September 5, 2023: today, bowl #5 is looking good!
Notes for the next session:
- Repeat everything just like this one more time to build confidence and stamina.
- Note to self: remember that the home position of my treat hand is behind my back! Chai can do it!
September 6, 2023: from a little insecurity and wobbliness to beautiful balance in bowl #5!
Session profile:
- Home position: treat hand behind back
- Marker cues: good, get it
- Transition behavior: blink
- Treat placement: room service 1-2 inches above floor marker
- Mirror: yes
Chai did really well in the later reps. However, the first one where she offered a sit is a sign of her not being sure she can do it. She also struggled to balance the first few times I used my room service marker (good). So I’ll have one more session just like this one for good measure. Once I consistently get confidence and balance, I’ll re-attach the “Four” cue … and only THEN will we look into going down in bowl size again. Slow and steady wins the race!
Personal win for this session: I remembered my home position (behind back) throughout the video! Go me (I cheer on my students! So yes, of course I cheer on myself as well. Dog lover or dog trainer – I suggest you do the same for yourself!)
September 8, 2023: no more struggles to get started but still finding our balance
Today’s session was good! Chai knew she could do it from the first rep onwards, and I am happy with my timing and feeding mechanics in this session. However, Chai was still a little wobbly in some reps. I’ll stay at this stage for another session or two. Before moving on to re-attaching a cue, I want to get 8 treats – 4 “Good”s and 4 “Get it”s – without Chai losing her balance and stepping out between “Good” and “Get it.” Remember: clear, achievable criteria make our dog training lives a lot easier!
September 11, 2023: balance success!
No video, but 4 + 4 success! Yay! In the next session, I’ll re-attach the “Four!” cue and go for 4 “Good”s and 4 “Get it”s without getting out of the bowl in between again!
September 12, 2023: re-attaching the “Four” cue to bowl #5!
No video – but I repeated yesterday’s 4 + 4 success, remembered my transition behavior every single time AND re-attached the “Four” cue. Go Chai and go C!
Notes for the next session:
+ Take video!
+ No cue.
+ Two good-and-get-it-s with bowl #5
+ Two immediate get-it-s with bowl #6 in bowl #5.
+ End session!
September 13, 2023: success with bowl #6 in bowl #5!!
Wooohooooo! We did it! We’re back to (our new, higher-walled) bowl #6! We will proceed carefully from here on forwards, but I’m already VERY happy with how this is coming along! No hesitation at all about the new bowl in the old bowl! Go Chai!
Notes for the next session:
- Re-watch this video and then decide how to best proceed to avoid the drop in confidence our last bowl #6 attempt created!
September 16, 2023: good and get-its in bowl #5 as well as bowl #6 in bowl #5!
The plan:
Two good-and-get-it-s in bowl #5 followed by two good-and-get-it-s in bowl #6 insinde of bowl #5. We’re inching our way closer to the goal …
This went really well!
Here’s the plan for our next session:
- One good-and-get-it rep with bowl #5
- One good-and-get-it rep with bowl #6 in bowl #5
- One good-and-get-it rep with bowl #5
- One immediate “get it!” rep with bowl #6 WITHOUT bowl #5!
- End!
Sneaky AF but I believe that is exactly what we need!
September 17, 2023: bowl #5 and bowl #6
I stuck to the plan I made yesterday! (Behind me, the sheet on the armario you can see in the video? That’s where I wrote down steps 1-4 from above!)
This went really well – I stuck to the plan. However, sometimes, you’ll see Chai step out of the bowl after the “good” treat. I did not expect her to step back in before the “Get it” as I usually would. So – plan for next session: repeat the same steps and insist on Chai staying in after “Good!” Maybe even do more than one “Good” in the larger bowl so Chai doesn’t expect the immediate “Get it” release. Yes – this is what I’ll do now that I think through it:
- Only bowl #5 – 2 “Good”s followed by 1 “Get it!”
- Bowl #6 in bowl #5 – one “good” and one “Get it” – if Chai steps out after the “Good,” wait for her to step back in before cueing “Get it!”
- Only bowl #5 – 2 “Good”s followed by 1 “Get it!”
- Only bowl #6 – immediate “Get it!”
I’ll definitely need a cheat sheet for that one!
September 26, 2023 – our first session after getting back from Austria and picking Chai up from the dog sitter’s!
After a break Game and I spent in Austria, I picked right up where we left off! I put a cheat sheet on the armario and did what I had set out to do in my “notes for the next session” above!
Wooohooooo! For the first time E-VER, Chai put all 4 paws in our new bowl #6 (last rep in this clip)! I love it!
Plan for the next session:
- Only bowl #5 – 2 “Good”s followed by 1 “Get it!”
- Only bowl #6 – “Get it!”
- Only bowl #5 – 2 “Good”s followed by 1 “Get it!”
- Only bowl #6 – “Get it!”
September 27, 2023 – today, I don’t look at the cheat sheet enough!
Today’s session didn’t go as planned. Not because of Chai but because after writing and attaching my cheat sheet to the armario – I simply forgot to look at it and apparently, my head wasn’t in the game today. It happens.
Note to self: make sure to be fully awake when training and potentially practice without Chai first!
Plan for tomorrow: just like yesterday’s plan, but follow through!
- Only bowl #5 – 2 “Good”s followed by 1 “Get it!”
- Only bowl #6 – “Get it!”
- Only bowl #5 – 2 “Good”s followed by 1 “Get it!”
- Only bowl #6 – “Get it!”
September 28, 2023: sticking to the training plan!
This time, I stuck to the plan! Woohoo! (I also practiced all steps without Chai first and labeled the bowls #5 and #6.) These extra steps are like writing cheat sheets for yourself to pass a test: it is the act of having written them that will help you remember the steps rather than the cheat sheet itself. I feel like practicing without a dog and labeling the bowls works the same way for me.
Tip: if you are struggling with timing, mechanics or sticking to a training plan – do a quick session without your dog were your full attention is on your own movements! Trust me – it makes a hell of a difference!
I’m happy with how I handled Chai’s hickups in the video above (getting out of bowl #5 after my “good” marker). The reason I moved my home position back behind my back was that I thought she could hold that duration in bowl #6 – just not in #5. However, seeing how hard this was for her, tomorrow’s session will look similar but different:
I’ll move home position for my treat hand on my thigh and repeat what we did today.
September 29, 2023: changing my home position (treat hand on thigh)
I followed the cheat sheet again today! The new home position helps Chai by cutting down the duration of holding her position between treats. However, she still steps out a few times. I will stay at this same stage until I get zero step-outs between the first “Good” and the “Get it” for bowl #5. This should also resolve Chai being mesmerized by my food hand being visible!
We’ve worked like this before – but she’s still a juvenile dog and juvenile brains are all over the place when it comes to desires and impulse control.