Will Bayley pass her obedience exam?

[Donna P.]

Bayley the Golden Doodle has been in continuing education for the last year to try to suppress her natural “effervescence”. Her last class in the current obedience session is tomorrow night and as a requirement to pass the course, the dogs have to perform a trick. This is what we are going to do.

Wish us luck!

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QEO_CaQtfQ

[Judy, Meg & Polly Wolly Doodle]

A+++, I love Bayley!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Wow...this is so awesome!  You've done a fantastic job and Bayley the Golden Doodle is a STAR!

[Donna P.]

Hey, Thanks to all you wonderful people for your words of encouragement. Bayley is a really smart girl, and with no distractions, she behaves very well. But in class, she is a "wild child", wanting to play with every dog and person in the class. We've already been "encouraged" to retake the class, not because she doesn't perform her commands with aplomb, but at the next level of obedience, they expect the dogs to be more "mature and focused".

A couple of days ago, Jen and Annie posted a hilarious article on how Annie might perform at a Canine Good Citizens Evaluation.  http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/just-read-the-akc-good-cit...

This reminds me a lot of Bayley, and she even passed her CGC when she was 10 month old. She's now 15 months and 10 pounds heavier. Thank goodness she's only 55 pounds, because she can drag me across the room as it is.

We'll probably sign on again to repeat the class. The objective is not to have a competition level dog, but to have fun and hopefully learn some control in the process. I think her goal is to be a "professional student". To date we have done 4 obedience levels, a CGC class, 2 classes in beginning agility, and are currently in a AKC Rally course and this Sub Novice Obedience that will end tonight. That's 52 weeks of classes and she is only 66 weeks old. I don't want to add up the tuition fees. It could but a kid through college.

[Elizabeth, Bailey & Bruin]

It must be the "Bayley/Bailey" name LOL...My Bailey wants to play in class too!  But, I do have to say once we went up to the next level she did settle down quite a bit.  She still wants to socialize with everyone but I found the distractions helped "us" to work through them.

Loved the video and Bayley is such a smart doodle girl...Gonna try this with my Bailey!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

This really makes me smile...I've got a "professional student" myself.   I sometimes think that it's all this "work" that has led to the amazing bond I have with my "naughty guy".  You should join the Training Group...we'd love to hear more about your experiences...and keep up the great work with Bayley.

[BG and Gavin]

She is so young still.  She will get there.  I admire all of your training.  As Jane says, the bond that is built through training cannot be beat.  I ended doing an outdoor training course where we trained downtown, in busy parks, outside of businesses etc.  That kind of exposure is very helpful.  But, even after that, Gavin walked into his therapy dog evaluation at 2.5 years old on his back legs trying to meet the other dogs being tested.  I almost turned around and left.  However, he settled quickly and aced it.  As he ages the main thing I notice is the initial excitement lessens.  At a year it would have been 30 seconds, now it is 5 seconds.  After all, that eagerness to interact with people and other friendly dogs is what makes them sooo great.

[Cathy, Fozzie & Shaggy]

I never thought about taking an outdoor training course/class.  That's a brilliant idea!  Of course, I'll wait until spring to look for one =:)

[BG and Gavin]

LOL cowboy up Cathy!  I took it twice weekly in January/February.  They called the class off when it reached -20C with wind chill ;)  Sure made the winter go by fast!

[Cathy, Fozzie & Shaggy]

First I had to look to see what -20C is in F (below 0).  I'm a Michigander :) 

Second, I bow down to you!  I am not THAT dedicated.  I will drive in my warm car to a warm training building through snow and ice with temps below -0 F, BUT will not stay outside.  There is not enough Carhart or thermal undies that would make that temp bearable.  I'm a wimp in the cold;)

[Donna P.]

For those of you that might like to teach this trick to your dogs, here are a few tips we've learned.

1. Its best to use clay pots with a drain hole. They are heavy enough that the dog can't tip them over, and the hole allows the scent of the treat to come through.

2. Start with one pot with the treat under. Wait for the dog to touch the pot with his nose. This will come naturally. Reward the first nose touches with lots of praise. When he is doing this consistently, add your command, such as "find it".

3. Get more demanding and wait for the dog to touch the pot with the paw. I think natural frustration on the dog's part will make this happen. Bayley kept nudging the pot with her nose. I had to brace the pot with my hand to keep her from pushing it or knocking it over. Eventually she tried to move it with her paw. At first contact with paw, praise and reward.

4. Keep doing just this one pot for a day or so, or until the dog consistently touches the pot with the paw. You want to dog to have a clear understanding that he is supposed to touch the pot with the paw to get the treat.

5. Next introduce a second pot. At first, just place it  next to the "treat" pot and don't move anything. Encourage the dog to sniff the two pots and touch the correct one. When he does that consistently, then start swapping the position of the two pots and using your command.

6. Again, when that step is solid, put out the 3rd pot. Let him select the correct pot a few times before shuffling them up.

 

It really didn't take more that 2 days for Bayley to get this down. The hardest part was transitioning from the nose touch to the paw touch. She had already been taught to nose touch on command, so we had to get past that. But she loves doing this trick.

TIP; Use very high value treats that smell a lot. I started with weenies, and I would rub the weenie bit around the inside of the drain hole to make the smell stronger. Always use the same pot for the treat, so they all don't end up smelling the same.

When I bought my pots, they had raised letters on the front. Two of them say "herbs" and the third says "basil". I always use the "basil" pot for the treat. that way I can easily keep track of the right pot, and I tell people that that is her secret for success, because she always looks for the pot that says "basil".

Have fun with this and let us know how it goes.

[Janie, Jackson and Jilly]

How cute and smart is Bayley!! I think she'll pass with flying colors! Good luck!!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

How cute. Looks like Bayley will ace that test :)