Adolescent classes start soon for Harley and Benson..

Re: Adolescent classes start soon for Harley and Benson..

Was it useful? What kind of things did you do?

Everyone has the worst behaved dog - one week. It was just this week it was your turn! ;D ;D ;D Anyway, you always think your dog is the worst (in my case, it's often true ;D) but that's only because you are concentrating on your own dog and don't notice the hooligan antics of all the other teenagers.

Don't give her an off lead run first - because then you'll only train the tired dog. It's much better to push through and train the excited dog. Then, you'll always have control but when she is tired, she will be even better.

 

Re: Adolescent classes start soon for Harley and Benson..

It was useful and did teach me that I need to play some games with Harley with a few yards of me and that Harley just wants to be off lead.
To start with we were shown how to get your dog to 'safely' exit the car....I.e. Not jumping out as soon as the boot is open. You do this by getting their attention from a different direction and rewarding when they don't go towards the opening. Eventually get the lead on whilst still sat in the hoot and wait to be released. This is going to be a difficult one as Harley is out as soon as the boot opens, but I'm going to work on this this week.
We done 'touch' which is something we have already taught Harley . They teach this as a way to distract the dog and get their focus on you. You get them to touch your hand with their nose, then reward. I also use 'look at me' which usually works well.
We done prolonged sit with the other dogs close-ish by. Harley was ok 80% of the time! but would occasionally see Benson and would try to run to him.
We walked past other other dogs (all on lead) using the touch and distraction methods. Harley decided to just pull constantly and tried to leap around everywhere. We did manage a few steps with her focus on me so I rewarded this highly.
We played a retrieve game which Harley loves so this was brilliant for us.

My daughter goes back to uni tomorrow so I will be focussing all my time on Harley again and am going to plan in training sessions every day.

 

Re: Adolescent classes start soon for Harley and Benson..

Sounds very useful indeed! I'm glad some bits went well. It's always challenging for teenagers in group classes at first.

Will you start a training log? Look forward to hearing more about your work, anyway.

 

Re: Adolescent classes start soon for Harley and Benson..

Sounds like it went really well. I always think Rolo is the worst behaved dog at puppy classes especially when even tho he is toilet trained he decided to do the biggest sloppiest poo ever on the training mats! Doh!

I've been trying hard to slow Rolo down when we get to our walking spot he tries to rush out of the car it's all secure and he can't run onto a road and normally we are there alone but some manners wouldn't go a miss!

I think we definitely need a training log. Please!

Kris

 

Re: Adolescent classes start soon for Harley and Benson..

Well Benson did get an off lead walk...and err...was still bouncing off the walls! ;D When he spotted Harley you would've thought he had springs in his paws as all four spent a lot of time in the air! :

We got their early and wandered around on lead with Benson, he wasn't too bad at that despite his excitement. The set up at Widgets is very good, we all parked by a barn, which is surrounded by 2 huge enclosed fields we could work in, you didn't have to worry about losing a dog, or any unplanned distractions. Good for me as the ground was even, with good visibility so one less thing to worry about!

Working on exiting the car was interesting, the method was very similar to what I do, however hubby does something slightly different, he tells the dogs to "wait" and I reward for staying still until I release them one by one. So it was good for the the trainer to work with him and demonstrate the technique. I have to say I was very impressed by how she handled Benson, he was very receptive. Hubby was also very receptive I should add! ;D ;D

We then all popped the dogs back into the car, and had a bit of a teaching session, outlining some of challenges working with adolescents, and why that was. In particular the role of neurotransmitters (dopamine) and how this explains the difference in puppy behaviour versus the deaf teenager! We then had an outline of the days training before we collected our dogs and made our way to the paddock to learn all about "hand touch" which was a totally new concept to us.

The hand touch is all about getting our dogs to focus on us, and going forward the touch technique will be useful in getting the dog to turn around, change direction etc...(I think) because this was new to us we just worked on embedding the hand touch with Benson. He picked this up very quickly, and spent the next five minutes tapping my hand with his nose.....staring at me so hard, as if willing a treat to appear! ;D ;D We then moved to his nose tapping my hand and delivering the treat very quickly with the other. Benson again was brilliant. We had to focus on waiting for the dog to give us focus or "check in" then "touch" and reward with the other hand. That worked surprisingly well. The final exercise before games was to use the cue "touch" to help work around other dogs.

One comment the trainer made on observing Benson, is how he naturally communicates with other dogs, she picked up a couple of behaviours which I wasn't aware of but though fascinating. Benson knows that on lead he is not allowed to greet other dogs, so what he does is a sniff and weave nearby. This helps the other dog feel more comfortable apparently as Benson is demonstrating he is not a threat to the other dog. This was really interesting and I loved the way you knew she was observing and noting these nuances of behaviour and communication with all the dogs.

Oh we worked on a long "sit" using treat streaming and release cues. Benson was a dab hand at this, me not so good, so I was trained in how to deliver treats more effectively which helped Benson stay in position. That was the best part was Benson, he just sat there whilst I carefully stuffed his face with cheese! ;D ;D

I will add more when I remember! Really looking forward to the next one!

 

Re: Adolescent classes start soon for Harley and Benson..

Sounds very good!! The inclusion of stuff like waiting in the car till told to exit is really terrific and so important.

