Wally Searching - With Boxes

More searching - this time with boxes (searching and him picking them up for whatever reason).

Wally Searching

Here's what Wally looks like doing his searching. He's getting into it. We've done more practice and it looks similar to this.

Wally's New Challenge: Searching

Been a while - but there's something new worth writing about :)

I've come across Nosework. I read about it on a forum I frequent and thought "hey, this might be the thing to make those Find It games a challenge again!"

So I read this thread and started to get into the basics of it.

I got some boxes from the local crafts store and poked holes in a small one for the scent to get out. That small one would go inside the slightly bigger ones - big enough for him to stick his head in.

He'd then have to find the small box (it has treats or other smelly food in it that he loves) and when he does, he gets rewarded from me.

I'm learning it's important to reward on the source of the scent as well as to do so quickly. The goal is to get the dog to linger at the source - that's how he'll tell me he found it. At least for now.

Initially, Wally just wanted to molest the boxes (if not destroy them) to see if there's food inside, but then he started to get it. #1 - the boxes are not the "it" I want found, and #2, stay on the scent once you find it.

Of course, both are still a work in progress considering we've been at this all of two days. It's challenging him mentally, but he LOVES it. He's just almost obsessed about it. He gets so into trying to get the little box out of the big one that he "sticks" to the source (GOOD), but it's also harder to reward him because he's just into that little box!

He's all worn out and sleeping hard after, but it's so funny to watch him not want to stop while he's in the moment and mindset for the searching.

This is definitely something we're going to keep working on for sure! He loves it. I love watching him go at it, and it's a nice new twist on something we already do.

Learning The Blue Boundary

In an effort to give him a landmark between the hall and the kitchen, I used some blue electrical tape and put it at the entry to the kitchen.

The goal was to have him stay behind the blue line, as that would keep him from the kitchen. The line would serve as the new landmark for him, since the floor is uniform in color now.

The trick was, and still is, getting him used to look down to find something not food or toy related. He has never had to look down to find information, so to speak, before.

That became step one, getting him to see and be interested in the line. Shaping this would be on the difficult side since he probably is not aware that there's something of interest there to him. His paws can't detect it since he's not stepping on it, and he is going to be drawn to the throw rug, since that is an easier object for him to see and feel, let alone grab with his teeth and pull at with his paws. He feels he could interact with it to offer behaviors on it.

So I turned to targeting. I pointed at the blue line and asked him to paw it. This was still difficult because he wasn't used to "pawing at nothing". I wasn't pointing to an object or to anything he's used to looking at or noticing. He's like "paw...what?!", then he pawed my hand. That wasn't it. I kept pointing and asking for the behavior.

He did paw the blue line almost like "what...that...blue stuff?" Yes, Wally. That "blue stuff".

Treating took place on the line. I put the reward directly on the line. That way, he HAD to look at it to get the treat. This would be the start of getting him interested in that blue line on the ground.

After a little bit of that, I went back to shaping. Of course, started trying pawing everything BUT the blue line. Then finally, I saw him look at the line while looking around for something to paw. He snapped his head up as if in surprise at getting the marker. He took the reward (again placing the
treat on the line itself), and was looking around like "okay...so what was I doing to get the food?"

When the nose pointed at the blue line (where the nose points, the eyes are probably looking), I marked him again and put the reward on the line.

We repeated that a few times before I got the behavior that would make a good place to stop. He started holding his paw out over the line.

He was becoming aware of it! He wasn't sure how to interact with that line, but he stretched out his paw like he was trying to feel for it. That got him a reward. He did it again. I marked that and give him a nice jackpot and ended the session. After letting him know how proud of him I was and giving him an all over rubbing, I took him to his spot in my room so he could get some water and rest. I wanted him to think about it and let his mind stew on it (latent learning), so that, hopefully, we'd have some progress the next time.

Everything Fine, Wally Gets Some Seizure Meds

Wally's bloodwork and other physical checkups were just fine. So the seizures are considered idiopathic and he got some medicine (phenobaribitol) that, hopefully, will help control the episodes.

So far, nothing seems to be adversely affecting him in terms of side effects, but I'm watching him like a hawk in lots of areas and seeing if there's any drop off in any of his mental and physical activity. He's resting peacefully as well.

