From a little baby puppy at 9 weeks when taking him home form the breeder...
To a year old!
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Inspired!
Ok, this whole job thing is too cool. My trainers feed raw, they agree with what I agree on, they are so sweet and my gosh, so smart. It is such a hard day at work I tell you. Playing with puppies is tough work, let alone watching their brains work when clicker training.
Today I took Jasper to work, and from now on he will be joining me. You know, today went awesome. I was too worried Jasper would freak out to much but honestly? he did great!! Here and there he whined if I left, but he understood I still come back. The first thing he got to do was play with 4 other dogs! He had a blast, and he played for a good hour. He worked hard with all the chasing! He did herd a bit but Paula said he was herding in a nice way and not biting which was a good sign. We also played on the agility jumps (just a 6 inch jump) and some chutes! That was fun, and in fact, I think I am going to work on agility with him here with small jumps at 6 inches or so. This way I can still teach him everything including teeters and weaves :) We just won't compete!
After play time, we all settled the dogs, had them eat lunch and lay down to rest. I watched a training seminar on DVD as Jasper laid down in his crate and was wondering uhh what the heck mom, I never go in crates! Jasper started to whine. Paula showed me a great idea with whining in the cage. When Jasper whined, he got a sheet thrown over his crate. The moment he shushed, the sheet was removed. The moment he whined, here came the sheet! He picked it up in two sheet movements. He is a very very smart boy. We also worked on crate games so he will eventually enjoy his crate. That went awesome, in fact, I will be video taping it next time. I will be making more videos soon, I just love to see his sessions in playback.
Anyways, today was awesome. I can not wait till puppy class on Saturday where we will see Ricky and Lucy, and Kerri yay!
Today I took Jasper to work, and from now on he will be joining me. You know, today went awesome. I was too worried Jasper would freak out to much but honestly? he did great!! Here and there he whined if I left, but he understood I still come back. The first thing he got to do was play with 4 other dogs! He had a blast, and he played for a good hour. He worked hard with all the chasing! He did herd a bit but Paula said he was herding in a nice way and not biting which was a good sign. We also played on the agility jumps (just a 6 inch jump) and some chutes! That was fun, and in fact, I think I am going to work on agility with him here with small jumps at 6 inches or so. This way I can still teach him everything including teeters and weaves :) We just won't compete!
After play time, we all settled the dogs, had them eat lunch and lay down to rest. I watched a training seminar on DVD as Jasper laid down in his crate and was wondering uhh what the heck mom, I never go in crates! Jasper started to whine. Paula showed me a great idea with whining in the cage. When Jasper whined, he got a sheet thrown over his crate. The moment he shushed, the sheet was removed. The moment he whined, here came the sheet! He picked it up in two sheet movements. He is a very very smart boy. We also worked on crate games so he will eventually enjoy his crate. That went awesome, in fact, I will be video taping it next time. I will be making more videos soon, I just love to see his sessions in playback.
Anyways, today was awesome. I can not wait till puppy class on Saturday where we will see Ricky and Lucy, and Kerri yay!
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Easter Day Update
You know, this is all going so fast, and I am not backing out or anything but my life is going to go through a big change I think soon. Since I will be taking on the apprenticeship, I feel I am going to be swamped with things to do, in a good way, but also it makes me nervous.
Jasper, well, he is allowed to come to work with me anytime but I fear he is not going to take it well when I have to put him in the crate and go train with another dog. I am really hoping he will settle after he gets used to the environment and understand I will not be able to play with him all the time. This is a good thing though, I have always wanted to feel like I could do this without worrying about if Jasper is freaking out or not. After he is really settled, he will be allowed to probably roam the room we will be spending our time in doing homework, playing, and training. I really think he will get it, but if not, he can always sit in the car or he will just have to stay home. This place is an all positive method training center, so I don't think they will mind. I mean they all love dogs, so I don't think they would get like frustrated or upset. I will stay positive though, I am sure he will pull through it all and be fine. I mean, it will be great if so so he can indeed come with me to work and learn more!
So today is Easter and it is going ok. We had company come over, Jasper was served some ham and potatoes for his "Easter dinner" and some pina colada yogurt for dessert. *not spoiled at all*
Jasper performed all of his tricks for some kids and their parents today who came over. They were all amazed, and I was proud!
