Monday Of Shame

... and then some. I'm tired and cranky, let's just get this done:

Yeah, that's the spirit...

• Walks:   1h 40min. And barely that.
• Exercise:   Nope.
• Training:   No clue... We have been doing something, but I have no idea how long we've spent on it. At a guess... Maybe half an hour? I got a recommendation to check something out called "do as I do" training, it's really interesting and quite fun to do too! You really, really need better organization put into it than I managed to scrounge up though. But google/youtube it! The science behind it is fascinating, and I think the practical effects on a reactive dog could be very rewarding (in general, it's not reactivity training). Put simply, you teach your dog to copy what you do. And I won't try to put it not simply, since I don't have much of a clue myself. But check it out from better sources than me!
• Planning/preparation:   10min. However long it took to read a little about the above training method and watch a couple of videos... Maybe ten minutes? Yeah, let's go with that.
• Other:   0. I don't even remember what I'm supposed to put under "other"?

In my defense - and I realize trying to defend myself severely undercuts the purpose of showing off my shortcomings, but when did I ever manage to stop myself when I knew I was doing something wrong and/or stupid - Tilly's stomach didn't like her new medicine, and we wound up having to run outside repeatedly all night. Not a lot of sleep, you could say... But then again, I chose to have a dog knowing full well that I'm responsible for his well being every day. Not just days when I feel great. Still. I'm going to bed now.

Me too. You're not the only one who was up all night, you know!

Today's Cloud

On a walk today I had Monster on the long line. We were walking on a path with great visibility, open farmland to one side and a stream to the other. But all of a sudden two guys popped up right in front of Monster. They seemed to have been hiding behind a bush by the water, perhaps they were fishing I don't know. They were wearing hats and sunglasses, Monster was about 50 feet ahead of me and they were about 8-10 feet ahead of Monster. I immediately called Monster, but I also tightened the line since they were so very close - and moving toward us. Monster did take a few steps in my direction, but he couldn't handle that they were following him on top of the surprise and everything so he turned around, planted his feet wide and began warning them off.

I'm big and mean, don't come any closer!

They just ignored him and kept coming! I had to reel Monster toward me, while also trying to move off the path into the muddy field. I eventually managed to get him away, so he was about 2 feet to the side of the path, lunging and roaring. The guys calmly walked past, said hello to me, and moved on. Monster was literally frothing, rearing up right beside them as they walked by...

I know the biggest fault here lies with me (of course). If I hadn't tightened the line and tried to pull Monster in by force he'd probably never have reacted as badly. But it's not like I want to take a chance with a couple of strangers either.

Bad day.

Dog Whisperer, Explained!

This guy really has watched the show, and has learned the secret trick!

He comes to your house...

Today's Cloud

I think I've made a mistake.

Wow. There's a shocker.

Monster isn't really enjoying the retrieve training so much. He tends to shut down, lie down and look away, or get frustrated and start pawing at me and trying to get me to play. We have trouble with this quite a lot, I believe it's a combination of Monster severely lacking in confidence and me being very bad at structuring training effectively so it's challenging but not too difficult. No doubt, I'm much worse at this when I'm working toward a specific goal. And when I don't reinforce Monster enough he loses even more confidence.

So I'm doing a take-back on the resolution. No more retrieve. Instead, I'm going back to something Monster really seems to enjoy - and something that's really hard even for me to screw up: free shaping. More specifically free shaping with objects. I just pick a thing, any thing, place it in the training area, and reinforce Monster for interacting with it. I find that we can't get shaping to work without an object, presumably because I put too much pressure on Monster (staring at him and waiting for him to do something), since Monster just lies down and basically plays dead. I suppose we could work on that, but I'm not sure it would be a good idea - the point is to make him more confident acting, not being passive. The reason for only doing free shaping is of course so it won't be quite so easy for me to pile on the pressure and raise the criteria too quickly. If I don't know where we're going it's pretty hard for me to hurry to get there.

I may not look like it, but I actually enjoy shaping.

So, new resolution for this week is having three free shaping sessions, with an object, every day. Today Monster has learned to balance on a snow shovel (out in the garden), and put his head inside a cardboard box. There should be a third thing, but the day isn't over yet.

Whuh?

