We pass Level 2…and it WASN’T easy!!!

I have been very busy over the past while. Most of it has to do with Cyberrally-O, and I am proud to say that I finally earned my level-2 title. I use the word “finally” because one of those courses was a real pain in the you-know-where.

My first level-2 leg was for course no. 6, on August 9th. Here is the link to that one: Course L2-C6P.

Then we started working on course no. 10P. (“P” stands for “performance” because the course will have transition moves from heel to side, like one finds in performance sports like canine freestyle and heelwork to music; there is also “T” or “traditional” which is more like competitive obedience in that the dog only works on one side of the handler.)

Well, let me tell you, over the course of about three weeks, we set up that course four times (once – maybe twice – on our lawn, once with Amit at the community center,and twice at the community center on our own). To tell the truth, I lost count. And I started  that course at least 15 or twenty times. Sometimes I would just get one or two stations done and BANG, we’d start over. AND… if I may be so bold as to say…most of the screw-ups were not MY fault! Once Linda forgot to set up the jump, so we had to start over. Once the caretaker came and bugged us in the middle, so we had to start over. What can I say? And through it all, I think I showed tremendous patience and sportsmanship and my tail kept wagging!

After NQing once, (August 29) we did take a break from that @#$% course and worked on course 1P. This was really easy compared to Course 10, and we finished it with one filming on September 12. Yay. Here’s the link to  Course L2-C1P .

After doing that, we went back to the community center to try Course 10. Again, a few false starts, but this time … I did it!!!! Yay.

Here’s the link to our qualifying Course L2-C10P.

Linda also made a video called “Nightmare on Course 10” which shows the frustration we went through to get to our goal.

I just want to say a bit about the music. I think the music adds SO much to the clip. Especially the Nightmare. It is really cool how Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor,  it just seems to fit. Now, the truth is, that Linda just “took the first” choice she found in the YouTube Audio effects that was the proper length (in actuality, it is a mite too long, and the end of the piece gets cut off, which is a bit frustrating. Sorry.) and “stuck it” onto the clip.

The same with the others. For Course 6, she added  one of her favorite composers, Andre Gagnon. Now, she knows there is the issue of copyright infringement, or whatever, but she hopes that it will be OK.

For Course 10, she added in her own choice, and immediately got a “third party content” notice from YouTube. So she decided to remove the music and add something from YouTube’s list. She added Prove it All to You by Whitney Morgan and the ’78s and I think it fits really nicely.

For course 1, she added, Addict by The Juice to Make it Happen (is that the name of a group ?!). Again, it just seems to fit so nicely. The truth is, for this one she did try a few different clips before she found one she liked.

If you watch the clips with the music turned off, I think you can see what a difference it makes.

Well, I’ve gone off on a tangent.
And it’s time to go. We are working on perfecting my heel-work.

 

The Peerfourmantz

OK, so Wednesday we went off on a nice car ride, me and Mom and Dad.

We ended up in this amazingly big, gorgeous park. I could smell so many new dogs around. This looked like it would be a lot of fun. Mom put on this yellow bandanna around my neck, and we went off to the side and practiced some of the tricks she had been teaching me. Then we came and sat on some stairs while some people with guitars and things sang songs.

Then mom took me on my leash to the middle of this big area and started to talk to people about canine freestyle and stuff. I just was going crazy with all the great smells wafting in from the grassy area to my back. When she put on the new music she had been playing since yesterday and finally took off my leash, I figured that while she was talking and playing the music, I would go explore. So I ran off. For some reason, everyone in the audience started to laugh. Mom came after me and  grabbed me up. I could feel that she was upset. She took me to sit on a bench and she was sad. But then she did some more tricks with me there and fed me treats. So I guess it’s OK.
Here’s what we were supposed to do  (filmed in our yard…keep watching for bloopers!):

Slowpoke Dance.

She says she learned some lessons and that working in an open area like that is not a good thing with me, because I need more “control unleashed.”

She says that maybe we didn’t practice enough.

Someone said that maybe she should have just waited for me to come back and keep talking to the audience (but most trainers wouldn’t agree to that…that’s teaching the dog to do what it wants).

She says that there were more things she wanted to tell them, and then she couldn’t.

So here are the things she wanted to tell them, in case anyone reads this:

• Canine freestyle (CF) is a dog sport that came into being following the sport of “obedience”. People became bored doing just “plain old heeling patterns,” so they started doing it to music.
• Heelwork to music (HTM) means the dog has to be in a position close to the handler most of the time.
• CF developed from HTM, and here the dog can do more tricks and work away from the handler.
• CF is trained using positive reinforcement only, with utmost respect for the dog, its desires and its needs. Dogs aren’t forced to do things they don’t want to do.
• CF and HTM titling are open to any dog: the need not be purebred or pedigree. There is no CF or HTM titling available in Israel, but it can be obtained by video participation over the internet.

About me:

• I have titles in Obedience and Agility from the Israel Dog Training and Agility Club (a member of the Israel Kennel Club).
• I am the first, and to date the only, dog in Israel to hold a Rally-Obedience Title. I earned my Cyberrally-O Level 1 title in July, 2012. To date I have completed my first leg toward the second level (there are five altogether).
• I also volunteer and visit old folks homes to cheer up the people and show them all the great tricks I know.

