22 Months: Training - January 6th - 9th, 2014

Monday

Who woulda thunk he'd be such an amazing dog the day I took this?

Jack took two weeks off at the end of December.  He's been training hard with me since he arrived and both he and I needed a break.  I was circling the same lessons and not getting anywhere.  I have been discussing my frustration regarding this with a friend and it too had become a loop.  The break was for me more than it was for the dogs.  I was stuck and needed to step back and work out my problem with working three dogs at three different levels.

It was in a discussion with this very friend that I came to my solution.  Robin, my friend, is working with a more experienced trainer than either of us and he's sharing some wonderful insights.  Each time she learns something new from him she shares it with me and builds up my toolbox.  I would love to go and spend time with this man and learn from him, but that isn't in the cards right now. Instead, I get the benefit of learning from what he's taught Robin and applying those lessons to my dogs.

I have changed the program a bit since last we left.  I normally fed all the dogs first thing in the morning and then worked on lessons individually with the dogs in my charge.  This method had left it a bit willy nilly with their training, unlike when I first started with Emma and used her meals as her treats and had her earn her kibble, but even then, it wasn't structured right.  I worked her too long sometimes and too short others.  It was happening with all of the dogs and I could tell it was either inhibiting their ability to work or not giving them enough information to make the connection with the lesson.

Today Jack earned every kibble I gave him.  He gets a single meal at my home during the day and that meal constitutes his training treats for the day.  One cup of kibble is a lot of training.  The trick is not to try to feed him all of it all at once, but to spread it out over the course of the day and do structured lessons.

Today Jack worked on Zen, Retrieve, Sit/Stay and Focus.  As one knows, Zen is the foundation to all the behaviors needed to become a solid pet dog and/or working dog.  Jack has had struggles with Zen and we've approached it with different methods to help him learn.  Ronda has done a fantastic job with his homework.  I returned to Zen Level 1: Step 1 again today with Jack and was extremely pleased with his focused and calm approach to the lesson.  It was clear from the very first Zen hand that Jack had been working on his lessons at home.

We did 2 sessions of Zen.  In the first we worked solely on keeping his nose away from my closed hand.  He got rapid fire rewards for the 2 minutes we worked.  On the second lesson Jack worked on making eye contact when presented with the Zen hand and attaching the cue "Leave It" to the behavior.  Jack did very good with this lesson and was able to keep his nose away from my hand and make solid eye contact.

We did two sessions on Retrieve today also.  I structured his first lessons to be 2 minutes with a 2 minute break between them and then built up to 3 minute lessons with a 2 minute break between them.  Jack was able to take the pencil in his mouth and hold it without chomping down on it for up to 3 seconds with a bit of fussing and close to chomping behavior between 4 and 5 seconds.  He is starting to hold the pencil more behind his canines than in his molars, though about 3 seconds he starts to move the pencil behind his molars.  I returned to just taking the pencil in his mouth behind his canines and rewarding that for several repeats before asking for duration in 1 second increments again.  I was able to get up to a good 3 second hold, but need to stop his head movement before I push him further on duration.

We did 2 lessons on Sit/Stay.  The first lesson he worked on just sitting in a more upright position.  I had been thinking on what made Jack more likely to slide into a down and not hold a sit for 2 to 3 seconds at a time and what made Malcolm and Emma such super stars at a Sit/Stay.  It is the position of his front feet.  He has them a bit too far forward and he's all sloppy in his sit.  He looks like a pouting teenager when he sits.  So, to start the lesson I asked for sits and only the ones where he had a good posture did he get a reward for.  I will continue this to improve his posture and increase his success at a Sit/Stay.

After that we worked on simple duration.  I stood less than 5 feet away from him and clicked for 3 and 5 second Sit/Stays.  He was solid at 3 seconds, but weak at 5 seconds.  We got one 7 second Sit/Stay, but it was clear I was pushing him too fast by the number of times he slid into a down or stood up.  I backed up on duration and rebuilt up to a 3 second Sit/Stay and rewarded that and ended the lesson.  The second time I got him into a good Sit/Stay position and worked on Distractions.  I tapped the wall, waved my arms and moved my feet while he was watching me.  He did a great job of staying in a sit and only popped into a stand a couple of times.

We worked Focus 2 times today.  I decided to work on eye contact with Distractions.  Jack makes fantastic eye contact normally and can keep it pretty well, but only when things are calm.  I held my arms off to the side and waved them in circles like a propeller and started to laugh as Jack's eye brows danced from left to right as he tried to make eye contact and peek at my arms at the same time.  I had treats in both hands and he was trying very hard to earn them.  He made eye contact finally and I gave him a reward.  The game was on.  I waved them like wings and swung them like an ape and circled them like a ninja - he was able to make eye contact each time.  It was a very fun lesson.

Jack earned his first meal of the day by 2 PM and was able to rest and play for the rest of the day.  He was clearly tired and content after having worked his brain so much today.  I do believe this type of training program will work very well for all of us.  I worked with Jack over the course of 30 minutes and got in 6 three minute training sessions and most of his meal in him in the afternoon after working 4 two minute sessions for his morning training session.  Even if I only work for 30 minutes a day on lessons in the home he'll be getting more one on one time with me than he had prior to our break; and I won't feel so burnt out as I did previously.

Jack will continue working the Levels in scheduled lessons and public access in planned outings as we take newly acquired skills on the road.

Tuesday

Hi, my name is Jack and I have a nose in your face addiction.

This new training method is working well for all of the dogs.  Jack is calmer working for his food each day and more focused on earning it.  We worked Zen Level 1: Steps 1 - 4 for all three rounds.  He is no longer chicken necking when I am asking for duration and is making eye contact when I present my Zen hand, both closed and open.  I have attached the cue for the closed hand and when I rebuilt duration with the open hand attached the cue again. As soon as I say the cue he stops all forward movement and brings his eyes to mine.  This is excellent progress.

