!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Friday, October 19, 2012
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
ladyfingers = cookies
Obediently following Sarah's lovely request, I took more videos of Maya in action. This time practicing tricks, including the new "cross your paws" thing we learned last week. I always think I sound silly in videos, but this is especially true when I am using my special silly voice that goes with especially silly new cues.
The ten second version, showing just the new trick:
Isn't she charming? I'm biased, I know, but Maya amuses me endlessly; we spend hours being ridiculously entertained by one another. I also made a longer video that shows more of what an actual trick playing/training session looks like around here, although I edited it for length and to try to cut out repetitions...Maya knows plenty more tricks, but the camera is a big distraction (for me especially), so she had to do the same ones over and over while I fumbled treats, miscued, and otherwise made her life difficult. Poor baby.
The distraction for her, by the way, was a neighbor hammering something (or pounding things together in some way). It caught Maya's attention several times, so I told her to go take a look. Sometimes, all she needs is permission.
Of all the learned behaviors she exhibits, the one that gives me the biggest thrill is that Maya has finally learned to catch treats in midair! She really is brilliant.
The ten second version, showing just the new trick:
Isn't she charming? I'm biased, I know, but Maya amuses me endlessly; we spend hours being ridiculously entertained by one another. I also made a longer video that shows more of what an actual trick playing/training session looks like around here, although I edited it for length and to try to cut out repetitions...Maya knows plenty more tricks, but the camera is a big distraction (for me especially), so she had to do the same ones over and over while I fumbled treats, miscued, and otherwise made her life difficult. Poor baby.
The distraction for her, by the way, was a neighbor hammering something (or pounding things together in some way). It caught Maya's attention several times, so I told her to go take a look. Sometimes, all she needs is permission.
Of all the learned behaviors she exhibits, the one that gives me the biggest thrill is that Maya has finally learned to catch treats in midair! She really is brilliant.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
training projects of the moment
I am working on three things with Maya at the moment (okay, probably a million things at any given moment, but three things in formal training sessions).
Door manners.
At present, our door routine looks like this: Maya auto-sits when Brian or I reach for the door handle. We open the door and look outside to make sure that a pack of coyotes is not carousing on our front lawn (hey, it happened once), then we open the storm door and release her from the sit. Maya goes through the door and then stands at the other end of the leash, looking up and down the street for interesting things.
I am working on changing that last part to an auto-redirect onto me (or Brian), where Maya will go through the front door, spin around, and wait at the step with her eyes fixed on us. It sounds fancy, like the sort of thing one does to show off how well-trained and compliant one's dog is, but it's really just one more thing to increase Maya's basic comfort...if leaving the house becomes a cue to focus her attention on me, then it becomes less of a cue for her to scan the environment and seek out things to worry about.
Here are two videos. I took the first before we started training, the second about five minutes later, after about five or six repetitions. Maya looks sort of subdued/apprehensive in both videos, which is entirely because she does not normally go through the front door with a camera right in her face (sorry kiddo!).
Before:
After:
Being left in the car.
Just like it sounds, and definitely the most difficult of the three. Maya does not like to be left in the car, perhaps especially if she's still able to see us. There are multiple reasons for this, but the upshot is that she tends to experience more emotional distress in the car than in any other regular location.
At the moment, I am simply focusing on teaching Maya to eat food in the car while I stand directly outside that smudgy window. Some of the food is handed to her, some of it comes from a Manners Minder. Eventually, I'll start moving around and/or away, but for now, even eating a mouthful of breakfast takes Maya a significant amount of time and effort.
A more long-term solution may be to shop around for a crate that would fit into our back seat. I'd rather have Maya crated in the car anyway, but previous attempts proved that none of the brands we could find locally would both fit Maya and fit into our car. I may try again though, armed with a tape measure and ordering online.
Crossing her paws.
Every dog needs a repertoire of silly dog tricks to help while away rainy afternoons. This one is very easy to teach, and Maya is already well on her way to having it solidly down. Her gangly legs are so cute.
And that's it for this week. Many weeks, we do no formal training whatsoever, but it's always more fun to have a project or two in the works.
Door manners.
At present, our door routine looks like this: Maya auto-sits when Brian or I reach for the door handle. We open the door and look outside to make sure that a pack of coyotes is not carousing on our front lawn (hey, it happened once), then we open the storm door and release her from the sit. Maya goes through the door and then stands at the other end of the leash, looking up and down the street for interesting things.
I am working on changing that last part to an auto-redirect onto me (or Brian), where Maya will go through the front door, spin around, and wait at the step with her eyes fixed on us. It sounds fancy, like the sort of thing one does to show off how well-trained and compliant one's dog is, but it's really just one more thing to increase Maya's basic comfort...if leaving the house becomes a cue to focus her attention on me, then it becomes less of a cue for her to scan the environment and seek out things to worry about.