Mom says she is upset because the people there didn’t get to see what a great, smart dog I am and instead they think she was silly. But her friend said that even though it didn’t work out like we wanted, it was better to try and fail, than not to try at all.

Here is a link  on YOOTOOB of the absolutely best CF routine in the world (Caroline Scott and Rookie doing their GREASE routine).

If you would like to get together with me and Mom to learn or practice Freestyle or Rally, she would love if you call her! (Leave a message below).

Clicked into a Grooming Session

I have to admit it. I hate begin brushed. I am not used to it, and if I must be perfectly honest, I don’t get used to it because it doesn’t get done often enough.

And I guess part of the reason why it doesn’t get done often enough is the frustration Linda has when she brushes me and I am always resisting. And pulling my paws away, and trying to nip her hand or the brush. It’s a struggle. I know I look really handsome when my hair is all nice and fluffy, but I just can’t stand having my legs touched.

Today she got me! She sat me down on the sofa with her, and got out that stupid slicker brush again. But, lo and behold, that cup of treats that she uses for clicker training came out too! I didn’t see any clicker though. No, today there was no “real” clicker. She used a word marker “YAS” and treated. Yas, treat, yas, treat. I got it!

She set a timer for 15 minutes. Out came the brush. As long as I was quiet and didn’t struggle, i got the Yas, treat! Yay. Sometimes it came quickly, sometimes it took a few strokes. Then she started on my legs. I must say she was very sneaky. She started out just holding a leg (yas, treat, yas, treat), and then rubbing them well with her hands (yas, treat, yas, treat), and finally using the brush.

By the time the timer rang, I had had a swift brushing all over, including my tail, and I didn’t struggle once.

After she was done with me, she did the same with Honey (you wouldn’t believe the fur that comes out of that dog.) And when the timer went off…guess who jumped up onto the sofa for another round of grooming? Yay me. I tell you, this clicker business is the greatest.

I was going to add a picture of Honey and her hair…but can’t find it…so here’s a picture of just Honey.
Later.

Clicker Training

Hi again,

Today I will tell you what I know about “clicker training.”

A CLICKER is a little contraption that makes a little sharp sound when it is pressed. The entire point of the clicker is to tell the dog (me) EXACTLY the moment he has done something good. You know, the problem with a lot of training is that the dog really doesn’t understand EXACTLY what he did that got him the treat. The Clicker is like an instant camera-shot of the moment.

A Typical Clicker

Let’s take teaching a dog to sit without a clicker. This is how it usually happens. The person says “sit” (which is at this point a meaningless sound to the dog) and pushes its butt down to the ground. Then says “good dog” and then gives a treat. By the time the treat goes into the dog’s mouth (or even by the time the end of “good dog” comes out of the person’s mouth), the dog may have already lifted his butt off the floor. So is the treat for touching the butt TO the floor, or lifting the butt OFF the floor? You see, it’s confusing. And this is a simple procedure. After a whole bunch of times (many!!!) the dog will start to realize that if it hears the sound “sit” and puts its butt on the floor, it will get a treat.

With a clicker, the sound goes off the INSTANT the butt hits the floor. The dog knows that that is the motion that will give him a treat (because he has earlier associated the sound of the click with a treat to come.) Voila! Instant communication!

Another aspect of clicker training is using SHAPING. Shaping means that the dog uses its brain to figure out what the desired behavior is. So at the beginning, it may take a while to get the behavior formed, but later on, because the dog is using his brain, things happen really fast. So to shape a SIT, the trainer waits until the dog sits by itself. Then clicks and treats (C/T). The dog is ecstatic and wants another treat. At this point, it may not realize what it was exactly. Maybe while it was sitting, it was also thinking about a steak. So it thinks about a steak again, and nothing happens. Obviously this was not the behavior. He walks away. Nothing. He comes back. Nothing. He stops to think and sits down (CLICK! – C/T)) to do it. OK! The sit may be the magic behavior. The dogs gets up and sits down again. (C/T!!) That’s it!!! He does it again and again! At this point, he begins to hear the word “SIT”. So now, when he hears SIT he sits, and viola C/T!

Actually, this is a bit simplified, since shaping also means not waiting for the dog to do the actual “perfect” motion, but even a bit into the motion gets a click (i.e. just lowering the butt a bit will get a click, but later on the butt needs to be closer and closer to the floor to earn the C/T.)

OK. That is the principle. There comes a time when obeying “SIT” doesn’t yield a treat each time. But you never know when, so it is in the dog’s best interest to sit every time he hears the word “SIT.” You never know!

Well, many people have written about clicker training, and I am certainly no expert and don’t mean to give instructions on the whole concept. What I like about it is that the clicks and treats come fast and furiously, the sessions are generally short (just a few minutes, so I don’t get bored and tired) but occur frequently during the day (makes life interesting, and I get treats all day)!

Here is the link to a little 7-day mini-course on getting started in clicker training from the Canis Clickertraining Academy.  Also here is a link to a place in Israel, Anima,  where we went to a seminar on clicker training last summer. If you Google, there are tons of sites on clicker-training.

Also, someone asked about training their kids, so here is an article on that.

Take care,
Pepper