Cool Hack!

Want to see You Tube in High Def?

If you add &fmt=18 at the end of any YouTube URL you'll see the

video in uncompressed form.

Normally you see this as a YouTube URL form

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUkaOKibZXk

If you change it to look like this,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUkaOKibZXk&fmt=18

You'll see a huge difference.

Enjoy!

p.s. the dog trainer in the house thanks the resident geek for this very cool tip

New Stuff!

Bungee & Her Food Bowl

Absolutely freezing cold outside today, (28C. last Monday, 2C + wind today!) so, I decided it was a great day to teach Bungee to pick up her bowl, inside!

A few years ago, as I was crawling into dog crates to gather up the empty food bowls one day, it dawned on me: "why am I doing this?" From that day forward, the dogs started learning to pick up their own bowls out of their crates and bring them to me when released, and have done so ever since. It struck me as really good practice for holding metal articles someday too.

Now for Bungee, this could have been an especially confusing task, as she has thus far spent her young life, putting all four feet in empty bowls, to balance and learn the whereabouts of her feet.

And so it went, quite a few attempts to put feet into the bowl with the 1st session, but also plenty of head drops and sniffing. I clicked/fed her for mouth to rim each time we had a rewarded response. 2nd session, just to speed things along, I set the bowl on it's side and rested it between my two feet to keep it upright. ZING went the strings of success! That's all it took! She was picking up the bowl in literally, a few clicks!

3 more sessions, 1 minute each, the last one she did so well, it was about 20 seconds. So basically in 5 sessions, and well under 5 minutes, the brilliant Princesse was delivering her bowl to hand from flat off the floor.

Now I can go back to not crawling into her crate for a bowl. But, if only I could put either the sandals or snow boots away from the door - only in Canada! (please let it be snow boots!!!!! :-))

Handling - Why Greg's?

Why We Chose Greg Derrett's Handling System. (click on the link for more info)

Initially, it was simply what we were taught at the schools we attended. Of course at that time, I was not aware of handling as a system, per se. There is so much for the novice to learn in agility, one can "barely see the forest for the trees" at times.

It was not until I got my 2nd agility dog, the very fast Miss Ketch, that I had the sudden need to become a better handler, and fast! I became very passionate about learning Greg's system as well as I could. As that is the handling system we had started with, I felt I had a vested interest in sticking with it, especially for my dog's sake.
I'm glad we did.

Greg's system brought Ketch and I together as a team in a way I wouldn't have believed possible had I not been there myself. With a lot of help from Sarah & Susan in learning the system, and seeing Greg & Laura only a couple of times, Ketch and I were able to go a very long way in a very short time. Our performances were terrific and always a thrill. Ketchy's career was cut tragically short when she developed cancer at 3 years & 1 month of age, she passed away last November, at only 3.5 years old. But by that time, between her ability and my improved handling, it was clear to all that we could have gone as far as we wanted in agility, if we'd had the chance. Talk about a dog that was all heart, I owe her so much, everything really. But back to Greg's system...

Looking back to my 1st agility dog, Guinness, I believe had I been as consistent with his handling and understood as much about the big picture of the sport, I would have been much more effective about developing his drive and speed too. But hindsight as they say is 20-20. I am still very proud of what we have accomplished and the fine work Mr. Guinness has done and continues to do.

I was very impressed with the fact that I was able to improve Guinness's performance by cleaning up my own act in handling and how well he understood it, once I started handling in a consistent manner. I do believe that is a key ingredient for any team, with any style, but particularly important with Greg's system.

Now of course, we're off to the races with my 3rd agility dog, the young Princesse Bungee, and quite enjoying putting all we've learned to work.

Greg's system is what I know, it works, it allows me to be competitive, I really like using it, and most of all, it provides consistency in training and trials, and that is the essence of being fair to my dogs. Being fair to the dogs is one of most important factors in anything we teach or do. This is one of the reason's I have particularly enjoyed learning from Susan Garrett. She takes being fair to the dogs, as seriously as I do.

The system has evolved over the years, there have been subtle changes, and I assume there will continue to be changes in direct correlation to the sport's evolution.

Greg's system remains the most popular system here in Ontario, and that means it is also the system with the most instructor support available to agility teams. Still, there is much room for improvement and growth in the instruction department, as Greg's own appearances are extremely limited. Perhaps if Greg truly realized how popular his system is here in Ontario, he would provide more access to instructional opportunities either with developing more instructors or making more appearances.

Still, I compliment him highly on making the effort to come to Canada and share how he accomplished what he has in the sport of agility and also Say Yes Dog Training Center for hosting him to Agility Ontario's greater benefit.

