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Griffin's Training Journal

Test Log

Slowly getting back into the swing of things.

Asked a client to test Griffin on L3 Zen and L3 Stand Stay. He had been doing fine in training when I was in Moncton for staying away from a treat in a stranger’s hand. . . not this time though. He went for it about 10 seconds into the exercise. Oh well! We turned it into a training session and he did do it for the whole 20 seconds the second time around.It’s like he needed a reminder of what it was about. Nothing to be worried about.

He did passed the Stand Stay (the sit stay with exam it calls for at this level. I was quite surprised because we had been practicing that on the grooming table only (less threatening for him) but I tested with him on the floor! No problem at all. . . Good work little man!

Behavior	Level	Total Reps	Errors	Success Rate	Passed
Stand Stay	3	2	0	100%	Yes
Zen	3	2	1	50%	No

On The Road Test Log

Great location with tons of distractions of course!

Behavior	Level	Total Reps	Errors	Success Rate	Passed
Come	3	1	0	100%	Yes
Down	3	3	0	100%	Yes
Sit	3	3	0	100%	Yes
Target	3	5	0	100%	Yes
Zen	3	3	0	100%	Yes

Test Log

Dear Griffin was soooo good at keeping the leash loose walking into the building, around the show grounds, back to the van, going for potty breaks, etc. When I decided that this was going to count as Griffin’s L3 LLW test we were experiencing what I call a "Sue Ailsby’s Levels Moment" . . .

I was walking from the van to the building, leash and shoe bag in one had, shoulder bag, change of clothes folded on my arm, crate (with Nike in it) in the OTHER hand

I was especially proud of my little man when we made our way through the grooming/set up area !

Definitely a pass on this one! Well done Griffin!

Behavior	Level	Total Reps	Errors	Success Rate	Passed
Leash Manners	3	1	0	100%	Yes

Training Session Log

Continued where we had left off the day before with the formal return portion of the Down Stay. Again I clicked and handed down the treat as I was going around, going further and further around before I clicked until I could actually go all the way around without him having to follow my eyes. The last two reps I bent down to feed him after I had gone all the way around Yippeee! It was a "light bulb" moment Will now go back to Easy Beginnings and I’m sure we will be cruising.

I’ve only a few L3 behaviours to test, Zen is one of them so we worked on increasing time. I’ve aadded a distraction by having both Griffin and Nike doing the Zen together. Went up to 30 seconds off MY hand with no problem. Will increase the dofficulty by using more enticing treats and all I’ll need next will be to find some "strangers" to get Griffin ready for the test.

Behavior	Level	Uncued Reps	Cued Reps	Cued Errors	Success Rate	Duration	Distance
Down Stay	4	15	0	0
Front	3	0	15	3	80%
Zen	3	0	10	0	100%	30s

Test Log

My shaped trick was "Go to Your Room" where Griffin had to, on a single voice cue go to the crate, open the crate door, go in and lie down. Great success. I hope to be able to use that in my L7 trick of 3 tableaux that tell a story.

Behavior	Level	Total Reps	Errors	Success Rate	Passed
Trick	3	5	0	100%	Yes

Training Session Log

3x 10-minutes sessions. After I was done testing L4 Heel and L4 Contacts it was going so well that I thought I could start on L5 Contacts. All my jumps are outside so I thought I’d just send him around a flower stand (Distance) and then direct him to the board. Success at his first try. I think I like Contacts as much as he does

Also worked on L3 Front – He’s really improving every time we practice this one. But I would like it just tidy bit more precise and reliable. Good enough for a pass but will train it once or twice more before I log it in as a test.

In the second session we gave the Formal Return another go. It went much better than the first time and I could move rapidly to his right and left sides about mid-body and he was very solid. Then, purely by accident I discovered I can click and reach down to treat him between his paws and since he is so small I can keep walking all the way around him AS I give the treat . . . the interesting thing about this is that if he moves it’s okay because I’ve already clicked him but if he stays it’s a bonus. I compare this almost to luring in the first phases of training for some other behaviours. I much prefer shaping but sometimes a few reps using luring is just enough to get them going. I will see if this has helped him in our next session.

I also decided to start on L4 Retrieve after he offered me an interesting behaviour as we were playing "Fetch". He usually puts the ball or whatever toy on the floor at my feet and waits for me to pick it up and throw it again. By pure accident I opened my hand in front of his nose as he was approaching me and he nose targeted it (of course!) with the toy still in his mouth! Good Boy! I’m thinking this would be the start of the "Give" at the end of the Retrieve exercise in obedience. Soon enough I was having him follow my hand around the living room while nose targeting with the toy in his mouth. . .

So I moved into the doggy room and started on L4 Retrieve and it was soooooo funny because it went EXACTLY as Sue is describing it in the Levels Book

Griffin was VERY happy to be doing stuff with mom again! Tail wagging non-stop and happy the rest of the day.

Behavior	Level	Uncued Reps	Cued Reps	Cued Errors	Success Rate	Duration	Distance
Contacts	5	0	5	1	80%
Down Stay	4	15	0	0
Front	3	0	20	4	80%
Retrieve	4	30	0	0

Test Log

After a week without doing any training I decided to test L4 Contacts and went on to test L4 Heel. It was fun fun fun! Contacts was a success with Griffin putting on the breaks as he reaches the contact zone. I didn’t do the reps all the same. I changed my position relative to the board, sent him from different angles, walked by him, stood at the end, etc. This has become one of his FAVOURITE exercise.

Went on to do a bit of heeling. Griffin’S eyes are glued to my left hand which rest at waist level. Superb attention. He stays with me on about turns beautifully. That was an easy pass.

Behavior	Level	Total Reps	Errors	Success Rate	Passed
Contacts	4	10	1	90%	Yes
Heel	4	5	0	100%	Yes

Birthday Boy

Happy Birthday to my main man Griffin

Training Session Log

L3 Trick and Front are coming along great. I would like to be able to put the trick on Voice Cue only. Right now I use both voice and signal. I would also like to build distance but I don’t think that either is necessary for Level 3. The shaping part is actually done. Still I will consider it a pass only when I have it on Voice cue alone. Coming soon.

Front – Wow! What a great session this was. Griffin was hitting the center line very consistently and this would have been a pass. . . but I’ll wait to see if it’s that successful over the next few days of training before checking the box for the test log!

L4 Contact – Another great performance! Will be testing this one tomorrow for sure. I have folded up the board (it’s hinged in the center) so that it would be a couple of inches high. That resulted in one end not having a colored contact zone. Didn’t matter to Griffin.. . he stops on his own when he reaches the end of the board . . colored zone or not. I increased the difficulty by positioning myself further and further from the end of the board before telling him to "Walk On" (he’s waiting at the opposite end on the board for me to send him) so I am not near the board when he stops in the contact zone. Great great great work! HE loves that exercise! Maybe I should try some agility with him just for the fun of learning new stuff. That has been a lot of fun!

Down Stay – Decided to introduce the formal return bit . . . Aaaarrrrrgghhhhh. . . . his eyes are glued on me !!! and he spins around to follow me as I get behind me. . . . of course! Good Watch!

Soooo. . . . had to start with moving one step to the right and to the left from in front, then two steps, etc. etc. got to the point where I can move to his right and forward lining up with his front feet. . . this might take a while. He tries so hard to stay there but it goes against everything he’s learned about watching me!

Oh goody. . . a new challenge

Behavior	Level	Uncued Reps	Cued Reps	Cued Errors	Success Rate	Duration	Distance
Contacts	4	0	20	3	85%
Down Stay	4	20	0	0
Front	3	0	20	2	90%
Trick	3	0	10	2	80%