Floatation Collar

A few of you asked where you can purchase the floatation collar used in Katie's rehab. It keeps the head and ears above water (minimizes the panic some dogs feel about the ears getting wet). They ingest less water. Poor Travis practically would leak after a long swimming session. I wish I had had this for him. You can purchase the collar at Petco. I could not find it because they do not seem to recognize the collar's benefits in the water. Thank you for finding it, Sientay!

Awesome

Not only was the weather awesome today (back up to 60 degrees!), but Reagan and Riley did awesome as well. After work, I trained until the sun went down. Fortunately, I have video proof for Reagan.

Here is a teeter jump sequence. All I can say is WOW, Reagan!

Here is her progress on the weave poles. The weave-o-matics have helped a lot ("V" style shown in the first 2 clips). In the 3rd and 4th clip, I tried her on my old channel weaves and as you can see they are almost completely closed. They are offset by only an inch maybe and she did fantastic!

Brrrrrrrr

Wow, it has been very cold lately. I even saw a few snowflakes last night! I'm sure my readers from the north and where it is truly cold will laugh, but 20 degrees is a cold day in Georgia.

I train mostly outside and consider temperatures under 35 - 40 degrees to be too cold for me to train greyhounds. Its difficult to give clear signals and cues when I'm dressed like an Eskimo. Treats are difficult to work with when I have gloves on. And when one of my greyhounds is working, two others need to be kept warm in my van. Its a pain, so we go hiking instead.

The best part about hiking in bad weather is that you are usually the only person crazy enough to be on the trails. No other dogs or people to work around.

It works great for me because I can dress warmly and exercise my greyhounds at the same time.


So lately we have been doing a lot of hiking. We have some nice trails close to where we live and we have access to some private property as well.

Riley has been getting a lot of recall practice on a long line and she has been outstanding! Her hunting drive kicks into over drive at times, but she has responded beautifully to each and every one of my calls..... for big rewards, of course. I have not had to correct any recalls, so it has been a great opportunity to practice, proof, and reinforce fantastic recalls.

When Snookums and I hike together with all 6 greyhounds, we have been starting out with the 2 youngsters. After 30 minutes, we return to the van for the 8 - 10 year old crew and hike everyone for 30 minutes. This gives Reagan and Riley a full hour which they need and the older group a distance they are happy with.

And yet even after an hour of hiking, I can hear Reagan wandering around the house and irritating Stephen in the living room. She needs to learn how to chill out in the evenings after being exercised and fed........ maybe when she turns 2 years.

Snookums

Sometimes you have funny pictures to post, but nothing very noteworthy to say.

These are just some funny/cute pictures of Stephen communicating (or something) with the dogs.

Since I'm posting at his expense, I will advertise his blog. Check it out if you haven't.

Many of you are readers of his also, but if not, check out these posts about Riley. They are pretty funny.

Riley gets kidnapped

Clues to what happend

Stealing Away

Stephen really likes Riley a lot. He secretly hopes that she will stink as an agility/obedience greyhound so I will give her to him. That is probably not going to happen, but maybe I will occasionally loan her to him as a hiking buddy.

And bad dog, you are not suppose to be on the bed. Stephen says he didn't know she was up there. The funny thing is that the bed is very difficult to jump on and we have never had one of our greyhounds try.... that is until we got Riley.

Ihatetoast, I figured that "Snookums" was more original than "Honey", so that is how he earned the title.

Love you, Snookums.

Training Update Part Two

Here is Riley's training update.

Here is a jump sequence. Riley has mastered the full size teeter and is working on weave poles.

Here is some more jump work. Riley is not a very natural jumper. I have been jumping her at a reduced height while I teach her how to cross and follow some basic directions. I'm starting to raise the jumps now.

Riley's fetching has improved greatly. She is very good at putting the toy in my hand now. I will have to do some posts about training play retrieves one of these days.

Training Update

Just a couple of videos of Reagan training.

I have movie editing software now. Right now, I only know how to piece short clips together.

This clip shows a super nice jump sequence. Reminds me a little of Travis :-). For those that think I am a "meanie", notice that I bend down and pet her before we start. I probably also said something nice to her as well. So there is some love for you. Also shows a short clip of Reagan on the new weave poles. I am switching her back to the weave-o-matic style. I think that works best for big dogs.

