When I arrived home last night, I was pretty gung-ho to start some new work with my dogs. I had spent quite a bit of time researching some of the best ways to go about shaping the behaviors that I was going to work on, especially with Kirby.
Well, in typical Emily fashion, when I arrived home, I dumped off my stuff on table, let dogs out, turned on the TV and allowed and hour and a half to pass me by. I had plans, dammit! I had meant to go running immediately after work, then come home and clean off this dadgum 6ft tall bookshelf thats driving me insane, and then spend the rest of the night working with my dogs.
It didn't happen that way. By the time my motivation actually kicked in, I managed to get the shelf knocked out. Then I stood there, hands on hips, trying to decide which dog to work first.
Trying to decide which of the big dogs to work first. I'm a little ashamed of myself. I always said that if I ever had a little dog, they would not be one of those dogs whose only job in my life is to be a cute dress up lap dog. And short of the dressing up, that's exactly what I've allowed Maggie to be since she arrived.
So while she danced in front of the big dogs as I stood there with my hands on my hips, I decided that Maggie's reign as the cute dog was over. I put the big dogs away and got to work.
Well, in typical Emily fashion, when I arrived home, I dumped off my stuff on table, let dogs out, turned on the TV and allowed and hour and a half to pass me by. I had plans, dammit! I had meant to go running immediately after work, then come home and clean off this dadgum 6ft tall bookshelf thats driving me insane, and then spend the rest of the night working with my dogs.
It didn't happen that way. By the time my motivation actually kicked in, I managed to get the shelf knocked out. Then I stood there, hands on hips, trying to decide which dog to work first.
Trying to decide which of the big dogs to work first. I'm a little ashamed of myself. I always said that if I ever had a little dog, they would not be one of those dogs whose only job in my life is to be a cute dress up lap dog. And short of the dressing up, that's exactly what I've allowed Maggie to be since she arrived.
So while she danced in front of the big dogs as I stood there with my hands on my hips, I decided that Maggie's reign as the cute dog was over. I put the big dogs away and got to work.
In my own defense, I have never been sure of Maggie. As far as I can tell, she's a Corgi. What I don't know is her real age, if she's mixed with anything, and since I dont know her lineage, I can't tell if her legs really are that messed up or if she just has the stubby, crooked legs on another breed. Bassett? You tell me. It's her legs and her sweet & silly nature that make everybody she meets melt over her. And everybody who comes in contact with her, including myself, underestimates her capabilities. I shouldnt' have been taking pity on this little dog for the past couple of years.
Maggie has shown us that she's perfectly capable of not only keeping up with the big dogs, but overruling them at nearly everything. Her only fault is her fear and her flight reaction. If I set a coffee cup down on the coffee table, Maggie will bolt at the sound. Obedience training and even sports have proven to build confidence in dogs, so I see no reason not to give her a shot. Corgi's rock at agility, and as long as Maggie is showing me that her legs are fine and capable, it's going to be our new goal. She's got a lot of heart, and she's proven over and over that she can adapt and conquer.
I have struggled to find Maggie's 'currency' (thank you, Zak George). The thing that Maggie cares about above all else. It's only recently that she began showing an interest in a squeaky toy, and thats only when the big dogs arent around. I got her to sit and lay down with her dog kibble. But it doesnt have that high of a value to her since she gets it everyday. Maggie is definately a greedy, food driven dog though.
So I used ham. Really thinly sliced deli ham. I sat in the middle of the floor cross legged and let Maggie smell my hand and the ham. Then I put out my other hand. I didn't offer it to her as though I had something in it, I held it flat and out, so it was virtical, like a wall. Maggie automatically touched it, thinking that there might be ham in it. Immediate praise ("Yes!") and a tiny piece of ham from my other hand. *Since Maggie is sound reactive, the clicker shuts her down. So we'll be using word praise in place of the clicker.*
Having tasted the ham, she started dancing and offering sits and downs. She's so hard to resist. She is the epitomy of adorable. But I just patiently waited her out. She sniffed at my target hand again. Praise, reward. I would say that we only worked for about 4-5 minutes. Once she appeared to understand, I switched hands. Then switched back again. The last couple of 'touches', she was looking at the ham hand, but touching the target hand with her nose, which signaled to me that she understood exactly what I was asking.
In my world, this is huge. I'm not a dog trainer, and I can only claim to half understand shaping as a training method. Tonight: a video, hopefully!
Maggie has shown us that she's perfectly capable of not only keeping up with the big dogs, but overruling them at nearly everything. Her only fault is her fear and her flight reaction. If I set a coffee cup down on the coffee table, Maggie will bolt at the sound. Obedience training and even sports have proven to build confidence in dogs, so I see no reason not to give her a shot. Corgi's rock at agility, and as long as Maggie is showing me that her legs are fine and capable, it's going to be our new goal. She's got a lot of heart, and she's proven over and over that she can adapt and conquer.
I have struggled to find Maggie's 'currency' (thank you, Zak George). The thing that Maggie cares about above all else. It's only recently that she began showing an interest in a squeaky toy, and thats only when the big dogs arent around. I got her to sit and lay down with her dog kibble. But it doesnt have that high of a value to her since she gets it everyday. Maggie is definately a greedy, food driven dog though.
So I used ham. Really thinly sliced deli ham. I sat in the middle of the floor cross legged and let Maggie smell my hand and the ham. Then I put out my other hand. I didn't offer it to her as though I had something in it, I held it flat and out, so it was virtical, like a wall. Maggie automatically touched it, thinking that there might be ham in it. Immediate praise ("Yes!") and a tiny piece of ham from my other hand. *Since Maggie is sound reactive, the clicker shuts her down. So we'll be using word praise in place of the clicker.*
Having tasted the ham, she started dancing and offering sits and downs. She's so hard to resist. She is the epitomy of adorable. But I just patiently waited her out. She sniffed at my target hand again. Praise, reward. I would say that we only worked for about 4-5 minutes. Once she appeared to understand, I switched hands. Then switched back again. The last couple of 'touches', she was looking at the ham hand, but touching the target hand with her nose, which signaled to me that she understood exactly what I was asking.
In my world, this is huge. I'm not a dog trainer, and I can only claim to half understand shaping as a training method. Tonight: a video, hopefully!
3 comments:
Sweet! Remember, "yes" is perfectly fine to use in place of a clicker, and works the same way, but it is a "marker word" not praise. It's job is to specifically point out the behavior that is earning Maggie the reward, whether the reward be food, praise/petting, or a toy. Try to be consistent in tone and inflection with your marker word. It just acts as a bridge between the behavior and the reward. She sounds like a smart one! Keep up the good work!
When the light first comes in for the dogs it is magical! e careful what you shape first it often becomes the strongest behavior ;)
I shaped Kai to pull the covers off of me...such a bad idea...
This is so cute! Your dogs are adorable! I just started clicker training and taught our dogs "touch" a couple weeks ago and they love it! Keep it up, I'm sure she'll gain tons of confidence as you keep going!
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