My Thoughts On Other Systems

Agility is a fascinating and exciting sport. I enjoy seeing the variety of handling styles in agility as much as I enjoy seeing the wide variety of dogs in agility. I continue to strive for consistency and proficiency in the use of my own choice of handling system - Greg's.

But what I care much more about than what style of handling one uses is seeing lots of dogs who LOVE agility, paired with handlers who love and appreciate their dogs, no matter what happened out there on that course!

I personally think the difference in how competitors get from start to finish is what makes the sport of Dog Agility the most exciting and entertaining shows in the dog world!

Homework (circle work)

More Homework: Increasing the challenge.
I was discussing with Sarah that Bungee's circle work has come right along to where I cannot easily pull her out of position (if at all), trying to lure her to a toy in my hand as we run. She asked if I'd tried multiple toys and throwing them as I run. I have not!! :-)) But it sounds REALLY good! Fast, moving things are big distractions for this little Border Collie cutie.

I have used toys as distraction on the ground, but the best toys were providing no value as a distraction.

How it went:
Right off the top the thrown toy was too great of a challenge. GREAT INFORMATION! So we will start simply with one dropped toy and see if she can work past that, (no lumping), and move up as we can to fast, thrown toys.

I like that this increases the challenge at home, while allowing me to stay true to the concept. It was not that either of us was bored with circle work. Bungee enjoys it as much today as the day we started. But I felt this was becoming too easy for her at home (not necessarily at other locations), and there is no gain in that situation either. One must keep work challenging & interesting, and your training time working for you.

A note - if you're reading this and trying circle work for the 1st time, please remember, we're adding these challenges after we've been doing this for SIX months already. This would not be a fair, correct or productive challenge for a beginning dog.

Circle Work

The goal of circle work is to create value for the dog in being at your side, a.k.a. in the "reinforcement zone." derrett greg derrett laura derrett greg derrett greg derrettderrett greg derrett laura derrett laura derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett laura derrett greg derrett greg derrettderrett greg derrett laura derrett greg derrett greg
Bungee & I doing some circle work this past winter, "Florida vacation style!" :-)


The first 3 pictures show desired position of dog, next 3 show dog being rewarded in correct position. Note the even ratio of 3 pictures working to 3 pictures rewarding(!!) Reward often is the point. Please note: the dog was rewarded frequently throughout the entire circle. But photos with the dog being rewarded on the far side of me, away from the camera would not make good examples for you to see dog or delivery of reward clearly. Looking at these, the work would seem lopsided with the dog only getting rewarded on one side of the circle. I assure you this was not the case. Double click on any photo to enlarge for greater detail.
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Circle Work Explained
Greg teaches that he is looking for the dog to run at our side, neither forging, lagging or bouncing, nor pushing your line, nor shaping the size of your circle for you. The dog is never crossing in front (flanking a.k.a. "father flicking"), crossing behind (blind crossing), spinning away, or turning away from you (flicking). The dog is able to stay in position at your side, with acceleration and deceleration. The handler being particularly careful in deceleration that the dog does not swing wide & away from you as it slows (flanking), or moves ahead of you landing facing you, (major flanking), but instead remains at your side keeping the body aligned forward in the same direction as you are running. Run good, large circles with the dog on outside and dog on inside, in both directions and changing paces.
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Equipment needed: Flat collar (ONLY! NO Corrections!!), 6 ft. or approx. 1.8 m. leash, small bite-sized food rewards to start, tug toy(s) to advance
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Start: circle work at a walk with dog on leash with small bites of food ready for rewards. (Tie leash around your waist if food delivery is a problem, food rewards best at this stage). Find an object to circle such as a barrel on it's end, or the chute, set up on end. As you walk in a circle with the dog on the outside, feed the dog for being in position but do not lure the dog with the food. Work in both directions so dog works on both sides.
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Note: As you work, keep the dog on the outside, this allows the dog to correct itself from flanking. If the dog is on the inside the barrel prohibits the dog from flanking and that is a lesson the dog has then missed.
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Break it off and play frequently. Little tug games are perfect stress breaks! Don't worry about an awkward or rough start. The dog will soon catch on to what you are doing. Make sure your rate of reinforcement is very high at this stage. Susan calls this stage: "shadow handling".
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Advance your circle work: When the dog can circle with you and stay in position (still on leash) advance to a trot and then running circles as described above and start carrying a tug toy as a reward. Once you can run with the dog you no longer need to circle a fixed object. A big open lawn or field is ideal. Again, do not lure the dog, but give the toy as a reward for correct position - often! Lots of reinforcement! Let me repeat myself: lots of reinforcement!!! Carry the toy on both sides, next to the dog and away from the dog. Work through the dog trying to take the toy before it is given as a reward.

