13 Month: Training - Day 27

This is more like it - Jack on a mat in a flat away from me.

By Wednesday I am feeling tired and sore after dealing with five dogs and their needs for two full days.  Emma, who was having serious stress issues, required extra TLC during Wednesday, so I decided to do a quiet behavior lesson for Jack to help keep Emma's stress levels down and keep the house quiet enough - she was in hiding for most of the day.

Jack was more than happy to accommodate whatever training I selected, so I decided to advance his Flat behavior.  Read my observations below to find out what I discovered about the beginning of duration with any behavior.

I do want to thank Ronda for calling me on the weekends or week nights and asking me if I think Jack is ready for an outing.  We discuss the length and goal of the outing she's about to take and determine if Jack is ready or not - so far he's been up to 90% of the outings Ronda takes him on.  I appreciate her asking me what she should look for, what she should do and how she can continue to improve on Jack's overall socialization when he's working in public.  Ronda, you are a joy to work with and I appreciate your continued communication regarding Jack's public access training.

Why am I saying this?  Emma is on "bed rest" you could say because she became overly stressed after a prolonged outing on the weekend followed by her class at Diamonds in the Ruff on Monday.  The two back to back events resulted in Emma vomiting after returning from class on Monday and showing high stress signs during training on Tuesday.  Though she may not have shown signs her family recognized on Sunday, the day of the prolonged outing, she was overly stressed by it and it made her sick.  It's a delayed reaction and both animals and humans do it.  I choose to give Emma a full day off from training and just let her rest and play as she felt on Wednesday because she truly needed a "vacation" to recover from her work.

Ronda's communication and careful planning with Jack has not resulted in such a stress reaction and thus is bolstering his confidence.  She's taking it slow and giving him time to process and her choices for outings in public are appropriate for his training level and age.  What a wonderful gift she's giving him - time to process and tiny steps to learn what his role is instead of flooding him with too much stimuli.

Once again, thank you for taking your time with Jack during his early public access training.

Today's Lessons:

Flat

Jack is working on Level 1: Step 4 Flat.  In this step Jack is asked to perform a Flat while on leash.  Since Jack is working on that with both myself and Ronda, I decided to work on Level 2: Step 1 Flat for Jack's morning and midday lessons.

I waited until Jack offered a Flat and clicked and then slowly added duration between clicks.  Each time I added duration I did it in one second increments.  Jack was okay at first when we started this, but then started to pop up and nudge me with his nose, or offer sits and other behaviors he's learned.  Each time he did a Flat I would click and then start the duration count over.  After 5 morning sessions and 5 afternoon sessions I was able to work up to 5 seconds a majority of the time, a fussy 8 seconds part of the time and an occasional 10 second interval.  Jack is learning patience.

I will continue to work with Jack on distance and duration exercises, since Jack has been literally touching me, laying directly beside me or both at all times during the day.  He gives no space when I am working with another dog unless I tether him and I am almost always tripping on him.

Jack needs to learn to give me space and wait patiently when I work another dog before I become overwhelmed with too much personal contact.  I am overloaded by the end of the day with the amount of contact Jack wants during the day.

The distance he's learning with Sit and duration he's learning with Flat will help with both so I can add Go To Mat to his behavior set and start moving him "over there" so I can work and move.

Observations

As I mentioned above, Jack started to pop up and offer behaviors when I delayed my clicks.  This is something every dog I have ever worked with does when duration is started.  Emma went through a "can't stay down for more than a nano second" period herself, as did my own dogs.  The nose nudges, targeting, moving into a Sit or Brace and even offering paws are all behaviors he hopes will lead to a click.  It is the sign the dog is thinking.  The behavior set that I am describing is the dog saying, "What about this?  Will this make you click?  No?  Do you want this?"  This is the dog being In The Game and trying out his toolbox to find what I want this time to get him to pay him.  What a wonderful development with Mr. Jack in such a short period of training time!

I am hoping by introducing duration and distance to get some personal space to myself.  By the end of the day I am so wiped out by not having any all day long I am starting to get grouchy with people and even objects.  It is not good to have all of my personal space stolen!  Here's hoping I can begin Communication with a combination of Mat and Relax to get Jack in his own space and out of mine.

