mortified when she gets it wrong and has to back off her dinner. She tries much harder the next time.

We also do this game at the beach or the park... I park her somewhere in a stay and run round with her fave toys and treats (bits of dried roo or smackos), squealing and waving... and if she breaks... she has to start over, if she stays - I release her to chase me and get the toy/treat.

Heelwork - I do left side, right side, leg weaves, forwards, backwards, sideways, pivots... reward average or better... but it's a game to see how well she can keep position while I try to dodge her off (being careful not to step on her). It's so much fun and fast. At the moment I'm trying to get more stuff chained together between rewards because at the moment she enjoys it but she really wants the treat (kibble even).

For seek - she will find a stick that I've been keeping in my sock for a while. After that - I don't know.

Warm up exercises - all the heelwork I described. change of position (sit, drop, stand, sit, pretty, stand...), leg weaves, chase me. Lots of chase me. roll over...belly rub.

[leopuppy04]

Just my thoughts leopuppy but given you are asking the dog to track I would rarely do a seekback as anything other than the first exercise because if you have been using the area already your just making it more complicated for the dog.

Having said that I have done a few repetitions of seekback, one box then repeated a seekback and done another box. What happens if you go back a step do a seekback and then do a really short box. I haven't been following the thread but is it just a trial issue or do they miss the first box when training as well?

Yeah that was my thought too Ness, hence the question, but just wondering if I was being too 'precious' and whether someone was going to say "nah the dogs can track the freshest scent etc etc".

Never really does it in training - quite solid actually - and enthusiastic...

Leopuppy it sounds like very time you take Leo out you always run him through an entire UD round - so you are trying to pattern train? Is this right?

Just wondering if that is where some of the problems stem from in that if any one little thing changes, the dog's understanding of the exercise goes down the drain?

# 3 Put all the UD exercises in a hat - including the stays and choose three exercises out and do them in the order you picked them and reward at the end.

Love #3 option :). What about the seekback though Ptolomy if you have been just 'heeling' in that area?

I never really do a full round - usually 1-2 exercises and the occasional full run through (honestly, about once a month when I get down to club).

Susan Garrett recommends doing loads and loads of repetitions from up close. She did a challenge with her students and split them into two groups each had 4 days to train - group faraway - had to see how far they could get and send their dogs to the box. Group silly poses - had to see how many silly poses they could make and send their dog to the box.

Guess which group won the far away challenge.

I love this and have done this with my two to teach them the box. It seldom ever does fall apart I find and they LOVE the box (except after a seekback ;))

Thanks everyone for their suggestions - keep them coming!

[ness]

How many different places do you "train" them leopuppy? And do you have any issues on trial grounds where you have trained? Just wondered if there was a way to recreate the box issue/seekback issue.

Are you able to organise for somebody to train with at a different location and have them set up the box and run a seekback?

Edited June 7, 2013 by ness

[Tassie]

My experience with my first boy (who also did tracking) was that although he sometimes goofed up his SB - and very occasionally would go looking again instead of going to the box, my walking over the ground beforehand didn't bother him. One day I had mowed the UD ring at my former club (getting it ready for a trial) - with an ordinary motor mower - so up and down many times. Decided to train him - was going to skip SB - then thought I'd try one just for fun. He astounded me - did it beautifully - go figure.

[Ptolomy]

In the west most dogs find the seekback by sight as our ovals are like bowling greens - nothing like your KCC

[ness]

Even still now there is UDX Ptolomy??

[Ptolomy]

Even still now there is UDX Ptolomy??

Yep still done by sight and then it becomes scent discrimination once they find it.

[RubyStar]

Probably very very wrong but I haven't trained seekback as a scent exercise No need when it stands out like dogs balls usually on our grounds. That does cause its own issues though when there are other things on the ground. Ruby sees something dark on the ground and gets excited cos she thinks she's found it, only to discover it was a leaf or twig Then she sets off again. I also have no plans on doing UDX with her (can't get a bloody pass in UD so I'd be crazy to ever think of doing UDX!!) so that's why I haven't bothered with any scenting with it. May approach it differently with Pippa if we ever make it to the trialling ring and she does ok at the trialling caper.

[ness]

How then do you train it RS if its not as a scent exercise? Sorry a bit off topic but I am confused because both of mine were taught the way I think Ptolomy teaches it and yet then both scent out the article rather than use sight. We don't have bowling green trial grounds and yet Ness never missed a seekback in a trial in all her UD trialling career. Messed up every other exercise just about but never a seekback.

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

Gawd, last trial our grounds were like the jungle...

and covered in possum poo - which must make seek backs interesting.

[RubyStar]

How then do you train it RS if its not as a scent exercise? Sorry a bit off topic but I am confused because both of mine were taught the way I think Ptolomy teaches it and yet then both scent out the article rather than use sight. We don't have bowling green trial grounds and yet Ness never missed a seekback in a trial in all her UD trialling career. Messed up every other exercise just about but never a seekback.

Not completely scent-free, but certainly haven't taught them to track my exact steps back in tracking form. I introduced it from a start peg, walk a couple of steps and drop it, about turn, "find". Increase the distance, add a turn in, etc. They know it's a "find" game, whether they track by sight or scent, or sometimes both. Once they knew the find it game, I'd throw it into the long grass in the backyard without them looking (sometimes with little light) and then ask them to find it. Both sight and scent come into the game, they love it.

How do you train it? Interested to hear how others train their seekback!

[ness]

Same way RS - I was pretty sure you did as well but I had this discussion off list with bedazzled and wonder whether because most of our grounds require the dog to scent that it becomes a scent based exercise just as a matter of default. I certainly know our training grounds aren't any where near the bowling greens you guys train on. I guess if the dog can't use sight then it quickly adapts to using scent regardless of how its trained.

I know Ness scents because when i was doing UD training I had to be careful helping set up the rings at club and couldn't put Kenz through before I had put Ness in otherwise she was known to track into both rings (the novice ring was normally set adjacent to the UD ring).