Today's Sunshine

Monster and I have been doing some good work on the retrieve today. And by that I don't mean we've made amazing and speedy progress, but rather that I've managed to keep it very simple. I'm always eager to move forward, and it's always a bad idea. Getting to the goal without completing the course just means you've rushed through without actually learning a solid behavior. Today we've only worked on take and return from my hand, holding no more than a second, and only in the living room. In fact, I think this week we won't push it much farther than that, instead focusing on varying the retrieve object. Not actually retrieving anything, just getting a solid hold on anything I ask him to grasp - probably not even training outside the house.

Believe it or not, but this is progress for me.

Science Fiction Weather Report

You know in a sci-fi movie, how planets can have two suns? No? You're not nerds? Well, I am so you'll have to take my word for it then. Today kind of had two sources of wonderful sunshine!

Nice and warm!

But. You know how maybe those two suns can have some weird radiation that's going to make you scaly or lose your memory? That might also be a part of today's weather report...

This morning on our walk, Monster and I spotted a group of other dogs who had stopped with their humans for a talk at the bottom of a hill. Monster and I immediately started BATting against them. Our first turn was about 200 yards away, but after perhaps six or seven attempts we were less than a hundred feet off. As I decided we were making our last pass, so I wouldn't push it too far, the group unfortunately split up and one of the dogs started walking towards us. Monster had just looked away, but we didn't have time to start walking away before the dog came towards us. I had to drag Monster away, and we had to end it on a bad note...

So, great that we got so close - to a whole bunch of strange dogs and people - but awful that I pushed it so far Monster eventually failed.

Then, this evening, Monster and I met with another person who also has a (gorgeous, gorgeous) dog with some reactivity issues, and we did a session together. It was very difficult for Monster, it was a new environment, and we had to get to the spot by following the other dog. But he did do great once we started working though. At closest I think he was perhaps 15 feet from the other dog... There were a few failures, where he went towards the dog instead of away when he was praised, but overall it was really great. And I was so grateful to the other person when she said she thought we should call it a day. I had noticed Monster was starting to get a tiny bit tired, but I didn't want to cut their training time after just 15-20 minutes, so it was great they wanted to stop by then too. Except, once I got to the car and checked a clock I realized we'd been at it for ninety minutes! I'm such an idiot, pushing Monster that hard...

I'm kinda sleepy, Mom...

So. Great things. Bad things. Scales etc... What's the sunshine, what's the cloud, who knows. Mix well and serve cold.

I may need some sleep too, I think...

Today's Sunshine

Monster and I tried BATting at some horses in a paddock today. I'd thought Monster found horses exciting and interesting, and really wanted to get closer to them. Turns out he hates horses and wants nothing to do with them, just like his Mom! (Seriously, they keep trying to kill me!)

Right there with you, Mom!

Well, that might be an exaggeration, but he responded well to distance increasing rewards and not at all well to distance decreasing rewards, so he really doesn't want to be around them. Fine by me, honestly. But after three passes at them, he walked calmly by without paying them any attention, so BAT continues to be incredible.

Today's Cloud

Super high stress today! No idea why. On walks it was impossible to stop him from pulling, in the garden it's been impossible to stop him from running like a maniac, and in the house it's been impossible to stop him from guard barking. What's going on!?

She was getting cocky. Can't make things too easy for her, you know.

And while I was talking to a neighbor across the fence (with Monster beside me barking his head off while standing on his hind legs), Boots came walking by. Again with a borrowed leash aggressive dog (he's "fixing" them, you know) as well as his own two. And as usual with his dogs loose. I used to be impressed with him being able to walk his dogs off leash everywhere, but it's becoming increasingly obvious that the reason he can do it isn't because he has such good control over them, it's because he doesn't care what they do. One of them came racing down to my yard, and up on my porch. The other one came running up to the fence to talk to Monster (which doesn't help with his barrier frustration). Then they both trotted over to the neighbor's garden, and even into their garage. As my severely annoyed neighbor called out to Boots to collect his dogs, they started chasing the neighbor's beloved cat... He just smiled and went on his happy way. The neighbors are livid, and when I checked in with them a while later the cat hadn't yet returned.

Can I chase some cats too?

Walking your dogs off leash isn't a right, it's a privilege! And if your dogs chase cats, why would you ever let them off leash in a cat crazed village where there is more than one cat per household? And in what world is it acceptable to let your dogs do their business in someone else's garden?!

