Re: Back to School For Us! [quote author=JulieT link=topic=7808.msg113342#msg113342 date=1411917624] I forgot to say...there is no way that Charlie could do over an hour of loose lead - or anything like it - with no sniffing or peeing etc. so that sound pretty impressive to me. [/quote] Oh no,no,no...don't give me a prize ;D Dexter has a pee factory inside him and he is producing it as we walk along .....so we definately wee and mark along the way ....we also sniff,a lot.....I got told off about this by the Trainer...How I feel about it is though.......he is a pet,he lives quite a restricted life on our compound so I feel let him have the pleasure of a sniff.Hes not allowed a sniff he's pulled to,he gets called to heel and now he has to 'look at me ' ;D...he HAS to do that for everything now!Hes usually decided he doesn't want to sniff when he's been told all that!I know I'm probably doing that wrong as well :-[ :-\ duh but he moves on nicely with a 'let's go' or a 'leave it'....
Re: Back to School For Us! That sounds fine to me - my last gundog trainer told me I'd never get a reliable off lead heel because Charlie is allowed to sniff, pee and poo on lead. Well, my off lead heel is coming along nicely. Although, Charlie can get his nose so stuck into a sniff that I doubt a bomb going off right behind him, would shift him - in which case I have to go get him. Still working on that...
Re: Back to School For Us! [quote author=JulieT link=topic=7808.msg113302#msg113302 date=1411910613] [quote author=Dexter link=topic=7808.msg113297#msg113297 date=1411909347] Aggggh I need to phase my treats out now though ....and this is another area I struggle and fail in ...I know about the gambling effect but I'm so delighted he really looks at me,I feel like I want to reward every glance :-[ ...I guess I'm lacking the confidence and think he will stop doing it if I don't reward him....[/quote] Not everyone believes the gambling effect. I have no clue myself, but the trainer I'm working with doesn't, so I go along with that. [/quote] I think it's over-rated - at least I think that 'randomly randomising' is over-rated. More harm than good can be done by asking for too much, too fast in between rewards. I use variable reinforcement in a strategic way... In training obedience type stuff I don't reward crappy attempts, so I use variable reinforcement to shape a better behaviour...only reward 'as good or better'. In line with that I do extend duration (etc) so it takes more and more to get that reward (on average that is, as I still regularly ask for and reward easy things). I also build up behaviour chains, so the reward only comes at the end of a bunch of things stacked together. But when it comes to something as challenging as 'look at me, not that dog' I definitely reward every opportunity I get, without fail. I want that connection to be rock solid. Maybe once Obi can reliably and nonchalantly walk past a slavering pack of hell hounds I'll start reducing reward frequency for lesser situations, but I doubt we'll see that in my lifetime.
Re: Back to School For Us! We attended our first Reactive Rover Class last night....the Trainer said to me on my 121 last week that she doesn't think we needed to do it but I wanted to join to get as much practice as I can ....and to be honest observe other reactive dogs behaviours.it seems like a good opportunity. We are a group of 4, no dogs were required for this first class .We had to introduce ourselves and catalogue our dogs shameful antics :-[ ,o only joking ;D we were asked to give a little bit of background about what had brought us to the class. The others seem really nice.Im the only person that uses a clicker so far but they will be used for the training so I'm glad we are comfortable with that..... Next week we take the dogs and all arrive in staggered times so there isn't chaos in reception I'm quite looking forward to it,we've seen a big improvement in Dexter over the last couple of weeks,I'm hoping that there is still progress to be made though.He is still agitated if a dog looks at him when he is on the lead but as long as I keep calm I can break his focus in most cases.....we aren't as under control as I'd like us to be..... Will let you know how we get on next week
Re: Back to School For Us! Sounds good Angela and I like the arriving a different times as that is chaotic I'm glad your feeling more positive and so you should your working hard for it xx
Re: Back to School For Us! Sounds very positive I like the staggered entry times, I bet that will make a big difference
Re: Back to School For Us! Sounds great, Angela! Looking forward to your reports of the first class. It will be interesting to see how Dexter stacks up against the others.
