The Labraventures of Carbón, Spanish (ex-) foster dog extraordinaire

Emily_Babbelhund

Emily_Babbelhund

Mama Red HOT Pepper
Location
Regensburg, Germany
HAH said:
Whoop whoop!!! :celebrate: Cornwall clearly likes you very much too, you seem to fit in as well as any 10th generationer pulled from a Spanish wreck*
*(I read years ago that there’s a lot of Spanish heritage in coastal villages round Cornwall from trading and the odd shipwreck :))
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It's definitely been added to my Best Places list and I have to admit right now it's on the top of that list. Carbon and I both have had such a good spring here. After all the moves in the winter plus all the battles with German immigration that have been going on since last July plus Carbon's health issues plus work/no work and a bunch of other less-than-positive stuff, this was exactly the right place to lick our wounds and get better. Except for the large amount of weight that I need to get rid of which is a serious issue, I feel better than I have in years. If I could manage to get back in shape as well, I'd be feeling like Super Woman. ;)
 
Emily_Babbelhund

Emily_Babbelhund

Mama Red HOT Pepper
Location
Regensburg, Germany
Loraseal said:
Where do you buy the bandanna's from!
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The Day of the Dead one and his floral one that he wears a lot are from Padstow Piskies, which is just a little touristy gift shop in Padstow. They get them from https://www.cornishdogwear.co.uk/dog-bandanas. I'm also giving Scrufts a first time try. Quite a few come from Zookies, the dog bakery in Germany that is on my street. She used to make them up custom for Brogan and now keeps already-made ones in stock. Then there are some legacy bandanas from Duncan and Brogan, most of those are Pawkerchiefs from the US.
 
Emily_Babbelhund

Emily_Babbelhund

Mama Red HOT Pepper
Location
Regensburg, Germany
More wonderful walkies today, this time exploring the coastal path heading south from Porthcothan, our nearest beach. The beauty just kind of whacks you between the eyes. Ireland has stunning coast as well, but here in Cornwall you can actually get to so much of it thanks to the Southwest Coastal footpath. It's seemingly everywhere and most of it is easy enough for even me to walk it.

We also had a couple heavy duty training sessions before we headed our for our Big Walk. Our big challenge is STILL a 'simple' (ha ha) nose touch. Carbon gets so excited that he goes for my hand like it was a lovely juicy chicken leg. Ugh. We have been working on this for SIX WEEKS and have just in the last two weeks gotten to the point that 8/10 nose touches are, if not 'closed mouth', at least tongue contact instead of teeth. However I still haven't been able to progress to doing this while standing, or changing my hand position or doing figure 8s. He just gets too excited.

Today I lost my patience a bit and called time on the nose touch practice at home. Instead we focused on his "Go around" (going around an object like a chair), "Paw Target" (he loves that one and stomps down on the target with relish) and today introduced "Stay with Me" which is sort of a variation on heeling with lots of turns and tempo changes.

After our home practice session, we headed out for our walk. Carbon tends to lag and doddle as soon as we are headed for home, so his trainer suggested creating training stations along the way. For three of our stations, I gave nose touch a try and he did SO much better. Isn't that funny that he does better with MORE distractions? At the end of the walk, we also did "Stay with Me' in a fairly busy parking lot (cars, other people and dogs) and again he did even better than at home. What's the deal? I thought distractions were supposed to make it harder. :oops:

Anyway, no looking a gift horse in the mouth here so I'll just say GOOD BOY CARBON! Maybe I'll take him down to the middle of Newquay tomorrow to do some of the advanced nose touch work we should have mastered weeks ago. He'll probably ace it!

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HAH

HAH

Moderator
Location
Devon, UK
Emily_Babbelhund said:
Isn't that funny that he does better with MORE distractions?
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I think this is something that needs more research! We’re starting to realize (with the help of our trainer’s canny observation) that Kipper thrives on a bit of difficulty. So he far prefers a ‘tricky middle‘ (when you have your legs just a bit closer together so he has to use a bit of force to get his head in) to a straight ‘middle’. He loves a ‘contested run forward’ - might have made that up? - where you gently push back on the dog’s chest and then run forward so they ‘explode’ forward to catch up. Maybe this is similar for Carbón, that a bit of distraction sharpens him up?
 
Emily_Babbelhund

Emily_Babbelhund

Mama Red HOT Pepper
Location
Regensburg, Germany
HAH said:
I think this is something that needs more research!
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I agree - this was something I was planning on asking his trainer about during our next 1x1 session. The more I've been thinking about it, the more I realise that he consistently does better in public places or places with more distractions. Not for reactivity (obviously) but for actual behaviours I'm teaching him. Definitely worth looking into and seeing how I can use it to our advantage for his continuing SD training.
 
snowbunny

snowbunny

Location
Andorra and Spain
Well, I reckon it's because it is making him think more. Shadow is what I call a really "fast twitch" dog, meaning that he will try to do ALL THE THINGS at a million miles an hour, quite frantically. It can be so hard to get precision. Take last night, for example, I'm working on lateral movement with the dogs (walking sideways) and I just need to start off with two back feet on a mat. Easy. Yes, super easy with the other two, but Shadow just won't stop moving! Simply luring him into position was a fricking nightmare, because he was so over excited about the training. When he's in a more challenging situation, though, part of his mind is taken up with observing the environment and that little bit of uncertainty means he becomes more considered about his movements. So for these sorts of things, you do right to do them in the environment he finds easier, and then move it back to the environment he finds more challenging.

