Week in Review

Seems to be the theme lately, but forgive me once again for the sudden disappearance.  My schedule was jam-packed with things to do this week that, unfortunately, did not involve Marge.  It was mostly school stuff, and, thankfully, a lot of it is out of the way now.  I've felt SO bad going in and out of the house 5 million times and not devoting enough time to my girl.

For those wondering, the trial is this upcoming weekend, not last weekend - sorry if I confused anyone.  Honestly, I'm really worried about it.  Class was cancelled last week, so we haven't practiced since last Tuesday (the last time I blogged about agility class).

There is a part of me that is considering not going.  My first run is at 12 noon, so I'll get to the trial around 10, when every one will be there already.  It's a busy, 3-ring trial.  I'm not bringing a tent, and will be set up with friends.

The other part of me is saying I should just suck it up and go - I'm not going to lead out on course, it's at a park I know, and I have to trial sooner or later.  I can't let one bad trial stop me.

Marge herself has actually been having a fantastic week, so much so that I'm considering lowering her dosage of L-Theanine now that the summer is gone.  She even heard FIREWORKS last night and didn't react.  That's unheard of!

And, of course, relating this all to the trial.. one part of me says that I should keep this momentum going and have a great day on Saturday, the other part says that me worrying about the trial is going to just ruin the whole mood of Marge being happy and calm and stuff.

$&!@#!!!!

Yes, I need to just relax.  I know. Do they make a Relaxation Protocol for people?

The Nose Knows

I've been interested in nose work for a long time.  A lot of people have told me that it's great for confidence building and relationship making - so it's perfect for us.

I'm hesitant to sign up for classes because that would mean taking Marge to a different training club (which I suppose could be good for her agility/rally career, but I'm not ready to do it yet), so we played around a bit today for the first time at home.

It didn't take her long to figure it out at all.  I started with three shoe boxes, and by the end of the session, upped it to six boxes of all different shapes and sizes.  It's VERY cool to see her little brain going.

I only recorded one time outside, but she actually did it several times, got VERY excited each time, and started to mark a bit when she found the correct box (looked towards me when the bowl was in the shoebox and she needed my help to open it).

Someone I know offered to send me notes from a K9 Nosework class, so I hope we can build on the fun that we had today.

Better

I definitely think it's a good sign that Marge was ten times better at agility class last night than she was at the trial.  She certainly had no qualms about being at the agility field (except for the smell of pee near the start line - I hate when dogs go on the course - and the smell of 8 week old GSD puppies).

I wouldn't say she was 100%, but she was happy to work with me and seemed excited to be there.

The first time I ran, Marisa told me to break things down in to little tiny pieces - I think I ran 1 to 4 and then 5 to 8 (and the second half of the course was separate altogether).  I used a toy my first run to see if maybe that would amp her up some.  It initially did catch her interest, but after a couple of short play reward sessions she decided the toy wasn't worth it anymore (perfectly normal for her).

Marisa had me throw the toy after the dog walk and then again after the weaves.  When running the second half (8 to 19), I didn't have her do a start line stay, I just ran her up to the tunnel and started the course.

Our only problems were in the corner near the tire.  Dogs had peed over there and she wasn't happy about having to do those obstacles.  BUT, she did down on the table, which earned her an enormous jackpot.

I also am no longer going to run with food in my hand during class, and, although it's going to be in my pocket, I am going to give her her biggest rewards AFTER the run.  In other words, I am going to train the same way that I trial.

My classmates had a lot of constructive things to say, particularly the nice lady with the PWD (a dog who is usually Marge's friend, but last night Marge snarked at the poor girl - not sure if it was stress or resource guarding).   Marisa, too, said that yes, she's stressing, but she's a dog and it happens, and to just try not to worry about it too much because worrying will make it worse.

So I am going to make some changes for the upcoming trial.  I am not going to take any long lead outs - if I can, I don't want to lead out at all (for once, I am praying for tunnel openings!).  I am also going to cut down on the number of treats that she gets before she goes in to the ring and bring something super high value to show her and get her interested in and reward her with after the run (I'm thinking meatballs).

I am going to be more motivational (she seems to like when I clap my hands to get her to move toward me) and use her name less and use my usual agility commands (i.e. "here", "go" etc.) more. I feel like I over used both her name and her whiplash recall word ("come") WAY too much at this trial.