Jack and I have been working on calm, focused Zen behavior since he arrived.  He's a snatch and grab dog when it comes to treats in people's hands and when giving a treat to another dog.  He is also a bit food stupid and when food is involved he tends to forget himself and looses track of his lessons.  It's been a slow and painful road to get his self control installed around food and especially regarding food in people's hands.  Seeing this steady progress on Zen and Jack truly working to earn the treats I am offering is wonderful.

Since Jack works for a single cup of kibble a day I am only able to get in about 6 lessons total for the day.  I like to break them up to prevent tiring myself out and give Jack time to process and work on the lesson we just worked on.  On Monday I had worked three lessons switching between what we were working on and thought better of it for our future training sessions.  Instead I pick two behaviors to work on for the day and split them between our morning and afternoon lessons.  This seems to help because Jack's improvement between Round 1 and Round 3 when working a single behavior is remarkable and his return the next day or two days later is even better.

We revisited the other behavior that had been a major issue for us - Sit/Stay.  Jack has been unable to break the 2 or 3 second barrier for months regarding Sit/Stay.  He tends to slide into a down and/or wander off and disengage from the lesson.  It has been a terribly frustrating lesson for both of us.  Over the vacation I returned to reading my Levels Book (reminder, do this sooner) and found a trouble shooting section on the very problem I was having.  I hadn't even thought that Jack's teenage slouch sit could be the problem, but it really was.

I mentioned this to Ronda and asked she only reward sits in which Jack made a good triangle when he sat.  This meant he needed to have his front feet properly under his shoulders and wasn't rocked back on his hips like he'd just drank too much.  She did this over the vacation and I could see the results of her careful reward system for solid, proper sits - Jack is now placing his front feet at an angle that improves his ability to stay in a seated position.

With this part of retraining his sit in place and his Zen improving Jack broke through the 3 second barrier with a vengeance.  We flew through 3 seconds and then 5 seconds and ended the first round at 7 seconds.  I was in heaven with this sudden improvement and his quiet, focused approach to the lesson.  The two minute break made a remarkable improvement and we blew threw 7 seconds to 9 seconds by the end of the lesson.  I wasn't clicking yet at a solid average for our increasing difficulty and would later learn to vary the rate of enforcement better, but I was using a varying rate of enforcement as I normally do to keep him engaged and throwing the longer Sit/Stays in off and on to see how he was doing.

Our third round went up to 11 seconds!  What a remarkable change from the dog that got me so frustrated that I was inventing new swear words when working.  I am certain every dog in the house thinks I am mental because I mutter curses under my breath in a happy sing song.  It's the frustration of knowing that somehow, somewhere our communication was broken.  My conversations with other trainers who have different or more experience than I and taking classes with the dogs has improved my communication with the dogs overall and I am finally not cursing under my breath in a sing song, but enjoying the sudden blast of success we are having.  It's the upcoming plateu that will bring back my special language, I just know it.

Wednesday

Boy they make the beds small here.

Zen is a foundation behavior for all of the other behaviors Jack needs.  Its important to get the first level firmly understood to have it bleed into learning everything else Jack needs to know.  Therefore we started our day with Zen.  I am working Level 1: Steps 1 - 4 with Jack and attaching the cue as we get to the 5 second mark with 90% success and stillness.  Jack had been solid the day before, but this day he was chicken necking between 4 and 5 seconds and doing a lot of body flopping (sitting back on his haunches, raising his feet and being silly) so I dropped the cue and just worked on clicking for stillness.  I varied the lesson between closed fist and open hand because Jack, as a Poodle, needs to advance, but also seems to regress a great deal in his lessons.  It's a strange ballea with him.

We did three rounds of Level 1 Zen and managed to get him still for 3 seconds, but couldn't get stillness for 4 or 5 seconds.  I swear Jack learns in circles more than a straight line.  He'll get it one day and circle back and repeat what we just went though the next and be solid by the end of a lesson and then not have it for a day or two.

For our second lesson of the day we did Retrieve for Round 1.  He's also chicken necking when we work on his hold.  Jack is retrieving objects for his handler and me, but he doesn't have a soft mouth or a solid hold and he's a bit wild with his retrieve still.  I am smoothing the retrieve out, which is happening in stages, and building a solid hold and soft mouth.  The pencil in the picture should display what I mean.  It started as a new pencil and ended a mangled mess.  Each week I start with a new pencil and will know when I have a solid soft mouth when the pencil ends the week as it started.

I can get him to hold still for 0 to 2 seconds when doing a hold, but after that he either pulls back or pushes forward or does both in rapid succession.  I want a still, focused hold, so I am working slowly on getting that stillness at a rate he can handle and process.  In time he'll have it and with that hold a lot of wonderful retrieve abilities can be built up, such as helping with laundry and bringing items over a distance to his handler.

Rounds 2 and 3 were on Sit/Stay.  I decided to work on distractions for most of the the time we worked.  I tapped or banged on the walls, opened and closed cabinets and the fridge and did a funny jig (which with me is very funny) and kept an average rate of re-enforcement of 3 seconds up.  He was fanatic after the first couple of times I had to reset him into a sit.  He's really getting the idea and just watched and earned his kibble.  I ended the lesson with another 11 second stay.  He's really made huge progress since we started this new training routine and I am very proud of him and Ronda for all the hard work they do to continue his education.

Thursday

It's the weekend!

