It has been a long time, over 6 months, since we posted about our journey in another blog. Perhaps some of the reason is that Susan Garrett asked that we not share our work and videos  online or on blogs… That pretty put a stop to my posting since in the early spring  2012 I took Susan’s online shaping class and then her contact class which just finished in August 2012.  

Now that I have started this new website, mainly to share the work and what we have learned about body awareness, building core strength, and priopriception the blog postings will resume. Now that we have competed in our first AKC agility trial I feel like all the work we did for the past 2 years has helped. 

Myst was 5 months old when I received information on Susan Garrett’s “Recallers” course. My first thought was that I do recalls with  Myst and she seems to be doing fine. However I soon learned that there was clearly more to recalls and this course than just calling the dog and having them come… it was about the BRILLIANT RECALL based on building drive, play, interaction, focus and having me become the “BIG COOKIE” or the most important source of FUN for my puppy.

Before we began the course we made two lists that were very important for our recall work: the first list was of our dog’s distractions where we rated these distractions on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the most distracting to the dog. The second list was of our dog’s reinforcers. The reinforcers were ranked from those that the dog would take any time to those that they would not take any time or place. These lists were very helpful when training or shaping new behaviors and also when doing recalls in highly distracting environments.

Initially we did many recalls. At first they were restrained but very quickly I moved my recalls to using the crate. Crate games is another excellent tool for so many important foundation behaviors … in this case the SIT STAY. Using the work we had done in crate games Myst would stay quietly while I walked away for my recall game - I no longer needed a person to help restrain her.

Out of the 34 recall games one of my favorite is the 1 > 2 > 3 GAME. This game builds excitement for “GAMES ON” and also builds onto the foundation for SIT STAY. There are many ways to play this game, creating anticipation and excitement for the dog. Each morning when we have our fun game of tug and other games we always incorporate the 1 >2>3 game.

Another fun recall is the out of sight recall. Again, we play this game frequently since it is important to me to be able to take Myst hiking off leash and know that I do not have to worry about her chasing animals or not coming when called. We have been playing this game for 6 months and she always comes when her name is called … that is around our house and nearby trails. The test was still to come.

This past weekend I was in Flagstaff visiting a friend and Myst was able to run loose in her yard with her dogs. When it was time to leave I called Myst and she did not come and did not even look at me…. What had happened to my recall? Here was a test, a highly distracting environment where clearly I was no longer her “big cookie.”

A wonderful training opportunity had just presented itself.

The following day I challenged her to big distractions for recalls: coming to me to train when my other dogs were barking and taking her on the trail to test her recall. I found that using a long line to bring her in to me did not work in emphasizing that when she is called she comes. But I did find that going and picking her up and bringing her back to where I was when she was called did work. It only took 2 times of doing this along with using HIGH VALUE reinforcers that she GOT IT. I think that most dogs do no like being carried off of their fun.

The next day was truly going to be the big test. My fall hiking with dogs group was ready to resume our early morning hikes. All our dogs were off leash. Snake season is almost over so .. no more excuses… Time for the big test of off leash hiking on the trails and RECALLS… We did some on leash hiking this summer using a herding whistle to call the dogs back. Myst quickly learned what the whistle meant – come back to me for a JACKPOT TREAT.  

On this hike I was sure to carry very special “never had before meat” for Myst for our trail recalls. The dogs were all out running and playing on the trail and it was time.. the recall whistle.. AND Myst along with all of the dogs came running back FAST.. We did these recalls a number of times with the same wonderful response. Then Myst, feeling very independent with her new freedom, wandered down a trail by herself in the wrong direction. She was some distance away and I called her name.. and YESSSS she came running back. We have had to work on the recall as being not just coming toward me but right to my side… and she made me very proud.

What have we accomplished and learned doing recaller games for 6 months?  Well, the hiking off leash is perhaps currently most important. However we have learned so much about making the criteria for our interaction be all about having FUN and the criteria for our work is to always be JOY. We have learned that our training time needs to be short – no more than 5 minutes to keep the fun, energy and drive in our work. We end our training with the little girl always wanting more and wondering why we had to end.

Remaining Myst’s “biggest cookie” is not only fun for me but also for helping with those #10 distractions. She has a good beginning for solid start line SIT STAYS with no foot or leg movement. And she has learned so much about the importance of coming to and staying in the reinforcement zone. Building on this are her excellent retrieves of her dumb bell, metal objects and whatever I throw and ask her to return to me.

When I make my weekly training notes I always put on the top of the page reminders that I have learned from our recallers course:

·      Criteria = JOY

·      Do not reward crap

·      Sometimes is always to a dog

·      Continue to push the limits so there are errors…. This provides excellent new training opportunities

·      Continue to put deposits into my RECALL account

·      AND.. Keep finding new ways to become the “BIGGEST COOKIE in Myst’s life” …distractions loose their significance when a dog LOVES what they are doing.

