FC AFC HRCH Taylorlab Downtown Dusty Brown MH
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MPR HRCH UH Kwick Taffey of Joemac's MH
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Home Again microchip # 4824340A10 AKC # SR43619601 HRC # 207-020 DOB 6/05/2007 |
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Gunny's Total Pictures (Link)
Archive: Gunny's Journal June-August, 2007
Archive: Gunny's Journal Sept - Dec, 2007 (Link)
Archive: Gunny's Journal Jan -2008 (Link)
note: the second phase of FF started this evening
Jan 28 Gunny has been carrying a bumper to and from each airing outside for over a
month, in his OB lessons he has done much with a bumper in his mouth = proofing
hold is over
note: mild pinch, mouth opened and buck in = five times lesson over (good
start), about 3 minutes
note: all the "turn off pressure" experiences in other areas have paid off
(pressure conditioning)
note: much warmer this morning, all dogs took an upland run with photos
 "Gunny" |
 "On the Move" |
 "Intensity" |
.jpg) "Wild Child" |
"Relaxed" |
.jpg) "Not Relaxed" |
 "Eat White Snow" |
 "Taffey & Gunny" |
 "You are Yellow" (Taffey is his Mom) |
was coming and was anticipating it........which means he was trying to avoid the pinch
note: slowed way down and was very deliberate about the sequence of presenting
the bumper along with the pinch
note: he doesn't need much of a pinch (less than Daisy or Taffey)
note: two short sessions today about 5 minutes each
note: more anxiety today, bumper not held quite as tightly (much like a second day
might be expected), tapping the ends of the bumper firmed grip up
Jan 30 Gunny was more "amped" today, lunging really hard (even against restraint) while being
pinched, again slowed down to try and get a rhythm to the "on/off" switch routine
note: he is a strong pup and bigger than my previous pups (older when starting FF),
got a few spit outs right after taking the bumper, those were quickly corrected
note: still having trouble NOT saying "no" or "good" = no sense in giving him any
chance for miscommunication errors, at the moment he needs to just react
properly to specific physical stimuli and one verbal command = the only
reward is pressure ceases because the right thing is done, any "distractions"
could be misinterpreted and several things are going on at the same time
note: anticipation again was strong today, fewer pinches farther apart helped to
reach some kind of a rhythm, about 8-10 minutes
note: Gunny's attitude is very good, cheerful when finished but he does remember
things. Today when we finished OB he went right over to where the FF gear
was stored, he knew what was next. Tomorrow's lesson with be a lot more
low key with fewer pinches = short and sweet (change of pace) in the morning
because his OB class is tomorrow night
note: second session at around 11:30 pm was very short, slow paced and effective,
about 5 minutes
Jan 31 FF session at 8:30 am, focused on quiet use of sit, fetch, sit, hold and drop with a pinch
note: He will no longer lunge for the bumper every time he sees it. I can hold it out
in front and he will wait for the pinch. He is now into the "on off" light switch
mode. Restraint has him lunging with a longer pinch (not harder). Sit is now
more readily taken because he is less anxious about what is going on. He is
not pouting, trying to wheel away or turning his head to avoid my taking a
hold of his ear. Basically, he wasn't throwing his weight around as much. He
did spit the bumper out on one lunging fetch early on, but after that, the rest
were solid. I threw in a few free ones, too. This was a good session, and he
finished with a great attitude, about 7-8 minutes
note: It didn't take a really hard pinch to get a yip out of him, trying to get just the
right amount to convey the message, but he is not nearly as vocal as Daisy
was (his full sister). This morning there were not many yips.
