I had been using a life jacket on Olive since we started training this summer. Last few years my friends have been using life jackets on their young dogs. We thought those dogs are swimming more level (floating hind end) even after stopped using jackets. I saw Olive's hind end was sinking (she was still willing to swim), so I hoped the jacket helps her to float better and to be a more efficient swimmer.
She (on her lifejacket ) had been very willing to swim out to people and also a boat, but did not do well when I told her to do the same things without her jacket. She is a very social girl, so I could not believe she didn't even go out to a person she knows well. She looked she didn't know how to get close to the boat, too. I didn't know taking off her jacket totally could change her attitude in water. After a few failures, we went back to basics, but still without her jacket. Going to a person in wading depth, going to touch the boat in wading depth, lots of treats, etc. We ended her session once she got more comfortable and could perform basics.
The lesson from this experience was it is not always a good idea to use a lifejacket. I think it is better she swims without her jacket for a while to gain more confident in water. Then I will use the jacket when I want her to focus on learning than on swimming (I still believe it is good to use it especially for WRDX training).
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Already September
It's already September and our water training season is close to end. But remember, we can still train our dogs on land !
Olive-learning "pull" with a tire
This was her first time to see a tire. At previous trainings in water, she could tow and beach a boat, but not 100% time. She dropped her bumper sometimes when she hit her wading depth and did not beach the boat. I don't want to depend on my luck at tests, so I teach all my dogs the "pull" command even they are natural pullers.
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Olive-learning "pull" with a tire
This was her first time to see a tire. At previous trainings in water, she could tow and beach a boat, but not 100% time. She dropped her bumper sometimes when she hit her wading depth and did not beach the boat. I don't want to depend on my luck at tests, so I teach all my dogs the "pull" command even they are natural pullers.
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Saturday, July 14, 2012
July 14 training
Today Olive worked on many things !
1. Teaching "To the boat"
This is another exercise the target training helps. Since she knows she is supposed to go where I point, I started sending her to a row boat on beach. She got distracted with smell on ground once, but did really well. We first practiced without the line.
To the boat without line-on land
Going to the boat without line was my today's goal, but I decided to use the line, too since she was doing well.
To the boat with line-on land
2. Teaching "Go out to a person" without line
She is a very social dog, so I do not worry about her going out to people. I think I need to work on calling her back to me more than sending her out. But here is how I start in water (she goes to people on land no problem). First parallel to shore. I suggest to start much closer than I did with Olive.
To a person
3. Teaching "Swim out" with line
This is something you can work without any other person. Some dogs are reluctant to start swimming out when they need to hold something in their mouths. That is why I practice only "start swimming" with line in mouth. This will help her to bring the line to a person/a boat.
Swim out with line1
4. Teaching "Go out to a person" with line
This was after #3 practice. I put the line in Olive's mouth at the first try. Then I drop the line in front of her for the second try, so she needs to pick it up, then starts swimming to the person. I drop the line a little bit away from her and pointed to pick it up for the third try. In this way, she learns she is "bringing" the line to the person, not just going to the person.
Swim out with line 2
In the end, she jumped off the boat a few times. She was not comfortable getting on the boat (no way jumping off !) last month, so we are making a huge progress !!!
1. Teaching "To the boat"
This is another exercise the target training helps. Since she knows she is supposed to go where I point, I started sending her to a row boat on beach. She got distracted with smell on ground once, but did really well. We first practiced without the line.
To the boat without line-on land
Going to the boat without line was my today's goal, but I decided to use the line, too since she was doing well.
To the boat with line-on land
2. Teaching "Go out to a person" without line
She is a very social dog, so I do not worry about her going out to people. I think I need to work on calling her back to me more than sending her out. But here is how I start in water (she goes to people on land no problem). First parallel to shore. I suggest to start much closer than I did with Olive.
To a person
3. Teaching "Swim out" with line
This is something you can work without any other person. Some dogs are reluctant to start swimming out when they need to hold something in their mouths. That is why I practice only "start swimming" with line in mouth. This will help her to bring the line to a person/a boat.
Swim out with line1
4. Teaching "Go out to a person" with line
This was after #3 practice. I put the line in Olive's mouth at the first try. Then I drop the line in front of her for the second try, so she needs to pick it up, then starts swimming to the person. I drop the line a little bit away from her and pointed to pick it up for the third try. In this way, she learns she is "bringing" the line to the person, not just going to the person.
Swim out with line 2
In the end, she jumped off the boat a few times. She was not comfortable getting on the boat (no way jumping off !) last month, so we are making a huge progress !!!
