The Ultimate Barrel Race

What will we think of next?

Freedom Dogs Racing the Barrels

Thank goodness we are flexible enough to venture off of our planned session and have some fun. We are walking/jogging our dogs in and out of the 'Barrels.'

Sue/Lily: No clicker No treats

These are the Flips that we were talking about this morning.

I was the single focal point for Lily. I am always her focal point.

Sue had NO clicker and NO treats.

She accepted NO excuses. Watch her body language. Watch how she uses the environment. Watch how she gets and keeps Lily's focus and attention. She doesn't ask Lily to "Watch". But by her handling, she demands attention. NO excuses. Period. End of story. But conversely, lots of praise, too, when it's deserved. I am holding the camera, so that gives you your frame of reference.

And the leash is always loose. But note the length of the leash. So many examples of good handling skills.

Let's utilize the Comments box to talk about what you see that might be helpful to you.

Lesson 1

In front of my house

Lesson 2

In front of Starbucks

NOTE: In addition to the crowded sidewalk with throngs of people and limited space, there were two dogs within 8' of Lily, one on her left and one on her right. I doubt she even noticed them. That's what focus does.

6/17/10: SESSION PLAN

Karen/Webster, Cathy/Rooster

Briann/Miller, Jan/Nadador

Lynn

LOCATION: Balboa Park Dog Park, El Prado and Balboa

There were 3 Flip cameras at this session, but we only used one. There was so much going on that there was little time for Flipping! What was filmed will be uploaded below.

The group found training in this location so profitable that they have decided to train here for the next several mentoring sessions.

We set up on the lawn, near the cars.

CRITERIA: Loose Leashes

CRITERIA: Finding threshold where the dog can watch passing dogs without reacting to them.

Look at That: Click and reward whenever our dog looks at a tempting distraction without reacting inappropriately. No verbal cue.

Jan estimated approx 50 dogs passed during the 2 hour mentoring session. Of those, 3 were off leash. They approached and passed our location at various distances from us and from every direction. Great example of being aware of your environment.

All barking heard on the videos came from our dogs.

"BEHAVING LIKE A DOG"

At several intervals, each team walked from our location to the main gate of the dog park and returned.....NO clicker, NO treats, NO Flip.....just dog and owner.

ALL teams encountered other dogs on these walks. Briann and Miller faced the greatest number of challenges on one walk, including an off leash dog and 5 leashed dogs.

All trainers found it a do-able task, being free of "training" responsibilities and only needing to focus on the task at hand. This was a very positive experience for all.

INSIDE THE DOG PARK

Given the option, Jan and Briann took their dogs IN the dog park for about a 10 minute free play period. Karen and Webster stood outside AT the fence and Webster and a black Great Dane said "Hello" through the fence. Cathy and Rooster opted to remain with our things and they continued with threshold work. This gave us a chance to observe dog body language in the Dog Park, which is always an eye opener.

Out for a walk

hand in hand

No clicker/ No treats

* Sorry, the other clips were corrupted *

Balboa Park ZEN

Who would have known Lynn was Flipping this. I'm so glad she did, as it put a huge smile on my face to watch Webster maintain ZEN while watching all of these children parade in front of him.

Follow the Red Brick Road

Lynn is Flipping us while walking our dogs, following the red bricks. We made left and right turns to help our dogs get used to us changing direction frequently.

Lynn asked us to find a place to take our dogs OFF LEASH AT BALBOA PARK~Yikes! They did beautifully. Remember to 'trust your dog.'

Surfaces: L3: Walking over a grate

Lily demonstrates the ease of walking on a grate in Balboa Park.

Then Webster follows suit.

Nad is hesitant at first. But Jan gives him time to test it out and become comfortable.

Soon he was walking over the grate like a trooper.

By the end of this session, the dogs were not only walking easily on the grate, but sniffing it, sitting on it and lying down on it.

Nad successfully gives L1 SIT and DOWN on the grate.

We've come a long way Ladies.

Where's Molly?

6/3/10: SESSION PLAN

Jan, Cathy,

Karen, Briann,

Sharon, Lynn

BALANCE and SELF CONTROL

Focus amid distractions

CRITERIA: No tight leashes!

At cars, before walking to session meeting place, trainers successfully got their dogs attention; the dogs performed all L1 behaviors and walked on loose leashes around their cars.

Maintained totally loose leashes walking to the session meeting location.

Loose Leash Sniffing (Leash: Level 2: Step 1)

give in to collar pressure

Loose Leash Walking around fountain 3X

Recognizing the difference (and the purpose) between

Random Reinforcement and C/T.

What is being marked?

What is being rewarded?

Acting Lesson

dog may not impede the forward progress of the handler

(Sharon "Bernhart" Root successfully used this technique, much to Molly's astonishment!)

Leash: Level 2: Trainer stands in one spot with the dog on a loose leash. The dog keeps the lead loose for 60 seconds with one distraction. Trainer may NOT talk to the dog. This Level is about testing Loose Leash as a default behavior.

We talked to our dogs while they maintained a Loose Leash. We also C/T for the loose leash.

Using the physical environment as a guide for Loose Leash Walking:

(Beginning CGC behavior)

following sidewalk "strips" passing each other

following the "red brick road" practicing turns

LLW up and down stairs at Natural History museum

Changing leash length

successful LLW on a loose 2' leash

noticing all the differences leash length makes

Off Leash Doodling (Leash: Level 2: Step 2)

trainer confidence

attention and focus

Resting quietly beside handler for several minutes

(Beginning CGC behavior)

acquiring public awareness

awareness of your dog

awareness of immediate environment

Positional behaviors in front of large windows

(Sit, Down, Stand)

handsignal

verbal cues

(separately and together)

exchange dogs and repeat exercise

Distance photography

Sit Stay/Down Stay

from a distance

Extended OOS without handler

(Beginning CGC behavior)

Nad (on leash)

Webster (leashed on mat)

Molly (crated)

Lily (on stay on mat)

Grates

Nad, Webster, Lily

Nad overcame grate fear

walking on grate

Sit and Down on grate

Distractions

pigeons

large groups of school children

toddlers and strollers

park visitors

inquisitive strangers

many dogs

music

smells and food

Reactive to unfamiliar dogs

Nad, Rooster, Miller, Molly, Webster

Reactive to our dogs

Molly

NOTE: Only Karen brought her Flip and tripod, so very little of this very productive session was filmed. Trainers and dogs alike were very focused because of the many distractions. Filming was way low on everyone's list of priorities.