Yes, I know it's a bit late in the month, but time got away from me again! However it's not too late to make a resolution, and so that is what I'm going to do.
I have toyed with several ideas, including getting fitter so I can run my dogs better, you know the sort of thing. Go on longer walks, jog a little way, play a game of hide and seek and run off so the dog chases me, things like that. Then I thought that my dogs needs are all different so that although that works for my competing dog, it doesn't quite fit the bill for all of them. That's when I had a brainwave, and yes, I know that's a rare thing for me! So I will set aside 5 minutes extra a day for each dog to do something different, other than a normal walk, which will improve their lives. Teaching a game, practice an agility move,do a little heelwork, do some scentwork, teach sits and downs on-the-move, or anything else I can think of. A dog may be retired or unable to do agility, but he can still play games and enjoy individual attention. This then is my resolution, and I have 3 dogs to apply it to! I will do something with each dog on a daily basis to improve their lives. It won't be the same thing for each as their needs are different, but I will get up off my backside and do more!
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We all love to make progress in our agility training, but sometimes we need to stop and take stock. If something is not working for you, why is it not working? Is it your body language, or does the dog simply not understand your command?
A simple example of this is when you ask your dog to turn left and he turns right. There are many reasons why this might happen, but the two common ones are that either he doesn't understand the verbal command, or your body is actually telling him to turn right even though you verbally asked for a left. Both these cases need you to take a step back and review what is wrong so you can correct the problem. There is no point in screaming "left, left,left!" at your dog if he doesn't understand you. A useful aid is to get a friend to video you running your dog. You, (or your trainer) can then look at this later and analyse what is going on, and how to put it right. So this month's training suggestion is: look at what you're not happy with in your partnership and put it right! This is the time to correct those blips in your training ready for next spring and the new season, which will be here before you know it! So Happy Christmas everyone, and Happy Training - remember, a happy dog is one who knows exactly what you want him to do, so he can do it with confidence and speed! I know I talked about how often we train before., but how often do we practice what we're training?
There are folks who go once a week to a training session, and then go home. They have no equipment at home, no time to practice, or no inclination... They turn up again next week and assume that they have progressed. Then there are other folk who learn something new, go away and train it, so that the next session they have really nailed that move. It's obvious that this second group make much more solid progress, isn't it? Well, you may say, they must have their own equipment to practice on. Not necessarily so, a broom handle and two buckets have been used as an improvised jump before. You can train directions as you walk your dog, close directions around a tree, weaving through bamboo sticks stuck in the ground, contacts on a plank over some steps.... The point I'm making is that where there is a will there's a way! Happy training, and happy practice folks! We all want a good consistent agility dog to work with , who does what we ask on the course, and gets it right every time, don't we? However, watch at any agility trial and you can often pick these partnerships out as the exception rather than the rule, however. Why is this? Well of course there are many reasons,but one I observe a lot simply lack of directional commands.
If the dog is given the information where to go, the chances are he'll go that way! I recently did a lovely run, but missed a jump as I had miswalked the course. We were eliminated, but I was thrilled with the responsiveness of my dog in pulling off the offending jump at my request! She responded beautifully to a "right" command, even if I put that command in the wrong place. For those of you who can run like the wind and keep up with your dog, then your body language may be all you need. however for the likes of most of us we do need the dog to respond to directional commands (right, left), as well as discriminatory commands (walk, seesaw, weave etc). Obviously these have to be taught to the dog in training, but also the handler has to use the commands regularly. Commonly, I observe handlers saying nothing ,"I couldn't remember if it was left or right!", or the immortal commands of "here", "come" , "Fido/Rover", are all that are used to get round a course on a wing and a prayer! So my plea for this month's blog is teach both your dog and yourself directional commands, if you want to have a consistent dog! Oh, and make sure you walk the course properly too!!! The outdoor competition season is now up and running, and after attending my first show this season I came home without a clear round, but thrilled with my youngster's progress over the winter.
