Tag Archives: Brussels Griffon

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Fran on Friday

Tango

Tango! The picture of “stubborn.”

It’s easy to get frustrated in training with operant conditioning. Especially Tango. He’s a Brussels Griffon and the name defines “stubborn.” I’ve been using clicker training with him on some behaviors. It just seems to work better than using a verbal bridge on some things. It’s hard to say which behaviors the clicker will work with – just have to try it. With Tango, though, it’s not like I’ll train and after 3 sessions he’ll get a behavior. No. More like after 15 sessions it looks like he might have a clue, and then at some point after that it’s like a light bulb goes off in his head and he’ll be perfect.

As an example, we’re working on “stand” from a sit position. Since Tango is now in Rally Advanced (!), he has to learn the more advanced behaviors, and “stand” is one of them. So he’s sitting in heel position (at my left foot, facing the same way I am) and I wait for him to do something. When he stands I click and say, “Good stand!” and give him a cookie. And we do it again. That waiting for the behavior I want is excruciating sometimes. He’ll lie down, turn in a circle, sit down again. But when he gets up I click and he knows he did something good. And then it’s a matter of refining. We’re still in the excruciating stage. But I see glimmers of the behavior I want!

Tango’s arch-enemies come on Tuesdays

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tango_watchdogThere are four dogs in our house, but only one of them, Tango, could be considered a “watchdog.” He’s the only one who, when the windows are open, will let us know if someone actually has the audacity to walk by our house, if a neighbor is getting a delivery, if a leaf is blowing down the street.

And Tuesdays are Tango’s favorite day of the week. I know dogs can’t, theoretically, tell time and don’t know how to read a calendar – but he knows it’s “Landscape Day!” Every Tuesday our landscapers (guys we pay to cut the grass) come. If I’m lucky, I’ve timed it right and already left for work before they show up. Most weeks my timing is terrible.

Tango barks from the time their truck pulls up until the moment it pulls away. And then some for good measure, as if he’s saying “Good riddance!” I can just see our trainer reading this and reminding me it’s a training opportunity. And, if I had the guts, I’d tell her that it’s not a battle I choose to fight with the little guy. He gets such joy from his “protection” duty! And he’s successful – every single week they go away after he barks at them for 20 minutes.

The other dogs aren’t really interested in the lawn guys. Booker and Torque are very interested in Tango, though and trying to distract him from his “job.” They wrestle and romp and run around like little dervishes, banging into Tango and earning a warning growl or two.

Teddy holds himself above the fray. He naps in the other room.

Spinning plates

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Tango in the weaves

Tango in the weaves

Hey – it’s “Fran on Friday!” Our agility instructor told us that dog training is like the spinning plates act in the circus. The performer has a dozen plates on sticks that must be kept spinning or they crash to the floor. The same thing with dog training – obedience, agility, basic household stuff, it doesn’t matter.

This was brought home to me today by my boy Tango (Brussels Griffon). He’s in Master Standard Agility, but that doesn’t mean that we can let his training just drift. At a trial a couple of weeks ago he popped out of the weave poles at number 10 (there are 12, and they must all be completed in one run). Not just once but a couple of times. Tango loves his weaves, so I didn’t think a whole lot about it. Until today.

Since he started having start-line performance issues a few months ago I had been focusing on Rally Obedience to get him interested in a different sport. I haven’t taken him to agility class this session, but we’ve been doing some training on our own. And as Tango’s little brother Booker is just in Novice I’ve only been putting up 6 weave poles when we practice here at the shop. Today I set up the full 12 poles. And Tango popped out at number 10. Hmmm. That plate has fallen. Now I know what to work on…

Competing with our dogs

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Hi – Fran here. I’m Hope’s sister and business partner at Golly Gear and GollyGear.com. I don’t post here much because, frankly, Hope is the writer. But Hope asked me to post about the weekend I had last week.

We ask a lot of our dogs. They’re great companions at home and at the shop. They’re our traveling companions too. And we also train them in obedience and in agility. When we think they’re ready, we compete with them at local (and sometimes not-so-local) AKC trials. Yes, we’re insane. I do sometimes feel nauseous before going in the ring, but I feel that I have to push myself. Because when we’re successful, there is absolutely nothing like that feeling!

Teddy (Hope’s 5-year-old French Bulldog) has his Novice Rally title, and he’s at the highest level competing in agility. Tango (my 6-year-old Brussels Griffon) has a couple of agility titles as well. We were doing really well, but then at some point last year, Tango decided he wouldn’t move off the start line. This happened at several trials. Both my trainer and I were perplexed. We didn’t know what might have happened to change the happy, bouncy little dog into this fearful lump cringing at the first jump. So I decided to take a break from agility and focus on something else.

Tango's first Rally O leg.

Tango gets his first leg in Novice Rally Obedience!

Tango’s history is troubled – he was quite aggressive when I got him at 11 months. The first (and only) obedience class I took with him did not go well. He lunged and snarled and barked at all the other dogs. I focused on agility because it’s a sport you do alone in the ring and in training. He liked to jump, so I thought agility would be perfect. And it builds focus and confidence in dogs. But now we needed another venue. Rally Obedience is perfect! We’re alone, again, in the ring, and able to focus without the distraction of other dogs close by. Last weekend, several months later, a local club was holding two trials on the same day. And Tango got his first two qualifying scores in Novice Rally Obedience!

Booker's very first Beginner Novice Obedience qualifying leg.

Booker got a ribbon!

Booker is my 2-year-old Boston Terrier. He likes to run. And jump. And play. And not hold still… Last weekend he went into his very first competition ring in Beginner Novice Obedience. And did really well! Booker got third place. This weekend he’ll be in his very first agility trial… Wish us luck.

Tango will be there, too. We’ll keep you posted.