Category Archives: Training

Rio Flyball Training (Target)

  By Leanne | February 3, 2012 - 10:00 am | Flyball, Rio, Training
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I promised this video a few months ago, and only just got around to converting it. Rio is 14 weeks in this video (I think!) and this was our third target session. The whole session consisted of maybe 2-3 minutes with long breaks, so 3 mins of actual training over 15-20mins.

Just because a few people were asking, this is a breakdown of what you can see us doing:

0:00 – 0:18: Paw touches to the target on the floor, and then paw touches with the target held in different positions and places. Double-paw touches gets double treats. I was rewarding almost any paw interaction with the target. We did this for maybe 20s, and it was really just a recap of previous sessions.

0:18 – 0:24: Getting more specific. Double paw touches have to be on the target. This got the most cuts from the video as it wasn’t very exciting and was recapping the second session.

0:25 – 0:48: Double paw touches with the reward being given for turning back. Rio’s inclination is to turn right, hence why I have switched sides on the video. This was our first session on this step, and you can see a couple of times she dithers between focussing on the target and the food in my hand behind her. I stopped being quite so specific about the paw touches but increased criteria again on the next session.

Rio is now 5 months and is turning off the target which is taped to the wall. She only offers with her front paws as there is no momentum, although she will boxturn off bankings and doors when she’s excited anyway (not encouraged!). My position is almost exactly the same as in the final part of this video, only I am stood up and rewarding with the other hand (shoulder movement helps snap her off the target). We train maybe once every 10 days or so at the moment, and do 5-6 reps only. Chute work will begin soon!

Puppy Jumping Begins

  By Leanne | February 1, 2012 - 9:53 pm | Agility, Rio, Training
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I feel kind of nervous starting jump work with Rio, I had the no-agility-til-12months thing drilled into me from the moment I started 10 years ago. When Dylan was a puppy it was very much still the accepted wisdom, but now it’s ok. I agree that it’s ok, but it’s still weird.

Since Rio has never even seen an agility jump, I set up the jump outside with the bar on Micro (that’s about 6″ high) and then we did some clicker training around and about, with rewards for interacting with the jump. She offered a few hops over the pole, then demolished it by falling over the pole, and then demolished it again by whacking one of the wings with her paw. We did a few recalls over the jump bump in between the wings just for fun.

We then did 5 reps with the bar on Micro and the jump bump in front as a V-bounce type set up. I wasn’t sure how Rio would do but she was great, she noticably improved between the first and the last in figuring out where to power from, and getting a much nice shape over the pole. In so much as that’s possible with a 5 month old puppy over a tiny jump!

I probably won’t do anything again until the weekend with her, but I really want to start cik/cap work (or kip work, because that’s the word I use!) with her too this week. I’ve been putting it off because I need a stick-in-the-ground pole to begin with and I don’t have one, but I think I’ve found something that will work. I also want to start our flyball chute work this month as well, but I think I might end up pushing that back until March. We start our Foundation Agility class at the end of February and there is only so much time to spend doing big training type things when I’m still trying to do lots of socialisation too.

Fetch

  By Leanne | January 15, 2012 - 12:14 pm | Rio, Training, tricks
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I want some snow, we have a lovely covering of heavy frost this morning and it really makes me want some proper winter weather.

Rio and I have been working on her bringing toys to me this week. She’s very toy focused and loves interacting with me and tuggy, or chasing toys when I throw them, but wasn’t too keen on bringing them back. So that was our mission this week! She’s now bringing everything back to within a foot of me and either getting immediate tugs or a “leave” and then tug. Time to take that game on the road I think, we’ll try it at the park next week.

I don’t think I mentioned that we have a right-spin perfected. Rio actually came up with that herself, we were running through tricks and after her left spin she figured a right spin would be appropriate. As suspected she has a tendency to offer right spins more often than lefts now, I need to remember that as we go on!

