Becoming a children's reading dog

Devon passed her Delta Society Pet Partners evaluation last  year shortly after she turned 2 years old, and I completed my testing shortly after that. We've been searching for a way to use Devon's abilities as a therapy dog. She is especially good with children, so I was hoping to get involved that way.

Well, instead of waiting for a program to come to us, one day on a whim I asked at my local library if they had a program. Turns out, they were wanting to start one and didn't know how to find a dog! In 2 weeks Devon will launch the library's program to improve children's reading skills. Based on advice from the Gaylan's family and especially Anita, Devon and I are preparing for her first session. 

Here's what we're doing:

1. I'm shaping Devon to lay on a special blanket. My mom got Devon a very cute blanket that was handmade by one of the ladies in her church. It's quilted fleece, and it is red with black paw prints on one side and a variety of dog themed fabrics on the other side in white, red and blue. Devon figured out very quickly that she was to lay down on it, after first trying to sit and then (you guessed it) use her paws to paw at it. Anita also says that the blanket alerts Devon to what is expected and that only Devon and the child share the blanket. I think this will go a long way to cuing Devon she's supposed to settle and go into therapy mode.
2. Teaching Devon to nose touch the book. I'm teaching her to touch the book so when a child points out something in the book to Devon, she will nose touch the book as if she's looking at what the child wants to show her. I'm shaping this with me pointing to the book. I hope to be able to say to the child, "Show Devon the (an object) on the page" and have the child point to the book and Devon nose touch.
3. Anita also suggests that I not be afraid to interrupt and lean over as if I'm listening to Devon and say, "Devon doesn't understand what (such and such in the book) is. Can you explain what that is to her?" Or I could say, "Devon thinks it's funny when you make that sound, can you do it again?" I think I need to be careful it's not the sound of a motorboat, or Devon might sail into the puppy zoomies!

As Anita said, the goal of the program is to make reading fun for the children. Studies show reading to an animal can improve children's reading ability. Based on Devon's skill with children, I think she's going to really enjoy this!

Tomorrow I'm hoping to take the blanket and book to a new location and practice. On Saturday, Devon will take her first tour of the library, and we'll take our blanket and book and practice where she will be doing the program. Next week we're practicing with a few children, before the first formal program on National Library Week.

So, get out a good book and read to your dog! Devon recommends Blue's Clues!

Maybe if I just hit the chair harder....

Last week I posted about Devon foot touching the chair for cookies at the kennel club. This week we did the same routine of obedience practice, I teach for an hour, and then Devon has her class. Devon did great obedience work, even sending to a foot smack to a white lattice ring divider. 

Toward the end of Devon's agility class, I was once again sitting in a chair wanting Devon to lay down as the other dog on our side was working. Once again, little miss industrious started foot touching the chair. I decided not to reward, since it wasn't what I wanted and I was starting to get visions of Devon foot touching everything expecting a cookie (really not a bad thing, but...). 

Without the reward, Devon decided that I clearly just wanted her to smack the chair harder. So she set to work smacking the legs of the chair so that her toenails were ringing off the metal chair. It was really funny, and since she wasn't looking up at me I was smiling. Then I looked over and another person in our class who was waiting on her team's turn was watching Devon and laughing. I can only imagine what Devon looked like with her head stuck under this metal folding chair as she was smacking the bar across the back legs with all her might. She said, "What is she try to get under that chair?" I laughed and explained what was happening. Devon is not a stupid dog. Finally we had another turn, which ended the abuse of the chair!

We had the AKC Agility Nationals Finals course set up for our class. The advanced and intermediate classes ran the course, but the novice dogs (Devon's class) did not. Because of adjusting for a doorway in the building, the tunnel/dogwalk discrimination wasn't as hard because the jump prior to the dogwalk had to be shifted so it gave a much better entrance to the dogwalk. 

Devon had another fantastic evening of practice. She never missed her discrimination and drove through all her sequences. She easily nailed the ending half of the course with the two jumps to the weaves. In fact everything we threw at her with the weave poles she did perfectly and she worked hard all the way through them. I was really proud of her!

