Thursday, October 31, 2024
Week 4 10/31/24
We had a good practice session yesterday but no video. Here's a couple pics!
Working on our "place" with lots of distractions!
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Monday, October 28, 2024
Sunday, October 27, 2024
10/27/24 Week 3 Exam 2 - Try #2
This was my first time working with Poppy since Wednesday. Not bad! She kept up a lot better than she did last time. I tried to do a shorter stride. I think my turns got better, and it being colder outside made it easier to keep my hand up in my pocket lol! I still need to work on the J-loop, and a couple times my footwork with the AS was a little off. But we are definitely improving! Distractions include geese, deer, cat inside the window, and my family watching to the side.
10/27/24 Week 3 again Exam 2 Janet and Jeanne with Poppy
Poppy still lags a bit with both of us. We tried to remember to keep our hands up because it does seem to make a difference. During some of our practices she is much better. Of course, the camera isn't going at those times...
Friday, October 25, 2024
10/25/24 Week 3 Practice Sessions
Janet practiced with Poppy earlier in the day. Mostly straight line heeling and AS. Jeanne practiced in the early evening adding more turns and AS. Poppy and her handlers showed improvement, although there is still some lagging on Poppy's part.
Thursday, October 24, 2024
10/23/24 Rachel and Fido Practicing
Janet and Jeanne both worked Poppy a few hours earlier, so she was toast when Rachel came over to practice and video. Rachel wanted to get input before leaving for her conference, so we videotaped her working Fido.
Monday, October 21, 2024
10-21-24 Week 3 Feedback and Pointers
Week 3 Pointers
10/21/24 Slo-Mo Sample with Rachel and Poppy
Rachel and Poppy in slo-mo for your review as well. She definitely lags with all of us, so it was hard for Rachel to keep the j-loop in proper position.
Saturday, October 19, 2024
10/19/24 Slo-Mo Samples with Janet and Jeanne
Two minutes taking video in slo-mo. You must be looking for something specific and hopefully you'll figure out in these videos what we should change to help Poppy.
Friday, October 18, 2024
10/18/24 Week 3 exam 2 Silence is Golden - Rachel and Poppy
Not too bad for being a condensed week! We had distractions of new smells to sniff while working in a new area, the neighbors out talking loud, guys working down at the shop, and my mom and aunt by the house.
Thursday, October 17, 2024
10/17/24 Week 3 Janet and Jeanne's Body Bend Readiness Exam
Not perfect, not pretty, but it's done.
Earlier in the afternoon, Jeanne and Poppy did their exam. Quite a bit of wind and bird calls to distract. She must have heard other things as she kept looking around. Her AS were s.l.o.w and she lagged behind in heeling. She pooped right away on her cool down, so maybe the urge was on her mind during the exam.
Janet and Poppy did their exam early evening. Still windy, was aware of Hannah and the cat at the cottage window, and barking dogs in the house. Her AS were better, but she still lagged behind in heeling.
Week 3 EXAM #2: Silence is Golden
Good morning,
Rachel, the Week 3 EXAM #2 is uploaded, under 'Instructor EXAMs'.
Jeanne and Janet, both of you should get your Week 3 EXAM#1 tests done and uploaded today if possible.
Wednesday, October 16, 2024
10/16/24 Week 3 Rachel's Body Bend Readiness Exam
We had some great distractions - high wind and flapping trash bags (to protect my plants from frost)! A new experience for Poppy. Wind kept knocking over our pipes, but our best run ended up being our first. Most AS were good except for a couple when the wind really got things going and the distractions were behind her. I need to work on the J loop position as it still crept up some. Was not expecting our first run to go as well overall as it did!
Garden before the wind.
Flapping bags during exam.
Showing Poppy it's nothing to worry about.
Tuesday, October 15, 2024
Monday, October 14, 2024
10/14/24 Week 3 Heeling Pole, Stand and Sit/Stay
10-14-2024 FC Week 3 (a pivotal week)
Good Morning to all,
The Week 3 material is uploaded for your review prior to our Zoom meeting this evening. There is a LOT of information. Week 3 is a pivotal week for the dog, and their handler(s), as THIS WEEK, the dog begins to internalize the training.
