Seminar II: Looking at the Brain

Back to the seminar notes for the Sept 2011 Obi Fox event.

There are a lot of neurons in the brain.  Motor neurons "fire" (electrical/chemical changes within the cell) in response to a specific stimulus and then cause movements of specific muscles or muscle groups.  The type of stimulus depend on the type of neuron.  Some only respond to a visual stimulus, some only to touch, some to specific internal changes...etc.    AND there are some that respond to two specific types of stimuli, and other to three or more specific types of stimuli.

Quite a few motor neurons respond to visual and tactile stimuli.   This means that you are getting the same changes in the brain, the brain is perceiving the same thing... if the individual is touched or if the individual perceives something moving 'within' range.   Specific body areas correspond to a part of the 'personal space' field.  

By moving into a dog's space, the brain can be responding as if the animal was touched.

Just as important is that those neurons will continue to fire until the 'threat' is removed from the space or when the motor sequence is completed.   If someone is too close...those neurons will fire until the dog can move far enough away that the person is out of the dog's 'space'.  

That somewhat makes it even harder to think about dogs that are asked to "just get over it," both shy-fearful type dogs, reactive dogs, and super excitable dogs.

The personal space zone can change over time in response to desensitization or sensitization.  It can get bigger or smaller.

And that's probably enough to think about for today.   Any errors in this post are mine.

Seminar: Looking at "Personal Space"

Last weekend was a very unique 2 day seminar by Obi Fox.  It was a medium sized group of attendees from all over the US.

Day one was powerpoint and discussion with a few short demos and video.  Day two was all about working dogs and considering our new knowledge while watching the teams work.

Day one:  
Scientific Perspective:
Discussion about science, scientific thinking, and the approaches used in different areas of science.  This became quite a point to come back to all weekend. Most of the attendees were dog professionals or dog enthusiasts.... and all/most familiar with an approach to science and thinking about dogs from a psychology viewpoint.   Fox was very much using the ethology vocabulary and giving us that perspective.   This was challenging for many of us, but definitely makes it easier to think about "behavior as behavior" than to be (on the verge of ) anthropomorphic.  I'd thought I was fairly good at looking at behaviors but I definitely have room for improvement.

The conflict for me will be that the more psychology-language can help clients be more empathetic to their dogs.  On the other hand... we do want them to see that dogs are completely different in how they view the world and sometimes we need to help remind clients of that difference.

Some examples of the vocabulary:   If we say a dog is afraid/fearful/shy, we aren't describing specific behaviors, we are describing groups of behaviors in a shorthand that is helpful when speaking to someone else dog-savvy, but not so helpful when it comes from a client's mouth.  We could say specifically, "He moves away, he moves slowly, his tail is tucked."  Or we wanted to group the behaviors under one term, we could say the dog is showing "avoidance".   "Avoidance" helps us know what is happening in general, without the emotion and to not use a word that will prompt additional connotations or as much emotional response from the human.   Another example:  Distractions.  That's a normal piece of dog training vocabulary. We know what it means. Something that's interesting in a problematic way.   "Attractive stimuli" is another way to think of it.  We're not saying it's good or bad.  We're just saying it's there, something perceived in the environment, and the animal is interested.

Flight Zones:

A group of cattle watching the dogs. The cows are about 150' away.  Cows tend to have one or two adults supervising a larger group of young.

This is something I've not had  much formal training with, but I have had a lot of hands-on practice.    All species have a flight zone...and how they are approached can impact the motion of the animal.  Partway down this page  is a diagram of flight zones with cattle (a cow drawing with circle around it).   When I've had to help move cattle...I learned quickly.   Moving slowly is better than fast (unless you want them moving fast!).   They turn and move away from where the person is approaching.  They notice the person a distance.  Closer, and they move.   Factors impact that distance... other individuals nearby, physical environment, speed of the approach.   Flight zones are documented in many, many species. It's especially studied in livestock in an effort to make handling practices  more efficient, safer, and more humane.   We don't think enough about this with dogs.

