FE410: Stir Crazy - Games for Small Spaces & Indoors

$50

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Course Details

While playing, you will both practice foundations skills and concepts you’ll need in dog sports the rest of the year: impulse control, directionals (left and right), recalls, send aways, adding distance, and generalizing the nose touch and push. Also front and rear crosses for agility and freestyle. Your dog will learn to do behaviors both when moving towards you and while moving away, and he will be introduced to some overall body awareness. Meanwhile, you will learn some shaping techniques, how to break the games into small achievable pieces, how to put them all together, and how to build complexity in the games.

This class will be especially good for building confidence in fearful and sensitive dogs, and it's ideal for dogs too young to jump, those with joint issues, and older dogs who might struggle with pain.

List of some of the Games:

3 Body Awareness Games
Around We Go!
A Cone and a Chair
Star Crossed
Parachute Recalls
This Way and That
Spiral
Mazes
9 ball games including
Ball Edge Game
Cheater! Cheater!
Dog Dominos
Clown College
Nose Strike!
Ping Pong

Check out the trailer!

Here is FDSA student Cat Morgans' video of what she accomplished with her two Schnauzers Pixie and Lola. This was her very first Fenzi class. Didn't they all do well?

Syllabus

Introduction

Lecture 1 Positive Reinforcement Training Tips for Games

Lecture 2 Chair, Box and Cone Games to Develop Body Awareness

Lecture 3 Stimulus Control (i.e. Impulse Control for Cues)

Game Foundation Skill: Teaching Move Around an Object: Luring, Shaping, Adding Distance

Game Foundation Skill: Directionals: Many Different Ways to teach and generalize left and right

Game Foundation Skill: Nose Touch and Push

Lecture 6 Chaining Behaviors

Cone Games Level 1: A Cone and a Chair

Cone Games Level 2: Lop de Loop, Basic Game, Straight Around, Front and Rear Cross

Cone Games Level 3: The Parachute Game

Cone Games Level 4: This Way and That, Coming Towards and Moving Away From You

Cone Games Level 5: Spiral

Cone Games Level 6: Mazes: Advanced Directional Skills

Ball Games Level 1: Pushing Balls of all sizes

Ball Games Level 2: Ball Edge Game, Ping Pong, Bouncing Ping Pong

Ball Games Level 3: Bowling, Nose Strike, Cheater! Cheater!

Lecture 7 Counter Conditioning, Desensitization and Operant Conditioning for Fearful Dogs

Lecture 8 Using Games in Therapy Settings

Lecture 9 Developing Creativity in Games

There are two types of games:

-Directional games with objects (cones, boxes, chairs or what have you) sending and calling the dog in a variety of patterns and through mazes

-Non-retrieving ball games: Nose pushing games -- pushing a small ball to knock over pins (bowling), volleyball-like game, etc.

-Combination games for the really advanced dogs (nose pushing a ball through a maze)

Both game types can be used by therapy dogs visiting schools and care homes as a great way to engage the kids, adults, and seniors alike. Freestylers will want to try these as new ideas to add to their repertoire. Those playing agility need the directionals, distance, and front and rear crosses, as well as general handling skills learned while playing the games.

The main skills a dog learns from these games are:

moving around an object
working at a distance from handler
learning and using directional cues (left and right) and generalizing to different behaviors
cue discrimination
chaining behaviors
shaping behaviors
body awareness (not knock the cones over)
learning to be sent away from handler while doing cues
learning to move towards the handler while doing cues
front cross (for agility and freestyle)
rear cross (for agility and freestyle)
generalizing cones/objects as a concept (that many different games may be played with them)
stimulus control over behaviors cued near the cones
distraction training (food and toys)
learning how to control environment (making noises)
impulse control

Prerequisites & Supplies

Prerequisites:
Eager closed-mouth nose touch on the palm of your hand -- ideally on other objects held in hand and away from handler such as a nose touch to a door.
It will speed your progress if your dog can already be sent around an object at least 3 feet away from you on verbal cue and/or hand or arm signal.
Basic recall at 20 feet (in the house or yard)
It helps if your dog can 'wait' and 'back up' but not mandatory

Materials:

-at least 16 (ideally up to 25) freestanding objects 8 inches or taller (traffic or kids soccer cones, boxes, chairs, plant pots, buckets, plastic milk jugs, etc.) ideally all similar size and shape, but can mix and match as needed.
-deck of playing cards
-carpeted flooring, large floor mat or rubber-backed mats for slick floors to prevent slipping during running corners
-large thick towel
-large plastic child's toy car
-two smallish boxes, pots or bowls the same size (size depends on your throwing accuracy -- the poorer your aim, the larger the container)