Hopefully, this good start is a sign of things to come as we continues on the medicine. Just wanted to give a quick update.

Doing Battle With Seizures

Wally has been having issues for some time now and he's going in for bloodwork in the morning. He's been having seizures and attempts to control it have been mixed in effect, so he's going to go in to see if a cause can be identified and all that.

Sigh, something else to have to be concerned about, but hopefully it will be something that is "easy" to deal with and not an indication of something severely wrong in his mind or body.

Fortunately, the seizures are over quickly and he's back to normal rather quickly. His personality or ability to learn and understand have not been affected, which is probably another good sign - or at least I hope it is.

Doing Battle With Sandy

Wally has had to endure Sandy all day today since he has to go out and such. However, he's been a trooper and actually seeming to enjoy it. The last time we've been through tropical, Wally could not stand the wind and the sound of the trees blowing, and was noticeably worried. During windy thunderstorms, much of the same, though that might be the thunder more than the wind.

This time, though, he's been his usual self inside and acting like it's just a normal day. No impact on his eating or resting at all, and he's done his business every time, showing no anxiety about being in the elements. I'm glad to see this, especially as it might be going strong for another day.

Of course, we've been doing what training we can indoors, but mostly it's been drying him off and trying to keep him warm. That's the one thing that's really surprising with this storm, the fact it's more like a coastal storm and merged with a winter-type storm, making it a cold day complete with bone-chilling rain and a real wind chill.

Overall, though, it's been about as good as you could expect. Still got some ways to go yet, but definitely could have been far worse.

Most important is that Wally has been more than fine and is happy and well.

All-Positive Monday 32 - Manipulating Objects: Opening a Bag

I figured I'd try something, trying to get him to do something with an object.

In this case, I wanted him to figure out how to open up a bag that has been twisted closed (no ties or knots) and see if he can unwrap it to get a treat out without biting through the bag or otherwise tearing it.

Interestingly enough, he didn't even try to rip the bag. It was as though he just followed the scent down through the bag, trying to move the bag out of the way to get to the goodies inside.

I captured this on video. It is embedded below.

A Nightmare of a Night, Literally

I don't know what his nightmare was about, but whatever it was, it gripped him hard.

Poor dog was thrashing around, not just the twitching paws but his body flailing around, growling, biting at the air, it was intense. Took several minutes just to wake him from it, and when he did, he wasn't aware of anything in terms of where he was or who I was - even growling at me while I was holding him.

He settled down a little bit and started to recognize where he was and who I was, but he was still terrified. I set him down and gave him some room as he was panting very hard and visibly shaken up. He started looking at me as I moved, but he still didn't want to get up. When he did, he wanted to go hide in his other spot in my room.

Whatever it was scared him so much he had peed on himself and he had an accident trying to get outside. Still scared and skittish, but moving around and following me a bit. I took him out for some air and to let him just clear his head. The walk eventually started settling him down and he got back to his usual self more.

While outside, just wanted him to get back to his usual self and we played some and such. He started relaxing and shaking his body (calming signal, usually a "whew, that was intense" or "glad that's over" type signal) and quickly started coming around to himself again.

I hope he doesn't have to go through that again, though I guess if it happens again, I know what to do to help him out of it and settle his mind.

Scary Moment With a Harmless Cause

Just got a scare not long ago - thought something was going majorly wrong with Wally. He was thrashing about, freaking out, never seen him do anything like that before.

I was thinking he was choking on something, maybe sneaked and ate something or something had gotten in his throat and couldn't get it out, and any number of things.

I got him still enough so that he wouldn't hurt himself with all that thrashing and looked in his mouth. Turns out it was nothing more than a strand or two of his hair had gotten inside his mouth and it was a longer piece so it must have tickled his throat and was triggering some reflex and serious frustration in trying to get it out.

Never before seen him do anything like that! All these years of having long hair everywhere and nothing like that happened and now it does. Scared me out of my mind.

Suffice to say that I got the scissors out and trimmed that hair down and will do so from now on. Every time I give him a bath or a good brushing, I will be checking the length of that hair around his muzzle and jaws. 

Ugh - don't scare me like that, Wally!

All-Positive Monday 31 - Wally The Cornerback

With football season in full swing, and Raiders bandana attached to his collar, I thought it would be fun to have Wally "play cornerback" and try to "cover" me as I run. The goal, of course, is for him to stay near me no matter which way I move and turn and, like a wide receiver, I could go in various patterns.

