Monday, July 29, 2013

We've Never Had This Before

Tonight was Rally FrEe class - our first class of the new session.  Both dogs did a really nice job.  Our instructor encouraged us to use a different Free Choice behavior at every Free Choice sign and that was a nice bit of a challenge.  It made us break out of "the usual"!!

Tessa did a really nice sit pretty and, with a lot of help, she did a 360 pivot in side position!!  We still need to work on transitioning things to verbal, but she is doing good work and I am happy with her.

Dean was just plain fun tonight.  He was engaged.  He was enthusiastic.  He was eager to do whatever I asked at every sign.  His eyes were lit up with fun and he was very into it.

Dean and I have something that we have never had before.  In all the years that we have trained, worked, and competed together, we have never hit a stride like this where his skills just shine and he is enjoying himself every time we go into the ring together.

Rally FrEe has been a tremendous gift to us.  He can take part in the group class.  There are no jump bars falling, there are no teeters banging, and there is very little social pressure in the setting.  He doesn't have to go to the car when it's not his turn.  He is relaxed and happy.  And he is becoming more and more interested in the task at each sign and he is just not concerned about what is going on around him.

And, I think, for the first time, I just love working with him.  I'm not trying to make him into something he's not, but honing his skills in a way that respects who he is.  I really appreciate what he brings to our working partnership.

I wish I would have had this attitude with him when he was young, but in a way it is perfect that this time is now.



 

Saturday, July 27, 2013

More Beach Photos

More beach photos . . . 

Speedy enjoying some evening beach time!





Tessa with a sandy face!


 A pine at "Jellyfish Beach"



Dean Dog on his way back from "Jellyfish Beach"


All the dogs love playing with Ben in the water.


Some Maryland Style Pizza for lunch!


Tessa's first letterboxing trip!


Sammie!


 One last water photo . . . 



Monday, July 22, 2013

At the Beach!

We are on our yearly beach trip and having a really nice time.  We have all four dogs with us this year.

It is rather bittersweet.  I am seeing Speedy's age catch up with him in a lot of ways.  Yesterday as we drove down, he spent almost the entire ride with his head down on the arm rest in between Ben and me!  He has never been a touchy-feely dog, and this was very out of character for him.  He really seemed to just like sleeping between us.

He is a bit gimpy in one of his front paws.  We will definitely be making an appointment with his chiropractor when we get home.  But while we are here, we will manage it as best we can and give him as much beach play time as he can handle!

Honestly, I don't know if I will ever enjoy the beach again after he is gone.  I hope he has several more years and many more beach trips left in him, but I know from Maddie two years ago that you really never do know.

Now this isn't ruining the trip or anything.  I have moments where I think about that, but for the most time I am enjoying out time down here.

This morning we took all four dogs to the beach for a bit of play.  They all liked that!

Then, after we came back, Ben decided to nap, so I took Speedy, Dean, and Tessa - on my own - to the James Farm Ecological Preserve aka the "Jellyfish Beach"!!

We had a really nice time!  I was a little worried about Speedy's leg, but he managed just fine.  We had a nice hike through the woods and then the three of them played and played in the bay!

Some fun photos . . . 

Speedy, always happy to share in an adventure!


Dean Dog playing in the bay!
 

Miss Tessa having a blast in the water!


Looking forward to more doggie water play this evening . . .!


 

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Rally FrEe Video Day

In addition to live events, Rally FrEe offers the option of competing by video.  This is done in a way that is a bit different from other video sports.  In order to do a video event, you have to have at least three dog and handler teams who live within 200 miles of one another.  You register to do a video event, and then you get your courses, and you have 10 days to get your videos made and sent in.

Two friends and I got together today to do our videos.  We had a total of five teams - I competed in Alternate Novice with Speedy and Intermediate with Dean, both of them had a dog in Novice and one of them had a dog in Intermediate.

In spite of the excessive heat today, we had a really good time.  Thankfully, the room was not too hot and we had an air conditioner going!

We set up the Alternate Novice course first.  I wanted to run Speedy first so his brain wouldn't fry!  He was pretty revved up and working on the right has never been a strong skill for him.  Naturally, the course began with the dog on the right!

His first take had some nice elements, but in the end was not a take that I wanted to submit.  I did try the first take off leash, but that blew Speedy's brain just a bit, so I put him on leash for our next two attempts, and his second attempt was better.

Finally, on our third attempt, we got a take that I was happy about submitting.  We should have results within two weeks, and once I have results I will post our video.

In the meantime, here is a video of our second take, which I did not submit.  This was actually his "liveliest" take.  Enjoy!



