Re: The Summer is upon us! Hey! Good clicking! Brill Dex! He doesn't seem very aware of the marker though. I guess that will come in time. He was super, super cute "what do you want, mum?". "Backwards?" "Back a bit more?". Lovely, lovely, Dex!
Re: The Summer is upon us! Fantastic!!! His jumping is great and his targeting is too With the targeting I'd chuck the treat out beyond the target to see if he comes towards it and sits (rather than coming to you then working backward). So..to proceed...there are a few ways to do this. 1. Start using your verbal Mark cue as he is sitting down in the right place behind the target. On subsequent goes gradually bring the word ahead in time so you're cueing the behaviour before it's performed (but when you're fairly sure he'll do it) 2. Once he's got the verbal cue start using your hand signal a split second before the verbal cue. 3. Once that's working use both cues at the same time to prompt the behaviour. 4. Build up distance, beyond what you'd achieved with the hoop alone. Use the word and hand signal. 5. Transfer it to the hoop. Put the target in the hoop (towards the front). Give him your hand signal and verbal cue for the target - keep this exactly the same as what you did with the target only. 6. You can at this point introduce a new verbal cue that means 'sit in the hoop'. The common hand signal is the bridge that allows you to step to using a new verbal cue. If you want to change verbal cues start using the new cue just before the hand signal. Or you can just keep the same verbal 'mark' cue (I kept the same verbal cue). Definitely easier to keep the same verbal cue. 7. Next, remove the target. Send him to the hoop. Massive reward if he gets it. I'd suggest getting a good cued response with a verbal cue before introducing a hand signal. That's because the hand signal, first given just as he sits, might throw him off. Does that make sense?
Re: The Summer is upon us! You are doing great, Angela!! Looks like Dexter is having fun! I love the scooting backwards too...
Re: The Summer is upon us! Rachael...thankyou so much,that post will have taken you a really long time to write,I really appreciate it x .....you've been so clear and helpful.great suggestion to throw his treat behind the target....I'll try that today Just to clarify in my mind.....you have removed Obi's target when he is in his square but you still use the verbal cue 'Target'?I was using 'spot' as in 'go to your spot' .But if I've got a good response to 'Mark' then I'm going to keep the same verbal cue when I get back to using the hoop.I don't want to over complicate it......although in my case I always do ;D
Re: The Summer is upon us! Yes, that's right, I removed the target once he was reliably going to the square with the target in it. Actually I have only removed the target when we do this at home. I just took it away one time and then never re-introduced it. He did not seem to notice that the target was gone. But he maintained speed and accuracy going out to the square. Out at the dog club (lot more distracting) I still have the target in the square though. There is probably no big rush to remove it. In fact I think I will only remove it once I have built up to the distance I want (25 metres....we are about 10m now). Anyway, I did keep using the verbal cue 'Target' after we transferred the target to the square which is what I used when training the target alone (when I was originally training the square without the target I was saying 'Square' but he wasn't reliable and I have ditched this word completely now). I reckon just keep using 'Mark' in your case (same as me saying 'Target'). If you do want to use a target on its own for any other purpose (e.g. as a 'stop here' kind of point in Agility) then just teach it again with yet another new word. Dexter really is looking good
Re: The Summer is upon us! Ohhhhh Rachael! You are so clever!it worked! ;D Throwing the treat behind the target ...he comes straight back and sits in the correct position ....so I've started the verbal cue 'Mark' now....I did test him : I threw the treat behind me and he came back the same as yesterday and just sat in front of me and scooted backwards into position so I'll go nice and slow and get it really strong!Not too much spare time to practice today ....he was at daycare this morning and I have my niece and nephew Mondays with a sleepover but I should be able to get a couple of quick sessions in with him!blummin brilliant you are!thankyou ;D
Re: The Summer is upon us! Oh so slow updating this thread...my Summer has been quite disjointed as we've had 3 separate periods of time away but I keep chipping away as consistently as I can when I'm home....so here's videos of a couple of things we have been doing ......please keep in mind my modest ambitions...I'm really just doing things to keep a pet occupied in mind and body during the heat of the day ;D Agility equipment : Hoop https://www.flickr.com/photos/97066992@N03/14568804967/ Tunnel (although he could do this from the basic agility course I did,this tunnel is more professional and substantial than the one they had : ;D) https://www.flickr.com/photos/97066992@N03/14579586777/ I need to add the skirt to it,I'll do that tomorrow as he hasn't run through a flat bit of tunnel yet, he will do it though ....so,we can jump,do the hoop and tunnel in house and garden....Weave poles still need work,I just can't get the final horizontal angle....he misses one out once I straighten out....they aren't very substantial though so I'm going to buy some tent pegs this week and anchor them in the eve in the garden to practice.I think the fact they move if he bumps them distracts him : I'll try and get a video when I get the pegs. I've got nowhere with Flyball,I can't find an adequate board without paying an absolute fortune so it's on the back burner for the time being....I'd rung a carpenter and ordered a flat board to try and start getting him used to turn but when I called yesterday a random other person answered his phone and told me he's gone back to Pakistan for Eid and the next 2 months ..... Inspired by Julie's old clicker video of Charlie delivering his dummy I got out my toy canvas one .....sorry for the quality of the videos ,they are really hard to see as I'm on my own and I'm using a stool to balance the iPad on but he's not bad,he goes for every throw and he delivers to hand if not always with the best hold : he will dothis anywhere in the house and back garden so I might just get a retriever yet come the cooler months ;D he still does it for the love of food though :-[ in the last video ,you can see him having a sniff round for a morsel he thinks I've dropped before he goes after his dummy! ;D https://www.flickr.com/photos/97066992@N03/14579501598/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/97066992@N03/14766216075/ As I said apologies...videos and competence levels aren't great but just wanted to be accountable for what I said I would try and do! I'm struggling with my send away,but I think that just needs consistent time putting into it and I've got that for the next couple of weeks ,when I've recharged I'll do a video and post it on the other thread in Obedience
Re: The Summer is upon us! Wow, all looks really good!!! Nice retrieving! Do you have plans for other Agility equipment, like a table or a little see-saw?
