Nosework - Getting Ready for Christmas!

Today at k9 nosework class, the dogs searched through wrapped Christmas packages to find their odor.  Treasure found all of her hides quickly, with an added bonus that I hadn't counted on.  With all our work recently with Treasure putting her front feet up on objects, she stepped up on many boxes that she ran into while searching.  I knew right away why she was doing it.  It's not something she has done at class before.

 

Treasure pinpoints the source of the odor ... holes drilled in the top of the box letting odor out.

 

I hadn't thought about the implications of teaching her to step up onto objects on her nosework activities.  I was happy to see that she just kept searching.  She was not waiting on the boxes for treats or a release.  She would step up and then just kept walking on to the next box. 

 

After their searches, the dogs got together for a photo shoot which had been set up for them.  It was great fun and we got some wonderful pictures!

 



Feet on a Bowl, and Other Fun Things!

This week we continued to work on Treasure putting her feet up on an upside down bowl.  I started to move the bowl a short distance farther from my legs.  At first, she put her feet up on my legs a lot, but she realized that she wasn't on the bowl and would hop down to look for it.  If she is nearby and I tap on the bowl, she seems to be able to find it easier.  When she is close and facing it, I gave the feet up cue.  It seemed to work pretty well.  Sometimes she put her feet up even without the cue. 

 

I also introduced a different upside down bowl, but put it very close to my legs where we started with the first bowl.  At first she was confused.  This bowl is lower to the ground than the first one.  She put her feet up on it, but fell forward over it a few times as she was anticipating a much taller step.  Think about if you are going up steps and you expect there to be one more, but there's not!  And you fall forward.  I hadn't thought about her doing that, as she usually sniffs the bowl before stepping up.  I thought she would notice that it was shorter. 

 

After a few repetitions, she was much more comfortable stepping up on this new bowl.  We will need to work with both bowls and other new items, so she learns to generalize and get better at judging heights.  While putting her front feet up on a bowl is a trick in itself, I have other plans for what this trick will turn into!  This is only the first step! 

 

I also introduced another trick this week.  I want to have Treasure roll out a carpet.  I started with a small mat and rolled it up into a tube shape.  I placed a treat near the roll and let Treasure eat the treat from right up next to it so her nose would touch the roll.  At first, of course, she ate the treat and had no idea what to do with the mat.  But by placing the treat farther and farther under the mat, I had her unrolling the mat in no time.  She really liked this new game, and I had to be very quick to roll up the mat and get the treat in place, or she would get impatient! 

 

I am trying to incorporate working on more than one trick at a session.  I give her a quick break between tricks, picking her up and giving her some loving.  I hope this will become a cue that we are then going to work on something else.  I also want my props to become cues for each trick.  Because she is learning so much and she works with touch cues, I am a bit limited on how many cues I can use to mean different things.  

Dog Tricks!

Now that Treasure and I have earned her CGC, we need a new project to work on.  Treasure and I love our one on one time training together, and having a goal keeps me on track and motivated with things to work on.  With winter coming up and the sun going down earlier, I decided that our next goal will be to work on some new tricks.  I hope to be able to earn a Novice Trick Dog title with Treasure.  She will need to show that she can do 15 tricks from the list of novice level tricks.  There are many to choose from, so I read through the list to see how many I thought she could learn to do without vision and hearing.  There are eight that she can already do ...

 

• Come when called
• Lie down
• Find hidden treats (Yes!  A favorite of hers!)
• Sit
• Spin in circles (she can spin in both directions)
• Stay (Yay!  We just perfected this for her CGC.)
• Walk on a loose leash
• Find which hand contains the treat (Another favorite of hers!)

 

The other ones I have chosen to teach her are:

 

• Walk a balance beam (a low, safe one, of course)
• Crawl
• Put her paws up on an object (may be hard for her because she can't see the item, but I want to try it and see how far we get)
• Roll out a carpet
• Shake hands (We started this one a long time ago, but haven't worked on it so it's about time we finished it up, wouldn't you say?)
• Go through a tunnel (she likes to play in tunnels, but I now need to teach her to go through in one motion on cue without stopping to play in the middle!)
• Go through a hoop (this one may also be challenging, but I have an idea to help her feel her way through, so we'll see how it goes.)

