Just Call Me "O" Cosmo the Crazy Pug AKC Agility Through the Years The Bar is Open
October 1, 2018
Volume 1, Issue 4
letter from the editor Welcome to the Performance Issue of Pugs365. While I certainly appreciate and support conformation Pugs, my heart belongs to the performance events.
PUBLISHER Laurie Kirkpatrick
My first foray into dogs was in obedience, and quickly became immersed in the training world. Through the years I've added agility and rally to my interests, and find that the three events compliment each other nicely. I've attended seminars, read articles and books, and taken classes over the past 28 years that teach me more and more about dog behavior. And every time I learn something new, it adds to my training toolbox.
EDITOR Laurie Kirkpatrick
This year, the performance events at the Pug Dog Club of America's National Specialty in Indianapolis have record entries. I'm looking foward to watching all the handlers show us what their Pugs can do in Obedience, Rally and Agility.
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Because Pugs CAN do it all! Laurie Kirkpatrick
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inside
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Just Call Me "O" By Linda Coates
Cosmo the Crazy Pug By Jeanine Lampkin
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AKC Agility Through the Years
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The Bar is Open
A Look at Classical Conditioning By Laurie Kirkpatrick
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Just c
Seventeen years ago I was introd for my niece who had done tons was a good fit for her family. I go nothing about, something I tell p a cuddle bug, a couch potato, and just long enough for me to fall in little addition to my dog family t several Airedale Terriers and a L
Six months later his breeder cont ing. Was I interested? Again , ano drove 3 hours and brought Otis h
Otis was NOT a cuddle bug, a co with sitting in your lap. There we
I run an obedience school and te to class with me. I knew nothing retrieve or where heel position w I did some research and called al putting it all together. And you k them to do!
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Linda Coates
call me
duced to my first Pug, a pet that was purchased of research on the breed and thought this ot him for her from a pet breeder that I knew people all the time NOT to do. He was a love, d loved sitting in your lap. He stayed with me n LOVE with the breed! I thought "what a great this breed would be", which already included abrador.
tacted me and said she had repeated the breedother red flag. But did I listen? Nope. Instead, I home with me!
ouch potato, and he wanted NOTHING to do ere just so many other things to do!
each 4 nights a week, so I starting taking him g about how to teach this funny little dog to was. All I knew is that he wanted to do “things�! ll my little dog friends for help, and we began know what? Pugs can do ANYTHING you want
Continued Next Page
"O"
I really enjoy teaching heeling to my dogs and Otis was no exception. He learned to watch for the treats, and I taught him to focus on my leg and hand rather than my face for position. I never teach my puppies to heel on lead. Instead, I get them to offer being with me and reward accordingly, making it their job to stay with me in order to play the game. I usually add a lead later on and it is as lightweight as I can find. I knew the dumbbell could be a problem, so we played lots of retrieving games, such as using a water bottle that I could bang and that he would chase. I think I went through 20 dumbbells before I found one that fit him just right, was comfortable to carry and he could actually see with when it was in his mouth. I taught the glove and the scent articles at the same time.
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OTCh Who Dun It’s Surprise Witness VCD2 TD UDX4 OM1 RA MX MXB MXJ MXP2MXPB MJP2 NF
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Otis earned his CD at 9 months, his CDX before he was two years old, and on his 3rd Birthday he got his UD. I learned that "less is better" when training him, as he got bored even when we mixed things up. I really believe that any Pug can be a good obedience, rally, and agility dog, as well as participate in all of the other events that are offered.
Don’t ever think your Pug can’t do any of these things. Pugs of any age can learn obedience, rally, tracking and agility. Find a good instructor that “believes” in you and keeps it fun. Pugs gotta have FUN! Find a GOOD BREEDER that believes in what you want to do with your dog. While our Pugs may not all be built for agility, that doesn’t mean they can’t do obedience or rally or even tracking. I learned so much along the way and had so many supporters, athough I admit a lot were scratching their heads, going, “a Pug?” Well, we showed them that a “Pug” can do anything!
Some of Otis' accomplishments: Qualified 151 times in Open showing under 90 different judges. Qualified 63 times in Utility showing under 47 different judges. 7 All Breed High in Trial Awards. Won the Open Class 6 times. Won the Utility Class 3 times. Won the Toy Group at the Obedience Invitational Tournament in Long Beach CA Earned his Tracking Dog title at age 10. Otis loved Agility, but we sat out agility while concentrating on our obedience. In the end, time ran out to finish our PACH title even though we were over half way there. 9
My first experience with pugs was in 2001, when my son’s friend bought a pet store pug. She was a crazy, ill-mannered dog that pooped and peed all over my house whenever she visited. She was also the cutest puppy I’d ever seen. I promptly fell head over heels in love with the breed! Fast forward to 2008 and my dream of owning a black pug was finally coming true. In a blinding snowstorm we headed to Moravia, NY to get my puppy, only to get stranded in Batavia, and have to turn back home. The disappointment of not being able to hold my puppy that day was devastating! But the next day the snow cleared and we were able to safely get to Casey Kennels to pick up my puppy.