I am also going to try really hard to be the most interesting thing at the trial, which means I am not going to let any one besides me give her high-value food.  HOWEVER, I am going to let her say hello to all her favorite people (I did less of this at this trial than at other trials - perhaps she felt like she didn't know any one there).

Here's some pictures from the trial.  I'm not sure if I'm going to order any just because of my own feelings about the trial, but I think they came out great.

Oh, and my internet appears to be fixed, so you'll hear from me in the coming days (though I do have a HUGE test on Friday - ahhhh).

Stress and Worry

Sunday's two runs weren't much better.  The trial site was a bit quieter as Newark Airport changed their landing configuration, but there were trains going by to make up for that.

Open Standard really didn't look bad at all.  I thought that if we made it past the opening, we'd be fine.  I went in to the ring as smiley and confident as I could be.

It wasn't a bad run, really, but it was more of the same - Marge running off and not paying attention, and more trouble at the table.  We also incurred a failure to perform fault because she went around the first jump.  From the second she got in to the ring, her eyes were all over the place - I didn't want to lead out, but I thought I had to in order to help her over the #3 teeter.  I know it doesn't look bad in the video - heck, we would have Q'd if not for the first jump - but we weren't connected.



Open Jumpers looked terrible on paper.  It really didn't have much flow to it at all in my opinion, and my initial reaction was to take her over 5 or 6 jumps and walk out.  Every one told me that I should just try to do the course, and so I did.

I'm not even going to upload the video because it's pointless.  Marge was completely unresponsive to her name when I called her from the start line, and made it over two jumps before she went darting to the other side of the ring.  A quick "here" brought her back, and then I just sent her over the last three jumps on the course and walked off.  There was no way we were going to be able to do anything.

One thing I did that I'm unsure of was not treat her at all when we got out of the ring.  She went over  expectantly to my cooler where I had her treats, but I picked it up and walked back to the tent without giving her a single morsel.  One part of me thinks I shouldn't treat her because she didn't do the course, and the other part thinks I should have because she did complete the last three jumps.  I don't really know.

It's like I'm not interesting enough to her at all - even while waiting to go in to the ring while I still have treats, I felt like she wasn't really engaged with me.  Someone suggested giving her less treats before going in to the ring.  Someone else suggested giving more treats while milling around the trial site.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't really worried about all of this.  Everyone says that this will go away with some time and patience and more trial experience, but I don't know.  Looking back at my previous runs from trials, she seems distracted at the start line, too.  There also were some running away incidents, but they were so minor that I didn't think anything of them.   That would mean that this is an existing problem that appears to be worsening. It's not the NQ's I'm upset about - it never has been - it's the idea that Marge is stressing out in what I thought to be her favorite environment.  If she was goofing off and having FUN, that wouldn't be so bad.  But it really looks and feels like stress to me.

I had so many people coming up and asking me what was going on, what was wrong with Marge, and I snapped at someone and said "I have no f^&(ing clue."  I think people were surprised by how down I was about it.   I hope I didn't anger anyone. But the runs just felt so unhappy, like I was forcing Marge around the course.

Today, she seems jumpy and stressy, too, but I suppose it could just be me confirming my own beliefs.

My next trial is in 2 weeks, at a park we've trialed at twice before.  I will have two agility classes before then.

I'm supposed to be sending my entry in for a November trial at a park we've trialed in before.  I almost don't want to send it.  Maybe I'm jumping the gun by assuming these 4 runs are indicative of a very big problem, or maybe I'm not.  I just can't imagine bringing a stressed out dog to a competition because I really don't want to make Marge do anything that bothers her.

I'm going to have trouble getting to everyone's blogs as my internet connection is not working right yet again.  An angry phone call to Verizon will ensue this evening, I'm sure.

Mixed Feelings

I really didn't have fun at the trial today.  My emotions are pulling at me in so many different directions. Part of me doesn't even want to go back tomorrow because some of it's out of my control, the other part sees the mistakes I made today that contributed to our admittedly crappy day.

First of all, everyone is raving about this trial site.  It's close to the highway, so it's easy to get to (I even drove over the bridge today for the first time to get there).  It's near the water, so there's a lovely breeze.  The grounds are well kept and flat for good running surface.  There's nearby bathrooms.  You can park ringside.  The food vendor was good, so I'm told.