I decided to test Level 1 Zen and Jack passed with flying colors.  I held the first treat of the day before his nose and said, "Leave It" and counted to 5 seconds and he was spot on.  He pulled back, made eye contact and sat on his haunches.  This meant our first lesson of the day was Level 2: Step 1 Zen.  I set the kibble on the floor and would click and treat for his pulling his nose away and eventually making eye contact.  He snuck two kibble, but otherwise rocked the exercise.

For Rounds 2 and 3 we worked on the famous dropping kibble.  He had a harder time with this at first, but then got the idea and would look at the falling kibble and then me and get his reward from my stash to the side.  I pushed a little hard and bounced a few kibbles off of him and he couldn't control his lips and the kibble somehow ended up in his mouth, but that wasn't his fault.

For our second lesson of the day we did 3 rounds of Retrieve.  We have not broken through chicken necking at 3 seconds yet, so I continued to keep his rate of re-enforcement at 1 second and slowly snuck in 3 second holds and managed to get a few nice still ones.  We'll continue to work on this and encourage him to keep the pencil behind his canines and not in his molars.  He also attempts to shift the pencil to his molars at 3 seconds, so I am cupping the pencil in my hands so he can't flip the pencil back and reward when he stops trying to do so.  I am noting a softer mouth is slowly developing.

Jack made amazing progress this week and we got more training in this week than we've done in previous weeks working.  I was not nearly as tired by the end of the day with the dogs and the dogs were in much better moods and more relaxed because of the higher level of mental stimulation.  The vacation I took was vital for all of us and we are entering a new year with a new attitude on training and achieving goals in ways we never did before.  I am very excited about how this week went overall.

Level 1

	Zen	Target	Come	Sit	Down
Step	Completed	Completed	Completed	Completed	Completed

Level 2

	Zen	Come	Sit	Down	Target
Step	3	4	2	1	Completed
	Focus	Lazy Leash	Go To Mat	Crate	Distance
Step	1	Completed	2	5	1
	Jump	Relax	Handling	Tricks	Communication
Step	1	4	Completed	1	4

Level 3

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

Level 4

	Zen	Come	Retrieve	Target	Relax
Step	0	0	5	0	0
	Focus	Lazy Leash	Go To Mat	Crate	Distance
Step	0	Completed	0	0	0
	Handling	Communication
Step	Completed	0

21 Months: Training - December 16th - 20th, 2013

Hello, my name is Jack and I have a 3 pencil a week habit.

Monday - Friday

This is a slower week for Jack.  We've worked on Retrieve again (to the decimation of yet another pencil) and confidence building.  I have had a week of more pain and less energy and Jack is the dog this week that got less training than the others.  It's a compromise, but Ronda understands and can see how tired I am nightly when she picks the big boy up.

We worked on Monday with retrieve and tug.  He did fine with the pencil for a long time and was getting a softer mouth and more control on his hold and more patient with it when we got up to 3 seconds and started for 4 seconds with him holding the pencil solo.  We even did some moving holds where I handed him the pencil and asked him to bring it to me for a foot or two.  Once we started that he tended to get flashy and try to flip it in his molars again.

When we played that game I would have him hold and carry and then Max hold and carry and Malcolm take it in his mouth.  We took turns between the three dogs and Jack actually loved playing that game and became more control with his carry after seeing Max's carry and hold.  Modeling, I just love it.

It was in displaying his hold to Ronda that Jack broke yet another pencil.  Sigh.

As I stated in my previous blogs for Emma and Malcolm, Wednesday was a wash for all of the dogs this week.  I had an appointment and then worked on getting health insurance, which took half a day and a load of frustration, and simply just took care of the dogs and ensured they didn't feel like I was going to eat them for dinner.

Handsome and sleepy after a major pencil killing spree.

Jack is very excitable when training.  He tends to loose his brain and gets too focused on the treats and too goofy in what he's doing to be under control.  I need to talk with someone and have them watch him and show me a better way of refocusing him.  I will contact a local clicker trainer for some advise and help with him to get him back under control and in the same game as me.

We did work on learning to flip the dishwasher door up for Ronda.  Max knows this skill and it took one lesson to teach him; I have to remember Max is not a typical dog when training a new skill.  Jack and I have worked for 5 lessons off and on and he's still not sure what I want.  I am shaping him to lifting the door up with his nose, but he's not getting his nose under the door.

I finally got his head near the edge of the door and then used a bit of targeting to get his nose under the door.  Once under the door I had him target my hand and he started the upward thrust I have been working toward.  I left the lesson there and will let him work A to Z out for a bit and then revisit the lesson.

Poodles are a strange breed of dog to train.  They like to read the end of a novel and then the beginning and fill in the middle themselves.  When training Jack I tend to show him the final result and then the beginning and then let him work the problem out and show me what he discovered.  When I do this he seems to solve the problem and return with the whole behavior in place.  It's odd, after working a German Shepherd who wants each step clearly defined to figure out the problem.

Jack is learning tug and retrieve to help his handler.

Friday was a slow day for Jack.  I decided to take Emma out for another public access run, which meant my energy levels would be drained until late afternoon after my return.  I was already drained after quickly going out and picking up poop from the yard when I saw the snow fall and putting de-icer and sand on my ramp to prevent a fall (Thanks Mom for the de-icer and sand!).  I spent almost an hour after that quick run recovering before I could take Emma out and had to take a hydro so I had my pain levels under control.

It wasn't until late afternoon I went to work on both retrieve and tug with Jack.  He was holding the pencil well enough, but he's so flighty about his hold that I am getting frustrated.  I decided I would need some advise from a friend and plan on seeing her this weekend and getting suggestions on toning down Jack's over excitement when training.

He is improving with his hold and as we worked I listened for the sound of wood crunching and wouldn't reward those holds.  He was softening his mouth  nicely and though we got a few teeth marks in the pencil, it wasn't broken.

