Heather Rae Posted March 29, 2012 Report Share Posted March 29, 2012 EDITS: Corrected my many mistakes in italics Alright, my Tuesday is now... 18 weeks I believe. Let me tell you, she is so vastly different from her playmate Nick, it's hard for me to believe I'm not dreaming. I'm so far from being perfect, and watching the recording I see a lot of my errors, bad timing and some letting things slide. Letting her slide doesn't bother me too much, I'm looking mostly for the effort and a decent approximation of what I'm asking and hope to refine her from there. I dunno if this is a bad idea, but please feel free to critique errors you see, I'm trying to get better, and I have to say Tuesday's ability and desire amaze me after years of working with a Malamute. Sometimes I feel like she's in my head, like she sort of knows what I want even before I really teach her. I didn't video tape it, but she easily went from getting on the crate to getting in the crate. I'm just like... awed because with Nick everything was such a struggle to convey to him, anything that wasn't explicitly taught to him he didn't bother trying to figure out (not even food puzzles). So yes, I feel like she's reading my mind because she's working out and making guesses as to what I want her to do. Also, I have to say, sometimes a little training solves more issues than I thought. A few weeks ago, Tuesday was terrified of the car, it was a fight to get her in it, and usually ended up with a lot of urine everywhere. Ick. Finally I decided maybe I'd just teach her to get in herself. I threw a handful of hotdog pieces in the back seat (with the car off) and after about two minutes she was jumping in an out of the car on command, then turning the car on made absolutely no difference to her, she was getting in and out and now if we walk anywhere near the car she tries to get me to open it so she can get it (which really spurred me to start working harder on the "Wait" command. It was amazing to see her go from running in terror and hiding when the car turned on, or we tried to get her into it to within a couple of minutes not being able to wait to be in the car and go on a ride. Yay training! Yay my Tuesday! Still not sure what her mix is... she's getting quite leggy and her ears are beginning to stand up. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iZ23V8xFmo This second one was the experimental try. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlFCXbr4FGE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Rae Posted March 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2012 I just realized this would probably have been better suited for the training board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arf2184 Posted March 29, 2012 Report Share Posted March 29, 2012 Looks good to me. Thats one smart puppy! Meg heard you enthusiastic end praise from the speakers and seemed to think it was for her. She started smiling and body wagging...lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G. Festerling Posted March 29, 2012 Report Share Posted March 29, 2012 She is adorable. Love the changing of objects ie surfaces. And the positions. Very nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Rae Posted March 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2012 Meg heard you enthusiastic end praise from the speakers and seemed to think it was for her. She started smiling and body wagging...lol. Awwe, that is so cute. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSmitty Posted March 29, 2012 Report Share Posted March 29, 2012 OK, so you're the third one to post adorable puppy stuff in the last couple of days. Stop torturing me, people! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SecretBC Posted March 29, 2012 Report Share Posted March 29, 2012 I think you are doing a really lovely job with her. What a cutie pants she is. The absolute only thing I even noticed in the video is that you repeated her cue to "lay" on the chair several times. Ideally you want to just say it once and wait for her to do it. I didn't hear you do it any other time, though, so it doesn't appear to be a bad habit for you. Since she's such a quick learner, you should start keeping a list of fun tricks to teach her! I love teaching puppies, they are so fun. Keep doing video updates -- not only do we get to enjoy watching them, but they are loads of fun to look back on when they aren't puppies anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waffles Posted March 29, 2012 Report Share Posted March 29, 2012 I think you are doing a really lovely job with her. What a cutie pants she is. The absolute only thing I even noticed in the video is that you repeated her cue to "lay" on the chair several times. Ideally you want to just say it once and wait for her to do it. I didn't hear you do it any other time, though, so it doesn't appear to be a bad habit for you. Since she's such a quick learner, you should start keeping a list of fun tricks to teach her! I love teaching puppies, they are so fun. Keep doing video updates -- not only do we get to enjoy watching them, but they are loads of fun to look back on when they aren't puppies anymore. I also noticed that the last time you had her 'wait' she got up before you gave the command (don't remember what you said) but she got up when you pointed at the chair, just a half a second before you said the word. Video taping your training is such a great way to see stuff you can't see when you are in the moment. I don't know how strict you want her 'wait' command to be but with my dog's 'stay' I make sure he is not anticipating a release and getting up before I actually say the release word. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Rae Posted March 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2012 I think you are doing a really lovely job with her. What a cutie pants she is. The absolute only thing I even noticed in the video is that you repeated her cue to "lay" on the chair several times. Ideally you want to just say it once and wait for her to do it. I didn't hear you do it any other time, though, so it doesn't appear to be a bad habit for you. Since she's such a quick learner, you should start keeping a list of fun tricks to teach her! I love teaching puppies, they are so fun. Keep doing video updates -- not only do we get to enjoy watching them, but they are loads of fun to look back on when they aren't puppies anymore. Yes, I noticed that too, I occasionally fall into the habit, but I have to ask, if she doesn't give me behavior I want, what should I do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Rae Posted March 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2012 I also noticed that the last time you had her 'wait' she got up before you gave the command (don't remember what you said) but she got up when you pointed at the chair, just