We have started working on Treasure putting her front paws up on an object.  For our first object, I chose a large plastic bowl turned upside down.  It's not too high.  She can feel the bowl against the bottom of her chest when she's standing, so she can tell how high up it is.  At first I made sure she was lined up right in front of the bowl and I used a food lure to get her to stretch upwards until she stepped up onto the bowl.  I pet her and let her have the treat while her feet were still on the bowl. 

 

We've been working on this trick for about three weeks now, but I haven't been able to work with her every day.  She will now quickly put her front feet up on the bowl.  She is beginning to be able to find the bowl from a short distance away, but not consistently.  I am using a cue which she responds to when she is already next to the bowl.  I no longer need to use a lure to get her up onto the bowl.  She knows what to do. 

 

I hope to continue with this trick adding other variables and experimenting to see what else we can do with an upside down bowl!  Watch for updates and pictures as we progress! 

Getting a Canine Good Citizen Award with Your Blind and Deaf Dog

Here’s a link to learn more about the AKC’s Canine Good Citizen evaluation.  It explains the rules and exercises in depth.

http://www.akc.org/events/cgc/training_testing.cfm

There are a few considerations to think about when taking the CGC evaluation with your blind and deaf dog.  Take a few minutes prior to the test to speak with the evaluator about any modifications that your particular dog needs to be successful.  I mention some of them below.

1.        Accepting a friendly stranger.  This one probably doesn’t require any special modifications.  Your dog should remain by your side while a person approaches you, shakes your hand and spends a minute or two talking to you.  

2.       Sit politely for petting.  I spoke with my evaluator ahead of time as to which touch cues I would be using with Treasure.  Touching your dog is allowed during the test, but forcing the dog is not, so I wanted to be sure she recognized that my touching Treasure was actually for the purpose of giving her cues.  I gave the touch cue to sit and then I put my hand lightly on Treasure, which is her cue that someone else will be touching her so she doesn’t startle.  Then the evaluator pets her.

3.       Appearance and grooming.  I brought my own brush and again, this really didn’t require any modification for Treasure.  I touched her lightly to let her know someone else would be touching her and she stood calmly for the grooming and examination.

 

 

4.       Out for a walk.  I did discuss modifications on this exercise ahead of time.  Treasure walks with me on both a regular leash and a solid leash.  I felt the solid leash would be more suitable for a situation walking close to me and moving around through a crowd of people and distractions. It allows me to keep her closer and give her clearer signals.  I discussed both options with the evaluator and she agreed with me that the solid leash made more sense in this situation.  We had to show walking together with left, right, and about turns, and two halts.

5.       Walk through a crowd.  Well, it’s a small crowd of several people milling around.  This is when the solid leash came in handy.  Because Treasure is small, it isn’t comfortable or feasible for me to walk hunched over to keep her out of harm’s way and close to my leg.  The solid leash allowed me to give her cues quickly and easily to keep her from getting trampled or tripping anyone since she can’t see them approaching. 

 

 

6.       Sit and down on cue and staying in place.  Treasure had to show response to both a sit and down cue.  These cues are again done by touch.  I was allowed to choose the stay position, so I chose a down for this part.  After giving her the cue to stay, I walked away for 20 feet and then turned and came back.  Treasure had to stay down when I returned to her until I told her she could get up.

 

 

7.       Come when called.  I use a cue of blowing toward Treasure for her long distance recall cue.  I did discuss this with the evaluator ahead of time as well.  If it’s a breezy day and the test is held outside, it may be worth asking if you can start up close to your dog to give the recall cue and then move backwards, continuing to call your dog, until you reach the 10 foot mark. 

8.       Reaction to other dog.  You and another handler (with a dog) will approach each other.  Your dog must stay by your side and not be overly interested in the other dog while you and the other handler talk for a moment and then continue on your way.

9.       Reaction to distraction.  This is something your evaluator may wish to discuss with you ahead of time.  The crowd may need to alter their distractions a bit.  Some of the distractions used for Treasure’s test were dropping items close to her so she could feel the vibration, banging pans near her – also to produce a vibration, passing very close to and brushing up against Treasure unexpectedly, and running past her while stomping feet heavily.

