Growing up at Blue Cedar, Ian and Tooie gave me lots of chances to play with my brothers and the other dogs, and we had lots of fun props and toys around so I got exposed to new and strange things all the time. We also got to do lots of tugging, recalls, etc. All good exposure for the future careers in flyball and agility that we puppies hope for. But they didn't give us a whole lot of obedience training, in the assumption that our eventual owners would want to assign their own cues and such. David has spent quite a bit of time training me, and he sometimes gets help from his flyball teammates who are some of my favorite people. I really like it when we do training, personal attention, a chance to use my brain, and lots of cheese is just the best!
"Sit" is easy. Their hand goes up, my snout follows it, and my rump hits the floor. Cheese!
"Down" is even easier, I love to be flat on the floor, that's where the cheese usually is, after all.
"Stand" we're still working on. I don't really like to be handled, and stand seems to lead to that. I'd much rather sit or lie down, maybe I'll get cheese anyways.
"Up" and "Off" are also something we work on. Off is usually fine by me, but I don't always want to jump up on scary stuff.
"Leave it" and "Get it" are commands we just started with last week. I made great progress on "leave it", but now I'm not always sure whether a treat on the ground is something I should back away from or pounce on.
"Drop it" - lalala I can't hear you, you can have this tug when you pry it from my between my cold, dead teeth!
"Come" - are you running away from me with a toy? I didn't think so, if you were I'd already be there.
Training Quasar is teaching me a lot, I've already learned several things in the process that I was able to transfer to Karma and improve her response to certain commands and situations. But a hyperactive, hyper-intelligent terrier puppy suffering from testosterone induced ADD is not always the easiest pupil.
Some things, Quasar picks up so fast it's scary. With "leave it", we went from nothing to him backing away when I drop a treat from waist level just a foot or two from his snout in the course of maybe 15 minutes. In fact he internalized leave it to the point that he started thinking he was only allowed to get a treat if I threw it behind him. Now I'm trying to introduce more variety into what treats he can and can't have, and interspersing "leave it" and "get it" commands on all kind of different treat throws so he doesn't get confused again.
"Down" seems to be his default behavior, which he'll offer whenever he doesn't understand what I want. At one point I could easily get him to go back and forth between "down", "sit", and "stand" at will, but that seems to have faded as he gets older, so we're practicing that again.
His recall is iffy. As with some of Karma's training problems, a big part here is simply the challenge of training this single-handed. If we're in a boring environment and he knows I have treats, he's not going to leave my side in the first place. If we're in an interesting place, treats may not be good enough to get his attention. I'm currently trying to figure out the right threshold between "I'll stay here next to the treat bag" and "I'm going to go SNIFF ALL THE THINGS" where I can do some long-line recall training.
I'm finally starting to get through to him on "drop it" after several weeks, like any good terrier puppy he's highly reluctant to drop his toy, whether or not it's acting like it's dead or not. But he's starting to get the point that when I hold his tug still, he should let go of it, and we're just about to where I can think about adding a cue. If we don't get there soon, there's always the technique shown here:
I've made sure that there aren't any squirrels in the yard right now, so let's talk about something else.
When David adopted me, he was lucky. I may have been wandering loose on the streets for a while, but obviously someone had taken the time to teach me the basics of good doggie manners. I knew that when a human says "sit”, that means my butt should hit the ground and my mouth should be right at hand level ready for a treat. If a human brought out a leash, I would immediately offer up my collar and be ready for a walk. With the exception of misunderstanding the construction paper he had down to protect his floors from remodeling debris, I knew where to go potty.
Shortly after I joined the household, David enrolled us in some classes, and I quickly learned more commands like "down”, "stay”, and "heel”. I also learned "drop it”, "leave it”, and "get it”. "Come” never presented any problem at all, I’m always happy to be next to a friendly person.
"Off” is confusing to me.When one of my favorite people comes into the house, or I come into a room and see someone I like, it’s only polite to pop up for a greeting kiss, right?