Level 1

	Zen	Target	Come	Sit	Down
Step	Completed	Completed	2	4	4

Level 2

	Zen	Come	Sit	Down	Target
Step	2	0	1	1	1
	Focus	Lazy Leash	Go To Mat	Crate	Distance
Step	0	1	0	2	0
	Jump	Relax	Handling	Tricks	Communication
Step	0	0	1	0	0

Level 3

	Zen	Come	Sit	Down	Target
Step	0	0	0	0	0
	Focus	Lazy Leash	Go To Mat	Crate	Distance
Step	0	0	0	0	0
	Jump	Relax	Handling	Retrieve	Communication
Step	0	0	0	1	0

Level 4

	Zen	Come	Retrieve	Target	Relax
Step	0	0	0	0	0
	Focus	Lazy Leash	Go To Mat	Crate	Distance
Step	0	0	0	0	0
	Handling	Communication
Step	0	0

13 Months: Training - Day 26

Max and Jack relax in my office while I write Jack's blog.

Yesterday was a full day for Jack with his sister Chautzie taking a fall and not able to get back up right away and then spending the day learning how to stay in position while I wandered about him.  Exciting and busy for Jack, but I was worried for his sister - she's such a sweet girl and I really didn't want to hear that her time had come just yet.

This morning, as Ronda brought him up the ramp the first question out of my mouth was about Chautzie.  She was up and a lot more stable than she's been in a couple of days and this morning doing well.  We'll take it day by day with her, since we think she may have had a seizure and hit her head on a wall during it.  So, life is a bit unsettled for Jack right now, but we are doing out best to keep it as normal as possible.

So, this morning he found I was out of whack with our normal routine.  I had fed the other dogs already, but my cable had failed and I was on the phone calling to fix it.  I can't get my work done if I can't access the internet.  This set our morning lesson at a later time, but with him sliding out of position on his sit, I found I was unable to keep up with his lesson - so it's been a slow and a bit off day.

So, today we'll work on Sit and Target and see how the rest of my day goes!

Today's Lessons:

Sit

Jack is working on Level 1: Step 4 Sit.  In this step Jack is asked to sit at an open door.  I have been working on this behavior for a while with Jack, though he didn't know it.  In my house, to prevent Attitude from being run over when all the dogs exit, I have them sit and wait to be released - generally after I am certain Attitude is out of stampede path.  Jack had to learn to sit facing the door and then keep a sit while the door opened.  Jack does this now without thinking.

Now I am working on him sitting at an already open door. I ask him randomly to sit at a door and reward him with food or affection when he does.  He's doing very well.

Jack is working on Level 2: Step 2 Sit.  In this step Jack is asked to hold his sit for 30 seconds while I stand 5 feet away from him.  Jack did so well with my walking away from him  yesterday I was able to work up to 5 feet away from him, which is what Step 1 asked for.

Today I worked on adding small amounts of duration every so many times I walked up to 5 feet away from Jack.  He did well up to 3 seconds and then started to slide into a Flat.  I will continue to build up Jack's duration with a Sit.

Target

Jack is working on Level 2: Step 1 Target.  In this step Jack is asked to touch a metal, plastic and wood object with his nose.  The more objects we offer him the better he'll understand the behavior.  Jack did well with each object and will start to work on Post It Notes next week after he's had a wide array of objects offered and he's got a solid touch with each new object.

Come

Jack is working on Level 1: Step 2 Come.  In this step Jack is asked to play the Come Game between two people 10 feet apart.  Walter was visiting today and so we tried the game.  Jack doesn't know Walter well and Walter wasn't ready for how aloof Jack can be with strangers.  Walter stationed himself some 20 feet away from me and started trying to call Jack to him and Jack simply sat behind me  and ignored him.  It took my asking Walter to come and stand beside me to get Jack to participate.  He would turn his head when we each made a clicking noise or a kissy noise and fed him a kibble each time.  Though he didn't run or walk between us, we did start a new relationship with Walter and Jack to begin the foundation work of training Jack how to recall.

Observations

I have been dropping my cane or e-cig case every so often, by accident, and Jack has flung himself away in fright.  Emma, on the other hand, moved in to investigate my cane recently after it fell - so I know over time Jack will become accustomed to the events and not startle as badly, but clearly he's never had the sky fall about him.

