Jackson Goes to Boot Camp -Part XI

This was mostly a fun day for both Jackson and Lucy. Barbara confined both of them to the back yard while out on some errands. I stopped by with some treats and Jackson's training collar. They were both happy to see me and get their treats.

I then took Jackson around the "big block" for his heeling exercise. Again, he did real well but did not automatically sit at intersections. The best part of this session was that Jackson was good in actual "city training" with its usual distractions of traffic, people, and other dogs.

A little more playtime for Lucy and Jackson in their yard and we called it a day.

Jackson Goes to Boot Camp -Part X

Today was pretty much a carbon copy of yesterday's session, except Jackson did some fetching during his playtime.

It occurs to me that I believe I haven't stressed one important aspect of training enough. That is, I believe that the dog should sit and listen to each command before following through (this may not be a universal belief, but I think it is important) -before stay, fetch, heel, etc. Before fetching his long, bright yellow piece of plastic, Jackson was required to sit first and he did very well. I understand that he has always fetched promptly, returned the article, and dropped it at the throwers feet, so I can't take credit for that.

Jackson did not automatically sit when halted at the curb during heeling exercises again today. That will be a happy occasion when he does. Otherwise, he is excellent at heeling. At each halt, I push his rear down and, as I mentioned yesterday, it gets easier and easier. The great news is that after he does sit, he stays in that position longer and longer and waits for the heel command. Today's longest pause at this position was between 5 and 10 seconds -but he sat absolutely still, facing forward, and stepped forward immediately upon my command. He gets lots of praise for this.

After our session today, Jackson came home with me and was allowed to explore my house and yard. He was very happy to do that and didn't get into any mischief. Good Boy, Jackson!

Jackson Goes to Boot Camp -Part IX

Today we returned to our original wide-open area in the Fiddyment Farms development. Remember, this is a large, undeveloped lot surrounded by paved streets and sidewalks. It affords great “city training” but without kids, other dogs, or numerous other distractions. The sidewalks and intersections provide a perfect setting to practice heeling. We heel, stop, sit, then resume heeling across the intersection. Jackson halts with me but hasn’t quite yet learned to automatically sit. I noticed today, though, that it takes less pressure on his hind-quarters to remind him to sit when we halt.

Maybe you’ve wondered why Jackson’s training days are numbered in Roman Numerals. Here’s my reasoning: As soon as Jackson’s Roman Numerals catch up to the Super Bowl’s Roman Numerals, he should be very obedient and well trained.

So, here we are about 1/5 there. Progress report:

Feb. 14: Jackson tangled himself, me, and any vertical object within 50 feet with his long-line.
Feb. 27: Jackson no longer is tethered, except when we have him on-leash.

Feb. 14: I wouldn’t think of letting him out of the car without having a firm grip on his leash.
Feb. 27: I can let him out of the car and expect him to stay near me or, if planned, watch him run to a family member or friend.

Feb. 14: Jackson would come to you if he felt like it. And, he felt like it largely because he (a) hadn’t seen you in a while or, (b) suspected you had a 5-lb. rib roast in your possession.
Feb. 27: Unless he is totally focused on something else, like a strong scent he has just come about, he will generally run to you upon command –even if you don’t reward him every time with a treat.

Feb. 14: Jackson, on-leash, would take YOU for a walk.
Feb. 27: Jackson, on-leash, heels almost perfectly and seldom needs “correction.”

Super Bowl and Super Dog XLIII, here we come!

Jackson Goes to Boot Camp -Part VIII

"Jackson Drive."

This is the area we have been using for training lately. As mentioned in an earlier post, this is a paved area about 20 feet wide and about 1/3-mile long through what will probably be a housing development someday. Right now it is an ideal area for early training of Jackson during wet weather as it gives us plenty of room to work in with no distractions other than an occasional Jackrabbit.

The top photo is the trainer's view of Jackson sitting still for a few milliseconds. The center photo is of Jackson taking an unscheduled swim in a small pond during playtime. The last photo is “Jackson Drive” -my name for the area. The sign has been drawn in.

