Mini-PMOCAPDT

DAY 1

1. Reviewing Lily's new trick

Wendi demonstrates the trick that she taught Lily while I was in Hawaii!

She has taught Lily a solid beginning to many future tricks here.

2.  Beginning steps in shaping Lily to put her hind legs on balance pods.

A good beginning!  That leg is searching.

3.  Zen Level 3 Step 1 with Andre:  Beginning with the "Barely-Open Door Zen" part

Wendi will be teaching Level 3 Zen (Step 1 only) to Sonny and Cher.

They will not have had the Zen Comebefores.  Is it possible?



(Reworking video)

First, Step 1 a) - get the dogs attention

Step 1 b) Put your hand on the knob   C/T

Turn the knob   C/T

Treat delivery will be the key here.

Wendi places the treat where she wants Andre to be.

(Reworking video)

Step 1 c)  Open the door a quarter of an inch   C/T

A KEY PHRASE
"Keep working this step, with several different doors,

until she figures out that you're not actually going to open the door,

so she might as well play with you."

Now Wendi and Andre work on a door that opens out.

Re-teach from the beginning.
Step 1a) - once again, get the dogs attention

When we moved to a different door, we needed to go back to the very beginning

and re-teach the behavior.  Step 1a) get the dogs attention.

Did we have Andre's attention?  Yes.  

Yes.....BUT.....

Did we forget to first get Andre's attention?  Yes.

It would have been better to get into the habit of going back to the VERY beginning....

even for only 3 or 4 clicks.

We began to see here the importance of the location of the treat delivery.

Step 1b) - Put your hand on the knob  C/T
Turn the knob   C/T
Here it's just a matter of understanding WHAT we are clicking ... and WHEN.

Step 1c) - Open the door a quarter of an inch
Rate of Reinforcement: When Andre is given more than one tiny treat, he spends his time eating
and "learning time" is minimized
Timing of the Click:  Remembering to click when door is opened, rather than when it has been closed again

Isn't it interesting how much training theory is included in just the first half of Step 1?

4.  Wendi practicing Luring the Sit

"You can't lure a Sit from a Sit"

Laughter is good.

Training is fun.

The many iterations of Level One Sit

• getting rid of the lure
• trainer on floor
• trainer on knees
• trainer seated
• trainer standing
• Sitting for Everything - "Please"

5.  Flipping the various CRO pivots

CRO is having a Cyber Workshop on Pivots for the next 2 weeks.

Lily and I don't know what a Rally Pivot is, so we made this video to send in to be critiqued.

"Practice does not make perfect;

practice makes permanent.

Only perfect practice makes perfect."
~Vince Lombardi

Our "guest speakers" for the Mini-PMOCAPDT were posts and videos from the CRO Pivot Workshop. We submitted Lily's Pivot Flip for critique (which is included) and realized how much we there is to learn about Rally behaviors and pivots.  Exciting stuff!

6.  Developing a lesson plan

• Working with Wendi planning her first two classes with Sonny and Cher.
• First we read the Splits and the Steps
• Then we trained the Splits (ala Cathy and Lynn)
• Reading line by line 
• Then Wendi used the new Levels to make handouts
• While Wendi wrote, I edited and uploaded videos.  Watching the videos showed us "holes" in the planning, which we then able to amend.  Fun!

7.  Clicking and counting the blinks

• We played Sue's "Click the Blinks" game.
• Purpose of the game:  to show how difficult it is for 2 adults to focus for under a minute.
• Keep the sessions short!  Focus takes energy.

Tomorrow Wendi will review her work with Lily and the scent pots and the emergency phone.  We will play The Come Game with Andre.  He has forgotten his recall.  Tomorrow will be a half-day.