Lizard Brain

Finally, I actually had a chance to practice - why I don't do it more often amazes me as there is something so calming for me when I am working with my dogs. Lots of fun, lots of giggles. I didn't work on only position work today, I added several random behaviors as they came to me. Not very scientific but I did it anyway.

I finally had a chance to put my theory to the test of tossing treats away from me and clicking for "fronts". Worked pretty well it didn't take much time at all before Wynn was running for his tossed treat and running back to stand in "front". It was a good session for fronts.

Worked on a couple other behaviors, one was to begin to teach Wynn to lift his feet so we can do paw kick behaviors. With Nike the way I taught this was to put a piece of food into my hand and waited until she batted it with a paw, click and open the hand. I was hoping that as much as Wynn uses his feet to get my attention and rip the skin off my legs that this would be easy - wrong. He never tried to use feet to get into my hand he was all about mouthing the hand with the food. So I removed the food and decided to try the tickle technique. Gently tickle the back of the foot just above the pad on the back and he did move his foot a couple of time and allowed me to get in several clicks and treats - although I can't say with any confidence that he moved his foot with any understanding that the foot movement is what I wanted. We'll have to have a couple more sessions before I'll probably see some understanding.

BUILDING TOY DRIVE

Since I got Wynn I have always included him in play time with Nike and her Frisbee. It is my goal to - if not create another Ashley Whippet to at least let the legend live on a little in Wynn. I can say that he is becoming more and more toy driven and enjoying the Frisbee more and more as an "interactive" toy. Let me explain. Initially Wynn's typical Frisbee playing went something like this - chase Frisbee ONE time flinging yourself into some scary pretzel shape so that your mom would be scared out of her begebies that you were going to break something. land on the ground and run around the yard with your "Frisbee trophy" showing off to the world that you had a Frisbee. Don't bring it back to play again, instead drop the Frisbee you have in your mouth and try to steal the Frisbee that sister has and run around the yard with that Frisbee."

Well, you can see that "Wynn's" version of how to play Frisbee didn't have any real value to me as a training tool. What good is a toy that the dog doesn't need the human to make work! I never told Wynn that what he was doing was "bad", but I didn't do anything to make his version of Frisbee "fun" either. We (husband & I) didn't let him get away with stealing sisters Frisbee and we just played the Frisbee game "our" way. Today Wynn played Frisbee with "my" rules. I finished a little training session and threw him his mini Frisbee (which he likes better than the big ones) and he caught it and began to run out of the training ring and parade his trophy and I said "What are you doing? Get back in here!". And he did, came back, gave me the Frisbee, caught and returned it several times. I made sure I stopped before he was ready to stop. "Always leave them wanted more!" . During my last training segment of the session I work both Wynn and Nike together - I want them to be used to that so that later on down the road we will be able to do a brace. While I was working with them both it dawned on me that I had seen little flashes of "lizard brain" in Wynn when I had food in my hand and even flashes of it when I had the Frisbee so I decided to begin working with Wynn on Lizard Brain. Here is my progress:

LIZARD BRAIN SESSION PART 1

First I guess it would be best to define "Lizard Brain". Lizard brain is that mental state when the dog is so highly focused on the presence of the reinforcement that he cannot seem to think or respond to training requests. He doesn't seem capable of working and is overwhelmed with obtaining the reinforcement. Many times people will say - he can't work if I have food in my hand or he can't work if he sees the tennis ball. This is Lizard brain in action. The problem is if you don't work through Lizard Brain you are robbing yourself of the great animation that comes from a dog working for the "good stuff" and you rob the dog of an opportunity to earn "the good stuff" - you are basically limiting your training tool box of it's most powerful tools.