Tomorrow, I will be going to Dog City to learn how to work the front desk and get my key to the building. I am excited to see Paula and the crew again and can not wait to start my job. My favorite part will be training other dogs. I just love to see other dogs work and think, it is so fun!
Jasper, well, he is allowed to come to work with me anytime but I fear he is not going to take it well when I have to put him in the crate and go train with another dog. I am really hoping he will settle after he gets used to the environment and understand I will not be able to play with him all the time. This is a good thing though, I have always wanted to feel like I could do this without worrying about if Jasper is freaking out or not. After he is really settled, he will be allowed to probably roam the room we will be spending our time in doing homework, playing, and training. I really think he will get it, but if not, he can always sit in the car or he will just have to stay home. This place is an all positive method training center, so I don't think they will mind. I mean they all love dogs, so I don't think they would get like frustrated or upset. I will stay positive though, I am sure he will pull through it all and be fine. I mean, it will be great if so so he can indeed come with me to work and learn more!
So today is Easter and it is going ok. We had company come over, Jasper was served some ham and potatoes for his "Easter dinner" and some pina colada yogurt for dessert. *not spoiled at all*
Jasper performed all of his tricks for some kids and their parents today who came over. They were all amazed, and I was proud!
Tomorrow, I will be going to Dog City to learn how to work the front desk and get my key to the building. I am excited to see Paula and the crew again and can not wait to start my job. My favorite part will be training other dogs. I just love to see other dogs work and think, it is so fun!
Jasper also went to the dog park and swam (the usual.. most everyday) a lady, Beverly, will be joining me and Jasper for his first herding lesson next weekend. Yay!
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Something I Will Always Love to Watch
I found this video after checking out Paula Weir's site and fell in love with it. It is so sweet.
The Dominant Dog who Never Settles?
At our daily dog park adventure we see all types of dogs. It's like Dr. Seuss: Big dogs, little dogs, scary dogs, frightened dogs, furry dogs, shot haired dogs, fat dogs, skinny dogs, calm dogs, lazy dogs, and hyper crazy mode dogs. And this is where my story starts.
Theres this dog and this lady I see sometimes when we make it out to the dog park in the afternoon. She's a nice lady, but her dog is very, hyper. There is a better word for this, maby overstimulated, yes overstimulated at the dog park. The dog can not sit still the entire time and bothers every dog he sees including Jasper, who was calmly laying on the ground clearly telling the dog hey, I do not want to be bothered, please stop (with Jasper's lip licking, and rolling over on his back.) Ok do not get me wrong, Jasper DOES run and play but after about 30 minutes of good play, he lays down and just watches his friends romp around. In fact, I like that he can settle like that. It shows me that a high energy dog can relax and be just like any other dog, it just seems like high energy dogs get placed into the hands of people who do not understand these dogs needs.
So anyways, I was talking to the lady. She told me how he is part Rhodesian Ridgeback and that Ridgebacks need to be shown who is boss because they tend to be very dominating and control the situation at all times. She explained how the dog controls the house and basically tells her what to do. In other words, he is getting reinforcement for doing naughty or unwanted behaviors without any reason not to. He isn't getting punished, and he doesn't need to be punished either. He just needs to understand that anything he does comes from her and anything he wants, he needs to ask permission first.
Running with dogs at the dog park can be a very big distraction that can turn into a highly valuable renforcement easily. Think about the owners who are being pulled by their dogs straight from the car to the dog park gate. Their owner unhooks their leash and lets them free. Take a moment before reading on and understand what the dog just gained out of this.
The dog learned that pulling on leash all the way to the gate gets him his highly reinforcing reward: running and playing with dogs at the dog park. And this is where us humans can sort of get in the feeling of being "dominated" because our dogs aren't listening to us. If the dog doesn't listen at the dog park, perhaps the dog is just too aroused in this situation to where he can listen. They are not blowing you off, they just can not focus and it may take time for your dog to indeed focus at a dog park!
Look below at this graph. This graph is used a lot in psychology books I have noticed, but this does in fact comply with dogs as well. More about it here. A dog who is highly aroused, just like a human who is highly aroused and anxious, may not perform the best at training in an area of arousal. This would be like us taking a major test at school. We may lose all thought of what we had studied for and completely shut down.
