Agility Contact Workshop, Part 2

Jackie and I participated in the Cowtown Dog Sports Agility Contact Workshop Part 2 this weekend with much success. New skills learned included cueing directional turns off of a contact. We were also able to practice playing correct start lines and perfect 2o2o behavior.

It was a great educational experience getting to rehearse stopped contacts, and begin linking obstacles such as hoops, jumps as well as turns before and after the contacts.

Pearls:

• To begin, teach straight directions off of contacts "Go!" and when that is solid teach turning toward the handler directional cues "Here!" and when that is solid teach turning away from the handler cues "Back!"
• Be extremely diligent in reinforcing absolutely correct start lines and 2o2o behavior. If the dog blows past the end of the contact, it can be ok to circle the dog back around onto the contact and reinforce correct 2o2o, but only once or twice, otherwise the circling around can become part of the behavior which is not correct 2o2o behavior  
• To reinforce correct 2o2o behavior if the dog is struggling, it is best to return to the start and play the behavior again, capturing and jackpotting correct 2o2o contact behavior at the end of the contact
• Vary the amount of time the handler waits to release the dog at the start line and after the contact, so the dog doesn't begin to anticipate the same rhythm each time
• At the start line it is best to just say "Break!" and then the obstacle name "Feet!" (for the dog walk) and directionally point to the dog's path of travel. No need to say "Break! Go! Feet!" you can just say "Break! Feet!" and visually cue the dog walk by pointing straight ahead to the 2o2o contact zone
• Remember to follow through by running past the final obstacle with your dog; pulling up or stopping short may cause the dog to stop and turn around to see what you're doing and possibly miss the final jump; rather keep going to indicate to your dog that she is to follow through over the final obstacle 

Video clip of Jackie learning directional cues to and from contact, and practicing 2o2o stopped contacts:

Rally 1 Week 2

Gunner and I played our longest mini course to date, and to start the night we did a practice run where I put away my bait pouch and used verbal praise without food rewards.

The new signs we practiced tonight for the first time included:

Moving Sidestep Right: Without hesitation and still heeling forward, team takes one handler right diagonal step in heel position towards sign.

Offset Serpentine Right: Three cones are set 6 - 8 feet apart for Novice and Advanced; 4 -6 feet apart for Excellent and masters. The middle cone is moved 3 - 4 feet to the right. The team enters with the first cone on their right, and weaves through with the second offset cone to their left and the final cone to their right. Entrance and exit for this sign are straight on and do not create a turn for the entrance or exit.

45° Diagonal Left: Team makes a 45-degree turn to the left in heel position.

Halt, Front Dog, Finish Left, Halt: Handler stops, dog sits in heel position. Handler steps around to front of dog. Dog finishes back left to handler to heel position, dog sits. Team heels forward moving in the opposite direction they were traveling.

Gunner and I playing the mini course, we were experimenting for the first time without using food treats:

Gunner and I playing the mini-course using food rewards:

Pearls:

• Homework includes reinforcing optimum heel position.  While heeling, Gunner's shoulder should remain at my pant seam
• Using a platform to improve and reinforce heel position is done by having Gunner on the platform, reinforcing for being in optimum heel position, then tossing a food treat away "Get it!" and then "Heel!" and reinforce when Gunner returns to optimum heel position on the platform
• Using a high rate of reinforcement keeps up motivation and interest 

Agility 1 Week 6

Jackie is continuing to gain confidence on the dog-walk, A frame, and with directional turns.

When teaching the A frame, I can't be too far behind Jackie as that made her breeze past the end of the contact to turn and look for me, so I need to stay with her as she's learning the A frame so I can promptly reinforce 2o2o contact behavior. I mustn't go too fast with the A frame as Jackie sailed into the air as she literally flew up and over the A frame today. Until she has more control and experience, we've toned it down a bit to give her confidence.

When jumping standards and directional turning around a course however, I do need to maintain speed so that Jackie stays engaged and connected with me. As long as I run and point accurately and confidently, Jackie stays more reliable and engaged on the course.

