Review of May's goals:
-Charge the clicker (Done!)
-Building focus/attention (Eh. I would say I failed at this. I didn't do any actual work on getting him focused)
-Trying to get Frodo more interested in training/actually trying to make me click (I would say this was semi-successful. We played the game Laura suggested with the box, and I think he did understand that the box was making me click. He even walked around the box, stuck his head in the box, etc. So he is offering behaviors, though he still gets disinterested and will wander away before too long. Probably more my issue than his. I need to increase reinforcement or something.)
-Continue low distraction LLW work (We are still far from a good LLW, but I would definitely say we are improving! More about the LLW later)
-FUN STUFF (aka: building our relationship) (Success! We have been doing little things like tug sessions every day and when I sit down to watch a show I have been brushing him or just sitting and petting him.)
June goals:
-Protocol for Relaxation: I need to work on this every day, if I can ever figure out exactly how to go about it!
-LAT game: Per Crystal's suggestion I need to start using this with Frodo
-LLW: Over the last few days I have been upping the criteria while out on walks. Now when he pulls I stop. I was letting him get away with pulling towards trees, bushes, etc. but now I stop dead and stay that way until he reorients to me and gives me a loose leash. Sometimes he will look at me and loosen the leash, then as soon as I take a step he tries to pull again. So again we stop and wait for him to loosen the leash and stick with me. It's been going really really well, I am super proud with his progress. It also allows us to work closer to things that he wants to sniff. Onward and upward on this front!
-Getting out and about: This isn't something that is going to start tomorrow or next week. I still feel like I have no control when he sees a dog or has a reaction, so I don't want to add my nervousness to the mix by taking him out of my comfort zone just yet. By the end of June though I hope to be able to do things like take him out to dinner or something like that. I can practice at Panera Bread (where I work) because I have room to get away from his triggers (I can go behind the building and I know people aren't going to follow or be) and it is also a place where I am comfortable. There does tend to be a few dogs there because it is off the highway and people travel during the summer, but I've noticed the dogs are usually under control and behaving more than I see in my town.
-Mat Work: I think I am going to start mat work again, but I may go about it differently. I think I am going to teach him to go to his mat and stay there, and then reinforce the calming signals he gives while on the mat, instead of the other way around. I believe that a better trainer would have more success the old way, but I feel that the new way is going to be less frustrating for me.
-Fetch: I need to get out the Cuz and work more on teaching him to fetch. I want a fetching dog pretty bad, plus it would be a great way for him to get exercise in the cold MN winter!
-Nails: Another hard one that I really need to buckle down and work on. I really want to be able to clip/dremel his nails without too much of a problem and without him fighting it. My goal is to be able to handle his feet and touch the nail with clippers or dremel by mid-May.
-Focus/Attention work: Same as last month. I want to actually find some type of program or something though, I tend to do much better and stay focused myself when I can do something like this. I know there was a program I started with my other dog. It was a levels program and I believe the author had llamas and schnauzers or PWDs. The background was purple or blue I think. :p
-Getting Frodo more interested in training/making me click: Again, the same as last month.
Of course I will be ignoring things on this list and adding more throughout the month. Hopefully I can stay somewhat on track!
Re: Levels- Were you thinking of Sue Ailsby?
http://www.dragonflyllama.com/%20dogs/%20dog1/levels.html
Yes! That was it!
I never did the whole thing with my other dog as I didn't have a helper for some of the games (like the come game for level 1), but I am going to read through them and see if I think the work would help Frodo and I.
Thanks!
I like Sue Ailsby's levels as well. Have never really worked through them but I occasionally refer to them when teaching my dogs' obedience stuff.
As for attention, I did a post on my blog a couple months ago on attention games. It's pretty basic stuff though, just things I do when working with a new dog.
http://laurawaudby.blogspot.com/2009/11/how-to-have-attentive-dog.html