Coming up in the world

One of the most fun things with Alfie is watching him learn about the world.

We had a vet visit this morning. He has a raging urinary tract infection. While he has been terrified of the car up to this point, I was able to get him to try to jump in on his own, and he's now trying to look out the window on the drives. He'll probably need a seatbelt at some point, but it's ok for now.

He was more sociable with people at the vet's office, and wanted to play with every dog in the room. He will learn that's not really an option, but, again-- I'm happy that he's happy.

Still scared on the table, but not cowering. It's a plus.

On to crate training...

Last night, I stayed with him by his regular crate for a while and he was going in and out on his own.

Once we went to the soft crate in the bedroom, he did well at first, but after about an hour started to cry.

I let him out for a minute and put him back. Then I moved the crate next to the bed so I could pet him. Nothing was fully soothing him.

So I laid down on the floor with my pillow right next to the crate, and that seemed to do the trick. After a while, I was able to go back to bed.

Tonight, he is stealing toys from Andre and taking them to his soft crate, which is another good sign.

Alfie has also been learning about play of all kinds.

He apparently has a natural fetch, which is fun. This is the first time he got to play ball.

And then Andre is trying to teach him how to tug with the rubber toys, but he's still not sure how that works.

Beyond the crate training, I've had cues on the brain. I'll be ready to put a cue on "sit" soon. But I think I've decided to wait a week. Next week, he's being neutered and having his hips x-rayed. He holds up a leg (alternating legs) when going down stairs, and there's the concern that he has the beginning of some dysplasia. The results of those x-rays may dictate which sports he's got in his future, and it may dictate whether I want things like a tuck sit or whether it matters. And if I want one, do I want to teach that right away, or do I just want to teach it later with a different cue?

I'm smart and I want respect!

I think we all know by now that this isn't so much the education of Alfie (or Fredo as he's becoming known), but the education of his dumb humans.

The first thing I learned yesterday was that there ARE treats that he loves and will work his arse off for. So far, these include food roll (like Natural Balance), string cheese, chicken, salami, and spray cheese. What can I say? The dog's got champagne taste.

This made training INFINITELY easier. We worked mainly on crate training. Because somebody has managed to destroy about $45 worth of crate bedding and is getting crankier and crankier about going in the crate. And the whining is beginning; there was still a lot of whining last night, but it was short-lived and tolerable.

So I am working on crate entry and hopefully going into a relaxed down. Video is of that work. He's starting to understand what the click means. I don't know if you can see it, but there are a few times when he assesses the situation, makes a decision, and then looks at me to see if I'm going to click.

We got a little stuck at one point, and I decided to look into the crate-- at which point, he decided to follow my lead. :) Afterward, when I upped my rate of reinforcement, I got much more success.

That was my biggest, hugest takeaway last night-- I am not clicking nearly enough. I have to up my rate if he's going to ever know what to do. I'm lumping the training day away over here.

At the end, he just did not want to come out. That was nice! We then had a little play session and tried to train a few more minutes, but... it was pretty lackluster.

Takeaway number two: QUIT WHILE YOU'RE AHEAD. Short and sweet.

So during the nights, and while we are gone, I'll have this Youtube station playing relaxation music for anxious dogs. I also have this DAP-type spray that has worked well for us in the past. Plus a Zogoflex Hurley and a kong with canned chicken and tripe. Barf. But I'm sure he'll be happy.

IN addition to the crate training, we went to the park. Although I still have to pick him up and put him in the car, he is no long cowering on the seat and peeing on himself. This is progress. The crate training entry went well enough that I think I'll do fine when I apply that to the car.

And I leave you with a few minutes of play time because, well... It's adorable. I mean really. <3

Getting to know you...

I may or may not have been singing that song to Alfie all morning.

For my other dogs, I've been able to teach skills while also getting to know them and develop our relationship. They've all been quite food motivated, so it's been pretty straightforward. Alfie isn't NOT food motivated, but he's not all that excited by it, either. So I need to find a treat that he really likes. He had some of my chicken from dinner last night and seemed to like it pretty well, so that's where we will start. 

This meant training last night didn't go quite as I'd hoped. He was easily distracted. But when I tried to give him a toy break, did become obsessed with the toy. So I ended up using a mouth click and the toy as a reward and we got a little further. 

Luring got us a bit further, so I will play with that *a little.* it's not my favorite way to train.

So my takeaways from last night's training were that it's not that he needs resets so much as more motivating pay, more focus work, more clicker loading, and more just overall relationship building. In other words: slow down. 

That's ok. :)

Some highlights:

And on that getting to know you point...