Well no, it’s not.Karma and I have been working on this one since nearly the day she came home, and we’re not having a lot of luck.I’ve tried having people turn away from her when she jumps on them, and she just climbs up their side or tries to follow their face around. Lifting your knee as an obstacle doesn’t work, that’s just a handy place to put her paws. Trying to thump her ribs with a knee or elbow doesn't work very well, and with her knee problems I don't like to knock her off balance. Yelling "down” or "off” or pushing her down with your hand is just giving her attention. I've made enough tries to train this out of her that she rarely jumps on me anymore, and we were somewhat harsh on her about jumping up on my mother who has very fragile skin, so she mostly has that one down as well. But she doesn’t generalize, and almost anyone else gets an enthusiastic greeting of paws on the chest and tongue in the face.About the only defense is to drop treats on the floor, or just bend down to let her lick your face and get it over with.
A big part of the problem is that it’s just me and the dogs, and we don’t get a whole lot of visitors, so it’s hard to reinforce the right behavior. If we go for a walk to a busy park, or go somewhere like PetSmart, then we have lots of strangers, and that’s entirely different, the enthusiastic greeting isn’t likely to be offered. You might think the weekly flyball practice would be a good chance to reinforce the proper behavior, but of course the flyball training room with jumps and balls short-circuits the Karma brain, and she’s got to run around and snag a ball or two before she’ll even consider greeting anyone, which usually means by the time she does get around to greeting people, we’re not prepared for it and thinking about making it a training opportunity.
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Maybe she"ll grow out of it? I had 2 border collies that would literally jump up in the air into people's faces but they just grew out of it. I think someone once told me to step on their toes when they stood up but I never did it. Ouch!
Posted by: Una at February 07, 2012 10:14 PM (dpdBy)
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As you know, Nano is far worse about this than Karma, but he has made a lot of progress (believe it or not). For him I used a lot of pronounced head turns, and ignored him until he "offed." Then I would turn back and give him attention when he got off me. This would work with Karma except she is almost three times his size and strength, so it's a lot more force to resist. The key to this technique is to remember she wants acknowledgement and information, and she can get it if and only if she sits quietly.
You might have luck with a 2 phase method with her. Phase 1, click and treat for her offering any sit or four-on-the-floor stand when greeting. Start with easy greetings (not at flyball!) and Nicole and I can help you practice since we are familiar. Once it's really occurring to her to offer the sit, it will be a lot easier to add in Phase 2, the functional reward of greeting if she sits, ignoring if she does not. The tricky bit will be working up to new people and exciting situations.
This is basically an appeasement and information seeking behavior so the more you can assure her that she doesn't need to appease and the more you can give her information she wants the less she will feel the need to do it.
Posted by: Greta at February 07, 2012 10:50 PM (cBxti)
An Officer and a Gentledog
Life isn't all about chasing and eating squirrels. An officer of the Squirrel Patrol needs to be a well rounded dog, with a variety of skills and hobbies. You never know what an activity might teach you that will be useful on patrol.
Flyball is an excellent pursuit for the patrol dog. In flyball, you have two teams of four dogs that race down a line of four jumps to a spring-loaded box that will fling out a ball when the dog hits it, at which point the dog brings the ball back over the jumps to their handler. The first team that has all four dogs correctly complete the course wins. The course is 51 feet from start line to box, and the jumps are set between 7 and 14 inches high depending on the height of the smallest dog on the team. The world record for the NAFA sanctioning body is currently 15.158 seconds. Just think about that. Dogs running 51 feet, stopping to grab a ball, then running back 51 feet to their handler, and all four of them do it in series in 15.158 seconds! That takes speed, agility, focus, and reliability. All good traits for a member of the Squirrel Patrol.
Karma started her first flyball class in October of 2009, and has been a member of the Portland Tailblazers flyball team since the summer of 2010. Currently she has a Flyball Dog Champion - Silver title. Running the course in around 4.3 seconds, she's got a good solid turn of speed, though she's certainly not going to set any records.
Quasar is learning the basics of flyball, but puppy bones shouldn't be going over big jumps or smashing into boxes, so he's going to be stuck on fundamentals for some months yet. But once he's ready, NAFA region 7 better look out!