This is Reagan working on lead outs. Its nice to be able to put your dog in a stay at the beginning of an agility course, so you can get a head start. Since her sit stays are very important for obedience, I do not want to use them for agility yet. This is why I have her doing stand stays instead. I am careful to not always call her out of a stay. I return and reward her frequently. I also want her to release only to the word "done". I want to be able to move around, wave my arms, and talk if I want to.

A little more heeling and some sit stay work. Her sit stays have not been very good until suddenly. Reagan would melt and want to lie down. She did really well in this clip.

Jackpot Training

As requested, here are my thoughts on training the "jackpot" concept to a performance dog. As always, my experience is limited to greyhounds. If you are someone that wants to use positive reinforcement for training primarily, it is important for the dog to understand that there is a light at the end of the tunnel..... especially if you plan to compete.

First, I want my jackpot rewards to last as long as possible. Since dogs do not savor, I make it a habit not to give them a handful of treats all at once. It does not matter if I am handing out 3 treats or 10 treats. Either way, I am going to feed each treat deliberately one at a time. If I am handing out something particularly good (smells great), I will even hang onto the treat for an extra second or 2 under her nose as the dog tries to nibble. I want them to have a chance to smell the treat and know I'm not just passing out kibble.

Lets use heeling as an example. Currently, Riley gets a click and a treat for almost everything..... a turn, change of speed, a halt, 3 good steps, etc. However, Reagan is a little further in her training and will tend to offer heeling for a slightly longer period of time. Instead of clicking and treating for every good thing she does, I start to use a little verbal praise to let her know she is on the right track and then at some point (before she quits on me) I will stop to give her several treats. Think of it as saving the treats up. Reagan might do a nice left turn, stay with me when I speed up, about turn, and halt.... instead of giving her 4 treats throughout the exercise, I save them up for at the end. I still use a clicker at this stage, but will only click when I am ready to give the jackpot and when she does something noteworthy to end on. Make sure you vary the stopping point. For example, do not always end heeling with a sit.... end during a nice straight line, a tight about turn, or a sharp change of pace.

Over time you build on that. You ask for a longer heeling pattern. Eventually you ask for another fully trained exercise. And then a third. For regular obedience, you also have to start practicing with less talk and praise during the exercise so your dog isn't surprised with you become emotionally challenged in the ring.

When it is time to built up to doing a couple of exercises before rewarding, I might move to using a jackpot container that I sometimes hide and sometimes don't. Either way, I want my dog to learn that she does not get the jackpot until I release her or take her to it. In the past, I have always said "jackpot" and then put my hand on the collar (even if I let go immediately) before going to the reward. This has kept my hounds from thinking they should search for the jackpot or leave the ring without me. It also encourages them to wait to be leashed before we rush over to the jackpot.

On a side note, even when I am working with a jackpot container, I will still carry treats in my pocket. You just never know when an exercise will completely fall apart and you will need to assist your dog with.

It is important to stay random. When Katie was full trained and competing 2 years ago, some days we did just a lot of click and treat for tiny details. Some days I did all of the obedience exercises for a huge jackpot (no clicker). Sometimes we worked on the details of 2 exercises with a clicker, but then did a jackpot for the other 3 (no clicker). I always kept her guessing.

Lastly, during a long jackpot session (5 minutes, for example), I have had my greyhounds start to cut corners or get sloppy because they are trying to hurry. You just have to work through it. Show the dog that making a mistake doesn't work because you have to do the exercise again.

Let me know if there are any questions.

Smokin

Is my 10 year old greyhound smokin or what? I just thought this was such a fantastic picture of her (top). Her muscle tone looks so good. Maybe not quite as ripped as her adoption picture :-), but looking fit and healthy nonetheless.

*** I always chuckle about the reference to "curious" and needing "guidance to live peacefully with cats". That is an understatement.

Pins and Needles

Katie continues to get a refresher in rehab for the Fibrocartilaginous Emboli (FCE) that occurred in October 2007. Last week, she received more acupuncture.

Acupuncture is so hokey to me. I do not understand it at all, but I do know I have seen immediate improvements.

I strongly recommend it for spinal issues (other than spinal tumors). Diagnosing spinal problems can be very expensive and the surgeries to correct the problem are also very expensive.... not to mention the rehab that follows. If you cannot afford to proceed, before losing hope, I strongly suggest giving acupuncture a try. It is well worth a try and may bring your dog significant relief.


My vet uses electro acupuncture. The needles are hooked up to a machine that stimulates the needles with a little bit of electricity (I believe I have that right).