Overall....the weekend gave me a lot to think about. It's kind of like operant conditioning...once you understand and think about it, you know that's impacting learning all the time, whether or not you want it to, whether or not you're thinking about it.   This weekend opened up another similar concept.  There are always things changing in the environment.  These changes are always impacting behavior.

Taking it to a smaller level....next up will be about motor neurons.

Seminar Weekend Summary: Evaluating Dog Bites and Leash Reactivity Classes

This weekend was a seminar by Cara Shannon, day one was on her scale for evaluating dog bites (dog human and dog-dog) and day two was on how she runs her leash reactivity classes.   Overall?  It was much better than I expected, I was very impressed with how great she is at speaking to a group and how she organized her materials.   I was also really impressed with how well she understood questions that were asked....many times  speakers have so much to be thinking about and worrying about that they can very very misunderstand questions that the group asks.

I'm going to be very interested to see how her dog bite evaluation changes or grows over the next few years.  I absolutely love how much she emphasized that it was created to help create more consistency and communication and to create greater standards for the industry.

The leash reactivity class I help teach is based off of her format.  It's designed to maximize the efficiency of progress and to focus not on a multitude of behaviors, but getting a single, solid, turn-to-me-for-food behavior.  The focus on one behavior allows for maximizing fluency of this behavior. The dogs learn a familiar rule structure. See a dog. Cue. Turn to handler. Food.   This can be used for motion. Stillness. In gradually more challenging scenarios.   It's really quite brilliant and simple.   The last piece of the day was on nose work/scent work/finding food games.   She's found this to be so helpful that all training clients are required to take a lesson on this, no matter what service they're in for.      We had client dog teams in for the afternoon to see a few demos of how classes are run and how she sets it up.  That was very interesting as well.

"Training a dog is not difficult..."

"Training a dog is not difficult...just don't make any mistakes"- Guy Penning

One of the many great things I wrote down over the week. Another favorite... "I assure you, when he is clicker trained, he will do it."

Such confidence!

And training a dog really isn't that difficult..... but it's a learning process and unfortunately we can't just "start over" with the dog. That said, there are very few things I would do differently with Griffin if I were to start over. We would do more toy playing and more time training. And a few minor changes. But I'm quite happy with what he's doing and the very small amount of repairing behaviors that I've had to do.

Everything last week fits in so well with what we currently do. I still have two days of notes to type up and then onto compiling related pieces together. I have specific parts to share on the backwards walking, use of training tools, scent articles, and fading the clicker.

Seminar Day 9: The end!

The morning talk was spent on good retrieves and position exercises and platform use. Some bitework.

And then after lunch, we did heeling (backwards walking). Which deserves it's own write up sometime soon. Essentially, the handler moves backwards, the dog moves to maintain a front. It teaches the dog about position (straight, eyes on handler, move with handler) so that when you rotate to heel position you get SO many fewer errors and a much stronger behavior. This is something I'm obsessive about. I have pictures of me doing this with Griffin on our way home when I first got him. He's very good.

I worked him in the afternoon and was told to not just do lines, but also serpentines. Initially he wavered a bit when I'd change direction, but soon he was following well. I also was instructed on how to break him out to play more often to keep his arousal level higher and enthusiasm higher. I had to learn more about playing well.

We did sessions with the Cannonball ball launcher, when I introduced it a few days ago and started using it for his go outs, his line started wavering and his speed slowed in anticipation. I was instructed on how to do more play with the ball before loading it to get him moving. But he's still moving more vertically than other dogs (who do flat out fast runs). I know he can do it...but I don't know that I've seen it for toys, only for animals. But, the more we work with toys, the better he will get.

And in the afternoon, we did one last bitework session. Griffin and I just did toy play, working on alternating between two toys. He's pretty good at that, he thinks it's a proofing exercise and that if he tugs well on the one he has (whether it's more or less preferred) he will be cued for the other one. I was instructed to do more running, changes of direction and talking. As well as letting him mis when he reaches for it. The first time I mis-timed and he got it. I was a bit worried about his poor landing when that happened....supposedly he will get better with practice, but I don't know that I want to take that risk....so we'll do our mis-grabs in another way.