He would get a click and treat if he's within a certain distance of me within a certain amount of time, say a few seconds. If not, we just line up and try it again.

The game is an attempt to teach him to watch me and keep his attention on me in a more fun and lively way. I figure this would get him psyched up and eager since it's like a game of chase to him (and in a way, it is) while also getting some treats along the way. It'll also be some exercise for the both of us. 

Is this all-positive? I think, overall, it is. Sure, he might not get a treat each time, especially early on, but he's going to be having fun the whole time. I won't be giving any corrections/redirecting/no-reward markers - none of that, we just keep the game going.

Also, I'll keep it simpler in the beginning, as per usual. Make it easier for him to earn the reward so he can get an idea of what the objective is.

English for Wally - Pondering Prepositions and Adverbs

Getting back to attempting to use a sort of canine programming language to communicate with him in a new way, I've been considering how to teach him "adverbs" (i.e. how to do something) and "prepositions" (i.e. where to perform an action). I'm thinking "adverbs" would be the most difficult to teach him. Can a dog learn how to perform a behavior in the sense of walking quickly or speaking quietly or even loudly? And then, can a dog learn to do so on cue?

Sure, dogs have louder and softer volumes on their voices. Sometimes Wally whines loudly and sometimes it's softer. Same for his barks and other sounds. Thing is - that's driven by his internal emotional state. If he's really excited or driven for something, he'll bark louder. If he's really hungry, he'll whine louder, but if he's more uncertain or wanting attention for something else - the whines are different.

Emotions aren't logically determined, though, which is what he'll be doing when I'm cuing this and teaching it beforehand. That is where the challenge will be - getting him to purposefully do something differently and then teaching him that's what got him the prize. For example, if I do speaking softly (something like "Wally - Speak - Quietly") how will I be able to communicate to him that the quietly part is what got him rewarded? That's the challenge in "adverbs".

"Prepositions" are probably going to be a bit easier. Where to do something is more obvious to see at work and for the dog to pick up on. Obedience training incorporates this. Heeling, finish, front are examples. Teaching things like laying on a mat is using "prepositions" (the object is the "where" in this case - Lie where? On the mat.) I realize it's not prepositions in strict human language terms (technically, I'm teaching the location, the preposition is "on" in the prior example), but it works for this, especially since dogs don't know anyway.

So Wally already has some exposure to "prepositions", though some, like "front" will take on new meanings - making him have to parse the difference between "Front" (come and sit in front position) and "Get - Ball - Front" (get the ball that's in front position). What also gets interesting as that some will be relative to me and some relative to him. "Front" is relative to me. "Back" would be relative to him (go back/behind you and...).

The other challenge will be getting him to freaking wait and listen for the whole instruction! He's going to hear "get" and be like "okay, I see something, I'll get it!" and just grab something. Going to need patience.

Will be pretty fun and interesting to try, though! Maybe he'll surprise me and catch quick. He caught on to the whistle quicker than I thought.
 

All-Positive Monday 30 - Left and Right

Today, I decided to revisit left and right, maybe this time, we'll have better luck in getting this skill down!

To start, I will have two identical objects placed to the left and right of Wally with him sitting front. I'll signal with my arm outstretched as well as voice cue, the ever so creative choices of "Left" and "Right" (I know, such a stroke of artistic genius, right?).

This will set him up to succeed in a lot of ways. He can follow the arm to get a clue to the direction. He has a target on the ground that looks very different from the environment, and there's the voice cue he can use if he wants to pick up on that.

Using a target also gets him into the idea that he's supposed to go until he "hits something" or is given another instruction. The first time I tried this, he went as far as my arm stretched and that's it (because I treated him from the hand there - taught him a bad concept).

I am still giving him the treats, but I'm marking him when he gets to the target (eventually, I'll put the treats ON the targets). That should help him get the concept down.

After each attempt, he has to come back to front position. This resets him and lets him get used to the movement of going left and right. This is opposed to him maybe facing left and then turning around to go right.

The session went well. As he continued to succeed, I mixed up the timing of when I gave the next signal. This helps practice focus and patience to wait for the signal, especially as he gets excited and wants to go for the next target.

