Training log: Fluency.

When is a behavior considered fluent?  Brenda Alov suggests that it takes 6,000 repetitions for a behavior to become fluent.  If Brenda Alov says that’s how many it takes then it probably does.

The obedience exercises are like puzzles.  Upon a brief inspection they seem forward enough.  What’s the big deal?  The big deal is that you can send a dog through the same exercise one hundred times with a perfect result each time.  Then you change habitats or introduce an interesting and strange object (like a wet towel in a heap) and then, “hello”, the dog behaves as if he has never seen the exercise before in his life.

This is when things get really fun (I love it).  Now the real teaching begins.

The utility “go-out” is probably the most interesting exercise of all the utility exercises (scent articles coming in an aggravating second).  With a three-part behavior chain ( not including fronts and finishes) each part of the chain has to be trained and proofed separately, and then proofed as a unit.  Let’s just look at the send part.  For our purposes here it really doesn’t matter which method you are using to get him out there.

Remember how you learned to proof a sit stay?  You threw everything you had at the dog trying to get him to break the stay, and rewarded him richly when he did.  Stroller loves this.  Think of it as a game.  Once Stroller figures out the game he will defiantly ignore any attempt I make to throw him off.

 I think most trainers will agree that dogs are not able to understand the concept of a straight line.  But they can certainly learn what I call “a reward path”.  There is one path and one path only that will get me the cookie.  That’s the reward path.  It has nothing to do with targets or food on the gates.  Instead of thinking about the line that the dogs has to take to get to the gate as a “straight line” think of it as the reward path.

So, once the dog knows the reward path pretty consistently in very predictable and familiar circumstances…change the environment.  Change how things look.  Start by putting a couple of objects behind the gates.  Chances are the dog will target one of them (you want this because this is how he will learn).  As soon as you can tell the dog is not going down the reward path call him back.  Have a  benign sound that tells the dog “Come on in Rover and let’s try again”.  Don’t let him go all the way and definitely don’t let him look about if he does get there.

Set him up again.  He’ll probably do exactly the same thing.  On the third or fourth try (be patient) he will probably try something else.  Hold fast!  If you help him too soon you will be setting the learning back…a lot.  You want the dog to figure it out himself.  If he has a really hard time doing this just walk out and tap the center stantion. showing him where you want him to go.  Once he does give you the right behavior have something really good for him (like steak).  Set it up and do it again, and again …and again.

Once Stroller got the hang of this I put every of piece of junk I could find out there, in front of the gates, behind the gates.  I sprinkle his gloves in the path , and his frisbee,  He just trots right on through as if to say,  “Can’t make me look!”  Is this fluency?  I’m not sure but I think we’re getting closer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deconstructing Information and making a painting out of it.

I had a comment the other day about my paintings. “You don’t just paint dogs, you build entire worlds.”

Well, I guess I do.  My particular type of mind is almost more suited to science than art but I get distracted by beauty…and I can’t help it.  I’ve been scratching and scribbling on paper from my earliest memories.  My father kept a pile of newsprint in my closet so I would draw on that and not on everything else.

I build worlds for the dogs but the worlds are bits and pieces that I collect, images and shapes that are gathered, separated, taken apart and then reconstructed into my paintings.

I often stop on my daily walks in the woods and wonder at a small patch of forest that is perfect.  And I realize that everything in the forest is perfect, exactly as it is, as it has fallen there or grown over the season and as an artist I  can take any little piece and make a painting out of its parts.

Every dog has its world.  Each dog exists in nature perfectly as long as we allow them to.  That’s my job, to put the dog exactly in the world its supposed to be in, a world that only exists in my mind.  I often see the paintings in my mind completely finished just as I want them.  My task  is to bring them into the physical world and make the paintings happen!  Not that easy.

My Technique.

I am often asked about my painting technique.  I have given it the name “acrylic glaze” because this is the closest thing that I can think of to describe it.

Artists chose a specific medium because it feels right.  Chosing a medium and developing a technique is kind of like inventing your very own signature.  There are endless ways to use the same materials.  Artists are often identified by their technique.

Acrylic is a fascinating material because of its versatility.  You have tube acrylics, fluid acrylics, acrylic tints and dyes, acrylic mediums and grounds…and on and on and on.  All these different forms of the medium can be combined.  And you can apply them in any way you want…no rules here.  You just have to remember the same “fat over lean ” law that applies to oils.

I use acrylic more like water-color, building up thin layers.  The bottom layers can be vibrant and translucent.  By layering up I can leave areas open that let that early color come up from the bottom.  It can give a great feeling of depth to a surface.

When using oils, the artist corrects by ragging off or scraping off paint.  With acrylic the artist corrects by over painting.  Each method has its good points and more difficult points.  Which medium an artist choses is ultimately up to their particular personality, feel of hand and ultimate goals.

Capturing the Dog.

Having spent many years wandering around the woods with dogs, training dogs and living with dogs I’ve developed a visual sense of “dog character”.  Dogs show mood and intention by body posture and eye.  Actually humans do too but they often give it away verbally so we tend to pay less attention to it..  We call it body language.

"Ponder" All my paintings start with these tiny idea sketches.

I’ve never painted a portrait of just the head of the dog.  There is certainly nothing wrong with this and it has been done throughout the history of the genre, but I have always believed that the whole dog shows ….the whole dog.

Painting the older dog.

Dogs age pretty much the same way that we do.  Their chins sag and their teeth become stained.  Their waists thicken and the gums maybe aren’t so attractive anymore. 