My dog, he loves to swim, but he knows I am the one who lets him swim, so when I tell my dog, "do you want to gooooo swim?" he knows to line up at the dog park gate, set his eyes on me, and when I open the gate, he doesn't bolt, but waits until I give a release. He knows that bolting to go swim will not get what he wants. When teaching him this, he was on a leash, so when and if he did bolt, he wouldn't get in trouble because he still wasn't able to reach the lake. He has learned to settle much more now when I tell him it is time to go swim and is able to listen to what I ask him to do. And this is it. We must set our dogs up for success. If we see something our dogs do that is undesireable, then we need to plan out something next time to help our dogs not yet again seek that undesireable problem and turn it into something desirable. If your dog likes to run with other dogs, have that be a big reward if you can! Let him work for something less desirable in order for him to get something much more desireable!
I love learning more about the Premack's principle!
Theres this dog and this lady I see sometimes when we make it out to the dog park in the afternoon. She's a nice lady, but her dog is very, hyper. There is a better word for this, maby overstimulated, yes overstimulated at the dog park. The dog can not sit still the entire time and bothers every dog he sees including Jasper, who was calmly laying on the ground clearly telling the dog hey, I do not want to be bothered, please stop (with Jasper's lip licking, and rolling over on his back.) Ok do not get me wrong, Jasper DOES run and play but after about 30 minutes of good play, he lays down and just watches his friends romp around. In fact, I like that he can settle like that. It shows me that a high energy dog can relax and be just like any other dog, it just seems like high energy dogs get placed into the hands of people who do not understand these dogs needs.
So anyways, I was talking to the lady. She told me how he is part Rhodesian Ridgeback and that Ridgebacks need to be shown who is boss because they tend to be very dominating and control the situation at all times. She explained how the dog controls the house and basically tells her what to do. In other words, he is getting reinforcement for doing naughty or unwanted behaviors without any reason not to. He isn't getting punished, and he doesn't need to be punished either. He just needs to understand that anything he does comes from her and anything he wants, he needs to ask permission first.
Running with dogs at the dog park can be a very big distraction that can turn into a highly valuable renforcement easily. Think about the owners who are being pulled by their dogs straight from the car to the dog park gate. Their owner unhooks their leash and lets them free. Take a moment before reading on and understand what the dog just gained out of this.
The dog learned that pulling on leash all the way to the gate gets him his highly reinforcing reward: running and playing with dogs at the dog park. And this is where us humans can sort of get in the feeling of being "dominated" because our dogs aren't listening to us. If the dog doesn't listen at the dog park, perhaps the dog is just too aroused in this situation to where he can listen. They are not blowing you off, they just can not focus and it may take time for your dog to indeed focus at a dog park!
Look below at this graph. This graph is used a lot in psychology books I have noticed, but this does in fact comply with dogs as well. More about it here. A dog who is highly aroused, just like a human who is highly aroused and anxious, may not perform the best at training in an area of arousal. This would be like us taking a major test at school. We may lose all thought of what we had studied for and completely shut down.
My dog, he loves to swim, but he knows I am the one who lets him swim, so when I tell my dog, "do you want to gooooo swim?" he knows to line up at the dog park gate, set his eyes on me, and when I open the gate, he doesn't bolt, but waits until I give a release. He knows that bolting to go swim will not get what he wants. When teaching him this, he was on a leash, so when and if he did bolt, he wouldn't get in trouble because he still wasn't able to reach the lake. He has learned to settle much more now when I tell him it is time to go swim and is able to listen to what I ask him to do. And this is it. We must set our dogs up for success. If we see something our dogs do that is undesireable, then we need to plan out something next time to help our dogs not yet again seek that undesireable problem and turn it into something desirable. If your dog likes to run with other dogs, have that be a big reward if you can! Let him work for something less desirable in order for him to get something much more desireable!
I love learning more about the Premack's principle!
My Journey into Dog Training is about to Start
Wow, I can not believe I am about to talk to Paula Weir, the owner of Dog City in Addison to take on an Apprenticeship soon. You know, I was astounded to have the opportunity to speak with her, but this is what really really excited me. So, she has her own website right? This is the best part... she knows about vaccine protocols and canine nutrition too. She prepares her dog's meals and includes raw with her diet.
This made me smile from ear to ear. The fact that she knows about these things only make me so much more excited to interview with her tomorrow. If it all pulls through, I can not wait to learn more about what she will have to offer me. I am just, I am speechless!
This made me smile from ear to ear. The fact that she knows about these things only make me so much more excited to interview with her tomorrow. If it all pulls through, I can not wait to learn more about what she will have to offer me. I am just, I am speechless!
