I think Rush is back to his old self. He had a good flyball practice on Sunday and is doing full runs but without a ball in the box. We're working on dropping the ball for the tug separately from flyball practice. Once he gets that concept in place watch out! All the pieces will be coming together soon. Once we DO put the ball in the box I think his drive to the box will increase. He won't get to go to flyball practice this weekend (because Mom will be at agility with that 'other' red dog and that crazy aussie dog) but at the next practice I'd like to add some more distraction with a dog in the other lane. Maybe by then he'll be dropping the ball for a tug too.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Snow . . . Snow . . . Snow
It's a good thing Cherish at least got to weaving 6 when she did. Who knows when we'll be able to pick up with the 2x2 training again, now that we have 6" of snow and it's supposed to start melting tomorrow. Then you know what that means - MUD! YUCK! I hate mud!
When I reviewed the two sessions from Day 15, my success rate at session 1 was 48% and session 2 was 64%. In the first session we started out with alot of trouble on the 2-5 side. In the first 2 minutes she had 9 consecutive incorrect, but in the last 4 1/2 minutes she only had 5 incorrect. Session 2 seems to follow the same pattern, first 2 1/2 minutes had 6 incorrect and then last 5 minutes only had 3 incorrect. Hmm . . . now I'll have to think about what to do to get her thinking from the beginning.
When I reviewed the two sessions from Day 15, my success rate at session 1 was 48% and session 2 was 64%. In the first session we started out with alot of trouble on the 2-5 side. In the first 2 minutes she had 9 consecutive incorrect, but in the last 4 1/2 minutes she only had 5 incorrect. Session 2 seems to follow the same pattern, first 2 1/2 minutes had 6 incorrect and then last 5 minutes only had 3 incorrect. Hmm . . . now I'll have to think about what to do to get her thinking from the beginning.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
Day 14 - So-So
Not our best session as far as success rate %, but I WAS happy with how we ended. With seeing how much she was moving the 2x2s in the last session, and due to the fact that the ground is still too frozen to get them staked down, I made the decision to switch to the set of 6 on a solid base. Ideally I would have liked to have done one more session with the 2x2s but I also didn't want her to learn that she could move the poles out of the way. I think that changing the picture threw her off a little bit in the beginning. I also didn't help the situation by twice rewarding when she was incorrect. BAD Mom! Talk about confusing the little red dog! She only had two correct out of the first 11 but then the last 4 in a row were correct. It was a good way to end and it kept our session nice and short, about 4 1/2 minutes. I also have the same clip as below but added in slow motion on the last 4. You can see it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPlq0ucCZKA. On Saturday we'll be moving the poles and going to Katy's school and then Hamel Park on Sunday.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Day 13
FINALLY! I ended up just editing out some of the titles that I had originally put in and just cutting off some of the beginning and ending where I am playing with Cherish as I'm walking back/from the video camera. I did a quick refresher on 4 poles then added the last set of 2x2.
BTW - the stupid shot is not working yet!
BTW - the stupid shot is not working yet!
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
No training tonight
Even the best laid plans can go awry. I put it off, and put it off and put it off as long as I could, but I finally went back to the foot doctor this afternoon. Just as I was anticipating (hence the avoidance of returning) he recommended a cortisone shot in my left foot. Other than the constant daily pain while walking, my other motivator was the upcoming agility trial in 10 days. It is painful to walk now while I sit at my desk all week. The thought of what it would feel like after running two dogs over two days made me cringe. Dr. Lamb assured me that he was very good at giving them and most people tell him afterwards that it wasn't as bad as they thought it would be. I of course did not believe that last part (and I was RIGHT!) but gave him the go ahead anyway. As I was trying to talk myself out of it I asked him if after the shot I could do more damage to it by increasing my running on it when it felt better. He matter-of-factly informed me that I had already tore all the ligaments anyway so I probably couldn't do any more damage than what I had! Hopefully this will put off the surgery until a more 'convenient' time; i.e. in-between flyball tournaments and agility trials. Well hopefully I can work in that really short session tomorrow after work and before I have to take Katy to her basketball game.
Day 13 - going to 6!!
Well I found out this morning that my video from yesterday way rejected by youtube because it was too long. It was 11:06 so tonight I'll split the clips apart (one for the refresher on 4 poles and then when we go to 6 in a separate clip) and re-upload. In the meantime, as I was going through discs last night I finally found the clip of Cherish's very first session outside. It's only 6:30 and her success rate is 79%. Unfortunately I did not tape any other session between day 3 and day 12 mostly because I was working in the dark behind my house with just the floodlight and I didn't think the cameria would pick up much.
Last night I was finding that Cherish was moving the poles alot. The first set is staked down but sets 2 and 3 are not. Hopefully the ground will thaw enough in the next couple of days to either a) be able to pull the stakes out of the first set or b) be able to drive stakes in for set 2 and 3. This weekend I really want to go back to the Hamel Park one day and to Katy's school the other and set up 6 poles and a jump so we can work on H-habitat. If I can't stake or un-stake the sets of 2x2's then I'll have to consider using my set of 6 poles on a solid base.
