Smores are Good!

Reese and I had our agility lesson tonight and she did awesome!  We haven't had a lesson on equipment in 5 or 6 weeks. Just one thing or another upsetting the schedule. We have been doing lots of work at home, but I wasn't sure how it would carry over to full equipment after this long of a break. 

Turned out it agreed with my little Smore girl. Yes, that if one of the names that I thought of naming her, now it is nickname, one of many. She is the color of a Smore and I love smores. But I thought that name might get a little hard to yell, Smore teeter....lol.

I  pulled her from a trial at the end of the month. I didn't think it was fair to expect her to compete after not having a lesson or practice on the equipment for this long. If it was summer we could do more but with the limits of the basement to practice, well, I have to be fair to my dog. However, after tonight I think we would have done all right. Oh, well, there will always be another trial - we'll just be even more prepared. 


Really nice work from Reese tonight. Any off courses or issues were caused by me. But I think I did better tonight too, so the break must have turned out to have been a good thing for both of us.

I seem to have hit that time in my 40's where all I want to do is sit around and read a good book. Which is a good thing. I have forgotten how much I enjoy reading. Also, trying to get my writing project done. It's starting to take shape! Yea!

It's amazing what you can get done when you are not connected electronically to the world 24/7. All of a sudden I have all this extra time. Didn't realize just how obsessed I had become. Some nights I haven't even turned the PC on. So, yes maybe less posting but better quality of life for me... ha.

Reese and I started a new class too. It uses many of the concepts from the Controlled Unleashed program by Leslie McDevitt. It is really a bunch of games that we will be playing. More on that later. Right now we are doing lots of T Touch at home, and working through Dr. Karen Overall's Relaxation Protocol.  I am seeing changes in Reese already from just those two things. So excited for what is to come.

Here are a few pictures from my Eagle shoot last Saturday. Unfortunately, most of the eagles decided to fly high above the thermals so nothing close up. 

Well, I guess not. I'm apparently using all my space allowed for photos. I'll have to do something about that and then I'll post the pics. 

Look Back

How many of you remember the book The Little Engine That Could!
"I think I can, I think I can, I think I can....."

That was my favorite book when I was little.  I read it constantly, and if anyone was reading it to me and tried to skip a page I would catch them on it.  "No!, No!, No! you aren't reading it right."  And they would have to start over.  From the beginning.  The book is about a little blue train engine that is not very big, not very strong, but saves the day by not giving up when an engine is needed to pull a huge train over a mountain to bring toys to the kids on the other side.  Yeah, kind of Rudolphy isn't it. 
The moral of course being "never give up, and believe you can."

I guess in a way when I think about that book that is how I have been with my dog.  We have had some struggles but I have not given up.  I have learned a ton from this dog.  I have had too.  And there is more to learn, because there is more work to do.  I have more goals for Reese and I, and "I think I can...." work hard and I will not give up until those goals become successes too.

Lets look back at some of the success Reese and I have had in the past year or so of training.  In no particular order:

Recall - off leash for agility training.  No fence with sheep very close by.  And she knows where they live!

Zoomies - went the way of the living dead back from whence they came.  When we are working she focuses on me.  No more worries of Nascar zoomies around the ring.  She might go visit a ring steward or catch a whiff of a tantalizing smell and try to follow it, but I call her and she is back with me!

Three successful fun runs.  Two outside, no fence in a low population area, but still there were lots of dogs milling around - no issues.

First Trial - whoo hoo!  I have trialed my dog.  It was a success for us on so many levels.  First, I am glad the first trial is done to get those first trial jitters out-of-the-way.  Also, both Reese and I have a better idea of what to expect and how the whole routine of a trial will go.  Reese stayed with me during the runs or came back when I called if she was off for a meet and greet with the ring steward.

BUT her biggest successes were out of the ring and for this I am so proud of her.  Reese has separation anxiety which has been improving in leaps and bounds in the last few months.  I can't wait to tell Dr. Duxbury, who is Reese's behaviorist, when we see her on Monday. 

Day 1 of the trial Reese drooled and licked her crate if I was there.  And it didn't matter if the crate was covered or not. But... NO barking, screaming or bouncing the crate around.  Reese has a very high pitch bark, if you hear it you immediately know it is her.  We are like wild animals, mother and baby separated in the dark of night.  I hear her call - and immediately know it is her - very annoying!  But by the same token if I hear another dog barking I know it is not her so all is good.

Day 2 of the trial Reese was quiet in her crate.  No drooling, no whimpering, no barking and no screaming.  She actually slept in her crate.  Whether I was there or not, whether the crate was covered or not.  She would lift her head to see who was there and then put it back down and close her eyes and sleep. Yea!  I realize that Reese was probably very tired from the first day of trialing but this was super huge for her.

Reese ran in a Pairs run at the trial.  Yep can you believe it!  It was one of our best runs too!

Reese has now tugged in two new places with me.  She used to only tug with me at home or the two locations that we train at.  Tugging is becoming more generalized for her which I am so happy about!