"What is reinforced is repeated." Bob Bailey
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The key to success in circle work is good reinforcement, that means rewarding the dog frequently for being where you want them to be. Bailey Basics dictate: "what is reinforced is repeated. "IMO if you only learn one thing about dog training, that is the best one to learn! In circle work, we are reinforcing for position and I pay my dogs very well!

Important tip #1: Be mindful about where your dog is when going to & from circle work sessions. (If you're serious about Greg's system, this is a valuable habit to make all the time). Keep the dog on one side and reward for staying there. Do not let the dog cross your path, flank you, flick away, spin or blind cross you when you transport it. This is never motion you want to see your dog doing on course, so don't allow rehearsals of it when you're not on course. If you allow such random behavior, you are undoing the good work you do in the circle work itself, and one of the main elements of Greg's system is "consistency"

Important tip #2: Do your circle work away from equipment, pretty much forever.

Important tip #3: Have FUN with your dog with this! This is playtime for Bungee & I; just always careful to maintain criteria of what we're doing.

OK, that's all there is to it. Simple as pie, but expect good results. I didn't plan on writing this much about circle work. But I also didn't want to give anyone just enough information to be dangerous, or start trying to do circle work from an intermediate level, which I quickly realized was possible from the email questions I received after the brief information I first posted.
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You can see Greg demonstrate Circle Work in his first video/DVD: Agility Foundation Training. (click on the link to check it out).

At some point much later on, as you advance and get closer to small sequences on jump equipment, you may want to start mixing in some straight-line exercises to proof acceleration/deceleration such as a two-toy game and some Focus Forward work (FFW) such as with the One Jump exercises from Susan's DVD. (click on the link to go to the Agility Success with One Jump site). You can also introduce Front Crosses in your Circle Work, Two-Toy Game and One Jump exercises. One Jump exercises actually allow the opportunity to teach 17 different agility moves - brilliant information too.

So, on behalf of the dogs, who deserve a fair approach to training here you have it as my small gift to them. Our dogs, hearts of gold you know! They deserve the best we can give them. From this point forward you will need to find an instructor and/or get yourself Greg's videos to continue learning his system. (click on the link to go to Greg's site.) IMO they are EXTREMELY worthwhile if you're following his system. You really do get your money's worth, and a lot to work on.

The agility schools in Ontario that I can recommend to you to best learn Greg's system are: Say Yes Dog Training Center, Inc. with Susan Garrett and Tamsu Learning Centerwith Sarah Mairs-Heaslip who also teaches Greg's system exclusively. (click on either link to visit the websites for those schools) greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg
Almost forgot! Should tell you when to do this with your dogs and for how long! Short answer - before they ever see equipment! Ideally you are starting your pups at the shadow handling stages and working your young dogs in circle work once or twice a week, for the full year before they EVER see equipment(!) as in multiple jumps, sequences, etc. This is OK because young dogs aren't really jumping or weaving before their growth plates are closed anyway. If you are one of Greg's own students, he tells that you are doing circle about a year before any of his student's dogs are proficient enough to pass his test that enables them to move up to working on sequences. greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrettderrett greg derrett laura derrett laura derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett laura derrett greg derrett greg derrettderrett greg derrett laura derrett laura derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett laura derrett greg derrett greg derrettderrett greg derrett laura derrett laura derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett greg derrett laura derrett greg

Handling & Control

Foundation Handling & Impulse Control

It all begins at the start line!

Here's Bungee and I, (Feb. '08) practicing some releases from a sit to a toy, mixing in chase recalls. We do our best to mix it up, keep it fun, but also keep it challenging, putting the power of "rule-outs" to work in developing control in a sit or at a start line.

Today Bungee's homework started with circle work, Derrett-style (the only kind we do), moved on to a two-toy game Sarah brought us back from Laura (Derrett) that I had forgotten about to teach positional cues, and finished with directionals & sit stays.

Exercises we're working on this week, expanded:

Bungee has been doing circle work awhile now. I cannot entice her out of position with toys in my hand easily, or at all, when we are working. While I cannot entice her out of position with toys I carry, I can lose her attention with distractions. I think we can never do enough of this work in distractions, and so do all we can, and look for greater challenges to use.

We are moving up to create different challenges, to test what is is she actually understands, while maintaining our circle work as Greg instructed last time we saw him.

I prefer to challenge her circle work by doing it in many different locations with many different distractions.