I think it's a great example of how we don't get to decide what is reinforcing, punishing, or what makes something more challenging. We have to listen to what our learners are telling us.
 
Emily_Babbelhund

Emily_Babbelhund

Mama Red HOT Pepper
Location
Regensburg, Germany
@snowbunny Yes, our SD curriculum is set up to the traditional 'less to more distractions' flow: start in the living room, then the kitchen, then the bedroom, then the garden, then in front of the house, then a quiet car park, etc.

This worked gangbusters with Brogan. It works nearly the opposite with Carbon. I've only just realised this, but if I think back it's always been true. Even last summer he could do a 'wait' for several minutes in the crowded main square in Regensburg. Ask him to do the same in my quiet little studio flat and he was bouncing off the walls.

So I think it may be time to start thinking about working backwards when it comes to generalisation!

This is actually great news for me as I actually really enjoy doing training in public and always have. I guess I'm a closet ham. :wasntme:
 
Boogie

Boogie

Moderator
Location
Manchester UK
Spencer is great with distractions and works better in busy environments.

Except puppy class. Oh my word! Now that he’s on the list I’m not going to another, it’s too exhausting! He does the work brilliantly - it’s all the other stuff that’s crazy. His excitement levels when we arrive are through the roof. So just walking past the kennel blocks and getting into the arena is just a nightmare. So is any time we are waiting and listening to instructions- he just wants to get on with it! I’m sure he’ll be just fine when he’s there every day - it’s the novelty value that bursts his brain :eek::rolleyes::)
 
Emily_Babbelhund

Emily_Babbelhund

Mama Red HOT Pepper
Location
Regensburg, Germany
Oops, we missed the boat. Carbon had to charm the next door neighbour and then he ran into my other neighbour's garden to lick the barbecue grill. By the time goodbyes were said and Carbon was rounded up, we missed our sailing time.

However, we did enjoy an epic four hour walk around Trevose Head including plays with friendly dogs, meets with friendly humans and splashing around in tidal pools. I misjudged the tide a bit and we BOTH got wet. Then it was a gorgeous drive along the coast to Newquay and Morrisons where I got fish and broccoli for Carbon and lost my mind and bought some Cornish cider for myself.

I'm feeling very happy with life this evening. %)
 
HAH

HAH

Moderator
Location
Devon, UK
Emily_Babbelhund said:
Oops, we missed the boat. Carbon had to charm the next door neighbour and then he ran into my other neighbour's garden to lick the barbecue grill. By the time goodbyes were said and Carbon was rounded up, we missed our sailing time.

However, we did enjoy an epic four hour walk around Trevose Head including plays with friendly dogs, meets with friendly humans and splashing around in tidal pools. I misjudged the tide a bit and we BOTH got wet. Then it was a gorgeous drive along the coast to Newquay and Morrisons where I got fish and broccoli for Carbon and lost my mind and bought some Cornish cider for myself.

I'm feeling very happy with life this evening. %)
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Oh hussah, that sounds a splendid day out! You really are Cornwalling awfully well Emily, and Carbón is mixing with the locals beautifully. Is the cider good? It’s not Cornish Rattler is it? That’s crazy juice - you’ll be going pagan and singing naked at the moon with that cider %)
 
Emily_Babbelhund

Emily_Babbelhund

Mama Red HOT Pepper
Location
Regensburg, Germany
HAH said:
It’s not Cornish Rattler is it? That’s crazy juice - you’ll be going pagan and singing naked at the moon with that cider %)
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No, it wasn't...but thank you for giving me future cider goals. :rock:

Jelinga said:
That sounds the most perfect day x
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HAH said:
Oh hussah, that sounds a splendid day out!
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It really was. Much better than the boat trip would have been anyway (and we'll get to that eventually anyway). Carbon had nearly four hours romping around off lead and I got to snap photos of the turquoise coves to my heart's content. I sound like a broken record, but I just LOVE it here.
 
HAH

HAH

Moderator
Location
Devon, UK
Emily_Babbelhund said:
I sound like a broken record, but I just LOVE it here.
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I don’t think you can ever say it enough! It makes my heart sing to hear it. Even for such a seasoned traveler who has seen many corners of the globe, it’s fantastic to find new places to love. And Cornwall (and your corner of it!) is very special indeed :heart:
P.s. as a proud Devonian this takes a lot to acknowledge!
 
Emily_Babbelhund

Emily_Babbelhund

Mama Red HOT Pepper
Location
Regensburg, Germany
Today was filled with cleaning, getting ready to move again and tons and tons of training. Carbon and I got lots of good advice and encouragement from our SD trainer for our latest efforts...and even some info that gave me hope that I just may be able to introduce Señor Carboncito to my home town come autumn.

Just for fun, here are some zoomies from our Big Walk yesterday:


Tomorrow more fun with best buddy Reuben coming to visit! :dug:
 
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