08-23-2010

Just because we haven't blogged it doesn't mean we haven't been training. Okay, we haven't been training enough. I decided that Duece doesn't like the aggressive indication and we won't be changing it as earlier stated. Duece likes to sit at the find and we're going to leave it at that.
One of the problems we've had is when Duece finds the hide, he looks at me for the treat which is okay unless he finds it where he can't see me. I had been purposely falling back away from him when I know he is close to the hide. For awhile he would look around and if I wasn't there he wouldn't indicate and would continue searching.
We went back and did some easy searching and I stayed back a little and would tell him to sit and stay when he was right on the hide. This worked until he got bored.
This evening I put out two hides and stayed out of his sight when I knew he was close. On the first one he did a perfect indication and sat down, looked around and when he saw I wasn't there he got up and headed towards me. I started the praise as soon as he headed my way and encouraged him to "show me" and he went back and sat at the hide. He got his treat and lots of praise. We played a little and then I gave him his command again and got him to start searching again.
I let him circle wherever he wanted unless he paid too much attention to the cat or the neighbors pasture. He got down wind of the 2nd hide and went with the wind for distance and then circled back into the wind to where the hide was placed. This time I was in his sight but about 50 yards away. He did a really nice indication and stayed there once he realized I was on the way to reward him. He got lots of praise, his treat and we rolled around and played for awhile. He got praise and encouragement all the way back to the house and he was pretty proud of himself. (I was pretty proud of him too!)

05-01-2010

Duece & I attended NASDN spring seminar and although we didn't get any pictures of Duece training we did get a cell phone video of him searching the barracks bay for his ball.

Turn your sound down as I give him a very loud and animated praise when he is returning with the ball.










We learned a lot at the seminar and are changing the way Duece indicates on his cadaver find and how he is rewarded - lots of praise and then the treat once he gets back to the vehicle. It seems to be working.

.

01-10-2010

Almost 2 months without blogging! We slacked off on the training but haven't stopped. Duece has done some work in the basement during the cold weather and we've done some out in the snow as well. We've had some trouble in the basement but it was due to the fan used on the treadmill. Duece worked it out once I didn't believe his indication and he couldn't "Show me!"

This evening we put out two separate scent sources which is something new here at home. After he found the first one and got his treat reward, he was given his command together with an 'arm sweep' and it confused him a little. He went back to the one he had just found a couple of times. Once he worked his way downwind of the second scent he did well and worked out an indication in the soft snow and where it wasn't easy to do a sit & down at the scent.

We're back at agility boot camp at the GF Kennel Club to work on some confidence building. We've been trying to get Duece to climb a step ladder and he isn't too sure about it as it isn't solid enough and moves around a little. We're working on it.

11-18-2009

We are waaaay behind on blogging. Duece is attending ABC- Agility Boot Camp for basic introduction to agility. We want to build up Duece's self-confidence for new things and work on him being afraid of unstable things. He's played with the see-saw set at an inch or so and the uneven table but haven't done a lot yet. One of the trainers hid some scent at the end of the class and Duece got to search for it. He indicated in an area but I didn't see the container so I screwed up and let him continue searching. The continued searching is okay, but he needs the reward & praise at the scent until his confidence builds. The area didn't let him go into a full indication and we need to have an indication that works better even if he can't sit or down in that area. Duece indicated, I just need to recognize it better.

10-27-2009

We've been working a little off and on while keeping Duece interested. Yesterday, after Joker worked a trail, our trail runner gloved up and hid some scent for Duece. Duece has been getting a lot better in the traveling department. It takes some bribery (and pleading) to get him to climb into the suburban on his own, but once he gets in he does okay. Even when left in the suburban for awhile.

The scent was hidden in a grill in a park, one of those heavy duty things that are cemented in the ground. It was getting dark and there was a lot of traffic around the park so we didn't let the scent sit long enough to establish much of a scent cone. He did work it pretty good and the light breeze took the scent to a picnic table and Duece barely slowed down and jumped up on the table. He sniffed around it and then did his indication while on top of the picnic table. I asked him to 'show me' and he worked his way over to the grill and when I got him really excited about "show me" he jumped up on the grill and stuck his nose down into the grate. It was really funny and he got his reward and a bunch of praise.