-cardboard box, tunnel or child's play house large enough for your dog to comfortably run through
-green painter's tape
-medium ball (6-12 inch diameter for medium dog, smaller for small dog, bigger for big dog). Check garage sales and second hand stores. A beach ball is too light (unes you have a fearful dog then we use this to start with). A small basketball is ideal for a medium-sized dog.
-at least 6 objects that are too large for your dog to chew that can be knocked over (kids plastic bowling pins, plastic piggy banks, small vertical boxes, plastic plant pots, 2 quart pop bottles, freestanding dog toys like Kongs etc)
-for fearful dogs:-a variety of different objects that can be knocked over, from light ones to noisy ones
-different floor surfaces (from carpet to wood) and a sheet of metal
-clicker (optional) -can use verbal marker too
-many soft small training treats per training sessions suitable for indoor (low level) distractions (real meat or cheese, or for highly food-motivated dogs Cheerios.)

-toys (tug, balls, soft toys to toss)
-treat pouch

Sample Lecture

Cone Games Level 1: A Cone and a Chair

Here is a game that helps your dog generalize the arounds and uses more brainpower!

Use a low-backed kitchen chair and a cone (or the same object you’ve trained to date). Make sure that you have placed the mats under and around the chair and object to prevent slipping.

Start by training the dog to go around you sitting in the chair. You can lure it to start or shape it in the same way you did before. Or if your dog already knows this from heelwork, use your hand signal.

Now, with the dog starting beside you and the cone about a yard (1 m) away from you, send the dog around the cone and move to your other side.

Repeat a few times to see if the dog can do it. When the dog is successful 4/5 times, start with the dog beside the chair, send the dog around the cone and as she is coming around to the other side, cue her with your hand to come around behind the chair.

Teach the reverse direction as well.

As she is successful, add more distance between the chair and the cone. Make sure there is enough room behind the cone so the dog can get between the cone and the wall or other furniture in the room.

Start by marking and reinforcing each of the behaviours, then start adding them together. Cue 2 behaviours in a row then 1, then 3, then 2 etc. This is the beginning of putting longer chains of behaviour together.

Optional Behaviors to Teach:

A. Teach your dog to weave around your legs while standing.

Now generalize the weave to under your knees while you are sitting on a chair (remove the object).

Practice standing near chair at first, then sit down and practice. It helps to allow extra room between your legs and the chair at first especially if the dog is uncomfortable with having you in her space. If she is, take it slow and practice this step separately until she is more comfortable.

Do several of them together to practice making them flow smoothly.

Start back with the object at the 1m (3 feet) distance and add the leg weave with going around the object.

Then add around the chair into the mix.

Add distance as a separate step.

B. Teach your dog to go under your legs and lie down.

Use the same chair to practice.

Start back with the cone at the 1m (3 feet) distance and combine around the cone with going under your legs.

Practice all the behaviours while using just the chair to work on moving fluidly between moves.

Now add the cone back into the mix at a short distance.

Add distance incrementally as you did before when you were practicing the basic around.

Here when Lucy hesitates to do the distance, I recall her to try again. This appears to give her confidence as she speeds up as she runs towards the stool.

Combine the Behaviors

While sitting in the chair, use your hands with verbal directional cues to guide your dog in a figure 8 around the chair and the cone and mix in the leg weave and under behaviours. Train the other direction as well. Once you have added some distance and the other behaviours, you have a fun game, but unpredictable, of 'follow the directions’.

To make it even more challenging, use only your verbal cues for the behaviours. This means you must practice only the verbal cue for each of the behaviours individually before combining each into the chain. (See below on how to switch from arm to verbal)

Add other behaviours into the mix: like going in a large circle around the chair. Use a footstool and cue the dog to jump up on the stool and lay down, etc.

Add more than one object to go around. When you do this, it will be easier to start with both close to you but a space between them so your body orientation helps the dog know which to choose. Train sending the dog to one object for a session, then the other object for a session, before combining them in the same session. Wait to add the other behaviours back in until after the dog can do the two objects first. This helps them to focus on learning the new skill before adding more difficulty.

Instructor

Donna Hill

Faculty

Donna Hill (she/her) has had a life long love affair with dogs and a fascination with dog behavior. She has broad practical experience in the dog world: volunteering and working in kennels and shelters, dog sitting and walking, fostering rescue dogs, teaching behavior modification privately, and...

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FE410 Stir Crazy - Games for Small Spaces & Indoors

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