Pearls:

• We played the tire jump for the first time today with much success. To avoid injury due to rotational falls (some of the very worst types of injury are from rotational falls) it is important to play on a tire jump that has a safety break-away in the event the dog hits the tire it is designed to pop open so the dog will land safely on their feet through it
• Slow time down a bit while teaching the A frame, and be sure to stay with Jackie as she is continuing to learn 2o2o contact behavior 
• Otherwise stay speedy while running the course to keep Jackie engaged and connected

Video clips of Jackie on the A-frame; today was the second time she's ever seen an A-frame:

Rally 1 Week 1

Gunner has completed two rounds of Rally Obedience foundation classes and has started his regular Rally classes.  This week we played two mini-courses to practice signs we've seen before.

Some of the signs we played tonight:

Fast Pace: At sign, team’s speed increases at a noticeably faster than normal pace in heel position until next sign, which must be a Normal Pace sign.

Normal Pace: At sign, team’s speed returns to normal pace in heel position.

Left Turn (limit one in E, M): Team makes a 90-degree turn to the left in heel position.

Halt, Stand: Handler stops, dog sits in heel position. At handler’s command and/or signals, dog stands in heel position. Handler pauses. Team heels forward from stand. Handler may gently assist dog to stand.

Halt, Walk Around Dog: Handler stops, dog sits in heel position. Handler walks around dog and pauses in heel position while dog remains sitting. Team heels forward.

Call Dog Front 1 - 2 - 3 Backwards: Team stops heeling forward, as handler steps backwards and calls dog to front position, dog sits facing handler. Handler takes one step back with dog, dog sits facing handler. Handler takes two steps back with dog, dog sits facing handler, Handler takes three steps back with dog, dog sits facing handler. Handler has dog return to heel position by the method of choice without sitting. Team heels forward.

Pearls:

• Homework this week includes reinforcing prompt stand from a halt while in good heel position, as well as reinforcing (and practicing on my part) a brisk heeling pace

Feeds and Feeding, Neurotic Edition

At Gunner's most recent cardiology appointment on January 12, 2022 with his residency-trained in cardiology veterinarian Dr. Rebecca Fields Benny, we got the good news that Gunner's heart size and overall condition are stable.  This finding is based on radiographs of the chest (Gunner's heart and esophagus), blood pressure, kidney panel, echocardiogram of the heart, and pulmonary pressure.

Gunner's heart size is stable but his pulmonary pressures were slightly higher at this visit than at the last visit. His kidney values were mildly elevated at this visit. This is a change this visit compared to September when the cardiologist veterinarian last checked. A low protein kidney diet is not recommended for cardiac patients as Gunner needs adequate protein to prevent muscle loss.  Gunner also cannot receive safe fluids under the skin. 

Dr. Fields Benny recommended having Gunner's Creatinine and BUN values rechecked in 8 weeks with his primary veterinarian Dr. J. Scott Mellina to monitor for trends.  On 1/12/22 Gunner's creatinine value was 2.0 mg/dL (normal is 0.5 to 1.8) and his BUN was 29 mg/dL (normal is 7 to 27).

Gunner's doppler ultrasound of his heart:

Radiographs showing Gunner's enlarged heart pushing into his trachea. Eat a bag of dicks heart disease

Moving on, in the ongoing effort to provide optimum nutritional support I've decided to try a diet based on raw protein for Gunner (as well as Jackie since she is an active sport dog too). The diet I've chosen is Dr. Harvey's brand Canine Health base mix food that I add fresh meat such as chicken or beef, and add oil to the base mix food. This base mix has 54mg sodium per 100 kcal (versus 89.5mg sodium per 100 kcal of his current diet The Honest Kitchen Beef and Salmon) which is an improvement since cardiac patients need to limit their sodium intake. 

I have started the process of cautiously transferring Gunner onto the new diet.  We're on day two of about 21 days of slowly transitioning to the new diet, being careful to avoid any negative GI issues. 

Jackie is also transitioning to the new diet from her current kibble. She is my pickiest eater, and early taste tests are favorable.  As a palatability trial, I offered Jackie just the Canine Health base mixed with hot water.  I was surprised that Jackie preferred the Canine Health over her current Fromm kibble, even without the addition of any meat.

