Fake Fall

 


The other day it rained and temperatures dropped. Texans know this is actually "Fake Fall" where we can't get our hopes up but will still enjoy the brief respite from the summer heat. It absolutely was fake, because today in our long line work excursion I got tanned.

I found another park / retention pond on google maps, not far from my kids' elementary school. We were able to practice some short leash work as well as full leash exercises we learned yesterday in our private lesson. In an effort to not keep a predictable schedule, we left the house at 11AM. Even though it was mid-80s, it was sunny and humid (should rain later today). We tried to stick to the shade, but they were far between spots and I had us leave sooner than I would have liked. We got even more hot as another person walking their dog was in between us and where we parked, so we had to stall and walk around farther away. Rye did react a bit to the other dog even at a distance, but really was too hot to care and was probably more pulling to just get back to the car.

In the playground area there was a water fountain with a dog section but it was not functional. I will bring a water bottle and portable bowl for Rye next time.

During our walk Rye managed to drag her long line into her poop. I will pack some wipes for next time as well.





My notes from yesterday's training lesson:
  • If she's very agitated and needs to calm down (like in the crate before exiting the car), I can use the stim in steady long pulses to help center her (like a deep breathing exercise)
  • With the ball on the rope, I need to cover the rope so she can grab just the ball ... this will help her be more aware of where she puts her teeth
  • With frisbee play, I can have her stay for the first frisbee throw, then I can release / reward her with a second frisbee throw
  • I need to practice 50/50 with short leash work (like I've learned already) and full leash work. Full leash work is where I hold the handle at my center of mass and walk purposefully ... if she does not follow at my side (e.g. forges ahead), I do an abrupt about turn away from her and go in the opposite direction. If she is distracted or lags behind I need to speed up (even run) to get her to catch up. Periodically stop to a sit and have her process. I shouldn't pull up while walking.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Baseball

Image
  We hit up another retention pond / baseball practice field for our long leash work yesterday. This time, my husband came along for a more challenging distraction. On our drive there, he noted how quiet she was in the car! Rye has certainly come a long way and I'm glad he noticed.  Hubby was pretty distracting for Rye. While I was waiting to get her out of her crate, he was pacing back and forth nearby. Even though Rye knew who he was, seeing someone walk by was very exciting. We had a nice time in this field. It butts up behind the city's league fields and isn't far from our house but takes a while to get around to the back road. There was a narrow entrance due to the surrounding houses and at the back of the field looked like a path that leads elsewhere through some trees. Hubby was good to forge ahead and make sure no one was coming. He got to see how I work her with the long and short leash. We found some baseballs and some interesting limestone rocks (which he took ho...
Read more

Mom Diet

Image
Yesterday we did some long line work at one of the YMCA soccer fields. There were some trees, park benches, bleachers, and a fence that we were able to explore. Rye was interested in what all the people were doing many yards away, but we did not see any other dogs. Today Rye and I had a lesson with her trainer where we focused on getting my leash work dialed in. We're not seeing the attention and progress from Rye that we'd like (Rye is blowing me off and checking out). We are initiating "Mom Diet", where Rye is restricted from anything of value unless she works with Mom. Hopefully this will increase my value over the month that this is implemented. I will have daily documentation to keep me in check. I need to: Log my interactions with her (including every time I talk to her) Work on my short leash turns at home we can't progress to working on them in another location unless we nail it at home Continue long leash enjoyment Meals are rewards for doing correct beha...
Read more

Putting in the Work

Image
  Rye and I are continuing to work through our difficulties and enjoy our successes. We lucked out on a very nice park off Lakeline Thursday morning. It had a stretch of grass on the outer edge that spanned the backyards of the neighborhood that was empty. We did see dogs walking in the park and along the outside of the park, but this narrow stretch was unused. I've been continuing to work with Rye with her meals, rewarding her with her kibble in the morning and evening as she performs her tasks. Every night I'd ask her to give me her paws and successful passes (without her yanking her arm back) gets rewarded. We eventually escalated to bringing out the smaller nail clippers and having it in my hand, then touching her with it, and the past couple nights I have even been able to clip a nail without her even attempting to snap. She definitely doesn't enjoy  it, but she has been so much more accommodating and trusting. I don't push her too much. For whatever reason she...
Read more