Visual Cues

Since Deuce has been recuperating from his knee ligament injury I have modified a few of our training and playing activities. This morning for the first time in a few weeks I bring out the big orange ball, the tug and whippet.

Deuce runs into position and is anxiously waiting for me to kick the ball far. Rio, who is nearby, is focused on the whippet.

I begin to move the whippet ever so slowly just before kicking the ball for Deuce when I noticed that Rio looses interest on the whippet and is now next to Deuce ready to run after the ball as well.

Ahh… I think to myself - the orange ball has become a visual cue as to what kind of game we are playing. For the past few weeks it was tennis balls for Deuce and the whippet for Rio in addition to her large red ball, which she loves playing with.

I am kind of at awe at her clever response to this environmental/visual cue. With the orange ball in place the game is that both dogs run after the ball with Rio then running hard towards me to either play with the whippet or tug, leaving Deuce with the big orange ball.

Once I am made aware of Rio’s “intentions” I comply and begin playing with them. As I kick the ball and entice Rio with the whippet, the whippet got me thinking about the verbal and environmental cues that I make the habit of using in an effort of communicating clearly with them.

Some of my favorite verbal cues (which are also paired with visual cues such as me standing or walking away, retrieving toys etc.) is my “ready to work?” cue paired with me standing next to whatever props I will be using during the training.

However, when they are running hard I want them to take breaks often - especially if it is hot. Deuce requires more breaks than Rio, perhaps because he has dark, long hair.

Regularly he cues me by lying down in the shade waiting for me to verbally offer them a break, which I do by saying: "take a break” as we stop all activity. We resume once I notice the dogs have had their rest.

When our games or training session is over, I always end with: "All done!" This is followed by my gathering of the toys and walking towards the garage/training classroom where the toys are kept. Rio never fails to approach the water bowl once I have signaled we are done for the moment ignoring whatever toys are still in her path.

But Deuce sometimes lays incredulous with his ball next to him or in his mouth – hoping perhaps that he “heard wrongly” and the game will continue. I am amused by his typical response and ask him to join me as I continue walking away.

Because I work and play with both dogs at the same time, I need to communicate to them when their turn is to engage in play or training and when they need to rest.

We have practiced in different locations the resting and active roles so that they both learn that laying quietly on a bed – made available for this purpose means that they will get reinforced for stationing (staying put in one specific place). By now the know that my verbal: switch requires them to either rest or take center spot. This type of training (stationing) is often used in zoos and aquariums where the norm is for a trainer to work with multiple animals at the same time (sigh)!

It is crucial to use environmental and verbal cues so that the dog is not left in “limbo” wondering what the heck she is suppose to do now. In this manner you avoid undue frustration and confusion making training and play not only more efficient, but also fun.

Joy Meter

I am playing our usual game of tug; whippet and ball retrieve with Deuce and Rio. This combo has become one of our standard games that we play on certain mornings.

The dogs being keen on any visual cue that we are heading to the “soccer-field” begin to jump and run giddy. In the meantime, I take my time trying to gather all that is needed for our little interaction: sunglasses, tissues (bad allergies :( ) hat, water bottle, tug toy, whippet and the big orange ball. The dogs are in their position waiting. Waiting for it all to begin.

As I send my first ball out to Deuce and make the whippet toy come alive, I sense myself smiling BIG. My thoughts turn to how much fun the three of us are having! I call experiences (and awareness) like this [my] joy meter. Not only am I happy to see them happy, it goes beyond that: I am feeling JOY!

I am very interested in pretty much anything that pertains to the brain and the nervous system and because of that I try and read about these two topics on a regular basis.

One of the things that I have learned via different sources is that our brain is “wired” for unpleasant events, fear related events and that we MUST make a conscientious choice of allowing our brain to register positive experiences. The more our brain is “trained” to integrate positive experiences the greater the possibility for making everlasting changes in their neurology. When these changes take place within our brains, we are able to feel more joy… it sounds as if we are bypassing the pre-installed wiring of our brains.

So I am on a mission here: As recommended I stop and make myself express out loud in gratitude for all what is good in my life and life in general. This simple recognition (according to some of my sources is necessary to spend around 5 to 20 sec.

reminiscing with as much detail as possible on the positive experience) so that the experience truly sinks into our “fleshy-brain”.

So, I have carved moments where I take the time to do this: my early drive to boot camp - dawn breaking, late afternoon or dusk, as I watch the day end and when I am playing with my dogs.