BUT, there were some things that my sensitive doggy didn't like.  For one, the park is right in the path of Newark Airport, so when they're using a certain runway for arrivals, the planes are LOW and fly right over the rings.  Next, there was a fair amount of people walking around the park who weren't there for the trial, some of them getting a little too close to my tent for comfort.  There's also booms and bangs coming from the industrial plants surrounding the park that you'll hear if you leave the hustle-bustle of the trial.

Marge warmed up to the trial site more quickly than she ever has in the past.  Seriously.  There was NO adjustment period for her.  She knew exactly where she was and what she was there for.  I thought the day would go well.

...But it didn't.  Open Standard was first, and I was really confident about it.  I had a plan set and thought we would do well.

It was an ugly, ugly run.  For one, Marge stopped on top of the A-Frame and surveyed the park.  Then, she would not down on the table and definitely was stressed out - it's a new, automated table and it felt different and I can't imagine the loud count was much help, either.  Then, a #$#%#$ plane flew over the ring and though I didn't hear it while I was running, I definitely hear it in the video.  After that, she was just totally not following any directions.  I really don't think my handling was particularly bad or anything.



On the bright side, she did hold both of her contacts.

Everyone gave me the whole spiel of oh, she's young, she's having an off day, etc.  But she NEVER pulls this kind of stuff.  Three refusals and a table fault?  Oh, we were totally making the judge do the YMCA dance today.

The day moved by really quickly - Marge was completely social, met new people and dogs, relaxed in her crate, she clearly wasn't upset about being there and at the end of the day, it wasn't as though she was really looking to go home or anything, either.  So it's not like she was terribly scared.

I walked the Open Jumpers course and I wasn't confident.  I probably should have just pulled, because it was really, really ugly.  Tough weave entrance and a REALLY tough closing.

I decided I was going to be more motivating, run slower, and see how it went.  It definitely started better - until we hit the jump before the weaves and she didn't read my back cross at all.. and went to visit the ring steward.  Who would have EVER thought that that'd be a problem for my dog?

Then, we bumped in to each other after the weaves (at least partially because Marge preferred to run in straight lines rather than change direction at all).  Then came the ugly would-be back cross in the corner.  Looking at it on video, it was a MUCH harder turn for the dog than I thought... but really, a front was not an option at all.

Then she went and visited AGAIN, giving us another runout.  And we managed to finish the rest of the course somewhat cleanly.



I was, and still am, feeling really bummed about the whole day, but after watching the videos closely, I think that a) the environment definitely played a role and b) the Open Jumpers course just didn't make sense to neither her nor I.  I still think it's really weird that Marge really didn't read my crosses at all, though.  We have been so in-tune lately in class and I'm worried that today didn't reflect that at all.

I'm worried about going back tomorrow, but hopefully today was just an adjustment to a slightly more difficult trial environment and we'll get on the same page tomorrow.  I'm going to spend more time warming her up, practicing recalls and back crosses on the flat, etc before our runs (I do think I skimped on the warm-up stuff today). If our first run stinks, I'm going to just pull her from Jumpers, go home, and pray that things will be better at our next trial in 2 weeks.

Dogs and Kids (Never Thought I'd Say It)

I was kind of misleading when I said I was working "full-time" at an internship.   I'm working 5 hours, one day a week, which is the amount of time required for the class that I am taking in conjunction with it.

I am not a "kid-person."  Historically, I've had a ton of trouble relating to them. (And don't even get me started on the months-olds; I have no experience with infants, and the thought of holding a baby in my arms pretty much terrifies me.  I think I have a slight phobia.) But really, yesterday was kind of cool.  At my internship, I'm working in a group setting with kids (ages 4 to 8) who have been affected by substance use in their families (parent, sibling, etc).  This week was my first time with them.

Of course, I can't say too much about it, because there is a big fancy word called C-O-N-F-I-D-E-N-T-I-A-L-I-T-Y.  I mostly observed the group, since I'm still new, but I really realized that I already know a good deal about the things that I'll face as I help them work to overcome the things that are bothering them... because they really aren't that much different than dogs.

That's not an insult.  In fact, it's probably a compliment, and, at the very least, a testament to just how powerful learning mechanisms are.

Here's some food for thought (infused with pictures from Marge's early morning walk this week for your visual pleasure):

When they're messed up, it's because someone else messed them up.
Why do dogs have behavioral problems like fear, aggression, and anxiety?  Many times, it's because something set those things off.  Living in a cage.  Being abused.  Having to fight for resources.  Growing up without littermates or parents.  Getting sick.  Even if we go to the biological level and say that fear/anxiety/aggression may have a genetic base, it is many times a person who makes the decision to breed two ill-temperamented dogs and brings a litter of puppies in to this world with a disadvantage.