Then the seminar was over. I taught a reactive dog class. Let my dog run a bit after class. And went home. I'm ready to jump in my car right now and head back.... but its over.... Now I just need to finish typing up my notes.... reorganize them a bit better....and send those notes to the presenters. There was a bit of a joke all week when attendees would ask if a book or DVD was available.... "Kristen's writing a book!"

Seminar Day 8: Focus on Foundation

This weekend is a bit different than the rest of the week. Before, there were a lot of people who were quite experienced, had higher level dogs, and who were utilizing other tools back at home. This weekend, everyone is very committed to positive training, but also mostly very, very beginners.

This is allowing me to see how beginning training is started, again and again and again. It's really great and I'm getting more notes out of it every time.

A few quick notes on that:

• Heeling is started with backwards heeling (like I do). Horray! It IS a great training plan!
• Pivot box is also used...but with much more care and precision once to the heeling stage. (handler standing further forward to get the right heel position, handler going forward or back around it, always starting with the left leg).
• There are a lot of cool training aids that I didn't know about. Ball droppers and magnet balls. And apparently they aren't that hard to fade...you just have to get really good behavior first.
• A variation of Susan Garrett's 'Crate Games' is used.... created separately and independently (These guys don't even much of Karen Pryor....they know of her and that others who do lessons with them like her.... but...wow. Look how far clicker training has come!)

I can't believe today is the last day. I don't want it to end! 9 days does seem like a crazy long time for a seminar, but it's allowed me to meet so many people, see so many dogs, and have a very different experience than the typical seminar. Normally, you're just getting into the pattern, just getting to know everyone, just starting to get a good understanding. And it's over.

One of the things that I really liked about KPA was that over the course of the four weekend workshops, we got to know each other, get into a pattern, and see each other so many times. This weekend was a lot like that. I was able to learn and learn and learn. And as I saw new people come in, I got to hear how the information is presented to the beginners again and again. And I got to fine-tune my notes and understanding.

As impractical as a long long seminar is for so many people, it provides a completely different experience than a shorter seminar and especially if it's not someone you have regular or easy access to, you get a much more solid foundation understanding of the methods.

Seminar Day 7: Puppies and Focus

Today was a lot of "more of the same" but we had a new group of attendees. We had a group of people who train agility together in another part of the state. They were concerned about their dogs lack of tug/play as well as focus challenges.

For the tug and play, the sessions focused on reinforcing the dog for picking up the item (not the bring back!). And using the higher value reinforcers to reinforce the best performances, rather than pulling out the favorite toys only when the dogs are doing poorly or aren't interested in other things offered. For the dogs that would tug a tiny bit, we would click for a smaller tiny bit and then release the toy. Wanting too much from the dogs was a common theme of the week.

To address the focus challenges, we did some exercises similar to Susan Garrett's crate games. Opening the crate and clicking and feeding the dog for staying in. And then more clicking and feeding for the dog focusing on the owner as the dog was called out. If the dog responded incorrectly or wandered off....silently taken back to the crate. After a number of reps, the dogs were taken outside for a short walk break. We saw FAST change in the dogs.... coming back inside after the walks, they were much, much more focused.

It was intriguing to see some of that group comment they had not previously realized exactly what a high rate of reinforcement really was.

In the evening, we had a guest-taught puppy class. We did a handler hide and call the puppy game. A walking game. Platform/mat training. And play. Puppies are cute. The people had a unique experience. I got to see how much their training is used for puppies compared to the adult sport dogs. Much of the VERY VERY same stuff. It's all important.

Watching the puppies and enthusiasm made several of the auditing/observing group comment we want puppies. We decided that we'll be getting puppies in the spring, two years from now. Hah. We'll see if I'm ready then.