Friday, July 13, 2012
Swim with handler (a junior exercise)
Swim with handler is the last exercise for NCA water test junior devision. I think this is a good way to show a handler and a dog can work together. I have not had any problem with this exercise. I just train my dog to swim next to me in calm manner just like teaching to heel next to me. At tests, some people dash out to go in front of their dogs, so their dogs cannot scratch or be on top of them. I don't understand why they do that...as a working dog handler, I want to see that dogs can work with their handlers without any harm to each other.
I train my dog to swim next to me as soon as I introduce him to swimming. I start from walking in water next to him just like heeling (walk parallel to shore). He is on leash. He learns to walk nicely next to me in water first. Then I take him to his swimming depth (I still walk), still parallel to shore. Since I am still walking, I have better control of his body in case he starts crowding, climbing up on me, or moving away from me. If he bumps into me, I can gently push him away and guide with my left hand splashing water in front of him (if I use my right hand, he will probably come in front of me). The key is I'm walking next to him to have good control. Since it's likely I don't get scratched (or gets less scratched) when he is under my control, I can stay calm, too. If I get frustrated or need to fight with my dog to gain control, it does not help my dog to learn.
I train my dog to swim next to me as soon as I introduce him to swimming. I start from walking in water next to him just like heeling (walk parallel to shore). He is on leash. He learns to walk nicely next to me in water first. Then I take him to his swimming depth (I still walk), still parallel to shore. Since I am still walking, I have better control of his body in case he starts crowding, climbing up on me, or moving away from me. If he bumps into me, I can gently push him away and guide with my left hand splashing water in front of him (if I use my right hand, he will probably come in front of me). The key is I'm walking next to him to have good control. Since it's likely I don't get scratched (or gets less scratched) when he is under my control, I can stay calm, too. If I get frustrated or need to fight with my dog to gain control, it does not help my dog to learn.
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Olive-group training June 9
Things we worked on today.1. Swimming out and go around people
2. Getting on a rowboat-very first time
1. I asked two of my friends to stand in water (swimming depth for Olive, just a few strokes). She is a very social puppy and loves to visit anyone. My concern at this point is she tends to turn in front of a person and starts coming back to shore (does not go around the person). At the NCA water test, a drowning steward must be able to reach a dog/a line a dog is holding. I want to make sure Olive gets close enough to the steward. Sometimes it's hard for judges/spectators on beach to tell what's happening in water. I do not want to give any doubt to anyone if my dog reached to the steward or not. Going around the steward definitely shows Olive reached to the steward. It does not matter if she goes around from left or from right. But most of the stewards are used to have a dog coming from their right side and going around to their left. Right now Olive goes to the person's right side, but turns away (opposite from going around). Today we worked on going around by luring with treats. In obedience, she does "around" finish from my right side to left, so she should be able to figure out it is the same in water. The important things were: Be consistent to make her go around. Work in very short distance because today I was teaching go around which is a small part of an exercise, such as Take a Line or Take a Lifering at tests. No need to swim out more. Just needed to focus on one block at a time (Building blocks to teach one exercise !!!).
Video: Go around1
2. Today I realized she is not as fearless as I thought. She was not sure about getting on a rowboat. In the video, you can see she did NOT jump up on the platform. I needed to lure and encourage her a lot to get on it. Yes, it is exciting to see a dog who naturally jumps up on the boat like he/she has been doing this for many years, but this is a good chance for me to show Olive every little step, so she will be very solid to getting on a boat under my command in the future. Under the newly revised NCA water test regulation, once a dog gets on the boat, he/she is not allowed to step down on beach. It does not matter if you are still under the time limit or not (30 sec. to get on the boat before rowing out). This means the dog must be under GOOD control. The dog should not get up on the boat by himself since there is more chance he also gets off the boat by himself. So, I want Olive to be solid for wait, get up on the boat, turn (around) and sit on the boat. Today I made her get on the boat, go around, sit, wait while boat is moving, then jump off. After I reviewed this video, I realized we worked on too many components all at once. She did not jump up on the boat immediately, took for a while to just move her feet to go around on the boat (you can see she was leaning against me for comfort and safety), and wanted to get off the boat as soon as she managed to turn (At the very last moment in the video, you can see she got off before I told her to do so). I unintentionally made her learning stage more challenging. At next practice, I need to make sure she first becomes comfortable to 'Up", then move onto next part.
