This is just a brag. Caspian's reactive dog classes are going fine, but I'm still frustrated by them. So, I decided I'd do some work with the dogs in the house today, to remind me how great they can be when stress levels are lower. I'm also starting to think about behaviors that will help on the cross-country move, like crate training and mat work, so I've been introducing both in the last month or two.
I went to Target this afternoon and bought two bath mats. We've been working up to starting Karen Overall's relaxation protocol - both dogs will stay for longer than 15 seconds so long as I'm moving, but Caspian can only manage 4 seconds with me doing nothing. But I figured, since we're making decent progress, I'd start them on actual mats tonight.
They were bizarrely, unbelievably good. Caspian still gets fidgety if I stay still and do nothing, but with that single exception he far exceeded my expectations. Kaia's waits are much better than Cas', so it's not a surprise that she did a great job. She's also of the, "really? I just have to lie here, and you feed me treats? I'll do that all day," variety, which Caspian definitely isn't. :P
I'm still doing something more like a typical wait with them, not yet worrying about relaxation. Imagine my surprise when I suddenly realized the dogs had both remained perfectly still on their mats for over 4 minutes, with only a single break in position from Caspian. I was treating every 5-30 seconds, depending on what I was doing, but I've never worked that long with Caspian before without giving him breaks to move around.
Our crate training is also progressing beautifully. I'm actually considering doing at least some of the cross-country drive in March with the dogs in their crates, rather than on seat belts. It will cut down on the back-of-the-car wrestling matches, and I'll be able to hand out bones or project toys that way. I've now had Caspian in the crate, still eating, when I let Kaia out, left both dogs in their crates for over an hour with me in the room, left both dogs in their crates for 20 minutes with me out of the room, and left both dogs in their crates while I leave the house to get the mail, or leave the room to take a shower. Pretty good, given the initial reluctance from both them and myself.
The highlight of my day, however, was an impromptu play session. My dogs are great at playing with one another, but very reluctant to play with me. Kaia will dance around me, barking and growling, and play some chase games, but nothing physical and won't really play with toys. Caspian will sometimes play with me, but just as often gets anxious and (excuse the anthropomorphizing) apologetic if I try to engage him in play with a toy - he doesn't always seem to understand that I want to play. They've both been getting better - Kaia and I have done a lot of shaping games where I reward only for play behaviors, with or without a toy, and Caspian has gotten more confident as he's gotten older. They'll both quite happily play with one another, and most of my attempts to play with one or the other of them have ended in a play session between both dogs, totally ignoring me.
So today I brought out a squeaky ball and a stuffed animal, and Cas pranced off with the ball. Kaia and I actually played with the stuffed animal - I wouldn't quite call it tug yet, but it was definite play behavior and lasted much longer than it has in the past. Later, we switched toys and Kaia played (actually played!) with the tennis ball, while Cas kept himself occupied with the stuffed toy. She chased it, and even picked it up and brought it to me. I got one full fetch out of her, which was a pleasant surprise. When she got tired of playing, Caspian and I played a good game of tug (longer than usual) with the stuffed toy, before I put everything away. Both dogs actually looked reluctant to stop when I put the toys away.
It's far from rewarding to have Caspian in classes - his learning style is so different from what I'm used to, and we struggle so much with relatively simple concepts. But it's really rewarding for me to work with both dogs at home, and I need to remember that and do it more often. If I can improve on either their mat work or their crate training to the point that I can work with just one dog at a time, I'd be able to do so much more work with both of them - and I really do think I'm getting close to that point, which is exciting.
On the one hand, I feel kind of silly for having them for so long without doing this relatively easy, very important stuff. On the other hand, it's just so exciting to be doing it now, that I don't really mind the late start. I love being surprised by my dogs - I tend to forget how lucky I am, that they're both such a pleasure to work with at home. And, since I'm enjoying it so much, I shouldn't have any trouble keeping up with my in-home training goals.
well done
I like Karen Overalls protocol for relaxation too.
It's very lovely to read your training blogs, your joy in what you are doing is so obvious. Training should be fun and enjoyable - for both human and dog...
Thank you! It's fun to
Thank you! It's fun to write them, it gives me something to refer back to when I want to see how they've been progressing. I spend so much time when we work outside of the house managing the environment, keeping an eye out for possible problems, and constantly planning my next step, it's hard to keep the outside work enjoyable. The inside work, on the other hand, is a pleasure, because neither my dogs nor I have anything to worry about except the training games. I just need to keep reminding myself of that - it's easy to lump inside and outside training together, which really changes my mindset.