I left my notes at the building....but...I'll be back there early tomorrow.

My favorite note from yesterday.... the translation/description of Griffin's tail wagging problem... "Waggering" It makes me laugh every time.

Seminar Day 6

Lots and lots of obedience. Beautiful stuff. We trained it or talked about many of the exercises.

We saw 4+ be able to, essentially, do scent articles in 2-3 sessions. It was -amazing-. We heard the presenters talk about how they do the signal exercise...and not just do it, but as well as possible. We worked on Griffin holding still (and I have video from one session!).

Playing with the item. Fun silly retrieves. And then letting the dog watch while it's hidden. Dog finds it and reinforce. A session or two of this. And then a few reps of hiding and then one of dog watching you place it in a pile. And out of the 4 dogs I saw....I only saw ONE error when they got to the pile step. ONE error. Megan.....let's see you get back to this with your dog!

We did some talking about DOR. And how to get -the- ideal and speediest retrieve pick up. We did things to work on enthusiasm and maintaining behavior.

It was really great, again. I don't want this event to end! But I can't wait to see how we're doing in a few weeks after doing so much more work!

Griffin at CD Prep Class II and more

I had to do some human things and so we stayed home from the seminar today. But we did make it to class!

Some things I learned:

1) I appreciate the air conditioning we normally work in. My dog is not used to working in the heat. I am not used to working in the heat. We will have to address that. Separate from the training.

2) Being around "very good training" for periods of time can have a drastic impact on behavior. We did a lot of sidepass type exercises and I couldn't do it...no mirrors and no helper. There was NO way to tell if my dog was parallel other than looking myself. And I knew that if I looked, it would distort things for my dog.

3) I need to work on tag jingling noises. we talk about this a lot for our reactive dog classes. It was VERY surprising when I saw Griffin going into alert when he heard car keys. We'll use that as a distraction. But also work on it being an attention cue.

4) Be better prepared for the class format. I brought Griffin in a bit early to warm up (we did heeling for a tug, tossed back. It was ---beautiful----!) And then the class was talking for 10+ minutes. I should have crated him during that time.

5) My dog doesn't lure. I taught him a food magnet/food transport for food moving parallel to the ground. But when we were to do a lured tuck sit exercise...I just couldn't do it. He thought I was proofing his stand.

6) I need to practice following instructions. we were doing pace changes...and I didn't always do what the instructor asked. I kinda...forgot. I always did SOMETHING when she said SOMETHING. But those things did not match.

7) I don't make a good student. I need more practice. I had a hard time following someone else's training plan, especially not knowing where it would be going and not understanding all the parts. I don't like that!

We got home and just settled into work.....and got a call that we would be doing extra scent work. It's a good opportunity to practice with professionals watching, so we jumped back in the car and drove out past where we had just been. We had fun, worked a lot of different dogs, and my dog did well. He worked despite a lot of people present. He have no false alerts and always found the correct odor. He DID try to wander off more than once and gave some happy tail wags to the people watching. I was told this is not good and indicates a lack of attention. We also talked about Griffin's tendency to retrieve the odor container if it's possible to do so. The advice we received was to use the scent wall to do more practice in a set up where retrieving is not possible. We want to make our alert have a higher history of reinforcement than retrieving the item.

I'm exhausted. Giant scary storms tonight. A day of working Griffin tomorrow and then teaching a few classes. As tiring as this can be.....I wish it would never end!! We still have four days, which is longer than most seminars.....yet as it's more than half over, I'm starting to feel sad!

Seminar Day 3, 4: More obedience

Day 3:

My car makes noises. About 2 miles from the facility. A mile later, I'm at the exit and stop at a gas station. I look under the car...and parts are dragging on the ground. Important parts. I debate going the last mile. End up having AAA take it home....I call and beg someone to come pick us up. It works perfectly as there was an emergency run to the store to get untouched wood dowels for a scenting exercise!