Re: Back to School For Us! Sounds great looking forward to hearing how you get on as well...we went to Reactive Rovers and got a lot out of it...actually I got a lot more out of meeting other owners of reactive dogs than Cuilli got from the class I think but was really good...
Re: Back to School For Us! With the week I've had I've only just been able catch up on all your news and post an update about our progress....our second class was last Monday It went really well for us....we have had the benefit of some 121's and quite concentrated ,intensive practice over the last weeks and it has really paid off.For us ,we didn't learn anything new ,which I'm expecting to be honest I'm really there to take advantage of as much practice as I can get with a Trainer watching me. The dogs weren't allowed to see each other this week.we all arrived separately and were in a training room behind screens so the dogs could hear each other but not see each other .Dexter was allowed to see the stuffed dog 'Stuffing ' ;D ,the first level of desensitization . His basic obedience was so good,I was so proud after being shamed in so many previous classes and he kept his focus and his cool while one of the other dogs was really having a struggle......2 of the other dogs caught sight of each other whilst it was our turn to do an excercise and there was a massive meltdown of barking,tension,lunging.I told Dexter to sit and look at me and he did,no reaction whatsoever which was wonderful. My classmates are lovely,we have a schnauzer who's owner is really having a tough time and I just wanted to give her a hug when she arrived as she was so obviously upset and worked up about her dogs behaviour.But she was smiling by the end of the class as her dog had actually been able to cope with coming out from behind the screen and sitting on her mat.As you can guess I was nearly in tears over that,it was so lovely to see.It might only be a small step and not seem much at all to some people but when you literally can't walk your dog due to it's reactivity small steps are to be celebrated....... Homework for us was to practice our turns......I thought I had it on cue ......but I haven't....that's the great thing about someone watching you...so I'm actually out and about in the neighbourhood seeking dogs out to practice on ;D ;D now there's a change!Dexter is really good up to the point of other reactive dogs.....if a dog eyeballs him,we can get into a mess so they are the dogs I'm seeking out ........6 weeks ago they would be the dogs I was avoiding!! The other day we were on a lead walk and a dog was loose in a garden and got under the fence and ran at us barking ,this has happened before and we were terrible.I yelped ( I wouldn't call it a scream :) because it gave me a fright and Dexter was up on his back legs ....This time I kept my cool and told Dexter to look at me and we just carried on walking ,he gave a little look of interest but nothing out of the ordinary....so I feel like we have definately made noticeable progress.... Lesson 3 on Monday,yes,Chris and I are attending together and yes,we are still married ;D ;D ;D
Re: Back to School For Us! Gosh, you are making wonderful progress!! Absolutely brilliant that he kept his cool with the barking escapee. I can assure you that we wouldn't!!! Great to hear that the Schnauzer has made progress too and that his owner felt that she had achieved something. That is fantastic.
Re: Back to School For Us! Just catching up on all this, Angela. Loved reading about what you are doing with the YF. Many thanks. 8)
Re: Back to School For Us! Fantastic Angela. You are both doing brilliantly well done. ;D Dexter was so good not to react in both of the situations. It sounds like he is definitely learning some self control. Your right about the little steps they might not seem much to an owner of a 'normal' dog but to those of us with reactive dogs they are massive strides. ;D. I hope the schnauzer keeps doing so well.
Re: Back to School For Us! Great strides ;D I must pull my finger out with my reactive dog now to keep up
Re: Back to School For Us! Thanks everybody ,encouragement from Forum people means a lot,I've had a lot of negative comments recently about how I handle Dexter.....mostly I don't let it get to me as I know it's mainly from people who wouldn't or couldn't put the time into him that I do and just think I should be firmer ( ie punish him ) :'( to get a quicker fix,you are the people who's opinions I respect ,thankyou x
