Organised by: Koirakoulu PikkuHukka
14 December 2001
The fifth and final time with a dog. Roope stayed home, and I went alone. I was
able to "borrow" our trainer's dog. We practised going front with the
help of a guiding cane, sitting and staying. Wrong responses got no attention,
correct responses were rewarded. There were tasks where the dog had to go
through a tyre. All kinds of coaxing was allowed.
7 December 2001
Fourth time with a dog. It felt really cold even though it was only a couple of
degrees under zero. On this lesson we practised contact with a strange object, a
ballpoint pen. The point was to practise lifting and carrying the object with
the pen. Well, Roope was interested of the pen for a while... Apparently the cold
and the jacket bothered him. We also had a little lecture on a new issue and
Roope was able to warm up in my lap.
There was also some eye contact training. A click, and a treat when the dog
looks at your eyes. We practised sitting. Click and a treat when the dog sits.
No commands, but some coaxing was allowed. And Roope did sit. After this lesson
we talked about continuing this action with a command. And we were asked some
difficult questions about things we had previously discussed.
2 December 2001
Third time with a dog. The temperature was about 2 degrees minus and the wind
was very cold. In the beginning of the lesson Roope had a "I hate this
jacket" show. He rubbed himself on the ground, reeled on the ground, rolled
and bustled around. But the jacket was there to stay.
We practised on a "base". The dog was supposed to go on the base, it
was enough if one feet touched it. Then click and a treat was dropped a bit
further, so that the dog was able to go back to the base. As a trick we tried
this: the dog had to touch the leader's nose with his own. I could practice
laying down as well. And of course Roope did touch my nose and also licked it
quickly. We can practise this for the next time...
22 November 2001
The second time. It had snowed a lot and Roope was really interested, jumping
around here and there. We practised following with the guiding cane. It went
well, every once in a while. But if he saw a child on a slide or a dog nearby,
concentration was gone. We tried the cane with jumps as well. Roope did some
magnificent jumps.
Then there was a short break for the dogs. We leaders got difficult questions
about the clicker. We also started to practise the trick where the dog looks
left or right. When the dog turns his head, e.g. left, he will get a click and a
treat. Roope understood quickly how to get the treat. And practise for the next
time.
18 November 2001
First time with a dog. It was very slippery and rather chilly. First a few
clicks and a treat. We started off with a cardboard
box. When the dog got interested in the box by looking or touching it, he
got a click and a treat. If the dog was not interested in the box, he got a
click and a treat from doing something else, like moving a feet or waving the
tail.
Then the dogs got a brief rest when we leaders heard a lecture on additional
issues in clicker training. Then we practised with the "guiding cane".
If the dog took notice of
the cane, touched or looked at it, he got a click and a treat. For next time:
practice on using the cane.
13 November 2001
The second theory lecture. I heard lots of additional information on clicker
training. We also went over some of the things from the first lecture. The next
time we have dogs with us. We had an assignment: arts and crafts. We must make a
"guiding cane": put a small mass ball in the end of a stick. And find
a cardboard box. A dog of Roope's size only needs a shoe box.
November 2001
This was the first theory lecture on clicker training. We discussed the basics
in using the clicker. This sounded very interesting. The course consists of two
theory lectures and five practise sessions with the dog. As an assignment we
have to condition the dog to the clicker: a click and a treat, a click and a
treat. This must be done in different situations and several times a day. Roope
was not afraid of the clicker.