(evening) Gunny went to his OB class and was much more relaxed with the action,
heeling was better and down much better, the new lesson was working on the "stand"
command which for us was "whoa" = most everyone was struggling with this, but Gunny
was a natural as the "sling hold in place" technique was immediately effective
note: "whoa" training for him is going to be very easy and it kind of shoots the
theory that a dog taught to sit won't be very comfortable with "whoa"
note: all the other dogs are so treat conscious they had a "special" exercise to
teach leave it, a treat is put on the floor and it was difficult for most,
Gunny was like......."What's that?"
note: The most interesting part of the evening occurred when the instructor went
around to each dog to do what is called a greeting exercise. This instructor
has a couple of high powered OB dogs that have advanced AKC titles. He
came toward Gunny and told me, "Please, sit/stay your dog." I replied we only
use "sit". He got a little closer to me and quietly said, "That's a good idea. I
wish I'd done that with my dogs." This evening was another good experience
for both of us.
note: late night session was short - sit after pinch/fetch an issue, about 3-4 minutes
Feb 1 session at 2:00 pm, focus was on getting to respond quickly to sit after lunging forward
with restraint, spent time setting up each pinch/fetch and used stick corrections for sit,
a couple of lurches away from me tested my arm a bit, he did spit three out right after
grabbing them in his mouth and was quickly "reminded" with another pinch and a
slightly assisted bumper pick up from the floor, much better rhythm at the end & eased
off the pressure at the end with 6-7 quick pinch, fetch "light switch" results, each
session shows improvement, his attitude before and after is good, but he is not thrilled
with what goes on in between
note: today's afternoon session went about 7- 8 minutes (longer than usual)
note: I have transitioned over to the Kwick Bumper in preparation for "going to the
floor" in the next week or so
(evening) the plan was for a short session late, tonight Gunny made the transition from
"this is something to do, I know what you want, kind of fun" to "this is work and I'm not
too thrilled with it any more" = got some spits after reaching and fetching, plus the
bumper became invisible when I lowered it = important stage = now it becomes real FF
note: this is the 5th day of FF pinch with 9 session, he is in the stage where I want
to clarify the "light switch" effect with repetition (most of the extraneous
behaviors with the exception of sitting are minor), as soon as it is "clean"
we will transition to the floor, about 10 minutes Interceptor
Force Fetch Gear
heeling stick (stick fetch), Kwick Bumper, timer, dumbbell, half-DB, buck, aluminum can, e-collar
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Feb 2 (morning) worked on heeling and sitting with chaining
the whistle on sit, he is doing this quickly, finished up with a remote sit and three "here - whistle sits" on the return  this was done to work on reinforcing the sit command during FF which he has not been going all that well note: FF continued in the same mode as last night's phase - this has become work & not nearly as much fun, the session lasted about 8-10 minutes, some spit outs, refusals occurred and some pinches had to be transferred to the collar's plastic buckle, the "invisible" bumper was often present and Gunny was breathing harder when we finished, lowering the bumper was not what he wanted, but we did make some progress on the sit command - good session & important note: day 6 of pinching, just starting to move toward the floor, focusing on making controlled, uniform steps - verbalization is now going well using "fetch", "sit" "hold" and "drop" at the same quiet level, when he is struggling I work much slower, but when Gunny is "getting it"...the "light switch" effect can be rapid note: next session = try to get the proper height changes into a good rhythm, no rush to the floor note: need to switch to a thicker collar, the thin nylon is twisting too easily and got my fingers trapped a couple of times when he turned = the disadvantage of doing FF with a little older and bigger pup (evening) started with some straight forward heeling, transitioned to a chained "whistle" verbal "sit" and finished with a remote sit and three "here/whistle" sits (no verbal), Gunny was quick and precise on each sit - excellent! note: FF was only about three minutes, good, slow rhythm from the start, kept bumper out of sight, then presented in slightly different positions so he would have to kind of look where it was at, using a pretty good restraint, he was diving at the bumper and sitting