10.   Supervised separation.  The evaluator will hold your dog’s leash while you leave the area for three minutes.  Your dog is not supposed to be overly upset.  I didn’t need to ask for any modifications for this part.  If your dog is likely to get upset about being left with a stranger, you may want to train in a special cue that lets your dog know that you will be returning.  You can then practice with your dog until it can wait calmly for you to return. 

 I hope this gives you an idea about what’s involved with getting the Canine Good Citizen award with your dog.  Treasure and I hope that you will consider pursuing this award with your blind-deaf dogs as well. 

Treasure Earns Her CGC!!

At the NCSR sheltie reunion picnic, Treasure passed the CGC (AKC’s Canine Good Citizen) evaluation!  This had been one of my goals when I first started doing some formal training with Treasure.  I had been sloppy about teaching the stay exercise because it was difficult for Treasure and we rarely had use for it.  But when I got the announcement that CGC would be offered at the picnic, I thought, hmmm …what would be a better place for Treasure to strut her stuff than at the picnic?  So I sent in my paperwork and got to work! 

Her other skills were good because we use them frequently … walking nicely on a leash, sit, down, good behavior with other dogs and people, body  handling and grooming, coming when called, etc.  But that pesky stay … that one would be harder.  Getting the initial stay as I stepped away from her was the hardest part.  I could get her to stay with me right next to her, but that first step away was just too much and she moved to come with me every time. 

Remaining in a sit position for a long period of time is hard for Treasure.  I think this must stem from the spinal issues she had when she first came to me.  Even though she knows the cue for sit and will do it readily, I still (two years later) very rarely see her sit on her own unless she is on her way into a down position.  She will usually go directly from a stand to a down and then back to a stand.  With the CGC, I knew I could choose either a sit or a down stay, so I chose to focus on the down stay. 

With lots and lots of practice, we finally achieved the down stay while I took a few steps away from her.  Then I found the rest of the exercise to go very quickly and easily.  With my dogs that can see, adding distance can be a tough thing for them because they can see me leaving and getting farther away.  With Treasure, once I was a few steps away, I found that I could very quickly go as far away as I wanted to and she would stay in place.  She knew I was away from her, but I don’t think she could tell just how far away I was. 

We then practiced for longer periods of time and with me leaving her in different directions.  We practiced in new places and indoors and outdoors. The hardest time for Treasure to practice was right before mealtime.  She knows that it’s time to eat and she will rush to her crate and wait impatiently for her bowl to appear.  Practicing a down stay outside of her crate at mealtime really tested her knowledge of the cues and her self-control, but it also showed me that she did understand.

Finally, on the day of the picnic, I wondered how she would perform.  I knew that she understood the cues and exercises.  But I also knew that Treasure certainly has a mind of her own!  If she decides to do something, she rarely stops until she finds a way to do it.  If she decides NOT to do something, there isn’t much I can do to convince her otherwise! 

But I didn’t need to worry at all.  She was perfect!  I think she surprised the evaluators, and she delighted her friends and fans!  When we finished the evaluation, they cheered for her!  Congratulations Treasure!! 

Now, on to the next goal … what will it be?? 

Treasure and I celebrating that we passed the CGC!

What We've Been Up To ...

Wow, it's been awhile since we posted.  Summer brings with it so many activities, that it's hard to find time to write about them in between all the fun!  This coming week is Deaf Dog Awareness Week!  Thus, I thought this was the perfect opportunity to catch you up on what the girls have been up to. 

 

Jasmine continues to keep life interesting for us!  She turns one year old this month.  That hardly seems possible.  We finished up a beginner obedience class this summer.  Jazzy went through a period where she got very cautious around strangers.  I hope this is almost behind us.  It took me by surprise because she's always been so outgoing.  Instead of forcing her, I have just been patient and allowed her to approach people on her own terms as she's comfortable.  She is learning some cute new tricks.  And she still loves nothing more than an intense rough and tumble with Brinks!

 

Grace is on a bit of a diet, as she has started to gain a few extra pounds.  We play in the yard doing agility jumps and tunnels.  As long as the sun is not too bright and it's not starting to get dark, she can see well enough to judge the height of low jumps.  We are training rally exercises and some canine freestyle tricks, like weaving between my legs, spinning, and backing up. 

