Some eye contact and targeting with Nell...

[lonewolfblue]

Here's another fun video we did. Used the laptop cam, and the sound is a little behind the video so it sounds like the clicker is coming in late, but it's not, lol.

[MEDIA]http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7901681822454096128[/MEDIA]

 

[snooks]

Nell sure has the eye contact down the BC lock-on. :dogtongue2: How are you managing all three dogs when you work with one on targeting? Just ignore or name cue then action cue? I'm working toward this on with my two. Both still offer the cued behavior and I don't want to discourage the non cued dog so I sort of alternate. Great work.

 

[lonewolfblue]

I've just been ignoring the others. But Betty can be a little bull-headed, lol. She had to get in at the end, lol. Other times I put them at a down/stay in the other room as well.

 

[lonewolfblue]

Well, after having a week off for the Agility due to Thanksgiving, tonight we were back to class. We had a great time. Nell is doing very well. Tonight we each went over our homework assignments and got to learn a little more about each dog in the class. It was fun. Then we all got to take turns showing how well the Sit/Waits were, as well as their Recall. After we went through everyone, then she had us do jumps. First just 1 jump, then 2. They were all set at the lowest setting, as some of the dogs weren't quite 1 year old yet. So it's more like just a small hop. Once everyone went through the 2 jumps, then we added a tunnel if we wanted, but it was our choice. Nell loves the tunnel, so while doing the jumps, before she got to the 2nd jump she wanted to cut over to the tunnel, lol.

Once we finished that part of the training, then she had us familiarize the dogs with the A-Frame and the Teeter. Nell was really slow at first on the A-Frame, had to lure her over. Then we got to the end of the line and she watched the other dogs do it. They were all about the same, had to be lured over. But when it came to our second try, Nell caught me off guard and took off over the A-Frame, lol. Pulled the leash right out of my hand, lol. Then she got her click and treat, and the trainer was impressed, lol.

As for the Teeter, she didn't have as much of a problem with it. In fact, she liked it, lol. The other BC in the class had to be lured, and when the Teeter started moving, he went flat on his belly and shut down. Took quite a while to get him off, didn't want to budge. The movement of the teeter scared him. As for Nell, the movement had no effect on her, and she saw the treat at the other end when she was going down the teeter, and click and treat.

Overall, we had a great night. With all that's going on, Nell may have to retake this class again. Because she's always wanting to Go, Go, Go, her Waits aren't great yet, so we may have to retake it due to that one thing only. But that's ok, my regular trainer said if I took it again that she would get me in the 2nd time through at no cost, due to her being an Obedience trainer with the kennel club. So that's a good thing. But as for everything else, she's really excelling. And her eye contact and targeting is going pretty well, now we have to take that beyond just in the house. Will start it in the yard, then on short walks, then on walks where there's an occasional dog. But all is going well.

 

[CollieMan]

Some nice work there. I love eye-contact work as you can do it any time, any place.

 

[lonewolfblue]

Well, Nell just went through week 5 of her Agility Foundations class and did very well. We even got to work with the jumps off-leash. It was pretty funny. They wanted us to use a toy that the dog likes, and I brought the frisbee, lol. When I took it out, her eyes lit up, lol. Little did I know that the other BC did also, lol. The trainer had us sit at one end of the jumps and through the toy over the jumps, holding onto the dogs collar, then rev up the dog to go and get the toy and release them. Didn't take anything to rev Nell up, lol. She took off like lightning, lol. And so did the other BC. Got away from his owner and was playing tug with me for the frisbee, lol. They had the class divided, and the other BC was in the group on the other side of the room and he bolted over to get the frisbee when I threw it, lol. Overall, we had a great time. We also got to work with the board walk. Nell's doing very well.

Also, the trainer suggested getting the book called In Focus. So I'm thinking of getting it, as well as a few other books and DVD's I had planned on getting for Shaping and Clicker Training. Not sure if I can afford it all though, lol. But will definitely get the book, it's pretty cheap.

Also, we had a sheet to fill out as well. It had a list of items, and we were to grade ourselves so far and turn it in to her. I had a few A's, and several B's and one C, lol. Will see how the trainer compares to the grades we gave ourselves. It covered everything from Focus, to Downs, Sit/Stays, as well as how the dog did, and the handler as well. For the dog, Nell got mostly A's from me, and as for the handler, well, gave myself B's, lol. I got more to learn, lol. She's excelling a lot faster than me, lol.

Also, she's starting to come out of her shell when it comes to shyness of men. She's actually wanting to go up to all the guys and gals there to get petted, lol. She's doing very well with that.

 

[CollieMan]

Sounds like a fun training session. For me, the big secret of focus work is that there is no big secret of focus work.

Both on my training sessions and on this site people have commented that Ellie has great focus on me. That has come from just working with her each and every day. I think, since she came to me at twelve weeks of age, she hasn't had a day without training. I think as long as you train and play with them regularly, the focus just comes naturally, as they are always looking at you wondering what you are going to ask next.

For me, spending time teaching focus as a stand-alone exercise is time that could be spent bonding with your dog in much more exciting ways. Just my thought of the day.