quickly afterwards, good firm grip with no head shaking and an excellent drop from a solid hold with a willing "here it is" attitude = this was good, probably "light switched" about 15 times with good, consistent "reps", finished with a bit of fun afterwards and ten minutes later he is sleeping like a log in his crate note: "light switch" means....pinch (pressure on)...until bumper is in his mouth...and pinch released (pressure off) note: three fingers under the collar with thumb and index finger outside & thumb inside left ear (left side heel), four fingers under the collar if using buckle & with Gunny I am mostly in the middle of his ear, but move slightly, last night used a little more "meatier" part of his ear on the refusals (no buckle tonight) note: 6th day of pinching and 11 sessions averaging about 6 minutes apiece Feb 3 first session today was very similar to yesterday's....short 3 minute OB lesson followed by a FF session of about 6 minutes, good rhythm, few spits, extended restraint and lowered bumper to a little below the knee (I'm short), learned a few years ago that FF on cement or quarry tile gives me a traction advantage, sit was much improved today and he is very determined to turn off the pressure......still a hint of anticipation = more "freebies" today with maybe twenty "reps" note: began and finished with short OB lesson = ended with a remote sit followed by three "here"....."whistle sits" = solid & finished with a "walk away - return" off leash on a "down".......good job! (evening) short session got near the floor pretty good, but "on the floor" he was not ready, after a two attempts pressure increase wasn't effective and backed off to a few higher position and quit = about 5 minutes Feb 4 (morning) after a few solid ones half-way to the floor, I moved to a couple inches off the floor - more pressure on the plastic buckle, loud yowling and a pick-up went good, sit not nearly as fast, tried going up and down the ladder height-wise, but the floor is a natural barrier this morning, it is not the height because even off the first step of the staircase he wasn't ready, started to get a little "hot" myself so I backed off to higher positions with some good reps and quit - about 10 minutes note: this was not the time to try & win a battle, many times a pup will not "get it" one day and have it click in the next, more pressure, more noise and worse sits could be avoidance or it more than likely is confusion, since this is the first time on the floor...he gets the "benefit of the doubt" note: (to self) persistence in the long haul wins over absolute insistence in the heat of every moment....and force fetch is more effective with persistent use of attrition (evening) did basic OB lesson first, during this FF lesson work at changing positions up and down with no "floors" at all, needed to get him looking AT the bumper, worked on sit, consistent repetitions with a steady rhythm (set timer for ten minutes - an audible reminder to keep it short) - 10 minutes Feb 5 (morning) did some OB first, especially working on quick sits (used whistle chain), this FF lesson was a continuation of last night's focus - making the bumper a target by holding left, right, high and low, he now is looking for the bumper instead of just impulsively lunging forward, also did some "light switch" repetitions very close in rapid succession - many excellent responses this morning = consistent reps note: sit corrections at first were with a heeling stick, as the lesson progressed I only had to show him the stick by turning sideways (in back, right pocket) and this got a quick sit, he is showing more responsiveness to what is going on and not nearly as vocal this morning note: Gunny continues to respond well to "thumb and index finger" pinches, I know they are very moderate because I've had no issues with a sore hand or any finger/thumb discomfort note: dang......he is strong, sure glad his "knowledge" of sit and heel are solid note: the bumper position change idea is proving to be more effective because he is "looking before fetching" which increases his focus, using quite a bit of restraint on most reps, this means a FEW "no pinch freebies" and "no holding backs" change of paces are mixed in, did a few where he did not have to move off the sit position note: timer was set for ten minutes, but we quit after 8 minutes - excellent session, this is more than enough time to do an effective lesson - he could do more, but this is attrition and long lessons don't fit into my steady, daily diet of repetition = give him time to assimilate the concept of turning off pressure (evening) did a short lesson - 5 minutes repeating the morning approach which was varying the positions of the bumper, tonight however, we