Big improvements

Realised today at breakfast how much the monkey has improved. Previously having food on the table would have had us in full on defence mode and he circled, sniffed and planned his attack. Today I realised how relaxed it was. He managed a lovely 'leave it' when I'd placed a dish of his food on the table in preparation to do a bit of training with him and I'd walked away. So, Mr Monkey, well done you!

We're working the L3 Go to Mat. Need to look at duration now as it's 1 minute. He can now go to mat and lie down in different locations.

This morning I practised his nail filing. Funny how it takes him a while to get started. Without doing a couple of hand touches he often just stares. After the touches he just seems to get it. The touch thing is what I'll often do if he gets stuck in training. Not sure if that is a bad thing or not. It seems to signify to him that he's in the game and off we go.

We also worked on 'stand' and 'sit up', where he comes back into a sit from a 'down'. The sit until released is coming along really nice too. I can now drop a handful of food in the kitchen floor and yesterday a piece of sausage in the park at 10ft from him without him moving until I give him the 'free' release cue.

Still struggling with LLW. He can loose lead walk up to a pile of food on the pavement. But without this obvious training cue, he's still boinging around on the lead like a young puppy. So still not able to go on linear walks into town. For the moment I'm doing little training walks and then the offlead training runs when we've gone out to a field in the car.

Video: Level 3 Go to Mat training - Session 4

Working the down on the mat. Adding in playing tug as a reward.

Video: Level 3 Go to mat training - session 3

Adding in the down on the mat.

Tuggy tuggy

I got a new tuggy today. Was a bit smaller in size than I expected it, but after initial caution, he liked it. We played a bit in the kitchen with it and he got into it. But he's always quite into tug at home. It's outside he acts differently. At first when I whipped it out on our evening walk he almost forgot where we were and he started tugging on it. But then he quickly started refusing to touch it, clearly wanting me to throw it so he could have it. But nooooooo. Not that game! Then he got a little rougher trying to get it off me. But nooooo. Not that game, either! So then he got back into just refusing to look or touch it because he just wanted it and didn't want to play. So we'll carry on playing at home and in different places and see how we go.

At home I integrated it with the Go to Mat training as a reward and it did seem to pep him up to come back into the game to do more training.

It's a neat little tug and fits nicely in my pocket.

Video: L2 Go to mat training

Level 2 - Go to Mat:

Dog goes to, gets on a mat, dog bed, hammock, or pause table from 5’ away, 2 cues only - two voice cues, or a voice cue and body language, etc.

Next sessions I'll work on moving the mat around different places. Thanks to Sue for giving the thumbs up and tips to move on.

Nice post on directional training

From Vicky via Sue Ailsby:
http://viassistancedogs.blogspot.com/2009/06/26-c-teach-your-dog-directional.html

Better days

Up and down at the moment. We had a much much better day yesterday. Probably because I had to go back a few steps to make sure he was calm and able to manage being out. We went up to Epple Bay where I was able to park right next to the path down to the sea. The path is a steep slope, with a high stone wall either side. So no sideways distractions and the goal of getting to the sea in front. I've started using the parking technique I learnt from H where I stand on part of a long lead if I need to do things with my hands like when I faff around getting out of the car and he's excited. It stops him pulling me all over the place and calms him down. A lot of Grey's pulling is to do with him easily being able to pull me off balance.

Once we had calm and managed to do a nice training walk down to the bay. I guess this could be a bit of a premack principle. In any case I could see it working for him. He wanted to get there, and the only way we were getting there is a on a loose lead. The other cool thing was we had the whole bay to ourselves and there was only one entrance and exit. So we did loads of nice recalls and this ways and finding food.

At home we've been practising the release cue from sit. And he's doing really well with that. Yay!

Today I drove up to the fields where we've sometimes walked to with friends. I decided to drive as the walk would have been too stressful to get there and it ends up taking me ages. Practised LLW lots and then a lovely session on the pathway. There were about 3 vans that came trundling down the bumpy farm path where we were walking on lead. He did really really well and I got him to 'leave it' and sit nicely for treats. So I'm so proud of him and releived we have light at the end of the tunnel that he can get over this. Just have to remember times like this on the next time I get stressed out. And another thing that has been so good for us both is that he hasn't had to have his headcollar on in weeks and is being managed without an antipull harness either.

Managing Reactivity

Grey in his TTouch body wrap. Totally crashed out last night after we got home.

Grey has been really reactive to traffic again. So we've had to go back to basics on dealing with this. I'm going through a process of getting him to look at me and engage with me when he has seen a van or lorry come before he starts to stiffen and react. I'm thinking of ordering Control Unleashed as a lot of what I'm trying to do sounds like it's covered in there. Yesterday I had a horrible walk with him in the evening where he was basically very tense and totally alert. When stopped from charging around he started lunging and barking at everything. I managed to calm him down eventually and did some more TTouch on him.

We'd been out to see a lady called Jacqui at the weekend who is a TTouch practitioner. She was really lovely and Grey really liked her. We have some techniques to work through and the body wrap which I just use a horse tail bandage. The names of the TTouches we're using are: clouded leopard, raccoon, mouth touch, ear touch, belly lift, tail touch. There is another we do that I can't remember the name of. I took heart from the positive stories I've heard from Jacqui and another couple of friends who have worked through problems with reactive dogs and they have come through it.

More info on TTouch:
UK TTouch Team
http://www.ttouchtteam.com/
TTouch on Youtube

Today has been a much better day. I did small training walks in front of the house. Just hanging out on the corner puppy style being calm near the traffic. Then in the park (once traffic had died down and it was quiet) I've long lined him so he's not been charging around. We pottered around and did a bit of scentwork. I'm going to work up to letting him off in the next few days. He was fine on the walk home and we managed to get back on the flat collar by clickering him increasing 1 step at a time 300 peck heeling all the way home.

Doing his nails video

Release Cue Training Session 3

With dropping food on the floor in front of him.

Me having a go at the release cue training

I made a little video of the first session of release training. My body language is awful! Argh! Keep still lady! And what's with the body blocking? But anyway, here it is! Much room for improvement.

Nice video of a viszla being taught a release

From the lovely Fanny Gott's site:

Minnis Bay walk

Earlier this week we'd been out to Minnis Bay. It's so lovely if the tide is out. Grey's a bit harder to handle there if the tide is in because that forces lots of dog walkers to stick to quite a straight path. Although once past that bit with now the dreaded beach hut and BBQ distraction obstacle course, we're out onto natural ground with a shingle beach on one side, much like Dungeness and rough grassy areas below the sea wall. Perfect for bits of fun scent work. Plus that bit is free of cyclists and a lot of the dog walkers don't go on that path as it's rougher. So we drift between the three areas, rough ground, paved sea wall path and wide wide beach stretching out to infinity. The week days are easier as there are less people about. The winter is bliss here, but then I'm northern so I like that kind of bleak landscape.



Grey was quite hyped up here this week and so we're giving it a break for a while. He's got a wee eye infection too, so a break from the sand will do him good.

Back to the old neighbourhood

Well, back to the hood for me and the other half, but it's always an adventure for Grey. We also got to realise how much of a micro-climate we live in here in Thanet, because we left misty cool breezes and arrived in London humid heat. We had the aircon turned up for Mr Grey in the car. The other half went boxing after picking up our load of toilet seat, hob, tap and sink. Grey and I got off the busy Hackney Road and headed for Haggerston Park and the shade. I was amazed how much it's been developed there. Really nice football pitch, tennis courts and woodland walk. Very nice. Grey stayed on the lead and we managed to mooch around in the shadows under the trees and sit on the grass. It was Grey's first five a side football match and he didn't seem too impressed. So we did some nice clicker training on eye contact and also I paid up for passing people, vans, bikes etc with nice calm acknowledgement and a look back to me.

We headed out to our old neighbourhood in London Fields. AMazing how full of people it is now. The park has definitely been recaptured by the community. It was absolutely packed full of people and picnicers. Lord knows what Grey would have done if he had been offlead in that situation. He would have probably ramraided a few and gone off with his booty.

While we were off to get some chips down Broadway Market we bumped into a vizsla and his two owners who I've met before when I'd admired him in his smart Hurtta harness with the handle at the back. It turns out this is Hamish and he know's Anna's Ziggi. Grey was quite enthusiastic about meeting Hamish, but eventually settled to lie down on his side. We strolled off our separate ways. Then we bumped into another Vizsla, Vigo and her owner who had already heard there was a slovak in Hackney. How could anyone miss Grey? He was shouting his head off outside the offlicence at the entrance to London Fields when L had gone in for some water. Funny, because he's stopped shouting like that in Margate. Grey I mean, not L! Must have been the excitement of being in London town. It made me wonder what it would be like to live back in town with a dog like Grey. I suppose we'd adapt and do more at weekends. We'd probably miss the beach and more free running.But then I don't know, I'm sure I'd find a new environment.

So we're very happy to have met some more blogging dogs. Very sorry to hear of Radio's passing, Andrea. It looks like an awful condition to strike at a young dog like that. We had a similar experience with losing both our maine coon cats, Rock and Clark at 4 years old to feline HCM. Our breeder has screened for it now. Losing a young animal like that is heartbreaking.

Back to today, we had some lunging at traffic in Hawley Street this morning. We'd started to head home from a leadwalk to the beach where we found the tide in. Boo! He seemed more on edge today. It was probably my fault that the walk turned out longer and with no offlead run first, he found it hard to deal with the traffic. It's a real trouble road for us to cross there as it is busy and we have to wait to cross. This seems to be a trigger if it is going to happen. If I keep him moving, it doesn't seem to trigger him. Once he's set off about a van, lorry or cycle, then he'll often start on all following vehicles. So still lots to do on this.