Today we concentrated on the sit-stay again. Jackson does not like to sit very long. He will place his butt on the ground just long enough to solicit a treat. He sits a little better at my side before given the command to heel. It looks like we’ll have to keep working on the sit-stay every day for a while.

We ended today’s session with an extended heel exercise. We crossed back over the road leading to this area, to where I parked my car. Here, there are a few paved blocks, with sidewalks, in a new development where just a handful of houses have been built –none in the area we walked. We were able to practice one of the more important aspects of the heel routine: stopping and sitting at each curb before crossing the street. The idea is that when the trainer halts, the trainee should halt and sit immediately. Jackson, having learned to watch my every move carefully, does pretty well in the halting category but still doesn’t automatically sit. I have to hold his collar and push down on his hind quarters to get him to the sitting position. After praising him, we again resume the heel.

Near the end of the session, another Jackrabbit suddenly appeared about 20 feet ahead and to the right of us. He hopped and ran away toward "Jackson Drive." Again, Jackson made a move in front of me toward Mr. Jackrabbit but went right back to the heel position after colliding with my left knee.

In all, he is doing very well. We look forward to tomorrow.

Jackson Goes to Boot Camp -Part VII

As mentioned in our last post, today we will concentrate on the sit-stay…not easy with such an energetic, lively young Lab.

The Dingfelders are all under the weather today with colds, so we devised a little plan to pick up Jackson with minimal exposure to the trainer of any cold’s virus. It was all based on the assumption that dogs don’t transmit or transport human viruses. If that’s not accurate, so be it. The plan was to let Barbara know when I pulled up in front of the house and when I opened the rear, curbside door, she was to open her front door. I would then call Jackson and he would bound across the lawn and into the car. Guess what? It went exactly according to plan, except I didn’t have to call him. Jackson was in the back of the car in a flash and ready to go!

Jackson actually sits very well upon command –especially if he knows you are holding a treat. Getting him to stay is another thing. Picture this: with a treat in my left hand, I face Jackson, point at his butt and say “Jackson. Sit!” Jackson sits. Then I place my open, right hand -palm in front of his nose and say (now this is all according to the book), “Jackson. Stay.” Jackson goes straight up into the air –off all fours- and turns inside out. Jackson returns to earth and seems to say, “OK…where’s my treat?” Sorry, Jax, but no treat for that little showing of exuberance.

So, I repeat the above until Jackson actually stays for an extended period of time, say, 10 milliseconds or more, then he is rewarded with a little treat. This is where patience comes in. I’m sure he’ll get the message in time.

Today we gave him a lot of playtime mixed in between the sit, stay, and heel exercises. This was new to Jackson and he really seemed to appreciate it. Again, we are in an area where he would have to run for ¼ mile before we’d be in trouble. I completely released him from any tether and said “Go play, Jackson!” and pointed away. He was a little confused at first and then ran and jumped through the fields. I believe the furthest away he ever got was, maybe, 100 feet. Most times he would stop, look around, and then make a B-line back to me with no coaxing. After doing this for a few minutes, and with him several feet away, I called, “Jackson. Come!” He put a big smile on my face when he ran up to me and stopped. He looked at me as if to say, “OK…what’s next?”

We finished up by heeling a couple hundred yards and then returned to the car. I am not quite ready to do this in a neighborhood yet, but I felt very safe and confident to let him off-leash near the car and then just let him jump in.

We reversed the procedure at home. Barbara was waiting and opened the door as soon as we drove up. I opened the rear, curbside door. There was a yellow flash and Jackson was in the house. Home –safe and happy.

Good Boy, Jackson! ‘see ya soon!

Jackson Goes to Boot Camp -Part VI

We changed settings for today’s session. Because of all the rain lately, I decided to find a hard surface someplace –one with as few distractions as possible. I remembered one place I had been to on a walk. It is only about a half-mile from here –a long, paved surface about 20 feet wide and a quarter-mile long through an open area which will probably soon be a new housing development.

So, the format changed somewhat. I could walk in only two directions. The good news is that the long-line training has been so successful that I will probably discontinue it shortly. Jackson seldom moves away from me enough to tighten the rope. Today I shortened the rope by 20 feet to 30 feet. Next time I may use that 20-foot section to further shorten the line from 30 to 20 feet. After that I will use only his leash and training collar.