Tonight the plan is to do a really short session working the arc with 6 and getting a high success rate. I'm not going to push for more speed until I can get them staked down. I also want to zoom the camera in more on the poles so I can better see what is going on with her footwork. Tomorrow night Katy has a basketball game and Friday is flyball, so after tonight no practice for Cherish until Saturday. Sometime before then I want to go back to the DVD and re-watch the next part so I can get a plan on what to do next.
Last night I was finding that Cherish was moving the poles alot. The first set is staked down but sets 2 and 3 are not. Hopefully the ground will thaw enough in the next couple of days to either a) be able to pull the stakes out of the first set or b) be able to drive stakes in for set 2 and 3. This weekend I really want to go back to the Hamel Park one day and to Katy's school the other and set up 6 poles and a jump so we can work on H-habitat. If I can't stake or un-stake the sets of 2x2's then I'll have to consider using my set of 6 poles on a solid base.
Tonight the plan is to do a really short session working the arc with 6 and getting a high success rate. I'm not going to push for more speed until I can get them staked down. I also want to zoom the camera in more on the poles so I can better see what is going on with her footwork. Tomorrow night Katy has a basketball game and Friday is flyball, so after tonight no practice for Cherish until Saturday. Sometime before then I want to go back to the DVD and re-watch the next part so I can get a plan on what to do next.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
WOO HOO!!! Weaving 6!!
Okay, so I didn't make 12 weaves in 12 days like the video title but we are weaving 6 in 13 days! I noticed last night that it was 5:15 and there was still barely enough daylight to work without the floodlight. So my plan at work today was to race out of there at 4:30 get home as quick as possible and get outside. I even had my plan laid out to just change shoes, throw a sweatshirt on, grab the video camera, and get the dog and the wubba. Since we didn't work any yesterday I thought I would just refresh her on 4 straight poles around the arc and then add the 3rd set of 2. She did great! Had a few missed entries but it would only be one in a row and the next time she would be correct. Video will be uploaded tonight and should be posted on blog by the morning.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
My first blog post!
I'm finally joining the blogging world. Of course it's with a little prompting from my friend Angie. We're both trying to teach one of our (many) dogs to weave using Susan Garrett's 2x2 method. I've got a little catching up to do since I've already started training this method with Cherish. Here's a quick recap.
I have never taught Cherish any behavior using shaping. Because of that I was a little worried about using this method because it relies pretty heavily on that concept. We started out in my kitchen with 1 set of 2x2's. I struggled the most with not tossing the treat to lure her thru the poles. But Cherish is a smart girl and caught on pretty quickly that moving toward the poles earned a click/treat. I kept upping the criteria and soon she was moving toward and through the poles (with no prompting) to earn her reward. YES! We were building value for the poles! We did that for 2 nights and then it was time to move outside.
I waited until the weekend so that we could work multiple sessions in a day for 2 consecutive days. It was time to test if I had successfully built value for the poles! We started outside in a grassy area next to my driveway with one set of 2x2's set at 3 and 9. I set them so that I had a tree out ahead of them so I had a target for my reward line. We worked like that on Saturday and then on Sunday rotated the poles to 2 and 8. The next time were able to work was in the evening when I got home from work. I have a floodlight on the back of my garage and I set one set of 2x2 there at 2 and 8. We worked on sending around the arc for 2 nights. On day 6 I added a second set of 2x2 at 12' from the first set. We continued sending from around the arc and would reward every so often between the two sets. The next day I moved the poles approx. 4' apart. Day 8 was on a saturday so I loaded up 2 sets of 2x2's and Cherish and I headed to the big metropolis of Hamel to set up and work in the park. It was only about 25 degrees outside so needless to say I had the whole park to myself. We did one session with the 2 sets 4' apart at 2 and 8. Then we took a break and I went and got a cup of cappuccino and drove around with the heater on to warm up. About an hour later we went back and worked another session. I picked up where I left off for a refresher and then rotated the poles to 1 and 7. She had a good success rate in a new environment so we headed home. Day 9, sunday, we worked at home again with the sets 2' apart at 1 and 7. On Day 10 we worked the same as what we did on day 9, just kept working the arc.
After that the bottom dropped out of the temperature here and we didn't work anything for 4 days. I know how to bundle up and layer and to keep my head warm with a hat, but by the time I get off work and get home it's dark and the temp would be down to about 4. That's just too cold to go out and practice in - hat or not. The next opportunity that we had to work was on saturday, January 17th. I guess you would technically call this day 11. I had a great opportunity to work at a different location and it was INDOORS! Hallelujah! I packed along 2 sets of 2x2's and headed to Wentzville for a show-n-go. When it was over I got my poles out and she did great. Picked right up where we had left off 4 days ago. I set the poles at competition spacing and rotated them to 1 and 7 and worked the arc. One thing that I have found that is the same as what Susan Garrett says in the video is that I hardly every work the low challenge area of the arc. It just doesn't seem near as fun as sending Cherish from a greater angle and watching her make a successful entry. The other challenge for ME has been to let her learn by failing. It has been so hard when she misses an entry 2, 3 or even 4 times or more in a row to not move to make it easier for her. I have always went by the "set the dog up to be successful" method and it just didn't seem right to let her keep doing it wrong over and over. What I'm seeing now is that her misses usually only happen once, maybe twice before she gets is right. You can see she's THINKING!