Video: Up on boat1
2. Getting on a rowboat-very first time
1. I asked two of my friends to stand in water (swimming depth for Olive, just a few strokes). She is a very social puppy and loves to visit anyone. My concern at this point is she tends to turn in front of a person and starts coming back to shore (does not go around the person). At the NCA water test, a drowning steward must be able to reach a dog/a line a dog is holding. I want to make sure Olive gets close enough to the steward. Sometimes it's hard for judges/spectators on beach to tell what's happening in water. I do not want to give any doubt to anyone if my dog reached to the steward or not. Going around the steward definitely shows Olive reached to the steward. It does not matter if she goes around from left or from right. But most of the stewards are used to have a dog coming from their right side and going around to their left. Right now Olive goes to the person's right side, but turns away (opposite from going around). Today we worked on going around by luring with treats. In obedience, she does "around" finish from my right side to left, so she should be able to figure out it is the same in water. The important things were: Be consistent to make her go around. Work in very short distance because today I was teaching go around which is a small part of an exercise, such as Take a Line or Take a Lifering at tests. No need to swim out more. Just needed to focus on one block at a time (Building blocks to teach one exercise !!!).
Video: Go around1
2. Today I realized she is not as fearless as I thought. She was not sure about getting on a rowboat. In the video, you can see she did NOT jump up on the platform. I needed to lure and encourage her a lot to get on it. Yes, it is exciting to see a dog who naturally jumps up on the boat like he/she has been doing this for many years, but this is a good chance for me to show Olive every little step, so she will be very solid to getting on a boat under my command in the future. Under the newly revised NCA water test regulation, once a dog gets on the boat, he/she is not allowed to step down on beach. It does not matter if you are still under the time limit or not (30 sec. to get on the boat before rowing out). This means the dog must be under GOOD control. The dog should not get up on the boat by himself since there is more chance he also gets off the boat by himself. So, I want Olive to be solid for wait, get up on the boat, turn (around) and sit on the boat. Today I made her get on the boat, go around, sit, wait while boat is moving, then jump off. After I reviewed this video, I realized we worked on too many components all at once. She did not jump up on the boat immediately, took for a while to just move her feet to go around on the boat (you can see she was leaning against me for comfort and safety), and wanted to get off the boat as soon as she managed to turn (At the very last moment in the video, you can see she got off before I told her to do so). I unintentionally made her learning stage more challenging. At next practice, I need to make sure she first becomes comfortable to 'Up", then move onto next part.
Video: Up on boat1
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Olive- swimming out
Olive swims out for a bumper/person without problem right now, but I still need to teach her the command "go out". First I take Olive to the point just before her swimming depth. From there, I take one step forward, so she takes her first stroke to follow me. When she takes the first stroke, I click and reward her. I repeat this process many times and put "go out" command as she gets used to. Next step is to tell her to "go out" a few strokes by herself while I'm staying at the starting point (just before her swimming depth). I do not need anyone calling her or throw a bumper to retrieve. I want her to understand "go out" means she swims and goes away from me. (I use same "go out" command in obedience. Doing Open and Utility obedience really helps my dogs to build confidence to work in distance.)
The other thing she needs to learn for swimming out is to go out when she carries something in her mouth. I basically repeat the same process of teaching "go out". Just put a bumper or a line in her mouth, then tell her to go out. When she takes the first stroke, I praise her. If she needs me to help her to hold into her mouth, I just gently support her chin as she swims out. If she is solid for "hold" command, I use the word, too. I've seen so many dogs just drop a line or a bumper after their handlers send them out to rescue a person or a boat at water tests. It is very disappointing to see the dogs are willing to go out, but fail because they are not solid to swim out with something in their mouth.
Eventually, I will drop a line or a bumper (with a line attached) in water. Then I tell her to pick it up, then go out. After she masters this level, I will start backing out her toward beach. After she can reliably go out from beach, I make her work a little bit harder. I step on her line while she is on the way to a calling steward or a boat. If she drops the line, she must pick it up, then keep going out. If she shows me that level, then I feel she is a little bit closer to take a test : ) When she is ready to do WRDX in the future, I will use this technique in the delivering a line to shore. It is just in opposite direction.
The other thing she needs to learn for swimming out is to go out when she carries something in her mouth. I basically repeat the same process of teaching "go out". Just put a bumper or a line in her mouth, then tell her to go out. When she takes the first stroke, I praise her. If she needs me to help her to hold into her mouth, I just gently support her chin as she swims out. If she is solid for "hold" command, I use the word, too. I've seen so many dogs just drop a line or a bumper after their handlers send them out to rescue a person or a boat at water tests. It is very disappointing to see the dogs are willing to go out, but fail because they are not solid to swim out with something in their mouth.