It looks like a bit of "drop this" and "get a treat" will help Jack through this problem.  It's easy enough to do and will quickly improve his confidence.  I'll miss him throwing himself upside down and flinging his feet in the air like an upturned turtle, but it'll make his future job so much easier.

Level 1

	Zen	Target	Come	Sit	Down
Step	Completed	Completed	2	4	4

Level 2

	Zen	Come	Sit	Down	Target
Step	2	0	2	0	1
	Focus	Lazy Leash	Go To Mat	Crate	Distance
Step	0	1	0	2	0
	Jump	Relax	Handling	Tricks	Communication
Step	0	0	1	0	0

Level 3

	Zen	Come	Sit	Down	Target
Step	0	0	0	0	0
	Focus	Lazy Leash	Go To Mat	Crate	Distance
Step	0	0	0	0	0
	Jump	Relax	Handling	Retrieve	Communication
Step	0	0	0	1	0

Level 4

	Zen	Come	Retrieve	Target	Relax
Step	0	0	0	0	0
	Focus	Lazy Leash	Go To Mat	Crate	Distance
Step	0	0	0	0	0
	Handling	Communication
Step	0	0

13 Months: Training - Day 25

Jack is a big happy boy!

Jack's world is changing each day we train.  He's learned to communicate with me and is now working on figuring out what I want.  He does the same with his owner, Ronda, as well.  He has a huge love for Ronda and jumps on her when she comes to pick him up.  We are working on that behavior by having him sit before he can greet her and now we are bringing back off of Ronda when he starts to jump and request a sit again.  It's a process which will eventually lead to Jack understanding he can't jump on her to greet her.

I am thinking though I may work with him, solo, at the gate when it's time for him to greet her and click for calm when he sees her at the end of the day.  It will define what we want with better clarification and should speed up the process for both of us.  I want to do something similar with Emma when she's greeting new people, but again, the goal will be to work with both dogs solo and then combine them in higher distractions until they can join the entire group in the house and stay calm when the greet people at my door.

I do not have to train this behavior at the door for them to understand the concept.  I can take them to a less charged location and train the behavior so they understand it and then work it in the door when they are ready.  That is the joy of training - you don't have to setup the exact situation to give them the tools and then later, when they have those tools, add the situation back in to help them understand why they were taught how to cope with a new and stressful situation.

This weekend Jack got to go on a short field trip with Ronda.  She called to discuss it before taking him and did a fantastic job of watching his body language and noting the areas that caused Jack stress.  He went to Costco for less than 15 minutes - she noted the sound of the freezer section and the hot tub they had in the building both caused him stress.  I will take him back to work on those two areas again and help him have a positive experience with both locations.

She then took him to Northwest Seed and Pet for less than 15 minutes again.  He was tired by this time and a bit aloof, but still calm and relaxed at her side.  He was a bit worried about the tight aisles, but in the end he did fantastic.  These short and focused trips are helping Jack learn to work in public and Ronda wanted to ensure she knew what to look for to prevent him learning bad habits in public - she kept his nose under control, watched his body language and respected his need for reassurance when needed.  Nice job, Ronda.

Today's Lessons:

Sit

Jack is working on Level 1: Step 4 Sit.  In this step Jack is asked to sit at an open door. Today I worked with walking up to my office door and asking Jack to sit just before it.  Jack did great and soon was offering a sit as soon as we got to the door without a cue.  Since we've also worked on this for my opening the front door and his waiting to be released to go outside, I am happy with his progress.  We'll continue to work on this behavior until it is very strong and he's able to sit at an open door for 30 seconds, but will continue to progress Sit other ways as well.

Jack started Level 2: Step 1 Sit.  In this step Jack is to sit while I walk five feet away from him.  At first Jack found this very difficult.  I would go to move and he'd stand to follow.  It took many tiny slices until Jack understood what I was asking.  Jack does tend to slide into a down if asked to do a sit for an extended time, so this behavior, which has a high rate of re-enforcement, is perfect for building up his stamina as we begin to build duration in his sit.

Jack did well with this step and I will continue to build his sit up and begin adding duration in 1 second increments until he can easily keep his position until asked to take a new one.

I worked with Jack for 10 sessions on Level 2: Step 1 Sit and 5 sessions with Jack on Level 1: Step 4 Sit.

