Winter Classes

Many pet-related services see a drop off in clients/customers during January/February.  Everyone is getting back to school and work after the holidays and they're a little more hesitant to spend money when they've just been through the holidays.  As it starts getting warmer in March, services often pick up (boarding kennels with spring break travels, groomers with "spring haircuts").

Interestingly....we've seen an increase in class sign-ups in the last week.   Most of the classes I teach are on-going enrollment, meaning that students can start that week.   We had two "fixed start date" classes start last night, a class for shy dogs and a class focusing on walking and settling with distractions.

This time around, the dogs in ShyDog class are more outgoing than the first group.  We have one dog repeating the class and three new dogs.   I've already adapted the class quite a bit from the first time we offered it last fall.  We're focusing more on handler skills than dog skills now, and hopefully this leads to better application at home and then more improvement.  We're still keeping a lot of the same activities, but we're adding in more intermediate steps, specific homework, and group participation.

Luna looking like a shy dog in 2008  We were at a state park in... PA?
The trails were very rocky and steep. I was scared of the slippery steep path....
she was worried about the people we passed.

Luna and I get to be in the Focus/Distraction class, she was incredibly happy and loved the young border collie were paired with.  Sometimes I feel like she's ready to go back to agility class. And at other times, it seems like I just barely have control.   She was getting tired so I switched out partway through.  I intended to let Blaze have a turn but he's not feeling good after crashing into walls during a fetch game on Tuesday....     Griffin got to work and I'm always surprised at how well he does in a group environment for the -very- small amount of group class time he has worked.   The other dogs and people weren't a challenge at all and he's really quite reliable in a class setting.  It's almost like the presence of the other dogs and people are a cue for him to have more self control and to be working harder with me.
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In other news.... early last year I was really excited about the great seminars for the year.  Somehow, this year is even better!  Everything seems really far away, but in reality it's going to go by incredibly fast.  I can't wait until there are details to share!

Luna will never be a herding dog...

Sometimes I feel bad that Luna doesn't get a chance to do breed-specific activities like Blaze and Griffin do.  She's not interested in retrieving or swimming.  

And she's also not interested in herding.

Luna's been getting more freedom over the last few months. But sometimes I misjudge her current abilities.  Yesterday she took a little adventure into one of the occupied cow pastures.  She enjoyed the great smells (and snacks....).  

Cows are very curious.  Angus cattle are notorious for being "protective" and many people consider them to be more "aggressive" than some other cow breeds.   

A few cows watched while eating hay.   The calves cautiously approached Luna.  Then Luna looked up and noticed.   She did a play bow. Spinning in a circle.  Then another bow before happily prancing away.  I've also seen her playbow and offer play solicitation behaviors to 2,000lb bulls....   Maybe she would be different with sheep or ducks....but knowing her, I highly doubt it.

Luna was Brave

On Wednesday, Luna had her first class on since ~May 2009 when we stopped agility due to a lack of progress in agility and an increase in trouble-making.   Luna was in a sort of self-control-around-everything-and-other-dogs class.  She very happy.  She wasn't very responsive to cues, but was offering more attention than I've gotten in -months-.  In our daily training sessions she's been so inattentive, freezing and staring off into the world, and non responsive. But...back in the environment of "class" she was amazing. Last time she was in the training building with me she would jump at every noise and had her tail between her legs. Maybe it's being on anti-anxiety medications, maybe the past reinforcement history of a class setting...I don't know. I walked out ready to sign her up for agility class...then I developed some self control.

It was a huge contrast from Griffin at agility class. He did not have a good week. Our homework is a lot of speed and focus and response to cues.

Luna Notes

More than one person has lodged (logged?) an official complaint that I do not say enough about Luna.

There is not very much to say about Luna.  We take walks. She wrestles and chases Griffin. She sleeps.  Sometimes she does training. On occasion we go somewhere.

It's been a very long time since we had our weekly(+) agility classes, occasional agility trials, camping trips, and other adventures.   

We intend for that to change!  In a few weeks Luna will (hopefully) be in a class designed for dogs to learn to be calm and controlled and wild and controlled around other dogs.  There will be some obstacle/object interaction, some playing, and good training.

I'm hoping we can get back into agility trials by the spring...it may be wishful thinking, but we'll see what we can do.

Before our class that starts soon...we have work to do.

1) Car rides: Luna hates the car.  Meals and super great treats in or near the car. Jumping in and out of the car.  Time in the car with Griffin.  Short car rides. 

2) Crating: I will probably be teaching a class before/after her class.  Luna will have to be crated in the training building. I've made some bad choices and the only times she has been crated in the last year has been for camp and maybe one day at the training center.  It wasn't because she's comfortable without the crate...it was lazyness and not working on her crate-dislike issues.   We'll practice going in the crate, eating in the crate, and spending time in a crate. I'll take her to the training center a few times before class starts and have her crated near Griffin.

3) Off Property Walks:  I'm not able to handle the recommended twice a day 20 minute off-property walks.  We'll try to get out 3-4 times every week. Either a different part of the property or a trip into town to walk.

4) Tricks and behaviors:  Increase the reinforcement history for a few tricks/behaviors so that we have things we can do in class.   

5) Find some great foods: Be sure she is on a good eating schedule, that we have high value reinforcers, and that I will have reinforcer options when we get back to class.

6) Visit the Building:  We're lucky and the class is someplace I visit many times per week. If I take her when I work, she can have some time training and playing in the building after classes.  I did this a few times early in the year, but she was often very skittish and easily startled unless Griffin was out with her.  I think she'll do better in a class setting than in an empty room.  Short visits and play times should still help prepare us for class.

What do I expect?   Luna will be stressed and not happy, tail tucked, inattentive.   After 5-15 minutes, she will probably get more attentive and work better except for moments when people are nearby and she gets scared.   She won't eat well during that first part of the class, but then will eat more readily.  Once she is comfortable, she will do her behaviors.    I also expect that each week she will get to her comfortable point much faster.  

I'm hoping that if we're in the building earlier in the day for training I can let her run around with Griffin. She's much more confident with him nearby. I wish I had a second person who could handle him so they could be together in class, or at least for the first day or two.   I'll just have to prepare and take great treats!

Luna and the Thundershirt

I bought one to give to the shelter, we have a lot of beagles that are not happy about storms. But now storm season is over for a while and I want to hang onto it until spring...I'm afraid it would get lost in the depths of "stuff" there. And the package was cool so I opened it. And then I tried it on Luna. And then I decided to try it in public.


Griffin thought it was so cool for Luna to wear a tug.

We went to walk around a town on the way to agility last week. Halfway through the walk, her tail came up. She was scanning less. But she was still jumpy about people and whuffed at someone 45-60' away. We turned and went the other way.


The next day, I took her to a different place that she had also never been to. Same number of people. And same behavior.

So...the thundershirt didn't make much of a difference at this point of time. She looks a bit silly in it, she's so hairy but is actually a small dog underneath.