Today we concentrated on heeling. Jackson heels very well and needs very little correction. The biggest problem is getting him to sit and stay at my left side before stepping out and telling him, “Jackson, heel” (a very important step).

I was very proud of Jackson today and his reaction/obedience to one of the greatest distractions that a dog could face –ever! Shortly after he started heeling, suddenly a big ol’ Jackrabbit hopped across our path –at first only about 20 feet away and then ran/hopped away and to our right. Jackson jerked on the leash just once or twice and then resumed heeling! Don’t get me wrong…he kept his eye on that Jackrabbit until it was out of sight and wanted desperately to chase after it, but did not!

Next session I will concentrate on the sit-stay…not easy with such an energetic, lively young Lab.

A (rainy) Day of Rest

Jackson Goes to Boot Camp -Part V

This dog just doesn't seem to run out of energy. The way he greets me each day tells me that he likes me and -more importantly- that I have not done anything to discourage him. Today's depiction of Jackson is a lot more representative of what this young canine is like. Jackson seems to really enjoy his training exercises. Today was pretty much a carbon copy of yesterday. Jackson really does well. Stay tuned.

Jackson Goes to Boot Camp -Part IV

I thought I was picking up a Yellow Lab called Jackson this morning. It turned out to be more like a Yellow Bucking Bronco! Here is a virtual picture of him as we tried to adjust his collar –hoping to prevent another Houdini act on his part.

Once in the car, he was a good boy. He didn’t attempt to jump over the console and onto the front seat as he did the first couple of days. And when I exited the car he was pretty good, but jumped forward then immediately back so that I could let him exit from the rear passenger side door.

We walked to the center of our open area on a short leash. Then I attached the long-line to his training collar but didn’t loop it around me at first. What happened then was amazing and totally gratifying: Jackson would not get more than a couple of feet away from me no matter how quickly and frequently I would make U-turns. A visible result of only 3 training sessions!

Next, after only about 10 minutes of the long-line exercise, I set him free. He ambled about 10 feet away, but did not run. I then said, “Jackson. Come!” He immediately ran to me. Wow, I’m feeling good about now! We then spent another 5 minutes or so practicing “sit!” He did well and the little treats helped. We then practiced the “Jackson. Come” routine. The only difficulty I had was to get him far enough away from me to make the come command make any sense! I finally had to throw a treat a few feet away, let him get it, and then call, “Jackson. Come.” Immediate response!

We spent the last 10 minutes learning to heel. Jackson did extremely well and was rewarded with some play time, some hugs, and a ride back home.

Jackson Goes to Boot Camp -Part III

TD4 was a simple training exercise in the Dings back yard. It is called the Recall Game or teaching the dog to come on command.

http://www.dog-obedience-training-review.com/dog-training-come.html

You can get a good idea of how it works by going the link, above, scrolling down to and playing the video. Just substitute Barbara, Kyleigh, and me for the people involved. The dog looks a lot like Jackson.

Jackson Goes to Boot Camp! Part II -cont'd

TD3. Once we arrive in the training area, rope untangled, the fun, easy part begins. Jackson knows the routine and pretty much shadows me right from the beginning.

At one point however, the rope tightened. So, I glanced over my shoulder to see what was going on. Was the rope caught on something? Did Jackson spot a squirrel or something else of interest? None of the above. Jackson was just sitting there looking at me as if to say “what is this nonsense all about? Are we going somewhere or what?”
With just a gentle tug on the rope and my hurrying off away from him, this little rebellion was over.

