Raph - 2x2 - Day 22 - Sessions 25-27

Summary -- Moving to a different part of the yard. Session 25 (6 mins) 2 sets, 7' apart; session 26 (4.5 mins) 2 sets, 7' apart; session 27 (6 mins) 2 sets, starting 7' apart and moving to 4' apart mid-session.

You can immediately see that moving to a new part of the yard threw him off. It just shows how important that really is. You never know if they're thinking "I need to wrap around the first pole and enter" or "ok - I head toward the aframe and then make a u turn when I see the dogwalk and then enter".

He also started having alot of trouble with the first set once I added the second set. I still occationally reward in the middle, and I don't think his problem is not having enough value in the 1st set. If that were the case, I think he would cut it out all together. But it's like he wraps around the first set and doesn't see the opening the way he used to. Perhaps he's already shifted focus to the second set. At any rate, he has a definate weak side. (See Part 1 ~1:10-1:55) This is one of those moments where I have learned to have faith and wait him out. Hubby's not sure he could stand there and let them fail so many times in a row ;-)

I also realized at this point that I hadn't added enough body motion at the 2 pole stage. I partly simply forgot. And I'm going to play the pregnancy card - moving is a wee bit difficult at the moment. Looking back - I think I probably added too much movement too quickly. You can see a particularly troubling segment at Part 2 ~2:35-4:36 - though I also seem to recall that after that session he walked right off the field and pooped :-) That might have had something to do with his lack of concentration. Yet another lesson learned ;-)

This first session with the poles at 4' apart was particularly tough with alot of failures. We'll have to see what future sessions bring!!!

Part 1


Part 2

Raph - 2x2 - Day 21 - Session 24

Summary -- Session 24 (7 mins): starting with 2 sets 15 feet apart and moving them in to 7 feet apart mid-session.

Brrr - it makes me cold to watch! This was the day that the temperature in Houston was 27 degrees. But I was so excited by Raph's progress that I got out there anyway (after promising hubby I would bundle up).

Raph - 2x2 (2 sets!) - Day 20 - Sessions 22,23

Summary -- Session 22 (4 mins), Session 23 (2 mins): first day with 2 sets, 15 feet apart.

Finally! 2 sets of poles! This was Raph's first day with 2 sets of poles. The first session he struggled. He was used to the toy coming after the poles, so he looked to me and never saw the poles in front of him. He got it a few times, but really hadn't figured it out yet by the end of Session 22.

During a brief break, I rewatched the video and noticed one glaring difference in what I was doing vs the video. I was pulling Raph out when I rewarded the 1st set of poles, while Susan would reward the first set, but then stand there until they noticed and offered the second set. This was the change I made in Session 23 and it made all the difference.

Raph - 2x2 - Days 5-19, Sessions 6-21

This is my big catchup post. I've gathered ALL my past sessions with Raph and shoved them all together into one big video (that YouTube then forced me to cut up into 10 min pieces). I don't expect anyone to watch the entire set of footage, but I wanted to have a record. There may be a few readers out there that are also starting 2x2 that would like to see what it looks like 'in real life'. I will try to point out some parts that are particularly interesting. At the least - you can watching one of the early sessions and one of the late sessions to see how we progressed. As an added bonus - you get to see me grow in front of your eyes since I've been pregnant for this entire process and have made significant 'progress' myself! Not as obvious under all the winter clothes though :-)

It's a little crazy for me to go back and rewatch the last session I posted on the blog. The toy was still on a long line, and I thought I was almost ready for the 2nd set of 2x2s. I ended up staying here for another 16 sessions. The biggest reason for the delay is that I had several long breaks. If I had been able to consistantly work, I think it would have taken about a third of the time/sessions that it did. But the winter was wet and after each long break I spent most of each session catching back up to where I was.

In addition - I was thinking about adding the 2nd set of 2x2s because he was getting entries from the hard part of the 'pie'. Basically, the 'easy slice of the pie' of entries is about 45 degrees out from the center line of the poles on either side. Susan talks alot about the hard slice of the pie - generally about 90 degrees on either side. But as I watched the video and as Raph got better, I realized that I wanted and needed the entries that were beyond that; from 'behind' the poles.

So - some stats on these sessions. There are 16 sessions over 15 days spanning three and a half calendar months. The average session was 4 mins long, total training time of 1 hr 4 mins.

I try very hard to let Raph work through mistakes, and he and I do quite well. I tended to help him a little more in earlier sessions than in later ones (as I got more comfortable). I also noticed that I tended to help him only when he got so confused he stopped even attempting to go toward the poles. I would let him attempt 10 times in a row wrong without helping him.

For some examples of Raph struggling and working through - check:
Part 1: 4:00, 9:30 (spills into part 2)
Part 2: 0:50, 8:18
Part 3: 2:35
Part 4: 8:50

For another interesting bit, check out Part 3: 8:40. He goes around the outside twice that I don't see and end up rewarding. That little fiasco continues into Part 4.

He also definatley took a step or two backwards when we changed locations.

And finally for the session that prompted my previous post about him 'flipping a coin' see Part 6: 2:40-6:10.

Part 1


Part 2


Part 3


Part 4


Part 5


Part 6


Part 7

Quote of the Day

So, Gitta can be a bit annoying sometimes. And when she's annoying - she's 60 lbs of annoying.

The past few days I have been working VERY hard on basic manners. Just now - I took Gitta out to the bathroom. As we walked through the entryway on lead, I heard Isaac call: "Awesome Mom! How did you get Gitta to behave?!"

2x2 Observations

I am WAY behind on posting my 2x2 sessions, but I just had an interesting session with Raph that I wanted to comment on.

In my opinion - Raph just made a crucial connection in his head. He has been doing great - but today I watched him prove that he has figured the game out. What I mean by that is this: he has figured out that the name of the game is going through the poles AND he has figured out that there is only one correct direction to go through. Seems obvious right? Well - if your dog heads toward the poles and then comes back (because you are so far from the poles) - they haven't figured his part out yet. Or if your dog fails on a particular entry more than once - they haven't figured this out.

In the past - when Raph made a mistake, I would call him back and retry from the same point. I try to let him figure it out - not making the entry easier for him. He was very good about trying over and over without shutting down. And usually I would not need to make the challenge easier. But it might take 4 or 5 tries.

Today I watched him consistantly fix each mistake on the next repetition. When I asked him for a particular hard entry, he missed it the first time, then (when he wasn't rewarded) got it on the next rep. He did this several times.

I think many people would feel that this really meant he was figuring it out - compared to 4 or 5 misses. However, I think alot of people would miss what he had figured out. He hasn't figured out the entry. He's figured out the overall game. He's figured out that he needs to go through the poles and that only one way works. But he hasn't figured out WHICH way works. He's flipping a coin. If he doesn't get it right - he KNOWS to try the other way. That's a big leap in thinking! But you still have to recognize that he's flipping that coin. He doesn't KNOW the right answer.

This happens in a lot of dog training situations. When a dog only knows sit and down, they might down when you say sit. When you say no, or don't reward them, or whatever, they now know they should have sat and they get it right on the next rep. But it's important to recognize when your dog has learned something, and when they've just narrowed it down to a 50/50 shot based on what they know and the context they are in.