He was PERFECT! He was a little fat ball of shiny black fur, a curly tail and the cutest face I’d ever seen. I was totally smitten from the first second I saw him. All the intelligent breed questions we were supposed to ask went flying out the window. Cosmo was my boy already! Fast forward to 2010. I was approaching retirement and I wanted to get back into dog training. It was something that both my husband and I had done about 35 years before. But kids, finishing up school and working full time put training on hold. So we re-activated our membership in Western Lakes Training Club of Buffalo, and I started in a basic Obedience class as a refresher, quickly moved on to Agility. I started out training with our Yorkie because we didn’t think the Pugs could do it. I ended up having back surgery and my husband Paul took over the training. Now we were both hooked! Unfortuneately, our Yorkie injured himself so now we were without a dog to train.
UNLESS we brought out the Pugs. Continued Next Page
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COSMO
th
he Crazy Pug
Jeanine Lampkin Continued Next Page
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Buddy started training with Paul and took to it really well. I was very reluctant to bring Cosmo, simply because he is CRAZY! He was ill behaved and constantly whined or barked. No amount of training seemed to help. Thankfully friends, and my trainer, insisted I bring him to class. The concept of “every dog needs a job” was unfamiliar to me at the time. NOW I’m a BIG advocate of the concept! Cosmo took to agility like a duck to water. The first night, he did ALL the obstacles on the first try, except for the tunnels. He even tried the weaves with me luring him through with a treat. Training never stopped his barking, but did actually help him relax a little. And he had so much fun. So we kept training in agility, joined a doggy drill team and took some rally classes. Talk about being thrown in the deep end of the pool! Both Cos and I were trying so hard to absorb all the information, and put it together into some semblance of a semitrained team. It was fun, stressful, frustrating and addictive all at the same time. We both LOVED it!
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But as much as both Cos and I loved Agility, there was something very special, and satisfying, about Rally for both of us. The teamwork and connection that developed between us was magical. Because of Rally training, I learned so much about dog training, myself, and my dog, that our agility runs became significantly better. Talking, using hand and body signals in Rally has helped both of us improve our communication skills. And it carries across all training venues, especially agility. I firmly believe Rally is the perfect compliment to agility. Cos and I have had some great mentors in Rally, but sadly there were no regular classes close enough for us to take on a regular basis. So what’s a team to do? Why, start your own rally class, of course. The best way to learn something is to teach it! I was blessed with a Club that said I could teach a Rally class. I now teach two classes, and I just love it! The best part of teaching is my students, and watching their journey of learning. The next best part is learning SO much from my students, which has improved our team performance immensely.
Our journey in Rally has had many ups and downs, but we always bounced back, getting even stronger. As Cosmo’s agility career wound down, we put more time and effort into Rally. Now, all I have to do is put my left hand in the heel position, and he starts barking with pure delight. He is noisy, (which costs us points), but his pure joy to play the game with me is indescribable! Even when his aging body is sore and hurting, he still tells me he doesn’t want to stop. After PDCA Nationals last year, I decided he needed to retire because he was very sore and hurting. BUT Cosmo had other ideas. He wasn’t ready to retire quite yet. So now we play at a slower, and more relaxed, pace. He doesn’t want to learn anything new, so we practice what he already knows. Some days he is spot on, and other days he invents new signs! I have owned 18 wonderful dogs in my lifetime, but I’ve never had the teamwork and relationship with any other dog. A relationship that Rally helped Cosmo and I build together.
There was something very special, and satisfying, about Rally
Cosmo’s Black Universe CD, RAE3, OAP, OJP, NFP, TKN, CGCA, TDI, PDCA Versatility 4, *CS-ATCH, *SpChST 2016, 2017 Ranked #1 RAE by PDCA *Canine Performance Event Agility Titles
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AKC
AGILITY through the
YEARS
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The Bar is
Open
There. I got your attention, don’t I? But what does an open bar have to do with dog training? A lot, it turns out, if you choose to use the “other” Conditioning method. There are two types of Conditioning in behavior. They are Operant Conditioning and Classical Conditioning. BF Skinner, regarded as the father of Operant Conditioning, based his work on Thorndike’s Law of Effect. According to Thorndike’s principle, behaviors that are followed by pleasant consequences are likely to be repeated, and behaviors that are followed by unpleasant consequences are less likely to be repeated. Sounds a lot like dog training, doesn’t it? Skinner took it a step further, and introduced a new term into the Law of Effect; Reinforcement. Behavior which is reinforced tends to be repeated (i.e., strengthened); behavior which is not reinforced tends to die out-or be extinguished (i.e., weakened). In dog training, we use his principles to teach all sorts of behaviors. From basic to complex, we reward (reinforce) behaviors we want, which makes them more likely to occur again. The other way to Condition behavior is called Classical Conditioning. Classical Conditioning occurs when the conditioned, or neutral, stimulus (such as a sound, an object or a place) is paired with an unconditioned, or “actual”, stimulous (such as a treat or toy). The conditioned stimulous (sound, object or place) eventually becomes so strongly associated with the unconditional stimulous (treat or toy), that being confronted by the conditioned stimulous elicits the same response as when confronted by the the unconditioned stimulous. A positive association has now been created towards an otherwise neutral object or place. Classical Conditioning is most often used to
Laurie Kirkpatrick
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modify unwanted behavior, but does have a place in training new behaviors, and works wonderfully when paired with Operant Conditioning. When training, we want our dogs to love what they’re doing. With a low-drive, or timid dog, we can build a more positive association when training by first applying Classical Conditioning. For example, one of the more stressful obstacles in agility is the teeter. It moves. It makes noise. It bounces. It vibrates. But if you condition your dog to like those things before they ever set a paw on the actual obstacle, you will make learning to navigate the teeter much easier. To get them used to the noise, grab a handful of treats or a toy, and sit next to a teeter that will be banged over and over again. You can do this at a trial (but be careful that you are well away from the ring with your treats, so you don’t cause a distraction) or a training class. Then every time your dog hears the bang, give them the reward. It’s important to remember that you are not rewarding them for doing anything in particular in order to the get the treat. You are only creating an association. If they’re looking at you, the teeter, the sky, the grass, it doesn’t matter. Sitting, standing, laying down, it doesn’t matter. As soon as you hear that “bang” give the reward.