For the first time, the dog learns to choose a 'right action = reward' from within its own mind. Prior to this week, everything we have done to external learning to the dog. In ILL and LL, the first two weeks, the dog learned to choose between comfort, that is the Safety Zone to left of handler, and discomfort, that is being anywhere else.
In Week 2, the Safety Zone shrank considerably and for the first time, the dog experienced reward, that is a soft quiet praise for EVERY Sit, EVERY time. The Sit puts the dog into Social Drive to receive that highly valued praise. This is critical for the dog as the bonding and trust is established in the relationship between learning dog and their handler.
Now, in Week 3, the bonding is heightened, the trust is built upon as the dog internalizes the learning. Literally, in the FOUNDATION Course, by Week 3, the dog has 'learned HOW to learn, while the handler is learning HOW to fairly communicate'.
This Week there are two (2) EXAMS, the EXAMs are sequential so EXAM # 1 must be passed before EXAM # 2 is done.
Do remember the extra information to help YOU learn, Link to Week 3 Glossary & Link to Week 3 'Why it Works' by Deb Kidwell.
Be thorough in EACH exercise. Remember to breathe, laugh at yourself Link to Dirty Dancing 'Wipe out' scene, practice with Fido, and you'll be successful Link to Dirty Dancing 'Bridge Scene' AKA dancing with FIDO-:)
Roxanne
Sunday, October 13, 2024
Fun at Franks! 10/13/24
Poppy had lots of fun her first time at Frank's!
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Saturday, October 12, 2024
Pictures from Week 2
Poppy is getting more used to Esteban. Less grumbling, more scratchies please!
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Week 2 Day 4/5 - 10/11-12/24
Refreshing from the previous days. Had some distracting smells and a few corrections.
Much better at our turns and sits!
Week 2 Day 3 - 10/10/24
We went to a different park in my neighborhood to work on our verbal sit and turns. We had a kitty sitting on the bridge watching us practice and Poppy didn't pay it any attention. People and cars were passing by on the road. And more lawnmowers running nearby.
Our first attempt. Sometimes my right hand wanted to do the work rather than letting my leg/the leash do the work. Also had to remember to try to run my hand down her back and scoop rather than just push her butt down.
Thursday, October 10, 2024
10/9/24 Week 2 Day 2 Silent Sit and Turns
First session Janet tried adjusting neck pressure to get Poppy to sit. It was a windy day and she was also distracted by dogs barking.
Second session later in the day had the same distractions. Poppy may have even sat a few times without much upward pressure. The phone ran out of juice, but Janet and Poppy kept practicing.
Monday, October 7, 2024
10-7-2024 The eventful morning, several perspectives
From Kat, owner of Alaskan Malamute, Niko at 8 months old, just finishing her 1st heat:
Roxanne mentioned I should add this morning’s experience to the Retrieve blog, and I still feel pretty wound up about it, so I figured jotting things down now might help me unwind enough that I can hopefully fall asleep.
This morning Niko attacked Boaz at our TS HHPR.
She and Riley had been playing a little rougher than I like, but it finally seemed like they had gotten their wrestles out and were starting to run alongside one another. Roxanne arrived with her three, Riley bolted toward them to say ‘Hi,’ and Niko followed. She was moving pretty fast toward Boaz, so I was trying to decide whether to recall just to keep her from approaching so fast. I think I decided because they knew one another from previous HHPR’s, it would be fine, so I waited to recall. Then she attacked him.
She was completely unprovoked. I still am feeling shocked by it— this was the last thing I expected from her at that moment. Of course, the dogs went wild. Roxanne told me to recall, and I was already trying. Repeated recalls and steadily turning the remote up, it was above 80 by the time she finally started moving away.
I’m so grateful Roxanne was there. She made me keep my feet when I didn’t know what to do next. We both worked Niko against Boaz, retrieves and heeling. We worked her against the whole group of dogs. I probably outed her at least 25 times today.
I know we are going to fall back on the training, and I know we are going to work through this. I am also a little terrified that the next time I think she’s fine, she won’t be, and another dog will be hurt. I’m not sure how to relax around her, now.
My eyes are getting heavy. I will likely revisit this after some rest.