Katie also went swimming again at Wag-N-Swim. The facility has changed. The pool is now an in-ground pool surrounded by a huge bubble to hold in heat. The water is still very warm and is perfect for swimming a greyhound in the winter. It was very steamy, so my pictures are not very good.


Like everything else in life, Katie swims for food. She swam until she just about couldn't swim anymore, but you would not have known after a short rest. Crazy 10 year old!



The floaty around her neck keeps her head and ears above water.


Lastly, Katie has gone for another session of the water treadmill. Here is a video clip of the action. This is probably her least favorite activity, but it is very good for making her exaggerate her movement and really use her joints. I feed her throughout the entire session.

On a happy note, the physical therapist thought she looked great and was better than the last time she had seen her. Sounds good to me.

Lab Puppy

My friend, Carol, got a new lab puppy just before Christmas. He flew in from Dallas, Texas. He comes from excellent performance lines which is very important because Carol trains and competes in obedience, agility, and field trials.

Katie, with her excellent social skills, shared some of her wisdom with the little Comet.

On a side note, this is also an excellent picture illustrating Katie's neurological weakness from the Fibrocartilaginous Emboli. The left hind leg just does not provide 100% support like it used to therefore her rear swings left and even when walking her spine is usually curved with the rear traveling left.

"Look, I am playing with the puppy."

"OK, I'm done playing with the puppy."

"Don't come any closer."

"Don't touch that."

"Mom, are you going to help me here?"

"Seriously, I have had enough of you."

Don't worry... no puppies were harmed. Katie is awesome. :-)

Jackpot - Part 2

The need for jackpot training became apparent when I started training Katie for Utility obedience.

In Novice and Open level obedience, I played on my dogs’ good will to continue working with the hope of a treat. Generally we qualified the three required times with minimum attempts (with the exception of Travis who offered "creative" open obedience exercises and tortured me a few extra times for the third Open leg). We were done and ready to move to the next level before my greyhounds became “ring savvy”. Ring savvy is when the dog figures out that there are no treats to be had in the ring, so there is no sense in working all that hard.

Well, Utility Dog exercises are so much more difficult. Exercises call for responding to signals from across the ring, complex heeling patterns, directed retrieving and jumping, scent work, and go outs. It’s the hardest thing I have ever done with a dog.

Katie earned her Novice title in 3 tries, Open in 5 tries, and Utility in 25 tries. Entering the ring 25 times (not to mention the 8 times at the lower levels) gave Katie plenty of opportunities to figure out that she would not be receiving any treats in the show ring. The secret was out. Thus the need for jackpot training.

Between exercises in an obedience class, you are allowed to praise, so I used to praise excessively because I was nervous and without any food..... thinking that my awkward praise made up for not having what she really wanted. However, after entering the Utility ring so many times, I learned that even with a delayed food reinforcement, Katie was still not looking for affection as a reward. I learned that just a small touch, a word of praise, the appreciation in my heart, and most importantly… rushing to do the next exercise was what Katie needed. She knew the jackpot awaited her and she did not need to insulted with lots of affection between exercises.

I am not saying that other dogs do not love lots of praise and excitement between exercises. Some do and need it to be successful. I just want to point out that affection is not what every dog wants and in some cases too much of it might be a deterrent.

For example, have you ever watched an excited person praise a small dog? Its not pretty :-). Often the small dog is physically moved when a person places their hand on the dog for petting. I see it all of the time in beginner, all-breed obedience classes. The puppy or the small dog comes when called and the happy person physically rubs the dog in a manner that physically rocks the dog back and forth.

One side effect to my jackpot approach is that Katie tended to rush exercises in an attempt to get things done quicker and this sometimes led to mistakes. There is not a perfect answer. Training is not a science, but more of an art. My preference was to work through her hastiness since she was working happy and willingly. I just had to remind her to to keep it smart.

Photos: Katie showing in utility in Chattanooga TN. Top: Bringing back the correct scent article. Bottom: Heeling & signal exercise.

Jackpot

Unlike agility, competing in obedience requires the dog to work for several minutes before receiving a food reward (an agility course lasts less than 60 seconds). The handler is allowed to praise the dog between obedience exercises, but you cannot reward with food until you leave the ring.

Some trainers do not like to train with food for this reason and make an attempt to wean their dogs off of treats and teach them to work for praise. Working for praise would certainly make training and showing in obedience easier. It works for some dogs, but in my experience (limited to only training greyhounds), I do not think it “usually” translates into a dog that works with the utmost joy and willingness.