Work ethic

Devon and I have done three sessions of field training this week. I decided to reviewing our lining drills to give Devon some variety in her training sessions. I also decided I didn't want to do the same drill 2 days in a row, again for variety. I'm using drills in the Gamekeepers Retrievers Transition Manual, since we train with Mitch White, as well as drills collected in Carol Cassity's Building A Retriever book. Carol's book is extra fun because it has Bizzy's littermate Blitz on the front and photos of him and Bizzy inside.

Tuesday we just beat out the rain and did a wagon wheel. A wagon wheel is a lining drill where you stand in the middle of a circle and there are small piles of bumpers around you at the end of "spokes" on a wheel. You're trying to get the dog to go straight away from you to each pile of bumpers without going to the pile of her choice. This is a drill that helps with going straight for blinds.

We only did "half" a wagon wheel with only five small piles.  They ranged in distance from about 25 yards to 50 yards. We were on a soccer field, so Devon could easily see the bumpers. She struggled a little with this drill since it's probably been last fall when we did it. She got the hang of it and did great after the first 3-4 bumpers. She picked up 20 bumpers in all (four at each station).

This morning, we threw bumpers with Beth and her dogs Reba and Denver. We set up two nice advanced singles for Reba, who has two legs on her JH, and shortened them up for Denver who is still a 1-year-old puppy in training. Both of her dogs returned to heel and held the bumpers like pros!

The singles transitioned nicely into a double for Devon. She wanted to focus in on Beth instead of her memory mark, but she turned and nailed her double and held steady until I sent her. We repeated it and she did even better, jumping some ruts she stepped through earlier. I liked seeing this drive.

Then I remembered I was supposed to do a blind after throwing marks, so I put Devon back into the van and set up a blind. I tried a walk up for the double and Devon did really well. I probably should have warned my gunner what I was going to do, though! The blind didn't go as well. Devon went out well, but curved to the right with the pressure of the hill. Once she winded the bumper she would handle and she forgot her sit. It was ugly but she got them. I think I'm going to do a sight blind next time.

This afternoon, I set up a Three In a Row drill in my side yard.  This is three buckets in a line and I put about 15 yards between them. Then you stand at angles to the buckets and send the dog to each one. This teaches a dog to hold the straight line as the go past "suction" or something that would draw in their attention. When they are sending to the middle or far bucket, they have to go past other buckets with bumpers.

Devon was eager to go outside, but she instantly found something to eat on the ground. I think it was the remains of a bird's nest, and I couldn't call her off of it. She had her collar on and I gave her a correction for not coming which she ignored. I checked the collar and it was indeed on. This was shades of things to come.

Devon worked the drill and was successful given the difficulty. She had some failed attempts, and when she was wrong, I gave her a verbal, "No, no" and called her back to me. She was slow to respond to coming back to me because she was wrong. We moved to the opposite angle, and this side was harder for Devon. She worked through it but was wrong twice in a row. I called her in and she didn't want to come. She finally stopped and stared off into space and just stood there ignoring me and my commands.

Many people would have said I should have made things easier for Devon. Many people would have said Devon was stressed and I was being too hard on her. But even you're clicker training, the best say when they stall out, don't make things easier; make them think. Devon knows to come when called. She knows absolutely to come when called in field where it could save her life. I have never and would never call her to me to punish her. I have also never punished her for making a mistake when she didn't understand. 

When she ignored my repeated commands to come and stared off into space, I gave her a collar correction. It was a fair correction for a known behavior. It was what most field pros would consider too mild of a correction. I don't "fry" my dog; I will correct her for ignoring a known command. The correction I gave Devon today was milder than an Invisible Fence collar correction. The correction worked. Devon not only came back to me, but she stopped fidgeting in heel position; she got down to business and marked her line on the first request; she cantered to and from the piles; and when she made a mistake, she never shut down again.