Observations

Jack is starting to really think when we are doing a lesson.  He was just reacting and offering behaviors that had worked in the past, but now that I am adding difficulty to his behaviors he's having to think of what will make me click.  It's a wonderful transition from learning to communicate to learning to think and I enjoy this part of starting with a dog as much as I enjoy the first glimmers of understanding in Level 1.

We'll continue to work on Sit and Down with distance and Duration and finish his Level 1 behaviors this week.  Thankfully, my son is visiting, so I can work on Come finally with him and see if we can't get it fully completed.

Level 1

	Zen	Target	Come	Sit	Down
Step	Completed	Completed	2	4	4

Level 2

	Zen	Come	Sit	Down	Target
Step	2	0	1	0	1
	Focus	Lazy Leash	Go To Mat	Crate	Distance
Step	0	1	0	2	0
	Jump	Relax	Handling	Tricks	Communication
Step	0	0	1	0	0

Level 3

	Zen	Come	Sit	Down	Target
Step	0	0	0	0	0
	Focus	Lazy Leash	Go To Mat	Crate	Distance
Step	0	0	0	0	0
	Jump	Relax	Handling	Retrieve	Communication
Step	0	0	0	1	0

Level 4

	Zen	Come	Retrieve	Target	Relax
Step	0	0	0	0	0
	Focus	Lazy Leash	Go To Mat	Crate	Distance
Step	0	0	0	0	0
	Handling	Communication
Step	0	0

13 Months: Training - Day 24

Jack & Emma Play in the Yard

In my lecture about training your own service dog I tell the people who attend that a service dog cannot stop being a dog - he is first and foremost a dog and with that comes all of the dog things that dogs do.  They sniff where they shouldn't, though you can teach them not to 99% of the time, there will be that 1% when they do it when you least wanted them too.  They have good and bad days working - what we service dog users call an "off" day.  Generally, when Max has one or more off days it means I haven't given him enough time to run around and just be a dog.  He's spent too much time in the house, not exercising enough and not playing with other dogs, and thus he's easily distracted when working.  He's not a machine and therefore cannot operate like one - Jack's owner understands this.

Over the past four years she's watched as I have provided Max with daily walks, weekly outings to play with her dogs and nightly games of fetch or tug to burn energy and let him just be.  She's seen me declare a day or more off of work just to let him decompress from the stress of his work and spend hours working on training him.  So, when Jack came into her life she knew that as a working dog Jack would need play dates and off duty time to be a goofy boy.

I provide something like that on Friday's here.  We spend more time outside playing with longer periods of time for Jack and Emma to just run and play Catch Me If You Can and Bitey Face and Keep Away with toys.  It is their time to blow steam and play with another dog that plays the same and enjoys the same jokes and games they do.  As a result, Friday lessons are short and sweet and just refining learned lessons for the week and not adding much of anything new.  It's their Casual Friday where they can wear their goofy clothes and tell inappropriate jokes on their breaks.

They loves this light-hearted day and really get into some serious game play in and out of the house.  Their heads are full and they are looking forward to going to the bar after work and spending their weekends in their shorts.

So, on Friday I filmed Jack and Emma playing in the yard.  You can see they are ready for this healthy and happy play and really need it.  Therefore, Jack's lessons on Friday's, even if not posted until Monday, are reviews of the week's lessons.

Today's Lessons:

Crate

Jack is working on Level 2: Step 2 Crate.  In this step Jack is asked to enter his crate and lay down inside it.  I reviewed Level 1: Step 1 Crate, entering the crate without a lure, and saw that Jack was willing to enter his crate without hesitation.  I started to ask him to enter the crate and every 4th or 5th time cued a Flat once he was in before he was clicked.  By the end of our lessons for the day (5 in all) Jack was not only entering his crate and laying down, but he was remaining there and building duration - the beginning of Step 3!

Target

Jack is working on Level 1: Step 2 Target.  In this step Jack is asked to touch my hand high and low as well as in front of him and off to either side.  Jack, who at first flinched and would back away when I offered my hand high three weeks ago, was happily thrusting his nose up and slamming it into my hand. Jack passed this step without issue.

Jack is working on Level 1: Step 3 Target.  In this step Jack is asked to take 3 steps to touch my hand when I cue him.  Jack was able to do this without fail 95% of the time.  He would even get up from a down or a sit and come to touch my hand when I cued him to touch my hand.  Jack passed this step.