She also has “go to bed” sorted and will trot off to her crate for a nap. She’s lying in it right now watching my parents build a shed outside, with the door open. She’s also really improved at being left alone whilst we go out (or I think she has, it’s kind of hard to tell when we’re not at home). At any rate, when we come back she’s clearly been asleep, no ripped up bedding or anything so I’m assuming she’s sleeping through it. She is also starting to settle down during the day more which I like!

I am doing a bit of online-window-shopping for dog brushes this week, and also need to flea the big dogs. I’ve been putting it off as I really don’t want Rio to ingest any flea stuff but she has a habit of ragging on Dylan’s ruff when they’re playing and I can’t figure out how to keep them seperate for 2 days.

21 Weeks

  By Leanne | January 14, 2012 - 9:54 am | Kim, Photos, Rio, Training, Walk
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21 WeeksI have been trying to get Rio to some busier places this week, hence our park trips and village walks. It’s a bit difficult as due to our walking locations, social night-time walks feel too uncomfortably unsafe (even if they’re perfectly safe), so we’re limited to daylight strolls. Sadly, not many people around during the day compared to evening or early morning, and as flyball training was cancelled last week we missed our social weekend too. I’m hoping Rio can come join me at agility on Tuesday for some socialisation but it takes pre-planning as I need to help set up and get Emma to take the Foundation class.

21 WeeksWe’re working on shaping a nose-touch (or ideally mouth-grab) behaviour at the moment. Rio loves mouthing people or dogs (yes, need to stop that!) but she has a very strong preference for her paws when we’re shaping with objects. Thanks to some help from Cat (DogRadical) and Vicki (Giruff) we’re making good progress but it’s definitely the most challenging thing we’ve done so far as it’s not really working with her natural inclinations.

Wait training is ongoing, REA is ongoing, but both looking good. Need to start her on the chute for flyball sometime this month.

21 WeeksAlmost all her baby teeth have gone, the last few molars went this week. Ears are all over the place, I love watching puppy ears change. Currently we seem to have drop ears in a morning and then by evening we’re back to airplane, but this week the drop ears have been around a lot more. Maybe she will have proper Aussie ears?!

Rio also has a tiny scab just to the right of her nose at the moment, which I have little sympathy for. I accidentally dropped a peice of pasta on Kim, which bounced and landed next to her paw. Rio ran over, shoulder barging Kim out of the way to get to it. Wrong move! Kim did not approve and told her emphatically so. Kim didn’t actually mean to catch her but Rio panicked and tried to reverse unexpectedly. Kim was apologetic to everyone after all the screaming and Rio has reverted to super-respectful behaviour, and I am a terrible owner because I’m not at all sympathetic. They’ll all survive!

Trips to the Park

  By Leanne | January 10, 2012 - 6:54 pm | Kim, Rio, Training
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We’ve been venturing further afield this week down to the big Meltham Hall park. Apparently it’s not called that any more, but whatever, it is.

This means 15mins of on-lead road walking to get there and back, which is definitely something we need to work on. All my dogs pull on the lead, I’m rubbish at training them not to. Mainly because we never have to walk anywhere on lead, so it seems like a pointless kind of skill. I’m trying to be better with Rio and teach her not to pull, we’re about 60% there but we have relapses.

We’re mainly hitting the park as there is a big children’s playground and a duck pond, so lots of small children running wild and free. So far we’ve only managed to say hi to shy and very small children, which Rio doesn’t have a problem with, but it’s still good practise.

We have also met a very over-exuberant Weimaraner who flattened her a couple of times, and I wish I’d had Kim with me on that occasion as it might have learnt some manners. Sadly we also met an intolerant Bichon as well on that walk, not a successful day. I don’t mind people having nervous dogs – I’ve got one! – but they need to be aware of it and act accordingly. Encouraging my puppy to come closer so you can have a cuddle when you have a nervous dog on a lead isn’t good for my dog or yours.

Rio is slowly coming around to the idea that ducks aren’t scary too. We’ll see if she can get over that by the end of the week!