A quick note about another important training principle: Placement of the Reinforcer. Where you put your reward is often as important as when you give your reward. If you want your dog to put their toes on the edge of the board, be mindful of giving the reward in a place that causes them to have their toes on the edge of the board. If you want your dog to maintain a consistent heel position for obedience, always give the reward in such a way that they are in that position when they get their reward. If you apply this principle while working on Classical Conditioning, you will get a head start when you head into Operant Conditioning. Once they’re having a grand old time on the board, start to reinforce some specific behaviors. Which means you will now be switching to Operant Conditioning. You might give a reward when their toes are on the edge of the board. Or withhold the reward in order to build duration. Now, instead of just doing anything at all, they must be doing something specific in order to get their reward. You can use Classical Conditioning in all sorts of places in your training. If your dog isn’t too crazy about kids, reward them when they are around kids. If they don’t like people in hats, give them their reward when they are near a person in a hat. Remember, they aren’t “doing” anything to get the reward. So don’t be tempted to have them sit or look at you before they get the reward.
A WORD ABOUT REWARDS When choosing a reward for your dog, whether applying Operant or Classical Conditioning, make sure it’s something your dog really loves. If your dog is a picky eater, but will chase a ball for hours, then treats aren’t a good reward to use with this dog. Or if your dog would do anything for a treat, don’t insist on using a tug toy as a reward. Once they’re comfortable with the noise, move on to getting them used to movement. A tippy board is great for this, since you won’t be tempted to reward “being in the yellow”. You’re just moving your dog around the board, and every time it moves, you reward. They might have a foot off the board, they might be looking at you, or looking at the board. Again, it doesn’t matter. You’re strictly creating an association.
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You can use the principle for specific pieces of equipment. A common practice is to feed dinner on the pause table until they drive to the table, because they love being up there. Teaching a position comes later. I recently ran into a training roadblock when my Pug, Kimchi, started avoiding the dogwalk. I have no idea why that happened, and it came out of the blue. Really, the why doesn’t matter, just the “how” of fixing it. My instructor came up the idea of just putting treats all over the boards, like a trail of crumbs, that Kimchi happily gobbled up as she trav-
eled across the dogwalk. Classical Conditioning in action. It worked so well, that I spent a few training sessions trying to work other obstacles, while all she wanted to do was run across the dogwalk. This from a dog that had avoided that obstacle like the plague. So what does this have to do with bars being open, you might ask? Well, in extreme cases, you might have to play the “bar is open, bar is closed” game. I learned this game from a seminar presenter years ago. I can’t even remember who it was, it was so long ago, but I use the method to this day. The idea is that if your dog has extreme fears, you will only give their reward when the fearful thing is present, and never at any other time. Let’s say your dog is afraid of a certain type of footing. Then the “bar”, or reward, is only “open” when they are on that footing. When they are not on the footing, the “bar” is closed. This means you have to withhold the reward at all other times (in the case of food, not their dinner, just treats). It also helps to have super yummy treats or a super exciting toy when the bar is open. My Pug, Gracie, had a very real fear of the vacuum. She would cower in the corner, trembling with fear whenever it ran. Whenever I ran the vacuum, I would grab a handful of treats and randomly toss them around the room while I worked. Some would bounce far from the machine, some would be right next to it. This was the only time I gave her treats until she overcame her fear. But food is stronger than fear with Gracie, and eventually she overcame her fear. Now the minute I pull out the vacuum, she starts spinning and barking, wanting her treats, even though it’s been years since I’ve given her a treat while vacuuming. In fact, I usually put her away while I vacuum because she won’t stop bothering me while I work. Having a balanced approach to training is always important, and understanding how and when to use both Conditioning Principals will enhance your training sessions immensely. Too often we get fixated on teaching a specific behavior, while ignoring the need to create a fun and positive training environment. Classical Conditioning can help create a dog that learns to love the game. And that's the ultimate goal in dog training. Now, go have that glass of wine. The bar is open...
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