Today we got out the PVC pipe garden to start proofing Duece from indicating on food/treats. His favorite search treat is bologna and he passed right by another treat but did an indication on a piece of bologna. He got a little correction and went on to the correct PVC pipe. We did about 5 more of these and he's starting to ignore the food/treat. It's going to take some more work especially since Duece doesn't like the PVC pipes and would rather run around and search. I guess that means we'll have to leave some food/treats out in his search area until he learns to ignore those distractions.

10-16-2009

We've been searching in the basement the past few days. It's really wet outside and I have to get rid of this cold/cough. He's getting better about working inside and is even starting to pay attention to my 'detailing' with him. He is still afraid of things like a parked, shut off, vacuum cleaner but we're working on it.

On Wednesday we went into town and tried something different. Put a harness on Duece with a long lead and had a trail runner tease him with a treat and then run away and hide behind a tree. He used his eyes instead of his nose but it's a start. Duece had a blast, got a lot of treats and we all got wet in the snow.

Duece's new harness/vest arrived today from Ray Allen. I'd post a picture but he gets too excited if I put it on him as he wants to search and I don't need an excited Aussie in the house this evening.

10-10-2009

Duece wants/needs to work. He's been pacing around looking for something to do. We've done a couple hides out in the yard and he loves to search. We put some scent in a gravel pile and he found it okay, but had trouble pinpointing it for his indication. I was able to start some 'detailing' with him but he's pretty active and excited which is good in the long run because he wants to work. It's just going to take awhile. I put a jar of teeth in the basement and he knows it's there and is just itching to go and look for it.
After it sat for awhile we went to work it. Duece still can't quite figure out why we are searching inside. He started but then slowed way down and got into his 'frustration mode' so I tried to 'detail' with him. He didn't like that so we just followed each other around the basement until he hit on the correct place. He actually does a pretty good search on his own, we just need to refine it a little bit. He gets so excited (and so do I) when he finds it and wants his treat right away. I'm trying to get him to wait in the sit-down position but right now we'll do anything to keep him fired up and wanting to play the game.

Sept 28 - Oct 3, 2009

We went to NASDN fall seminar at Camp Ripley, MN. It was a lot of fun and we learned a lot. Duece was exposed to hidden scent put out by someone besides me and I was able to learn how he works in different environments.
Duece did an excellent job and we learned where we need to do more work. We haven't done much on buried scent or on scent hidden inside buildings or on/in water. The buried is similar to what we've been doing but the indoor is a different. Water is a whole other equation that needs others to participate since we can't work the dog and run a boat at the same time.
I've never done a 'detail search' with Duece and it's something we need to work on. In a building the air movement can really screw things up so we need to practice those. Outside, Duece has room to work with the wind and the scent cone that he doesn't have inside and it frustrates him. It'll get better when we do more of them.
Another nice thing about seminars is learning how other folks do things. Duece seemed to get over his anxiety of getting left in the suburban when Diane suggested we feed Duece a little at a time instead of all at one time for his morning meal and it seemed to work.

09-19-2009

The wind was blowing pretty good this afternoon (17 gusting to 25). I put some scent out and let it sit for about 30 minutes. Duece was pretty excited and would hardly sit still while I put his vest on him. I started him just outside the garage and let him work while I went for a walk. He was a little distracted by the other dogs and the neighbor mowing lawn. Once we cleared the barn and were down wind of the scent it was really fun watching Duece work. He circled and weaved and appeared to find the edge of the scent cone and then he would double back and work the other edge. He lifted his head up and looked into the wind and worked his way to the scent. We need more work on his indication though, but he's starting to understand a little more of the "Show me!" command.

I should mention that a couple of days ago while cutting cockle burrs out of Duece's hair, I cut his skin under his hair. He has a few stitches and staples on his neck. It doesn't seem to bother him even though we have a 'neck warmer' over his neck to keep him from scratching the wound. Other than the day of his surgery, it hasn't slowed him down at all. Our vet said I should surrender my scissors although she also said it happens more often than I ever thought it did.