Jack is working on Level 1: Step 4 Target.  In this step Jack is asked to touch my hand twice to get one treat.  At first Jack was confused, but over time Jack improved on this and became a solid twofer and even once a threefer when touching for a single click.  Jack passed this step.

Jack needs to work with Ronda on the Comeafters for this behavior to fill in any holes that may have developed.  That is Ronda's homework for the week with Jack on Target - all of Level 1 Target Comeafters.

Since Jack has been working on Target at my home and his, Jack has passed Level 1 Target!  Way to go boy!

Sit

Jack is working on Level 1: Step 3 Sit.  In this step Jack is asked to sit while wearing a leash.  Ronda and I both take Jack outside on lead and cue Sits, but verbal and with a hand signal.  Jack sits 90% of the time when cued while on leash.  Jack has passed this step.

Jack will start Level 1: Step 4 Sit next week.  Ronda's homework for this week is the Comeafters for Level 1 Sit and to begin working on Level 1: Step 5 Sit which is to train without holding treats in your hand or having them on your person.  Set them off to the side and cue a sit, if he does give him a treat from the pouch or bowl nearby and continue on with what you are doing.  If possible, hide bowls of treats around the house to use to show him you always have treats nearby and he may jackpot at anytime when you cue a sit.

It is also time to praise Jack for offered sits when you don't cue him to do them, but not give him treats for them anymore.  Jack knows Sit works to get something he wants.

Flat

Jack is working on Level 1: Step 4 Flat.  In this step Jack is asked to do a Flat when he's wearing a leash.  I have asked Jack to perform Flats while on lead and Jack does perform them, but he's only offering them 70% of the time.  Jack needs more practice with this behavior.

Ronda's homework - you'll start to see a theme here soon - is to do the Level 1 Flat Comeafters with Jack.  Comeafters are a great way to build upon and explain further what Jack is being asked, so having his owner work on the Comeafters will allow him a new training situation and improve on his overall skill set.

Observations

What amazing progress Jack has made.  His sits at the front door are spunky and solid, which means his confidence in what is being asked of him is also growing.  He's progressed rapidly with Level 1 behaviors and his ability to communicate with both myself and Ronda has improved by leaps and bounds.  His overall confidence has grown and he's becoming a training maniac.  I love it.

He enjoys his play time, as the attached video shows, but he's loving his training too.  I am so glad to see Jack in the game and ready to expand his abilities in communication with us silly humans.

Level 1

	Zen	Target	Come	Sit	Down
Step	Completed	Completed	2	4	4

Level 2

	Zen	Come	Sit	Down	Target
Step	2	0	0	0	0
	Focus	Lazy Leash	Go To Mat	Crate	Distance
Step	0	1	0	2	0
	Jump	Relax	Handling	Tricks	Communication
Step	0	0	1	0	0

Level 3

	Zen	Come	Sit	Down	Target
Step	0	0	0	0	0
	Focus	Lazy Leash	Go To Mat	Crate	Distance
Step	0	0	0	0	0
	Jump	Relax	Handling	Retrieve	Communication
Step	0	0	0	1	0

Level 4

	Zen	Come	Retrieve	Target	Relax
Step	0	0	0	0	0
	Focus	Lazy Leash	Go To Mat	Crate	Distance
Step	0	0	0	0	0
	Handling	Communication
Step	0	0

13 Months: Training - Day 23

Jack and Emma Play

Be glad you are receiving this post tonight and not tomorrow.  I came to the conclusion that I simply did not want to write three posts for this blog and Emma's blog (making a total of six) tomorrow.  I am exhausted and worn to the ground after a long day of worry over Jack's older sister Deva and taking care of six dogs.

Deva, Jack's German Shepherd sister, came to my home today to see if I could get her to eat.  On Sunday Deva began throwing up and by Monday her Mom, Ronda, took her to the vet where she was diagnosed with Pancreatitis. She hasn't eaten since Sunday, mainly because she feels awful, and Ronda has spent that time trying to get her to eat the special diet she was given by the vet.  Today Ronda brought her to me, by my request the night before, to see if I couldn't entice Deva to try her food.  I spent the day offering Deva food once every 30 minutes and watched a very sick dog turn her nose away from it and sometimes get up and go lay elsewhere to get away from the food I had.  It was painful to watch.  Deva is returning to the vet in the morning.

