Millie Stair-Step
February 23, 2025
Not much commentary on the video. What is here is here, and it can be interpreted by anyone.
Millie and I discussed it, and after a cup of Joe for me and a biscuit for her we decided we needed to get out and stretch our legs. Sod the article exercises. What was supposed to be a 6-turn stair-step (strictly accordingly to the manual as far as scuffs, food-drops and turns were concerned) turned into a 7-turn exercise, because the useless sack of s.... handler lost track of how many legs we had done.
Nonetheless, Millie had a good start (any arguments?). Some of the turns had markers (clips with streamers [my washers are still in the other car]), others completely "in the open" without markers). Did all of the turns close to the mark, and on one of them (particularly turn 3, after all the tire marks), like she was on rails. Not perfect. She seems to go 10 or 20 feet beyond the turn before she really shows loss of scent, but following her at 6 feet it's hard to tell. I'd like to let her run out to 5 yards on each corner, and watch carefully when she actually got to the corner. But only with special dispensation.
No articles on the track, although Millie considers them a particular treat (special chicken breast). and I like to watch what she does. Did get a pile of tasty goodies at the final article....
She found, stared and stopped at the final (and only, as dictated) article; I had pounded it well into the grass where she could not notice it from well under 20 feet I waited a full 20 seconds until she looked back at it and and said "Well, what the hell are you are waiting for?" before I gave her a "Good Girl!" and rewarded her. Not exactly a "DOWN", and we'll work on it all summer, but that might be as good as it gets. Sorry.
We all take what we do very seriously, but I do understand that sometimes is short of requirements
That was a lovely start. The turn washer IS an article!!! Good girl!!! Article=smells like tracklayer. The washer was in your pocket, in your hand—it smells like you. Therefore, it IS an article. Articles are’t just what WE call articles—they are anything left on the field by the tracklayer.
ReplyDeleteThis was simply lovely. So much tighter than your last stairstep!
As far as the article—IMHO, you tested rather than trained. The instant her nose touched it, i would have quietly cued a down. If she didn’t, step up, and put your closed fist on the article, palm down, food inside, just like you’ve done in the house—saying nothing. Ralph, trust me on this, it’s not going to take all summer. If you apply the principles of good training (which is what we are doing in the house), she will be offering a down by May at the latest. Dog training isn’t a long, drawn out process if done correctly.
“I’d like to let her run out to 5 yards at each corner, and watch carefully when she actually got to the corner?” I don’t understand. If you let her take an additional 15 feet of line at the corner…she’s at least 35 feet past the turn (assuming you’re at 10’).. If you ask your dog to sit, is a down ok? A stand? Walking away? Do you want her to notice the change of scent concentration at 6 feet or at 40? What if the wind is behind you? What if you’re going downhill? What if you’re going towards the woods, or a ditch? We train for precision under controlled circumstances, because we can’t control the circumstances at a test. If you’ve taught her to give you loss of scent at 35 feet (or whatever) in ideal conditions, then at a test when there’s 40mph of wind behind you, your 35 feet becomes 35 yards—and that’s a fail. Your 6 feet (plus 20’of line)becomes 6 yards (plus 20’of line)—you’re still passing. The goal of training is to make her better—not to see what she can do on her own. That’s what we do in a test. Did you give the final exam on day one of class, or did you spend a semester teaching the kids so they could handle the final exam? We are teaching her how to handle the challenges she will face—not letting her just try to figure it out by trial and error. I want to see her tracking the entire way—not “running out” until she suddenly realizes she’s out of scent.
I often refer to the Rolodex in your dog’s brain. I train for a Rolodex full of problem solving capabilities, and full of confidence. If the dog KNOWS they can solve the problem, they will keep working. The more problems they’ve solved the more confident they are. If I set up the training so that I KNOW they can solve the problem without any help from me, they will solve the next problem a bit easier. If I let them struggle….they become frustrated and demoralized, and will look to me for help or guidance (because we usually step in and help them when this happens). And me helping or solving doesn’t make them more confident, it makes them less confident in THEIR ability to solve the problem.
Finally, you are welcome to track her—don’t stop just because we are working on articles. Please do BOTH—articles in the AM, then sure, go track. I’d avoid article tracks until we are ready for that step. Just a start and end article. And, I’d ask for the down at the start article, any turn markers she notices, and the end article. Ask just as I described above—one quiet “down.” Nothing? Step up (SILENTLY—no sigh), food in fist, palm down on article. She downs? Open hand, pick up article when she’s done eating, and continue. She doesn’t down? Gentle pressure, down and BACK on her shoulders or collar or harness…while food hand remains palm down fist on the article. This is one very smart, very food motivated dog—she will get this quickly. I would encourage you though to not stop the daily article games. I really want to see her recognizing the ARTICLE has the magic of making food appear….you’re just a delivery device!
Sorry, I wasn't clear about what I meant by run out 5 yards. I meant that when I get to the turn marker, instead of following her at 6 feet, I'd like to let the line run out TO 15', about halfway between the 10- and 20-foot knots. That way I know exactly when she has hit the turn. I have stopped letting her have any more than 6 feet of line, except that when she has clearly committed to a leg I let it run out, but no further than 20 feet, before I start working my way up the line to 6 feet again.
DeleteI didn't mean to test her on the article--I simply wasn't going to give her a "good girl" and reward her until she showed something by way of indication that was a bit more than standing still. I have in the past been too quick to praise and reward. But if it's ok, I will start gently getting her to down at the article. I won't have to put pressure on her--she has a very good "down" in her toolbox. We just have to convince her that that is now a prerequisite for a reward on an article, and putting my hand full of tasty goodies should work a treat.
We are going back to the article exercises again, probably today. I will study what Mary Ann does ahead of time.
Thanks for the very useful feedback! I'll start working it in our coming sessions.
You can let the line ru to 10’ AFTER SHE HAS MADE THE TURN AND IS ON THE LEG. Straight spine—not casting or drifting. Please do not let it run while she’s searching.
DeleteAs far as the down, I’d not risk breaking your verbal down (if she fails to respond, you’re going to repeat it….and very quickly it’s down the road of nagging). Use your fist, palm down, like you’ve been doing. That makes her unlikely to become trained to wait for your to tell her to down.