What becomes difficult when I am asked to paint an elderly dog is that the owners still see the young dog in the old dog.  This was a challenging  job because Jeb was sixteen when I met him.  My task wa to paint Jeb but try to recapture some of his youth.  I hope I succeeded.

If you are thinking about having a portrait done of your dog, don’t wait too long.

Woodsley and Jeeves.

I’m not usually a Spaniel fan but these two dogs were something else.

Acrylic glaze on panel.  24″ X 20″  Private commission.

Dogs, Water and Scent.

This is interesting.  My training partner is a police officer.  She has a patrol dog (GSD) and a search and rescue dog (Rotti).  She was called to do a search a month or so ago at a lake in New Hamshire.  The search was IN the lake.  Yes, the idea that the escaped convict can avoid the bloodhounds by running up the stream bed is a myth.  Dogs can detect scent in water.  The gases and cells that are released by the cadavre migrate to the surface and can be detected by dogs.

Dugan is trained to air scent in the boat and direct the boat by moving his body.  He alerts in the same way he would on land.  He found a body in 160 feet of water.  They sent cameras down to confirm.  How cool is that?

Training Tip/ Walking the Dog.

In my experience about 80% of family dog behavior issues are due to lack of leadership and lack of exercise.  I think most trainers will agree. 

Getting on a daily walking schedule with your dog can begin to establish your leadership role and exercise both of you at the same time.

What is a walk?  A walk isn’t a potty break.  It isn’t once around the block.  It is a good forty five minutes or more of walking on leash with your dog.  That could in an urban, suburban or rural environment.  If you are in situation where you can walk your dog off leash and the dog will reliably stay with you, even better.  Most people do not fall into this catagory.

The number one reaon why people don’t like to walk their dog is because of pulling.  Guess what?  That’s not an excuse any more.  The Gentle Leader is one of the most useful and life changing dog accessories to come along,…. ever.  It won’t teach your dog to walk on a loose leash without it but most people don’t have the time or inclination that it takes to do this anyway.  So if you have a dog that loves to really drag you around…get a Gentle Leader.

How does it work?  Some people tell me, “I don’t want to use that because it looks like a muzzle and people will think me dog bites.”  Get over it.  A Gentle Leader isn’t a muzzle.   The top of the dog’s muzzle is sensitive and the dog will yield when  pressure is applied to it.  They will naturally yield on their own.

A Gentle Leader must fit properly and it now comes with a DVD that shows you the correct way to use it.  Have a good dog supplier help you buy the correct size and then watch the DVD.

Some dogs will shake their head or paw at it the first time you put it on.  Pair the putting on of the Gentle Leader with a great dog treat (ie. cookie) and a walk.  Pretty soon your dog will be jumping for joy whenever you bring out the Gentle Leader.  I’ve seen it happen many, many times.  Walking your dog will be effortless and everyone is happier for it.

Training Tip/The obsessive ball dog.

Have you ever visited a friend and their dog happily greets you with a tennis ball in its mouth?  How cute!  You take the ball and throw it for the dog.  The dog races away and before you know it the dog is back,  harrassing you to throw the ball again.

Guess what?  You were just conned.  There is a reason why the dog is one of the most successful species on earth.  They’ve figured us out.

 Some dogs will obessively bring things to us to throw for them because they like to chase things and they have figured out that almost every human will throw the darn thing for them over and over.  If the human  doesn’t  throw it right away even better!  I love surprises and I don’t have anything else to do.  I can keep trying all day long!  Eventually the human will throw the ball.

By throwing a ball for a dog that presents the ball to us we are letting the dog control the game.  By trying to get rid of a nuisance dog by throwing the ball we are simply reinforcing the behavior.  We are actually doing a really good job of creating the nuisance dog by throwing the ball on the dog’s demand.  Get it?

So what to do?  Playing fetch with your dog is really fun and good for the dog, as long as you control when the game begins and when it ends.  If your dog falls into this catagory pick up all toys and only give the dog access to the toy when YOU want to.  When the game is over take the toy away and give the dog a signal that the game is over.  I just show two empty hands to my dog and he knows I’m not going to throw the toy again.  If the dog picks up things on his own like sticks and tries the same behavior you have to discipline yourself and others not to throw the object.  Ignor the dog.  Eventually the behavior will disappear.

My dog loves to retrieve balls, frisbees etc. and I use them in training all the time but he has never, ever tried to intiate a game of fetch with me because he knows it won’t work.  The game must be controled by you.

Artists and their Mediums.

What is a medium?  A medium refers to the materials with which an artist creates his or her work.  Watercolor is a medium.  Oil is a medium.  Pastel is a medium.  Mixed medium means that an artist combines two or more types of materials in a single piece.

Classical art schools generally require students to go through a couple years of foundation classes before they chose a medium.  It is similar to a Bachelor of Arts degree where students chose their major in their junior year.  Your art will only be as good as your foundation.

The choice of medium generally depends on the character of the artist.  Some artists like dry mediums that are applied by drawing  instead of painting.   Some feel more confortable with wet mediums like watercolor or oil that are applied by a brush.

Some artists take a long time to figure out exactly what is the perfect match for their personality and the type of work they want to do.  And then once they do decide,  it takes a long time to master that medium.

Schools and teachers can take you a long way in mastering a medium but in the end the artist just has to figure it out themselves by working and working …and working.  There are no shotcuts.

So if you find an artist that you like that works in oil, don’t ask them to paint in watercolor!