Reese tugged with me, and ran around with me on a course through tunnels with four, yep four other dogs, all around us tugging and playing with their handlers.  HUGE, HUGE, HUGE for Reese to keep her focus on me and not get distracted or want to control the other dogs movements.

Reese can stay at relatives now and she does not pace, pant or whine while I am gone.  She walks around a bit and lays down and waits for me to come back.  She will go for walks and eat while I am gone too.

Reese has graduated from being in her crate at home when I am gone.  Now she stays in one room, but is loose out of her crate while I am at work.  She just sleeps on the bed - my bed of course!  I am still crating her every now and then, both at night and for 1/2 days randomly so that she stays acclimated to being crated and so that she doesn't fixate on the routine being that she is out of the crate whenever I am gone.  I still make the rules and if I say today you crate - you crate!  But how nice to be able to leave her out.  Her crate is in the room she stays in so if she chooses she could use her crate if she wanted.

Reese has gotten much better at ignoring cars on walks.  She will even take treats when cars go by on walks now.  Previously if she zoned in on a car there was nothing that could distract her, not steak, chicken, raw or cooked, toys, nothing.  Tonight I took treats on our walk to work on recalls.  A car was going by when I was giving her a treat, she looked at the car and immediately looked back at me for a treat.  Hmmm! So I tried it out on the rest of the walk and there was only one time that we were too close to the car and she was too engaged in it to get out of her zone to focus on me or the treat.

So to all you doubters out there, "Behold the Power of a Zuke!" 

It seems like Reese is getting more confidence which is giving me more confidence and since we are the Pro-athletes of feed off of each others anxieties, which I am trying to be much better at NOT doing, in this case it is working very nicely.

I guess after five years together we are finally figuring each other out.  Okay so Reese had me figured out on day 1, I'll give her that - smarty pants.  But I have gotten wiser and the game has changed.  I expect certain things from her and most importantly I have learned to trust what I train.  I have learned that I have to test what I trained and give Reese the opportunity to show me if she can do it.  What I am finding is that - Yes She Can!

I N N O V A T I O N

Reese and I were playing in the yard the other night. I wanted to work on some agility stuff. Tight turns and some direction changes with the jump uprights.

She however, had other ideas. She was not interested in the jumps or the tug in my hand. She wanted to sniff the grass, smell the clean fall air and gaze off into the distance. 

Hmmmm, not very connected to me at the time huh. And definitely not into the game.

So I decided to get her interested I would just play with her for awhile. Get her into the game first, then we'll add some agility to the mix. 

SO I moved the jump and just started playing with the tug, running around with her getting her to chase me a bit. Then we played fetch with the tug. Once she was tugging well and into playing and connected with me I pulled the jump back out and presto....

magic... we've got a focused, drivey dog on at the end of the tug.

So if the furry half of your team is not into the game you want to play, change it up and get them interested. Don't let them quit, make it fun, remind them how fun you are and get them into the game.

But beware of little goblins in the night, hiding out in black and white furry coats. The next time you are out, you may be goosed from behind from a wet nose with a tug in her mouth. Ready to play Mom....I am....lets play.....!!!!  Good girlie.

Trust what you Train



So after a night of being bummed about what to do fence wise I woke up and started a new day. Something will get worked out for the fence and I just need to take a little time to figure out what is best for us right now.

"Things always work out in the end" is one of my favorite sayings.  A good friend used to tell me that a lot. I first heard her say it on my trip to Africa. I have come to find that it is usually true. While it doesn't always seem so at the time things do have a way of working out. Maybe not in the way you want, at that particular time, but usually in a way that ends up being best for you. It may take awhile to see that, but often that is the case. 

When I am worried about something or working through a problem I often give myself a time limit on how long I can feel bad, waste time worrying etc. Worrying is not going to solve any problem. Working through the problem will. Of course worrying is a valid emotion and one that is good for all of us to feel from time to time, but I don't find it any help to dwell on things endlessly. That doesn't do any good and just takes too much of my energy. So I put a time limit on it. Such as thinking about what to do with the fence. I was all confused last night, didn't know what I wanted to do, okay, fine. Worry about, think about, stew about it for awhile, but in the morning it's done. Will I have all the solutions then? No, but life goes on in the meantime, and as it does I may find some of the answers I was looking for.

Reese and I played fetch in the yard this morning and after we did that for awhile, I took her for a jog on my bike. I tried this for the first time last week, but this was the first time at home. I rode in the alley which helped because there were no cars or other distractions.

I took Reese to a local agility trial that was here in town. To walk around and give her a chance to be at a trial situation with the people, the noises and dogs. She sat ring side and watched small, medium, and large dogs all take their turns on the course. She was fine with all of it, stayed calm, layed down on her own as we walked around the trial site. I put her over the practice jump a few times to see if she would listen to me.

