Regaining Balance

In the two months following Lily's breakthrough seizures, I have watched her closely and controlled where we have gone.

We have added 'scootering' to Lily's exercise regimen - trotting alongside me while driving an electric scooter - but because of the unseasonably hot weather, have been going out at daybreak.  And, while we both got used to the scooter, I have been driving it in the alleys.  Consequently, we have been quite isolated.

This morning, however, we scootered in the street for the first time, got a later than normal start, and ventured farther from the house.  And we encountered several other dogs being walked.  Lily paid them more attention than normal and more attention than I consider polite..... or safe, from my scooter POV.  It is time to regain balance in Lily's life.

So, following Lily's exercise with the scooter, we went by car down to the harbour where dogs are often walked and where I expected to get more exposure.  I found two nice locations where we could work on CRO at a comfortable threshold for Lily - my criteria being that she could be aware of passing dogs yet continue to focus on me and the Rally work that we were doing.

It worked out well.  It's so nice when a plan comes together!  As the weather cools, I hope to continue this morning routine of exercise, dog zen and CRO.  Lily needs to get out more and since I have put her on medical leave from her service work until she has been seizure free for six months, this will be a good way to begin to regain balance in her life between being a stay at home dog and a public, yet unvested, dog.

I will gradually build up the time we spend in public.

Following our threshold work, we drove out to the Navy marina where I turned Lily loose to sniff and run and explore.

All in all a successful morning.

Let the Treat Beat the Feat

My friend, Eileen, has begun blogging and she presents the most interesting - and thought provoking - ideas.  This week she sent me a preview of an upcoming video having to do with delayed rewards for her dog, Summer, in the context of Rally competition.

Eileen watches dogs closely and carefully and sees indicators in their behaviors that I totally miss.

After watching Eileen's video of Summer and discussing her conclusions at great length, I told her how the video and her subsequent explanation affect me personally is that it tells me that I lump my appreciation of Lily's reaction to things that we do together and that I take waaaaaaaaaaaay too much of her behavior for granted.  That may be due to my personality.  It may be due to my service dog expectations.  It may be my lack of appreciation for and ability to see small indicators. 

I sent her the following video of one of Lily's CRO runs.  Until yesterday when talking with Eileen, I had felt that Lily didn't really enjoy Rally, but was doing the behaviors because I asked her to.  And for the food rewards.

Now I am reconsidering.

I have asked Eileen to "read" Lily's body language and to look at the video through her more experienced eyes.  I will be very interested in her observations.  And I will post them here.

Maintaining Focus During Competition

Sue, again............

Entire books have been written on the subject of performance in the ring vs performance in practise. Here are a few thoughts:

It's not about "getting rid of treats". It's about building up the dog's faith until he can afford to work as long as you're in the ring in order to get a treat at he end.

Develop a reward that you CAN give him in the ring. If he loves to hop on his back legs (Syn does, her cue is "Squirrel!"), then you can cue a hop after each exercise. If there's nothing inherent, you can build one in. Tap him on top of his head 500 times over the next week, giving him a treat after each tap, and you should be able to use the tap as a reward a few times to make him feel good without giving him a treat.

Practise until you have EXACTLY what you want in the ring. People say "I do that!", but when I ask them to show me, they are bending toward the dog, giving multiple cues, offering treats, and giving feedback every 10 seconds. Then when they get into the ring and turn into zombie-handler, the dog has no clue what to do. There are 6, and only 6, opportunities to reward your dog on the individual exercises in the Novice obedience ring.

YOU have to be the same exact handler in the ring that you are in practise. That means you have to act the same, smell the same, think the same. Which means that you have to remember this mantra: "I have only one job here. My job is to give the dog what she needs to do what she knows how to do." Which means if you're nervous, if you're not concentrating, if you're worried about passing or looking stupid, YOU ARE NOT DOING YOUR JOB. My mother, who has trained 4 Utility dogs, recommends a shot of vodka 10 minutes before ring time to relax. Of course, in order to be the same handler in practse and in the ring, she has to take the vodka before practise as well...

Think about this. How much of what he knows about an exercise does your dog have to give you in the ring in order to give you the performance you want? When I was 16, i got a Utility leg on a 2.5-lb Chihuahua. Whee! Then I looked back and asked myself "is that ever going to happen again?" and the answer was "no". That Chi and the gods gave me 150% of what he knew about Utility that day, and it was NEVER going to happen again. My first UD was 2 years later, a Mini Schnauzer, who could walk away with a 199 in Utility by giving me 60% of what she knew about the subject. By that, I mean she could get a 199 if the ring was an inch under water at midnight with a helicopter hovering over the ring, my mom in the front row, the judge screaming at me, and a marching band going by.

Last weekend Syn got her Draft Dog title, pulling 40 pounds in a cart up and down hills and manoeuvring the cart around a ring, including a figure 8. It was a breeze. Easy-peezy, because we practised manoeuvring around my house, and she was going up and down much bigger hills pulling 75 pounds in practise. When the test was over, she was still wondering when the work was going to start. And I was totally not nervous (well, except for the stand-stay) because I was only there to give her what she needed to perform. 

A Service Dog and Separation Anxiety

Once again..........Sue hits the nails right smack dab on the head!

As others have said, having separation anxiety is not a bond, it's an indication of a problem. True, a Service Dog candidate is at high risk of developing it as they are always with you, but what that means is that you have to build separation into their lives as a norm rather than a problem. This is true of any pet, sport, or working dog. I will, at some point, have to leave my pet with a vet or boarding facility. My SD will have to go into a police car or ambulance without me, or stay on a mat or in a crate while I have x-rays or some other procedure done which she can't be involved in. My sport dog will have to work for other people and relax while she's crated at trials.

The first thing I do when I see any symptoms of separation anxiety are to put the dog in the Leading The Dance program. The second thing is to go back again and work on the self-control behaviours - crating, Zen, go to mat, stays and Lazy Leash.

A bond is a working connection between two capable individuals, not a hysterical, jealous needy attempt at control. Separation anxiety is bound to rear its ugly head now and then, but, for me at least, recognising it and getting rid of it are very high priorities.