Although, now that I think about it, maybe this was a good thing for us...? Monster may not be small, fluffy and cute, but he's also not running around the village loose.

Today's Sunshine

After learning some new tricks from our trainer last time, we had some nice experiences today out walking. When given the cue to turn around and ignore the dog he was looking at, Monster actually turned away before me! And he really seemed to appreciate this new method.

If you haven't already checked it out, I really recommend BAT. I couldn't get it to work with Monster without the trainer's help, and regardless of the fact that you're all smarter than I am it may be a good idea to get some help at least initially. I frankly haven't quite got it yet (next trainer appointment is already booked), but Monster seems to read faster than I do...

You do not want to go up against me in an IQ-test!

Today's Cloud

While out on our walk today, we happened to meet Boots again. You remember him, the man who lets his two dogs play with Monster (and thinks I'm vastly exaggerating Monster's issues).

Hello, remember me?

Apparently there's a family down the street with two dogs with some aggression issues, and Boots has volunteered to straighten them out. Personally I don't really see the point in having someone else work your dog for you, I don't think that will fix much, plus the methods used aren't the kind I'd recommend. But they are trying something after all, and I certainly can't demonstrate an amazing result from my convictions (yet), so to each their own.

However, Boots was walking one of these dogs today along with his own two. She's an older bitch, a little smaller than Monster, and apparently known as the scourge of the village 2nd to Monster (I've never noticed her, but I kind of have my mind on Monster when we're out, especially if there are other dogs around). Boots first walked up to us and introduced the dogs to each other, and then joined us on the path we were walking. My concerns at Monster's clearly stressed behavior went, I believe, completely unheard. Both Monster and the new dog were very explosive in their movements, they were playing - mostly - but in a way I consider unhealthy. Boots quickly let all his dogs off leash, and when we reached an open area expected me to do the same. This I completely refused. As we were talking we'd stopped walking, and I noticed some tension between the new dog and one of Boots' dogs. I pointed this out, but he believed they were playing. Things escalated into a staring match across a water filled ditch, with very tense body language, no blinking and lips pulled back. Monster became very agitated by the behavior of this new dog. She wasn't challenging him, but he clearly didn't care about the finer points. I pointed out that things were about to go south with my dog, regardless of whether he thought things were fine in his group. He told all the dogs to knock it off (further agitating Monster, but that's of course not something I expect people to make allowances for), and sent them out into a field. There the new dog began chasing Boots' dog, in a way which did not appear friendly, but he remained convinced they were fine. While I was trying to point out the situation as I saw it, the two dogs finally clashed and went down in a cloud of teeth and snarling. Monster went from "I don't like this." to "Alright, time to die!"...

Boots soon managed to separate the dogs, but Monster was beyond calming down at that point. Boots kept putting himself between Monster and the new dog, and I had to keep asking him to move as this only served to agitate Monster further and risked Boots getting bitten. The new dog was still off leash, and came up to Monster repeatedly, so I had to struggle with holding him so he couldn't get to her. I tried to explain to Boots that he really needed to keep her away from us, because Monster had taken quite a bit of offense at her attacking a friend of his, and there really was a danger he would hurt her. We finally parted ways there, and I dragged Monster off into a tractor track.

Oh, looks so nice and peaceful...

In situations like this I get quite frustrated that I can't raise my voice or be more assertive. But once Monster has started spiraling, if I sound or act anything other than calm and sweet he's going to lose it completely.

I'm sure Boots is a very nice man, and I'm sure he genuinely feels I'm handling Monster completely wrong. But that's probably part of the problem, because I feel his methods are wrong, and I think we keep talking past each other...

Anyway, once we'd put some distance between us and the gang, I just stopped in place and waited for Monster to calm down. It took about ten minutes, but he did eventually sit down, sigh, and look at me. Time well spent I think. After that he was almost as usual on the walk, except for when we were almost home and he spotted Boots and the dogs again a few streets over. Alert! Alert! Oh well, no crying over spilled milk.
(But I should learn to stop spilling it, though...)

Today's Sunshine

Monster has been sleeping half the day, and wanting to do stuff the other half. I've kept things calm even when he didn't want to, just a few short training sessions on things like eye contact and impulse control spread out over the day. I'm hoping this will help him come back down from his stress high, and if he seems back to normal tomorrow I'll start going back to our routine again.

