Kong Aqua...new toy for the lake

We took the dogs swimming at the lake today, the first for the year. They got to try out their new toy....the Kong Aqua. I was rather skeptical when I was told directly from the company that this Kong would float. But float it did!!

The rope attached to it is long enough to be able to throw it far. The rope material is made of a soft nylon that was gentle on the dogs' mouths.









The shape of the Kong makes it easy to hold in many different ways, whether by the Kong itself or by the rope.





























They ran with it.












They tugged with it.















Melissa entertained herself by dropping it into the water
...and getting splashed.


She then would retrieve it from the bottom of the lake and start all over again.












She and Glory took turns dunking it and watching it resurface.








Glory had fun rolling on it.












After a morning at the lake with 3 dogs playing with the Kong Aqua there were no marks on the rubber, no fraying of the rope. So far this new toy gets an A+

Kong Wobbler and the Pyramid

Two new interactive toys for our dogs! My thanks to Pam Green at Clean Run for suggesting them. http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm

The Kong Wobbler has a heavy base that makes it a bit challenging for some dogs to move onto its side to allow for dispensing of the food. But the opening is a tiny bit larger then the Pyramid so the dry food comes out easier.















The Kong Wobbler can be twisted apart into two pieces for easy cleaning.




The Pyramid, developed by Nina Ottosson, looks similar to the Wobbler. It does not twist apart for cleaning, so it does take a longer time to air dry. I have not yet tried it in the dishwasher. It is slightly lighter weight then the Wobbler but the opening is smaller, making the dispensing of the contents a bit more challenging.

The dogs have used two new toys for about a month now, and both toys seem to be holding up to lots of rolling and bouncing. As with other toys, I rotate these with their other interactive toys.....keeping it novel and interesting for our dogs. The use of interactive toys can be mentally tiring. This past weekend, while we were away at a 3-day training seminar with Kay Laurence and spending evenings in a hotel room, Melissa was kept busy with the Kong Wobbler.

Rotating Dog Toys

I believe dogs, just like people, get bored with the same old same old..... I remember as a young girl when a toy that I had completely forgotten about appeared out of the closet...it was new again to me and my brother. It became novel again and we played for hours with our 'new' toy'. And so, I rotate my dogs' toys. The old toys that have been put away for weeks or longer become 'new toys. Today with the freshly fallen snow, I took out two 'new' old toys. Lab Lucy and Borzoi Melissa have not seen the Holee Roller Ball in about a month.







They have not seen their green football in over two months. Others toys were forgotten today as they played with their 'new' toys.

They got an extra long workout running in the snow. They played with a new intensity with their 'new' toys which only adds to my belief that rotating their toys keeps it more interesting for them.











Lucy and Melissa had mock battles where they jumped on each other, they growled, they showed teeth. All of which is totally normal during play. They chased each other until tired.

















And when Melissa couldn't quite reach the toy she'd reach for Lucy's tail.



Stay tuned for their new indoor toys. Really new, just recently purchased.

'Catch'

The treat goes flying across the room towards Lab Lucy. It quickly disappears into her mouth. She learned to catch easily, but not all dogs grab the concept of how to catch something. I am not sure if there is a genetic tendency to be a good 'catcher', but some dogs just seem to know how to coordinate catching better then other dogs.

The first time I tossed a treat in Melissa's direction it landed on the top of her head and rolled off. Her eyes remained fixed on me. She had no inclination to even move her head to attempt to catch it. So I proceeded to teach her how to 'catch'.

I like to start with a treat that is light in color and light weight. A treat that will just about float thru the air, almost in slow motion. Popcorn is my choice...light and airy, a trick I learned from a friend who is also a trainer. I chose white cheddar cheese popcorn, I wanted the taste to be very rewarding to Melissa. I wanted there to be some incentive for her to try and 'catch'. Before we had our first training session, I gave Melissa a piece to see if she liked the taste and consistency. Years ago I had tried plain popcorn with another one of our Borzoi. He took it gently from my hand and promptly lowered his head placed it on the ground. Plain popcorn was not appetizing enough for him. That is when I changed to the white cheddar popcorn, he enjoyed the cheese flavor and quickly learned how to 'catch'. The popcorn is used just until the dog understands the concept of 'catching', and are able to have the eye to mouth coordination. Corn really has no nutritional value for dogs....but a small amount during this training should be fine for most dogs. I then switch to string cheese, and other light colored treats until they can 'catch' like Lab Lucy at which time any treat or toy can be used.

