torsdag 29. april 2010

LyBrAg-cup

Vi skal stille i vår første uoffisielle konkurranse i lydighet, den 8 Mai i Hokksund. Øvelsene vi skal igjennom er:

Rekrutt bruks/lydighet:

1. Tannvisning (Går bedre, men noe vi må øve på med forskjellige mennesker)

2. Forenklet fellesdekk (Vi er nødt til å øve på å ligge i alle mulig situasjoner)

3. Lineføring (Går greit, vi må øve mer på kontakt)

4. Innkalling (Går fint, øve mer på rett innsitt og fart)

5. Dekk fra holdt (En øvelse som skal gå bra, men må øves på i forskjellige miljøer)

6. Helhetsinntrykk

Øvelsene bedømmes som vanlig lydighetsøvelser og sluttsum beregnes som i en vanlig lydighetsklasse med vanlig koeffisient. For å oppnå 1 premiering trenger man å ha oppnådd minst 80 % av oppnåelig poengsum. 2 premiering 70 % og 3 premiering 50 %.

Jeg håper at vi skal komme oss igjennom "pensum".

Nå til helgen er det valpeshow og uoffesielt agilitystvne. Jeg skal være tidtaker da jeg og Lucy ikke har kommet så langt at vi føler oss klare. No chickenvings her altså:)

mandag 26. april 2010

Ivrig turgåer igjen!
























































Fremtidsplaner+artikkel

.
Kursplanen fremover:

14-16 Mai - Bronsemerkekurs i agility
6-8 August - Klubbhelg med Agility

Treningsplanen fremover:

Siden jeg nå går det siste kurset med lydighet blir det fellestreninger jeg kommer til å satse på fremover.
Tirsdager blir hovedsakelig agilitytrening, mens torsdager blir ren lydighet. Kjenner at sommeren kommer til å bli kjedelig med så lite trening, men slik er det nå når klubben kun holder åpent to ganger i uken fra og med St.Hans.

Veterinærplanen fremover:

Vi er også ferdige med veterinærbesøkene for denne gang! Har time 26 Mai, men det er til vaksinering, så nå er vi endelig i mål:)

Dog Owner or Dog Guardian - which one are you?

People who have dogs are commonly referred to as owners, masters or pack leaders, which gives people the impression that dogs are property or followers, who should do what we say when we say it without needing to put in the effort to teach them.

So, instead of being a dog owner, why not be a dog guardian? Vow to love, protect and educate your dog! As a dog guardian, it is up to you to make sure that your dog is well educated, feels protected and cared for.

As with all social animals a family requires a guardian or role model, which is not to be feared but trusted and respected. Gain the trust and respect of your dog and their confidence in you will grow. You will have a dog that you can take anywhere, as they know they are always safe with you.

To gain this trust will take time and can be gained through positive reward based training, playing fun games and providing plenty of mental and physical stimulation which will all help to build up your dog’s confidence in both themselves and you.

Learning to read your dog will help you to judge how they may react to a situation – why? So you can make sure it’s a positive experience.Behavioural problems can develop in dogs due to the dog’s lack of confidence in their owner and / or the owner’s lack of ability to read their dog’s body language appropriately. The owners may have been attempting to communicate with their pet in a way another dog would, which can be very confusing for both parties!
Dogs learn by association, repetition and the consequence of their actions, especially if there is a treat involved. Reward based training is not about bribing your dog. It is about motivating the dog to work for you because they want to - not because they feel they have to. Consistent positive reward based training will help you to bond with your dog. Treats can be slowly phased out, and your affection will be the best reward, however an extra treat here and there wont hurt to help reinforce the command.

If your dog views you as the most amazing thing in the world they will listen to your every command, because they know good things always happen when they listen to you! Dogs usually do something if they find it rewarding. This can be as simple as a ‘sit’ for a piece of chicken, or jumping on the kitchen table, as last time they found something tasty to chew on. This can be difficult for first time dog owners, but with a bit of patience and consistent training, even the most stubborn of dogs and most nervous of owners will enjoy and look forward to spending time with each other.

Once you become a dog guardian and start to view your dog’s problems through a guardian’s eyes, the bond between you and your dog will improve in leaps and barks.
Danielle Beck BSc (Hons) Provisional Member APBC

torsdag 22. april 2010

Til dere som mener dere trener 100% positivt

Les denne artikkelen dere som hardnakka mener dere trener 100% positivt.

"Who is a Positive Reinforcement Trainer?

I’m NOT a “Positive Reinforcement” Trainer (and neither are you).
I’m fed up with being called a ‘positive’ or a ‘positive only’ dog trainer. It is usually in the form of an insult as in, “Them positive dog trainers with their clickers and their treats don’t understand what it is like to train a really dominant dog”. It is often used by the proponents of the ‘dominance’ theory of dog training who like to alpha roll and lead jerk to supposedly ‘show the dog who is boss’.

The term is also used by the fluffier unenlightened to describe their own dog training methods, “Oh, I’m a positive dog trainer, I only use positive reinforcement in training.”

Well, let me tell you, you’re both wrong. I work with aggressive dogs all the time, none of which are trying to dominate people. They are usually bright, quick to learn and respond famously to some well reinforced rules – often with treats and sometimes with the clicker. But I also punish them.

