I'm GOING to work on this with Edna (and not keep half-assedly doing so). But I've also had a couple of people ask recently how to work on this, so here's a great video on this:
Something that's not mentioned in the video: at around 1:56, she talks about turning around and going the other way. When you do this, it's important to mark and reward the dog for coming into position at your side (right before they pass your legs). Then, when the leash becomes tight again, you switch directions AGAIN. So essentially you're going back and forth, or even in circles.
Adorable Beasts
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Going to try to update more
I've been slacking on both dog training and updating this blog. So, to make up for it, here are some pictures of Edna:
The random bedlington is Gracie, and I stayed at her house in Washington DC over spring break.
Next up: Edna was spayed, which was a pleasingly easy surgery/recovery, got a UTI, which involved me taking the staten island ferry in a hurricane at 10 o clock at night to pick up her antibiotics, but she's better now, and is otherwise doing well. I'm trying to work more on some tricks/behavior training with her, so I'll try to post some videos of that soon.
Links you should look at:
Friday, March 18, 2011
Tom went to his new home, and Edna's here!
Good news! Tom found a home. He went to live with a nice, responsible, fun college student and his roommates in Queens last weekend. I wanted to make a few more updates about his training before he left, but I just didn't have time. I started doing a lot of t-touch with him a few weeks before he left, and his behavior outside improved drastically. So far, so good.
Two nights ago I got Edna, another foster pit bull. She was abandoned in a building in Brooklyn, ended up on death row, and in order to save her Louie's Legacy pulled her and put her with a foster mom who was 8 months pregnant with her own (human) baby. So then she got bounced over to me...her first night she was a nervous wreck and cried unless I was touching her. And barked when I went out. And cried in her crate. She has gotten considerably more comfortable (and quiet) and so far we haven't seen any behavior problems.
She still needs to be spayed and is getting over kennel cough. She's about 1, lived with another dog in her previous foster home, knows (very) basic obedience, doesn't jump or chew, and since she realized I'm not going to disappear through the secret door in the back of the bathroom and never return for her, she hasn't made much noise. She walks well on the leash, carries her toy around everywhere, and likes belly rubs a lot.
I don't have much to work with on this one...so there might be a lot of how-to-videos on training useless/awesome tricks coming up in the blog. I'll also continue posting leash-reactivity information as I find it.
Two nights ago I got Edna, another foster pit bull. She was abandoned in a building in Brooklyn, ended up on death row, and in order to save her Louie's Legacy pulled her and put her with a foster mom who was 8 months pregnant with her own (human) baby. So then she got bounced over to me...her first night she was a nervous wreck and cried unless I was touching her. And barked when I went out. And cried in her crate. She has gotten considerably more comfortable (and quiet) and so far we haven't seen any behavior problems.
She still needs to be spayed and is getting over kennel cough. She's about 1, lived with another dog in her previous foster home, knows (very) basic obedience, doesn't jump or chew, and since she realized I'm not going to disappear through the secret door in the back of the bathroom and never return for her, she hasn't made much noise. She walks well on the leash, carries her toy around everywhere, and likes belly rubs a lot.
I don't have much to work with on this one...so there might be a lot of how-to-videos on training useless/awesome tricks coming up in the blog. I'll also continue posting leash-reactivity information as I find it.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Look At That!
Here's a short update on Tom's progress;
I was feeling rather hopeless about his reactivity issues a few days ago. A little, yappy poodle came out of a building right in front of us, another dog was right behind us, and in his frantic desire to eat the poodle, Tom actually clawed opened scratches into his muzzle, trying to get his halti off.
I certainly wouldn't advocate using a halti on a dog that is that uncomfortable with it, however, he doesn't mind it whatsoever when there are no other dogs around, and also I feel like I have much more control over him than I would with a harness, and in the city I feel like I need that amount of control over him.
Anyway, I kind of felt like until Tom goes to his forever home, it's just going to be a cycle of me working with him until he's comfortable close to other dogs, he'll be pushed over his threshold, and we'll start all over.
However, we've made a lot of progress in the past few days and so far, nothing's happened to set us back. Even today, a jogger with a small dog ran up behind us, really close, and Tom noticed, and pawed at his face when I ran him across the street, but he stopped with a vocal correction and regained his composure almost immediately.
We have been doing the "Look at that!" game from Control Unleashed. (Available at www.cleanrun.com).
