# 52 Weeks of Training Riley



## TeamPoodle (Aug 10, 2015)

I loved Coldbrew's idea and thread so much, I decided to copy her. Hope that's okay! :biggrin:

Riley's been home 6 months (already!) and here is what we've done so far: 

2 training classes, one beginner obedience class and a tricks class
learned to accept and enjoy baths and blow dry
Tolerant of brushing, except front legs
Accepts nail clipping and ear cleaning
In beginner class he was scared of the tunnel so we bought one and now he goes in it willingly and loves it
Consistently produces the following behaviors on command: Sit, Sit-Stay, Down, Down-Stay, Sit Pretty, Up, Spin, Push, Flip (a toy), Rollover, Leave It, Take
Will offer the following behaviors on command about half the time: Stand, Twirl, Come, Offering his paw (commands are: Left, Right, Gauche, Droite), Drop It, Watch Me, Bow, Catch, Crawl
Here are my goals this year for Riley:

Find a performance sport we both enjoy - I want to find something that engages both his mind and his body, and something we can do together
Socialize, socialize, socialize! - Turns out he's got quite a bit of stranger danger. So, hopefully we can reverse it or at least make it better
Loose-leash walking
Recall
Learn to swim
Accept grooming
I've looked at the list of tasks necessary for a dog to get his CGC, and I know for a fact Riley wouldn't pass right now, and I think trying to pass this year would be a lofty goal. I've decided instead to focus on making this year's training more "fun" while still being instructive, and along the way he'll learn some of the skills he needs for the CGC. His CGC is my goal for next year, along with passing therapy dog training. 

So, then, what is my plan for this year?

Dog Sports Sampler Class - we start this week, a 4 week course that goes over the basics of Rally Obedience, Agility, Nosework, and Treibball
Meeting with a woman about raw food this week as well, and she teaches and competes in Agility. Depending on how the sampler class goes, we might sign up for lessons from her (it is hard to find agility trainers in the area, and I feel like summer is the best time to learn since we can be outside and therefore more easily practice at home. So if I can't find group lessons, I'll go for private)
2nd level obedience class - this class starts in early June after we're done with the sports sampler class. Heavy focus of this class is loose-leash walking
"Pet Dog Excellence, Life in the Real World" - 3rd class planned for the summer, after 2nd level obedience is done. This class meets once a week in different locations (dog store, nature center, downtown, etc.) and your dog learns to work with distractions around. It is basically 2nd level obedience but with distractions, so more practice for us.
Swimming lessons - there's a dog-only indoor pool. I want to make sure Riley is comfortable in water. My end goal with learning to swim is to bring him to the city pool in August (last day the pool is open they actually open it up just for dogs and have separate times for big dogs and little dogs)
At least 1x a week "outings" - getting Riley used to sounds, noises, strange people and strange dogs.
I bought a grooming arm so working with Riley at home to get more comfortable with the grooming process
 Continue working on the commands he already knows. We already do this. Some days we get the treats and clicker out and have brief (5-10min) sessions, and some days it is more of "you have to give me a 'down' before we go outside". I'd like to get more consistent at this, perhaps set aside a small chunk of time 1-2x a day to work with him
Phew! Reading this over, I feel like I'm setting us up for a busy year! I know it is a lot, but luckily I'm in a stage in my life where I can devote a lot of time to Riley and his training. He's a smart dog, and he enjoys learning, so why not see what we can do as a team!


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Often when I am advising students who are struggling a bit I tell them to write out a plan of how they will spend their time and what they expect to accomplish in their study sessions. We can do the same with our training. You have laid out a great set of plans for things to do with Riley. I love rally as a sport to start with. It is great for team building and will lay groundwork for other sports too.


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## TeamPoodle (Aug 10, 2015)

Thanks! I'm excited for this sports sampler class. It will be great to learn a bit about the different dog sports and decide which one to pursue!


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## TeamPoodle (Aug 10, 2015)

So, week 1 of tracking our progress. Our weather changed pretty much overnight from 35F to 70+F, so I started taking morning walks with Riley again. I stopped over the winter because it was cold and because he needs training while we walk, and trying to juggle leash + treats + clicker in mittens, a big coat and boots was just too hard. Thanks to Lily cd re’s advice about eye contact, I decided to start out by clicking whenever Riley would “check in” on me, whether he would actually come to my side or just turn his head back to see me, it didn’t matter, I clicked and treated. I clicked for eye contact (rare on walks with so much distraction) and any time the leash was loose. It didn’t take him long to realize that staying by mom = goodies. Also on our walks, he has a tendency to bark at other people/dogs that are walking. Whenever I saw someone coming the other direction, I’d wait until we were getting close, and then have Riley go into a sit-stay. I kept reinforcing “stay” and dishing out treats. With a job to focus on, although he looked at the people, he neither broke his stay nor barked. Good boy!

On one of our walks, I ran into someone I used to know. I had no idea we lived in the same subdivision, so this was someone Riley had never met before. We talked for a little bit, and after about 5 minutes she reached down to pet Riley, who accepted the petting happily (tail up, leaned into her hand). I’m deducing that Riley’s stranger danger happens when people are too quick to pet him. He needs a good 5 minutes of being completely ignored, at which time he can sniff your leg and get comfortable around you before he’s happy to be loved on. 

I signed Riley up for swim orientation. The weekend appointments are sparse and in high demand so his appointment is in 4 weeks.