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Roxanne responded:
Trina was there with Zoey and then watched as I had Kat work Niko with DB in mouth very close to my stationary dogs. To complete that lesson, I then worked Niko on leash as I had Kat work Boaz. Niko was on edge and targeting so got corrected by me for that foolishness.
Onward we went to Mary/Ellie's FC Lesson 7, my dogs inside, but Link was there. We had about 15 minutes after Mary's lesson, before Allysa/Abby arrived and we did some crazy flooding with Gayle/Olive, Scrambled Heeling with Gayle/Olive, Mary/Ellie, Trina/Lena, Kat/Niko, and Jessi/Link. That video I have and will upload soon. All of that 15 minute was in front of Etta, the older woman with the killer Border Collie. Etta came alone as I had instructed her to do. Etta had a unique opportunity to watch and listen as I educated her, you will hear that on the video. Allysa arrived and I had time to share with Etta why I would not accept training her with her Border. I was honest with her. She seemed to know that her dog would not be able to work, safely, in such close proximity as what she was observing. Etta left and I am so deeply grateful we had that time for her to see, understand, and learn. What she chooses to do with her Border, I do not know. I left the door open for Etta to start over, with a puppy, with me, should she choose that path. We will see.
Finally, we had a quiet ILL with Allysa and Abby. Allysa was relaxed, laughing, Jessi did an exceptional job teaching, calling on Trina and Kat for teaching moments, Niko turned her back to the group doing Quiet Time, and was the ILL Demo Team. All in all, Niko, and Kat, learned a whole 🌏 today. Both were somewhat T.O.A.S.T when they left. I am so extremely proud of Kat, she did exceedingly well despite an unexpected and tense morning. Niko? Ha..she did NOT win, did NOT succeed, and had to WORK anyway, over and over. And over again. I do believe this was an important day, a day of learning, a day of life lessons.
Onward
“Onward” is right!
Thank you for adding your perspective as I could not remember some of that. While it was happening I was toggling between the e-collar remote and tunnel-vision on Niko, so even thinking about it I could not place the other dogs.
This morning it was still dark when we left the house, and Niko freaked out about a shape in the grass of my neighbor’s yard, maybe 15 ft from my car. After she started growling, it freaked me out a little, too! I moved my car so I could shine the lights on it- it was a 4ft decorative evergreen bush that had tipped over. It was positioned in a line of about five little potted bushes.
Before we unloaded I put Niko’s ecollar back on. She immediately targeted the little tipped-over bush. I told her it was fine and walked to the bush, intending her to follow. She would not.
I tried a recall (here), and applied pressure with the collar the way we have practiced so long. She would not come. As I slowly turned up the ecollar response and repeated the recall, she showed signs of feeling the ecollar but refused to approach me and the bush. I watched her grow increasingly agitated. Eventually she hopped up into the suburban to hide.
By that time, I was above 40 on the ecollar and I could see she was freaked out about the whole thing and started shutting down the way I have seen during our retrieve practice. I stopped applying pressure and walked to the car. I held her collar and walked her to the bush. She smelled it, checked it out, and visually relaxed. We spent some time working recalls around the row of bushes, after smelling each one. After I could see no more signs of agitation and she was recalling like normal, I finally let us go inside.
Why recount the story of the Mal and the Bushes? I can’t help but consider that somehow, they are tied to how jacked up Niko was today. Or maybe they should have been an indicator to me of how jacked up she was?
Second, her response to the increasing ecollar pressure against the bush has me concerned. I’m not sure how to recondition her to respond to my command in the presence of a HIGH distraction to ease the pressure instead of collapsing in on herself as the pressure increases…
The AKC sends out periodic puppy development emails and in the last one it mentioned pups can go through a second ‘fear phase’ around this age. I am definitely seeing the fear. I would not say fear is what triggered her with Boaz, necessarily, but maybe that heightened earlier response as well as all the hormones? I am scrambling
to pinpoint the trigger so I can be aware of it and stay ahead of it next time… but I honestly have no idea!"
That must have been intense and so scary, my heart goes out to you both! Kat, when Piper has really locked in, I've had to hit 80 or even higher. It's rare, but when their adrenaline is really spiked it seems to dull their pain receptors.
Piper was almost a different dog after her first heat. I've no doubt Roxanne will get Niko sorted out, just as she would have done with Piper had we that opportunity.