The look at that game is a training game designed to desensitize dogs to stimuli. You start with things that are "interesting" but not necessarily upsetting or frustrating, (ie. something the dog displays a lot of interest in without trying to run to, pull towards, bark at, etc). So they should be staring and engaged, but not reacting. Things we like to do this with are: people, birds, blowing leaves or litter, cars, sirens, etc. With Tom, we're using wheelie suitcases, people with brooms or shovels, and people with rustling paper bags.
To do this, your dog must be able to recognize a marker (this is most commonly a clicker, but can be any vocal or noise cue, like a whistle or word). So if you haven't begun clicker training, now is a good time to start (or "load" the clicker).
It's fairly simple. When your dog notices a low-level stimuli, you mark and reward. You want to mark BEFORE you produce a treat from your pocket, the bag, or wherever you keep your treats. Eventually, your dog will learn "something interesting = reward is coming" so they will turn towards you after recognizing the interesting thing in order to get their reward. The dog's neural response towards stimuli will start to change through classical conditioning, and it will be easier for them to relax when they see something intriguing.
Tomorrow, we're attempting to go to an Adopt-A-Thon. I say attempt because our carpool consists of two beagle puppies, and if Tom wants to eat them, that won't be happening. He rode here okay in a crate next to another big dog, though, so we'll see. If he doesn't do well, I'll go alone with pictures and hopefully find someone interested in taking the big wiggly lapdog off my hands.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Video on Leash Reactivity
This is a youtube video by Kikopup, who is a minor youtube celebrity in the dog training world. She has great videos on how to train just about anything and everything you might need help with.
Here is one of her numerous videos on leash reactivity/barking
Here is one of her numerous videos on leash reactivity/barking
Saturday, January 29, 2011
First post - Tom
I thought about starting this blog 3 weeks ago when my first foster dog came to live with me, but I'm not much of a blogger and the idea fell by the wayside.
However, his improvement has been great and I'd really like to share some of the training techniques I'm using with him and track how he progresses. So this will basically be a dog training blog with articles and videos and step-by-step instructions, but the posts will be directly related to my current foster dog's training.
Tom:
Andddd another picture of Tom because he's cute:
However, his improvement has been great and I'd really like to share some of the training techniques I'm using with him and track how he progresses. So this will basically be a dog training blog with articles and videos and step-by-step instructions, but the posts will be directly related to my current foster dog's training.
Tom:
Tom is my first doggy boot camp victim.
2-3 yr old, 50 lb neutered American Pit Bull Terrier/American Staffordshire Terrier possibly mixed with American Bulldog or boxer/who knows.
Entered Staten Island ACC as a stray
Received a "mild" on his behavioral evaluation due to jumpiness and excitability.
When Tom got here, he was housebroken, and clearly had been in a home situation/somewhat trained before.
Then we went to take a walk.
He pulled. A LOT. He made excited wookie noise, lunged, and spun around when he saw another dog. He tried to jump on anyone who looked at him or showed any sign of being interested in petting him. He pulled.
He was also completely unable/unwilling to focus on me or listen to commands when outdoors.
In 3 weeks, he now walks politely by my side, can pass another dog from across the street with little to no reaction. He passes almost everyone without attempting to jump, walks pasts shovels/brooms with no reaction, and sits with a reminder when someone wants to pet him. He focuses on me when asked (without other dogs around) for an extended period of time, follows commands, and looks up at me periodically while walking.
I'm currently walking him on a halti, which really made walking him easier on my arms while he learned to walk on a loose leash. Even though I think he'd be able to walk politely on a regular collar now, I use the halti because I have more control as far as turning him away from things that over-stimulate him.
Books containing methods I've used:
Click to Calm by Emma Parsons
I also tried something I've never used before, called "premacking" (based of behaviorist David Premack's Principle)
Andddd another picture of Tom because he's cute:
Tom's petfinder bio:
Tom is a typical pittie who LOVES people and loves affection. He's very goofy and makes me (his foster mom) laugh all the time. He is quiet and well behaved in the apartment, content to lie at my feet or in his crate until I offer to play, when he will bring me a stuffed toy and play tug or pounce on it. He also likes to play fetch in the park. He knows basic commands, is housebroken, and doesn't bark inside the apartment. He is quickly learning to politely greet guests without jumping and is learning his leash manners.
Tom tested positively with other dogs at ACC but would most likely get along best with another large dog. He would be an excellent family dog for someone with children or a good "beginner" dog for someone with a yard. If he goes to an apartment home he will need someone to continue to reinforce his leash manners.
If you're looking for a dog with all the playfulness and spirit of a puppy without the housebreaking, chewing, barking, and hyperactivity, Tom would be the perfect dog for you.
To adopt Tom, go to www.louieslegacy.org/adopt
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