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
You've got it all Wrong
Today in our daily journey of adventure, we went to the dog park. Jasper and I moseyed around, and settled at a picnic table for a little bit before going swimming. *Rewarding calmness before an arousing and exciting swim* Anyways before we talk about that, I wanted to say that we met 4 new dogs at the park today. They were all owned by a couple and they sat near us. A lab puppy, a boston terrier, a basset mix, and a husky. They all had a quirk to them. The husky growled at anyone near "his waterbowl" the boston terrier guarded his ball, the basset mix showed multiple calming signals, and the lab puppy just freely bites when she wants to I suppose.
Now Jasper is pretty aloof. He doesn't feel hurt when a dog doesn't want to play or interact, and he usually just walks on by. When Jasper walked to the water bowl, the husky growled and guarded the bowl the whole time. I called Jasper away and then told him to go drink after the husky was done. (That husky was being a goofball, he wasn't thirsty, he already had a gallon of water, he was being silly) So Jasper got his drink, and walked past the basset mix. The basset mix did all of the following: she licked her lips several times, she turned her head, and she showed her teeth, and yet she never attacked.
I would not call her aggressive but more so a worried dog who is only warning other dogs (even Jasper who had no intention of messing with her anyways) to leave her alone. However if someone else saw these behaviors, would they call her aggressive or deem her to be banned from the park because she showed her teeth? Who knows her history?
Think of it this way. Let's say a child sort of backs away when a dog approaches him or her. Why would they do this? There are probably two reasons. One: a terrible mishap with another dog, or Two: which is highly unlikely, he has never seen a dog before and is just nervous about the whole experience. Why does the child back away? Well, why do you back away when you see a snake out in the grass? Surely you wouldn't go towards it and say leave me alone. And this is just like this basset mix. All she was doing was basically saying hey guys, I mean no harm (by licking her lips, and not making eye contact) and I have a feeling she showed her teeth saying if you bother me, I have a weapon! Just like we would if a stranger approached us in a dark ally, we would break out that mace wouldn't we? We wouldn't be called aggressive, we would just be known as someone defending ourselves. And this is how I think of the dog. She only gave warnings the whole time, she did not once snap, or bite another dog checking her out.
And yet when Jasper goes to say hi to the female lab puppy, the puppy gets stiff, she freezes, and bites at Jasper's neck. Neither I nor Jasper was traumatized, in fact, Jasper just slowly walked away like geeze lady, sorry! We just left that area and eventually went swimming. However, at that moment, I would have thought the owner would have taken the dog out of the park that very instant instead of just saying, " Eclipse! " in a shocked manner. If it were my doggy, the dog would figure out soon that when something like that happens, sorry, we have to leave now, the field trip is canceled and swimming is too!
Oh well, but it is a lesson in itself. To think that people may call the basset mix aggressive, and yet to see the lab puppy attack.
Anyways me and Jasper.. we have our routine when it is pool time. I started doing some premacking before having him jump in the lake. On our way out of the dog park, as soon as I touch the gate, Jasper knows to sit and watch me, not the lake. Even if I open the door, he watches me and waits till I say "OK"
What I have been doing lately is lining him up from the dog park door, and telling him to stay, while I go about half way to the lake already and release him to the lake. This way, I am teaching Jasper that he works for these life rewards and that I am the one who possesses all of these wonderful things and that he looks to me for guidance before just running like crazy away from me. It's sort of like, if you don't eat your vegetables, you don't get dessert! Grandma's rule! We will eat our vegetables because we want dessert, and Jasper will listen to the things I ask him to do before he gets his lake time.
It is all about premacking. I am going to research more about it today and tomorrow. It seems like a great tool to use. I have heard by using this technique, you will have a dog who will see a squirrel and look at you for guidance asking, "Can I go chase?" instead of a dog just bolting out of your control to it. I love the idea!
Oh and by the way, our drive is getting better while working. I am starting to set the bowl down with food on the floor when we train and he doesn't bother it. His drive to recall is better than it was when we used to have food on the ground. I will have to post a video soon about that. Edit: Video added!