As I mention Wynn is becoming more and more driven to play Frisbee and I saw flashes of lizard brain in the back ground while we were "playing" so decided to "work through it". Had both Wynn and Nike do side by side spins "clicked" and ran for the Frisbee's tossing them both and playing with each dog for a couple throws. Then when I had possession of both Frisbee's I held them up by my shoulders and said "SIT". Nike who had worked through Lizard Brain many years ago promptly put her tush on the ground. Wynn said, "Frisbee, Frisbee must have Frisbee! Why are you not throwing Frisbee, talking, she's talking, Nike why are you sitting there, "sit" Frisbee, throw the Frisbee! "Sit?", "Sit?" OH SIT, plop butt - Yeah Frisbee!!! We played a few more retrieves at which time I had possession of both Frisbee's and said "Down". Oh my, the Whippets most difficult command and I was asking for it while holding a Frisbee just out of reach. Poor Nike, she was laying down so hard trying to get me to throw that Frisbee (after all she had obeyed - several verbal encouragements to her - but I couldn't give her the Frisbee as Wynn is always able to take from his "slow" sister. ) Finally the fog cleared and Wynn was able to lay down, even with the Frisbee present. I do believe that Nike modeling the behavior actually helped Wynn to "break through" Lizard Brain faster than if she hadn't been there. Whippets (at least the one I own) seem to have a great ability for observational learning - more than any dog I've owned previously.

Training Plan - I will add several "lizard brain" training sessions first with the Frisbee until Wynn can respond to the first command in the presence of the Frisbee and then I will move to his higher motivator - FOOD and work through Lizard Brain in the presence of food. It will be worth the time and trouble.

More Thoughts on the Fronts

HERE'S MY PLAN - Right now as to the positions I will still only work on two - left heel and front (until I am comfortable with what I'm doing, what my physical cues are and am seeing progress I don't want to add too many "new" behaviors.)

For the left heel position - I will continue as last time only I won't have the board in-between us. I will also put down multiple broad jump chutes set at different angles, in different locations so that Wynn doesn't think this only happens in one place facing one direction. I will try to be careful that Wynn doesn't put too much emphasis on the boards those are only there to make it more likely Wynn will stand straight but in reality the only criteria I am actually looking at this stage is the position of his front feet in relationship to mine.

MUST REMEMBER - I can only have "one" criteria change at a training session - no lumping!!! And for now it is front feet in position. In addition to clicking while I'm inside the boards, I will also take a step forward outside the boards and click for position. His back feet will still try to avoid the boards so he will most likely be straight. After Wynn has 90+ % accuracy of the front feet where I want them I will begin to look at the criteria of straight - fading the boards as he shows me he is able. (This means it is set up so that Wynn is most likely to be correct and get clicks/treats so he will want to stay in the game, BUT, with enough challenge that he will have to think and be an active participant in making the correct decisions so that learning will occur.

PLAN for "front" - I have decided to hold my arms loosely at my sides. This could be helpful down the road if I choose to do any type of Obedience. The verbal will be "front" and I will want a stand. (I only compete in APDT Rally, CDSP and C-Wags Obedience so I will have the ability to say "sit" when I need a sit in front for those venues, but for freestyle I want a stand to be the default.) My problem with Wynn is by just doing come-fronts he wasn't "getting it". You could see him, follow mom, eat cookie, follow mom, eat cookie. I need him to realize he is responsible for something so Plan "A" - I will begin this training by allowing Wynn to get distracted and then call him front. When he gets to front and stops I will click and toss a treat. While he's getting the treat I will move my position and call him again. This will allow me to shape the front. My criteria will be close enough to touch and look at my face. (He knows how to do both, he has just never had this set-up before - the change is that I should be standing still instead of walking backward).

Things to watch for - by tossing the treat Wynn may decide there is no reason to come close (if food is being delivered only from 10 feet away - he is a pretty smart Whippet after all) - if that begins to happen Plan "B" will come immediately into play - Wynn will get random cookies for being close and then an extra tossed cookie to move him so we can repeat the front.

HOW TO PROGRESS - After I have quick responses to "front" with quick responses to "attention" (QUICK is a critical response - must never click "slow" - quit session before "slow" starts to happen.). I will then need to be more aware of "straight". If I see that straight is "way, way off" in the initial stages I don't want bad habits to become too ingrained and I will use my randomly placed broad-jump boards (that I have put closer together to form tighter chutes) as props to encourage a straight habit. After tossing the treat I will run into the middle of a chute so that the only way to get to my "front" is by coming straight front. This is where randomly placed cookies front and center will encourage him to come to me from "front" and not from the side. Clicks/cookies won't be dispensed unless he is in some semblence of front from the beginning. Running away from the Whippet will also encourage quick responses to "front"

Thats the new plan. I will post the results as soon as I have the opportunity to put it into play.