My approach has been to gradually ask my greyhounds for more work between food rewards and I introduce the jackpot. Reinforcement from my pocket is usually just a bite of Red Barn, but later when I ask for 1 minute of heeling or a course of 20 agility obstacles, I might provide 10 small bites of hamburger or dollop of creme cheese. For all 5 Utility Dog exercises at a busy dog show venue, I might provide ¼ can of canned dog food, peanut butter to lick off along the rim, and chunks of roasted turkey. My goal is for my dog to not feel cheated or unappreciated. I want my dog to be excited about the potential jackpot as she works through each exercise.


I love that when I show my greyhounds in obedience that they tend to work really fast. I have seen a lot of dogs that lag, walk, or trot very slowly through the exercises. That can be stress related, but I think it may also be that the dog is not trained to look forward to a reward. The slow dog knows he is probably not getting anything anyway, so he is not motivated to work faster.


I think that food creativity is also important. If I continue to use the same food, it starts to lose its value. Surprising my canine partner with something new and unusual, keeps her coming back for more. Along with Red Barn meaty rolls, I often will grill salmon, turkey, or beef burgers to use as treats. At Thanksgiving, my parents and my in-laws will often get a larger turkey than they normally would, so I can take home extras. I also use canned dog food, peanut butter, and creme cheese. Swiss and cheddar cheese, salmon treats, Tyson chicken or steak strips, hot dogs, and cooked beef heart. Any other good ideas?


In the same vein, I avoid commercially produced treats. Treats designed to go in your pocket usually do not have a strong smell. If your dog loves them, then lucky you, but if your dog could use a "spark", I would suggest up grading your treats. If its too gross to put in your pocket, then it is probably perfect!


Photos: Katie weaving (top). Katie retrieving a glove in the directed retrieve exercise in Utility (bottom).

Love Of A Dog

Recently, I got some Youtube comments from someone that said I do not love my dogs because I did not show them any affection in any of my Youtube videos. No need to look for the comments, I deleted them and blocked the viewer. Well, I can’t argue with crazy. True, I have not posted any videos of kissing, cuddling, or hugging, but you can hardly define my love for my greyhounds from 1 minute video clips.

So let us talk about affection and praise used as a reward. The expression about the dog wanting to please the master comes to mind.….. Can humans get anymore self-centered? You could liken that to me going to work 5 days a week to please my boss. While I love my job and think the world of my boss, my motivation for pleasing my boss is so he will pay me. I believe it is the same for most dogs. If I am happy with my greyhounds, good things happen for them.

My job as a trainer that uses positive reinforcement is to make what I want to also be pleasing for the dogs. It should be a win-win situation for all involved. Assuming that all dogs work for praise is somewhat insulting for man’s best friend. They are all so different. Some dogs work for food. Other dogs may work for special toys, tugging, or a game of fetch. Some dogs find the work itself to be rewarding (those crazy border collies). Others may work for affection. Most dogs probably work for a combination of the above depending upon the request being made and it is the trainer’s job to find the right mix of rewards.



Katie is a fine example of a dog that would be thoroughly insulted with affection as a reward. She and I are not affectionate by nature. Just ask my parents, I was not a cuddly baby. If my hubby, Stephen, tries to stop me in the middle of cleaning the house for a hug, I glaze over and continue to run the to-do list through my head..... sorry, Snookums. While Katie and I both love our massages and back scratches, the time just isn’t right when we are busy.

During Katie's early training, I noticed early on that she would step away when I would try to praise her. Her interest is solely in the food. Today at age 10, Katie is more accepting of praise, but that is probably an association with a possible food reward. Happy mom = praise = food.

Katie has become much sweeter and cuddlier over the years. I love taking a nap with her or just snuggling up to her and I think she loves it too now. She loves a good scrub with a grooming mitt. But its not what she wants when she finds the correct scent article.... The girl loves to eat!


The other day, Stephen and I were walking all 6 dogs and we passed a woman with an old man in a wheelchair/scooter. He was a World War 2 vet. He immediately called to our greyhounds and they surged in for greeting…… each one pushing the other out of the way for some of his attention. All except for Katie.

Sometimes people ask if Katie is shy, but in reality she just does not seek much human attention like the others do. My point is that it is ok for a dog to have that preference and it is ok to respect that.