went with rapid repetitions, the speed depended on his sit, it went very well and got in many, many reps in the short lesson, started giving him some praise with an occasional "good", he was focused, no vocalizations and giving good effort on the steady diet of restraint, moved nearer to floor on occasion and could sense a little anxiety with those, all-in-all this was the most consistent set of responses to date (ear still looks pretty good, too) note: excellent session - go to the floor a little tomorrow note: 9th day of pinching and 17 sessions note: may move to the carpet area of the "rec" room when we start "fetching" off the floor, tile and concrete have a tendency to make a pup be careful about lunging down on a bumper (it hurts their chin) Feb 6 (early afternoon) deep snow outside - worked on reps in various positions - excellent, then moved to the carpeted area to work lower, "fetched" everything that I had my hand on, but getting 100% refusals on a bumper laying there by itself, did several with minimum touches and tried a few propped up on the toe of my shoes , no hand on = refusal & more pressure wasn't getting it done = backed out with good responses up higher and quit note: continue with very close to the floor tonight in a short lesson with no "tests" of leaving it on the floor alone, repeat the "no tests" routine tomorrow morning with no FF lesson in the evening because of OB class, Friday try to transition to leaving it alone on the floor note: 9 minute session (evening) change in plans, something about the way he was being cheerful with the whole process suggested to "up the ante" and make it a little more like force fetch, he was turning his head sideways as soon as the bumper was near the floor, started to bawl and flop with more pressure, used a step on the staircase to have it bit higher, but insisted that the bumper was almost not going to be touched by me, it felt like it was not the time to be all "warm and fuzzy" - it was the time to challenge him a bit, he picked it up off the step a couple of times with my hand near it and we quit with tail wag, what cued this approach was his tail wag at the start of the session......it was just too much fun for where we were at = not looking at the bumper was the read to push = avoidance, there was an immediate need to deal with this sudden display of avoidance, this session lasted 10 minutes and it seemed longer (the timer helps to keep perspective) Feb 7 (morning) , started first with going through all the basic OB skills including alternating "sit" & "whoa" commands while moving at heel, remote downs and sits were solid, about face and U-turns plus circle turns counterclockwise and clockwise were very good FF focus was to get on the floor and through any avoidance, used the lower step of the staircase and transitioned to where my hands would not have to be on the bumper, incrementally each rep got closer, but his avoidance was in full bloom, eventually there was more urgency in his focus as avoidance was clearly not going to work, got three good "picks" off the step & immediately turned to use the floor = after three semi-refusals he was diving and fetching off the floor = lots of "good boy" praise produced tail wags and we quit, lesson was about 8 minutes - mission accomplished and yesterday's read was accurate = we are not ready for walking fetch yet = more floor reps note: 11th day of pinching, his ear was a little red today and the tip of my thumb is sore, I was using the plastic collar buckle instead of my index finger and I don't pinch the ear in the same spot which seems to help all the way around note: 11th day of pinching and 20 sessions - very pleased with progress to date & his attitude remains upbeat, there is definitely stress for him as he sleeps like a log after each session = mental fatigue....................that is why keeping the lessons short is necessary, measured, fairly applied stress extends boundaries by challenging perceived present norms = this is not something Gunny would do on his own 