 

Treasure continues to love doing K9 nosework.  She is starting up classes again for the fall, which always challenge us and give us new things to work on.  The weather has been wonderful lately, so all of our hides have been outside.  We've done more vehicle hides and we've ventured out and used different areas of the fields around our house.  She's very intense and continues searching until she finds her way back to the source of the odor.  We've taken a break from therapy visits for the time being.  Treasure has started a raw diet to see if it will help to clear up her many cysts.  However, our therapy dog group doesn't allow dogs eating raw diets to go visiting.  So we will see how the diet affects her and then decide whether to go back to the previous diet and to visiting. 

 

In a week, we'll be at the NCSR sheltie rescue picnic!  What fun!  Shelties everywhere!  Treasure will get to show off her K9 nosework skills, and maybe some of her tricks!  She's a bit of a local celebrity, so she will of course be meeting and greeting all her fans!  I can't think of a better way to wrap up Deaf Dog Awareness Week! 

 

Do you know a deaf dog?  If so, do something special for and in honor of them this week! 

Treasure's Travels

Treasure has already been so busy this month!  We just returned from a road trip to VA to attend a Suzanne Clothier seminar.  This post is about traveling with a blind-deaf dog. 

When you travel with any dog, there are usually more things to pack for the dog's comfort than for your own!  Crates, blankets and beds, toys, bones, treats, bowls, food, leashes, etc.  And traveling with Treasure was no different.  I packed her ex pen in case we needed it and her crate.  We didn't really use either one, except that she rode to and from in her crate.  But it was important to have them with me in case she needed a sense of home. 

I took her stroller, because I knew we'd be in the seminar setting for most of each day.  She is comfortable hanging out in the stroller in new places and relaxing in it.  It gave her a familiar and safe place to hang out when we weren't doing other things. 

On the breaks, I let her wander on her leash to get some exercise, and we did some training exercises.  I took her food ball and kong wobbler to give her activities to do at mealtimes.  And she had some special chew bones to keep her busy during the down times of the day.  She got lots of petting from the other seminar attendees, which is always the highlight of her outings! 

It's important with any dog to secure them in the vehicle while traveling.  I think it's especially important for a blind-deaf dog.  A dog like Treasure won't be able to see obstacles in the car if I have to stop short and she may be thrown into objects that she didn't know were there, or thrown off a seat that she can't see the edge of.  Or, even if there are other objects that move around the car when I stop, those could hit her as well.  Treasure travels in a crate for my peace of mind and for her safety.

Once at the hotel, I took in our bags first and checked out the room.  It's important to check for anything left on the floor that your dog might get into, but when traveling with a blind-deaf dog, also do a check for any furniture or other items that could be dangerous for your dog.  I also pick up the trash cans.  Although they are empty now, as I start to fill them, if they are already up off the floor, I know Treasure won't be able to reach them. 

After Treasure did her business, I brought her into the hotel and followed her around on the leash while she checked things out.  Keeping her on a leash at first allowed me to prevent her from banging into furniture and walls while she explored.  She loves exploring, so she takes off at a good pace sniffing away.  Once she'd been through the room a couple times on leash, I then removed the leash and allowed her to continue exploring. 

I took a video of her exploring and of her finding me in the hotel room.  I thought it would be helpful to see that a blind-deaf dog will do some bumping into things, but it rarely slows them down on their quest to explore new places.  You can also see in the video that Treasure does not bump into the majority of things in the room.  She bumps into things the most in the corner of the room where the air conditioner was blowing.  I think the moving air currents were a little confusing to her. 

The video was taken that first night in the hotel room, so you can see her actually mapping out a new environment.  She will walk the same area several times to get a good map of it in her head.  The second night returning to the same hotel room, she did a brief walk through to make sure it was the same place, but didn't see the need to map it out or explore too much. 

You can also see her exploring on the bed to find the edges.  When she's satisfied, she then settles down for a snooze.  Treasure really enjoyed not having to share the bed with the other dogs!  She likes to sleep in the middle and stretch out, although she also will sleep with her toes hanging over the edge of the bed ... I think to keep track of where the edge is so she feels safer.  It was interesting to me that Treasure realized her steps to the bed were not there.  She didn't try to get down at all.  

I hope you enjoy the video and that it can be helpful in knowing what to expect while your blind-deaf dog is exploring and mapping out a new area. Watch the video here ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fZM15dES7A&list=UUBaUUGAnbEi0LGzzqAWJykw&index=1&feature=plcp