09-18-2009

Really behind on blogging and training - in the meantime watch this





Click here if it doesn't work.

08-22-2009

Today, we took Duece & Ziva to Farmer's Market for a little socialization. Duece still isn't enthused about getting into the suburban, but he just sits down and makes me pick him up. It's weird because when he sees the collar and lead coming he gets so excited that I can barely get the collar on him. While we were there he minds really well and he's learning not to jump up on people although we have to watch him because he thinks everyone wants to play with him. Afterwards we stopped at Menards for awhile and he seemed to handle that just fine. I left a portable radio on and he was with Ziva so maybe that helps, too.

Duece has been really great at jumping up on things as he was pretty much afraid to a few months ago. We just needed some confidence building and letting him learn at his own pace. I need to get a video of him climbing a couple different stacks of pallets. This afternoon when Helen was checking the propane level, our granddaughter thought she would help and when Duece saw her on the tank he had to join her.

08-17-2009

Yesterday, I put out some scent and went back to the house. Duece watched me put some bologna into a ziplock bag and then we went outside. No vest and no command, just a walk that ended up downwind of the scent. Duece wasn't sure what to do when he found it. He lay down and rolled over, got up and walked a ways away and then went back. This time he looked at me and did his 'down' next to it. I gave him his bologna with a lot of praise. I'm wanting him to be aware of the scent even if he isn't in his vest although we'll use his vest most of the time.

Today I used a scented tennis ball inside a PVC pipe of the PVC garden with two more tennis balls in other PVC pipes for decoys. He was dressed up in his vest and he had watched me put bologna in a ziplock bag and he was given his command. He spent a bunch of time around Helen's car before he took off across the lawn after he saw the PVC garden. He checked out all the pipes and then rolled over by the wrong one. When I asked him what he was doing he got up and went to the right pipe and rolled over again and did his 'down' waiting for the bologna It's almost like he knows which one is the right one, he just want to play around. Maybe I need to play with him for awhile afterwards just to extend the positive aspect of him finding the scent.

08-15-2009

Yesterday Duece & I went to town and switched vehicles and took Helen's to get the oil changed. We stopped in at Helen's work for a few minutes and let Duece get spoiled. Afterwards we stopped at a couple of places and then went back and got the oil changed in the suburban. Then I made the mistake of stopping at Walmart. Not that I don't like Walmart, but it takes too long to checkout. Duece was wondering if I was ever coming back. Duece doesn't mind the traveling, he just can't handle the waiting in the vehicle and he threw up twice. I've tried leaving the vehicle running with the radio on, leaving it shut off with a battery radio on and it doesn't seem to make a difference.

This evening, Duece was restless and the weather outside is rotten so I took the 'Bone box' downstairs and hid it. Duece had his first piece of bologna last week and he goes nuts for it. So I got his vest and let him watch me put a piece of bologna in a zip lock and then we went down stairs to look for the 'Bone box." We spent a few minutes going from room to room and back again. Duece gave an indication about 3 feet from teh hidden box but when I told him to "Show me!" he got up and started searching again. He showed a lot of interest in the area about 3 feet away but actually got frustrated when he wasn't finding it. Finally, after checking out areas all around the hidden box, he got his nose in the area and did his 'down' indication and got his bologna.

08-12-2009

One more step with getting Duece out in public. He doesn't run away but isn't enthused about getting into the suburban. Last night we went to the local Tea Party. Duece even had his own sign.


Duece's sign says:

I expect to be fed
I expect my vet bills to be paid
I expect to be entertained
Someone else picks up my poop
Therefore I must be an Obamacrat

Duece does well in public once he learns not to jump up on people. He's learning though. As long as we're talking 'learning' there are a lot of kids out there that don't know how to greet a dog. Duece loves kids and last night when he saw some playing on the grass, he stopped and stared. You could tell he was wanting to run over and play. Too many kids think they can just run up and throw their arms around a dog's neck without a reaction from the dog. It just scares the hell out of me so we keep a pretty good eye on anyone that wants to pet the dog. One young'un last night was holding a napkin around one finger, saying he had a little cut on it when he asked if he could "Pet your dog?" When I said okay, he got down on his knees directly in front of Duece and threw both arms around his neck with his face right at the end of Duece's nose. When I stopped him, his brother(?) came over and said to leave the dog alone. I told him it was okay, but not to grab the dog's neck while in the dog's face. I try to tell the young one's how to approach a dog but some just don't seem to have the attention span to listen. Just have to keep an eye on them and the dog.