note: no FF session tonight - OB class at 6:00 pm Feb 8 (morning) Gunny had a short FF session preceded by his usual OB lesson, during the OB collar conditioning was started, he was a very quick study with this and we only spent a few minutes with it, he has been wearing a collar (bark and turned off e-collar for quite some time and fully CC'd to hear several months ago, the pinch collar is somewhat like a e-collar correction in that turning off pressure by complying is a rapid event note: the FF session was a continuation of yesterday's sequence with getting to the floor and touching with the index finger the barrier, it is rather amusing how he feels that me touching the bumper makes it visible, but otherwise picking it up becomes a refusal, very close this morning and finished up working off the bottom step off the staircase = less than 10 minutes (evening) went to the staircase rapidly and soon he was picking up the bumper when my finger touched the bumper, after a few reps.....I faked him out and he grabbed it. This resulted in him making a new distinction......"OK, I get it." and we quit = 10 minutes Feb 9 (morning) short OB lesson with one long remote sit and one long remote down, e- collar conditioning was continued - he understands e-collar corrections without any issues note: this mornings FF lesson took off right where we were yesterday and moving from the stairway step to the floor went well, after a few "finger touches" he was picking it up all by himself, with a few refusals corrected by continued pinches, the session ended with Gunny picking the bumper up off the floor in a mini-walking fetch mode without pinches, a couple of those at first were refusals because he lunged and passed over it, each refusal was followed by immediate pinch corrections, he finished with several clean pickups with me standing beside him and commanding fetch (precursor to walking fetch) excellent session = less than 10 minutes (evening) refreshed fetching off the floor which went very well, moved to walking fetch with one bumper and that went nicely, too.....mixed in a few pinches to see what his reactions would be - no issues and zero vocalizations = less than 5 minutes note: the Kwick Bumper design is working great off the floor note: started with basic OB lesson, worked on "scoot" command and "free" release note: 13th day and 24 sessions note: perspective - for two months hold was imprinted and gradually transitioned to "hold/drop" on sitting and finished by proofing with regular "holding" during the OB lessons, Gunny always did like carrying things around in his mouth and would not drop them even when distracted, he has a very natural an excellent mouth note: find the rest of the PVC adapters and assemble the four Kwick Bumpers used in multiple bumper walking fetch = after walking fetch, frozen hen pheasants will be introduced.....just sitting (no walking fetch yet on birds), transition to walking stick fetch and repeat all phases of pinch fetch with e-collar fetch, finish with pinch, stick and e-collar fetch with frozen hen pheasants & ducks first......then thawed = future "stuff" Feb 10 (noon) - 30º wind chill outside, Gunny's OB lesson first - worked on heeling and sitting as we moved around the 54' oval training area, transitioned to whistle sits with a few e-collar corrections for quick responses and conditioning, moved on to new "skill" command - "scoot" and then chained the new release command "free" with "OK", Gunny is a very good student, made two rounds with multiple "sits", two with multiple "downs", two with multiple "whoas" & finished with three alternating each "position". He is good with this. The OB lasted less than 10 minutes. Then we did a short FF lesson. Went right to the floor with a few pinches & "freebies", no issues, then did a couple in place "to the floor" and finished with six "heel/ sit" laps around the oval finishing each with a "walking fetch" pickup = first three were perfect, got a refusal on the 4th resulting in quick pinch correction and the last two were solid note: this was a very good session, the idea of incorporating walking fetch with the OB ring went well, this evening each round will be a "sit" a "down" a "whoa" and finish with a walking "fetch" imprinting that "sit, down, whoa and fetch" are all commands with no choices note: tomorrow we will introduce multiple Kwick Bumpers around the oval with a quick review of pinch fetch to the floor & start walking fetch with four Kwick Bumpers, not going to be real "picky" with fast sits in this first lesson = focus on fetching and holding for drop, will tighten that up shortly, put bumpers far enough apart to do a "sit" in between note: Gunny's remote "sit - here - whistle sits en route" are good note: any question of the extensive OB inside and lack of outside work (due to nasty weather) causing him to want to be "clingy" was negated when we took that one good day to run outside - he was off by himself at times & searching the snow covered corn field by as much as 200 yards and only came back when I called - Taffey was helping and so were the fresh goose tracks. note: Gunny is wearing a pinch collar, flat collar and an e-collar plus is aware of a heeling stick, when it comes time for stick fetch Gunny will have been well stick conditioned and the correction tools will not be out of balance, the pinch collar is removed during walking fetch (I don't need to grab a handful of metal prongs.
