First off – WOW – I can’t believe it’s been so long since we posted On the flip side – I finally started getting out there are training rather than getting hung up on the documentation process. It would have been fun to have every 2×2 session on tape. But I was finding that I was neglecting training because I felt I needed to get caught up on filming and editing and posting. So here we are – many MANY sessions in, and on FOUR STRAIGHT POLES!!!
This is her 3rd or 4th 1-2min session on 4 straight. It is a huge mental leap from even just a 1″ offset (where she was over 90% correct). I did much harder angles when it was slightly offset – I’m working back to those angles again with the straight poles.
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!!!
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).
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.
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 2×2 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.
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?!”
I am WAY behind on posting my 2×2 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.
Today is the first day of January 2010, and therefore the first day of my “1000 recalls in a month” challenge. Today I put together my spreadsheet and had my first four sessions.
I’m splitting my sessions between her name, and the word ‘come’. Believe it or not – I’ve used her name exclusively to this point, so the word ‘come’ is completely fresh and unbroken
My spreadsheet has one sheet of distractions that I will continue to add to as we conquer the ones I’ve come up with so far. My goal is to ‘be a splitter not a lumper’ and really make the distractions just the tiniest bit more challenging each time. For each session I choose one of my distractions to work on (they are roughly in order from easiest to hardest), grab 10-15 treats, do recalls till they’re done; mentally tallying the failures.
Feel free to track our progress and encourage/heckle. You can view (or steal!) the spreadsheet I’m using (click here), or follow along below (it should update continuously as I add to it).
As of today – our three older, semi-retired dogs are all 9 years old. Sammie is 9 1/2 and retired from all forms of agility. Denver turned 9 earlier this month and will most likely move to Preferred this year for a nice long career at 12″. And Gypsy turned 9 today! Other than Sammie’s lower back issues that have made agility an impossibility for her, all three are healthy and happy. And that’s what counts!
I had a shower moment this morning. I decided to set a huge training goal and make it public. Some of the keys to obtaining goals are to 1)make it specific and 2)make it public. I’m using peer pressure to my advantage!
So here it is.
My goal is to do 1000 reinforced recalls with Gitta in the month of January 2010.
To make the math nice and round, I figure this means: 250 recalls a week (x4 weeks); which is roughly 50 recalls a day (x5 days a week). I’m planning on doing sessions of 10 which will only take about 5 minutes including setup. The location/distraction level will change each time she is successful on 8 out of 10 tries.
Anyone want to join me? Who couldn’t use a little recall work!
So that you can heckle (or encourage!) me along the way, I’m going to post a google document that tracks my progress.
We have our dog food delivered to our door from Amazon. The base cost is LESS than the store, plus we don't pay sales tax. Shipping is also free. I wish I'd realized they carried our brand sooner!
On the flip side – I finally started getting out there are training rather than getting hung up on the documentation process. It would have been fun to have every 2×2 session on tape. But I was finding that I was neglecting training because I felt I needed to get caught up on filming and editing and posting. So here we are – many MANY sessions in, and on FOUR STRAIGHT POLES!!!
That might have had something to do with his lack of concentration. Yet another lesson learned 
?