Happy New Year bloggers!

So it's a new year, time for some resolutions and to reflect on the highs and lows of the past year.


Without doubt I've made several mistakes over the last year but in the spirit of optimism I'm going to focus on the things that went really well:


1. Sheep balls- this is probably the best discovery of the year for me. Over the year I attended several Border Collie related courses at Learning About Dogs, where amongst many other things I learnt about a game by Kay Lawrence called sheep balls. This game aims to work with the breed's instinct FAP responses to triggers (uncontrolled movement) and shape them into a controlled exercise. My working sheepdog, Dash LOVES this game and with it (as well as actually sheep assessments) has proven, as suspected to be a very enthusiastic and strong worker- right down to his "yellow", golden eyes. I've now got flanking (right and left), walk on, outrun, stop, back off and a chase recall on verbal and visual cues. He's more relaxed around traffic and "urban triggers" having played sheepballs and catered to his instincts, which leaves me space to work further on the desensitization I did when he was younger with additional habituation work. Sheep balls works as a fantastic foundation and advanced base for herding with "livestock"- I'm determined to get him some indian runner drakes to work with when I can :)


We've been introducing the game to the collie folk at FDA too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiNrzkCy_4w&


2. BAT- this goes without saying! Now the owner of several Grisha Stewart books and working on BAT particularly with Khuma and FDA dogs in "real life setups". Just brilliant!


http://functionalrewards.com/


3. Tracking- the barbie collie and I are still fairly new to this but loving it! Lots more to come!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fgYj63NkYU


4. Parking- LADs style:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ealapRYpMQ&




New Years resolutions:


1. Work on more BAT with Khuma (systematic programme for development and success).
2. Continue fun tracking with Khuma
3. More sheepballs work with Dash
4. Parking/habituation/ BAT work with Dash.
5. Get Dash more comfortable with getting in and out of my car and settling in there.


6. HAVE FUN with my dogs :)


That's all for now folks :)

Behaviour Modification- definitions, protocols and methods

Really good website that will be of interest to those with an interest in B-mod or anyone planning/working on their own training programme.

http://www.k9aggression.com/Aggression-Treatment/behaviorMod.html

Sheepdog commands- great video

Fantastic video for all of the WSD owners and sheepballs fans out there. Thomas Longton, explains the specific verbal and whistle cues used in sheepdog training. There is no shouting or talk of over powering the dog here. Just understanding of instinct behaviour and how to calmly control it and make working with you rewarding. Note how his dog charges up to him for fuss when he gives her the "that'll do" cue. Even though she wants to go and work the sheep again, she stays near him. Sheepdog training as it should be :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63kEtzehiXo&noredirect=1

A breath of fresh air... In defense of dogs- Prof. John Bradshaw

A breath of fresh air compared to the usual "dumbinance" (:P) theory stuff that seems to be ever present in the media these days.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/jul/17/dog-training-john-bradshaw-animal-behaviour?intcmp=239

"You can't reinforce fear"- Patricia McConnell

An interesting article by Patricia McConnell on fear in canines on how and if indeed we reinforce our dogs' fears. 


Is it ok to comfort your pet when presented with a feared stimulus? For a long time, as dog owners and trainers we've been told that this is a bad idea. But is it?


McConnell underlines in particular the following very important points:

• "Fear is an emotion, and “reinforcement” refers to something that increases a behavior. You can’t, technically, reinforce an emotion, but you can increase the frequency of a particular behavior"
• "...motivation is key here.  If a dog is barking at visitor from fear, then having the visitor toss treats or toys does NOT reinforce the barking! It decreases it, because the emotion of fear subsides and it is the emotion of fear that drives the behavior."

For the full article follow THIS LINK

The points made in this article lead me to ask... is it ok to mark (and click) alternative desirable behaviours when presented with fearful stimuli? I've discussed this with doggie folk on several occasions and I know that there are some well-known trainers/behaviourists (renowned in their fields of work- dog-dog aggression or inter species aggression) who do not advice the use of certain reinforcers (and markers) in such contexts. The apparent issue being that "you don't know what emotional state you are clicking". Going by McConnell's points this shouldn't be a major issue, as long as the emotion that drives the behaviour (the undesirable one) is fear and not something else. Similarly she suggests (as above) that you cannot as such reinforce an emotion (or emotional state). Reinforcers serve the purpose to increase the frequencies of particular behaviours. If throwing a toy or treats at a barking dog who is afraid of visitors DOES NOT reinforce the fear, but serves to decrease the frequency of the barking behaviour and with repetition create a positive association with such situations (the emotional response changes); THEN clicking desirable alternative behaviours (rather than the original undesirable one)  "under threshold" should serve to teach the dog "coping skills", avoid frustration and confusion (you tell the dog what you DO WANT them to do rather than what not to do) and a generalized positive association with such situations (overtime, alongside gradual DS and CC work).


