What a dog can do to you

AS anyone who has ever trained a bird dog can tell you. A dog will be brilliant in training when it's just you but as soon as you go bragging he will take any and all opportunities to humble you. Such was the weekend with Zoe. I was amongst my peerstrying to explain to them this new method I was using and how confident the dog was getting, etc, etc. Only to say "watch" . Well lets just say that was a MAJOR mistake. One I should have learned many years ago and one I'm sure I will have to learn again in the future. My confident pup turned into what could best be describe as a whirling dervish of mayhem. It was like I had never spent a day with her in my life. Commands were forgotten, cues where ignored, on and on. I guess it was the new environment, dogs running around, general increase in activity but boy let me tell you. I have never been so annoyed with myself as I was that day.

We eventually got back to where I was in and around the house BUT it was a struggle and it took all day of little steps to make it happen. She was still not nearly as crisp but it was acceptable.

So what can I learn from this besides the obvious don't brag on your bird dog lesson. It Appears that I have a hole in my new program. The hole is that I need to vary the training location. I should also expect to go backwards in the new location. Easy enough to solve but a frustrating lesson to learn none the less.

A case for short and sweet training

Well it seems I am not without the faults of every other amateur trainer out there. Tonight since I had some "extra" time I thought it would be good to work Zoe a little longer then I have in the past in order to better solidify our training. Well I should have known better. Regardless of the method used you should train with a plan and stick to the plan. INCLUDING what you want to get accomplished when ever you snap a lead on a dog....

Needless to say I pushed her to far to fast. After doing great for the first part of the training we continued to back slide to the point that the only way to get a positive was for me to remain standing next to her during the stop and stand still training. Once I got that we worked on letting her hunt in front of me on the checkcord and her patterning. All easy stuff...

So the note for the day is: Train each session with a plan and follow the plan AND when you get what you want be happy with that even if it comes early AND keep things short and sweet.....

A step back

Well for anyone who has trained a dog you know this feeling. SETBACKS happen....

Things here in New England have gotten worse weather wise. Cold and rainy.... who likes to train in that weather. But a training we must go....

Decided to test the little bugger today. She has been doing so well with everything I have thrown at her. I have been able to walk away and to the front to simulate flushing on open ground. She has been maintaining a calm demeanor through all of this activity so today I decided to push the envelope. I was FULLY expecting her to handle this with ease - That was a wrong assumption. ;)

So we did our normal stop and stand still routine except today I wore a hat. The purpose was to flip the hat to add distraction to the environment. Needless to say it worked...

The setup went like this. I was doing the stop and stand still training and while standing next to her I flipped out the hat. Well what do you think she did? She forgot her training!!!! So I had to correct her. As I was congratulating myself for not moving to far away from her and being smarter then the dog she moved again. Mental note - Pay attention to the dog and stop patting yourself on the back.....darn dogs will keep you humble....

After a couple of repetitions she came around and we were back to where we needed to be with the distractions. Tonight we'll see how much she remembered and potentially add another distraction - the flagged bumper (this flutters like a birds wings in flight).....

Weekend Retreat

Well reality has finally set in. I am not a pro dog trainer. I had the worst time trying to motivate myself this past weekend. After a Research retreat on Thurs and Fri, followed by a weekend away I hate to admit Zoe and I did NO training for 3 straight days. Hopefully the time off did both of us some good -we'll see.

This Morning she was sharp and confidant in her Stop-and stand still training. Looks like the light bulb has sort of gone off. At least in the back yard. I will be adding distractions in the coming days. Thrown hats and flagged bumpers (they flutter) maybe culminating in some carded pigeons by the end of the week....

We will be changing locations this weekend and will have to see if the training transition to the new location. Time will tell......

Success and Failure

Well another Day into the West method and I can already see improvement in the Little pup. She was standing tall last night and everything has become still tail included. She notoriously has a happy tail and I can still see it in her at times. Specifically last night she was doing so well that I was able to get around in front and act like I was flushing for her. I was actually able to get about 10-15 feet away with her loosing any composure. HOWEVER as soon as I went to return to her she got her happy tail...got to love a dog that is happy to see you...but that is not what we are working on. So when I saw this I decided although she was doing things well it was once again time to step back a little.

After last nights experience I decided on a specific game plan for this morning. The game plan was to only stroke her when she was absolutely still and facing forward. I was NOT going to attempt to get out in front OR to move away behind her. JUST to stand still completely.

I was lucky. The robins which are around every morning were particularly active this morning. So I utilized their activity to help me along in what I wanted. Zoe and I worked towards them for our stop and stand still work today. I was able to get 3-4 good stop and stand stills where I was just standing next to her. On the final on I took a single slow step back which she handled without flaw.

SUCCESS - The trainer and the dog are learning....I think I'll give Zoe/Me Friday OFF and just have fun with her...

On another note - Repeated attempts to utilize this to put a final polish on Ivy's work have been disastrous. She has NO concept of why and what I am doing with her. I have even tried to overlay the WHOA command that she already knows with NO success. Going to have to leave IVY alone and put the polish on the old fashion way....

how long???

That would be how long is it going to take for the trainer to do everything right? After doing this for a few years you forget what it's like to be new at trying to train a dog. I am beginning to feel bad for Zoe having to be my learning dog. She has been handling it like a trooper but knowing I need correct repetitions for her to progress it's frustrating for me to know I'm now the weakest link. Right now it almost seems impossible to manage my hands a moving dog and a checkcord all at the same time. SO how long will it take....

On the plus side our morning walk outside for her morning relief has been extremely positive. She is queuing nicely and standing with some comfort while I move away from her. Afternoons however have been less successful. Probably related to the amount of stress I have more then it is her....of course I feel sharper in the mornings to....we'll have to see how this evening's work goes....

Stop and Stand Still - The foundation

Well wear to begin.....

This method (or at least my variation on it) is founded in keeping your mouth shut and letting the dog determine how things happen. The foundation of the training is the stop and stand still. The que for this is a gentle tug on the collar and reassuring praise through gentle touch. For the dog (at least Zoe who was trained in a more classical way previously) the concept has been new but old. She has already learned to whoa when on lead while next to me and to remain however all of this had previously been demanded by me. What I have noticed is that a previous issue with her in the traditional method was when I went out of sight or to a greater distance she would come to me. Utilizing this method the distance has been reduced and now I can see her getting nervous as I more from her. I can move away from her if I slip out the back and side however upon returning she gets what I'm going to term squirrely (trembling, licking of lips, eye to eye contact). While she does not move during this process you can she her weight shift in that she wants to move. Once calmly touched she relaxes and returns to her clam state...Amazing what a single touch can accomplish. When I'm out in front of her and working and I see her get nervous I try to calmly move back to her but I can feel myself rushing back so as to avoid a mistake. Trainer needs more work.....

Post seminar Euphoria

Well after 2 days of seminar many of my previous issues were addressed and with anything new some digestion must occur. On first blush though I have to admit I am quite taken by this method. I have been beginning the stop and stand still training with Zoe (or Zoezy in Megan speak). Having been previously trained to whoa on the tug of a lead she has made the transition easier then starting with a blank slate. However this has also come with some difficulty as the previous training had certain warts which are rearing there ugly heads now. More on this later...