All will be well my friend, hang in there!
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Kat,
Not uncommon for a young dog to get 'spooked' by a perceived monster. Dogs recognize things by sight, sound, smell or silhouette. Niko's memory banks had no experience with 'strange bushes', to her it was a monster indeed. Sugar has one such 'monster' at about the same age, a ceramic 4" high frog. Yup, a frog statue. Sugar came uncorked and it took me over 30 minutes of working him around that dangerous frog till he approached it, smelled it and then walked away.
This is all part of the learning process for a young dog.
Roxanne
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The video of Scrambled Heeling.
Friday, October 4, 2024
10/4/24 Addition to Week 1 Day 4 Excursion
After her exploration at Kendall's, Poppy went to the pet store by Roots. The lady who worked there was very interested in Poppy's story and gave her a treat.
10/3/24 Week 1 Day 3 with more distractions
Janet walked out from behind the mustang as a distraction.
Poppy distracted by Janet passing by and Rachel corrected. She ignored the dogs and did better the second time Janet passed her.
Poppy kept looking at neighbors next door. She stopped by Janet and Hank, and Rachel corrected.
Poppy stayed on track with added distraction of Janet crossing the drive and Hank barking.
Poppy ignored distractions and checked in with Rachel.
10/1/24 Week 1 Day 1 An Excursion At Schooley Mill
The playground has completely changed. The wall is no longer there. We walked around quite a bit in the light rain and Poppy stayed close by.
She explored different things... risers, baseball bench, covered area, horseshoe pit, stairs, mounting block. Whew.
Week 1 Day 4 - 10/4/24
Today was my fundraiser so Poppy went to Kendall's for the first time and had lots of distractions!
We had her on the short leash at first just cause she hasn't been to a place like this before
Week 1 Day 2 - 10/2/24
For our first attempt we went out during my lunch break and practiced with bigger distractions - Riley (who we nickname Petunia, so we said we "planted a Petunia!", neighbors talking, lawn mowing, squirrels, etc!
Wednesday, October 2, 2024
Tuesday, October 1, 2024
4-24 thru 4-25-2020 Redd and Hank working against each other = SUPER HIGH distraction training
Link to missing video of 4-24-2020 HIGH Distraction Training
4-22-20 Jeanne & Hank: Longe Line with High Distractions
Lots of distractions: neighbor's dogs, something flapping off nearby run-in, horses, Hannah and Riley, wind, smells and pasture nuggets.
Lots of mechanics examples: 270s when Hank went to my right, walking the line, corrections when distracted, turning footwork good and not so good, walking through Hank with left leg when he crossed to my right (Horses @ 2:53 or so), stepping on leash correction when Hank was biting leash (Horses @ 3:26 or so).
Although Hank lagged behind a lot and veered to the right, he also stuck with me for all the distractions of his first time in the pasture. His nose was often to the ground with all the new smells, so he didn't check in as much. In an effort to keep moving with Hank, my footwork wasn't always correct. But all in all I think we did pretty good.
Dogs
Horses
Passing Riley
It was an unexpected moment as Niko went into LLLL in nano seconds. Boaz, who is NOT an initiator retaliated with teeth, a thing I have only seen once before, years ago, when a GSD attacked him.
ReplyBy God's grace, Kat kept her composure, listened and followed my rapid-fire instructions and kept calling Niko, ever higher on the ecollar, until Niko yelped and went to her. Had Kat rushed into the bedlam, it would have added fuel to that fire. But she stayed CCC and PIC, in the face of watching her dog attack Boaz, and in time, Niko listened. I am so grateful as Niko did NOT win, actually she was staunchly corrected by Kat, by Boaz, and by my hovering Pack. Don't know if Kat or Buck heard me, but I verbally commanded Redd n Ruth to "LEAVE It!' and they did.
Then, we let the dogs roam about and did Recalls. I had Kat put Niko on the pitcher's mound, my other two dogs on Downs, Riley out of the area, and worked Boaz close Niko.
I put all my Pack behind a fence and had Kat backwash and do retrieves towards those planted dogs. Buck did, oh geez, at least 25+ retrieves on flat with Riley as we worked Niko.