I wasn’t more consistent about our training sessions, but I did start videoing some of them in hopes of learning what I’m doing right and wrong. I might post them in the unedited training videos thread. I must be crazy for sharing the following video, as I look like a fool, dancing and singing out of tune. However, I’m very proud of Riley’s “stay”. He demonstrated a 2-minute sit-stay with LOTS of distractions and didn’t get up! (Although he almost got up!) 
https://youtu.be/UgNaQ1aYERQ

We started our sports sampler class on Thursday! The first week was Rally Obedience. I really wasn’t all that interested in Rally-O…. until we got to try it out! That’s why this class is so great. There’s only 5 dogs so we really got individual attention. We learned “Front” and "Finish Left" to get our dog back to heel position, halt-walk around dog, and maneuvering the course with our dog in Heel position. We ran through a course of 5 stations three times, each time learning something new since the instructor would switch out signs. And then at the end of the class, the instructor put out 10 stations, and we each took a turn one by one going in the ring and doing the course. Riley was a bit nervous at the beginning of the class but as soon as we started working, he did great. I can see how this might be a good sport for him, as he would be the only one in the ring at one time.

Side note, I mentioned to my husband how much more “adult” Riley is now than he was when my husband took him to tricks class. There was a week my husband couldn’t go so I brought Riley, who was completely distracted, not interested in the treats, looking at what all the other dogs were doing, unfocused, etc. The treats haven’t changed (in fact, they’ve gotten worse as I fed him his dinner during class instead last night – ha!) but his attention levels have improved 100 fold. Whenever I wasn’t asking something of him, he’d look up at me like “what next, mom?” This must be what growing up looks like!

Oh, and not training related (well, kinda) but we went to talk to a woman who sells raw food. She’s very knowledgeable, and I’ve found the whole thing overwhelming. What to feed? How much? After talking with her I felt MUCH better, and bonus, my husband came with me and also liked what he heard. She gave us her raw food recipe and the whole thing finally feels manageable. We can buy all the components of her recipe from her store, or make our own (although we have a suspicion that it would cost about the same either way, so I’m happy to support her). She also does competitive agility with her dogs, and does private agility training. I asked her what her rate was, which was much less than I was expecting! So, depending if Riley ends up liking agility next week (hoping he does!) I think we will start with her and do private lessons for a while. Eventually, if it is something I want to compete in, I know I’ll have to get him used to the sounds and distractions of many dogs/people, but I think learning in a more relaxed environment will be better for him. 

All in all a great week!


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

Not a bad sense of rythme at all, Lol !

Riley wasn't too thrilled but he stayed, he's a very good boy !


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I loved your video and I can't say for sure that Javelin would have stayed with me dancing around him.

I think rally is lots of fun and can be a good foundation for other sports since you can do what you need to to keep connected to your dog. 

Keep it up. And keep posting I look forward to seeing your progress.


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

Holy cow, Riley is good! Maizie wouldn't have lasted 2 seconds with dancing :lol:


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## TeamPoodle (Aug 10, 2015)

*Week 2*

Continued working on loose-leash walking. Riley will now loose-leash walk 75% of the walk, although he’s still in front of me. That’s okay, I’m happy he’s getting used to the feeling of the leash being loose and not pulling out front. I’ve worked this week on keeping him on my left side (he seems to favor the right side), and continuing to reward for eye contact. On one of our walks we passed a very vocal dog, and I praised Riley for not barking and moving forward. On the way back, we passed him again, and every few steps Riley looked up at me as if to say “is this what you want, mom? I’m ignoring him, do you see that?” Lots and lots and lots of treats. We’ll get there 

When on our walks Riley really starts to tug, I’ll stop and make him do commands. This seems to re-focus him on me. Sometimes my treats just aren’t as exciting as the big outdoors. I know a lot of people teach their dog to heel in the front yard or driveway, and I’ve tried this with Riley (as well as in the house). All of them, he’s a fantastic heeler. And then we go on an actual walk and all bets are off. So, we’ll keep practicing slowly on real walks. They’re improving, slowly, but surely. I loved Click-and-treat’s thread about loose-leash walking and we utilized some of those strategies this week, like when nearing our neighbor’s house where Riley’s best friend lives. He tugged, so we walked away. Kept doing it until he walked very nicely next to me all the way to Abby.

I also worked a lot on “down”. This is Riley’s weakest command. He knows the command, I know he does, he just is really reluctant to do it. So, to get his collar on, in a stay before getting a door opened to go outside, for treats, and during play-time, I’ve been asking for a lot of “down”. He’s performing it with the first ask about 75% of the time now on carpet, which is an improvement. But, still will not do “down” on a hard surface. Oh, and he learned down from a standing position, so even if he’s sitting he’ll stand back up before going down. I found out last week in class that Rally has a down from stand and down from sit. So, we’ll have to work on that too.

He got to say hi to people he knew this week. He’s still “exuberant-puppy-hi-I-love-you-let-me-jump-all-over-you!” when there’s people he knows, but after a couple minutes of “OMG I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!”, he suddenly went into a very strong sit (I didn’t ask for it, but I’ve been working on this with him when I come home), and looked up at them like “I know that when I sit you pet me, right???!” I’ve been looking at his body language, and he was very happy the whole time he was being pet. So, I think his issues are mostly just with strangers. After he gets to know someone, he gets very happy to see them and happy for the attention. I feel kind-of at a loss with this, though. I don’t want him to jump all over people, but he’s so hesitant to be pet and loved by new people that I don’t want to cause more issues by trying to correct the jumping behavior while also trying to encourage him to meet people. I think with people I know Riley is okay with, I’ll ask them not to pet him until he gives them a “sit”, and with strangers, I’ll just ask that they don’t pet my dog and let him come up to them and sniff them. Unless someone here has a better suggestion.