I then went to tug and worked on teaching him the cue Pull to start applying his newly acquired tug skills to any door with a tug.  He got the idea to pull hard on the tug in my hand and was happy to play the game.  We moved to the fridge and he got the idea to pick up the tug and pull, but not hard enough to open the fridge again.  He got it the once, but hasn't since.

I moved him to the tug on the cabinet door under the sink and he easily opened that door each time.  So, we have some of the idea, but not enough force.  I need to build up persistence in his tugging and really get him thinking he can pull a semi if we ask.

I then took him to a new type of tug on the door to the front bathroom.  He pulled it and even opened the door twice, but after a bit went into stupid, can't think, just feed me the treats mode.  Sigh.  Time to fix this problem so we don't get stuck each time we increase difficulty.

Jack just before a grooming....still handsome.

When Ronda arrived we talked about what we are working on and I showed her what I wanted.  He was amped up and excited and promptly snapped the pencil.  I had Ronda feel how it should be with Jack gripping the pencil and just feeling his teeth connect and rewarding him for that.  I then said, as he got consistent on that and keeping the pencil behind his canines, to add duration between the grip and saying yes.  She misunderstood me (I phrased it funny) and she delayed the yes up to 2 seconds after he had let go of the pencil.  I apologized and asked Max to demo what I was asking her to do.

I had Max take the pencil and together we held it for 2 seconds and then I said yes and sent him to Ronda for a treat.  He was pretty pleased with himself.  She understood then and we had her practice with Max, who got silly and played tug with the pencil instead of just sharing the hold, but Ronda had an idea of what I wanted.

I also asked her to teach Jack how to play tug.  I want a good solid, I am not giving this back to you, this tug is mine, game of tug from this soft boy.  I want him to think tug is a fantastic game to play when invited.  I want him to have persistence and if she plays tug with him and really gets him thinking tug is a fantastic game maybe I can get his tug tasks progressing.

Let's see how far Jack is on tug as a game and tug as a task next week.  He has been given something to mull over for the weekend and I suspect he'll come back with A and Z connected or pretty close to being connected.

Level 1

	Zen	Target	Come	Sit	Down
Step	Completed	Completed	2	Completed	Completed

Level 2

	Zen	Come	Sit	Down	Target
Step	3	4	2	1	Completed
	Focus	Lazy Leash	Go To Mat	Crate	Distance
Step	1	Completed	2	5	1
	Jump	Relax	Handling	Tricks	Communication
Step	1	4	Completed	1	4

Level 3

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

Level 4

	Zen	Come	Retrieve	Target	Relax
Step	0	0	5	0	0
	Focus	Lazy Leash	Go To Mat	Crate	Distance
Step	0	Completed	0	0	0
	Handling	Communication
Step	Completed	0

21 Months: Training - December 9th - 13th, 2013

Tired after a long day of training.

Monday - Friday

Jack is working on Retrieve and Tug skills this week.  Ronda has a possibility of having surgery in the future and with it needs Jack's ability to pick up anything, including delicate items, built up to a fine art.  This means I need to soften his mouth and reduce his silly behaviors when performing a retrieve.

Ronda has been doing her homework and his retrieves are less pounce and bounce and more controlled and focused.  I am using a pencil to gauge his bite strength on an item and have run into the problem of his flipping it back into his rear molars and crunching when I get to the stage where he holds it on his own.  This is a huge issue and needs to be addressed to improve his retrieve.

We started the week with my holding the pencil and his taking it and making the "first tooth contact" behind his canines.  We built up from there to a solid 5 second hold with both of us sharing the pencil together.  I then released it to let him hold it for a second and he flipped it into his molars and crunched.   No treat.  That shook him and we managed to get up to 2 seconds on his own before a crunch.

Coffee, please?

By Thursday he got up to 3 seconds before flipping it back and crunch and then he snapped the pencil.  Sigh.  I decided he'd need to stay at 2 seconds and I would only reward for not flipping the pencil back into his molar for a while.  This seemed to help and his bite strength on the new pencil decreased.

On Friday he broke the second pencil at 3 seconds again.  We ran out of pencils during that time and Ronda said she'd buy more pencils for me to work with so he could continue to learn to not bite down and damage them.  Once we have that I can work on his picking up a plastic egg without harming it and then build him up on more delicate items.  Softening his mouth will take time.

We also worked on learning to open the cabinet by the tug attached.  I shaped him to taking the tug into his mouth, lifting it and then pulling back until he opened the door.  That took 3 separate lessons.  I then went to work on the fridge door and he once again went back to flipping the tug into his molars and trying to chew through it.

I decided to take down one of Malcolm's tugs and teach him to tug and not chew when there was pressure.  The first lesson was when I was holding the tug and he picked it up and eventually began to pull on it.  The second lesson I attached it to the fridge and clicked for the same pattern.  The third lesson is below - what an amazing process to watch!

Level 1

	Zen	Target	Come	Sit	Down
Step	Completed	Completed	2	Completed	Completed

Level 2

	Zen	Come	Sit	Down	Target
Step	3	4	2	1	Completed
	Focus	Lazy Leash	Go To Mat	Crate	Distance
Step	1	Completed	2	5	1
	Jump	Relax	Handling	Tricks	Communication
Step	1	4	Completed	1	4

Level 3

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

Level 4

	Zen	Come	Retrieve	Target	Relax
Step	0	0	5	0	0
	Focus	Lazy Leash	Go To Mat	Crate	Distance
Step	0	Completed	0	0	0
	Handling	Communication
Step	Completed	0

21 Months: Training - December 2nd - 6th, 2013

Malcolm and Jack do like each other, when Malcolm
isn't jumping on his head.