Now you must picture this setting: We are in an open lot in a new development. No construction going on within hundreds of yards. No cars. No people. No commotion. Just Jackson and me and almost ghostly silence. All of a sudden there is a loud “CHIRP, CHIP, CHIP, CHIRP!” I look all around and finally spot its source. It’s a lone Mockingbird above us, flying in a circle and just chewing us out! I imagine it was protecting either a nest or possibly young offspring. Finally it landed –about 75 feet away and continued to chip at these intruders to his domain. Now Jackson is extreemely interested. Consider what we have here: An antagonistic bird, just 75 feet away. An 8-month, 50-pound highly excited dog, an 882-month, 185-pound highly worried man, a slack 50-foot rope –rapidly being taken up by Flash Gordon as he makes a B-line for this feathered creature! Will I be the yanker or the yankee?!!? This has never happened to me before! With only a second or two to spare, I held onto the loop of rope around my waist and leaned away from the charging Jackson as best I could.
WHOOMP! Jackson did an outside loop, the Mockingbird flew away (probably chuckling to itself), and, miraculously, I was still standing. I think this whole, impromptu exercise probably reinforced Jackson’s newfound realization that he cannot run freely without consequence.

So, TD3 came to an end. Jackson visited me for a few minutes at Loco Lane, had some water, and received a few little treats while getting just a little more training in the “sit” command.

Jackson Goes to Boot Camp! Part II

In the instruction manual, under long-line training, there is a statement something like, “Take your dog to a wide open park area and connect a 50-foot rope to his training collar…”

Yeh, right! That’s like a cookbook stating, “mix ingredients in a large bowl.” It gives you little idea about what you had to go through to get all those ingredients in the first place and then prepare them so that you can get to the simple mixing statement, above.

Let’s just take a look at TD3 and see what its like getting to the “wide open…area.”

To fully appreciate this, you must first know a little more about Jackson. Yesterday we mentioned that he was a rascal. We should, perhaps, expand on this a little. Jackson is a rascal that moves just a bit slower than the speed of light. And most of the time, what he wants to do and what you want him to do are diametrically opposed wishes. And remember we stated that he is a Yellow Lab? Well, yeh…partly. Jackson is 100% Lab and about 50% wild mustang.

Barbara brought him over to Loco Lane around 8:30 AM (again, “brought him over” is similar to “mix ingredients…” –but only Barbara can tell you what she went through to get him over here).

First thing, Jackson barged through the front door without so much as an “excuse me…” but Barbara was able to hold on long enough to take him around to Maggie’s area. It was my idea to hook the loop of his leash around a water pipe just to keep him in place long enough for us think about the next step. I didn’t realize he had Houdini qualities and Jackson was out of his collar in a flash, bolted around the yard, bolted through the garage, bolted through the dog-door into the house. Jackson then proceeded to inspect four rooms in less than four seconds. Somehow we were able to get him out of the house, back into his collar & leash and into the back of Sadie (Sadie is a car).

The drive to the open area in a new development known as Fiddyment Farms was comparatively uneventful. Jackson loves to ride (at least for short distances) and is happy to be able to stick his nose in the air through an open rear window. He has learned (somewhat) to stay in the back seat after two days of a loving elbow in his chest and a sharp “BACK!” command. What he has not mastered is staying in the back while I exit the car and go around to get him out curbside. This is where the Theory of Relativity comes in…his speed relative to mine. If his speed is just a bit slower than the speed of light, my speed is just a bit faster than an old tortoise. Not a match. It’s “Jackson, BACK! Jackson STAY!” Then I try to slip out the door and close it before “Flash Gordon” can squeeze by me to beat me out of the car. Believe it or not, I have been quite successful at this. As soon a Jackson sees me go to the back door on the passenger side, he is right there chomping at the bit to get out. This is not an easy step in this whole process! Consider my options: (1) I can simply let him out un-tethered (not a viable option…can’t take a chance on him running off). (2) I can open the door slowly and hope to grab his leash before he pushes me back and runs off (not a good option…remember the Houdini trick mentioned above?). Finally, (3) I learned from TD1 and TD2 that it is NOT a good idea to attach the long line before we are in the center of the open area, as it will invariably get tangled around some lurking, vertical object. When this happens, the dog does not simply wait for his trainer to untangle the line. On the contrary, he will continue to compound the problem by entangling his trainer and even himself! It can take from 10 to 15 minutes to get out of this situation. So how did we get him into the training area today? I opened the door, grabbed his leash, and moved with him as quickly as I could to prevent him from pulling on and slipping out of his collar.

Other than that, getting to the center of the training area was, well, pretty uneventful.

Jackson

This is Jackson, daring you to sit in his chair.