This week’s sports sampler was Agility, and, well, it could have been better. I think all the new equipment was overwhelming for Riley, coupled with the fact that there was a new dog in the class that wasn’t there last week – and this dog is a 6 month old puppy that literally didn’t stop barking or whining the entire hour. He kept jumping and trying to get to Riley or any other dog he could and his owner was pretty terrible at controlling the leash. We kept our distance for the most part but when we’d go to do some of the equipment the dog would lunge on the leash and unsettle Riley. His brain was pretty fried by the end, and I had a headache. We learned “target”, teaching the dog to go through an equipment piece to our specified “target” and once he reached the target he got rewarded. The teacher was explaining how we don’t want to use luring in agility because you want the dog looking ahead and what he is doing and not distracted by what you might be offering from the side of him. We practiced with a tunnel, jump, and ladder, and did some perch-work. This was essentially a crash course in agility, so all of this in an hour, you can see how it was a lot. At the end, all the dogs went out of the ring and each dog had the chance to try a little sequence – jump, tunnel, jump. Riley, who would do the jumps fine on leash, skirted around them every time. Oh well. He did the tunnel, though, because after our beginner class where he was scared of the tunnel, we bought him his own and practiced a lot at home. I was proud that he very willingly went through the class’s tunnel, as they all smell and look different. I told my husband that I want to work on targeting and perch work with Riley at home, and I think I’m going to pay for 5 private agility lessons with the instructor I spoke to last week (one of her dogs is a MACH 4). After 5 lessons, I’ll be better able to tell if it is worth pursuing or not. I was discouraged because some of the dogs in the class really seemed to “get it” and enjoy it, while Riley was more like “I don’t know, mom, I’m not sure I want to jump”. I keep reminding myself that a sport like agility takes years, but I also know you have to have a dog who likes it and is willing to do it. I was feeling discouraged so I started reading the Agility thread on this forum from the beginning. It made me feel better to see that dogs that excel at agility today had ups and downs when starting out too.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Thanks for the update. I have a question for you about your expectations for loose leash vs. heeling. Do you expect heeling when out for walks? I do not. A walk is a way to relax and enjoy each others company with a bit of training mixed in. I only require loose leash on a walk and don't mind if the dog is slightly ahead as long as the leash is slack. I only expect heeling in a match or trial ring or the warm up for it and define heeling as being precisely in the right position for the dog to read my cues for pace changes, turns and halts.

Once you get your down under all conditions settled you should be aware that the higher levels of rally have things like a moving stand and moving down too! So when you have your sit, down and stand while you have stopped on auto pilot start to teach moving sits etc. where you order the dog to stop in the position you want while you keep moving. You would also then need to be able to call the dog back to heel.

I wouldn't write off agility since the distracting new dog was there. A few privates would give you better feedback, not just from Riley, but also from the trainer. 

Last thing, do you think the person running the class will talk to the owner about their handling of the disruptive dog? You all paid your money and you all deserve to get a good experience out of it, but it sounds like this person and their dog aren't ready for this level of work yet. If I were running a class like that I would have that person come to a few obedience classes before having them come back to the sports sampler class. I would tell them that I thought that would help them get a better experience out of trying the different activities in the sports sample class and tell them I would either apply their fee for the current class to obedience or hold it over for a later session of the sports class.


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## TeamPoodle (Aug 10, 2015)

For walks, ideally I'd like to get Riley on my left. Not in a perfect heel position, per-say, but not in front of me at all. The reason for this is because we don't have sidewalks in my town, so when we take walks, we're walking in the street. I'd feel safer having him on my left towards grass and houses and have me be more in the road when cars pass. Right now, every time I hear a car I have him come back to me and sit and wait in a sit while the car passes. It would be nice to have him at my side and be able to keep walking.

I've been looking for Rally classes and so far haven't found anything coming up. I'd like to take a class to know what to expect from trials and learn more about how to work as a team. I didn't realize there were so many variations of sits, downs, and stands! Safe to say we're not going to run out of things to work on anytime soon.

Unfortunately, I don't think anything will happen with the disruptive dog in class. It is only a 4 week class and we only have 2 weeks left. That dog was definitely not ready for a sports class, but if the instructor let her join... I'll just keep doing my best with Riley. I've been strategically placing us in a quiet corner during class to learn skills, and then have to worry about the other dog when applying the skills (we learned "target" in our own separate seats, and then applied "target" to a jump for example in the middle of the room). This week is treibball and next week nosework. And unfortunately for me, the dog really only seemed to bother Riley. When it jumped and barked at the other dogs, they didn't seem to care. I just happen to have a sensitive dog who got frazzled by it.


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## TeamPoodle (Aug 10, 2015)

*Weeks 3&4*

I’ve been traveling for work so I missed my week 3 update and decided to lump it together with week 4. 

Week 3: His walking has improved a ton. I’ve been using the natural distractions outside to keep him focused on me (kids playing, dogs barking in yards, etc.). We went to the pet store and he had some fabulous sit-stays, which were the result of me needing to look at stuff and him tug-tug-tugging on the leash. In exasperation I asked for a sit-stay and he did not budge for a good few minutes (until released), while all sorts of people and noise were around us. I asked for another one while trying to pay, since he was tugging pretty fiercely in an attempt to go sniff the person behind us in line. This boy is a dream to be around when you give him commands, but can be so wild and untamed if left to his own devices. He definitely needs a ‘job’.

Progress on the grooming front. We now own a grooming arm, so when my husband gave him a bath this week, I requested that he blow-dry Riley using the table and arm. He was a bit reluctant at first (who knows why) but told me afterwards that it went smoothly and Riley seemed fine being up there. He said it was actually so much quicker to use the arm because Riley couldn’t run away from the blow dryer. He’s not afraid of the blow dryer (we use a regular blow dryer on “cool” setting) so it was more to get him used to the grooming arm and being up on a table. I used the grooming arm this week also to clip Riley’s nails. He growled twice with front paws, and when he growled I let go of his leg and worked on the back ones, then came back to the front ones. He does not like people touching his front paws, so I do it often when petting him. He’s getting better.