Most dogs can jump so why do we need to teach jumping? Agility handlers spend much time training contact performance and weave pole entries yet is the same attention paid to jumping skills?

The agility dog today is asked to do more and more complex jumping involving extension, collection, tight turns, running forward with confidence and then collecting to a wrap around a jump, or running behind a jump. Slow motion video shows the impact that such jumping puts on the dogs when they are asked to run fast and then collect to a tight turn. Many dogs do this, but how many can jump correctly using good mechanical skills, maintaining jumping confidence and perhaps most importantly not getting injured. Far too many agility dogs today are injured jumping due to poor preparation of the tasks we ask them to do.

Having come from the sport of three-day eventing with horses, I value the work of Susan Salo. Susan has created a jumping program for puppies and dogs based on methods used for many years by top horseman and woman more specifically Gene Lewis who had horses on Olympic teams from five different countries. Lewis taught horses the mechanics of jumping without being encumbered by a rider.

Susan teaches the dog to jump without handler interference building the dog’s confidence  and understanding of how to jump correctly. Her puppy jump foundation teaches these young puppies to read and drive a place to a target and to begin to understand how to reach to distances that are constantly changing.

A very important part of all puppy work and advocated by Susan is that the work be short and FUN. Most puppy work is done with jump bumps  or very low bars for a set point exercise until the dog is at least one year of age.

As part of Myst’s body awareness I introduced trotting through a ladder. The ladder is excellent for helping the puppy use their body effectively and become conscious of where they are placing each paw. Puppies should trot through the ladder with head down. Having a target with a treat is an excellent way to help them focus forward with their head down.

We moved from the ladder to low cavelettis. Then onto Susan Salo’s puppy jump foundation work as shown in this video beginning with ladder work at 5 months old and themprogressing through Susan’s program for puppies.

Myst is now 11 months old and we do puppy jump grids once or twice a week with jumps at 8 inches max. Occasionally we do a set point exercise from 8 – 12 inches.

We are also doing jump foundation work using a jump with no bars for wrapping (Silvia’s Trkman’s CIP&CAP), Susan Garrett’s one jump work and looking for the next jump. 

I would never trade where I live for having an agility field in my backyard or an instructor a short distance away. Don’t get me wrong – it would be perfect but there are tradeoffs for living in an area with few homes and surrounded by beautiful forest service land where you can hike for hours and never see another person. The dogs can run free and swim in the creek. Some of my most peaceful and happy times are my walks with my dogs… watching them get to be dogs, sniffing, rolling, running and exploring with each other.. HAPPY DOGS…That is their reward for partnering with me to partake in what I enjoy – agility, herding and obedience

However, training and learning performance sports is a challenge when you live in remote areas. Fortunately we have a beautiful training field 20 minutes away with 2 agility rings, 2 obedience rings and some wonderful people to practice with. But where do we go to learn when the nearest place for lessons is 2-3 hours away?

The past year has seen some wonderful new training opportunities with online classes by Silvia Trkman (http://www.lolabuland.com/), Alistar MacCrae (http://www.sheepdogtrainingcourses.com/), and Susan Garrett. YES, I have signed up for an online class from each of them who are considered to be the best in their sport.

Each of these online learning experiences is very different. I tend to be very critical of teaching and learning opportunities with my background in education.  And, I currently work for and teach at a  very successful online university where I virtually live most of the week. I am especially impressed with Silvia Trkman’s virtual classes. Silvia posts her lessons every 2-3 weeks; students practice and make a video and she provides feedback on your work. Silvia is very quick to respond to both email and video postings. The feedback given to all of the students is an excellent learning opportunity for everyone since we can watch their video and then Silvia’s excellent critique. Her critiques are not only positive but very helpful especially when one is working remotely. Silvia seems genuinely interested in wanting her students to learn.

Silvia believes in positive training, shaping, and teaching dogs tricks as a way to form a great bond and also to see how your dog thinks and learns. We are currently taking Silvia’s agility foundation class. Her third lesson introduced sequencing, straight lines and the teeter.   We are not only learning a great deal from this class but are having fun with the lessons such as this one called  “Bang the See-Saw Game”. The purpose was to let the dog be OK about the noise and movement in a fun training game. You will see from this short video how happy and fearless Myst is with this game. This was only Myst’s second time ever on a teeter. The foundation work we did over the past year with warble boards, balance balls and our hikes have given her good awareness of her body with no fear of what has been asked of her to try.

I guess that living in a rural area has not been that bad when one can travel virtually to take lessons from some of the best. 