.

08-06-2009

Last weekend we went on a long trip with Duece and Ziva, 12 hours one way in a vehicle and three nights in a strange house. The next day after we arrived at home it was National Night Out. Duece & Joker attended this and by the end of the event both of them were pretty tired out. They both got lots of attention and hugs from a whole bunch of kids.


While Duece rests and I am talking to the Border Patrol K9 handler, Joker leans against Helen.

.

07-26-2009

I put out some scent this evening and waited about 30 minutes. It was hidden in an old 4 wheeled horse cart in the back yard where we had walked before so he couldn't just follow my tracks to find it. This time I tried not to lead him in anyway and tried to follow him as he worked. I also didn't talk to him except to reinforce the command and call him when he took off too far ahead on some 'goose chase'. I think it confused him a little bit and he got a little sidetracked until I called him back and gave the command again. Once he was down wind of where the scent was and he did a little circling and at one time I thought he would head right for it but he checked something else out and then moved on. I didn't stop when he moved on and followed him around the yard again. It appeared that he was hitting the scent but wasn't sure and I continued walking until he circled back. Then I stopped away from the hidden scent and almost ignored him. He jumped up against the back of the wagon but didn't go into his sit indication. He circled around and came over to me and I asked "Where is it?" and stayed where I was at. He went back to the cart and stuck his nose right in the area where it was hidden and then sat down. Once he was 'firmly planted' I went over and gave him a lot of praise and massage and then gave him a treat. We played around a little and I took off his vest and he turned around and jumped clear up on the cart, the scent was hidden under the seat where he couldn't reach it. He just looked at me and waited for another treat.
I changed some scent containers around and put two unscented/aired out tennis balls in a container (where they cannot contact any material) for some ball scented work. I use a plastic handle to throw the balls and let the dog find it. He can't bring it back and has to sit when he finds it. What's nice about it is there is no track left by me leading up to the scent.

07-23-2009

We took our longest trip today, over 3 hours each way. Actually went real well. I set up a barrier that let the dogs have the area directly behind the front seats but couldn't go back into the cargo area and get into anything. (I once had a cell phone antenna, among other things, chewed up when I let a dog run free in the suburban.) On the first leg we left the dogs (Ziva & Duece) in the running vehicle while in a store, and they did fine. I took them both for a little walk before we left and then we had a 10 minute stop about 30 minutes from our destination and somewhere between there and the destination Duece threw up. For some reason he gets an anxiety attack when we leave him for long in the vehicle. We had a lot of fun while visiting our friends who have two Dachshunds. Duece slept most of the way home and Ziva slept a little as she doesn't want to miss anything. We stopped about 1/2 way home and left the dogs alone for awhile and it didn't seem to bother Duece. All were happy when we got home.

07-19-2009

Today Duece rode along again. He isn't real excited about getting in the suburban but he doesn't run away either. I left it running with the radio on when I was inside the store and again when I made a quick stop for groceries. I forgot to mention in the last post that we stopped at McDonald's on the way home and Duece sat up and stared at the person in the window but didn't care once he got some pieces of a hamburger. I forgot about the ketchup and pickles but he ate every piece. Today we had some cheese dogs on the way home. Those aren't bribes, they're rewards. :-)
This evening we were playing with Ziva on the couple pieces of 'agility' equipment we built in the back yard. There's a couple of jumps, a tire jump and 4 weave poles. It's funny watching Ziva & Duece go through the tire jump at the same time to get their treat. They haven't quite figured out the weave poles yet, but neither have I. We have the jumps set high enough for Duece and Ziva jumps over the bottom post that holds the uprights together. We haven't tied the individual items into a 'run ' yet as we're just learning the hand signals and item commands.