This week’s sport was Treibball. When I started the sports sampler class, I was interested in learning more about agility and nosework. Funny enough, Riley has shown aptitude for Rally Obedience and Treibball. I suppose he likes keeping me on my toes ;-). We learned the commands to get our dog out away from us (“Come By” when directing them clockwise, and “Away” when directing counter-clockwise) and worked on getting our dog around a traffic cone using the cues to their target. Riley did GREAT at this, he really seemed to get it. Then, we all got an exercise ball and had our dog practice rolling it off a ring that kept it in place. This part, Riley was unsure about, as he’s never seen a ball this size before. I think if I used something like a soccer ball and practiced with him, eventually he would be able to work up to an exercise ball. In all, it was a great class. The lady with the very vocal dog was there again this week, but since we were all working in our separate corners this week, it wasn’t so bad. There was a time, though, when Riley first approached his ball, and right as he touched it, the dog barked super loudly and Riley jumped. I could have cursed at the timing. 

Week 4:
Well I was gone for 5 days, the longest I’ve been away from Riley. I definitely had separation anxiety from him! My husband reported that Riley was just fine, no signs of stress, which is great. So, not much happened this week on account of being gone. Our last sports sampler class was nosework, and Riley LOVED this and exceled at it. The teacher is giving a Nosework Level 1 class starting in July and we’re going to take it as Riley showed real aptitude to this. We’re also signing up for 2nd level obedience which starts in a few weeks.

I’m getting better at watching Riley’s body language and redirecting him before he starts barking at people/dogs/things. He had started a habit of barking while looking outside when he saw people in the backyard, and I’ve worked at telling him “enough” and praising him when he stopped barking. This week he saw people outside, was alert, but didn’t bark. I reinforced this behavior with lots of treats and “good boy!” 

We took a walk and he walked with the leash loose the ENTIRE walk! I was so proud of him. He’s still in front of me, but my first goal was a loose leash. When nearing the house, he tugged, so I stopped moving. Immediately he doubled back to me with a look on his face like “wait, why’d we stop?” It took 2 more stops for him to get the message that tug=no movement towards his goal, and he walked nicely the rest of the way. Small victories are such sweet rewards for hard work!

We had my 3 year old nephew stop over for a visit and they had a GREAT time together. Riley was super gentle with my nephew, and he was VERY gentle with Riley. It was fun to see Riley excited about visitors. I watched them like a hawk, but there were lots of giggles and tail wags.

Riley and I went to a minor league baseball game! It was FREEZING cold so we only stayed until the top of the 5th inning. Every year this team has an event called “Bark in the Park” and you can bring your dog to the game. He was a bit nervous at first at all the commotion/people/dogs but quickly warmed up and made some doggie friends. The more I take him places, the more I see his confidence grow, and I love it. He still doesn’t want to approach strangers or let them pet him, but he’s getting bolder at coming up to them and sniffing them. I’m letting him dictate the pace… I think someday (maybe in 2 years or so?!) he’ll let strangers pet him. Until then… we just keep working at it!

Attached are pictures of our class completion certificate and Riley at the ball game.


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

You are a wonderful dog Mom! I love your updates, you have really accomplished quite a bit so far and should be proud of yourself! Riley is such a darling!!


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

That is a great update. You got a lot done despite not having much time. Riley has learned a lot and you did too. Don't leave your dog to make his own decisions about what to do in busy and distracting environments!

If Riley continues to enjoy nose work maybe you want to try tracking too.


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## sarahebeth (Feb 16, 2016)

Oh, I do love Riley. Looks like he's doing awesome. Hooray for both of you! 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk


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## TeamPoodle (Aug 10, 2015)

lily cd re said:


> That is a great update. You got a lot done despite not having much time. Riley has learned a lot and you did too. Don't leave your dog to make his own decisions about what to do in busy and distracting environments!
> 
> If Riley continues to enjoy nose work maybe you want to try tracking too.


I'll spoil the surprise now - we have a Barn Hunt Seminar next weekend!  I'll keep tracking in mind, though, if nosework ends up being successful.


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## TeamPoodle (Aug 10, 2015)

*Week 5*

This week was filled with fun NEW experiences! I was gone again on business for a few days, so not much happened outside of structured classes. On Sunday Riley had a swim lesson at a dog-only indoor pool. The first session is with an instructor where they can help get your dog used to water and assess his swimming abilities. He wore a life jacket so there was no danger of drowning (although he did swallow a TON of water during that 30 minutes… geesh). Now that we’ve done the orientation session, we can schedule time slots and go with Riley without an instructor. It is a pretty neat set-up, since every appointment is private so we were the only ones in the pool area with Riley, and if you have a really nervous dog (*cough* Riley *cough*) the humans can go in the pool with the dog. So… how’d he do? Well, what do you call a poodle that doesn’t like water? An oxymoron? [face palm]. He was very, very nervous. Of the new place, of the water, of the instructor… we spent quite a bit of time trying to coax him into the water, but eventually the instructor took him by the life jacket and put him in the water with her. There was a lot of splashing and ineffective movement, but then… swimming! The instructor would put him in the water, he’d swim out to me (by this time I’m in the pool too since it is the only way to get him to swim), and let him swim back to the ramp and go up to my husband, where he would put on his best “poor me, my humans are so mean” face. We’d give him a few minutes, and then back in he would go. With every repetition his swimming got easier and smoother. We tried to get him to use the ramp into the pool, but he would go down until he touched water and… nope! Then, funny enough, things started to click for him. Crack Ball (his absolutely favorite toy ever) held no value for him until about 15 minutes in. Suddenly he got comfortable enough in the new space to see his ball floating in the water, and we were able to get him to make the decision himself to go in after it. By the end of the half hour, I was out of the pool, and we were able to throw the ball in and have Riley jump in after it. I was amazed by the progress. At the beginning of the class he wouldn’t go in for anything, and by the end he jumped in willingly (although still hesitantly). I think we can give up on dreams of dock jumping with him, since it is safe to say he doesn’t LOVE the water, but I want to go back to the pool, if only enough times to get him comfortable in water.