The steps I used to teach Melissa to 'catch':
1) Melissa sat in front of me and I brought a piece of popcorn close to her mouth luring her muzzle slightly upwards. I then said 'get it' which is her cue to get food I toss on the ground for her or to take toys/treats from my hand. Since Melissa has learned not to grab food or toys from my hand unless invited to take them gently it was important that I communicate to her that she could open her mouth when my fingers were close to her mouth. She did indeed open her mouth in anticipation of the treat when I said 'get it'. I released it from my fingers as her mouth opened. She swallowed and looked for more. We repeated this step a few more times while gradually increasing the distance my fingers were from her mouth....we increased by inches. When she could easily open her mouth upon hearing 'get it' with my fingers about 8 to 10 inches from her mouth we moved to the next step.

2) Melissa was once again in a sit, but now I moved back a step and tossed the treat underhand. In order for her to focus on the popcorn in my hand, I moved my hand back and forth: towards her back to me, towards her back to me. When she was watching intently I tossed the treat in her direction, just slightly above her muzzle.











The first few times she missed, it rolled off her muzzle. She began to move her mouth towards the treat instead of just sitting still.
Notice the popcorn on Melissa's muzzle, she missed but she was getting the idea to open her mouth. We just needed to work on a bit of coordination.

3) We had two training sessions. The first one ended with Melissa moving towards the treat but still missing. That's was ok, we didn't need to get the final behavior perfect in one session. Melissa was trying and focusing on the popcorn moving in her direction. Her eye to mouth coordination seemed to be on the right track. During the first session after a few misses and the popcorn falling to the floor I did go back to the beginning steps of standing in front of Melissa with my fingers close to her mouth, her muzzle pointed upwards. I wanted my new game to be fun and rewarding for her, so like all training I broke the final behavior down into smaller increments to help her be successful.

4) Our second training session was just as successful. Melissa quickly got the concept of 'catching' and was rewarded by eating the cheddar popcorn. My friend Lessa, who took these photos, captured it perfectly...popcorn floating directing into Melissa's mouth. Thanks Lessa!


I gradually increased the distance and can now stand about 4 steps away and have Melissa catch the majority of the treats coming in her direction. My cue is my hand moving towards her then back to me three times on the 3rd and final time towards Melissa I say 'catch'. I may be able to fade out my hand movement but while she is still new to the skill of 'catching' I will help her out by priming her with my hand motion. I will begin changing Melissa's position from a sit to a stand and eventually a down. The first few times she is in a position other then a sit, I will move in closer for several repetitions to help her be successful; then will gradually increase the distance once again. We have graduated to string cheese, but on occasional she still enjoys cheese popcorn.

Shaping A Paw Touch

Before I begin any training session, I have a set goal in mind. I plan what I am going to and how I am going to break down the final behavior into tiny increments. I mark/click and reward those tiny increments as we move towards that final goal. Notice I said we. Melissa and I are a team. We are working together to get towards a final goal behavior. I communicate to her that she is moving towards that goal in tiny increments by clicking and treating. This is the shaping game. Clicking/treating tiny increments of the goal behavior is a way for me to communicate to Melissa what I want her to do. Shaping keeps Melissa motivated to work, she is excited, she becomes an active member of the team that she and I have developed.

The goal for our new trick is for Melissa to depress the lever on a gumball machine with her paw.

Before I bring Melissa into the room where we will have our training session, I gather my clicker, my treats and the gumball machine which is filled with dry kibble. Melissa rarely gets dry kibble, it is a novelty to her, it is very rewarding. For Melissa it is a good choice to use as a reinforcement. If she did not like dry kibble I would use another treat to put inside the gumball machine that would be rewarding to Melissa once she learned how to depress the lever. The first steps of my shaping plan is for Melissa to interact with the gumball machine by looking at it, by moving towards it etc. I will use tiny pieces of cheese to reward Melissa for these first steps, and in the event that she does use her paw and it hits the lever, the machine is filled and ready to dispense the novel and very rewarding treats.

I bring Melissa into the training area. She does a few nose touches to the palm of my hand, a sit and perhaps a down. Melissa is now in 'working mode'. She is focused on me and ready to engage in an activity with me.

I place the gumball machine on the ground and I wait. Melissa understands the shaping game, she immediately moves towards this new object. I click and toss the treat about a foot away from the machine, by doing so I am resetting her for the next try. She moves away from the machine to get the treat, and then she moves back towards it. Click/treat, repeat.

