Lure Coursing is another good activity for the Squirrel Patrol officer. This one is pretty obvious. A course is set up with either 300 or 600 yards of cable strung around pulleys and pulled by a powerful motor, with a plastic bag tied to the cable as a lure. Dogs chase the bag around the course. Some dogs don't seem to understand the concept, but any dog that wants to be a member of the Squirrel Patrol will surely feel the desire to chase and kill that bag deep in the very fiber of their being. Karma certainly does, the mere sight of a lure coursing field turns her into a barkscreaming frothing furball of bag chasing fury.
Canine Nosework is the last activity we'll discuss tonight. A cotton swab scented with birch, anise, or clove seed oil is hidden somewhere, and the dog has to find it, and let the human handler know where it is, within the time limit. The utility of this for the Squirrel Patrol dog is obvious, the well practiced nose will detect and localize a squirrel much faster, and there are circumstances where it might be useful to let your owner know where a squirrel or other rodent is. Karma has passed an Odor Recognition Test for Birch, and is scheduled to test against Anise next weekend. Quasar will be taking his first classes later this month, but he's already shown talent in some introductory practice sessions around the house.
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Are You Squirrel Patrol Material?
So you think you might want to join the Squirrel Patrol. Good for you! But do you have the right stuff?
A good candidate for the Squirrel Patrol must be inquisitive, with a desire to explore new places and strange environs. Wherever a squirrel might lurk, you must be willing to go!
You must have the discipline to stand your guard rounds, even in inclement weather!
You must always be alert for intruders, even in the face of overwhelming distractions!
When you encounter a new and scary situation:
you must confront your fear:
and rise above it, conquering it and making it your own.
It is handy to have abilities that the enemy might not suspect.
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Love the captions - they go so well with the photos. Also, love the pic of Quasar on the tree - he looks serious yet goofy!
Posted by: una at February 04, 2012 07:53 PM (dpdBy)
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I just love the one of Karma porpoising in the water. The best shot!
Posted by: Nanz at February 04, 2012 08:01 PM (1qip3)
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Una - I got the idea for having tooltips on the photos from WooTube. It adds a nice touch, I don't have to interrupt the story being told in the main text, but I can add more humor or an explanation of what's happening in the photo.
Posted by: David at February 04, 2012 09:48 PM (Kn54v)
Know Your Enemy
The wise canine needs to be knowledgeable about the enemy he faces. One should be able to quickly identify the intruders that might present themselves in your yard. This way you know the appropriate reaction, and can avoid unpleasant surprises or dangerous situations.
The Western Grey squirrel is the main native squirrel species here in Portland. Like all squirrels, they like to cluck annoyingly, flirt their tail offensively, and drop nuts on your head. They are also quite tasty.
The Eastern Grey squirrel is also present in large numbers. They are very similar to their western cousins, but a bit smaller.
The Fox squirrel is not native to Portland, but is actually the most common squirrel you're likely to run into.
The California Ground squirrel is another invasive species. Like their human brethren from California, many of them have fled North from their decaying home state and now live in Oregon.
The Northern Flying squirrel is a challenging foe. If you manage to defeat one of these, count it as a good day's work!
Townsend's Chipmunk is not very common, but you might find one in your yard. Just because it calls itself a chipmunk, do not be fooled! It's just trying confuse you, chipmunk is just a name, it's still a member of the squirrel family.
The Striped Skunk is NOT a squirrel. It may look much like our favorite furry snack, but you do not want to try it! Karma assures us from personal experience that this is one animal you do not want to interact with! Unfortunately is happens that our house is right in the middle of their prime habitat, and our city has one of the highest concentrations of these guys in several states. If you think one of these guys is in the yard, it's best to just relax on the couch and patrol another day.
The Raccoon is also not someone we want to mess with. They can be rather large, have sharp claws, and also tend to carry rabies.
Last, occasionally the Bobcat is sighted in our neighborhood. This is not the neighbor's kitty. We want to stay far away from this fellow.
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The meanest squirrel in our neighborhood is a Douglas squirrel - http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/douglassquirrel.htm We are keeping a close eye on the nest one yard over. Mating season has just begun.
At the coast, they call the California ground squirrel Grey Diggers!
Any thoughts on woodchucks?
Posted by: Nanz at February 04, 2012 08:05 PM (1qip3)