We had our first private agility class and it surpassed my expectations 100x over. I came home and my husband said “so, how did it go?” My answer: “this was THE BEST thing we’ve ever done”. Firstly, it is in this lady’s basement, so it is just me, Riley, and her. He’s off leash and allowed to wander around, and everything was based around fun, fun, fun! We got a ton accomplished in an hour, and she really just let Riley dictate the pace on everything. We started with getting Riley to spin in a circle, apparently this is a good warm-up for them. Then she had me luring him around a bucket, marking “yes!” as he turned the bend, and we did both ways around (clockwise and counter-clockwise) and from all 4 sides of the bucket. This is foundation for the command “Go out”. She then had a long plank of wood painted yellow on the floor, and I lured Riley to walk on the wood across the whole way, from both sides of the plank and both directions. This is the beginning of the dogwalk, she said. Eventually when we get him running across it happily, we’ll add bricks and elevate it slightly. (that’s a long eventually). Then, we played with a wobble board, and Riley got lots and lots of treats and praise when he would touch it with his paw (which was not very often). Before he could get frustrated with it, she took it away, and we worked on contacts with a yellow square on the floor. When Riley got both front paws on it, jackpot!! And finally, we worked on start line stays. Since Riley has a good stay (my saving grace), we did quite a few progressions. First, I would have my back to him and be ahead of him by 6 feet or so and call him to me and give him the treat at my side. (we did both sides of the body). Then, same thing but when I released him I ran forward, and gave him the treat when he reached me (both sides). Then, she put down a jump but without a bar in it for Riley to pass through to get to me where I was standing static (both sides), and then while I’m running away (both sides). Then two jumps without bars (both sides). And finally one jump with an 8” bar in place, both sides again. Riley did great at this and before I would release him, I could see his eyes were glittering and he was so excited to do it! We’ve got lots of great homework to work on, but it was really fun for both of us so I’m looking forward to working with him. What I really like about the instructor is that it is as much, if not more, about MY body positioning and handling. Every exercise we did, she told me which way my feet should be pointing, which foot was ahead of the other, and how to position my hands/arms. So that from the very beginning, I’m also getting into a routine of doing it right every single time. Another suggestion she made was if I was interested in eventually competing with him, to bring him to local agility trials. Seat him on my lap or near me, where he’s comfortable, and feed him lots of high value treats to get him used to all the commotion and associate it with “fun”.

Saturday we went to a seminar on barn hunting! Although I didn’t think the seminar was well-run, it did give us a chance to learn more about barn hunting and gave Riley the opportunity to meet a rat. So, on the positive side of things, Riley thought hay bale tunnels and jumps were fun. On the negative side, he couldn’t identify the rat AT ALL. Well, he’s not a terrier. I think if I worked with him to know that he’s searching for the rat, he would get it eventually, but honestly I won’t bother. It was fun to learn about it but I’m ruling it out as our sport. 

And then today we went to a state park for a nice hike and a picnic! I didn’t bring the clicker or treats, this was purely for fun. However, I was quite proud of Riley because he kept the leash loose the whole time (4 miles!) without me having to remind him. Later today, we ran clippers over his back for about 10 minutes, giving him lots of treats and praise, and he tolerated it just fine. We’re going to do the legs later this week. (Giving him just a small trim, in many, many small stages).

Attached are a couple pictures from the barn hunt seminar (the second photo Riley is sniffing at the wrong tube. haha), and from our hike today.


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## TeamPoodle (Aug 10, 2015)

*Week 6*

Not too much progress. He learned the beginning of weave poles in agility and we worked on my hand commands. At home I’ve been working on getting “tunnel” on cue, and it is getting better. I need to invest in jumps and weave poles soon, though, so we can practice those at home. 

We took another nature walk this weekend, and part of our 5 mile walk was on the beach. There were tons of other dogs around, and Riley didn’t bark at any of them! (Although many barked at him). He walked loosely the whole time and overall was very, very well behaved. Even my parents noticed, my mom said “wow, he’s so good he doesn’t bark at the other dogs”, and I thanked her for the compliment and told her it was lots and lots of practice and work, as he used to bark at anything and everything.

Oh, and I gave the dog park a go. I hadn’t been there in over 10 years but they renovated and enlarged the small dog area to a nice sizable area, and we were out running a ton of errands, Riley was being very good and patient, so I decided to stop and give him a few minutes of energy release. I was hoping it would be empty (it was an off time), but there were other dogs. At first Riley was nervous, he doesn’t like dogs running up to his face, so I put him on a bench, and he decided when to jump down and say hello. Then he had a good time having a game of chase. The two dogs he was playing with were smaller than him (shih tsu/bichon crosses), so I had to sometimes pull him away when I felt he was being too rough. I’ll have to probably start another thread, but I’d be interested in knowing more about proper dog park dog play behavior and what to do when your dog is being a bully. Half the time Riley did so well, he would get down all the way to the ground with his head also on the ground and paw gently at the other dog to play, but the other half of the time he would get over excited and jump on the dog and make him roll.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Everyday life training is the most important stuff. It is what lets you and your dog live well and play nicely. So don't count this as a not much happened week.