Eventually, I will drop a line or a bumper (with a line attached) in water. Then I tell her to pick it up, then go out. After she masters this level, I will start backing out her toward beach. After she can reliably go out from beach, I make her work a little bit harder. I step on her line while she is on the way to a calling steward or a boat. If she drops the line, she must pick it up, then keep going out. If she shows me that level, then I feel she is a little bit closer to take a test : ) When she is ready to do WRDX in the future, I will use this technique in the delivering a line to shore. It is just in opposite direction.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Olive-water training started
I think it's time to teach Olive basic skills of water training. She swam several times so far since I got her last Sep. Now I know she can at least swim and swims for fun.
Today I took her and Louie, my 9 year old veteran swimmer who obtained WRDX a few years ago (WRDX is the highest level of NCA Water Work), to swim. I put her on a lifejacket since my friends and I noticed dogs who started with lifejackets seem to learn "leveled" swimming. There are two kinds of swimmers. One who swims leveled to surface (hindend floats) and the other who swim unleveled (hindend under water). I want my dogs to swim leveled because it is more efficient and energy saving. And I know it will help her to do "Capsized boat rescue" in WRDX in the future. Both Louie and Maya (who also has WRDX) are not leveled swimmer. The Capsized boat rescue was the most challenging exercise for them. Today Olive kept swimming and swimming endlessly to retrieve her bumper. I'm sure the lifejacket saved her energy, so she could keep going.
I was watching her carefully. I wanted to know what she naturally does in water. She seems to be ok to dunk her face into water (which is advantage for Underwater Retrieve in the senior level test). She comes out to me without hesitation, but kept turning left in front of me ("left" from her point of view), so did not go around me before turning back to shore. I need to start making her go around me EVERYTIME since I want to make sure she gets to a drowning victim who needs to be able to touch and grab her in order to be rescued. She also tried jumping off a dock today. Not a natural jumper. But I'm sure she will do it if I can make it fun. First time I ran with her and she jumped in with me. But she also realized it's a little bit scary (she dunked her head completely). Since she doesn't mind to wet her face, I'm sure she will get over it and learn not to sink herself completely (she's been putting her muzzle into a water bucket in our house...that's her own play). I think I don't worry about her water skills, but today's biggest finding was she LOVES to munch grass while she is on beach. I need to be clear that is not acceptable from now since I don't want her to keep munching whatever on beach and not to work (play with me in water). I want her to think playing in water is much more fun than staying on beach.
Today I took her and Louie, my 9 year old veteran swimmer who obtained WRDX a few years ago (WRDX is the highest level of NCA Water Work), to swim. I put her on a lifejacket since my friends and I noticed dogs who started with lifejackets seem to learn "leveled" swimming. There are two kinds of swimmers. One who swims leveled to surface (hindend floats) and the other who swim unleveled (hindend under water). I want my dogs to swim leveled because it is more efficient and energy saving. And I know it will help her to do "Capsized boat rescue" in WRDX in the future. Both Louie and Maya (who also has WRDX) are not leveled swimmer. The Capsized boat rescue was the most challenging exercise for them. Today Olive kept swimming and swimming endlessly to retrieve her bumper. I'm sure the lifejacket saved her energy, so she could keep going.
I was watching her carefully. I wanted to know what she naturally does in water. She seems to be ok to dunk her face into water (which is advantage for Underwater Retrieve in the senior level test). She comes out to me without hesitation, but kept turning left in front of me ("left" from her point of view), so did not go around me before turning back to shore. I need to start making her go around me EVERYTIME since I want to make sure she gets to a drowning victim who needs to be able to touch and grab her in order to be rescued. She also tried jumping off a dock today. Not a natural jumper. But I'm sure she will do it if I can make it fun. First time I ran with her and she jumped in with me. But she also realized it's a little bit scary (she dunked her head completely). Since she doesn't mind to wet her face, I'm sure she will get over it and learn not to sink herself completely (she's been putting her muzzle into a water bucket in our house...that's her own play). I think I don't worry about her water skills, but today's biggest finding was she LOVES to munch grass while she is on beach. I need to be clear that is not acceptable from now since I don't want her to keep munching whatever on beach and not to work (play with me in water). I want her to think playing in water is much more fun than staying on beach.
Saturday, May 12, 2012
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