We do some shopping (literally running through the store!), and then hurry back...quickly cutting up the dowels. The morning is spent on some scent article training. I was happy to see their method...it's VERY similar to things I've recommended before....but with a few more steps. In the afternoon, there was a combination of obedience and bitework.

Today, we started with obedience (some more article training) and positions/signal exercise, stays, and a few other things. And I had a working spot!

Our first session... Griffin and I did some walking, lots of reinforcement for attention on the first step forward (we were doing that as a demo in class the night before...yay). This would change to backwards walking (me, moving away) when he lost focus. I had trouble with that, I wanted to maintain my front criteria but that piece was NOT about the front behavior. We did some stays, lots of little movement away and back, but specifically watching his tail for stillness and that his eyes were on me. I had some training on being slow with my reinforcement delivery. We did some nice playing, he switched well to the toy and hten played with one of the presenters... I was really surprised that Griffin did that without any initial greeting/enthusiasm...I thought he would be too distracted!

Our next session: The start of their articles...I'm going to hold of on more until he's better with his other scent work, but I liked that the session was on creating interest wtih play retrieves (not using the final object) and then fake hiding the item (dog watches while it's placed just out of sight).

Our last session: More stays. Outside! The stand was VERY hard, his tail would not stop moving. We talked about doing smaller sessions, breaking him out, not recueing the position (it was reinforcing). I was also told the Stand For Exam is ridiculous....apparently they don't have an exercise like it!

Seminar Day 1!

SO exhausted. And only day one ....of nine.

We talked about tracking and how to put down non visible articles and how to not do silly mistakes.

And we talked about whistle recalls and getting the behavior and making it easy for the dogs. We talked about dogs that want to bark while working. We talked about retrieves (I missed that part, but got a nice summary!). And how to be consistent in training (and how people are not). We talked about shaping. We talked about object interaction. We talked about cues. Position of reinforcer. And I left my notes at the building....

Off early to watch some tracking..... and today we're using COOL TRAINING TOOLS. A fancy fancy fancy ball launcher... I can't wait to see how it works with Griffin's contact behavior!

Quick Notes from Day Three (Problem Solving: Steve and Jen White)

So. Tired.

Accomplishments:

1) Steve liked Griffin's heeling and enthusiasm.

2) Griffin spent 3/4 the day inside, crated, in a separate room, but INSIDE and QUIET!. The first time I've ever had a dog able to do this at a seminar!

3) We made fools of ourselves at flyball practice. By my student looked pretty good.

Notes:

- People have a hard time breaking things down. Even experienced people.

- More record keeping is needed.

- We need to appreciate failures in our training more than we do. It shows us what is weak and what needs to be improved --- before we're in the ring or in the real world.

Off to bed and I'll have to do more on this later!

Quick Notes from Day One (Scent): Steve and Jen White Seminar

Day one was very long. Or maybe it's just the result of too many super late nights in a row.

The topic was "Reliable Scentwork for the Real World." We had medical alert dogs, SAR dogs, cadaver dogs, bed bug dogs, and fun/sport dogs. And probably some others. Huge variety!

The morning was lecture and the afternoon was dog work and then some demos. We saw a lot of video and a lot of fancy training tools.

Griffin only got to work a tiny bit due to the needs of our group mates. He did 3 reps of his alert behavior.... right only due to luck, twice I think, with one false alert? He was cute and worked half decent for so many people and dogs present. That's after he got his bowl of water though....

General notes:

- Most of the problems, even with experienced and currently working teams, were lack of a strong foundation , esp for the indication/report behavior ("I found it/it's here"). Foundation is important.

- Many/most of the owners I watched were prompting their dogs. Luring and prompting has it's place...but... most of the morning lecture was about how we really need to NOT be doing this (or be VERY aware of when/how we do it if it's an intentional thing!). Yet there was still a lot of it and some people didn't realize it was going on. I probably did too to some extent...it was really interesting to watch.

- Training is really hard. And not. Yet really incredibly difficult to consider all the parts and especially if you're practically and theoretically thinking about efficiency.