Monday - Friday

This is a shorter blog than normal because most of our work during the week was working on improving Jack's mood and rewarding calm behavior.  Jack has been over excitable about training, to the point he can't learn, so taking a prolonged break during the week was needed to let me do some research and figure out how best to approach the problem.

That and Jack was once again looking mopey and sad.  I don't like sad when working with the dogs and I really wanted Jack happy and upbeat when working on anything.  I suspect his lowered mood had to do with the fact we had a major cold front come in and it flared my pain levels dramatically and reduced their playtime in the yard.  We were hovering in single digits all week and the house was extremely cold, which made me ache all over.

Jack is sensitive to people's pain and tries very hard to comfort them, but is learning that when I am hurting I want space.  For him this causes stress and I had to make time to reassure him he was making the right choice for me.  By Tuesday evening he was starting to see what he was doing was appreciated and it improved his mood and by Wednesday he was back up and wiggly.  It was nice to see.

We worked on greeting Ronda when she came to pick him up by changing the routine a bit.  I put Dieter in the front bathroom, Max in the office and Jack in his crate.  I kept Emma off lead and leashed Malcolm and let each dog greet her and when that dog calmed would bring out the next dog and wait for the overall excitement level to lower before adding another dog.  Jack is always the last dog because he gets hyper excited and giving him time to chill in his crate keeps his excitement level down enough for a manageable greeting.  It worked very well and I will continue to follow that routine when answering the door.

Wednesday was our big day.  When Ronda arrived we worked on Jack aligning with her when laying down and not being in traffic when in public.  We also discussed the need to start teaching Jack to lay beside her on lead and staying in a down for up to 2 hours so we can eventually work on his public access training for going to movies.  Afterwards we arranged to take Jack and Emma out for a public access training session.

Jack is due for a grooming appointment.  He was
scheduled to go in on Saturday to get his Spa treatment.

We met after feeding the dogs and went to a local feed store.  In the store we worked on Jack doing proper counter balance work with Ronda and Ronda trusting Jack to keep up with her and make the right choices as they worked by feed bags.  We also worked on clicking for choosing to not sniff the stuff along the aisles, doing down/stays and sit/stays and focus.  The lesson lasted about 30 minutes and by the time we left I could see Jack and Ronda were working better as a team.

It was then Ronda offered to take us to dinner (we humans eat too) and so we went to a local Chinese restaurant.  We informed the waitress both dogs were in training, but without the practice they can't learn the behavior to work in public.  She was very understanding (she was family of the owners) and seated us in a quiet part of the restaurant to give both dogs a better chance at success.

Jack went under the table without fuss and settled for a little bit.  We were in the process of selecting our meals when Jack came out from under the table and laid on the floor in as much space as he could take.  I glanced down and told Ronda to send him back under, which she promptly did.  It was all Jack needed for instruction - he went under the table, turned and put his nose against the back wall and fell asleep for the remainder of the meal.

We spent approximately an hour and half in the restaurant.  Jack was perfect after being sent back under the table.  I was very impressed with his manners.  The one thing I need to work on with both him and Emma is when to shake off and when not to shake off.    They both shook off after getting out from under the table.

The rest of the week was spent letting Jack and Emma process the evening we'd spent.  It was a slower week than normal, but Jack made some wonderful progress overall.

Oh, we did work on opening a cabinet door with a tug on Wednesday.  Jack succeeded wonderfully and has a nice even pull when he opened the door.  I used shaping to achieve this goal and was very pleased with how quickly he got the idea.

I went to transfer the idea to the fridge, but with the cord on the fridge he tried to chew through it and not pull on it.  I need to think on that and work on teaching him to tug and not chew when working.

20 Months: Training - November 25th - 27th, 2013

It's Yer Choice by Susan Garrett

Monday

Jack enjoys his crate to relax in.

I have talked extensively about Emma's excitability and Malcolm's, but Jack has it too.  He doesn't have it the same way as Emma or Malcolm, but he has it enough that it makes his learning curve more concave than bell shaped.  When I started a new training program to install an off switch in Emma and Malcolm I decided Jack needed it also.

I spoke with Marge Rogers about Emma and how to work with her.  She told me of Susan Garrett's It's Yer Choice program and I realized I did something like it by instinct, but not in such a clear way as Susan Garrett does.  I do give the dogs choices and reward the ones I like, but this program gives the dog a greater chance at succeeding and learning what choices pay.

I started the protocol with Jack on Monday.  It starts with using food in a closed hand much like you do with Zen.  It's the element of Zen Jack just doesn't quite get and needed badly.  He's food stupid and I need to convince him the food is secondary to the game I am asking him to join.  Until I can, he can't contain himself enough to not move from a learning calm and focused dog to a bouncy, excited dog who can't learn.

Max loves balls and Jack is hoarding
the ball Max had been playing with.

The lesson went well with Jack, just like it did with Malcolm and Emma.  Jack quickly got the idea that pulling his nose away made me pop my hand open, but would rush in to get the food out of my hand and it'd close.  We must of spent 2 minutes on just getting me to share the food.  Once he figured it out he was willing to put both distance and stillness into his efforts by laying down with his tail beating a tattoo on my floor.

I would move and make him stand and he'd reset and have to work out the problem again.  In short order he figured out standing or sitting got me to continue and making eye contact got him treats faster than just pulling his nose away.  We played this game three times during the day and again when Ronda arrived to pick him up.

Staring contest on.

The fantastic part of this training was Jack was simply happy.  He was up and tall with his head up and tail up and a soft mouth.  He wasn't looking like I just put his favorite blanky in the weekly wash anymore.  He was still too excitable when greeting Ronda so I made a mental note to improve his chances at making the right choices the next night by tethering him until he could be calm greeting her.