Re: The Summer is upon us! I've got one of those little aerobic trampolines that I taught him to lie down on last year so I might incorporate that..... ;D a see saw or one of those a boards ( ? I think it's called)would be brilliant ,that's a carpenter job though ...ive carried everything else back from the UK but I think those 2 pieces might be a challenge too far!
Re: The Summer is upon us! That looks great! It seems to suit Dex - he is very agile. A good thing for him to do. Do you "put it all together" once you've taught each bit? Can't wait for the vid! Huurah for the retrieve! That's great. I'm sure he just needs to get the idea. He looked keen enough to me.
Re: The Summer is upon us! Yes Julie,that's my intention and then when we are good in the garden and it's cooler I'm going to take everything over to the park and start again there!(don't care how,daft I look ) maybe a passerby with a dog might fancy a go....I'm always on the lookout for someone who fancies a try,no takers yet though,that's part of the reason I put little vids on Facebook,someone local might just say,oh I fancy a go at that,or,did you know you could do that in such and such a place?......always hopeful! ;D
Re: The Summer is upon us! [quote author=Dexter link=topic=6167.msg97793#msg97793 date=1406546438] Yes Julie,that's my intention and then when we are good in the garden and it's cooler I'm going to take everything over to the park and start again there!(don't care how,daft I look ) maybe a passerby with a dog might fancy a go....I'm always on the lookout for someone who fancies a try,no takers yet though,that's part of the reason I put little vids on Facebook,someone local might just say,oh I fancy a go at that,or,did you know you could do that in such and such a place?......always hopeful! ;D [/quote] for sure! get a few others roped in and you'll soon have a enough for a competition!
Re: The Summer is upon us! Dexter is looking great Angela. Gosh I admire you for putting all this thought into keeping him busy during the hot months!
Re: The Summer is upon us! Dexter looks really good and he is so good at all the pieces well done and good luck on starting an agility group
Re: The Summer is upon us! The videos are agonisingly slow for me to download somehow : : but looking great!
Re: The Summer is upon us! Ok today I need some suggestions if anyone feels inclined ;D I was going to post this in the Obedience section as it's relevant to the Send Away or Directed Jumping thread that Rachael started but as it's just Dex and I being amateurs in the house I'm keeping it all together here...... I need some advice of what you see that I've taught him : I THINK I've taught him to sit by a target in a hoop to a verbal and visual sign 'Mark' I've tried to demonstrate this the first 3 times on the video......my problem begins on the 4 th attempt when I take ONE step back.....all the bum scooting /walking backwards and looking at me expectantly starts ,he won't go straight there with just the difference of one step.... I followed all Rachael's advice in her post on 9 th June. I shaped him to sit by the yellow square,and felt like I had that reliably on a verbal and hand signal...so I put the target in the hoop and we seemed to be ok at a very short distance,when I increase the distance we go to pieces. What I think I've done is put the target in the hoop too soon?I should have increased the distance more so I'm going to scrap the hoop for a couple of days and focus on getting him to go to the square in a straight line.do you think I will confuse him?Some things we get really quickly but I feel like I'm fudging this! think I've rushed because I wasn't to get him coming back over jumps ;D it's not life or death but I'd like us to be able to do a this to a reasonable competent level ;D Here's the vid.....(sorry I'm recording myself again ) https://www.flickr.com/photos/97066992@N03/14588481628/