Next I wait for her to move closer, click treat, repeat another rep or two. Then I wait for her to touch the machine. I want her to interact with it, at this point I don't care if she touches with her nose or her paw. What I am doing is giving her information each time I click....yes, that is what I want, interact with that object. Perhaps some people will say that only paw touches should be marked right from the beginning. And for some dogs I may agree with this way of thinking. Melissa is only 16 months old and is still rather new to the shaping game. I want to give her as much information as possible, I want to keep her motivated and interacting with the machine, so I will click the first few touches with her nose. But I will then modify my criteria and click for only paw touches and ignore nose touches. Either way, we are not forcing our dogs to do anything. They are willing team members playing the shaping game with us!! The first few times Melissa does indeed pokes at the machine with her nose, she got clicked and treated. I have now switched to feeding her on the dispensing tray of the machine. She understands after only a few reps that it is this machine sitting on the floor that we are playing with so I have now changed to where I am placing my treats. Again it depends on the dog, where they are in their level of training, and what your plan is for getting to that final goal behavior.


Next I wait for her to interact with a paw. I click the slightest paw movement.










I gradually shaped for a higher paw raise. At this point I did not care which paw, right or left, that Melissa used. Again, perhaps my training criteria could be a bit clearer, but I wanted Melissa to stay in the game. For her to stay motivated at this point, I needed to reward frequently and for the tiniest of increments closer to the final goal. Higher paw touches is what I chose to click/treat.

You can see in these photos that Melissa has silly Borzoi ears, they are flopping every which way.....a sign she is alert and excited. I so enjoy watching her play the shaping game!!






One time Melissa poked at the machine with her paw so hard that it fell over. No big deal, I just set it upright. It isn't the behavior I wanted, but there is no need to reprimand, I just wait for her to lift her paw again and clicked for a bit more of a gentler touch.



I then began to click and treat for paw touches closer to the lever.








Melissa hit the lever and she got a jackpot, the kibble came tumbling out!!




It took two 2 minute training sessions, for Melissa to get to our final goal behavior: depressing the lever with her paw. Next I will put this behavior on a verbal cue which will be 'time to eat'. I will add this cue as I am placing the gumball machine on the ground and eventually will have her sit a distance away and then give the cue.

I keep training sessions short, perhaps 8 to 10 treats are in my hand, and I stop when those are gone. I let Melissa know that each training session is over with a 'we're done' as I move my hands over each other. I will then review what progress we made in that session. Did Melissa move a tiny towards the final goal? If not, how can I break the behaviors into even tiny segments so she is successful. Shaping is fun, it makes us better observers of our dog's every movement and is a good game to play indoors on snowy days.











In combination with outdoor exercise and interactive toys adolescent Melissa is ready to settle on the couch for a nap...while I have a chance to develop another shaping plan for our next trick! Thanks to Lessa Shear for taking the photos!

Snowy Days, What's A Dog To Do?

We are having a snow storm. About 10 inches has fallen, another 5 to 10 coming our way. What to do with a young dog on days like today? Borzoi Melissa is 16 months old, she is not content to lie on the couch for most of the day. She needs to be monitored around the house as she is still curious and learning what are appropriate play objects and what are not. She needs to be kept well exercised, both physically and mentally.

Melissa gets lots of physical exercise. She has lots of opportunities to run in fenced areas and play with other dogs.









We play come when called games.




We play fetch.




















She searches for food I have hidden under the snow.



She encourages Puff to play in her games.














She runs until she is tired, she is continuing to build muscle and stamina.

It is a mere 18 degrees out there. I bundle up but do get cold, I have yet to find the perfect pair of gloves to keep my fingers from getting cold after an hour in the snow. A few hours outdoors with me, so what is Melissa to do with the rest of her winter days? She could stay outdoors, I could put a heater in the cottage for her. But I prefer her to be indoors with the family and the other dogs. To me, the reason to have a dog is to interact with them, to have them close by, to enjoy their company.

So what about activities to keep Melissa occupied while she is indoors? I already rotate interactive toys. Some of Melissa's favorites: http://hemlockhollowdogtraining.blogspot.com/2009_11_01_archive.html I have a list of tricks I would like to teach Melissa. I will engage her mind; mental exercise. She will learn how to use her nose, her paws, and learn body awareness to perform specific skills. I will discover new ways to keep her motivated to stay in the game with me. Follow along in the weeks and months to come as Melissa and I learn together.

Dogs and Snow

Watching dogs in freshly fallen snow is pure pleasure. Enjoy.