This meant I had a total of six dogs in my house today and five of them were willing to help Deva eat her food whenever I brought it out to feed her.  Jack was all loving and wanting to touch me all day and when Jack does that Emma is right there to get her share of loving and then Max is.  At one point or another all day long I had 1 to 5 dogs touching me and demanding my attention - it was tiring.

Hall Monitor Max

Emma and Jack were in excited play  mode, which set off Hall Monitor Max (as seen in the video) and thus the house was noisy and busy.  Josh came over to work on lifting the cement slab I am removing to lay a new yard and thus the dogs were constantly barking at him as he came in and out of the house for water.

It was a noisy, busy, tiring day; but a lot was accomplished!

Today's Training:

Zen

Jack is working on Level 2: Step 2 Zen.  Today I took Jack into the kitchen to work Level 1 Zen again.  Jack has been working Level 1 Zen in the living room while I was seated and I decided to retrain Level 1 Zen in the kitchen while I was standing.  Jack got it without a hiccup.  He needs to build duration with Zen without flopping to the ground like I've deflated him, but he is doing Zen when I stand.  And for the first time, he's not trying to take everything I have in my hands out of them when I am walking.  A big change in behavior for Jack!

Crate

Jack is working on Level 2: Step 2 Crate.  He passed Step 1!  Today I started to work on Jack entering the crate and the next thing I know he's rushing in and turning to get his rewards!  He is going in on cue ("Go In") and he's happy doing it!  What a change.

I started to lure Jack into a Flat within the crate and rewarding him for the behavior.  We will continue to do this until Jack turns and lays down in the crate on his own.

I also started to shut the door and then quickly open it and reward him for the being calm when the door is shut.  Before this would have sent him flying for the hills, but Jack is so into the new crate games he's rushing back in, even when Max is in the crate with him, and looking for his reward!  What a wonderful change for Jack.

Observations

Jack is one of the most patient, gentle, loving, snuggly dogs I have ever met.  When overwhelmed he simply comes and rests his head against me and then after a few moments of contact returns to what he was doing.  He's quick to recover from surprises or concerning events and willing to retry something, even if he thought it was scary before.  He's even willing to put up with Emma's shark mode when she's snapping her mouth so hard you can hear the teeth click and biting at his face.

Today Emma went into full shark, annoying puppy mode and I told her she would soon run out of puppy leeway and her license would expire and he'd tell her off.  I know he can, because he tells Max off every so often.  So far all he does with Emma is put his front legs over here and pin her so he can continue to play with a toy or get up and walk away from her when he's tired of her.  He has never told her to cool it any other way, but today I saw the beginning of his patience end - he took her muzzle in his mouth and told her clearly he was done with sharp teeth in his ear hair.  I think most any other dog would have told Emma off long before this; Jack is simply amazing and patient with his little step-sister.

I did see a rousing game of catch me if you can and bitey face today and they were clearly enjoying it.  Emma and Jack played tag for almost 30 minutes around the house and both were kicking up dirt and gravel in their bursts of racing energy.  Deva, Attitude, Dieter and Max ignored the two as they raced at full speed throughout my yard and tore after each other.  It was a balanced play session between the two and Max enjoyed a quiet game of Frisbee while Deva lay nearby and recovered her strength - poor baby really doesn't feel good.

Jack is ready to be pushed on his Sit, Flat and Zen behaviors and will start a serious job of learning recall and target shortly.

Level 1

	Zen	Target	Come	Sit	Down
Step	Completed	2	2	3	3

Level 2

	Zen	Come	Sit	Down	Target
Step	2	0	0	0	0
	Focus	Lazy Leash	Go To Mat	Crate	Distance
Step	0	1	0	2	0
	Jump	Relax	Handling	Tricks	Communication
Step	0	0	1	0	0

Level 3

	Zen	Come	Sit	Down	Target
Step	0	0	0	0	0
	Focus	Lazy Leash	Go To Mat	Crate	Distance
Step	0	0	0	0	0
	Jump	Relax	Handling	Retrieve	Communication
Step	0	0	0	1	0

Level 4

	Zen	Come	Retrieve	Target	Relax
Step	0	0	0	0	0
	Focus	Lazy Leash	Go To Mat	Crate	Distance
Step	0	0	0	0	0
	Handling	Communication
Step	0	0

13 Months: Training - Day 22

She's mean and puts me in a crate when she leaves the house!