I can describe my feelings of joy in quite a few ways, but a salient one is feeling a sense of “balance”- of all being just right! And this leaves me feeling that I need nothing more. As I toss the ball to Deuce I literally feel a warm sensation. Rio is running full blast towards me - sometimes with the tug toy hanging funny from her mouth. Indeed, the joy meter is rising…

There are indeed other instances where my dogs bring me great joy. The trick for me is to pay attention to our everyday interactions as well as them acting just like dogs. I really enjoy seeing how they are individual beings with specific likes and dislikes. I take note of these as well as any diversion from what I consider to be Deuce’s ways or Rio’s.

For example, very rarely will Deuce lie down to sunbathe himself while Rio… but the other day, Deuce was outside in the sun chewing his marrowbone with gusto and Rio surprised me with wanting to go hang out in her crate to chew her own bone in privacy!

I thought I would never live to see this.

As best I can, I try and honor their differences and my self-imposed commitment to treating them as individuals brings me once again great satisfaction or shall I say joy?

Frisbee Dogs

Teaching your non-interested dogs to play with a Frisbee is similar to having to choose which chocolate to eat from a box of chocolates.

This morning as is our routine, I played/trained Deuce and Rioja before it got too hot. I have been working on teaching them how to play Frisbee. Believe it or not, the first few times I threw the Frisbee they looked either away from the flying disk with complete lack of interest or they looked at me in search of an explanation. Needless to say, I was crushed! My two athletic, super motivated dogs who'd do anything fun had no interest in the Frisbee!

It was clear to me after a few throws that this technique was doing nothing to peek their desire to chase after it. Suddenly it dawned on me to attach the Frisbee to a whippet since they both love to play with them and emulate as best I could the motion of a Frisbee. That worked like a charm and in just a couple of playing/training sessions both dogs were eager to be the one chasing the object.

I continued building a strong history of reinforcement with the Frisbee attached to the whippet knowing that at some point I needed to try my luck and throw the Frisbee as it is intended to be used and hope that both dogs jumped into action.

See how teaching your dogs to play with a Frisbee (or pretty much any kind of training) resemble choosing which chocolate? The experience is full of expectations and surprises!

I just got a new Frisbee that is made of a soft plastic that both dogs can pick up from the ground with no problem - an issue I did not anticipate when I began throwing the Frisbee for them.

Yesterday I played again with them just before dark and again this morning. I carefully noted what I needed to do for both of them so that they continue being interested in chasing the disc, being able to catch it midair as well as observing what they normally like to do once they are in possession of the toy.

There different personalities require that I pay attention so that I can design an individual training plan for each.

For example, when Rioja is in possession of the Frisbee she loves to run around (and away from me) with it in her mouth. When she does that she resembles more a young colt just out of the confines of the stable than a dog.

I have to be mindful not to immediately ask her for the toy or call her back to me so that we can begin the game again. Instead I thought, it is important that she gets to do something that she finds really fun after catching (or attempting to catch) the Frisbee.

The fun that she is having while going after the object and her little colt impersonation will translate later in a dog that is thrilled about catching and bringing the Frisbee back to me but first things first. We build behaviors slowly.

In essence, in the beginning stages of training something elaborate like playing with the Frisbee, it is important to keep things fun. Besides engaging the dog with the activity when I stop directing their every step, I get an opportunity to learn more about them: what do they like to do? What do I need to work on more? Etc.

Deuce, for example, is learning very well how to leap in the air as I throw the Frisbee in front of him close by. Keep in mind that is not necessarily “obvious” for a dog to be able to just grab the flying object. They too need to learn to coordinate their body in addition to running or jumping with speed. Speed and precision are the name of the game and dogs must learn this too!

Deuce does not run around excited with the toy, instead after jumping and catching it, he goes and lays in the shade anxious to have another go at it. He needs to bring the Frisbee back to me instead of expecting for me to go retrieve the disk. Having more than one Frisbee will solve this problem.

Since Frisbee throwing is also a new activity for me, I am experiencing the three of us learning at the same time. The mental notes that I take as I work with them are teaching me about their strength and weaknesses besides laying in front of my eyes the process of learning a new skill. The expectation of having them learn something new, or becoming proficient with a task keeps me wanting more. Not knowing how the session will progress keeps me focused, constantly checking my expectations with
their present abilities.