We were asked to do some straight line running to and around cones in a large pyramid style shape last week. The cones were perhaps at the 5' & 95' lines. (Our No. American agility fields are usually layed out in 100 ft. squares, marked in 10' (ft.) increments).

I picked up some anticipation in straight line running these long distances in this pyramid, (trying to tug the toy before I give it to her and slight forging/flanking trying to push me for the reward). Not a surprise when I think that she has never run that far without a reward in our circle work. Finding weak spots in your training is always valuable information. Bungee is such a smarty. It's easy to work through things with her. We will continue our circle work, being more variable with the timing of rewards.

Last week we started some handling exercises to develop/test understanding of positional cues. We do this using two toys, one that is held, one that is away on the ground, and proof the handling and understanding of positional cues, mainly by challenging it. At this point this is straight-line work and not too far a distance. Both toys are in play as rewards or distractions, whatever the case may be. It is VERY important to have control over the toy you are not carrying (so the dog is not self-reinforcing in error and losing the lesson). I'm lucky, my husband works from home, loves our agility hobby and will always give us a hand with our lessons at home when he can.

This work went very well. Bungee showed a much stronger understanding working on my left than on my right. I think this may have something to do with the fact that I probably do more casual on-leash transport with her on my left than right. Time for some note keeping. But again, we just work through it.

After a little break, we worked some sits (start line prep). We are really testing these now - using big, exciting voices - trying to taunt her off the line I've put her on, or wild whooping, running & throwing of toys, especially the ones that whiz by her fast & close. She tries so hard! Low fast ones are usually too much challenge. But she's doing very well, clearly a work in progress.

As ever, I want her to have much more success than failure, and so work to the level she can handle, while steadily making it harder and harder for her to be successful. I remain careful not to "lump", (making a lesson too hard), when we "turn up the heat" and start really challenging it.

I have found with all my dogs, that sits (stays) are a behavior that need regular tuning up to remain solid. (FWIW I no longer say "stay", none of the trainers I work with use the "stay" command anymore either. So "sit" is: sit until I release you or ask you to move).

Back to proofing the sit and the time it takes to do it right - not a problem! In my mind it's never a race to the trial field. I so enjoy the training process I am never in a rush to get through it or hurry it along. Bungee will be ready when she's ready and that's that.

I'm so glad to have her in group classes again with lots of dogs to put these skills to work amidst distractions.

We finished up the lesson with some directionals (left, right, go). After a slow start with lefts & rights this past winter, (a post in itself) we are now moving forward with some visible progress! Many thanks to Mia for her helpful tips with lefts & rights!

Boy her ears come up beautifully when she works, especially when she runs. They even stay up for awhile after she works. I think her trial photographs are going to have her mostly with ears up! But she's BEAUTIFUL either way. Her working ability is to die for, and such a bonus, couldn't ask for a prettier dog too!

At some point today we'll get some contacts in.

Bungee's Space

Kvarkin's Princesse Bungee
Feb. '08 - 7 months old

















Here's our beautiful Finnish import girl, Bungee, posing for the "paparazzi" :-) at a Say Yes Dog Training seminar we recently attended in Florida.

Bungee had a lot of fun with the work we did and we had a lot of fun with her. So much fun that I decided to create Bungee's Space to tell you about her and the training we do together on an on-going basis, training questions that come up along the way, but most of all, to share stories about Bungee with her family & friends around the world.

1st, An Introduction:

Bungee was bred in Finland by Mia & Tomi Laamanen of Kvarkin Kennels:
Kvarkin Kennel
Bungee has her own web page there:
Kvarkin's Princesse
Bungee's Pedigree:
Pedigree for Kvarkin's Princesse

Now that you know where she came from, let's get on with what she's up to lately!

Bungee's Training:

Bungee's training, like all of our dogs, revolves primarily around 6 schools of influence:

• Bailey Basics of Learning, as taught by Bob & Marion Bailey
• Agility Foundation by Susan Garrett
• Greg Derrett Handling System
• Jump Training by Susan Salo
• The spiritual element, as best written about by Suzanne Clothier
• Putting it all together & having fun with it with Sarah Mairs-Heaslip

Special acknowledgment to Say Yes Dog Training Center, Inc. & Tamsu Learning Center in all that we teach, train & learn.

A little photo sampler, a few of Bungee's backyard tricks...
Waving "Hi!"
Learning "Sit Pretty"
"Take A Bow" (while Guinness waits his turn to work)
Where are your feet girlie? Balancing
I can DANCE! (rear leg strengthening)


Our You Tube Channel
Bungee's 1st You Tube Video (new Bungee video to follow soon...we promise!)