Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Gigi Day 1-Lessons 1-5

First thing in the morning, right after Gigi was dropped off and allowed a bathroom break:

1. Lesson length was about 15 minutes or so.
2. The goal and objective of this lesson was to learn to calm down as dogs approach her crate and are around her. Also to introduce her to the concept of the "rules" in our household.
3. Technique that were used were the introduction of the quiet command to decrease the aggressive behavior inside the crate. Also, made sure the crate was wide open on two sides, to allow for "safe space" but also make avoidance almost impossible.
4. Equipment used for this was the e-collar and the crate. The e-collar was used at the very lowest level as a distraction from the aggressive behavior, and to correct if after "quiet" or "easy" was given any aggressive response. Three trained dogs and additional daycare boarders who listen were used as well.
5. As the client's aren't involved yet, there is no homework for them as yet.
6. Gigi did very well after initially trying to make her presence known. She figured out how to calm herself down, and listen to the directives. She also learned that the dogs were not free to poke their noses into the crate, and were under my direction and so she was safe. We have video of the first greeting which wasn't pretty, but she got the message and point very quickly after that.

Later on in the morning:
1. Lesson length was 1/2 hour.
2. Goal and objective of the lesson was to have Gigi understand that she was to follow ME and pay attention to where I was going.
3. Method is "Koehler Influenced" longe line work and the last 15 minutes used heeling as the techniques to do this, (not Koehler or Bedrock training plan, as we have condenced period of time to work on these) quicker than one would in obedience training due to the time constraints on this case.
4. Equipment used was metal training collar, electronic collar, leather leash 6', and long line of 20 feet.
5. Client's aren't involved yet, so no homework was assigned.
6. Gigi has a not bad non distraction heel. For the "let's go" or loose leash portion, she would try to not follow. She grabs the leash when she does not want to do this. Sometimes she lies down. She does want to fight the correction, but as long as you are firm and consistent with her, and remain unimpressed with her "biting and snapping" show, she learns and comes right along with you. When we got to the heel portion, she was able to sit in the proper position with command, and follow you with her shoulder to your thigh and turn when you told her to heel so she knew it was coming. The loose leash (longe line) work was probably the most difficult with her in the beginning, but at the end she caught on very quickly.

Early in the afternoon:
1. Lesson length was 1/2 hour.
2. Goal and objective was to have Gigi in an open space with other dogs and not aggressive.
3. Bedrock Method training technique of "sit on the dog" was used (not Bedrock training plan, as this is all happening in a three week condensed period of time).
4. Equipment used was metal training collar, leather leash 6', chair, and three trained dogs.
5. As the client's aren't involved yet, there is no homework for them as yet.
6. Gigi within minutes went into her down, where she remained for 28 minutes. She got up once when Leon got up, but then settled down once I told Leon to go back into a down. She did try to face with her back towards the dogs and avoid looking at them at all costs. However, no aggressive behavior other than the fact that she was clearly uncomfortable being in a room with so many dogs around her.

Late in the afternoon:
1. Lesson length was 1/2 hour.
2. Goal and objective was to start Gigi heeling around her biggest distraction "other dogs", but these dogs would be stationary while she was in the room heeling.
3. Method used were the corrections on either the e-collar or metal training collar when failing to heel, and reward and praise when in position and not trying to avoid heeling around stationary dogs.
4. Equipment used was leather leash 6', metal training collar, electronic collar, and three trained dogs.
5. As clients are not involved in training sessions yet, there is no homework for them.
6. Gigi tried to either 1) fall into a down rather than heel past dogs or 2) forge ahead or 3) pull the other way on the leash. All of this is avoidance and fearful behavior. We were in very close proximity and she did not try to attack or aggress at the dogs. She was just pretty sure something would happen to her if we walked through them. After about more than six tries where she tried to refuse, and I kept walking her through it, Gigi became more comfortable heeling past the dogs.

Early evening:
1. Lesson length 1/2 hour.
2. Goal and objective of lesson is to have a nice crisp heel, and more of an understanding of the auto sit and attention from Gigi. To have her focus on me for preparation into very low key public walking past dogs tomorrow.
3. Technique and method used were Koehler influenced long line (or longe line---Koehler Training Plan would only be doing this at this point, but the condenced period of time makes other exercises mandatory) for loose leash walking and the heel command introduced this soon due to time constraints in the training plan.
4. Equipment used was long line of 20 feet, leather leash of 6', metal training collar, and electronic collar.
5. As client's aren't involved yet, there is no homework assigned.
6. Almost no resistance from Gigi, just mainly attention and focus. She eats up the "good girls" and so the auto sit is starting to form as a result. Better positioning in the heel both from the side and front, but slight forging. No attempting to down or sit and pull. She is becoming more comfortable with the e-collar now that she is beginning to see that she controls it, and what the rules are for walking.


***Note, Gigi has heeling already. We are doing longe line after sit on the dog. In the meantime, we need to move Gigi from one place to another, so heeling is used although this would not normally be the lesson plan for "Koehler" or "Bedrock" training program. That is why the exercises are called "Koehler" or "Bedrock" influenced.

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