Good Things
So today in my 3D materials and lighting class I finally figured out lighting. Of course it's the second to last class so it's about freakin' time. It was one of those moments where stuff just clicks together in your head. My crazy eyed teacher even complimented me on my progress. So now I feel confident about all my 3D projects that are due next week.
So I came home and the poodle was all wound up (she didn't get a walk today) so I decided that we should play a game. She doesn't really play any of the conventional dog games (yet) so I decided we should do more clicker training. I've been doing it every day but we didn't get any in yesterday or Tuesday. Well something finally clicked in the poodle's head too. Our first experiment with the clicker was with a little jingle ball cat toy (cat toys are more her size than dog toys). It's a process called "shaping" where you click the dog for any action they perform with the toy and when they start giving repetitive behaviors, you hold out for something new. This way they have to think , it's like a puzzle, trying to figure out what'll make you click.
So up 'till now we've had some luck with targeting (Amelie knows to follow and nose the green ball on the clicker wand) but not much luck with the jingle ball. She'd figured out she got clicks for looking at it but when I tried to hold out for more she'd get confused, then bored and stop trying anything. Eventually she stared touching her nose to the ball, but that was it. That has been it for kind of a while, which is why we took a break from the ball to do targeting instead. It was sheer optimism on my part to get the thing out this time. But she figured out she needs to roll the ball now! I think she's finally finally figured out that she controls the clicker. They say you should always end on a high note, (and I was running out of food) so we stopped, but I bet next time I'll be able to get her to bat that sucker across the floor.
I realize, typing this out, that it sounds really boring. Wow, Anna's dog can touch her nose to a ball, awesome. But it really is awesome! It's not the dorky trick that's cool, it's watching her figure this out. All I do is click and treat, I don't talk, I don't give her clues, I don't mess with the ball or shove her around to show her what to do, she just thinks through it on her own and then does it.
It's really cool.
So I came home and the poodle was all wound up (she didn't get a walk today) so I decided that we should play a game. She doesn't really play any of the conventional dog games (yet) so I decided we should do more clicker training. I've been doing it every day but we didn't get any in yesterday or Tuesday. Well something finally clicked in the poodle's head too. Our first experiment with the clicker was with a little jingle ball cat toy (cat toys are more her size than dog toys). It's a process called "shaping" where you click the dog for any action they perform with the toy and when they start giving repetitive behaviors, you hold out for something new. This way they have to think , it's like a puzzle, trying to figure out what'll make you click.
So up 'till now we've had some luck with targeting (Amelie knows to follow and nose the green ball on the clicker wand) but not much luck with the jingle ball. She'd figured out she got clicks for looking at it but when I tried to hold out for more she'd get confused, then bored and stop trying anything. Eventually she stared touching her nose to the ball, but that was it. That has been it for kind of a while, which is why we took a break from the ball to do targeting instead. It was sheer optimism on my part to get the thing out this time. But she figured out she needs to roll the ball now! I think she's finally finally figured out that she controls the clicker. They say you should always end on a high note, (and I was running out of food) so we stopped, but I bet next time I'll be able to get her to bat that sucker across the floor.
I realize, typing this out, that it sounds really boring. Wow, Anna's dog can touch her nose to a ball, awesome. But it really is awesome! It's not the dorky trick that's cool, it's watching her figure this out. All I do is click and treat, I don't talk, I don't give her clues, I don't mess with the ball or shove her around to show her what to do, she just thinks through it on her own and then does it.
It's really cool.