Here are two videos. I took the first before we started training, the second about five minutes later, after about five or six repetitions. Maya looks sort of subdued/apprehensive in both videos, which is entirely because she does not normally go through the front door with a camera right in her face (sorry kiddo!).
Before:
After:
Being left in the car.
Just like it sounds, and definitely the most difficult of the three. Maya does not like to be left in the car, perhaps especially if she's still able to see us. There are multiple reasons for this, but the upshot is that she tends to experience more emotional distress in the car than in any other regular location.
Have you noticed the anxious drool stains all along the top of this window?
Those are mementos of all the times you abandoned me in here.
At the moment, I am simply focusing on teaching Maya to eat food in the car while I stand directly outside that smudgy window. Some of the food is handed to her, some of it comes from a Manners Minder. Eventually, I'll start moving around and/or away, but for now, even eating a mouthful of breakfast takes Maya a significant amount of time and effort.
A more long-term solution may be to shop around for a crate that would fit into our back seat. I'd rather have Maya crated in the car anyway, but previous attempts proved that none of the brands we could find locally would both fit Maya and fit into our car. I may try again though, armed with a tape measure and ordering online.
Crossing her paws.
Every dog needs a repertoire of silly dog tricks to help while away rainy afternoons. This one is very easy to teach, and Maya is already well on her way to having it solidly down. Her gangly legs are so cute.
And that's it for this week. Many weeks, we do no formal training whatsoever, but it's always more fun to have a project or two in the works.
Friday, October 5, 2012
new things my dog can do
Three things Maya has done recently that made me particularly happy:
One, Maya played catch with a stranger (okay, "stranger"). The "stranger" threw the ball, Maya caught or chased the ball, then she returned the ball to within about a dozen feet and nudged it toward the "stranger." Then I picked it up and tossed it the extra distance and we repeated. Maya did not growl, charge, cower, or startle, although she did a certain amount of impatient barking (which is fine...the goal is a happy dog, not a silent dog!). What she mostly did was wag from the shoulders back, and try to use her terrific powers of mental telepathy to make the person THROW THE BALL AGAIN.
Two, Maya greeted a (human) friend of hers while I was standing right there. The "friend" works at the kennel at which we board Maya, and they are well-acquainted there, but Maya greeted her with soft, wagging enthusiasm, even with me present and involved. The person even petted her, right on the head, and Maya was fine with it. This wasn't a big deal, it was just delightful and easy, and I love seeing my dog so friendly with anyone.
Three, Maya walked away with that friend, to stay a few days at the kennel, and barely spared me a backward glance. She was so comfortable and happy to be in this familiar and safe environment, and I felt a big squeeze of knowing I'd done this one thing exactly right. Our kennel is also our vet's office, and Maya gets so excited when we pull up that she yodels with glee; she can stay there when we travel, or when we have visitors and don't want to negotiate the dog stuff; she can get vet care; she is safe; she is happy.
Maya's ability to feel safe and comfortable in the wider world has improved out of all recognition. Her ability to interact with other people remains pretty limited, and depends considerably on context, as these examples probably illustrate. She keeps growing, learning, and trying to stretch her comfort zone; I think she is amazing.
One, Maya played catch with a stranger (okay, "stranger"). The "stranger" threw the ball, Maya caught or chased the ball, then she returned the ball to within about a dozen feet and nudged it toward the "stranger." Then I picked it up and tossed it the extra distance and we repeated. Maya did not growl, charge, cower, or startle, although she did a certain amount of impatient barking (which is fine...the goal is a happy dog, not a silent dog!). What she mostly did was wag from the shoulders back, and try to use her terrific powers of mental telepathy to make the person THROW THE BALL AGAIN.
Two, Maya greeted a (human) friend of hers while I was standing right there. The "friend" works at the kennel at which we board Maya, and they are well-acquainted there, but Maya greeted her with soft, wagging enthusiasm, even with me present and involved. The person even petted her, right on the head, and Maya was fine with it. This wasn't a big deal, it was just delightful and easy, and I love seeing my dog so friendly with anyone.
Three, Maya walked away with that friend, to stay a few days at the kennel, and barely spared me a backward glance. She was so comfortable and happy to be in this familiar and safe environment, and I felt a big squeeze of knowing I'd done this one thing exactly right. Our kennel is also our vet's office, and Maya gets so excited when we pull up that she yodels with glee; she can stay there when we travel, or when we have visitors and don't want to negotiate the dog stuff; she can get vet care; she is safe; she is happy.
Maya's ability to feel safe and comfortable in the wider world has improved out of all recognition. Her ability to interact with other people remains pretty limited, and depends considerably on context, as these examples probably illustrate. She keeps growing, learning, and trying to stretch her comfort zone; I think she is amazing.
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