Mitch calls this reminding them of work ethic. Sometimes you fuss with a dog and work with them and the performance continues to spiral downward. The mild correction I gave Devon at the start of the session was so mild, she ignored it. It actually didn't do any good and allowed her to continue her poor work ethic. But all it took was one real, fair correction, and I got her attention and she realized she needed to step up. 

I compare what happened today with Devon to something that will occasionally happen in the workplace. Sometimes you know you aren't working up to your full potential. If someone nags you, you brush them off and continue on your way. However, one stern remark from the boss, and you kick it into overdrive and you get the job done with style. 

Devon just needed a little reminder today that she needed to get the job done. Once she was reminded, she stepped up and did it in style! Knowing Devon, we won't have this problem again for a long time.

Shattering the myth

I have to share one of my pet peeves. It is the myth that you use front crosses with slow dogs and rear crosses with fast dogs. In my career with Ian, I've had many people tell me they could never do front crosses like I do because their dog is faster than Ian. 

Congratulations to Denise Thomas and her dog Zippity for winning the Challenger round of the 2009 AKC Agility Nationals. I heard what a magical weekend they had from many mutual friends, and I'm really proud of them. Below is Denise and Zippity's winning run from the Challenger Round, and it is one of the best examples of pre-cuing front crosses I've seen. And please note: There is only one rear cross on the whole course, and I think Zippity is a heck of a lot faster than Ian!

Weave work

Devon was successful on Thursday with her weaves in sequence at Pawsitive Partners. They were strong and fast and I was really proud of her. The change in her weaving is dramatic. On Friday, I took the video camera out to the agility yard to see what I could get. 

Devon wasn't all that fast through these weaves and her footwork isn't a solid hoping two step. But, she knows her job! The entrances I gave her, which you couldn't see off camera, were into the high challenge area, and she clearly knows her job. You can see all three clips on our You Tube Channel. Below is a good practice shot with her hoping two step style at the end (I don't have video editing software yet, so you'll have to enjoy the birds chirping and the wind blowing before Devon comes on screen).

Compare the weave performance above to what I was seeing just a month ago ... well, there is no comparison! She knows what she's doing now!

Now that Devon knows her job in the weaves, I believe the next time we trial our performance will be as good as it was above with jumping and handling and with great weave poles!

Field work: those darned overs

We've done field training three times this week. On Thursday, we did a T drill at a local soccer field. I stretched Devon out to 80 yards for the back pile and 40 yards on center for the side piles. On the one side (left over) the field went up a hill about 2 feet to a road. I didn't think it would be a problem for the side pile to be there; in fact I thought it would help Devon see the pile. I was wrong.

Devon's back piles and handling to them was lovely. Her whistle sits were also nice. She did well on the right over pile, but she struggled with that left over pile. I can only think it was the height. Devon also bows into me on her overs. Between bowing into me and the height, she didn't see the pile. I identified the pile and she got it. Then I sent her right back to it without an ID and she missed it. 

After 23 bumpers, I let it go with her getting in when it was identified for her. I was frustrated; not at Devon, but that I set her up to fail. Devon's T drill last week had been flawless, and I had not anticipated her struggling. 

On Friday, I set four bumpers at a permanent blind we used last fall. I have not run any lining drills with her this spring, so it may not have been fair for me to run this with her. The good news is she handled back to the permanent blind! The first time she one whistled it, and the next two times it was two whistles (with overs each time). I think she finally lined it on the forth try. Guess we need to do some lining drills!

Today, I went to a different location to see if we could get more luck on that T drill. I set the back pile at 80 yards, with the side piles at 30 yards on center. However, Devon wasn't comfortable in this location. I'm not sure if there were deer in the adjacent field or she was air scenting dogs at a nearby house. There was a loose tarp on some equipment (we were on the football practice field for a local school) that kept flapping in the wind. There was a weather front that was due to come through today, and the wind was just starting to kick up.

