Tuesday Levels Training

We did the adapted Relaxation Protocol twice.  Once with Monty on a Down, Lily and Rooster in a Sit.  No mats.  At the shady end of the tennis court.  Then we moved to center court and repositioned.  Only this time Cathy and I were seated, the dogs in Downs beside us (instead of us standing in front of them).

Working on OOS (Level 3 Down) from the back of the car.  Using 2 cameras has given me a chance to witness Lily's behavior while I am out of sight.  On two occasions I was out of her sight 45 seconds or longer.  Working toward a solid minute anywhere.  We are taking advantage of having each other to monitor out of sight behaviors.

Stimulus Control - name recognition.  Cathy works all three dogs at once....feeding by name, cueing by name.  We did this with the one person Come game as well.

Jump Level 3 Step 5.  Rooster and Lily played musical cars, taking turns completing Step 5.  Next?  Different vehicles.  Different doors.  Different locations.

Then.  A nap for Monty.  Off to WalMart with Lily and Rooster.

Monday Levels Training

Dances with Wolves.
Otherwise known as training with Bull Mastiffs. (on the other side of the fence)

Adapted RP: Day 1
Without mats.  With distractions: neighboring dogs just behind fence, Scooter the horse, Jan's two girls, Watson in the yard.  Daily distractions for Rooster and Monty; unique distractions for Nad and Lily.

Leash L3 Step 3
The dog keeps the leash loose while you both walk 10 steps forward, turn around, and walk 10 steps back, with other people and dogs in the area.  Working only 10 steps in each direction affords all teams good practice in focus and attention.  It's hard not to exceed the criteria, but that's the point of training!

Tandem Lazy Leash
Rooster and Monty walk in tandem all the time.  Today Cathy gave Lily a chance to walk in tandem.  Same side.  Opposite sides.  In Steps this is LEFT SIDE and RIGHT SIDE.  Cues "tuck" and "side".

L3 behaviors with the equipment

Using the Cavaletti  for Level 3 COME.  Last week we used the Jump for the same exercise.

Training with the Cavaletti and adding Level 3 DISTANCE.  An example in back chaining.

Level 3 JUMP from the New Levels.  Levels 4 and 5 HIGH JUMP and BROAD JUMP from the original Book of Training Levels.  Go back to the old Levels and read these behaviors for more help.

Level 2 TARGET:  nose target (push) the Treibball from a distance

Monty doing ladder work and using the stool to learn the Swing Finish (Steps to Service) LEFT SIDE/RIGHT SIDE Levels 3 - 5.

Level 3 "Step of the Day"

 Jan, Cathy and I are finishing up Level 3. For fun, we are taking turns selecting a "Step of the Day" for us each to review.

Distance: Step 1: Comeafter

Sun Jan 22 2012

Focus: Step  2: Comeafter

Mon Jan 23 2012

Down: Step 4: Comeafter

Tues Jan 24 2012

Handling: Step 1: Splits

Step 1b) Stay on the Table.  Jan first got Stay on the Table solid with the table at floor level.

"Sort this out on a low table - don't start teaching the dog to stay on a table from an "orthopaedic" height (a height that will break a bone if the dog makes a mistake ) - and don't raise the height until you're sure she's not going to try bailing off."

Step 1a) Get on the Table:  1) Boost.  To get Nad onto the table when at 24" height, Jan asked for Paws Up on the table and then boosted him up.

Wed Jan 25 2012

Lazy Leash: Step 3

Expect the unexpected.  Training the distractions.  Both of these dogs came running across the park to Lily.  Only one hit me.  I don't know which.

Fri Jan 27 2012

Go to Mat: Step 2

Sat Jan 28 2012