Now Riley and Reagan are much more affectionate than Katie and I feel that it is appropriate to include praise as a reward (although they definitely need food also). However, I figure that most people watch my videos for the action and not for the baby talk and scritches....... so I'm probably not going to be posting any affectionate videos anytime soon.

Rehab Refresher

Katie has done remarkably well since her Fibrocartilaginous Emboli (FCE) in October 2007. There is still a "twist" with every step of the left hind leg, but she no longer drags it or walks on her knuckles. However, I feel that we are having a slight set back. I probably feel it more than I can see it. I believe she regained about 90% of her function, but now has dropped to 88%.

Another concern is that Katie has some swelling near the site of the toe amputation on the same problem leg. She does not appear to be in any pain, but there is puffiness (see above). I doubt that Katie is pain free, but she is always asking to do more. After her recovery, I scaled back what she is allowed to do and the frequency, but only to maintain as much soundness for as long as possible. My fear is that if she lives to be really old (14 or 15 years old), her joints will be in terrible shape and physical pain may finally slow her down. For now, I try to allow her to do something everyday.... for fun, to stay in shape, and to help maintain soundness.... but not so much that I use her all up.

So I have started having her do cavelettis again. I upturn my broad jump boards and walk her slowly over them encouraging her to exaggerate her walking motion. The agility training makes her want to just hop over them, but it is important that she deliberately step over each one with each leg............... "ok, anything for a treat" she says.

I have also scheduled her for acupuncture, swimming, and some water treadmill work. This time around I think I will try to do better about maintaining the progress through regular therapy rather than stop all together like last time.

Heeling

The obedience classes I attended with Jes more than 10 years ago used lots of collar corrections or quick jerks on the leash. I was never comfortable with this approach and Jes clearly did not like it either.

Heeling is an exercise where the dog matches the handler's pace and maintains a steady position on the handler's left side. For competition purposes, the dog is required to sit automatically at each halt.

Initially, I was taught to give my greyhound a quick pop on the collar if she was not in the correct position or not looking at me. For a soft dog especially, imagine how the collar corrections suck all the joy that could possibly be found in heeling. This is another reason I fell in love with clicker training.

With a clicker, I can identify behaviors I want my greyhound to repeat including a nice heel position. Marking and rewarding the correct heeling behaviors makes heeling fun for the dog and easy for the handler to teach.

Here is Riley demonstrating some beginner heel work. She did better than I had expected, but you can see that when she loses heel position, I use a little leash to get her back into place. There are no corrections. I simply click & treat when she is right again.

Pure clicker trainers prefer to train heeling without a leash. I believe using a leash helps to speed up the process because you can at least keep your dog in the general area, so he or she is more likely to succeed.

Here is Reagan. She has been working on heeling a little longer than Riley has. The clicks & treats come less frequently. Her criteria has been raised and I want a little more from her before I reward.

I think some trainers resist using a clicker/marker for heeling because it does interrupt a moment of good work. I find that it is well worth the interruption. Over time, I introduce the idea of working for a longer period of time for a jackpot. Katie understands this concept precisely. Here is Katie showing advanced heeling.

Katie is trained and titled through Utility Dog obedience and is 8 year older so she is way ahead of Riley and Reagan.

How's My Driving?

Our talk about about vans and Katie's travel worries prior to the holidays leads us into an important subject.... how is my driving? Actually, you should ask your dog "How is my driving?"

I drive very gently. It comes from my days of hauling a horse trailer. A horse stands while traveling and his center of gravity is several feet above the ground and even higher when he is standing on a trailer. If you accelerate like a race car driver, brake hard to avoid rear ending the cars you tailgate, and corner like you are trying to out run the cops, your horse is going to have a very unpleasant experience and may never willingly load onto a trailer again. To some degree, the same can be said for the dogs.

I have ridden with several people who drive extremely rough with the poor dog in the backseat sliding from one side to the other and being flung into the front seat at every stop light. Often these folks do not seem to realize how terrifying this can be for the furry passenger.

Crates do offer a huge advantage. If you do get caught having to slam on your brakes, crated dogs are safely separated and contained. However, crated dogs also appreciate a gentle ride. For those that sleep (Riley, Reagan, and so did Travis), a gentle drive allows them to be well rested and ready to drive me crazy when we arrive at our destination. For those that worry (Katie currently), a gentle ride gives them less to worry about.

So the next time you drive, pretend that you have a glass of water sitting on your dashboard (or a container of training treats). Drive in a manner that keeps the imaginary glass from spilling water and your dog will be much happier for it.