So my hopes of a better day didn't start well. Devon did her job, but she wasn't as upbeat as usual. I did get her spirits up and got her moving as we went through the work. I identified the left over pile for her and she did well. I sent her back and she repeated it nicely. I sent her to the right over pile and she did well. However, later when I thought I'd give her an easy over to the right, she came in on me. Since she failed, she didn't like that at all and then stopped sitting on her whistle. She did go back to the right pile without an ID, but I walked with her nearly the whole way.

We managed to hack through the drill with about 20 bumpers. Because we're also working the back pile at least once and sometimes three times between each over pile she's getting a lot of bumpers. Her right and left back look fantastic and the 80 yard distance doesn't seem to bother her.

I'm going to give her a break from field tomorrow, then do some lining drills on our next day of field work. The next time we work handling, I'm going to put the overs back in isolation. Isolating and working on the problem skill is what I would normally do in training, and I think the failures with the over piles are affecting her confidence on the rest of the work (sits and back piles). I'm also going to do some research in my training guides to find another drill that might help with this over issue.

VST practice this week

We worked two VST practice tracks this week. The first was on Wednesday, and it's pictured here. I was interested how Devon would run this track, because it had been lightly raining that morning. Everything was wet, with puddles on the pavement. I didn't use extra scent, but I did use chalk. 

The track was 505 yards long with 315 yards of non-veg (63%). It was aged 3 hours and 20 minutes. By the time we ran the track, it was sunny and the pavement had dried except for a few puddles. It was 59 degrees with 62% humidity. The wind was from the southwest at 16 mph.

Devon started well, but she wanted to go down to the little ditch that ran parallel to the start. I know ducks lurk down there. She struggled to make the first turn, but after that ran the track well. She did very well into the curb. I had a nice article reward ready for her, but someone took it. This was a church, and I figured an article near the front would be risky. She did well with her first MOT turn, but I was holding her out of the flowerbeds. They'd been newly mulched, and there were people coming in and out of the building, so I didn't want them to see her tromping around in the flowerbeds.

She did the straight line up the middle of the parking lot very well and worked well across the islands and back out to the parking lot. She really struggled with the next MOT turn. I rescented her twice and let her drink, but she continued to circle. I thought this was an easy tur,n because I laid it on a crack. I finally pointed it out to her and once I did she was off in the correct direction. The wind could have been a factor here since we were out in an open parking lot with a large hill up to the road beside us. I'm not really sure why she struggled, but this is a guess.

As we approached her next MOT turn, I realized we'd missed an article after the last turn. It was a white switch cover plate placed on a white line. She's found this before several times, but that time we both missed it. 

Devon cut the corner on the next MOT turn, but she found the next leg easily so I followed. She ended the track well and found her piece of leather even though it was hidden. There were mostly good things about that track, and I thought it was a successful day.

Friday's Track

I've decided Devon likes to track for an audience! On Friday, Devon ran a 633 yard track with 320 yards of non-veg (51%). It was aged almost 4 hours, and it was cloudy and 58 degrees with 44% humidity when we ran it. The wind was light from the east. This track was mostly transition work and curb work. Kathy from Agile Gold wanted to see Devon track, and since she was coming to work on the agility equipment, we did some tracking, too. 

I was a little worried this track would be tough for Devon. I didn't lay any extra scent, but I did use a little more chalk on the non-veg than I usually do. Usually I just mark turns and transitions. Apparently I'm going to have start begging people to come tracking with us. Devon knew she had an audience (it's quality, not quantity), and she worked like a dream! I guess this means tests won't be a problem!

The only thing she did "wrong" was again miss that white light switch plate on a white paint line. I'm really shocked she missed it twice in a row. I held her thinking she'd find it, because I thought she had smelled it; but she didn't and I finally pointed it out to her.

I have to give it to churches; they do a great job of picking up "trash" on the grounds. I lost another article at this church. It was a plastic lid. Since most of the area schools are on spring break this week, I'm headed to schools to track! At least I won't lose my articles!

All of Devon's transition work was great; I gave her angles as well as straight transitions and she handled it fine. She also work a corner up against a building nicely too. Overall it was another good tracking week!