After showing Ronda how to play the new game with him and instructing how often to do it nightly we realized he'd disappeared.  We found him in the big crate with half of a stuffed whale.  He has a habit of wrestling with Emma and Malcolm and setting the whole house off with high energy when Ronda arrives and then going somewhere and ripping up a stuffed toy.  Mental note: Pick up the damned stuffed toys just before pick up time!

It wasn't until after he left that I realized I couldn't find the tail of the whale.  I figured he swallowed it, but since it was a small stuffie I figured it would pass through.

Tuesday

Impulse Control for Dogs

Jack won.

When Ronda dropped Jack off she gave me a packet of soiled paper towels and told me it was the whale's tail.  Jack had thrown it up during the night at about 3:30 AM.  I told her I realized he'd swallowed it like a string of spaghetti the night before, but thought it would pass through.  Apparently it wasn't Jack's intention to poop out a whale tail.

My Mom arrived at 8 AM to take me to a food drive to pick up supplies for the house.  To learn more about how the morning went, read Malcolm's blog for this week.  I gave the dogs three outside play times before Mom and I left.  I still crate Jack when I leave and was happy with how calmly he entered the crate and settled in for my return.  I heard no howling or protests when I left.

When I returned I heard no howling or protests and Jack is exiting the crate on the excited side of calm.  I will engage him in crate games after I work Emma on them for her trip to Seattle.

Jack was relaxed, but sad in this photo.

I worked It's Yer Choice with Jack using a toy.  I found a stuffless stuffie to attach to a slip lead and put them together to create a lure toy.  I enticed Jack to play tug with it and worked on It's Yer Choice with the toy like you see in the video.  He loved it.

Once again I saw lovely body language all day.  Happy, calm relaxed dogs 99% of the day.  Jack was smiling all most all day, no matter what he was doing and his body was upright, his head tall and his tail up.  It was wonderful to see.

When Ronda arrived I had him tethered along with Malcolm, Emma and Max.  We worked It's Yer Choice for transferring him to her.  If he pawed her, got too excited or nibbled her fingers I would penalty walk him back and then do a two step/sit-eye contact to get him back to her.  It took 3 or 4 attempts, but he greeted her in a very calm manner.  I kept him on lead and while I was telling her how his day went and waited for him to completely calm down I looked over at a calm, happy dog.  I pointed that out and Ronda said it was a huge change in his body language.

I am loving this program.  It is making the days go so much better and the house is back in balance.  Emma and Jack are happy and confident and I am truly enjoying all of them again.  I look forward to my long weekend, but I am so happy we've added a new tool in my toolbox to help my soft dogs feel safe and confident in my home!

Wednesday

What living by rewarding calm looks like.

I had been playing with him and
Jack was happy, but worried about
the new puppy.

It has been a fantastic week all around.  Jack has been so happy and so relaxed and so different than the Last Rose of Summer that he's been for a long time.  Ronda and I talked about that when she picked him up.  He's calmer and happier, not only in my home but hers also.  We agreed it was because he was getting a clearer definition of what behavior we wanted and rewarding when he made the right choice and were not micro managing him when he got a bit out of control with his excitement or desire to be close.  Jack simply doesn't do well with micro management and giving him a choice and setting him up for success with the choices he can make has truly improved his overall well being emotionally.

I actually didn't work him formally on anything today.  I worked on rewarding him with praise, play or treats whenever he made a good choice.  I was 3/4ths through the day when I realized I hadn't raised my voice at the dogs for anything and only said Hey or Stop gently when I needed them to stop something specific (like Malcolm putting his feet on the cabinets or one of the dogs trying to rush out the door when I was taking only one out at that moment).  I had not once said "Get off that Dachshund" all week!  What a huge change!

We played outside both Tuesday and Wednesday.  I really wanted to manage their energy levels more so they could be more successful at not wrestling in the house.  Jack truly loved that too.  He enjoyed playing fetch with Max and I and loved that I threw a ball for both him and Max each.  He enjoyed Catch Me If You Can and wrestling and tag in the yard with Malcolm and Emma and truly enjoyed being told when he'd chosen correctly throughout his play times.

I had to watch him closely in regards to long skinny stuffed toys.  I have a stuffless skunk that Emma and Jack split into two pieces in two seconds when they played their first game of tug with it during the summer.  I pulled it out for Malcolm and Emma to play some tug-a-dog with and even Jack if he felt like it.  I pulled out both pieces - the body and the tail.  Jack has something about tails.  On Tuesday I turned to check on Malcolm for half a second while Jack was playing toss the tail and when I turned back I saw the last of the tail going down his gullet and a second  later he vomited it back out as he choked on it.  I promptly took it from him and put it up.

Happy dog play.

I left Malcolm and Emma playing with the other half and kept Jack more occupied with games with me after that to keep him from eating another stuffed toys whole.  We had not incidents of him trying to suck a stuffed toy down whole again, but I did warn Ronda he is not ever to be left unattended with dish clothes or stuffed toys he can swallow.

I did have to crate Jack for a brief period when Wayne and I went for dog food.  I left Max and took Emma (more in her blog) and when I went to crate Jack he tried to avoid going into the crate.  I gently guided him to it, but he was trying to tell me his choice was to stay out.  Tough luck Mr. El Destruco, you are not ready to be loose in the house for a run to the store!

Ronda arrived an hour earlier than I expected.  I had already picked up the stuffed toys because I didn't want Jack to eat them and I was tired and needed to just zone for a bit.  I tethered Malcolm to prevent a habit of jumping on people (more in his blog) and had Max and Jack sit while I let her in.  I took Jack's collar loosely in my hands and walked him slowly to his Mom - he jumped so he got a penalty walk and then we waited for him to sit and relax.  I told Ronda his default greeting would be a sit, since he can't jump if he is sitting.  We are half way to getting him up to sitting to greet her.  It took a few minutes (he gets very excited when she gets home) to get him to her in a calm way, but he managed it.