I woke in the morning with a full flare of whatever is happening to me and found I was out of balance and more pain than I had been in weeks.  I simply didn't have the energy or focus to train dogs that morning and knew I had an appointment in the afternoon I couldn't avoid.  Thus, I decided not to do much training for the day.

With the morning's rest and after running a couple of errands at the end of my appointment I returned still out of balance, still sore and tired, but able to focus enough to work on basic skills with Jack.  It was a short training day, but very productive for both of us.

Today's Lessons:

Zen

Jack is working on Level 2: Step 2 Zen.  Yep, he passed Level 2: Step 1 Zen!  He is progressing very nicely with constant reminders of Level 1 Zen and today flew through his Level 1 Zen behaviors without a hiccup.  I then put his food on the floor at my feet and he left it alone with that, "You can't trick me look."  We started working on duration after a few clicks and my giving him a piece of food from the pile each time, but once we started adding duration he got fussy and started to try to take the food for himself.  He needs a bit more work on patience, but he's getting there nicely.

Come

Jack is working on Level 1: Step 2 Come.  Today I was able to get Jack to chase treats I tossed around the house and recall him to me.  He's automatically turning to return to me and he's rushing up to me each time I call him.  He's ready to start the two person Come Game to build his recall.

Puppy Push Ups

Jack and I are doing a round of daily Puppy Push Ups and Jack is happily playing the game with me finally.  He's got a quick and fluid Flat and a spunky and rapid Sit, but his Brace still needs a bit of work.  He is able to do a Flat and a Sit on both hand and verbal cue, but only has Brace on hand cue at this point and not more than 60% of the time.  I will continue to work daily Puppy Push Ups with Jack.

Observations

I have been feeding meals or partial meals to Jack in his crate to improve his outlook on the crate itself.  We've also worked his training near the crate to make it a "part of the environment  like my chair or other furniture.  Jack no longer acts like the crate is charged and dangerous.  Unfortunately, because I had to leave him for a few hours I did have to crate him.  He entered the crate, as per usual, without a problem, but as soon as I closed the door to the house he began to howl.  This is because he's not fully crate trained yet and I hate pushing my luck with the crate when I have errands, but I don't want my house destroyed when I leave, therefore he needs to be crated during my absence.

Before, when I returned after being out on errands, I could hear Jack still howling in his crate until I got to the door.  The last two times I have returned after crating him I have not heard the howling, but he does whine until he realizes I will ignore him until he's quiet.

He was also in a near panic whenever I let him out of the crate before, but now is just stressed and happy to see me.  He's slowly growing accustomed to being crated, but I would rather have a long history of positive associations with the crate instead of a long history of "I must accept this because it will happen anyway" with him.

I will continue his crate work whenever possible to build good feelings with the crate.

Level 1

	Zen	Target	Come	Sit	Down
Step	Completed	2	2	3	3

Level 2

	Zen	Come	Sit	Down	Target
Step	2	0	0	0	0
	Focus	Lazy Leash	Go To Mat	Crate	Distance
Step	0	1	0	1	0
	Jump	Relax	Handling	Tricks	Communication
Step	0	0	1	0	0

Level 3

	Zen	Come	Sit	Down	Target
Step	0	0	0	0	0
	Focus	Lazy Leash	Go To Mat	Crate	Distance
Step	0	0	0	0	0
	Jump	Relax	Handling	Retrieve	Communication
Step	0	0	0	1	0

Level 4

	Zen	Come	Retrieve	Target	Relax
Step	0	0	0	0	0
	Focus	Lazy Leash	Go To Mat	Crate	Distance
Step	0	0	0	0	0
	Handling	Communication
Step	0	0

13 Months: Training - Day 21

Jack is a goofy boy with a sense of humor.

Jack arrived this morning with his sister Deva in tow.  Deva had gotten sick the day before and was on her way to the vet office for the day.  Ronda called later to tell me that Deva has pancreatitis.  Poor baby.

Today Jack had an adventure I wasn't expecting.  I brought out a tunnel to train Emma with and as all of the dogs were exploring it, Max decided to run the tunnel.  Max loves tunnels and runs them whenever he gets the chance.  Poor Jack didn't expect the tunnel to swallow Max whole and jumped, flipped onto his back and flailed his legs like he was an upside down turtle the moment it happened.