It's a tricky one for sure. Nevertheless I really liked the points made by McConnell in her article. 


Feel free to discuss :)

Update time: Khuma's stuff

Hi folks, 


First of all wishing all the Dads out there a Happy Father's day!


Just a short one from me today. I uploaded a few videos that I've been working on, onto my youtube channel recently. Mainly stuff that I've been working on with Khuma. Those of you who read my previous posts will know that I've been working on toy training with her. Initially she didn't really have any interest in toys. Occasionally she'd pick one up but would drop it almost immediately, bored. We did some work with a tugenuff food bag, which basically consisted of shaping the typical behaviours that we see in toy motivated dogs. I taught her to touch and the mouth a toy, then we taught her a send away to nose touch, then mouth the toy and eventually shaped a chase and retrieve type behaviour. I've been working recently on generalizing her newfound interest in the foodbag. Her latest favourite toy is a holleeball and I managed capture some ball play from a walk on camera:
Creating the toy addict!


The aim is to get her playing sheepballs or similar, as these clicker games with toys seem to be tapping into the "inner collie". She's showing a little bit of "eye" behaviour now, whereas before she showed virtually none. 


Similarly I've also been doing some BAT work with her on walks. I need to set up some "formal" sessions with controlled variables in addition to stuff on walks. I'm finding that on walks, it's harder to be strict with yourself and just work on one variable, i.e. distance rather than distance AND movement. All handler error as always :D
BAT Training Session 1 


Having a nice chilled day with the dawgs today. We'll probably do some weave work later with both, so I'll try and get some stuff on film. 


Happy clicking :)

Update and Schenkel

So a bit of an update from me as I haven't updated my blog for a while now. 


Had a busy, hectic couple of weeks :) During lateish may Lisa, Emma and I went up to Learning About Dogs and did a fab workshop with Kay Lawrence, focussing on Collies Games (that is, games that are inclusive of natural collie behaviours rather than seeking to suppress or frustrate them). Mainly worked on stuff like sheepballs (and getting my head around what I should be doing) as well as tug games and use as a reward etc. A really interesting day. I always learn so much at LADs and have several "Oh... that's why he does that!!!" moments. Would highly recommend their workshops. My plan is to get some more workshops booked for the summer months (for either or both dogs) and really get going on some stuff. It should be good. 
I had a bit of a set-back recently with my lad, which was totally my fault. In retrospect though, the only thing you can do in the case of set-backs/regressions is to learn from your mistakes and put measures and work in place so that next time it doesn't happen. That's what we're going to do and we'll get there :)
I've finally decided to get my bum in gear when it comes to getting a good distance learning qualification under my belt. 


Assuming I want something that is behaviour based and reasonably challenging, really I've got two options. The first is a course with the Animal Care College either "Modifying Canine Aggression" or "Behaviour Modification for Professionals". For both of these courses you have to take a Health and Safety module at an additional course,. 
The second option, and this is the one that I've more or less finally decided on, is the COAPE CO7 Diploma qualifying course. It covers various aspects of animal behaviour (wolf behaviour, canine behaviour and training, an intro to feline behaviour, psychology of learning, ethology) and you get to do a special case study at the end. 
My plan is to get this done and then eventually (when I've got more time), work towards the COAPE diploma :) Should be great- I'm really excited :)


And finally the topic of today's post...


I was having a browse on the web as you do and found the following:
http://www.davemech.org/schenkel/index.html


It is a link from the personal website of David Mech, a biologist responsible for various studies on wolf behaviour. He is currently involved in a study of wolf social behavior and ecology on Ellesmere Island, Canada. See his Ellesmere blog, with observations and results here. 


In the original link, he has sourced Schenkel's (1947) "Expressions studies on wolves", translated into English. Many of you will be aware of the significance of Schenkel; it was his observations and these studies that gave birth to the "alpha wolf" concept; which as Mech describes is now understood to be outdated, "we (now) understand that most wolf packs consist of a pair of adults called “parents” or “breeders,” (not “alphas”), and their offspring". 


Of course this is of particular significance because as we all know, it is this "alpha wolf" concept that led to the popularity and is a key "ideology" of dominance theory; a theory that wrongly anthropomorphises and misinterprets canine and wolf behaviour, through suggestion of strict hierarchical structures and existence of status seeking behaviours that we can attribute to (and should react accordingly to) in domestic dogs. 


An examination of the Schenkel's (IMO flawed) study is essential if we intend to oppose the theories and observations that it proposes.




Happy reading folks :)