You might want to think about channel weaves or weave-a-matics for your home set if you are going to be super serious. I have channel weaves and they have really been great to work with.

I love seeing your posts here!


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

Your week 5 report was awesome!!!!! You and Riley sound like you are having so much fun!!!!! Go TeamPoodle!!!


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## TeamPoodle (Aug 10, 2015)

lily cd re said:


> Everyday life training is the most important stuff. It is what lets you and your dog live well and play nicely. So don't count this as a not much happened week.
> 
> You might want to think about channel weaves or weave-a-matics for your home set if you are going to be super serious. I have channel weaves and they have really been great to work with.
> 
> I love seeing your posts here!


Thanks! We used channel weaves in our class, but she had the weaves closed, and Riley, being so small, had no problem weaving in and out of them. I'm actually really, really surprised he wasn't scared of them. So far, the only thing that he doesn't like is the wobble board, but I was told that's normal.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

The wobble board and later the see saw can be unnerving so teach them with only positives and lots of rewards. You can make jumps yourself easily with PVC pipe and fittings. You can even make a pause table with a 4 x 4 plywood top and PVC base, depending on how deep you want to go for at home equipment.


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## TeamPoodle (Aug 10, 2015)

*Week 7*

Thanks Catherine for all the tips! We introduce the wobble board every agility session, but only for short bursts, always for hot dogs, and lots of praise and love. As soon as he seems to have had enough, or has touched it about 5 or so times, we put it away, so we always end on fun. Riley isn't on a leash, so he can run away if he wants, but usually because I'm there he's curious and hangs out near it. We tell him to "touch" it (our command for putting his paw(s) on it, and when he does, boy it is a party! It is super cute, our instructor will tell him "make it bang! Go on, Riley, touch it, make it bang!"

In agility this week, we worked outside. The combination of new, potentially stressful experiences (although always approached with fun!) and the stimulus of being outdoors with so many distractions, meant a very, very wild Riley. He did a great job of demonstrating the poodle zoomies. It was pretty frustrating for me because he just would not listen at all! (one of those "world's worst trainer" moments), but I tried not to show it or let it affect him, because I really do want agility to be fun for him. He did great on his first A-Frame (very small one), working on two-on, two-off contact, he loved the tunnel, demonstrated good “touch” for the bottom of the teeter (no movement on it yet, just getting him comfortable “touching” it while it doesn’t move), jumped through the tire jump beautifully (first time with it), and good “go out” in a new environment. However, although he enjoys jumps, when I tried to guide him through one in class, he ran around it every time. (however, during his zoomies he demonstrated a perfect Jump-tunnel-jump sequence… the very one we were trying to work with him on that he wouldn’t do correctly whenever we wanted it. Silly poodle.)

So... we’re taking a few weeks off agility, mostly because of scheduling conflicts. My goal for this week is to get some jumps and maybe weaves made (I found some plans off of this site that seem decent) and to work with him outside where there are distractions and get him better at focus. We’re also starting Level 2 Obedience work this week which will hopefully help (with recall whenever he does get off track).

In real world applications, Riley did wonderfully this week at a 1st birthday party. Most of the kids were in the backyard and when they did come in the garage where we were, they didn't approach him, but about 3 adult strangers came to say hi to Riley. Not only did he sniff their hand, but had a happy tail while they were petting him. He didn’t bark at all at the party, he was actually very at-ease even though it was very noisy and busy. 

After agility, when it was clear Riley’s brain had enough, the instructor took her two Goldens out to play with Riley. Riley had never met them, and usually he gets nervous when dogs come running towards him at full speed. He promptly ran away while they chased him, and I could see he was a bit uncomfortable, but not necessarily scared, so I decided not to intervene and see what would happen. What did happen is when the Goldens stopped to breathe, Riley came right up to them and confidently sniffed them hello, stole their tennis ball, and engaged them in a game of chase. He LOVED playing with them. 

These sorts of interactions make my heart swell with joy and pride. My little poodle, who came to us with a fear of strangers and strange dogs is learning to trust! He might never be a social butterfly, but that’s okay. Just having him feel safe and confident in the midst of a chaotic environment is such an amazing thing to see. I’m so proud of him!


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## TeamPoodle (Aug 10, 2015)

*Week 8*

I’ve been traveling for work (again)! More trips scheduled in the following weeks, which means really in-depth training suffers. Luckily, the trips are set up so that we can still make our scheduled classes, and in the past few weeks my husband has started working with Riley (without prompting from me) so he won’t suffer too badly.

We had our first “Beyond the Basics” class. The second level ‘manners’ class taught at our local training facility. I love this trainer and her approach, so I’m glad to be back into one of her classes. This one is all about impulse control, as well as learning an effective emergency recall, and teaching the dogs to be polite. It builds on the level one class which comprised of the basic commands. The trainer, who had not seen Riley since January, couldn’t believe he was the same dog. Boy he’s changed, for good! The first class was mostly review, but we started working on “watch me” with distractions, emergency recall, stand-stay, and default sits. Riley did fabulously.

Whenever Riley needs something (like getting his leash on to go outside) I ask him for a command (usually a sit or down, sometimes in a stay) before I release him and we go outside. I call these “Life Rewards” for lack of a better term. He doesn’t get treats, just praise and the reward is getting what he wants (the ball, going outside, etc.). I’ve been asking for more “downs” lately because he really doesn’t like to produce that behavior. Twice this week I got a down on tile! He never, ever, ever has given me a down on a hard surface, so this was a big breakthrough.