Now we're finally to today! I started by re-watching some of the Susan Garrett video to refresh my memory on what to do next. The weather was decent today so we were worked outside at home. I set up in a different area of the yard with 2 sets of 2x2's, competition spacing, rotated to 1 and 7. I only worked a few entries around the arc and then decided to make the leap to 4 straight poles! The little red dog did great. Later this afternoon we went out for a second session and I decided to really push her and add a jump. She hit her entry the first time, missed the next two and then hit the next 15 in a row! I stopped there for the day so we ended on some good runs.
I videotaped both of today's sessions so I'll be uploading them to youtube and will post a link. Unfortunately, now I have to go back to work tomorrow so I'll be limited to the area behind the house that the floodlight can cover. I don't know if I'll be able to get a jump in there or not.
I have never taught Cherish any behavior using shaping. Because of that I was a little worried about using this method because it relies pretty heavily on that concept. We started out in my kitchen with 1 set of 2x2's. I struggled the most with not tossing the treat to lure her thru the poles. But Cherish is a smart girl and caught on pretty quickly that moving toward the poles earned a click/treat. I kept upping the criteria and soon she was moving toward and through the poles (with no prompting) to earn her reward. YES! We were building value for the poles! We did that for 2 nights and then it was time to move outside.
I waited until the weekend so that we could work multiple sessions in a day for 2 consecutive days. It was time to test if I had successfully built value for the poles! We started outside in a grassy area next to my driveway with one set of 2x2's set at 3 and 9. I set them so that I had a tree out ahead of them so I had a target for my reward line. We worked like that on Saturday and then on Sunday rotated the poles to 2 and 8. The next time were able to work was in the evening when I got home from work. I have a floodlight on the back of my garage and I set one set of 2x2 there at 2 and 8. We worked on sending around the arc for 2 nights. On day 6 I added a second set of 2x2 at 12' from the first set. We continued sending from around the arc and would reward every so often between the two sets. The next day I moved the poles approx. 4' apart. Day 8 was on a saturday so I loaded up 2 sets of 2x2's and Cherish and I headed to the big metropolis of Hamel to set up and work in the park. It was only about 25 degrees outside so needless to say I had the whole park to myself. We did one session with the 2 sets 4' apart at 2 and 8. Then we took a break and I went and got a cup of cappuccino and drove around with the heater on to warm up. About an hour later we went back and worked another session. I picked up where I left off for a refresher and then rotated the poles to 1 and 7. She had a good success rate in a new environment so we headed home. Day 9, sunday, we worked at home again with the sets 2' apart at 1 and 7. On Day 10 we worked the same as what we did on day 9, just kept working the arc.
After that the bottom dropped out of the temperature here and we didn't work anything for 4 days. I know how to bundle up and layer and to keep my head warm with a hat, but by the time I get off work and get home it's dark and the temp would be down to about 4. That's just too cold to go out and practice in - hat or not. The next opportunity that we had to work was on saturday, January 17th. I guess you would technically call this day 11. I had a great opportunity to work at a different location and it was INDOORS! Hallelujah! I packed along 2 sets of 2x2's and headed to Wentzville for a show-n-go. When it was over I got my poles out and she did great. Picked right up where we had left off 4 days ago. I set the poles at competition spacing and rotated them to 1 and 7 and worked the arc. One thing that I have found that is the same as what Susan Garrett says in the video is that I hardly every work the low challenge area of the arc. It just doesn't seem near as fun as sending Cherish from a greater angle and watching her make a successful entry. The other challenge for ME has been to let her learn by failing. It has been so hard when she misses an entry 2, 3 or even 4 times or more in a row to not move to make it easier for her. I have always went by the "set the dog up to be successful" method and it just didn't seem right to let her keep doing it wrong over and over. What I'm seeing now is that her misses usually only happen once, maybe twice before she gets is right. You can see she's THINKING!
Now we're finally to today! I started by re-watching some of the Susan Garrett video to refresh my memory on what to do next. The weather was decent today so we were worked outside at home. I set up in a different area of the yard with 2 sets of 2x2's, competition spacing, rotated to 1 and 7. I only worked a few entries around the arc and then decided to make the leap to 4 straight poles! The little red dog did great. Later this afternoon we went out for a second session and I decided to really push her and add a jump. She hit her entry the first time, missed the next two and then hit the next 15 in a row! I stopped there for the day so we ended on some good runs.
I videotaped both of today's sessions so I'll be uploading them to youtube and will post a link. Unfortunately, now I have to go back to work tomorrow so I'll be limited to the area behind the house that the floodlight can cover. I don't know if I'll be able to get a jump in there or not.
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