This picture was taken f6.2, 1/1,000,000 second.

Jackson Goes to Boot Camp!

If you don’t know him, Jackson is an eight months old Yellow Labrador Retriever owned by Barbara, Lee, & Kyleigh Dingfelder –and, oh yeh, the “little brother” of Lucy, a Black Lab who is 3-years old. Unlike Lucy, Jackson is a rascal. Lucy is calm, sweet, and gentle. Jackson is a sweet, beautiful canine. Did I mention that he is a rascal? This photo was taken shortly after he had a pillow fight with his Big Sis in the family garage.

Having recently lost my wonderful, Canine-American Furperson, Maggie (Golden Retriever), I asked the Dings if I could get involved in Jackson’s training. After careful thought over an extended period of, oh..., about 3 milliseconds, they gave me a resounding “YES!”

I have some experience in this area. Jeanne and I trained Sam, Maggie’s predecessor, and I also trained Maggie. Now, you must understand that Sam and Maggie were calm as new puppies; Jackson is calm-NOT. Did I mention that Jackson is a rascal? I love this dog and I am happy to take on the challenge. The first thing we are doing to train Jackson is the "long-line" routine. The purpose of this part of his training is to teach him to never get more than 50 feet away from you and to keep an eye on your every move. This is done by tying one end of a 50-foot rope onto his training collar and the other end looped around the trainer's waist. Then the trainer and trainee go to an open area -ideally a grassy area with at least a 100-foot radius and no vertical obstructions. The trainer then just walks away from the dog. At no time should the trainer speak to the dog, touch the dog, or even make eye contact with him. At first it is expected that a rambunctious dog (like Jackson) will run and soon come to the end of his rope. He will then (usually) run toward you and (usually) right on by you. When he does this, the trainer does an immediate U-turn and walks in the opposite direction. The dog soon learns that if he goes in a different direction from his trainer he will get a sudden and somewhat uncomfortable (not painful) jerk on his collar. Because the trainer remains quiet at all times, the dog responds to just one stimulus. He soon learns not only to stay close to you but will keep an eye on you as long as you are moving! Each session should last 20-30 minutes.

We have completed Training Day 2 (TD2) . In a word: textbook! It is almost unbelievable. At the end of TD1 he was already shadowing me. Today, the rope tightened only twice -once when he stopped to poop and one other time when he chased a blowing leaf ('probably thought it was a squirrel)! We will probably keep up the long-line sessions for about a week. After that number of sessions, he will most likely stay near me at all times. Then we will go into the 2nd phase: heeling. Because he will already be staying near me*, it should be pretty easy to teach him to heel.

Be sure to check back daily for more episodes of "Jackson Goes to Boot Camp!"

* ”me” turns into anyone who is involved with this animal –not just the trainer.

A loving farewell salute to our wonderful Maggie

Painfully, we had to say goodbye to Miss Maggie today. After 11+ years with her loving master, family, and countless friends, this beautiful animal reached the end of her Circle of Life.

Maggie became very ill on Saturday, February 9, 2008. Barbara, Kyleigh, and I were able to get her to an emergency Veterinary Clinic on Sunday morning. They were able to determine right away that she had growths on her spleen and liver and was bleeding internally. Only by giving her blood transfusions were they able to keep her alive long enough for all of us to make the terrible but unavoidable decision to let her go. She was sedated and was to be put down peacefully by the vet.

You will be happy to know that right up to this past weekend, Maggie was still quite vivacious –enjoying her daily walk to the pond near her home. She would eye the ducks and geese, then go about her task of sniffing the grass and shrubs around the pond. She would still do her “barrel rolls” on the lawns as we returned to the house. In the morning on the way to her breakfast in the garage, she almost always did a barrel roll on the carpet between the dining and living rooms –expecting a little scratch on her belly or chest.

Maggie will be missed by many; not only by family members –especially Kyleigh and Sara- but by all who knew her. She acted like everybody’s best friend and greeted neighbors, family friends, delivery people and all with a great deal of excitement. She was truly “Locomotive Lane’s Dog.”

The photo of this magnificent canine was taken circa 1999 when Maggie was about 2 years old.