Spot gets his level 1 Fun Games title at All Dog's Gym

Today Spot was entered in the CPE trial at All Dog's Gym in Manchester, NH. He was entered in Jumpers, Snooker and Fullhouse-all level 1. This was my first trial at All Dog's and I have to say I think it is my favorite indoor trial facility. It it only 45 minutes from home, and is large and bright.

The first class of the day was Jumpers and Spot was I think the 4th dog. So we were a little excited!
Here is the Jumpers course map:
























We started out ok, but after the #5 tunnel, Spot missed the double at 7 and then the jump after at 8. I put in a rear cross between 9 and 10, and then the pinwheel was good, but in the ending, Spot got ahead and missed 15, so we had to come back around. Overall, the main issue was that he was very fast and I didn't get cues to him fast enough so he would run past the jump. But he was very obedient and I was able to call him back each time, without any backjumps, so we had no faults! Also I was very happy that he set up for me and did a nice rear cross, which have been tricky in class.

Here is the video of our run:


Snooker was not so bad. The course was challenging. Here is the original course:
























At the start, Spot saw himself in the mirror and ran over to see it. He came right back, but that used up time. I had a pretty good flowing course, but could have maximized points better. The course wrapped around itself a couple times, and both 4 and 5 were combo obstacles. Our plan was red, then a combo jump and tunnel (5), then red, then tire (7), but Spot decided to do tunnel, so I had to go along with it for 4 points, then red, then 4 again, then the closing, 2 and 3 and then the buzzer...We were 5 points short from a Q. I should have tried to use the 6 instead of the 4 combo, and maybe we would have made it. Oh well, other than going off course to 4, Spot followed cues really well and I was actually able to get ahead at a couple points.

Here is my intended course lined in red:




























Here is my actual course in green:


























The third class was Fullhouse. Here is the course map:

























Spot needed 19 points, plus one 5 point obstacle (in this case a 2-jump combo, double or weaves) 2 tunnels or tires, and three single jumps. Once again, Spot did a really good set up. He was distracted my the mirror, but I got his attention and held it and was able to lead out one jump. My plan was jump (1), combo jump (5), tire (3), jump (1), double (5), tunnel (3), jump (1), jump (1), tunnel (1), jump (1), tire (3), table. Spot did really well, doing a rear cross at the first tire, then he ran around the double and I had to get him back, and be careful since it was not bidirectional. That went fine and we coninued on, then he skipped the jump before the tire, but I kept going because I didn't need to points, and then he ran past the tire, but I called him back and then we went to the table before the whistle. Turns out we went to the table half a second before the whistle would have blown, so the timing was great.

Here is the intended course in red and our actual course lined in green:























Here is the video of our Fullhouse run:

Our runs weren't perfect, but we had good progress on things like set up and rear crosses, so I'm very happy with today.

Spot and Shelby at Harvard Canine Cognition Lab

Today I took a vacation day and brought Spot and Shelby to Harvard's Canine Cognition Lab. They have both been once before, but this time was for different experiments. They each did 2 different ones today.

The first experiment had Spot and Shelby in front of a set up almost like a puppet show theater. It was a black wall with a section that opened up to show the experimenter in a scene. The scene was the person, an object on the left and one on the right. The experimenter would choose one object each time and they videotaped to time how long the dog looked at each scene. The objective was to see if the dog would recognize that the person was making a choice and also notice if after making the same choice several times, would notice a change in the choice. This is a test they also do with human infants to see if they intent and goals. I think Spot paid more attention in this one. For some reason, Shelby was very anxious and whined the whole time. I've never seen that behavior before.

Next we moved on to an experiement to see if a dog would interpret actions of a 2D projected person the same way they would a real person. The experimenter first had me hold Spot or Shelby facing them, and they showed the dog they had a treat and would put it in one of two cups. Then I would release the dog and see if they went to the correct cup. They also tried it where the dog couldn't tell which cup the treat was in, but the person pointed to it, and then I released the dog to see if they could go to the correct cup. Then we did the same thing, except the experimenter was an image projected on the wall. Shelby had a little bit of a problem because she knew the experimenter had the actual treats, so she kept focusing on him, and I had trouble turning her around to face the wall. Spot did really well on this test. He was very enthusiastic and reacted to the 3D and 2D experimenters the same way, including barking at them!

Diagonal Jump Grids

Thursday night we worked jump grids again, but this time on a diagonal. I learned that Spot has no idea about what lead leg to use when.

When doing the diagonal grid, the dog should naturally want to use the lead leg on the inside. Spot did an extra step after the first jump a couple of times to get on the correct lead. Other than that, he had no problem with it. Well, except for set up. Spot doesn't really like to set up between my legs. Shelby will push her way between your legs without even asking. Not sure why Spot doesn't like it. I may break out the chicken and practice this weekend. I want to have something worked out for next Saturday.