Punishment is a fact of life
It happens to us all on a daily basis and our dogs are no different. Little rewards and little punishments are happening all the time.

For example: Ping! As I write this my inbox tells me I have mail. With a little surge of expectation I click on the icon to open the email and find… disappointment at the spam message inviting me to send off my bank details to some scammer. Why was it disappointing? Because I was expecting the latest pictures of my grandchildren’s’ visit to Chester Zoo.

For every upside in life there can be a downside. Not only do we know it, we expect it as well. We cope relatively well so long as the punishments don’t outweigh the rewards so much that we become depressed.

What’s this got to do with training dogs?
Everything. Every time I give a treat to a dog there is also the possibility that I won’t give them the treat. Every time I click I may also not click. If the dog is expecting a click or a treat and I do not fulfil that expectation I punish the dog. Taking away the possibility of earning a reward is negative punishment. It can be an extremely effective way of not only changing behaviour in dogs, but also of communicating that change.

Pushy dogs need rules – but how to teach these?
I have a little exercise that I use to quickly establish rules with pushy dogs, dogs that are used to getting their own way and dogs that other people might label ‘dominant’. I sit facing the dog and place a very tasty treat on the palm of my hand. The pushy dog usually grabs at it. I close my hand to prevent contact. I’m punishing the act of grabbing by taking away an expected treat. After ‘X’ number of attempts (X is directly related to the pushiness of the dog) the dog pauses to think (or for breath) and I reward the pause by popping the treat into the dog’s mouth. Then we start again. Initially the punishments outnumber the rewards, but, as the penny drops, the rewards start to outnumber the punishments and the dog learns that backing off is better than grabbing. Overall I’m punishing more than rewarding, but in a way that the dog understands.

Every time we prevent our dog doing something that it wanted to do we inflict a little punishment. Standing still to teach ‘no pulling on the lead’? Punishment. Painting “Chew-Stop” on the furniture legs so they taste bad? Punishment. Saying “No” when my toast drops on the floor to stop her eating it? Punishment. Put in the crate for jumping at visitors? Punishment.

Not all punishment is acceptable
True, I draw the line at punishments that might cause the breakdown of a relationship, or have welfare concerns for the dog, such as dragging around on the lead, digs in the ribs, hold downs, alpha rolls, scruffing and the like, because I have no desire to have a relationship based on fear (or be prosecuted for cruelty).

What I do want is a relationship based on mutual rules. No one gets everything they want. No one gets their way every time. Teaching a dog that they can earn rewards, be they treats, the chance for a game or our affection, for doing the right thing, has the consequence that when they do the wrong thing these opportunities disappear. Rewards and punishments go together.

Rules are necessary, consistency is vital, firmness can be appropriate, but brutality is not. No one who has a relationship with a dog is a ‘positive only’ trainer. Anyone who says otherwise doesn’t understand dog training.

David Ryan"

Teksten er lånt fra APBC.

lørdag 10. april 2010

Sol, endelig!

Den etterlengta sola kom idag, og da ble det tid for hage- og bilstell. Lucy fikk løpe fritt hos "bestemor", og la i vei på oppdagelsesferd. Hun fant ut at det var en del katter i nabohusene, og satte i gang med å bråke titt og stadig. Godt vi har en god innkalling (vel og merke kun ved å bruke godbiter som lokkemat).

I morgen er det ett år siden vi reiste den lage turen opp til Bismo i Skjåk (eller Lom?) for å hente vårt lille sjarmtroll :)

Akkurat nå ligger Lucy på teppet med bandasjen byttet, og pelsen gredd. Det er visst tid for røyting har jeg skjønt!

Når sårene etter stinga snart er borte håper jeg det betyr slutten på veterinærbesøk for denne gang!

Mange bjeff fra Lucy, og påminnelser til søster Easy om hvilken dag det er i morgen...

fredag 9. april 2010

Et rop ut i lille Norge!

Fikk et lite sjokk da matmor til Easy kommenterte på bloggen her, og jeg må bare si at det var utrolig moro å høre fra kullsøsken der ute! Hører gjerne fra dere igjen (kanskje en oppdatering på hvordan det har gått med dere?):)

Torsdag 8.April tok vi sølvmerket i hverdagslydighet:) Her kommer kritikken! Dommer var instruktør Kari.

Tannvisning: Bra! Trenger trening... Men satt, ingen dobbelkommando.

Fellesdekk: Veldig bra, lå rolig og fint. Ingen dobbeltkommandoer

Lineføring: Nydelig!!! Ingen kommandoer. Retter seg fint inn selv. Litt ukons, men går ved siden av.

Dekk fra holdt: Nydelig! Legger seg fint, blir liggende rolig. Setter seg opp på første.

Innkalling: Bra. Fin fart, sitter skjevt, prøvde å rette seg opp, men klarte ikke på første forsøk.

Egentlig skulle vi ta merket forrige onsdag, men da ble Lucy operert igjen, og vi måtte vente. Håvard&Max, Anita m/hund, Unni&charlie greide alle merket denne dagen. Silje&Heike og Tatiana med hund tar opp igjen kurset.