In the Company of Dog

We had a BLAST! Mashi, Saphira and I packed our stuff and headed to Centenary College in Hackettstown NJ last Friday to attend Camp Barking Hills. We attended so many fun and fascinating classes and accomplished so much. Here is a breakdown of what we took:
Friday night:
Presentation of Classes
Saturday:
Better Training Through Communication — Shaping with Verbal Cues or Clickers, Pet Tricks A, Recall Remedies P1, Swimming Lessons (yes Mashi, a shiba, swam), CGC Prep A, Dealing with Fears and Phobias, Canine Olympics
Sunday:
Skateboarding, Pet Tricks B, Recall Remedies P2, On the Ball: Fitness and Conditioning, Pampered Pooch Cooking Seminar, CGC Prep B, Canine Troubleshooting, Craft Night,
Monday:
Two CGC Tests (Both Passed!!) and Self Control, followed by awards and tricky tray.

It was an amazing weekend. Mashi’s team won the Canine Olympics, both of them earned their CGC’s (while Flyball was going on in the same gym), and we learned so many things. I wish that it happened twice a year. We had such a fabulous time and I can’t wait to go back again next year.

Tweet This Post 

Ugh, what a long week. The weekend was filled with shows and rescue work. Saphira’s breeder was sick so Saphira did not get to show. That meant it was just Mashi’s big weekend. While Mashi did not come home with anything but first in his class, he still tried hard. Saturday was the first day he showed on grass. He was excited, a little stressed and very distracted. The table was wobbly and that made him a little unhappy. He tried to focus though and after our ring time we practiced obedience in a grassy area in the middle of the place. She was nicely focused and upbeat. It was a nice opportunity to test him. I finally got to meet Mashi’s breeder family and even his brother. They were very pleased with how he turned out.
Trenton was Sunday and Mashi was a lot more together and wanting to show. He was used to the grass by now and was very upbeat. We used a different lead and it seemed to help focus his attention. The judge was very nice and kept telling me that he really liked Mashi. No idea what he did not put him up then but I will take the compliments anyway.
After Trenton I headed to South Jersey to visit with Jenn from NYC Shiba Rescue. We hung out and I got to play with Sophie the new puppy and Tiki my old foster. Tiki looked so good and so happy. Eventually we covered Intake and covered most of the in person training. I know Jenn will make an awesome Intake Director.
Got lost on the way home and didn’t get home till late but it was still an nice evening.

Tweet This Post 

I just had to make a little post about Mashi Man and his super heeling. We were out in the backyard/garden today and all he wanted to do was heel. He even did a drop with half a hand signal and no verbal command. All he wanted to do was strut at my side, looking up with glee.
I have trained a lot of dogs to heel but nothing feels like the feeling I get when I have a shiba heeling at my side. Especially a 10 month old, and especially when he is so happy to be doing it. I am so greatful to have Mashi in my life. He is such a joy to train.
What his heeling means for the show ring Saturday, I have no idea. I guess I will run him through his conformation paces Friday to put him in show dog mode.

Tweet This Post 

Well Mashi was a superstar last night. He owned the intermediate exercises and wowed our instructor. A week ago we didn’t think he would pass this class be he proved us all very wrong yesterday. He was eager, attentive and happy the whole time. I am so proud of him. Now on to Intermediate 2. He is so close to starting Novice Obedience and is has a wonderful foundation for it.

Tweet This Post 

I thought I would start a series on entries about my experiences with shiba training and the fine line you have to walk to be successful in advancing that training.

Positive Reinforcement vs. Positive Punishment
(and a little negative reinforcement and negative punishment for good measure)

Aversives are a very touchy subject in the world of dog training these days. To some, any correction is looked at as cruel. Also many people do not educate themselves to the psychology behind the training that they swear by. Just because the word “positive” is attached to something, many people think it means “good, happy, nice, etc.”. However this is inaccurate.
Positive reinforcement is an increase in the future frequency of a behavior due to the addition of a stimulus immediately following a response. (Wikipedia 2008)
Therefore “positive” is in reference to the addition of stimulus, not something kind or caring. Meanwhile punishment is not inherently the cruel monster that many turn it into.
Punishment is the reduction of a behavior via a stimulus which is applied (”positive punishment”) or removed (”negative punishment”). (Wikipedia 2008)

Now that we are all on the same page when is comes to lingo I can move on to my system.
Note: This is my personal system and theory for training my dogs. If you don’t like it, don’t try it, its that simple.

I walk a very fine line with my dogs. Positive Reinforcement got us quite far on its own. Luring and shaping are the foundations of everything I train my dogs to do. Food or the promise of a toy are my stimulus. I only lure to periodically speed up the process or clarify something. Also if I hit a loop shaping I will try to steer the dog in the right direction via luring. Sits, downs, drops, stands, ect were all taught with a lure. Heeling was not. It was trained strictly with shaping and a verbal cue when the dog is in position. After the dog has learned heel position I randomize the treats and only give them a moment to notice and take it otherwise they lose out. This increases their precision and keeps them attentive.
Once my dog knows the command and the behavior I begin to fade the shaping. I will periodically shape if my dog looks lost, but I will not if the dog is choosing to ignore the command.
This is where my positive punishment comes in. I will leash correct with an upward pull (not a pop) to correct an ignored sit. I will leash correct a down or drop with a downward pull (not a pop). I only do this when the dog is clearly ignoring the command. If the dog is simply distracted I will not leash correct but instead I will run in the opposite direction of my dogs attention (negative punishment/negative reinforcement). This causes them to want to watch me in case I take off again. This technique has worked so much better then a leash correction due to the fact that too much correct seems to turn off the shiba. If they are not sure of what you are asking for they quickly give up and turn off.

Good luck to anyone training a shiba or any other primitive, free thinking or independent breed.
I will continue to elaborate on our training experiences when the moment moves us.

Tweet This Post