Come on, let's go!

Check This Out!

I just found a goldmine!

Behavior.org | Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies

This seems like a great resource. I've only browsed around a little so far, but I think I'll be able to find lots of interesting things here. Hopefully it'll at least help me understand enough to make it easier to continue learning more.

It'll be nice to have some more solid sources than silly little books about being nice to the poor little puppy (not my words), and shove them down the throats of the "one good correction will teach him his place"-people!
(Hello, there's that aggressive primate.)

Shaping Is Fun! (aka Today's Sunshine)

Monster and I have been working more on base position through shaping using a platform (I told you about this yesterday, keep up). While it's still far from complete, I finally get the charm of shaping!

Shaping has never really worked for us before. If Monster isn't being given cues and guidance, he'll just shut down. I assume this is a result from our unfortunate time of correction based training, and I'd more or less given up on Monster ever conquering this. As I told you yesterday, he did the same when I first introduced the box. Instead of experimenting and offering up a score of behaviors to try to find the right one, as you read about in all those smug, braggy (not really, I'm just jealous) explanations of shaping, he'll just become passive and either wander off or lie down and look at me mournfully.

But now! As soon as I walk near the box, he'll do an amazing flying stomp to get on it and then look at me expectantly. It's so great it's actually making me tear up! (I've had to put the box away when we're not training now, since he just won't leave it alone.)

Well, click already!

I've tried to use the camera to capture it, but it's really hard since the focus still has to be on Monster and rewarding everything he does right. However, I discovered something today I just had to share. Well, I've noticed it before of course, I expect everyone has. Tail position. Yeah, advanced stuff, right? But see, while I know dogs "talk" with their tails, and I can read Monster fairly well, today's training really drove home how precise it is, and how much it tells me about how the training is going. I couldn't catch an example of everything, so I'm using some other photos too. Check this out:

*Should be a photo here, but I don't have one. It looks almost identical to the next one, except the tail is limp and close to the body.*

Above should be an illustration of what it looks like when he doesn't understand, and is also unmotivated to try, perhaps even a bit uncomfortable. This would be how he looked when I first put the box in front of him and he shut down.

I don't get it...

Here his tail is pretty low, but he's holding it a bit out from his body. It says he's interested in the situation, but has no clue what's going on. This is what his tail looked like when he first started interacting with the box at all.

Hang on...

Here his tail is stiffer, and he's holding it out even further. This means he's fully engaged and actively trying to figure out what pays.

All right!

This tail is held almost straight out (looks like he has gas), and means he's really thinking. Once he's reached this position, he's working hard and figuring stuff out and learning. And enjoying himself!

Not sure if I'm doing this right, but who cares - it's fun!

Once the tail goes higher, it means he's either so sure of the behavior he no longer has to think about it, or he's become exhausted and can no longer focus. In either case, he becomes goofy instead of concentrating.

I rule the world!

And once it's high and tense, there's just no hope of working with him, he'll just jump, bark and be generally obnoxious. Too stressed.

I find that I get the best results if I try to keep him going between "Hang on..." and "All right!". If he goes lower than "Hang on..." it means he's not understanding, and if he goes higher than "All right!" it means he's either learned it already and isn't being challenged, or I've worked him too hard for too long and he's stressed out.

Our result from today is that Monster now realizes that the reward comes for moving his back paws, he'll now step around the box with his back paws while keeping his front paws on the box (and occasionally falling off).

So tomorrow - no scratch that. No planning while Dobie is here. Next time I'll try to get him to seek base position next to me, and follow me when I move away. We'll see.

But honestly, even if he never gets base position, I don't care because this has been an awesome experience!

(No, not really. He has to get good base position for us to be able to do pretty much anything... But you know what I mean.)

I've been working hard today!

Today's Sunshine

Another step backwards. I decided I wanted to back up in training and get a really good base position. And this time, I was going to shape it and work on a platform...

So, this morning I introduced Monster to a box on the floor, and stood by with clicker and treats at the ready. In the first training session he eventually laid down and sighed in confused frustration, never having even gotten close to the box. Now, I'm not good at shaping, so I cheated (I think?) and tried to make the box interesting, pushing it around and playing with it before our next training session. By this evening, Monster now steps up onto the box and moves his back paws around!