a half a second before you said the word. Video taping your training is such a great way to see stuff you can't see when you are in the moment. I don't know how strict you want her 'wait' command to be but with my dog's 'stay' I make sure he is not anticipating a release and getting up before I actually say the release word. Actually this was sort of a big deal to me, I noticed that small break when I saw the recording. Breaking the wait (which is the term I use for stay, I know not really standard) is the one I really don't approve of. I'll have to be careful to make sure I don't allow this or allow myself to set her up for failing. I think the phasing out the hand jesters will help remove this issue because I tend to use verbal as an emphasis, even though I really want the hand jester to be an emphasis. So something for me so sort out, thank you. And yes, I completely agree, it's very interesting to see the recordings because I can make modifications to my behavoirs to help teach her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SecretBC Posted March 30, 2012 Report Share Posted March 30, 2012 Yes, I noticed that too, I occasionally fall into the habit, but I have to ask, if she doesn't give me behavior I want, what should I do? If it's a behavior the dog knows to offer (such as an "auto down") you wait it out. If it's taking too long or it's obvious the dog doesn't know what you want from it, you reset (have the dog move away) and try again. In this case it's obvious that the dog knows how to lay down, I think she was just unsure of how/where to place her body on the small space of the chair. If you have trained via shaping, she would have kept offering something until she got rewarded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryP Posted March 30, 2012 Report Share Posted March 30, 2012 She is such an eager pup and I would suggest you play lots of shaping games with her. It's a great way to engage their brain and teach them to problem solve. It's also good for their confidence when doing more training in the future. They don't go all mushy and pouty if they don't do something correctly. I'm dealing with this right now with my youngest dog (2 yrs) that I'm training for agility. I wish I had played a lot more shaping games with him as a puppy. But, at the time, I didn't realize that I was going to keep him. He is so soft and shuts down quickly if he thinks he has done something wrong. I'm trying to play some shaping games with him to boost his confidence and let him know that it's okay to make a mistake - just offer something different the next time until you figure it out. And I'll also add, adorable puppy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frogs & Dogs Posted March 31, 2012 Report Share Posted March 31, 2012 Looks like things are coming along well! I would suggest choosing a release word and sticking to it. Several times you just gave the command for whatever you wanted her to do next ("on", for example), or even her name as a release. If you work on a single release cue (I use "okay") that applies to all behaviors (sit, down, wait, whatever else), you'll thank yourself later. This is particularly important for impatient dogs or those without impulse control. I was impressed that she didn't pay any attention to the other dog in the room, and the other dog didn't butt in too much. In effect, the other dog is a distraction, and the pup is doing a great job at ignoring him. In the future, and especially if you're going to work on something hard or new, I'd suggest working away from him. Later you can bring him back in the room as a planned distraction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Rae Posted April 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2012 Looks like things are coming along well! I would suggest choosing a release word and sticking to it. Several times you just gave the command for whatever you wanted her to do next ("on", for example), or even her name as a release. If you work on a single release cue (I use "okay") that applies to all behaviors (sit, down, wait, whatever else), you'll thank yourself later. This is particularly important for impatient dogs or those without impulse control. Thank you, I never really considered this, but I could see how it would come in handy. Is there anything special to it or do I just say, "Okay" after I receive the behavior I want for the duration I want and then treat? I was impressed that she didn't pay any attention to the other dog in the room, and the other dog didn't butt in too much. In effect, the other dog is a distraction, and the pup is doing a great job at ignoring him. In the future, and especially if you're going to work on something hard or new, I'd suggest working away from him. Later you can bring him back in the room as a planned distraction. Her focus never ceases to amaze me, she actually learned everything but "wait" and "leave it" with him near by. Nick can be a bit of a punk from time to time, but for the most part if I give him a kong or something for him to work on he stays out of the way. With Tuesday I pick things I think she can handle even with the distraction, while, with Nick everything must be learned with absolutely no distractions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frogs & Dogs Posted April 10, 2012 Report Share Posted April 10, 2012 Thank you, I never really considered this, but I could see how it would come in handy. Is there anything special to it or do I just say, "Okay" after I receive the behavior I want for the duration I want and then treat? That's pretty much it. Here are a couple of examples where it will come in handy to have a singe release cue: You're walking the dog and run into a friend, so you stop to chat. You put the dog in a down stay while you chat, so that he doesn't pull on the leash, sniff strangers, etc. If he doesn't have a single release cue, he's going to assume that any word that comes out of your mouth is his release, but you're just trying to have a nice chat with your friend. Your dog spies something really smelly and delicious a few feet away. You tell him to leave it. He's waiting for only one command (OK) instead of taking any little signal as an invitation to dig in. If you ever want to try out a sport, a single release cue is really helpful. I use "OK" as a release cue for contacts in agility, and also for start line stays. I proof contacts by teasing my dog with all kinds of other words, motions, and actions. I get right in her face and yell "O-B, O-C, O-D". I run around the agility barn and pretend I'm an ape. I keep running right past the contact full speed and depend on her to stop. She knows that all of this is just a great big joke. The ONLY word that means squat is "OK". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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