A second later the tunnel spit up Max and Jack, who had managed to get to his feet and shot across the kitchen returned to check this evil dog eating tunnel.  Once he realized it wouldn't eat him he began exploring it even more.  It was the funniest thing I had seen in a long time.

Today Jack enjoyed a lot of play time and fun working on applying Zen to life.  I had to tether him to keep him away from Emma while we worked on the tunnel and he saw me crate Max, who lay quiet in the crate watching the action.  It was a good day and I believe Jack is as happy here during the day as he is home with Ronda during the night.

Today's Lessons:

Zen

Jack is working on Level 2: Step 1 Zen.  Today I worked Level 1 Zen again and found him to be even more solid in the behavior.  I want to build up to him looking up at me when he is doing Zen behavior, so when we began Level 2: Step 1 Zen I placed a pile of treats on the floor and covered them.  He did everything he thought of to get a treat.  He pawed, licked, nudged and even laid on his side and tried to angle his tongue around my hand to get treats.  I was laughing to hard to train him at that point.

I moved the treats up onto my chair and started again and simply waited for eye contact.  At first Jack was confused, but the moment I clicked for him looking up to me he got it and started to offer eye contact faster and faster.  Jack did very well today.

Jack is still working on this step.

Flat

Jack is working on Level 1: Step 3 Flat.  Yes folks, he has passed Level 1: Step 2 Flat!  Jack was almost throwing himself on the ground to get me to click.  His response is peppy and joyful and I am enjoying him build up more and more confidence with this behavior.  He is responding to the hand cue 90% of the time, which is what I wanted and I am very happy with this behavior now.

Today I took Jack outside to work on Flat and Sit while on lead in the street.  Jack was distracted, but still able to perform the behaviors with both the verbal and hand cues.  I was also able to walk around him both to the right and left while in a Sit and a Flat.  Jack is doing fantastic with these behaviors.

Sit

Jack is working on Level 1: Step 3 Sit.  Yes folks, Jack also passed Step 2 of Sit!  His sit is amazing and he's responding to the hand cue and verbal cue 90% of the time now.  Again, I had taken Jack outside to work today and Jack's response time was slower, but not unexpected.  He was distracted, but able to refocus on me and work.  I am happy with his progress at this time.

Crate

Jack is working on Level 2: Step 1 Crate.  Jack is still exploring and trying out his crate.  Today I fed him small amounts of his meals in the crate with the door open. Each time I do this Jack enters the crate completely and eats his meal.  I am now seeing him enter and explore his crate more often, even with me in the room near his crate.  This is healthy and good.

I will start hiding surprises in his crate off and on to encourage his exploration of his crate more often.  Until I can see him relaxed and happy with his crate I will not work on his entering while I am by the door just yet, but continue to praise and reward any crate interaction.

Observations

Jack is a funny boy with a clear sense of humor.  He's so gentle and loving as well that it's hard not to like him.  He enjoys being touched and loves playing.  He will get a toy and bounce and fling it like he's some sort of gazelle or cat.  I love just spending time with this sweet boy.

Jack is brave, in his gentle way, also.  After such a fright with the tunnel he was willing to return to explore without my encouraging him and even wanted to try it out, though he wouldn't enter it himself.  I am about ready to start introducing him to new surfaces to build his footing and overall confidence.  He'll be a fun boy to work with and I look forward to our adventures.


Level 1

	Zen	Target	Come	Sit	Down
Step	Completed	2	2	3	3

Level 2

	Zen	Come	Sit	Down	Target
Step	1	0	0	0	0
	Focus	Lazy Leash	Go To Mat	Crate	Distance
Step	0	1	0	1	0
	Jump	Relax	Handling	Tricks	Communication
Step	0	0	1	0	0

Level 3

	Zen	Come	Sit	Down	Target
Step	0	0	0	0	0
	Focus	Lazy Leash	Go To Mat	Crate	Distance
Step	0	0	0	0	0
	Jump	Relax	Handling	Retrieve	Communication
Step	0	0	0	1	0

Level 4

	Zen	Come	Retrieve	Target	Relax
Step	0	0	0	0	0
	Focus	Lazy Leash	Go To Mat	Crate	Distance
Step	0	0	0	0	0
	Handling	Communication
Step	0	0