Yeah, it's not actually a base position (or even close), and I'm pretty sure he hasn't twigged to the fact that moving his back paws (as opposed to trying everything) is the point, but I still love it. It was a lot of fun, and I think we got pretty far in one day. Monster also seems to have enjoyed it.

(Didn't get any photos, since I was too busy being an awesome trainer and all, but Monster's so pretty it doesn't matter if the picture has anything to do with the post!)

You know that's true.

Today's Cloud

Met someone else training an aggressive dog out walking today. Unfortunately we're not using the same methods, and the situation became very uncomfortable for Monster who finds men using the "dominate your dog"-type of techniques to be very disturbing - even if they're not doing it to Monster.

I didn't realize Monster and I were being seen as willing training partners (presumably because of Monster's own behavior issues, which seems like exactly the kind of training dog you don't want) until we were more or less trapped (since I kept moving away into smaller and smaller side roads). Eventually there was nothing left to do other than accept that the dogs passed each other on a narrow road (with two other dogs running around loose and barking)... It did not go well.

I didn't like that, Mom.

Monster barked and growled, and pulled hard on the leash, and the other dog naturally responded in kind (I don't know which one of them "started" it, but I think that's rather irrelevant). The road was ice covered in water with walls lining it, so I had very poor footing and nowhere to go. I should have demanded that the other group turn around and leave us alone, but I know from experience that if I raise my voice or in any other way show that I'm annoyed Monster will lose it completely. I think it was the safer choice after all to accept the meeting and move on, but I'm still not happy about it.

Monster was stressed, pulling on the leash and keeping a close eye on the surroundings for the rest of the walk. It's not a disaster, but it does set us back, and it feels so unnecessary...

Today's Sunshine

Tomorrow Monster and I are meeting a new trainer, and we'll be working against a training dog... No telling how that will go, so I might as well be happy about it today before anything's gone wrong.

It's exciting, and I'm looking forward to it. Not sure why, because I do understand that one training session tomorrow won't magically fix anything. Still, I suppose I can be happy about actually trying something more organized than wandering around at home and hoping for the best. Hopefully this will go well, and I'll learn some things I'm doing wrong. I've been trudging on and not getting very far for some time now, so help to see my mistakes is much needed.

I Promise To

... brush Monster's teeth today.

It may not sound like training, but Monster is a little hesitant at being handled, and I'm apparently very bad at training him to accept having his teeth cleaned. Instead of brushing Monster's teeth, it becomes a fun game of chewing on Monstermom's fingers. I've gotten to the point where he'll let me get to one or two teeth before he has enough, but no more. Today, these white mountains shall be conquered!

Aaaand: mission failed! I haven't gotten very far at all actually. It's really my own fault, of course. I've been sluggish and reluctant all day, not getting around to things or paying enough attention. Obviously, this means: Bad Monstermom! Bad!

Today's Sunshine

I decided I need more help, and contacted a trainer to find dogs to train against as opposed to wandering around hoping for the best.

Well it's about freaking time!

I Do Solemnly Swear

... to meet at least three dogs today, and successfully train Monster's leash aggression. (Meaning, close enough to keep him interested, but far enough away that he doesn't find them threatening.)

Aaaand: Mission failed! Quite spectacularly, even. We saw one dog today, at a distance where it gave us a possibility to train. A few more dogs far away, but Monster no longer notices dogs that far away, so it meant nothing for him. Fortunately no surprise dogs that were too close either, so it wasn't a bad day, it just wasn't good.

Which means: bad Monstermom!

No I wasn't! Oh, wait, you? Yeah, OK.

Bad Monstermom! Bad!

Wow, I'm really not good at this, am I?

I did actually set a goal for today, but I didn't remember to post it. So now you'll all think I'm lying, and just picked something random I'd already done today, right?

Dang, you caught me. In fact, everything on this blog is a lie! I don't even have a dog! You've all been pranked!

Um. Sorry about that. Don't know what came over me...

See what I have to live with?

So, my lying resolution for today was: Make five consecutive, successful recalls of Monster, off leash.

I'm not sweating the details. As long as Monster comes when called, with good speed, and stops when he reaches me, I'm not worried about him completing a heel position or the like.

Enough with the "stay" already, have you got any idea what the cold is doing to a certain part of my anatomy!?

Aaaaaand: Mission accomplished! 

Finally!

Good Monstermom!