We always give Obi some off lead time before class, and it helps him get on with the job once in class. Not long enough to wear him out though - mainly it's a wander and a sniff and a hello to other dogs.

The dogs will get less excited over time and will be able to concentrate more. They both did so well for young Labs

 

Re: Adolescent classes start soon for Harley and Benson..

Sounds like you got quite a bit out of it for your first week. Sounds like an ideal class. We are starting at a new club on Thursday. I'm actually pretty nervous. We have to go back in the beginner class and go back through the levels. Milly hasn't been to classes in six months do to the op so she will probably be a crazy monster.

 

Re: Adolescent classes start soon for Harley and Benson..

[quote author=AnnetteB link=topic=9341.msg136205#msg136205 date=1420927291]
I'm actually pretty nervous. We have to go back in the beginner class and go back through the levels. Milly hasn't been to classes in six months do to the op so she will probably be a crazy monster.
[/quote]

Many sympathies - been there. I was shaking in my shoes before I took Charlie on a clicker course in the summer, fresh out of crate rest, I was certain we'd be such a disgrace as to be sent home. Particularly since I couldn't walk him round a field on a lead with a perfectly trained dog sitting still and ignoring him in it. :-\

But although we had our disgraceful episodes we turned out ok. In a surprisingly short period of time. Just grit your teeth, keep going to class, and work through it. And it'll be fine.

 

Re: Adolescent classes start soon for Harley and Benson..

Thanks Julie. Greatly appreciate that. I will grit my teeth and just keep turning up

 

Re: Adolescent classes start soon for Harley and Benson..

Sounds like Benson and Harley have found a great place so nice they are going together x

 

Re: Adolescent classes start soon for Harley and Benson..

Sounds a good class.
Can I ask how long the 'long' sit was for and how often you treated during it? I'm still struggling to get Molly to sit for more than a minute off lead.

 

Re: Adolescent classes start soon for Harley and Benson..

[quote author=Joy link=topic=9341.msg136293#msg136293 date=1420971704]
Sounds a good class.
Can I ask how long the 'long' sit was for and how often you treated during it? I'm still struggling to get Molly to sit for more than a minute off lead.
[/quote]

Well it wasn't so much about how long the dog can stay in a sit..but more about the principle of rewarding the dog for staying in the same position until released. To explain further, the context of this was demonstrated in the example of...you recall your dog, he comes back..rewarded with a tasty treat....and he runs right off again! Also we were given an example of how to do this with a crate in the back of a car. The door opens a fraction...dog stays still...bit of cheese delivered from the side....and again...and again until the crate door can be opened fully and the dog stays still until released to exit the crate... Hope that makes sense?

 

Re: Adolescent classes start soon for Harley and Benson..

[quote author=Joy link=topic=9341.msg136293#msg136293 date=1420971704]
I'm still struggling to get Molly to sit for more than a minute off lead.
[/quote]

I use my placeboards, which has made this easy peasy - although there was a significant investment in the placeboards with an older dog. The other thing I do is reward for the release. Both of these make it very clear and simple to the dog - reward for moving on release, and not otherwise. I jumped from about 30 seconds, to just about as long as I want pretty much within a week.

 

Re: Adolescent classes start soon for Harley and Benson..

Thanks Kate. So you're right next to the dog - I guess I could do this and then increase distance again.

Julie - thanks, I'll have a search through your training posts to see how you did it. I've been following the kikkopup videos and can wave my arms, move around etc but after a minute Molly just gets up and wanders off for a sniff!

 

Re: Adolescent classes start soon for Harley and Benson..

[quote author=Joy link=topic=9341.msg136319#msg136319 date=1420977068]
after a minute Molly just gets up and wanders off for a sniff!
[/quote]

You could be:

Asking for too much
Not varying the time you ask for (eg always doing a minute)
Giving a signal at a minute which she takes as a release cue
Not using high enough rewards for a successful stay and release

Or mine, which was I just hadn't communicated "stay there until the release" clearly enough. My release was weak. Placeboards helped terrifically, but they were a much bigger investment of time than I thought.

 

Re: Adolescent classes start soon for Harley and Benson..

Just been investigating widgets farm as they have puppy classes starting soon and I thought I might book Maisie on. It's actually only 10 mins from my house! So Harley and benson if you fancy a walk with murphy when you are next over let us know x

 

Re: Adolescent classes start soon for Harley and Benson..

Glad you enjoyed your classes they sound just great xx

 

Re: Adolescent classes start soon for Harley and Benson..

I will admit that I thought Anna (the trainer) to be really knowledgable and really offered me some good advice. I think puppy class with her would be really good Frankie I will let you know if we are free after class next week for a walk

 

Re: Adolescent classes start soon for Harley and Benson..

Great Naya because I have just managed to book maisie on to the course starting 7th feb, and im also getting info on their doggy daycare as thought it mit be good socialisation for murphy and maisie to go once a week when Im working all day in Bath as literally drive straight past!
Naya this sat we are picking up Maisie! So you could come round for puppy cuddles if you wanted or we could meet another time x

 

Re: Adolescent classes start soon for Harley and Benson..

I think day are there would be really good for both of them
Who can resist puppy cuddles!! I will message you later in the week to arrange