Last season I had two big problems, lack of a startline wait, and poor contacts at a show. So I have had a very busy winter, retraining both. This would never have been necessary of course, if I had not let her "get away with" both problems at her early shows! It is very common for our little horns to come out at a competition, and all our hard work goes by the board as we run round a ring at high speed regardless of mistakes. The dog soon learns that whatever happens in training, at a show anything goes! How many times have you seen a dog told to wait, but it just sets off anyway, and the handler just runs off and follows? They may even say "Go" AFTER it has gone! Likewise contacts - do you stop and correct because the dog didn't do it as in training, or do you let it go "just this once"? It's a slippery slope folks! Take it from one who has done it and regretted it! Of course you've paid your money to do a run, and the judge may legitimately ask you to leave the ring if you repeat a contact, so you don't get a full course. However, a wise lady once said to me " you can pay your entry fee to teach your dog NOT to do a contact, or you can repeat the contact and teach the dog that he has to do his contacts at a show just the same as at training." Yes, you may have to leave the ring, but I reckon I know which is better value for money! (Of course always be polite and ask the judge before repeating anything, it is their decision, and not your right!) So I guess the moral of the story is don't allow the dog to do anything differently just because it is a show, not training class! We've all heard the phrase " Can't do right for doing wrong" haven't we?
Reward, whether verbal or physical is the basis to good training, the dog does what you want, and gets food, toy or verbal praise for doing it. Simple, yes? Not so much, from what I observe! Firstly there is a tendency to stop rewarding because " he knows how to do it already." Let me take the weaves as an example. You have a dog who is learning to weave, and you reward him for getting it right. He gets a titbit and praise. Then he gets a little better, and you don't react at all - when he weaves clear, you say nothing. But if he faults...you mark it with "no" or "ah ah" or , just as bad, droop your shoulders and stop. You have now changed your training from positive to negative! Now I am not saying you have to always stop and give a titbit, (although you certainly should if it's a young dog in training) but what you must consider is how you react. What's wrong with verbal praise when he gets it right?You don't have to interrupt the flow, but he still gets a reward. Positive praise is a great motivator. Put yourself in the dog's shoes. Boss 1: You do your job and the boss comes round each day and says nothing till you get something wrong, when he says"Oi! That's no good, Do it again properly now". You redo it, as he watches, you get it right, he says nothing, and moves on. Boss 2: You do a job at work, and the boss comes round and says "great job" each day, and if you get something wrong, he says "Ok let's have another go buddy", followed by "Good job" when you correct it. Which boss motivates you to want to work for him? Of course it's Boss 2. Well the same applies in training. Too often the dog sees negatives coming in because he makes a mistake. Remember to praise the positive and, when you DO have to redo something, praise him for getting it right the second time. Otherwise how does he know the difference? Secondly, make sure you are rewarding the right thing! If you want to reward with a titbit, have it ready to give immediately! If the dog finishes the weaves, and then you have to root around in your pocket for a titbit, the dog decides to sit and wait for it - and so when he finally gets the titbit, you are rewarding him for sitting, not for weaving!! Make sure he gets the reward for weaving, not sitting. Similarly, if you give a reward for sitting on the start line, and, as you produce a titbit , the dog jumps up to get it, then you have just rewarded him for jumping up out of a sit position, not for holding a sit. So, of something is not going right in your training , look at your reactions, and see what you are rewarding, or, worse still, NOT rewarding. Happy training folks! We have many handlers who come along for training at Paws4Agility, we're pleased to say, and amongst these, as well as a steady stream of Newbies, we also have many "Old Hands". So, for the "Old Hands" especially this month, I want you all to make a New Years Resolution for me, and that is, however good you think your dog is, strive to be better!