My dogs are my friends, companions and partners in our adventures. I have always enjoyed taking my dogs for hikes and exploring the beautiful Sedona landscape. Looking at animal tracks and wondering who came before. In the summer we enjoy swimming in Oak Creek or a run on a California beach. To me these experiences are some of the best and most happiest times I share with my dogs.

I have always wanted to experience each of the dog sports that are most interesting to me: agility, herding and obedience. Each brings new challenges and new learning experiences. My dogs usually let me know which one of these they can excel in and perhaps stay healthy and sound for many years.

This spring I had the opportunity to take Susan Garrett’s “Recallers” course. It has been one of the best training and learning experiences that I have had since I started training my dogs. The course was so much more than recalls…. And for me it changed the course of my dog training and the decisions that I would make or reflect upon each step of the way.  We learned about the value in creating games as a way to overcome challenges and to teach new behaviors. Always looking for the positive and joyful way to teach and train.

I have been looking forward to starting Myst herding. I put her on sheep at 5 months of age and she seemed to not only have a lot of instinct but also to really enjoy this natural genetic talent to work with sheep.  Realizing how important foundation work is for each of these performance sports, I wanted to work with someone who is currently very successful in open field herding. I chose a woman who is one of the top open field handlers in the country and traveled to northern California with both dogs this past week.

I was excited about finally getting to work in an open field with Kaffee and to learn about how to work with Myst. She has been on sheep a few times since she turned 11 months old but has been a lot of pup to work. I learned from this woman that if I was going to herd with Myst our sessions would be filled with what I have come to know as negative corrections. She was not backing off from her sheep with a flag or walking into her space and had no fear. I was told that she would be a challenge and it would be a long road ahead to have her be correct and give the proper distance in working with the sheep. She would perhaps be OK for arena work where she could stay tighter on her sheep but not for field work where distance is required.

Initially I was very disappointed. I had really wanted to herd with my little red girl. I had a lot of time to reflect on what I had learned from Susan…. Training should be joyful for both the handler and the dog… there should be joy, desire, fun and most importantly teamwork or a partnership.

Reflecting on a previous Border Collie I had who had so much eye and who I had to constantly argue and fight with to keep her off of her sheep, I knew this was not the path that I wanted to travel with this happy puppy who so enjoys working and training with me. Our life for the past year has been filled with games, joy and fun. She has learned so much and is doing so well. What I now realized was this could all be changed if my herding interactions with her was in any way negative. Susan always told us that negative training manifests itself somewhere… even if it is in decreased motivation or drive. I cherish the relationship we have now together and I am thankful that this woman was honest with me so that I could reflect on what I have learned in the past 9 months about new ways to train.

When I got my new puppy at 8 weeks old I had already decided to let Myst be a puppy and not introduce her to agility equipment or agility until she had had a chance to be a puppy. However, as always, it is a challenge with dogs that have a high work ethic to find something to do with their minds.  Myst loved learning, playing tug and  was always looking for an opportunity to play and interact with me. So I explored ways to teach her new things, develop skills and body awareness that she would use in any performance sport especially agility. Earlier blog posts show many of the fun things we did.

I learned a great deal about positive training from taking Susan Garrett’s “Recallers” course. I learned that the criteria for training was JOY and FUN. And, I learned that I must become Myst’s favorite cookie being the most fun to interact with and learn from. The recallers course continued to show us how there was always a positive solution to all of our training challenges.

When Myst was about 6 months I learned about Silvia Trkman (http://www.lolabuland.com/ ) and her fun, positive training for agility and tricks. Silvia started agility in 1992 and is famous worldwide for her methods of training. She runs Border Collies and PyrSheps.  

I ordered all three of her DVDs and was fascinated by CIK&CAP, heeling is just another trick and tricks for a great bond. This summer when she opened online registration for her puppy class I signed up. We traveled virtually to Solvenia to learn from Silvia.

Some of  Silvia’s assignments I had started previously from her DVDs but most of the lessons  were a challenge for me. One lesson was teaching “sit pretty” and then hug a toy or object. When I tried this with Myst she could not sit up and I had to think of creative ways to help her be successful. It took us 8-9 training sessions teaching her to balance and feel comfortable sitting up --- always there were high value reinforcements for the correct behavior. In the video you will see a few weeks ago her “sit pretty”; this picture shows how much her balance has improved and now she finds this easy to do. My Puli, who has ZERO work ethic, was able to sit up for treats in one session.

What I continue to learn is that some dogs have an easier time with learning certain behaviors or tricks than others do; part of training and shaping is to find where you can begin and have success.

This is our graduation video from Silvia’s puppy class. We will continue to learn new tricks that we had not been able to learn during the class. 

After posting this video on Silvia's graduation page for the puppy class she responded with this post:
FROM SILVIA: "So cool to finally meet Myst! Great job with the tricks, that were sure great cik&caps and I really loved the heeling too! Let me know which video you want to get for graduation!"