When a handler and dog would walk by she was more interested in the handler then the dog. I really liked that, because she used to think that every dog was put on earth just to play with her. So that shift in focus was nice to see. I put her in her kennel in the car and worked on her being calm using the Manners Minder as I increased my distance.

I also talked to some people that knew Reese before when she was a crazy, barking, lunging, I want to chase any dog running in the ring mess. These people didn't even know she was there until we walked up to them and started talking. Less than a year ago that would have never happened. They would have known we were there long before they ever saw us.

I've thought a lot about the changes in Reese in the past year and half, and I'm not really sure what has had the most effect, but I think it has been lots of little things we have learned. What ever it is I was proud to show off my distinctly different dog than I used to have.

Later, at home I got out our tunnel which has basically been in storage since I got it last Spring. I couldn't take it anymore, maybe we don't have a fence today, but I am not going to let that stop me anymore. I'll figure out a way that we can use the equipment I have.

So I put a long loose line on Reese and sent her through the tunnel, she came whipping out and back to my and stopped at my feet waiting for the tuggie. I added a set of jump uprights and we worked on turns with the tunnel for speed. Then I got out our weaves. Those don't work on a long line, jumps don't really work either.

So.....I decided to be brave, or.... to trust my dog.

My trainer always asks, "what would she do if she was off leash at home, do you really think she would run off?" So I decided to test a bit. See where we were on things.

It was a fairly quite day in the neighborhood, so I took the long line off Reese and put her leash on her and then promptly dropped it. I sent her through the weaves and over some jumps and into the tunnel.....it was great. No, the jump bars didn't stay on so we left those down and worked on turns around the uprights and used the tunnel for speed. I also managed one face plant, luckily no one was here to witness it. Reese listened to me great, and had great attention while we were working. So we will get working on heavier distractions so that I can keep trusting my dog. Even though she was still dragging a leash I was really happy with her.

You can train all you want, but at some point you have to test it.

I was really proud of my dog today, and proud of myself for trusting what I trained.

Manners Minder

 the incredible, edible (sort of) training treat dispenser.

Who knew this tool would be so powerful. We have only had ours for a few days. Reese knew what it was and how it worked because our agility trainer has been kind enough to let us use hers during some of our lessons.

I still showed it to Reese and dispensed a few treats for free so she could make sure it was in fact the same thing, sans the A-frame.

For those of you not familiar with the Manners Minder, kibble or treats are put into the machine and dispensed using a remote control. There is a beep first as a marker to let the dog know they provided the desired response and that there is a treat on the way - just like when a clicker is used. The difference here is that the trainer doesn't have to be right there next to the dog.

I bought the Manners Minder to work on a number of things with Reese.

1. Her seperation anxiety when I leave her in the crate in the car, or leave the house at a non-work time. When I leave for work she is used to the routine and it is not normally a problem.

2. Reese doesn't care for skateboards. Especially the noise they make when they are getting popped up and flipped and spun around like the teenager a few houses away likes to do, right in front of our house - of course.

3. People walking by the house with or without a dog. Reese could care less if we are outside and someone walks by, she just looks at them and goes about her business. But...if she is inside then she doesn't like it. 

4. See #3 above, this includes pesky critters. Squirrel and rabbit hotdish anyone!!

So the first day we had it, what should appear but the magical flying skateboard with a teenage boy onboard....

Reese heard the noise of the skateboard and started to bark and jump at the window. 

Fade in....."the Manners Minder".

Put the Manners Minder on the floor in the living room away from the window. When Reese stopped barking for a few seconds, I pushed the button "beep" and a treat appeared. Hmmm, Reese looked at the machine, stayed quiet and I pushed the button again. Reese bounced over to the Manners Minder and ate the treats. She went back to the window and looked out but only barked a few more times, when she stopped barking I dispensed another treat etc. After about three times barking she watched Joe Skateboarder out the window calmly but did not bark. Beep=treat, beep=treat, beep=treat. Good girl!

The next day a white rabbit appeared out of its hole. Okay, so it hopped into the yard - just seeing if you are really paying attention here. I did the same thing as above but Reese only barked at the rabbit once, after she received the first treat from the Manners Minder she watched the rabbit calmly and did not bark.

We have done this same thing a lot in the past but with me using a clicker and dispensing the treats personnally but apparently I am not as "good as a machine". For one thing Reese never really ever heard the clicker. But apparently, when it is this cool thing giving the treats learning happens much faster. Because tonight this is what happened after only the two experiences discussed above.

A squirrel was in the yard across the street, yes still Reese's yard according to her calculations. She saw the squirrel, barked and ran to the ......

 

Manners Minder sitting on the shelf. She jumped up to it and looked for a treat:)). I put it on the floor and gave her a treat.

Good Girl!  I went over to the window and talked about the squirrel and tried to get her to come and look at it again. So that she could choose to react and bark or not.

This is all I got....

"Naaa, I'll just wait here, there's gotta be another treat coming soon.....

squirrels are stupid anyway."

All I can say is I wish we would have gotten this tool a long time ago!