[Herb2relax]

I figured I would post a short video of where Kyrah and I are in our OB training. I keep asking questions and thought you should be able to see kinda where we are. We have been to 3 classes. I had touched on most of the exercises but never perfected them. Place (heel) is the only one I really kept up with but never made her sit perfectly.

Those darn squirrels this year must have had a course on dodging cars b/c this yr we have so many. I guess I should just be happy I could even keep her attention somewhat. Squirrels are fair game in the backyard but not when we are out. So here goes. Of course any advise is always appreciated. I am not sure if I should step back to get her into the correct front or not.

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[VZ-Doberman]

Fantastic!!! LOL Very nice exercise. Somebody really likes OB.

 

[lelise]

I think everything looks great. I would be soo happy that she is offering positions (correct or not) and wanting to work. Without that, you have nothing...so its great. Oh and even though she might have looked at the squirrel and thought about chasing it...she still chose to WORK! woo hoo!

 

[Zeusy Boy's Mama]

You two look lovely together, and Kyrah didn't seem too distracted by the squirrels at all. Zeus would have taken off, making the most god awful noises the entire time!

The instructor of the Competition Obedience class I am sitting in on just covered how to perfect a Front. She explained that once a dog understands the basic premise of Front, they then need to learn where exactly they need to sit on their own, without any assistance from the handler. This means the handler's hands must be at their side (not drawing or luring the dog into Front) and no verbal cues hould be given after the Front cue.

The following exercise will teach Kyrah to find Front on her own: have Kyrah sit in front of you, take one step either to left or right and then four steps backwards. This will mean that you and Kyrah are no longer lined up perfectly. Now ask Kyrah to Front. More likely than not, Kyrah will be off-center when she comes to you. When this happens, back up one step with your hands at your sides and not saying anything and she if she corrects herself. Keep backing up like this one step at a time until Kyrah is sitting directly in front of you then praise and treat.

During class it took the students about 3 or 4 tries to get this down. It was interesting to see how many people thought their dogs understood Front, only to find out the dog had no idea where to sit when they weren't being lured or drawn in.

Hope this helps.

 

[Sinister]

You sold her short.. you two look FABULOUS!
All I would (personally) do different is up your energy level. You gave great rewards, and were calm (not screaming commands) - which is very awesome.

When I train I use a very high pitched voice when giving a reward, and kind of have a bouncy attitude to rev my dog up.

Just a tip again, fabulous!

 

[Herb2relax]

Thanks! I appreciate it.

Zeusy - thanks! I have been trying to figure out how to make sure she knew what it meant.

Sinister- that is one of my faults. I can only get that high pitch and bouncy thing going when a roach is coming to get me. Other than that my voice box doesnt know that level. I nor my oldest daughter are a bouncy female like my youngest daughter. We get a kick out of her. hehe No pun intended to anyone. I now wish just for training I could get there. I hope what they say is true and she can feel how happy she makes me without the high pitch.

 

[Coco Loco]

Great video!! I think it is pretty obvious how happy Kyrah is to be with you no matter what pitch your voice has. She seemed much more focussed on you than the squirrel. You guys make a good team!! :butfly:

 

[eegreen]

Nice video, her attention is really great.

 

[Beaumont67]

Kyrah and mom did awesome - the loving bond is most real.
When the dog views the OB exercise as a form of play and not a work job...the rate of improvement, is quick.
Congrats. - the pair of you, job-well-done !!
***********************************************************************************
For what its worth, just wanted to share a personal experience (that might be of some interest):
When I train in OB, I like to have fun projecting body language exaggerations...and it aids my dog in picking up my desired expectations...using 2 senses (eyes & ears).
At the video time of 1.05 your getting your girl to circle your backside and end up sitting beside your left side.
This is what I do:
- I extend my right arm further out, while I position my hand exactly at the height of the dogs head...buy leaning over
- next I repeately snap my fingers, and the dogs nose and eyes...follows my hand, in front of its head
- I continue to twist my back and spine, to sweep my right arm, as far around my back side...as I can make my arm swing
- all the while snapping my fingers and at the rate (speed) that just keeps my fingers close to the dog
- once the dog, is 90% around my back, I quickly stand straighter and next lean over with my left shoulder and left arm extended down the side of my pant leg
- give a quick finger snap with my left hand and at the same time...give a firm sit command
- if the sit is not square, I bend over to my left side and quickly straighten the dog up, to me
- if the sit is to wide, I snap my finger again, and get the dog to move over closer to me
- I rub the dogs muzzle, with much verbal love and praise (sometimes I plant a kiss, on the dogs nose)
Other things I like to do are:
- tip my left shoulder down turning left and tip shoulder right turning right
- when we heal fast or slow...I project the change in walking speed, by taking long or short steps and I make a point of walking with heavy feet, so I am projecting the sound from the soles of my shoes...to tell the dog, we are changing things up and keep your eyes on me and do what I am doing / I set the speed, you just follow me
- when I heal in a straight line, I focus on walking with good posture
These are some training aids I incorporate to give attention (signals) and teach the dog to continue reading me.
Obviously in the OB ring, the body language isn't needed or only used very very little.

 

[Jones]

Lovely dog! Regarding high pitch, ignoring the squirrels etc. I can highly recommend Michael Ellis DVD 'The power of training dogs with food'. There's a whole chapter called 'Engagement' that I think you would find very useful.

 

[Tperkins]

You sold her very short!

I think you did wonderful, and you also did it in a high distraction area. I'm not even brave enough to work Rocko in the back yard.(we work in the front yard) She places well in both the front and heel position. Her sits look good, she will get kinda sideways in both but she is actively offering the behavior. Rocko will do this same thing, that being in heel position sitting a bit behind by legs, or at a slightly off angle. I have started putting him in the heel position next to the fence and me(this takes away the angle), every time he is aligned with my legs i will just continuously reinforce, I have done this 5-6 times for as long as he will offer the behavior.(hes a smart boy and often we would do it until the treats ran out) At the end I would give him a tug session as the big hoor-rah reward. This has payed off in his free heeling immensely. I just wanted that position to have an association with that much praise. I also play some attention games with him which share the same orientation as the two positions in questions.

 

[Herb2relax]

Thanks, for all the positive feedback. I guess I am used to seeing lots of other dobes jumping and being extremely excited about anything and everything. Kyrah is just non chalant about most everything she does. So I really want to say thanks and I will change my thought process. As usual its the human and not the dog.

Kyrah and mom did awesome - the loving bond is most real.
When the dog views the OB exercise as a form of play and not a work job...the rate of improvement, is quick.
Congrats. - the pair of you, job-well-done !!
***********************************************************************************
For what its worth, just wanted to share a personal experience (that might be of some interest):
When I train in OB, I like to have fun projecting body language exaggerations...and it aids my dog in picking up my desired expectations...using 2 senses (eyes & ears).
At the video time of 1.05 your getting your girl to circle your backside and end up sitting beside your left side.
This is what I do:
- I extend my right arm further out, while I position my hand exactly at the height of the dogs head...buy leaning over
- next I repeately snap my fingers, and the dogs nose and eyes...follows my hand, in front of its head
- I continue to twist my back and spine, to sweep my right arm, as far around my back side...as I can make my arm swing
- all the while snapping my fingers and at the rate (speed) that just keeps my fingers close to the dog
- once the dog, is 90% around my back, I quickly stand straighter and next lean over with my left shoulder and left arm extended down the side of my pant leg
- give a quick finger snap with my left hand and at the same time...give a firm sit command
- if the sit is not square, I bend over to my left side and quickly straighten the dog up, to me
- if the sit is to wide, I snap my finger again, and get the dog to move over closer to me
- I rub the dogs muzzle, with much verbal love and praise (sometimes I plant a kiss, on the dogs nose)
Other things I like to do are:
- tip my left shoulder down turning left and tip shoulder right turning right
- when we heal fast or slow...I project the change in walking speed, by taking long or short steps and I make a point of walking with heavy feet, so I am projecting the sound from the soles of my shoes...to tell the dog, we are changing things up and keep your eyes on me and do what I am doing / I set the speed, you just follow me
- when I heal in a straight line, I focus on walking with good posture
These are some training aids I incorporate to give attention (signals) and teach the dog to continue reading me.
Obviously in the OB ring, the body language isn't needed or only used very very little.

She knows how to go around me and get into heel position without the hand signal just a verbal or vice versa. But since I am trying to teach both the flip to my left and keep her going to place. I have been exagerating both motions and havent given a verbal to the flip yet. She didnt want to go around and turn her back on that squirrel in the tree. It may have decided to do a fence run. LOL

I forget about the tilting and using my body for cue's. I still forget in agility. Thanks! That is something I have to continue to work on. The heel we havent done in a yr and I go very slow b/c I am working on her focusing on me while I am walking. I also need to stop doing that off leash and do it on leash. So I can make sure to speed her up if I go faster. Another of my faults. I love working off leash. I prefer her to give me the behavior I want and reward more than I like to correct.

I used to snap my finger a lot! I got into trouble a good bit with my first agility instructor. LOL She broke me of that habit.


ETA: Tperkins - yes we had a tug session afterwards. My hand hurt today at work and I finally figured it out. Because I was playing to rough! I need to start exercising my hands for that type of play. The older I am getting the more I am loosing gripping power.

 

[workingk9s]

I just wanted to say you guys looked great! Way to go for getting your training on!