Alfie was loose with all 4 dogs last night for the first time. Luna doesn't seem to understand how to play with small dogs, so he was doing a bit of growling. Luna got a little stressed by the whole thing and started chattering and drooling. I think his being intact is exacerbating that a bit, too. But by late night, we were snuggled on the couch together.

I took him to the farmers market this morning and let him just walk the perimeter. He was very cautious and barely even looked at me. His tail tucked a little sometimes. He's not as people oriented as my other dogs, so yet another difference. Once again, the takeaway was to go slowly and let him make the decisions to investigate or not-- I think this is where a little BAT will help us and perhaps the Fenzi class for nervy dogs (Boogeyman) depending on how we are doing next time it rolls around. Overall, though, he handled it very well. He doesn't totally shut down and he's not reactive. I think he will need some confidence building and exposure. 

Slow and steady. Slow. And. Steady. 

A pup and a plan

In spending this last week with Alfie, as he was named (after the Michael Caine movie and the real name of James Herriot), I have discovered that he is green. So green. He's a year and a half old, but doesn't seem to know any cues at all. No one has taught this boy much of anything.

So I thought I'd video all my training sessions with him.

And I also thought for once I'd try to intelligently plan what and how I'm training him.

Our 4 year old shar pei/pt bull cross has a short fuse, resource guards, and can be a complex little nugget. So given all that, there are certain things he needs to know ASAP in order to safely exist in this home. Also, I was reading an online discussion with trainer Deb Jones about what she focuses on with a new puppy/dog with an eye to performance. Considering these needs, I've decided where to focus my energy for now.

1. He needs a stationary cue (sit or down) to stop him in his tracks.

2. And he needs a "place" cue so that I can keep him somewhere safely when we're around any triggers for the resource guarding.

3. He seems to be a door dasher and a wanderer. So next on the list is recall, recall, recall...

4. ...and impulse control when it comes to doorways.

5. And beyond these "practical" skills for life in our house, we will be working on bonding and focus.

6. Plus, of course... cooperative husbandry.

Admittedly, we had a couple of sessions that suffered some technical difficulties.

But I have a couple minutes of "loading" the clicker-- letting Alfie know that the sound of the clicker is always followed by a treat-- and a couple minutes of his second session "capturing" a sit. Capturing basically means I've waited for him to sit and use a marker to let him know when he got it right, which is followed by a treat.

Loading the clicker. One thing you'll notice is that he doesn't seem to be making the connection right away. Eventually he starts to perk up noticeably when he hears the clicker.

This is his second session with capturing sit. He clearly knows what's going on now. A few things I'll do differently next time... When he seems to get "stuck" I toss a treat to reset his little brain. I won't wait as long as I did in this session. Also, you'll see that toward the end, I start getting greedy and wait for duration too soon. After the first time I try that, he needed two resets to get back on track. I really confused him. But he's a fun little dude. I'm excited to work with him.

What's it all about, Alfie?

The original crew.

A few days ago, I was thinking about my next dog-- hoping it would be a good 3-5 years away, but starting to think about the prospect of choosing my next dog. All of my dogs have been rescues-- 3 of 4 were strays we picked up in the neighborhood-- with various "issues" that needed to be addressed. All are wonderful and all made me a better trainer with each of their unique sets of challenges.


But next time, I'd like to be choosy for once. Actually select a dog with an eye to compete, to be biddable, to be stable, to be a dog where I could focus my training energy on training skills and not on rehabilitating or reversing worrisome behavior. Still a rescue-- I have nothing against purchasing a dog from a breeder, I just don't ever see myself doing it, though I can't put my finger on why. I started looking into breed rescues. An Aussie. A vizsla. A golden. A Stafford.

And then I was driving to get coffee Saturday morning and saw a dog in the grass, in the shade on the lawn of an old school building. It was dangerously hot outside. One of mine had a heat stroke a few weeks ago, so I think I was extra sensitive to the issue. This guy in the shade was clearly in some distress. I tried to get out of the car to see him, and he couldn't come near me. I brought him some water, and he ran. When I did catch up to him, he pancaked and looked terrified.  He was limping.

But seems relatively healthy, otherwise.

I've now spent the last week with this dog, and I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop.

He's mellow and calm. He isn't afraid of people, but isn't overly gregarious. He gets a little nervous with new dogs, but only if they come on strong. He's becoming excited for training. Doesn't seem to have stomach problems. Doesn't bark (at least not yet). May need further investigation on the state of his hips.

And no clue what he is.

He's overly amorous, but we have an appointment for that in a couple of weeks...

I may have accidentally got what I wanted a little earlier than I planned.