I am glad that Speedy and I did this.  He didn't enjoy it as much as he enjoys flat out dancing, but he seemed to find the challenge interesting, and he did a really nice job.  Especially considering the fact that he hasn't trained seriously in several years!

In spite of a few bobbles (he did "round up" one sign on a switch back!), I am hopeful that the third run, which I have already submitted, will quality.  And I am hoping to do this two more times with Speedy to get the Alternate Novice Title!!

Not bad for a retired almost-12-year-old Border Collie boy!

A bit later on it was Dean's turn.  He pretty much went out on his first run and nailed it!  He got out of position - significantly - once.  And the back around fell apart completely.  Well, I can blame that entirely on my training!  I knew full well that I have barely begun Dean's back around training off the heel position.  But we gave it a try, and the fact that it wasn't successfully completed doesn't mean we can't qualify.  Finally, he did lay down on the bow.

But . . . he did beautiful leg weaves for his Free Choice!  And, although slightly distracted a few time, it was evident that he enjoyed himself, and his focus was very, very good.  He practically skipped at one point as he was heeling along!  He two beautiful left pivots (one a 360, one a 180) and his circles around me were very nice.

I was very proud of Dean.  He is still not quite "there" with full performances without food, but he is making excellent, excellent progress!

I made a mistake and had him try to re-run it again a couple of times.  He did not have the duration of focus to get through the entire course a second (or third) time.  I should have jackpotted him and stopped after the first take.  I knew it was good enough to submit, and I knew it was unlikely he would get another good take.  It's not a huge deal, but in retrospect, I do wish I would have stopped after the first take.

I will also post Dean's submitted video after it is judged, but for now, here is a snippet of the gorgeous beginning of his second take.  I do cut it off before it went south, so enjoy a brief showcase of some of Dean's best work! 



Now we are all eagerly awaiting results, and looking forward to doing this again!

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Why am I a +R Trainer?

I see this question with some frequency on the Facebook dog training discussion groups.  And this has led me to really think about it . . . 

So, why am I a +R trainer?  Is it because of a stance of moral superiority?  Is it because I am afraid that one little unpleasant experience will ruin my dog?  Is it because I think that everything has to be nice for my dog all the time?

Well . . . no!  My reason for choosing to be a +R trainer, and to refrain from incorporating any type of aversives into my training has nothing to do with any of that!

Back when I got into dog training, I knew nothing.  Zero.  Not a thing!  I did not purposely seek out a +R training facility.  I didn't even know that such a thing existed!  I found the nearest training facility, signed my dog up for Basic Obedience, and off we went!  I just wanted to learn how to train my dog to sit and give paw.  I knew nothing about training philosophies, training methodologies, behavior theory, reinforcers, aversives . . . nothing!

Two things that I had absolutely no control over really shaped my future path as a trainer.  First, the facility that we stumbled into was, for the most part, supportive of +R training.  Although there were dogs in prongs on the premises, all of the training was introduced through +R methods.  The only techniques that I learned there were +R based.

Second, my first dog, Speedy, was a highly fearful, extraordinarily soft dog who was not wired correctly in the head.  He required a notable amount of positive reinforcement.  He had to learn that being out in the world was a good and safe thing.  I spent the first several years of his training building positive associations with . . . pretty much everything!

When we moved and I changed to a second training facility (which I did leave about 5 years ago), it was a facility that I would now refer to as "balanced" even though they call themselves "positive".  They introduced everything using +R, mostly using treats, but students were taught to "enforce commands" through physical manipulation (example: stapling sits) or verbal corrections.  Dogs who barked were squirted with vinegar water.

At that time, I didn't really see anything wrong with any of that.  The vinegar did worry me a bit because of the idea of spraying an acid, even a weak one, into the dog's eyes, but I had no objection at that point to the idea of applying mild aversives in training.  However, I didn't do any of that with Speedy because he was so soft and fearful.  Nobody expected me to because of who he was.  The fact that others were doing so didn't really phase me, but it was at that point that I started to notice that my dog who had quite a lot "wrong" with him was perfectly capable of learning without any of that.  And I kind of liked it that way . . . 

Because Speedy was fearful and reactive and so easily ovestimulated, I began to read books to try to find more and more ways to help him.  I read many of Patricia McConnell's works.  I read Emma Parson's Click to Calm.  I read Ali Brown's Scaredy Dog.  All of the authors that I happened to choose promoted a +R approach to helping dogs like Speedy.  I set out to help Speedy through clicker work, and through desensitization and counter conditioning.  I can't say I did it with a lot of skill, or without a lot of mistakes, but I watched, amazed, as Speedy transformed from a dog who hid when people even looked at him and went into a barking, lunging frenzy when dogs got too close into a dog who could function with people watching and deal well with the presence of dogs around him.