So, just the way I believe that the environment in which a puppy lives is extremely critical to their success as an adult dog, the same goes for people.  Kids don't just wind up with behavioral problems; their environment plays a huge role in what they're like.  Family situation. Money situation. The larger social/political/economic context of the time in which they live. The neighborhood.  The food they eat. Where they sleep. Witnessing violence.  You get the idea.

When they're messed up, they all respond differently.
Some dogs could be beaten over the head with a baseball bat two hundred times and still wag their tail when ever they meet a new person. Others will develop terrible anxiety and fear as a result of it.  Still others will become reactive and/or aggressive.

Each one of the kids I saw yesterday had their own way of coping with the difficulties in their life.  One was hyper, talkative, and clownish. Another was completely stoic and seemingly unaffected to the point that it was actually a little scary. And, the last was pretty much "normal," if not maybe a bit on the emotional side.  I would have never guessed it.  All along, I thought that kids were all just crazy little people, without ever really thinking about it.

They're annoying.  Irritating.  Make you want to rip your hair out!
There have been plenty of times where I've been frustrated by a dog's behavior.  Whining.  Barking.  Lunging.  Inappropriately-timed zoomy fits.  It's inevitable that we'll sometimes feel stressed out about it.

Now, I wouldn't be a good candidate for this internship if I was already feeling that way, after so few sessions.  (I'm certainly not!)  But, I can see how it'd be frustrating to deal with a kid who can't sit still, or talks at the wrong time, or swears, or won't follow directions, or won't open up to you.  Understanding the "WHY" behind these behaviors is essential (see Point #1, of course) in having some empathy with them and patience for them.

Operant techniques work with them (when you're teaching voluntary, non-emotionally based behaviors, of course).
We reward when we like something; we withhold or take something away when we don't like something.  That's how I train my dog, anyway.  And it works, because it makes a behavior more likely if we're using a reward that's reinforcing enough.

There was plenty of operant conditioning going on yesterday.  Kids got a prize at the end of their group session if they were well-behaved (positive reinforcement).  Kids could not get a prize if they had acted badly during the session (negative punishment).  Kids were given time-outs for bad behavior (punishment, positive or negative depending on how you look at it).  Since they knew these rules in their head, there were very few problems and they were, for the most part, well behaved.

Structure works with them.
Dogs with behavior problems like to know what's coming next.. it minimizes anxiety.  This makes schedules and structure work so well for them.  If they can be certain that the scary man on the street is NOT going to approach them, ever, under any circumstance, they may feel better about walking in close proximity to him.  If they know where they're going to dog training class, who will be there, and what they'll be doing, they may be less reactive.   Walking at the same times, taking a nap in their crate each evening, it all plays a role.  Making life predictable for dogs who have faced so much unpredictability is a good thing.

As I've learned, the same goes for kids with issues.  The kids in this group know the exact structure of their meeting.  It never changes.  The content may change (books, arts and crafts, etc.), but the format does not.  The reasoning behind this is exactly the same; if their life at home is filled with turmoil,  they may very well be eating ice cream for breakfast and watching their parents get high before they go to bed.  A group therapy session like this may very well be the only structure that they have, for one hour a week.

They're cute.
Yeah.. this one's self explanatory.  What's better than a fuzzy, four-legged animal whose favorite pastime is licking your face?

And, well.. you won't see me opening a daycare or applying to teach Kindergarten anytime soon, but I have to admit, the kids were cute and sweet.  Especially the one who did a Steve Urkel impression.

The Disappearing Act

This is going to be one of those non-stop weeks.  I, the girl who saves money compulsively, splurged big time and am going to a concert tomorrow night with Louie, and Wednesday, I start full-time at my internship, which I have yet to talk about on the blog.  Somewhere in there, I also have to finish writing an essay about an opera, which was started at 3 A.M. this morning, but has yet to be completed.

You likely won't hear from Marge and I until Thursday - please forgive us, we'll catch up, I swear!  For now, enjoy these two shots from Marge's final practice before her trial this Saturday and Sunday.

We worked on wraps, pull-throughs, outs, and some front and rear crosses.  She's really solid.  And she was this happy even after listening to the sounds of the angriest thunderstorm we've seen this summer.  Does she love this sport, or what?