Jack wanted to play with Malcolm from
the beginning.  They are best buddies
now.

I was updating her on his day and discussing how the new training plan was making life here so much better for all concerned when we realized that Jack had not started a wrestling match with Malcolm, had not taken a toy to shred in his mouth (there was a ball he could have destroyed) and had put himself in his crate and calmly waited for Ronda to leash him up and take him home.  Ronda was highly impressed with his huge change from Monday!

Overall, this new training plan is making a blanket difference for both the dogs and myself and I am extremely happy with it.  I left this week energized because we made progress and I knew it was sticking and progressing at a rapid rate.  I am so glad I reached out to my contacts and asked for some advice - it sure made life better for all of us.


Level 1

	Zen	Target	Come	Sit	Down
Step	Completed	Completed	2	Completed	Completed

Level 2

	Zen	Come	Sit	Down	Target
Step	3	4	2	1	Completed
	Focus	Lazy Leash	Go To Mat	Crate	Distance
Step	1	Completed	2	5	1
	Jump	Relax	Handling	Tricks	Communication
Step	1	4	Completed	1	4

Level 3

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

Level 4

	Zen	Come	Retrieve	Target	Relax
Step	0	0	5	0	0
	Focus	Lazy Leash	Go To Mat	Crate	Distance
Step	0	Completed	0	0	0
	Handling	Communication
Step	Completed	0

20 Months: Training - November 18th - 22nd, 2013

Jack is such a love.

Monday

Jack is such a soft and gentle dog who has the happiest tail I have ever seen when he's with his handler and can be a bit shy and withdrawn when he is not.  His love for Ronda is powerful and his adoration of me is clear, but I am not his person, just the lady he hangs with until his person comes back to him.

I am the type of person who needs my space and Jack is the type of dog who wishes to share your space.  It is not a good mix between him and I and I have to go through a gentle balance of giving him the attention and love he needs to keep his emotional balance and keep my personnel space without feeling like I am overloaded.  I do love him and I enjoy his company, but there are days he's very intense on being in my space and it happens to be the days I need him to just do his own thing for a while the most.

This past week was like that.  On Monday I was in so much pain I couldn't function.  Emma and Jack are both very sensitive to people's emotions and their natural reaction is to provide comfort, but what I truly needed was for them to either lay near me or somewhere other than on me.  They both wanted nothing more than to be on me.

It started with my arms burning and feeling heavy.  They felt like someone had put a spike through my wrist up to my elbow.  Nothing relieved the pain for almost 2 hours.  Both Jack and Emma wanted nothing more than to make me feel better by cuddling, but their touch was more than I could handle.  Poor babies just didn't understand why I kept asking them to go elsewhere.

Shortly after my arms stopped hurting so badly  my left leg started.  It was after only a few steps that it felt like I was tearing the tendons and muscles on both sides of my ankle, my right ankle felt much the same but not as sharply.  Soon it was a sense of swelling on the outside of the leg, followed by the same burning and throbbing my arms had done.  It was right after that it felt like someone had run a spike from my heel to my hip and every step was pure agony.

I was using my cane, which makes Emma a bit nervous at first, but shortly I had her and Jack following me like I was their mother.  Each turn and each step was met with both of them glued to me.  By noon I was near tears and by 3 PM I wanted to scream.  Training was not an option for any of the dogs - though I had made an effort, I simply hurt too much to do anything.

At 3 PM I took a hydrocodone, even though I knew it would knock me into next week and leave me with a grumpy hang over the next day.  I tend to not take it unless I can sleep it off, but I didn't have that option.  I had, by 1 PM given up on walking - I simply couldn't take another step.  I was using the power chair and was truly happy to see that it seemed to relieve Jack and Emma's stress.  They no longer were trying to hover on me and were happy again.

I was happy to see their heads up, instead of held in the "apology" position.  Their tails were up, which was a marked improvement from the tucked position they'd been until then.  They were giving me soft mouths and relaxed bodies and their energy was up.  I hate seeing them in the "I don't know what to do" body language.  It is sad to see and hurts my heart.

So, for all of them, they had a chance to practice working around different mobility equipment.  Emma and Jack are no longer afraid of the wheelchair and have learned how to move out of the way and not cause issues when I use it in the house.  This was the longest I have ever used it in the home and the more I used it the more comfortable they all became.  Malcolm wasn't even phased by my using the power chair.

Tuesday

But so soft his feelings can easily be hurt.

Remember I said I am hung over the following day after taking a hydrocodone?  Well, I was.  I wasn't hurting like the day before, but I had no energy and no desire for any dog, even Dieter, being in my space.  I also had little tolerance for sound.  I think Tuesday was the one day every dog got it - even Malcolm was sedate and napped nicely and didn't find too many things to get into or try to often to start a mouth game with Emma or Jack.

The worse was Malcolm jumping on Jack's head and licking him until I was certain Jack would have no fur left on his face.  He's growing tired of it and I can't blame him - Malcolm seems to get stuck when kissing Jack.

We worked on mat behaviors again for a bit, but after training Malcolm a little and Emma a little it became apparent I was not in the right mood to be any good to the dogs.  It was another day of taking the dogs out for play or potty breaks and recovering.  I ended up napping for 2 hours at one point with Jack sleeping by the kitchen and Emma curled against my stomach for a bit.

The nap helped, but I knew it was a day in which I just needed to take care of me and make certain the dogs basic needs were met and they were kept safe and comfortable.  Emma was having an up and down week and Jack was acting off too.  I hate it when they are not happy, it means I am not meeting some need they have and on Tuesday I couldn't think my way out of a paper bag to solve the issue.  And, yes, that was the issue.  The fact I felt bad and was not able to give them the attention they needed was why both of the soft and sensitive dogs in my home were looking whipped.

