Focus and Attention course

Natalie

Natalie

As part of my training with Bear, we have taken LLW back to the very beginning - which for us starts with calm behaviour and more focus on me rather than his environment. We are only on the driveway at the moment - three days so far of 5 x mins at a time just getting him to be calm and working up and down a ladder of taking treats from the floor, my hand, attention on me and then a simple behaviour. Tomorrow we might try a metre further onto the pavement :)
My trainer has recommended this Jo Laurens course - I recognised the name straight away. :wink: Apparently the videos are really, really good? It's £60, so a fair chunk of money - has anyone bought this course and do you think it's worth it?
www.forcefreegundog.com

Focus and Attention

Is your dog easily distracted? Do you find it difficult to get your dog's focus? Do you lose your dog's attention around game, on shoots - or just in novel environments?
www.forcefreegundog.com www.forcefreegundog.com
 
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Beanwood

Beanwood

Administrator
No problem @Natalie , bitdefender on my PC thinks its a dangerous link. It's happened before.

I guess the gist of what the course will be is working with Bear at below threshold, and looking at ways of making your self the focus of attention through cue'd behaviors? Combining this with working with calm stuff... settle, doing nothing etc in low distraction environments. I guess working initially with the behaviors you want then adding walking with the loose lead. Meaning... if Bear has been happy to sit next to a bench and is calm and settled, getting him to walk say 10 metres would be much easier than jumping out the car and walking 10 metres in exactly the same location. For me it all boils down to three things: 1. The Environment (think matching law) 2. Current and recent emotional state (of not just your dog..) 3. History of reinforcement wrt to your expectations of behaviour.

If it's any consolation, I am having to go right back to basics with Miss Goody TwoShoes ... Bramble, dear Lord at Badminton recently I could barely hold her attention! :shock:
 
snowbunny

snowbunny

Location
Andorra and Spain
It sounds like you have the right procedure in place. Starting with calmness and assessing the dog's ability to focus is the basis of pretty much everything.

I've not heard of the course and I don't know anyone who has done it, but I would say that my impression of Jo is that she is trying to up her profile in lots of circles right now, yet I've not seen her offer anything original. £60 isn't a lot for a five-week structured programme where you get to ask the instructor unlimited questions (ad infinitum... hmm, she may end up changing that in the future if the course is popular ;) ) but if it seems to be a barrier, then there are so many free resources out there that you certainly don't need this. You're not looking to compete with Bear, you're just after good pet manners. You know what to do already.
 
snowbunny

snowbunny

Location
Andorra and Spain
Honestly, I think the absolute best tool is the reorientation game. You can play it calmly and slowly, you can do it with arousal. By its very nature of treat placement, it encourages the dog to refocus on the handler. When you have fluency, you can use it to calm overexcitement and bring your dog back to you. It's just fab.
 
Natalie

Natalie

Beanwood said:
right back to basics with Miss Goody TwoShoes ... Bramble, dear Lord at Badminton recently I could barely hold her attention!
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Not Bramble surely! Maybe she's letting off post-puppy steam

snowbunny said:
£60 isn't a lot for a five-week structured programme
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Yes, I know it's not a lot really in itself, but I bought the Fenzi terrible teenagers course (I now it wasn't exactly called that, but something similar :wink: ) and have found that a bit unappealing and slow, somehow- (but I know didn't really get the most out of it as I missed a lot of the 2-3 month chat window as I was working so long). I'm also paying for 1-1 zoom training sessions... so it all adds up.
 
Beanwood

Beanwood

Administrator
@Natalie no, Bramble was awful! In reality she probably wasn't, but I was unprepared, so my ask/expectation was much too high for her. We encountered pheasants and deer, because my expectations were I could stand still, blow my whistle and all good ... well really? Who was I kidding? Holy Shit! Did she take off! :rofl::shock: . She then pulled like a steam train, brain completely zapped! Me grumbling and glowering at her! :hmm:

Contrast with Otter yesterday. I spent time preparing the highest value treats, with my new magic word, I had a plan, and a B plan, my criteria set, all good. We had a bloody incredible, wonderful perfect walk for both of us. My heart literally bursting with pride and love for her.
 
Beanwood

Beanwood

Administrator
snowbunny said:
Honestly, I think the absolute best tool is the reorientation game. You can play it calmly and slowly, you can do it with arousal. By its very nature of treat placement, it encourages the dog to refocus on the handler. When you have fluency, you can use it to calm overexcitement and bring your dog back to you. It's just fab.
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This ... absolutely.

I have started this with River using her name. Training her to orientate towards me when I say her name, I am moving at the time... so she has to move towards me. I reward her the instant she looks and takes a step towards me. It's great fun and she loves it! :inlove:
 
Foxy Lady

Foxy Lady

I have done Jo's Clicker retrieve course with Cola and it was excellent - videos were very clear - step by step - she was also very good at replying on the facebook page for any queries - you could post videos - ask questions and I always got a reply with suggestions by the next day. Some people posted videos almost everyday and she replied to them all with I thought good ideas. But I haven't done her focus course. I did do her loose lead course with my previous dog - which was good, but you have to do everything Jo's way step by step which is OK but may not always suit.
 
Natalie

Natalie

thanks @Foxy Lady - that's good to know.
Foxy Lady said:
e was also very good at replying on the facebook page for any queries - you could post videos - ask questions and I always got a reply with suggestions by the next day.
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I've seen some of her responses in other places, (open content) and they can sometimes be a little on the blunt side, (for some dog owners) - although the actual message and advice is spot on. But doesn't sound like you've experienced that with her own courses so that's positive, thanks for your input.

I think I might wait another few days and see if we keep making progress
 
Foxy Lady

Foxy Lady

Natalie said:
thanks @Foxy Lady - that's good to know.

I've seen some of her responses in other places, (open content) and they can sometimes be a little on the blunt side, (for some dog owners) - although the actual message and advice is spot on. But doesn't sound like you've experienced that with her own courses so that's positive, thanks for your input.

I think I might wait another few days and see if we keep making progress
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OK - yes she is blunt !! (sometimes very blunt - when Cola was dancing round the room with the brush not dropping for any click or any treat) - but hey shrug that off and take the advice
 
HAH

HAH

Moderator
Location
Devon, UK
Beanwood said:
This ... absolutely.

I have started this with River using her name. Training her to orientate towards me when I say her name, I am moving at the time... so she has to move towards me. I reward her the instant she looks and takes a step towards me. It's great fun and she loves it! :inlove:
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Yes! Kipper and I played this on our walk this morning just for fun and a refresher - he loves it, understands the game so we get to stretch it out a bit. And tried a variant (?) too - I sat on the grass with my back to Kipper, he stood behind me and with a 'ready?' cue I'd throw a biscuit over my shoulder towards him, without looking. Kipper loved this! Once he got the biscuit he'd then re orientate to my back, grinning, with his tail going. It was great fun :D
 
Foxy Lady

Foxy Lady

I've looked at it and I might do it with Cola although at the moment he is quite focused when we are doing stuff - just not so good if we are just bumbling
 
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