And finally, the biggest and most exciting thing that happened this week… My husband and I groomed Riley ourselves! With my current work travels and the fact that Riley needs me to stay at the grooming shop with him, I’ve had a hard time scheduling him in to get groomed. Finally this weekend my husband suggested we try doing it ourselves. It took us 3 days, or about 6 hours total since we’re such novices, broken down into 1-hr sessions. The reason this is such an accomplishment was because of Riley’s temperament throughout the whole thing. Riley, who usually needs to get muzzled because he completely freaks out when someone (other than us) touches his front legs did amazingly! He will usually growl and cry and bite at the equipment in his frustration and stress when his front legs are touched, and needs distracting from all the other grooming too, although he will tolerate that slightly better. With us, we had one of us giving treats and praise and asking for commands (like “watch me!” or “stay”) while the other clipped. Riley only let out about 3 growls total (and only when I was doing his front legs), and didn’t try to attack the equipment at all. In fact, most of the time he stood still and was very, very good! A lot of the time his body posture indicated calm, at ease, and even happy. About an hour is all he really could tolerate, you could see him getting grumbly and antsy, so we’d stop and give him a half-day break. With his front legs, he even let me use the clippers on the top half of them (the groomer needs to scissor them all because he refuses to let her touch him with the clippers), and I was able to use the scissors on the rest. I’m still amazed at how so, so, so good he was about the whole thing. The only thing I didn’t attempt is his muzzle. We decided to save that for next weekend’s project, as doing everything else was a big enough task and we didn’t want to push our luck. He doesn’t look as beautiful as when we take him to a professional, and I'm still chasing him down around the house with scissors because I find 'stray' hairs that didn't get clipped (just kidding, running with scissors is dangerous) but considering his mental state and how much less stressful this whole thing was on him, I’d say it was definitely worth it. We need to invest in good clippers and scissors but we both agreed it was worth doing so, as we’re saving a lot of money and we’re only going to get better and faster at grooming. Based on Riley’s behavior, I’d say eventually we’ll be able to phase out treats and have a pleasant dog on the grooming table (estimating this to happen in, oh, two years or so). Below are some pictures of Riley in his new ‘do.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Keep up the good work! You have made great progress even with an irregular schedule.


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## TeamPoodle (Aug 10, 2015)

*Weeks 9-11*

Whoops! I wrote up Week 9 but never got around to posting it! Argh. Too much traveling for work lately I keep losing track of things.

*Week 9 *

What a big week for Mr. Riley! Monday was class, and because I was running too early, I stopped at the dog park which is really close for about 10 minutes. Riley played very nicely with a couple of dogs, but there was one he was chasing that didn’t look to be enjoying the game. Riley can get like that sometimes and he knows that my lap is the “safe” zone if he needs a break, but this dog didn’t seem to have somewhere like that, so I called Riley over and held his collar for a minute or so to allow the other dog to go back to its owners. Then I released Riley and he must have understood something, because he didn’t go chase that dog again.

In class we learned commands at distance (such as sit or down), started the beginning of settling on a mat, and worked on “touch” which I’m calling “noseit”, because Riley knows touch as 2 paws on a yellow contact, not as “bop it with your nose”. I’m still not 100% sure I like the term ‘noseit’ but was having trouble figuring out what to call the command. I didn’t want to do just ‘nose’ afraid it sounds too close to ‘no’. Now that I think of it, I kind of like “Bop”. For the mat, she originally started by giving us a yellow one the size of a placemat, and the first thing Riley did was put is paw firmly on the yellow and then look up at me for reinforcement. It is super fun to see that the agility stuff is sticking in his brain! Because he will eventually need to ‘settle’ on the mat, I got switched to a blue-colored mat as not to confuse him. 

Riley walked very nicely on our walks this week, I only need to remind him a few times not to pull, but usually he self-corrects. He’ll get to the end of the leash, give one tug, and then slow his pace back down so that he’s no longer tugging. He had some uncertainty about an orange Home Depot bucket on its side in a yard, as well as an orange ‘Road Closed’ sign, so we investigated both of those with treats and praise. The bucket was still a bit scary but he did take a treat off of it in the end, while the sign wasn’t scary at all once he got a good look at it. We practiced “noseit!” on the sign.

Riley went to the dog park again on Tuesday, and this time for about 45 minutes. I let him in and he runs right up to all the other dogs for hellos and sniffs. (Who is this dog I have?! I love it!) He had some really fast games of chase with his new dog friends (all under 17” at the shoulder). It is funny to watch play styles, as he had very similar play to the petite goldendoodle and the other poodle mixes. While some dogs like to rough and tumble, Riley’s favorite is a good game of “tag”. He had very lovely play behavior, not once did I have to give him a break because he was too rowdy. My favorite was how lovely he was to the little dachshund the size of a loaf of bread. It is fun to see him play and interact with other dogs, and he really has fun. Again, my lap is the ‘safe’ zone, so when he felt he needed a break, he would jump up, and jump back down when he was ready for more. (Side note: Catherine, I noticed our dog park here allows intact dogs, but does not allow females in heat. Not that it matters to us because Riley is neutered, but after I've seen you mention that your dogs are not allowed in dog parks near you, I thought it was interesting.)

*Weeks 10-11:*

Riley had a couple of busy weeks! I’ve been traveling again for work so we’ve been squeezing in what we can. Beyond the Basics class is going well, and all this obedience refresher is really helping all of us. 

We went to an event in our town called Woof Wednesday, and Riley was a bit unsure. Lots of new people and dogs, some live music, it was a lot for him to take in. One booth had a mini agility course set up with a couple jumps and a tunnel, so we practiced there a few times, and I could really see Riley perk up and gain confidence. This was something he knew how to do! It was fun to see him shine this way, and I was happy to see that he can translate the skills he’s learning to other equipment in other situations.