), but I still have a heeling stick and
e-collar availablenote: the e-collar is NOT being used in conjunction with "fetch"..........yet (evening) repeated this morning's session with two rounds of alternating sit/down/whoa, brought back to start and did an ear pinch fetch proofing with the aluminum can loaded with pennies = he was spooked by it a little, but the FF was stronger - not a problem, did 4 rounds of the "sit/down/whoa/fetch" as a walking fetch exercise using some restraint with the leash = all well done with good sits & drops = he's got this down note: the Kwick Bumper continues to promote consistency with his mouth note: use 4 Kwick Bumpers around the circle tomorrow, after forcing with a Dokken note: walking fetch with 4 Dokkens next day move on to hen pheasants when ready Feb 11 (morning) Gunny did a quick round of the oval with multiple sits, four Kwick Bumpers were already placed on the floor (three in the pool area & one in the upper "rec" room, we went around the "loop" four times picking up 16 bumpers in the walking fetch drill with sits in between each pick-up, 3 times we needed to do a pinching sequence, but in general he was fetching up nicely, would have liked to have seen a more aggressive dive, but they were solid pick-ups on command, sit/hold & drop sequence was not bad note: need to do repeats on this aiming for crisper performances (evening) concentrated on OB lessons and did 3 walking fetch rounds note: OB was very good, he can heeling along and either sit, down or whoa on command alternating, the front sit command is improving and his backward walk front a front sit is excellent, extended remote down and sit is very good, these have been tested by animated actions by me from a distance, after returning to his side and walking around him there is a lengthy delay in releasing him note: the first three walking fetch pickups required a pinch, after that the next nine were solid Feb 12 (morning) did a walking stick fetch around the oval training area - Gunny picked up 14 Kwick Bumpers without a hitch - the first one had him reacting the stick just as if it were normal - speed obeying the command, this gave me a good feeling about him and his ability to quickly and correctly respond to pressure even with a very new presentation note: he was diving after the command to fetch, but exhibiting any anticipation (Gunny was waiting for the command) (evening) do an extended OB lesson first and repeat this morning's walking fetch note: tomorrow do walking fetch and introduce "leave it" (he has been imprinted at the OB classes, but not with respect to bumpers on the ground) Feb 13 (afternoon) short OB session with a 4 "leave it" round followed by a round of 4 "fetch" note: very good with this & finished with one round of stick fetch Feb 14 (morning) reviewed all the lessons for tonight's OB class note: Gunny was very at ease during the class & can do everything quite well, he likes it and his tail is wagging all the time, still a little "wiggle butt" when anyone approaches him note: did a very short session of e-collar conditioning to sit & here (evening) OB lesson went very well - need to work on eye contact during remotes & "antsy" motion as I return at the end of remote drills Feb 15 (afternoon) did a short session of "e-collar fetch" which was taken in stride = good job (evening) short session of "e-collar fetch" off the floor - he was diving with restraint from the lead - after 4-5 he was getting a little "amped" (no pun intended) so we quit note: he is taking this all in stride and finishing happy Feb 16 (afternoon) worked on alternating sit, whoa and down during a heeling exercise, did lots of turns and worked on walking backwards, short session of sitting e-collar fetch Feb 17 (late evening) OB lesson concentrating on extended sit, down and stand = increasing his focus, his backward heel is fast as he scoots ahead of me = excellent coordination note: did a quick walking fetch Feb 18 (afternoon) long session of OB with 3 minute remote sit, whoa and down (each)...then did whistle sits off a heeling motion and recall returns = good job, finished with four (4) retrieves of bumpers progressively placed farther and farther away = good retrieves & off leash, still releasing him on fetch note: each Kwick Bumper was placed on end to imprint the extended pile drill routine (much easier to see) note: pup runs out, knocks it over and picks it up = a moving bumper is exciting (late evening) repeated morning lesson without the whistle sits & the Kwick bumpers were placed so that he would have to in two different directions (not "inlines") Feb 19 (morning) repeat of yesterday without whistle sits, especially work at tempting him to move at the end of the remote drills - good session (late evening) short review of heeling exercise with sit, whoa and down Feb 20 (afternoon) Gunny repeated yesterday's lesson and did extra work with front sits with a bumper note: Gunny is smart, but today he wasn't as focused on sustaining commands Feb 21 (morning) reviewed all skills for OB class tonight, especially remote "stuff" (left click on thumbnails)
(evening Gunny's lesson went well, much more at ease with other dogs and
all the
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