The protein source I'm starting with is ground hamburger, fed raw but slightly warmed with hot water, to avoid stomach upset that could occur from eating very cold meat out of the refrigerator. Since all my dogs are already on fish oil, my source for the added oil is Wholistic Pet Organics brand deep sea wild Alaskan salmon oil. 

Though I'm transitioning very slowly, eventually the complete diet for Gunner will be 3/4 cup dry Dr. Harvey's Caninie Health base mixed with 1/2 cup hot water, 8 ounces of protein (hamburger, chicken, beef hearts, salmon, eggs etceteras), and 2 teaspoons of Wholistic Pet Organics deep sea wild salmon oil per day, divided into two meals: one meal in the morning and one meal in the afternoon. Supplements include a dollop of canned pumpkin per meal, a heavy dash of organic ground turmeric, and SmartPak brand Smart Canine combo senior chews, one chew per meal.

Pearls:

• Dr. Harvey's Canine Health has been recommended to support health and longevity by people whose opinions matter. It is a dehydrated whole-foods base mix that you add raw protein such as hamburger, beef hearts, fish, chicken, or eggs as a protein source and oil as a fat source
  
  
  
• SmartPak's Smart Canine Combo Senior contains key ingredients for healthy joints, tendons, and ligaments, including glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate, hyaluronic acid (HA), and collagen; in addition, ingredients such as turmeric, resveratrol, devil’s claw, yucca, and methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) help address discomfort associated with aging; it also provides prebiotics and probiotics to help support a normal digestive system

  

  
  

  

  
  
• Organic turmeric has anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer effects
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• Salmon oil provides omega 3 fatty acids, which benefit heart health and brain function, reduces inflammation and strengthens the immune system
  
  
  

• A kitchen scale that measures ounces (as well as grams and pounds), has an easy-to-disinfect stainless steel surface, and a tare button that subtracts the container weight to zero out the scale is helpful in measuring accurate amounts of raw protein. This scale was 9 bucks and it works well: 
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• Careful prep, cleanup, and keeping hands, surfaces, and tools clean and disinfected are key to preventing salmonella and other germs from taking hold on prep surfaces or in food bowls. It's easy enough to put dishes in the dishwasher to be sterilized, good ol' handwashing with hot water and soap, and 409 antibacterial kitchen disinfectant is a simple way to keep tools and surfaces disinfected when dealing with raw food
  
  
  
• This electric glass tea kettle heats water in less than four minutes and has proven very convenient as I can leave it filled with water on the kitchen counter in my prep area for use on-demand for rehydrating the base mix; pouring hot water over the cold protein out of the refrigerator is just enough to warm it without cooking so it is still raw
  
  
  

Seems like a lot of fuss... and it is... and it's worth it to keep this good buddy feeling his best

Agility 1 Week 5

Jackie had a big day of firsts! She got to see an actual agility field for the first time, we played on the full-sized dog walk for the first time, and we played on the A-frame for the first time today, all with much success. 

When first introducing the dog walk and A-frame I need to stay up fairly close to Jackie while she is still learning. The A-frame is very physically challenging for dogs because it is so steep and they have to hold themselves on the downward slope and in 2o2o position so it is best not to play the A-frame too often, but often enough to gradually build strength and proficiency. 

Pearls:

• It's a good idea to build lots of value for 2o2o behavior, so the dog starts to want to take every opportunity to get into 2o2o
• Seems obvious, but remember this is all for fun! Stay relaxed if Jackie wants to have a sniff at something or a moment to look around
• Always aim for perfect practice; however mistakes are data points and just another way of learning; if I stay positive, so does Jackie, and anyway we're doing it all for fun so keep that idea always in the forefront!
  
  
  

Rally 2 Week 5

Gunner graduated from Rally 2 tonight.  Now he will progress to Rally 3 with the goal of having fun playing Rally together. We're grateful for our coach's support and appreciated the reminder that Gunner definitely needs a job.

Tonight we played two new signs, the 1,2,3 signs.  

