Guest Gert Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 I've been thinking about taking a beginner obedience class with Viktor (and, after that, the other 2) because he LOVES to get out of the house! I have NO IDEA how he'll like training. He's not big on toys, but, does really enjoy his treats. This place is really close to my house. I plan to stop by, after Sandy Paws, and check them out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FastDogsOwnMe Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Ask any trainer- greyhounds that don't think are lousy racers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeylasMom Posted February 24, 2011 Author Share Posted February 24, 2011 Ask any trainer- greyhounds that don't think are lousy racers Well that certainly explains why Zuri didn't make it past his maiden races. Except that he's quite capable of thinking when given the opportunity and appropriately rewarded. Quote Jen, CPDT-KA with Zuri, lab in a greyhound suit, Violet, formerly known as Faith, Skye, the permanent puppy, Cisco, resident cat, and my baby girl Neyla, forever in my heart "The great thing about science is that you're free to disagree with it, but you'll be wrong." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FastDogsOwnMe Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 It takes more than flat speed, IMO, to be a gifted racer. Dogs must think, take advantage of benefits/breaks in traffic, and take turns well. This is no stupid breed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mcsheltie Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Ask any trainer- greyhounds that don't think are lousy racers This is the problem in a nutshell. They have been bred to be self thinkers. Not people pleasers. There are also working & sporting breeds that are not oriented to please people. Just like the GH, they have been bred to do a job that has to be done without guidance. Those dogs are a PITA to do obedience work with. But easier than GHs because they are more food motivated. When you are used to Herding breeds that live to please, you have to rethink your approach. You can teach them anything, but you need to learn to think like they do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeylasMom Posted February 25, 2011 Author Share Posted February 25, 2011 Ask any trainer- greyhounds that don't think are lousy racers This is the problem in a nutshell. They have been bred to be self thinkers. Not people pleasers. There are also working & sporting breeds that are not oriented to please people. Just like the GH, they have been bred to do a job that has to be done without guidance. Those dogs are a PITA to do obedience work with. But easier than GHs because they are more food motivated. When you are used to Herding breeds that live to please, you have to rethink your approach. You can teach them anything, but you need to learn to think like they do. I actually disagree with this, or maybe just the wording, depending. For me, the issue with greyhounds as with many shelter dogs or dogs with a history of punishment based training or abuse is that they don't have any concept that trying things out can lead to really great things. Consider even the average experience of a greyhound coming into a home off the track who's already got that background - that sort of thing is only reinforced as they try to check out their new environment and are met with lots of unh-unhs and no's unless you have an owner who is really committed to PR only training. I actually think their ability to be self-thinkers has been suppressed. As for food motivation, you know what they say, if the dog isn't motivated the problem is your food. Or, that the dog is too anxious/fearful/aroused in that particular environment, which I would bet is often why people complain that their greyhound isn't food motivated. Quote Jen, CPDT-KA with Zuri, lab in a greyhound suit, Violet, formerly known as Faith, Skye, the permanent puppy, Cisco, resident cat, and my baby girl Neyla, forever in my heart "The great thing about science is that you're free to disagree with it, but you'll be wrong." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krissy Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 As for food motivation, you know what they say, if the dog isn't motivated the problem is your food. Or, that the dog is too anxious/fearful/aroused in that particular environment, which I would bet is often why people complain that their greyhound isn't food motivated. Agreed. I know mine is food motivated. My BF calls him the "food mongrel" because if he hears me opening a bag of treats, opening the fridge, etc. he comes running. But sometimes when he's outside and something gets his attention he doesn't care what food I have, he won't take it. Until whatever it is passes and then he's like, "wait, where was that treat?". Put him on the table for x-rays and he actually spits out treats that I put into his mouth. The second he's off the table he's looking at me waiting for his treat. Quote Kristie and the Apex Agility Greyhounds: Kili (ATChC AgMCh Lakilanni Where Eagles Fly RN IP MSCDC MTRDC ExS Bronze ExJ Bronze ) and Kenna (Lakilanni Kiss The Sky RN MADC MJDC AGDC AGEx AGExJ). Waiting at the Bridge: Retired racer Summit (Bbf Dropout) May 5, 2005-Jan 30, 2019 Like us on Facebook! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mcsheltie Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 As for food motivation, you know what they say, if the dog isn't motivated the problem is your food. Or, that the dog is too anxious/fearful/aroused in that particular environment, which I would bet is often why people complain that their greyhound isn't food motivated. Agreed. I know mine is food motivated. My BF calls him the "food mongrel" because if he hears me opening a bag of treats, opening the fridge, etc. he comes running. But sometimes when he's outside and something gets his attention he doesn't care what food I have, he won't take it. Until whatever it is passes and then he's like, "wait, where was that treat?". Put him on the table for x-rays and he actually spits out treats that I put into his mouth. The second he's off the table he's looking at me waiting for his treat. You are confusing wanting to eat and food motivation. Apples and oranges. A food motivated dog will choose food over other stimuli. I make my living training dogs for the show ring, there is a big difference. Take for instance Pepper. She will eat anything at mealtime that does not eat her first. She is a 20 lb dog who would easily weigh 50 lbs if I let her. She is first in line if she hears me take the lid off the treat jar. But she will not work for food. It is a widely used practice in the ring to withhold food for dogs who won't show. I have tried it myself. If they are not food motivated, it will not make one bit of difference. I trained a GSD who would also eat anything that didn't eat him first. He will not work for treats, it doesn't matter how long I withhold food or what I offer. He will however do anything you ask, in any situation, for a tennis ball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mcsheltie Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 Ask any trainer- greyhounds that don't think are lousy racers This is the problem in a nutshell. They have been bred to be self thinkers. Not people pleasers. There are also working & sporting breeds that are not oriented to please people. Just like the GH, they have been bred to do a job that has to be done without guidance. Those dogs are a PITA to do obedience work with. But easier than GHs because they are more food motivated. When you are used to Herding breeds that live to please, you have to rethink your approach. You can teach them anything, but you need to learn to think like they do. I actually disagree with this, or maybe just the wording, depending. For me, the issue with greyhounds as with many shelter dogs or dogs with a history of punishment based training or abuse is that they don't have any concept that trying things out can lead to really great things. Consider even the average experience of a greyhound coming into a home off the track who's already got that background - that sort of thing is only reinforced as they try to check out their new environment and are met with lots of unh-unhs and no's unless you have an owner who is really committed to PR only training. I actually think their ability to be self-thinkers has been suppressed. I disagree right back Have you trained other breeds of dogs that have been bred to be self thinkers? You will find the exact same reaction. These dogs have been bred to hunt on their own for centuries. Most of these dogs come in after a racing career where this was constantly reinforced. Even the bomb-outs have the same inherited traits. They have been self thinkers all of their lives. A few months to year of being told no in a home does nothing to change their inherent way of being. They could be beaten for getting on the couch and it is still not going to change the way they have been bred to think. Just like you can beat a Border Collie and it will still have it's herding instinct. I am not saying they can't be trained to do anything we want. I am saying you will get the best results by recognizing each breeds characteristics and what they have been bred for and tailor your training to fit them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeylasMom Posted March 1, 2011 Author Share Posted March 1, 2011 (edited) I disagree right back Have you trained other breeds of dogs that have been bred to be self thinkers? You will find the exact same reaction. These dogs have been bred to hunt on their own for centuries. Most of these dogs come in after a racing career where this was constantly reinforced. Even the bomb-outs have the same inherited traits. They have been self thinkers all of their lives. A few months to year of being told no in a home does nothing to change their inherent way of being. They could be beaten for getting on the couch and it is still not going to change the way they have been bred to think. Just like you can beat a Border Collie and it will still have it's herding instinct. I am not saying they can't be trained to do anything we want. I am saying you will get the best results by recognizing each breeds characteristics and what they have been bred for and tailor your training to fit them. I think some of the difference of opinion is more semantics. I'm thinking about self-thinking in terms of offering lots of behaviors, I think you're thinking about it in a completely different way. And I think your point about breed traits is well taken, but I also believe that those traits can be wiped out by a life of abuse or a lack of socialization at a crucial time. The latter though is a much bigger deal than getting a beating for getting on the couch one time. And my point about the no's when a grey is adopted is only that it only serves to potentially confirm that idea that trying new things is bad (or at best that it's neutral). I hope that makes some sense. Tired and rushed. Anyway, this thread is supposed to be about the fun things we're accomplishing with our dogs!! So I have to share a quick story. I don't know what the heck happened last night, I suspect Zuri was just feeling particularly hungry (or one can hope that he's finally really catching on to this whole shaping thing ), but he was frantically throwing out behaviors during our training session. It was bizarre and exciting and also a little painful (I have some small cuts on my first finger from his sharp little teeth ). We didn't have a chance to work this morning, will be interesting to see if he repeats this behavior again tonight. Now my challenge is to learn how to harness this newfound energy. This is definitely a learning process for both of us. BTW, training also painful because I've started to shape "paw". I've realized that Zuri prefers to do things with his front feet rather than other body parts so he's especially enthusiastic about this particular shaping exercise and he's added pawing at me to his repertoire of things to offer when he's unsure what to do. Which would all be fine if his method of pawing were not to slam his paw on my leg and then scrape with all of his might. When we're actually working on the exercise I've had to sit with a pillow in my lap to prevent injury as I actually have a few bruises on my thigh. Edited March 1, 2011 by NeylasMom Quote Jen, CPDT-KA with Zuri, lab in a greyhound suit, Violet, formerly known as Faith, Skye, the permanent puppy, Cisco, resident cat, and my baby girl Neyla, forever in my heart "The great thing about science is that you're free to disagree with it, but you'll be wrong." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krissy Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 ha ha, well, there are some funny ideas there, we may try a few of them. For now I've got a new, big one to work on with him. I want him to learn to roll onto his side. I had him in for x-rays and he just hates being picked up and put on his side. Once he's there he's great, but he really doesn't like being positioned. So I want to teach him to do it on a command so that in future he can do it himself. It's going to be a long, slow clicker training exercise. Might take a couple of weeks to shape this finally, but that's alright, we like a challenge. In other news, we had our third obedience lesson yesterday and it was amazing! Summit is probably the best one in his class, and I'm not even saying that because I am biased. He is actually probably the most focused. I have him off leash for most of the class now because I find the leash gets in the way for exercises where he has to walk behind me to finish, and for teaching drops and waits where I need more distance from him (even though I use an 8 foot lead in class). He's so focused and doesn't run off to see other dogs or people. I also got him through a full length tunnel (last week was the first time we managed to get him through it and it was shortened as far as it would go) and even on his own a couple of times (i.e. not being held at one end with me sitting at the other encouraging). I just throw a treat into the tunnel now, tell him to go through, and run to the other end and call him the rest of the way. I also managed to up the height on the bar jump. And he didn't bat an eye at the A-frame that made it's first appearance (completely flat on the ground, but still). Such a good session yesterday. Was very proud of him. Quote Kristie and the Apex Agility Greyhounds: Kili (ATChC AgMCh Lakilanni Where Eagles Fly RN IP MSCDC MTRDC ExS Bronze ExJ Bronze ) and Kenna (Lakilanni Kiss The Sky RN MADC MJDC AGDC AGEx AGExJ). Waiting at the Bridge: Retired racer Summit (Bbf Dropout) May 5, 2005-Jan 30, 2019 Like us on Facebook! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FastDogsOwnMe Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 I just trained an 80lb racing Greyhound who barely knows me to accept being put in a whirlpool for hydrotherapy... that was fun! Combined with "never been in a house before!" syndrome and the fact I have a Borzoi bitch in standing heat... I have had a LOT OF FUN LATELY! :lol :lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeylasMom Posted March 11, 2011 Author Share Posted March 11, 2011 Go Summit! Zuri is learning to crawl. He's picking it up really quickly. I'm excited about this one b/c I think it's another one of those behaviors most people expect a greyhound wouldn't be able to do. Like, you know, sit. This coming Wednesday is our last class. You guys are going to have to hold me accountable if I start to lag on my training after it ends. Fastdogs, sounds like you have your hands full. Quote Jen, CPDT-KA with Zuri, lab in a greyhound suit, Violet, formerly known as Faith, Skye, the permanent puppy, Cisco, resident cat, and my baby girl Neyla, forever in my heart "The great thing about science is that you're free to disagree with it, but you'll be wrong." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mcsheltie Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 Trainer's Academy in the Detroit area has a Greyhound Only clicker class - link They have just accepted an offer to join Victoria Stilwell's training team - link I encourage anyone every remotely close to take their GH thru this class. I have taken three of mine and have LOVED every minute of it. Well worth the two hour drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krissy Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 This coming Wednesday is our last class. You guys are going to have to hold me accountable if I start to lag on my training after it ends. We had our last class on Wednesday. I suggest signing up for another class. We're starting Level 1 agility in April so we're looking forward to that, and in the mean time I have a couple of things I wanted to teach Summit. Though he's almost got those now so I gotta think up a few more! Quote Kristie and the Apex Agility Greyhounds: Kili (ATChC AgMCh Lakilanni Where Eagles Fly RN IP MSCDC MTRDC ExS Bronze ExJ Bronze ) and Kenna (Lakilanni Kiss The Sky RN MADC MJDC AGDC AGEx AGExJ). Waiting at the Bridge: Retired racer Summit (Bbf Dropout) May 5, 2005-Jan 30, 2019 Like us on Facebook! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeylasMom Posted March 12, 2011 Author Share Posted March 12, 2011 This coming Wednesday is our last class. You guys are going to have to hold me accountable if I start to lag on my training after it ends. We had our last class on Wednesday. I suggest signing up for another class. We're starting Level 1 agility in April so we're looking forward to that, and in the mean time I have a couple of things I wanted to teach Summit. Though he's almost got those now so I gotta think up a few more! I probably will at some point, but my problem is I don't know what class. I don't really want to do agility, it would be fun I'm sure, but not our thing. We used to do flyball but the meeting times sucked and the people who ran it were catty bitches (feel free to blame that comment on the wine I've had ). Pat isn't offering any new classes in the near future. I'll just have to keep an eye out. On another note, since I'm posting anyway - Zuri has crawl! I am amazed, with a suggestion from Pat on how to tweak shaping it with only 3 quick sessions he is crawling! Have to add the cue and get him to do multiple crawls in a row, but still, he is so freaking cute doing it. I really think there's nothing like the feeling you get when you see your dog finally get what you were aiming for. Quote Jen, CPDT-KA with Zuri, lab in a greyhound suit, Violet, formerly known as Faith, Skye, the permanent puppy, Cisco, resident cat, and my baby girl Neyla, forever in my heart "The great thing about science is that you're free to disagree with it, but you'll be wrong." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krissy Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 I really think there's nothing like the feeling you get when you see your dog finally get what you were aiming for. I love seeing the lightbulb go on. So much fun. I'm teaching Summit to down with his bum under him as opposed to his normal sphinx. It's not much good to take him to someone's house and ask him to lie down on a bed or blanket and have him sphinx! So he's learning a settle command. And from that I'm also teaching him to roll flat onto his side. Quote Kristie and the Apex Agility Greyhounds: Kili (ATChC AgMCh Lakilanni Where Eagles Fly RN IP MSCDC MTRDC ExS Bronze ExJ Bronze ) and Kenna (Lakilanni Kiss The Sky RN MADC MJDC AGDC AGEx AGExJ). Waiting at the Bridge: Retired racer Summit (Bbf Dropout) May 5, 2005-Jan 30, 2019 Like us on Facebook! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeylasMom Posted March 14, 2011 Author Share Posted March 14, 2011 I really think there's nothing like the feeling you get when you see your dog finally get what you were aiming for. I love seeing the lightbulb go on. So much fun. I'm teaching Summit to down with his bum under him as opposed to his normal sphinx. It's not much good to take him to someone's house and ask him to lie down on a bed or blanket and have him sphinx! So he's learning a settle command. And from that I'm also teaching him to roll flat onto his side. That is high on our list once class is over. We started to work on it, but the method we were using wasn't working so I decided to just drop it and try a new one later. Zuri NEEDS a settle so badly! Quote Jen, CPDT-KA with Zuri, lab in a greyhound suit, Violet, formerly known as Faith, Skye, the permanent puppy, Cisco, resident cat, and my baby girl Neyla, forever in my heart "The great thing about science is that you're free to disagree with it, but you'll be wrong." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kudzu Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 Just finished a two day seminar with Ian Dunbar. Will chalk it up as one of those things I am glad I did but never wish to do again. He's really loud & seems to have a chip on his shoulder. Also, after watching him jump to assumptions about what a couple fellow participants were trying to ask, cut them off & repeatedly "Shush" them in an annoyed, dismissive way I just couldn't take it when he did it to me. I just kept reasking my question until he would finally actually listen & then I lost my temper, telling him, "No, you shush & listen to me!" Ugh. I'm an obnoxious student despite my attempts to be otherwise but the other folks where asking valid questions or at least trying to if he'd just shushed long enough to listen. He believes in instructive punishment which in practice I will allow can work depending on type & application. However, I was not pleased with his use of it on the humans present that day. When we came back from the next break he quit shushing people & didn't do it at all that I heard on Sunday. [sigh] Still he was unpleasant at times. Kind of knew that was a possibility from a few trainers in the past but that didn't quite prepare me for Saturday's display. Perhaps he was having a bad weekend or maybe a couple dozen of us completely misinterpreted him? Hmmm... I didn't hang out afterwards. Apparently Zak George & Dunbar hung out in the bar. Maybe Dunbar is more pleasant after class. Will confess the man confounds me. Despite it I don't regret going though I told BF it was a bit sad. After a Saturday with Pat Miller I was frustrated & felt my attendance was pointless. After Sunday I was raring to spend a week in MD. After Saturday with Ian Dunbar I was frustrated, annoyed but felt I'd learned a little something. Before Sunday was over I was wondering when he would stop talking so we could go home. "Doesn't this man have a plane to catch?" I am soooooo looking forward to agility class tomorrow night with Soleil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeylasMom Posted March 14, 2011 Author Share Posted March 14, 2011 He believes in instructive punishment which in practice I will allow can work depending on type & application. Not long ago I went searching for good dog training podcasts I could download on itunes to listen to in my car. Didn't have much luck finding many, at least from trainers I recognized, but did subscribe to the IAABC one and Ian Dunbar's to try out. The Dunbar episode I listened to first/the other day was about punishment. Apparently the podcast is him sitting around with his son and daughter and it's half his daughter "interviewing" him, half them chatting about stuff. I thought it pretty much sucked on a whole, but the instructive punishment came up. I have a friend who preaches that theory quite a bit and I admit it makes a lot of sense to me in theory for certain applications like you mentioned. I had intended to ask Pat about her thoughts on it, but it slipped my mind so glad you brought this up. Our last class is Wed so I don't want to forget. Anyway, that was sort of a long rambling story, sort of all to say while I knew who he is, I hadn't had any experience with him prior to that podcast and I was not impressed. I certainly can't imagine the class setting you're describing. I would have been pissed I spent the money. Kudos to you for shushing him back. Quote Jen, CPDT-KA with Zuri, lab in a greyhound suit, Violet, formerly known as Faith, Skye, the permanent puppy, Cisco, resident cat, and my baby girl Neyla, forever in my heart "The great thing about science is that you're free to disagree with it, but you'll be wrong." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krissy Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 That is high on our list once class is over. We started to work on it, but the method we were using wasn't working so I decided to just drop it and try a new one later. Zuri NEEDS a settle so badly! I've got a video on my blog showing Summit learning to settle. It's not perfected yet, but the video shows the lure technique. Depending on how Zuri settles on his own, it may work for him too. Quote Kristie and the Apex Agility Greyhounds: Kili (ATChC AgMCh Lakilanni Where Eagles Fly RN IP MSCDC MTRDC ExS Bronze ExJ Bronze ) and Kenna (Lakilanni Kiss The Sky RN MADC MJDC AGDC AGEx AGExJ). Waiting at the Bridge: Retired racer Summit (Bbf Dropout) May 5, 2005-Jan 30, 2019 Like us on Facebook! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeylasMom Posted March 14, 2011 Author Share Posted March 14, 2011 That is high on our list once class is over. We started to work on it, but the method we were using wasn't working so I decided to just drop it and try a new one later. Zuri NEEDS a settle so badly! I've got a video on my blog showing Summit learning to settle. It's not perfected yet, but the video shows the lure technique. Depending on how Zuri settles on his own, it may work for him too. That's the technique that does NOT work for him, but thanks. Unfortunately I think our approach is going to have to be to leash him up like we're going somewhere and then sit down on the couch and wait so I can capture it. Potentially very frustrating, hence me procrastinating on starting it. Quote Jen, CPDT-KA with Zuri, lab in a greyhound suit, Violet, formerly known as Faith, Skye, the permanent puppy, Cisco, resident cat, and my baby girl Neyla, forever in my heart "The great thing about science is that you're free to disagree with it, but you'll be wrong." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rschultz Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 that is soooo cool what u are doing. Keep it up. Lexie knows how to drop a toy basketball in an orange "hoop" basket...lol. I always wanted to teach her to put her stuffies away but I guess i got lazy. U inspired me to start again.ty Quote Lexie is gone but not forgotten.💜 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Giselle Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 (edited) That is high on our list once class is over. We started to work on it, but the method we were using wasn't working so I decided to just drop it and try a new one later. Zuri NEEDS a settle so badly! I've got a video on my blog showing Summit learning to settle. It's not perfected yet, but the video shows the lure technique. Depending on how Zuri settles on his own, it may work for him too. That's the technique that does NOT work for him, but thanks. Unfortunately I think our approach is going to have to be to leash him up like we're going somewhere and then sit down on the couch and wait so I can capture it. Potentially very frustrating, hence me procrastinating on starting it. I taught one-hip-down ("Relax") to Ivy years ago. The problem with me is that I don't remember exactly how I did it or the exact criteria that I looked for I truly am amazed sometimes at all the information Ivy retains because, half the time, I don't even recall teaching it or HOW I taught it. LOL! However, I do know that I free shape everything with her. I believe it went something like: Cover a treat on the ground with my hand. Ivy drops into a Down. Click/treat. Click/treat. I always like to load. Ivy stares at treat or something. Ignore. Ivy stops sniffing + holds head back or looks at me. Click/Treat. I mark/reward this behavior because she is also inadvertently putting her weight back. If she puts sufficient weight back and she's still in a Down position, she will have to readjust her body so that it's more comfortable. Ivy is in a Down and she's looking at me or something; ergo, her weight is held back. Click/Treat. Ivy readjusts her back end to be able to look at me. Readjustment of weight = click/treat. Repeat repeat repeat [this is the really crucial step] Eventually, she'll readjust her weight and fall on one-hip. Fin =) Have you two tried this? Maybe it'll help if you start to click for readjustment of weight versus the full-blown one-hip position. I can try video-taping a shaping session with Ivy, but she already knows the behavior so she may skip all the intermediate behaviors. ETA: It really really helps for this (and many other behaviors) if your dog has good body awareness. When I taught this behavior, Ivy and I were agility junkies and we focused a lot of our time on proprioception and kinesthetic training. She was very well aware of her body, which is why it was easier to click for readjustment of weight. So, if your pups are weak on that, maybe do some foundation body awareness behaviors? Or use this as a basic body awareness behavior, too! So many possibilities, so little time Edited March 15, 2011 by Giselle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeylasMom Posted March 16, 2011 Author Share Posted March 16, 2011 That's actually a really great idea. We've been working a lot on back end awareness in my shaping class, but more back foot awareness than anything else. Zuri learned to stand on an upside down feed pan and step his back feet side to side to circle around it. I was SO proud of him when he got that. It came pretty quickly once I got him standing on the pan with his 2 front feet. Actually, the best part about that is that Zuri in his typical "I don't really offer any new behaviors with a new item, I just paw and sniff" way didn't naturally just step on the pan like the other dogs - I had to shape that entire part. But he was still the dog who learned the end behavior first and was doing it pretty reliably in the last 2 classes while the other dogs didn't have it. Anyway, back to the relax, I think that could really work for him. When I finally got him to move his back end at all with his front paws on the feed pan, things went really quickly from there and he had the actual behavior in only a session or two. So I like this idea. I think it may be less frustrating for both of us. We will definitely give it a shot - thanks! Quote Jen, CPDT-KA with Zuri, lab in a greyhound suit, Violet, formerly known as Faith, Skye, the permanent puppy, Cisco, resident cat, and my baby girl Neyla, forever in my heart "The great thing about science is that you're free to disagree with it, but you'll be wrong." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.