Wednesday

If he could, he'd be part of my skin.

I wasn't feeling fully up to snuff, but I was up enough I could deal with the dogs.  I worked Jack on practical application of his retrieve.  If I dropped something I would ask him to pick it up.  With three dogs who retrieve in the house it can be a challenge to get the dog you are working on to pick something up - they all want to pitch in and help.  That is something I'll have to work on.

I also worked on introducing to him the idea he could pick his own food bowl.  He gets silly when you point at something to pick it up and I need to work on him seeing we are pointing to something to be picked up and not go into spasms of behaviors because he's confused.

When I pull out food to he gets "food stupid" and completely forgets what we are working on.  Thankfully, Robin, called and had some suggestions on how to deal with that problem.  Her Poodle, Sherman, can get that way too and another trainer showed her how to work him and keep him from getting food stupid.

It starts as a moving exercise in which we work on something Jack is solid on.  He takes a few steps and I click, pull the treat out and take a few more steps and give him the treat slowly.  If he mugs my hand, crosses my body or gets stupid the treat is put away.  It doesn't take long to realize that they need to wait for the treat to arrive and keep thinking.

I did this for a bit with Jack, but I could feel the first sensation of tearing in my joints and stopped.  But the short period we worked I saw improvement.  I will work out a way to get him to look at where I point (break it down better) and not go into spasms of joy that I am putting my hand down where his nose is.

One thing that happened for Jack was a filed trip.  I had paperwork I needed to drop off and took Jack for practical training.  We went to the DSHS office.  He is still a bit shy about suiting up, but once in his suit he is up and happy about the idea of going somewhere.  He walked, providing counter balance.  He was a bit flighty on the counter balance, but seems to be getting the idea that the uniform means he is at work.  This is good to see.

He did very well entering the building, tucking by me and letting me take care of my business.  I was asked to meet with someone, which I had not planned on, and so we headed to a seat where I could tuck him out of the way.  It was quiet in the office, but that wasn't the point.  I had not intended to work him for a long period with very few treats on me.

There was a man who made him a bit nervous, but with some treats and re-positioning him he was okay.  He was rewarded for not reaching out and touching people as they passed him and for not trying to engage people in petting him.  He got a lot of pets and loves for good behavior as rewards also.

When I was finally called, about 35 minutes after we arrived, he was getting a little antsy.  A toddler had been playing quietly until he was walking me to the booth I would sit at and then the toddler screeched and Jack became worried.  I had run out of treats, but with praise and redirection he settled by me and let me conduct my business.  He was not as stable walking me out of the building as he was walking me in, but once outside he settled right back into work mode.

All told it was 45 minutes and was too long a period for him - right on that edge of too much.  He did very well, but he had the rest of the week off as a result.

Thursday

He loves to play.

It was a bad week.  With Wednesday being the first up day I had hoped that I'd end the week strong, but Thursday I was exhausted again.  I worked on daily living and practical application of his skills.  He did well.

I worked with him again on picking up his bowl.  I had stopped using high value treats and started using Cheerios instead.  The lower value treat kept him from becoming food stupid and he was making good progress on taking and holding the bowl.

We also worked on taking direction when I asked for space without my having to move him.  He has a habit of putting his face in mine and/or laying his head or chest in my lap.  It's just to invasive for me and I am working on him understanding that.

Unfortunately, when I ask for space Jack acts like I have taken his supper away from him and grounded him for a month.  There has to be a balance between my needing space and Jack needing my attention.  I will find it.

Friday

But is happiest when with his people.

I was feeling much better by Friday, but was still emotionally and mentally tired.  I decided it was a good day for play for everyone.  I took all the dogs out and played fetch with Max and let Jack, Emma and Malcolm play.  I could tell now why I had such a bad day on Monday; it had grown progressively colder all week and Friday was wicked cold.

I was bundled in my jacket, hat, scarf and gloves just to be out with the dogs.  I had also found and dressed Dieter in his sweater.  That was what made our first playtime outside interesting.  Jack, Malcolm and Emma all hovered on poor Dieter and tried to figure out what he was.  It was not the first time Emma had seen Dieter in his sweater, but it was for Malcolm and Jack.  Emma though, was the one who spent a very large amount of time harassing Dieter and I finally had to call her off and send her out to play.

The pure joy in Jack's body language as he played tag and wrestled with Malcolm was wonderful.  His tail was up and he was that happy, goofy boy I try to have when working with him in the home.  He ran like a deer through the yard with both Malcolm and Emma and even went into pure goof when he decided to join Max's game of fetch.

It was wonderful and both times I took them out for about 45 minutes at a time for playtime he was truly a happy and relaxed dog!  We didn't do any training, but we did do a lot to restore happy emotions in everybody.

By the time Ronda came to pick him and Malcolm up (I had a client meeting) he was totally back to the happy Jack I had missed seeing for the past two weeks.  I was so happy to see that it made my heart sing.


Level 1

	Zen	Target	Come	Sit	Down
Step	Completed	Completed	2	Completed	Completed

Level 2

	Zen	Come	Sit	Down	Target
Step	3	4	2	1	Completed
	Focus	Lazy Leash	Go To Mat	Crate	Distance
Step	1	Completed	2	5	1
	Jump	Relax	Handling	Tricks	Communication
Step	1	4	Completed	1	4

Level 3

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

Level 4

	Zen	Come	Retrieve	Target	Relax
Step	0	0	5	0	0
	Focus	Lazy Leash	Go To Mat	Crate	Distance
Step	0	Completed	0	0	0
	Handling	Communication
Step	Completed	0