The Starting Point

The Behavior – PLACE: Place will mean stand in a straight line at my left hand side with your front feet opposite from the ball of my foot – that’s how I will measure if Wynn is stopping in the same place or if he is moving forward or backward. This position will put him slightly forward of traditional heel position but allows us to make eye contact easier. Wynn will probably never know about his foot/my foot, he’ll come up with some marker that means something to him, but that is how I will measure whether he is where I want him to be.

Cues - Planned verbal cue “Place” Planned physical cue my left hand palm open facing dog just slightly ahead of where his nose should end up.

Evaluate - What tools do we already have in toolbox? Took Wynn to the training building to get an idea on where he is in the training game. First I asked for some targeting behavior - touch my hand. He understood that target while he was facing me if I put my hand to his right or to his left and even if I put it slightly above his nose. (After a little thought he jumped up.) Then I practiced a little of walking at left heel and walking at right heel. He has a good concept of those movements.

The Plan - I decided to try to get him to target my hand at my left side to put him into “Place”. The first two attempts at getting Wynn to target my hand on my left into position were unsuccessful. Wynn would move his tush to his left and swing out to look into my face and to get closer to food being delivered from right hand. Rule #1, if it doesn’t work twice STOP! Do not continue - DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT! (NOTE: Wynn did get reinforced for those two attempts as he did touch my hand which is what I asked for, but the plan wouldn’t get me to my goal very quickly too much happening that I didn’t want.

Change Plan #1 – I moved us to the wall so that he couldn’t swing wide. Wynn promptly “sat”. Well Duh Pam, you have been teaching him to heel with sits by using walls and gates to model straight sits. Hmm, walking near walls means sit when you stop (smart Whippet).

Change Plan #2 – I brought 2 broad jump boards into the ring and made a little shoot. Put Wynn between the boards and me on the outside. A little better luck, about 50% success. Wynn not really sure what I was looking for but he was trying and he did guess right about 50% (When mom takes a step forward and says “place” move forward, stand there and eat cookie!)
Modification for next session – As I was writing above I’ve decided I don’t like us being on opposite sides of the boards. I will make the boards wide enough so that we can both walk between.

Additional errors I was making – I found it very difficult to not click during movement into place. For this behavior I think I need to be sure to click for the stop into position – mustn’t wait too long or he might not understand that it was the position that he gets clicked for and he’ll think I’m clicking for stays. Timing will be critical.

Dangers I will need to be on guard for – It will be my habit to accept “close enough” instead of small progressions to exactly right.

The Behavior – Front: The finished behavior will have the dog standing straight in front, close enough that I can touch his head and far enough back that he can see my face.

Cue - Planned verbal cue – “Front”. I am struggling with a planned physical cue. If I put my hands in front of my body for targets I will have to go through the fading process, doable but an additional step. Or I can keep my hands at my sides and move backwards as my initial cue, but then I have to fade the backward steps. My weakness will be if I use a hand target here I will be tempted to not fade it properly. This will cause a problem if my hands need to be somewhere else (which they should be). I’m going to ponder this one a little more.

The Plan – since the boards were already out I had Wynn follow me while I backed up between and click for standing still when I stopped.

The result – well it worked in that Wynn followed, I stopped, he stopped, I clicked, he ate. But there was no comprehension of the position front only the come front and stop before your crash. I need to analyze this a little more.

It Begins

It has been 4 months since I first got Wynn as an 8 month old puppy and I must say that I have not been consistent in my training. I am beginning this blog as a way to do what I tell my students to do to be good trainers - JOURNAL.

To be effective in training it is important that you have a plan to set you and the dog up for success. You need to know where you are going. You need the tools to get there. You need to understand what behavior you are trying to train and to have a plan to train that behavior. It is also important to journal so that you remember what worked, what didn't, what changed, what surprised you, what you would do different, what you want to repeat, how changes to the picture change (or not) what the dog is doing, and to monitor your progress - or lack of progress.

So this will be my attempt to walk the walk of the talk I've talked and to allow my students and others to follow along as I train the Whippet.