I wish I could describe what I saw throughout that process.  The change was literally visible to me in his eyes!  I could tell that things were happening in his brain and he really was learning to respond to things differently because the look in his eyes began to change.  This didn't happen quickly but I could see that he was changing and growing every step of the way.

And, after a while, other people began to notice.  They told me that his whole face, and his eyes, looked different!  His expression had softened.  He had more "open" expressions on his face in situations where he used to lose control.

And all of this happened without one correction, without one reprimand, without one training collar, without one application of any aversive.  This was all accomplished with a clicker, treats, and patience on my part.

Of course, by this time I had learned a lot.  I used to refer to Speedy as my "college education" in dog training and behavior.  Everything is harder with a dog whose brain does not function properly.  But I studied, I worked, and Speedy and I got the job done.  We went beyond basic behavior modification into competition dog sports, which presented many challenges for us that other dog and handler teams typically don't have to face.  Every live event performance was a particular success for Speedy and me, whether it was a Q or not!

And when I gave the matter some thought, it seemed to me . . . how much more could a "normal" dog accomplish through that kind of training?!

When we adopted Dean I faced the question, "do I incorporate corrections into his training?"  I decided against it.  If Speedy could learn effectively and successfully through +R based training, so could Dean.  At that point I consciously made up my mind about the kind of trainer that I am.

The process, over time, through which I chose to be a +R trainer had nothing to do with moral superiority over anyone else.  I had to do what worked for my own dog, and after doing so I found that I was more than satisfied with the results, and I wanted to keep on training as I had trained him.  It had nothing to do with avoiding unpleasant experiences - I know full well that it was extremely unpleasant for Speedy to experience the degree of fear that he had to deal with over the first few years of his life.  I never had to apply an aversive to teach him that life is tough.  He knew that all too well.  And it wasn't about making everything nice for him all the time.  Again, he had a highly fearful temperament.  Life wasn't very nice for him whenever he left our home, and in order for him to progress, leaving our home was required!

But I will say this.  The experience of helping a dog move from a point where he would literally be crippled with fear in the face of ordinary things like people looking at him, seeing other dogs, being around people living life around him when out and about to a point where he goes about in the world radiating joy and savoring every possible adventure did have a profound effect on me.

While I do not shy away from the fact that life is hard at times - even for our dogs - I do flatly refuse to apply even the tiniest bit of discomfort to my dog if it is not necessary.

For example, while I am absolutely willing to administer an Adequan shot to Speedy (necessary to alleviate arthritis pain), I am not willing to put a prong collar on a dog.  This is because I know that anything that can be taught with a prong collar can be taught with a clicker and treats.  I know this because I have watch a clicker and treats make some truly incredible things happen.

I know that there are those who would object to my reasons for choosing to be a +R trainer because Speedy is "just one dog" and not all methods work on all dogs.

But there is something that only I know.  Speedy may have been "just one dog", but he was a dog who was "miswired" to an extreme.  He was a dog who had issues that were far beyond my depth as a new trainer (at one point he was very close to being fear aggressive), and I managed to help him become a pretty darn near "normal" dog through +R training techniques.  And when Speedy and I started, I would never have believed that he could have changed and progressed to the degree that he has.

Speedy went on to become a Freestyle dog, loving to dance in front of an audience.  He has gone, many times, to an off leash dog camp and run loose with 40+ other dogs without a single incident.  He, who once would not let anyone touch him, has been x-rayed unsedated without a problem!  He danced in front of 500 people, twice, and had a grand time doing it!  He plays every summer off leash on the beach with children and other dogs playing around him.  He has earned 17 titles, most of which through performance at live events.  He doesn't even act "a little shy" with most people anymore.

That experience taught me that things that I would have thought impossible can be accomplished through +R training.

And now that I know that, I can't "un-know" it . . . 

And that, ultimately, is my reason.

Finally, I often hear that +R training "can't work".  I'm glad nobody told me that before Speedy and I had such dramatic success with it.  Because of the results of +R training that I witnessed firsthand, this can be my only response . . . 


Speedy, playing off leash at the beach


Speedy, far left, running off leash with dogs at camp


Speedy went on to earn 6 Rally Titles and 8 Freestyle Titles
at live titling events!

Yes . . . +R training works!!