He also had his second swim lesson, and this time he went in the water on his own, and we played fetch in the water the whole 30 minutes (with lots of breaks). He loved it! After the first lesson I wasn’t sure we’d ever get Riley in the water again, and by the second class you could see he was starting to enjoy the water. It was so cool!

Then this past week we had Beyond the Basics again, where we started working on a “wait” command (we’re using “hold on” since I use “wait” in Agility). Riley did really well. I’m amazed at what a great dog he’s shaping up to be.

We FINALLY had an agility lesson after a few weeks off (due to hectic schedules on both mine and the instructor’s parts). As you might recall, last lesson was a total fiasco outside, Riley just would not listen and did zoomies the entire hour. This lesson was SO much better. We started out inside first, which I think helped Riley to get into the mindset of Agility. We practiced weaves, the board which is our “dog walk”, “go touch”, and “go out”. We’ve translated Go Out to a jump, which is so cool. I’ve been working on Go Out and Go Touch at home so it was nice to see he did them well. He’s getting better at the board as well, making it the whole way and we’re adding a bit of speed to it. We’ve added the command “walk it” when we do it. And of course a bit of wobble board. He’s getting more confident about touching it, but he still hates it. Outside we worked on the contact trainer again, and a jump/tunnel/jump sequence. We’re getting better, but Riley still wouldn’t do the last jump in the sequence. His focus outside was much better this time. At the end of the lesson, we put Riley in the fenced in area and I got to see the trainer run her dog through a full course, and then I got to run her dog through about half a course. I’ve got to say, Agility gets even cooler when you see it in person! (and when the dog you’re running is an expert, ha). What a rush! Really motivated me to keep working hard at home with Riley.

Speaking of which, we made jumps this past weekend! Very exciting stuff. We still need to find some sort of “jump cups”, except I’m feeling kinda cheap at spending $20 for a set of real jump cups, so we’re looking at alternatives. We rigged them up with some clips for now and I got to play with Riley in the backyard. We finally got a good jump-tunnel-jump sequence and I worked him through it a few times in different directions until he had it down. We also worked on our “go out” with a jump, and did a few 2-jump sequences. Having jumps is so much fun! I told my husband I want weaves next. 

Videos:
Riley swimming
Riley practicing Agility with jumps


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## TeamPoodle (Aug 10, 2015)

*Week 12*

I’m really enjoying our second level class, which is such a contrast in materials and pace than agility. This week we worked on “settle” as in ‘settle on a mat’ when you want your dog to go relax at their ‘spot’. We also worked on “go to your bed/spot” which is similar to settle except that in “settle” you want the dog to relax, and in “go to your bed/spot”, you want the dog to go to their “spot” and wait to be released. This, she explained, can be useful when the doorbell rings or you shatter something all over the floor. We worked on “Take” and “Come” with distractions. Basically, we had a little plate with a treat on it, and we told our dog to go take it, and while chewing, asked for a “come”. Emergency Recall has been making an appearance every week. And while my tone of voice still freaks Riley out and instead of coming he freezes to the spot, I follow it up with lots of happy noises and he comes running. Then, HEAVY rewarding (15 treats given one at a time with lots of “good boy!” and “such a smart puppy!!”) And friendly greetings between dog and human, and dog to dog. Riley actually did a lot better with this than I anticipated, and I started having visions of having a CGC dog earlier than planned. We’ll see, we might do the prep class in October. Still working on asking for commands at a distance, and the default sit. 

This instructor always gives the dogs a pee break in the middle of the class (Riley is the “old fart” in class as literally every other dog is 6 months old). While we were all outside, she says to me “You’re going to get sick of hearing me say this, but I seriously can’t believe how amazing Riley is doing! When I first met him, he was scared of everything, including his shadow! You’ve really helped him to come out of his shell. Honestly, it could have gone either way. He could have closed in within himself and become even more scared than he was but you just didn’t let him.” This is seriously the most amazing praise I could have ever received and it made me so, so proud to hear it. I definitely can see that Riley is a different dog than he was 8 months ago, and this trainer (who we LOVE) met Riley the very first week he came home, and then we did her beginner class too, so she saw him once a week for the first 8 weeks or so that he was home. So for her to say this really felt good.

I traveled (again) so I was gone a few days. We’ve practiced a lot of agility this week and commands are getting better for him. He now fully understands “Walk It!” for the dog walk and will do it when I ask. It is always a proud moment when you realize your dog understands a new command!

We also worked on polite greetings when people come to the door. Mostly, we practiced with my mom who is patient and tolerable of the fact that we have her stand or sit for about 5 minutes while I get Riley back into his brain and calm him down. We’ll get there.

In grooming world, we attempted to do Riley’s muzzle but that was not happening for our boy at all! So… I’m going to make an appointment with the groomer to get that done. I did however get to groom the hair between his paw pads and clip his nails, so he was tolerable for that. And when my husband gave him a bath, he almost jumped into the tub he was so excited for it. 

More agility tomorrow. Wheeee!!


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

The instructor for your obedience classes sounds fabulous. Not only does her class sound very well thought out and constructive, but she knows how to get the people to feel invested in continuing. Her compliment to you is well deserved, but I bet she also has talked many folks who were ready to give up into continuing to forge through tough times.

Keep up the great work!


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## TeamPoodle (Aug 10, 2015)

lily cd re said:


> The instructor for your obedience classes sounds fabulous. Not only does her class sound very well thought out and constructive, but she knows how to get the people to feel invested in continuing. Her compliment to you is well deserved, but I bet she also has talked many folks who were ready to give up into continuing to forge through tough times.
> 
> Keep up the great work!


I absolutely love this instructor, she really understands dogs. Everything becomes a teachable moment or opportunity, and she is such a wealth of information it is fun to ask questions and pick her brain!


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