Out on walks, we should be able to try something similar. We can either use the targets or pick an object like a street light and position him so that he can go left or right on the signal to the object.

Eventually, we will go with this on retrieves. I'll throw the dumbbell left or right and signal and use the "left" and "right" cues and arm signals to have him go get the dumbbell. Also planned is working the same exercise above with the targets, but with me at a distance from him. 

"All-Positive Monday 29" - Back it up, Wally!

Today was a mix of some P.E. for Wally as well as an All-Positive day.

I wanted to revisit his rear-end awareness, something that had gotten lost over the months amidst all the other things that we've been working on.

He already has some idea of how to back up, i.e. walking backwards. To begin, I get him warmed up a bit with just requiring a few steps. I think mark (I use a clicker) and reward him and start again. I try to keep everything as flowing and fast-moving as possible to keep him highly engaged and making it seem more fun.

After the warm-ups and seeing that he still remembers how to do the behavior, I keep each trial lasting longer. I want more steps out of him. As usual, each success is greeted with the reward marker and a treat. At this point, I'm going to start increasing the challenge further in some way.

For today, I wanted to work on speed. He's going to be moving all kinds of ways trying to keep himself going backwards - fine for now. I want to work on just one thing at a time. Using speed should help him get used to moving his back legs more quickly and make him more able to control them.

Marking and rewarding is different as I don't really want to stop the action. As he is moving backwards and keeping pace with me moving forward at him, The rewards are coming, all in stride if at all possible. At the most, a one or two second break so he can chew it if he needs be (which means I need to make them smaller so he can just suck them down without getting choked).

It was funny watching him curve around as his back legs just kept moving him in reverse but no idea how to keep going straight! That's something I'll be having to work on in the future. Another further step would be to have him do so just on cue. I could say "back up!" and he just starts walking backwards.

But those are goals off in the distance and difficult for me to figure how to do in a completely positive way (though shaping figures to be a big part - may not be completely positive, but that's a very large component). Guess I should have called this 'segment' "Mostly-Positive Monday"!

Rainy Day For Whistle Training

Wally waiting to get his lunch after a rainy day of training.

A rainy, windy day hit us today, but, for us, that means another day for training the whistle in new conditions. We've not worked on this in other weather conditions, not to mention contending with the "I'm soaking wet so I want to run and play and be hyper!" mindset that always happens when he's wet.

He did a pretty good job in the beginning, still able to follow the whistle and concentrate, though sometimes the rain was a distraction. I don't know if it was the sound of the rain hitting everything along with some mild wind gusts or if it was just being in the rain in general.

The rain got heavier as well while we were out and that really made things tough on us both. I was having a harder time getting him to respond, even when he was just waiting for the recall whistle. I had to lower the frequency of the whistle to get him to respond. He did, however, perform the behavior and with lots of energy.

Giving treats became a challenge, too. He did eat his soggy pieces of bread for treats - but what was left in my pocket was not very pleasant! Nothing worse than soggy bread in your dripping wet hand. Ugh.

Overall, I think it was a good, albeit short, session. It wasn't long until we both wanted out of the rain!

The "Four Corners" Game - Trying To Teach Whistle Recalls

Tonight, we worked more with the whistle and doing whistle recalls. I wanted to work more at distance to get him used to it. I also wanted to start letting the whistle be the only signal as much as possible, though I know I'll still need to help him with the meaning using one of already known cues.

Even with that, though, I made a change.

To play the game, we went to the black top in the neighborhood field/playground,  and started I would go from corner to corner, calling him with the whistle. He had to come to front, sit, stay put while I went to the next corner, and then call him again with the whistle.

At first, I let him get all his 'business' done so that wouldn't be pressing on his mind. Then I went into some 'warm up' with the whistle recall at short distances. Gave him a little sniffing break and then played the game.

Did another short warm up again and then went into it.  For the first round, I used a snap of my fingers as I did the third tweet (the whistle call is three short tweets). I praised him and went to the next corner. Kept this up for a couple trips around the black top, then gave him another break to walk around and such.

