Mar 1 afternoon started Pounce on the first step in Land Fundamentals which doing short left and right angle backs from a remote sit...Pounce was "put in drive" (excited) and pretty much clueless about what I wanted, this is a teaching phase so we just kept pecking away and gradually repeating the motions and routine....at the end of this session she was taking right/left angle back casts with arm motion and verbal "back"
note: in the beginning the most difficult part was getting her to look back at me after a bumper was tossed. This is the result of throwing bumpers to retrieve off a stable sit because she has NOT been looking back at me on stand-alone marks. Therefore, the easiest way to get her looking back at me was to bounce the Chuck-It ball and say "good" when her attention returned....After several reps, the light went on...at 10 pm repeated the angle back casting drill throwing both bumpers out. Pounce was cast to the opposite bumper that was thrown after the previous retrieve....repeated several times with the bouncing "Chuck-It" ball. It is an alternative way to say "Look At Me!
She had no issues taking the correct cast with the verbal "back"
note: noticeable improvement over the 1st lesson with no sign of confusion
note: weakest skill remains coming directly to a front sit....working on many "reps" seems to be taking longer than I expected, but the "Chuck-It" ball seems to have us on the right track
Mar 2 morning 7:30 am worked on a repeat of several retrieves to a front sit delivery and then a "Chuck-It" chased/caught with a front sit delivery (after each bumper retrieve), then finished with a 4 minute remote sit, toss a bumper 40 feet away at 2 minutes then the Chuck-It ball bounced and dropped in an area 25 feet away from the bumper at 4 minutes, walked over to Pounce and released for the bumper with "fetch" and delivered on a front sit, heel to left side & released to fetch the memory
note: At first, I was not going to extend the time, but decided she was more than ready......never moved a muscle except to glance at me once in awhile (mostly focused on the bumper in plain view) and then looked over to watch the "bouncing Chuck-It"
note: stable sit concept is a huge WOW!
note: Pounce has practiced this routine often and her consistency is excellent - we're ready for better weather and yard work
4 pm worked on the short angle back casting drill with two bumpers thrown out, always sent to thrown first and using the bouncing Chuck-It ball to refocus for casts, front sits improving each day and re-heeling to the casting position went much smoother today
note: Pounce is making noticeable progress and seems confident with this drill, the Chuck-It ball has proven to be effective in keeping us focused
Mar 3 morning at 8 pm Pounce worked on the angle back casting drill (more "reps" and become comfortable with the right and left angle "back" command)..finished the session with another 4 minute remote sit using two visible, distracting bumpers thrown out at the 2 & 3 minute intervals
note: for a little fun afterwards Pounce got in some practice of catching the Chuck-It ball on a high bounces (her timing and coordination is improving....evening 6:15 pm Pounce did an OB session - brief & sharp...remote sits, here/front sits to right & left heel sits (off lead & whistle)
Mar 4 morn 8:30 am 1st day of working on the mat & place board training Pounce has walked over and sat on several different mat materials and place boards...they've been imprinted along with the word "place" - it is now becoming a command, while working on the command, Pounce will be moving back and forth from the platform to the rubber mat with front sits and heel to both sides - she has had many reps of doing this movement and now it is being formalized for the soon to begin yard and field work...to keep this at a high level of excitement (Hillmann technique) the "Chuck-It" ball (not used by Hillman) is occasionally rolled from the round placeboard all the way down the pool deck to the other corner, Pounce watches the tantalizing, rolling and sometimes bouncing ball move to the corner from a stable sit, then is released to retrieve and return with it to a front sit delivery to hand followed by the wheel to a side heel. These many, many reps will create the physical muscle and mental imprints of the standard = automatic and like a reflex..........for the first go (in this combination) she was easy to work with right from the start....sharp and upbeat when we finished......Pounce is becoming an excellent student....a focused, excited pup functioning well in "drive" is cool......as per Darrin Greene's post and Hillmann's proram all of the skills introduced indoors will need to be generalized outdoors and in different areas with wide variety of
distractions.
March 2015
Topic from RTF - 3/2/15 A retrieve broken down into it's parts by Darrin Greene
Perspective: nothing specific here about how to train a retriever (just a retrieve broken down into it's parts to illustrate a basic point)
As you are training your dog, there two very basic things you always have to keep in mind - the “what” and the “where”.
First – WHAT are we trying to train?
We have two basic types of behavior. I call them “simple” and “complex”.
Sitting is a good example of a “simple” behavior:
1. Sit
A finished retrieve is a “complex” behavior:
1. Heel to position 6. Bird in mouth
2. Sit/stay/wait your turn 7. Return to handler
3. Mark the fall 8. Get to heel position
4. Go away 9. Sit
5. Hunt for the bird 10. Deliver to hand
A complex behavior is a chain of simple behaviors. Each simple behavior can be viewed as a link in the chain. Each link needs to be solid for the chain to hold together under stress. We train each simple behavior separately and then build the chain when the dog is ready. You can’t build a strong chain without solid links.
When we pull on a chain to the point of breaking, we find the “weakest link”. Once that link is identified we can work on strengthening that simple behavior for better overall performance. Training is the process whereby we create links and put them together into chains. Trials/tests/hunting are places we pull on those chains and see if they hold up or break. Sometimes, training groups can be like trials/tests/hunting to our dogs. Even though we are training in those environments, the chain and its individual links are strengthened away from that environment. This is what is commonly referred to as “yard work” vs. “field work”.
One of the biggest “stress factors” on our chain is the environment we are working in at any given moment. We must keep this in mind as we advance our dogs toward competition (and
hunting).
The second thing one must always consider is – WHERE are we trying to train?
As you have probably seen, your dog performs much better in a quiet environment. (note: Hillmann refers to this phase as distraction proofing.)
by Darrin Greene (RTF - 3/2/15)