And by the way by the way, I do not understand why I haven't done this but when me and Jasper play games and he gets too aroused, I just need to end the game at that time. Arousal is fine but jumping and biting (on accident) is not ok, even if it was a mistake. Today me and Jasper were playing tug, I took the tug and ran away and he jumped (no jumping in this game) and tried to bite the tug but bit my stomach instead, yeeeeowch! All I did was make an ouch! sound, put the tug up and went back to my computer. Jasper understood what had happened and understood he made an uh oh, and laid on my feet and went to sleep. He is so sweet, he knows I love that!
Now Jasper is pretty aloof. He doesn't feel hurt when a dog doesn't want to play or interact, and he usually just walks on by. When Jasper walked to the water bowl, the husky growled and guarded the bowl the whole time. I called Jasper away and then told him to go drink after the husky was done. (That husky was being a goofball, he wasn't thirsty, he already had a gallon of water, he was being silly) So Jasper got his drink, and walked past the basset mix. The basset mix did all of the following: she licked her lips several times, she turned her head, and she showed her teeth, and yet she never attacked.
I would not call her aggressive but more so a worried dog who is only warning other dogs (even Jasper who had no intention of messing with her anyways) to leave her alone. However if someone else saw these behaviors, would they call her aggressive or deem her to be banned from the park because she showed her teeth? Who knows her history?
Think of it this way. Let's say a child sort of backs away when a dog approaches him or her. Why would they do this? There are probably two reasons. One: a terrible mishap with another dog, or Two: which is highly unlikely, he has never seen a dog before and is just nervous about the whole experience. Why does the child back away? Well, why do you back away when you see a snake out in the grass? Surely you wouldn't go towards it and say leave me alone. And this is just like this basset mix. All she was doing was basically saying hey guys, I mean no harm (by licking her lips, and not making eye contact) and I have a feeling she showed her teeth saying if you bother me, I have a weapon! Just like we would if a stranger approached us in a dark ally, we would break out that mace wouldn't we? We wouldn't be called aggressive, we would just be known as someone defending ourselves. And this is how I think of the dog. She only gave warnings the whole time, she did not once snap, or bite another dog checking her out.
And yet when Jasper goes to say hi to the female lab puppy, the puppy gets stiff, she freezes, and bites at Jasper's neck. Neither I nor Jasper was traumatized, in fact, Jasper just slowly walked away like geeze lady, sorry! We just left that area and eventually went swimming. However, at that moment, I would have thought the owner would have taken the dog out of the park that very instant instead of just saying, " Eclipse! " in a shocked manner. If it were my doggy, the dog would figure out soon that when something like that happens, sorry, we have to leave now, the field trip is canceled and swimming is too!
Oh well, but it is a lesson in itself. To think that people may call the basset mix aggressive, and yet to see the lab puppy attack.
Anyways me and Jasper.. we have our routine when it is pool time. I started doing some premacking before having him jump in the lake. On our way out of the dog park, as soon as I touch the gate, Jasper knows to sit and watch me, not the lake. Even if I open the door, he watches me and waits till I say "OK"
What I have been doing lately is lining him up from the dog park door, and telling him to stay, while I go about half way to the lake already and release him to the lake. This way, I am teaching Jasper that he works for these life rewards and that I am the one who possesses all of these wonderful things and that he looks to me for guidance before just running like crazy away from me. It's sort of like, if you don't eat your vegetables, you don't get dessert! Grandma's rule! We will eat our vegetables because we want dessert, and Jasper will listen to the things I ask him to do before he gets his lake time.
It is all about premacking. I am going to research more about it today and tomorrow. It seems like a great tool to use. I have heard by using this technique, you will have a dog who will see a squirrel and look at you for guidance asking, "Can I go chase?" instead of a dog just bolting out of your control to it. I love the idea!
Oh and by the way, our drive is getting better while working. I am starting to set the bowl down with food on the floor when we train and he doesn't bother it. His drive to recall is better than it was when we used to have food on the ground. I will have to post a video soon about that. Edit: Video added!
And by the way by the way, I do not understand why I haven't done this but when me and Jasper play games and he gets too aroused, I just need to end the game at that time. Arousal is fine but jumping and biting (on accident) is not ok, even if it was a mistake. Today me and Jasper were playing tug, I took the tug and ran away and he jumped (no jumping in this game) and tried to bite the tug but bit my stomach instead, yeeeeowch! All I did was make an ouch! sound, put the tug up and went back to my computer. Jasper understood what had happened and understood he made an uh oh, and laid on my feet and went to sleep. He is so sweet, he knows I love that!
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