07-18-2009

I've been slacking - with the blog and with Duece. Last week we tried something new with someone driving the suburban while Duece & I rode in the back seat. We put 30 miles on and Duece did great. I gave him a lot of attention and he would sit up and look around when we slowed to turn, etc. Other times he lay on the seat and almost fell asleep. Now a week later, I had to make a trip into town so I put the blanket on the seat and brought Duece along. He looked around at times and almost slept the rest of the time. I was worried about leaving him alone as that has brought on a bunch of panting and drooling, but today I left the suburban running with the radio on and he was just fine. Even when I had to retrieve a part from the rear of vehicle, he just sat up and then curled up on the seat when I went back inside the store. I did give him a small piece of teriyaki beef jerky a couple of times. When I was done with business and we were headed to another store, I offered him an Alpo Snap and he just turned away, probably knowing the beef jerky wasn't all gone. He got a piece of jerky. The next other store was an outside warehouse place so Duece was able to watch me walk around and only disappear for a short time. I didn't even try the Alpo Snap and went straight for the jerky when we left. He doesn't bother the bag laying on the floor but knows what's up when I pick up the bag.
We've done a couple cadaver scent hides during this time as well. I'm trying to be farther away from Duece when he finds it so he pays less attention to me. Tonight he actually had his nose a few inches from the container but he looked around and moved on instead of doing his sit indication. I just walked on and made a circle and this time he found it and sat like he is supposed to. I was a ways away and took my time getting there and he stayed until I got there. I did a bunch of praise before the treat as when he sees the treat coming he leaves and come to me instead of staying there. I try to get him to refind it for me but it isn't going real well right now. Little steps at a time. :-)

07-02-2009

Duece had a new experience this evening. Our neighbors have a fairly large horse barn and they let us hide some scent. When Duece saw me carrying his vest there was no stopping him. I had to go get a collar & lead to settle him down a notch or two. He wasn't too sure about going into the barn door but only briefly hesitated. I should have let him run around a little before we started as there were so many new smells and noises. He would barely sit still while getting his vest and command to work. When he started he wasn't sure about where to begin. He moved all over and doubled back and checked out areas he had already been. Nothing wrong with that but there were still areas that didn't get checked. He startled the first time a horse snorted but seemed to ignore them later on. One thing I didn't notice until we were about 1/2 way into the search was the 4 large ceiling fans running on high speed. I'm sure they had to really stir up the scent Duece was looking for and mix it in with all the new smells. There was a large stack of fresh hay along one wall and one little "Get up" and he was climbing over it. After a bit he seemed a little confused so I gave the search command again and did a little "check" with a hand motion and that got him back on track. I had placed the scent under an old traffic cone that was propped up to hold a door open and the lid for the container was about 5 feet away and about 6 feet above the ground wedged behind an electrical wire. Duece stopped below the lid about 1/2 way between the scent and where the lid was hidden. He did his indication, sitting down and staring at me. I wasn't sure what to do as he really wasn't at the source - or was he with the fans blowing? He stared at me and then whined which is something new, so I rewarded him and then gave him the command again and did the "check" with hand motion again. This time he climbed the hay stack again, only from the side facing the scent. He checked it out and then jumped on a bale I thought was going to fall over which would have dumped him from about 5 feet above ground. Duece must have thought the same thing as he stopped and went into a down and then jumped off the bale into a small pile of hay on the ground. It didn't seem to faze him at all and he continued searching and this time got near the hidden scent. He circled it a couple of times like he was trying to find the source. He stuck his nose at the top of the cone and then sat down. When he went into a down he stuck his nose under the cone and waited for his treat and praise.
Duece did well, but I have a couple of concerns. First was his first indication. I don't think the container lid would have enough scent for him to think it was a source unless the fans were moving air down along the wall to the floor. The second concern is, I was the one that hid the scent and I stood in this area while hiding it and was Duece hitting on my scent as well as the source scent? Guess I need to have someone else hide the source and I need to have a clean, empty source container for a decoy and make sure he isn't hitting on that too.