Level 2 homework video exercises! We've also been doing a lot of food play on our walks/playtime unrecorded. It's been good! It has really given me a great tool for building engagement if he's lagging, and also a metric for if now is really not a good time to work.
Question! In Stationary Heel sometimes in distracting environments he looks away for a moment and then back at me. I have been rewarding the second he looks back at me. Is this the best protocol for that kind of moment?
Other question! Is sneezing a sign of getting stressed out? He does it a little at 9:55 in the video. This was the start of the session and I was using cooked pork chop cubes as a reward.
Happy to spend more time on this level if you feel it would benefit us. I really wanna build foundations that could support a skyscraper. Lemme know what you think :)
Written exercise to follow.
Video: Great! Yes, the treat toss is perfect, and good angle with it. And here he chews with his head up, which is cool. Again I think the type of treats being used makes a big difference for head dipping while chewing vs. not. Sometimes if a certain treat causes a ton of head dipping, I'll include a total reset with every reward, to minimize the dog dipping their head while also thinking "heel" thoughts.
You may have heard of this also being called a "terminal marker"/terminal reward - meaning that the skill ends with every reward, as opposed to the dog consuming the reward while continuing the skill (like in a stay).
Written: Awesome! I'm glad you found it fun. I still go back to my list when I'm picking new cues for new skills!
The written assignment!
This was fun! I think I got it all but I think I will continue editing/updating it as we learn new things! The master doc of skills! 😍
Sorry if it looks a little funny, it was an open office text document first.
Thank you so much for those extra videos! That really helped me. Here's a clip from a longer session. Is this kind of what you had in mind?
Also omg peep this drool/goober he got on my pants lol I think that's gonna be my new benchmark for if we are nailing the position haha
So much good stuff here!
I think I know that you've done full heeling stretches before(?) - can you tell me if you've had issues with his head dropping or lagging when you've done heelwork previously?
For the first stationary heel clip where he's dropping his head, he looks distracted/like he's still acclimating to the environment. I *do* want him to be able to check stuff out and come back to you until he doesn't care. BUT. I don't want that to be a part of my heel! So, do it in a different skill. Anything. Down, patterns of offered engagement - let me know if you need more specific examples.
I also see him drop his head less in the last clip, which could be from the treat being softer. Dropping to chew can be fine, but if you end up with a lot of extended dropping, checking out as you choke on food, etc., that can contribute to overall chaotic head position in heel.
If your treat are chewy, you can switch up your reward so that you have a full reset in between each treat. This could be a thrown treat as a reward, a lure as a reward that turns into food play outside of heel, etc.
In your "front" where you're standing, bring your lure up slightly higher. The raised head will help him get closer to you.
I usually see sneezing as excitement-based! Oftentimes, I see it happening at the beginning of sessions.