When time for the second round, this time it was just the whistle. I would do nothing else. This was sort of like a "quiz". I would give the whistles and that's it. He had to remember what to do. When he started coming to me, I would praise and encourage him (to start), and then that stopped. Soon, the game went like this: I go to corner, give the whistle, he comes front and sits, I praise and move to the next corner. The only sounds I made were the whistle and the 'good boy' (which he knows as much as a verbal reward marker as much as just praise - kinda rolled up in one I suppose). It let's him know he's doing it right, so he gets feedback while keeping him in a focused frame of mind.

After a few trips around the black top, I ended the session and had some play time with him. He did pretty well, and I think we both felt like we made progress. And, of course, we both enjoyed the play time! :)

Given how it went this time, I think we'll keep playing this game. It's like a variation of the "Station-to-Station" game we played to work on "go around", and it seems we might be on our way to similar success with the "Four Corners" game.

Whistle Wally, Day 2

Another day of working with the whistle and the learning curve is there for the both of us to be sure!

I'm still trying to make my signals consistent so that he can have a clear signal to pick up on. Meanwhile, he's still get used to the concept that he won't hear my voice give the signal and that he can't just key off my body or movement to get 'hints' on what to do.

That said, I did give the voice cues in an effort to teach him what the whistle sound means. That seemed to work before, but tonight, it seemed to regress a bit. After getting some mixed results and starting to see a few signs he was getting confused and uncertain, I decided to try another strategy.

Since I have a hand signal for staying while walking with me (he stops while I keep moving) and for the 'front' (where he comes from where he is to sit directly in front of me), I decided to throw those while giving the end of the whistle signal. So the stay-while-walking signal get tossed out while the long signal tweet is going on and the signal for 'front' comes just before I stop the third short tweet.

This seemed to make more sense to him and he started to respond more quickly and more sharply. He didn't look confused either and I saw that eagerness in him pick up again. While this might have been something of a set back, it's things that let us find more ways to communicate and work together so he can have success again.

One behavior that's still strong is the 'stay' while he's going after something. I did it twice, got him all hyped up and send up to go 'chase' something (there wasn't anything, but he went out and was searching for something and sniffing and all that), and then I gave the 'stay' whistle, and he stopped and looked at me. Great! Then I took the chance to bring him back with hand signal + whistle strategy and he came back nicely. Maybe we're on to something on which we can build on.

Wally and the Whistle

It's been a while, but Wally and I are still working together and the next thing we'll try out is whistle training. It's been something I've wanted to try for a while and we're going to give it a shot.

It just came today and I was hoping it came with instructions on how to get started with it on your dog. No, just telling me stuff like "don't start beyond 6 months" (about 4 1/2 years too late for that!) and pushing on his butt to make him sit (something I wouldn't do since I can capture/shape).

So we're going at it on our own and maybe finding some websites on the topic (which has been more difficult than I expected).

Until then, I'll be going with the standard "teach a new cue" rules. New information first, then the currently known cue, then rewarding the behavior. Then keep that up until he has the new association. I don't know if that's the 'correct' way in regards to teaching the whistle, but, we'll find out over time.

Of course, I had to blow it at least once to see how (or if) he'd react. The instructions did suggest using the second setting at first. So I put it on that and gave it a blow. Wally immediately looked over at me with a very alert look, just staring at me like "What was that?! I never heard you make that sound before!" So it looks like I have the frequency I want to start with.

This should be interesting.

From Throwing to...Folding?!

That's what happened when I was shaping Wally tonight before bed and he tried to "throw" the rug.

After rewarding his attempts to grab and pick up the rug, I decided to hold out on him and see what he would do. He tried the grabbing again a few times, tried some other behaviors, and then kinda starting thinking (he stood there just staring with his tail wagging). He went away a bit and then came back and just grabbed the rug and tried his hardest to throw it.

I gave him a big jackpot, a rub love, and lots of praise for that effort. He looked really proud too like he did something grand!

This is something I will definitely have to try to build on going forward. I wonder if he can indeed learn how to intentionally fold something in half?!

PE for Wally 7 - Throwing A Ball

A video this time of me getting Wally to do his throwing. He's pretty good with the ball...not so much with the Post-it Note! Still, I thought it was pretty cute and not that bad.

I'm still thinking of ways to try to hone this. Throwing at a target. Maybe trying to throw it into a bowl, box, basket, etc. Throwing it to me. Things like that. Not quite sure how to go about "explaining" it to him with shaping, but it's mulling around in the brain.