An obvious example is teaching you dog to weave. You know your dog can weave,he's pretty good at it too, and so you are happy to weave in the same fashion, content to know he will not let you down. Well, maybe he weaves well with you beside him, but can you run past, run sideways away from the weaves, layer, them or blind cross him at the end of the weaves? Can he go faster, can he weave without you? What about difficult entries? This principle applies to everything in agility. Things have never been taught and finished with, they can always be improved. Don't be frightened to push on to the next level! Happy New Year everyone, and happy training! It was brought home to me, the other day, how big the gap can be between what I think I'm saying, and what someone else interprets my words to mean. This is a common occurrence in everyday life, for example:
" You look nice in that dress" , a simple statement, which says what it means. Change that to " You look nice in that dress, the bigger size is a better fit". Now does it mean you look nice, or that you're fat?!! Two statements in one sentence, which can be interpreted in entirely different ways! That's a crude analogy I know, but I use it to illustrate my point. People don't always hear what you want to say, and neither do our dogs. Sometimes you think you are showing your dog something very simple, but the dog interprets it the opposite way because to them there is another message there. A simple example: The dog does a lovely course, but stops before the last jump and looks round at you, hesitates, or even takes it from the backside. You are yelling "go, go, go" , why doesn't he take the jump? Well , you may have slowed down as you get to the end , hence saying in fact "we're about to stop now". Or you maybe dropped your arm as you approached, and he then thinks " Oh, maybe I'm not supposed to jump after all" We all know how to reward our dogs, don't we? Simple...or is it? What is a reward? How often do you use it? Are all rewards the same? When do you reward? When don't you reward?
A reward can be physical, such as food, or a toy, or a fuss from your human. Or it can be audible, a clicker, or praise, such as saying something like "good dog", indicating that a reward is on the way. The best reward is a mixture of things. For instance, if you only use food, and you're out and need to call your dog off something, but have no food with you, he will quickly learn not to bother to respond, as he knows you have no food. He only gets rewards at "training", so he's a different dog then. We are training all the time, so have to have a reward mechanism all the time. How often do you use it? Well, to quote the founder of this club, " if you only got paid for your job while you were learning how to do it, then the boss stopped paying you, because you knew how to do it, you'd soon quit the job!" You should reward when the dog does something well, and it will encourage him to do even better! I hate to hear someone say, "I don't need to praise him, he knows how to do it right", or " I don't need to say anything he knows when I am pleased" You will never hear that from a good agility partnership! Are all rewards the same? No! Nor are all dogs, so what you use to reward has to be individual to you. However, I would strongly advocate getting your dog to play with you with an interactive toy, such as a tuggy. Playing WITH YOU is what agility is all about, so it makes sense to strengthen that bond by playing with you as a reward. Don't just use one form of reward either, use many, you don't always have a titbit or toy with you, but you always have your voice and arms. When do you reward? This one to me is simple, whenever the dog does something you want him to repeat. When don't you reward? When you don't want him to repeat what he's just done! Give your dog a clue as to what you want. So please let's hear and see lots of rewards people. Happy training everyone. There is a lot of talk these days about whether you should use verbal cues or physical cues to tell your dog what they are to do in the agility ring.
Obviously there are two schools of thought here. If you are of the "non verbal" trainer, then you use your body language to direct you dog. Body language is definitely easier for a dog to pick up than verbal language. In agility, we are often told that our mouth is saying one thing, but our body is saying another. The dog invariably "listens" to the body rather than the mouth! We spend lots of time practicing specific body moves, such as front crosses, blind turns, pull throughs etc, so that our dog know instantly what we mean him to do. Body language speaks the language dogs find easy to understand. If you are a "verbal" trainer then, in its purest form, you stand in the middle and direct your dog with a series of specific verbal commands that you have faithfully taught him previously. So which is best? Well, the top handlers are mostly using body language, and they do well. But hang on, they're mostly young people.... and they do give verbal commands too. On the other hand there are some great distance handlers out there, but much fewer of them, and actually they use body language as well, albeit at a distance from the dog, rather than by his side. I am neither young, nor a distance handler, and, as I have observed before, probably the norm for the majority of agility competitors. So in my humble opinion there is no "best", just what best suits an individual. Having trained using both verbal and body language gives you twice as much likelyhood of getting good understanding from your dog. A word of caution though, you do have to train verbal commands, dogs don't automatically understand English. A common misconception I find! |