Halt 1-2-3: Halt, 1- 2- 3: Handler stops, dog sits in heel position. While maintaining heel position, Team heels one handler step, handler stops, dog sits. Team heels two handler steps, handler stops, dog sits. Team heels three handler steps, handler stops, dog sits. Team heels forward.

The handler has to be early in asking the dog to sit so he knows not to keep forging onward while the handler is stopping after only taking one, a couple, or three steps. During the walkthrough, be mindful of how close to (or far from) the sign cone the team needs to be to have the right amount of space to finish all three steps.

Call Dog Front 1 - 2 - 3 Backwards: Team stops heeling forward, as handler steps backwards and calls dog to front position, dog sits facing handler. Handler takes one step back with dog, dog sits facing handler. Handler takes two steps back with dog, dog sits facing handler, Handler takes three steps back with dog, dog sits facing handler. Handler has dog return to heel position by the method of choice without sitting. Team heels forward.

Gunner did this fairly well.  His front paw waving (a vestige of his trick training) was making me laugh but we persevered through the class clown antics.

Pearls:

• Homework this week includes working on prompt sits while the handler takes only one step, or only a couple steps.  Vary the steps randomly so the dog does not start to anticipate a pattern.
• Front sits are pretty solid, and we will continue to reinforce these.

Agility 1 Week 4

To encourage prompt startlines for Jackie, I should only lead out in front of her a more modest distance. As we continue to get to know one another, Jackie will gain confidence to burst forward at the start line when I say "Break!" 

Today we played a mini agility course of a startline hoop, dog walk, tunnel, and two upright jumps on a straight line.  When pointing along Jackie's path, I need to point straight ahead along her path of travel.

Pearls:

• Homework this week will be to reinforce prompt startlines, continue to reinforce 2o2o contact behavior, and continue to build value for jumping
• Jackie loves chasing me from behind, so to the extent that is possible it is good for now to get out in front of her while still staying connected with her to encourage speed on her part

Jackie will eventually learn to get more distance in front, and for now I can use her love of chasing me to encourage speed

Agility 1 Week 3

Jackie debuted the dog walk today! It was fun seeing all our foundation games to learn contact behavior come together to produce great results.  We were able to run back and forth over the dog walk, then add a tunnel before and after the dog walk.  Jackie is beginning to incrementally add speed and distance.

For dogs learning the baby dog walk, keep a high rate of reinforcement, with high value reinforcement every time she successfully displays correct contact behavior over the dog walk, and occasional jackpots for the first time and for adding speed or distance.  (Our high-value reinforcement cookies today were leftover holiday turkey and steak cut up into tiny bites.)  

To begin, I directed Jackie to hop up on the low side of the dog walk and get in two-on-two-off position and reinforced her for 2o2o then released her.  We repeated that a few times and Jackie organically started to explore across the entire dog walk, offering the behavior because we have done so much good foundation play. 

Our coach reminded us before we started that the dogs often get the lightbulb moment on the dog walk quickly because they have been playing 2o2o behavior on their foundation planks. Robin also reminded us to make every reasonable effort not to let the dog jump down off the dog walk, but Jackie was more interested in running across the dog walk properly right from the outset.

Reinforce when correct contact behavior is offered, and ignore mistakes.  For "baby" agility dogs it is fine if they run over the dog walk on their own or hop up onto the dog walk-- we want to encourage them to approach the dog walk and keep it fun and valuable for the dog.

Our coach reminded us today that keeping agility (and all behaviors really) a fun game, by being energetic and enthusiastic, helps the dog stay engaged and enjoy playing. 

Jackie enthusiastically understanding driving out ahead of the handler to run the dog walk

Pearls:

• Reinforce every time across the dog walk while teaching the agility initiate, and jackpot for new correct behaviors or behaviors that the dog gets correct after previously struggling
• Stay positive and enthusiastic with your voice and maintain a high level of reinforcement including cheerful praise
• Homework this week includes continuing to reinforce contact behavior, and continuing to create value for jumps and startlines 

Video highlight clips of Jackie's first time on the baby dog walk: