Posts Tagged ‘clicker training
Birthday Boy Turns 24
Nitro in 2000
Niatross aka Nitro is turning 24 on Sunday. Nitro is my retired Dressage horse whom I’ve had since I was 14 years old (thats 12 years for anyone counting). Nitro was probably my first real experience working with a troubled horse, and how I wish I had discovered clicker training when he first came to live with me.
For 12 years of his life Nitro lived at the same farm where he was bred. Family raised, in what I assume to be a loving home (I have talked to his previous owner/breeder before). After learning the basics Nitro spend the majority of his life in a pasture, shielded from the World, mostly because his owners were afraid of him. See Nitro was supposed to be a pony, or maybe a small horse. His mom was a small pony (Connemara/Welsh) and his dad was a Thoroughbred. Nitro must have inherited his dad’s lanky legs, because he stands 16.3 hands tall. His size can be intimidating.
Nitro in 2001
Anyway at the age of 12 Nitro was sent to a dealer to be sold, where I happened to find him. I had spent nearly a year looking for a Dressage horse, and when I saw Nitro I knew he was something different. I was told he had Evented, and been “around the block” – a safe horse to buy a 14 year old who had outgrown their childhood pony. He was quiet, and was big enough to take up my long legs. After vetting him I brought him home on trial.
I knew enough to always have my possibly purchases vetted and brought home on trial. After childhood experiences of nearly buying blind ponies, ponies with positive coggins, and a horse that flipped over when girthed…..I knew its ALWAYS better safe than sorry. Only in this case, I didn’t expect to be lied to…..or to take a horse on trial with a 30 day tranquilizer on him.
Nitro in 2002
Live and learn, and never buy a horse from a dealer you don’t know. Needless to say after purchasing him my mom and I were finally able to track down his original owner, who told us he went to one show – and had a panic attack so they took him home. Fantastic. And after 30 days I was left with an explosive horse that had no ground manners, and couldn’t even leave the property without having a freakout. Not to mention he was deathly afraid of the cows that lived down the street and had panic attacks when in a “warm-up” ring situation.
Nitro in 2003
I later learned as a yearling he was viciously attacked by a group of geldings that had gotten into his field – the mark on his neck is the reminder he will always live with. This traumatizing event accounted for the fear of “group” riding. The cows – I have no idea what happened there. And his breakdowns when leaving home was due to his lack of experience in ANYTHING. All he knew was his safe pasture where he was born.
All I wanted was a nice horse to take me through the ranks of USPC in Dressage. Instead Luckily I got Nitro. Many trainers labeled him dangerous, and other pony club parents wondered what a 14 year old was doing with a horse like him. My mom feared I would get hurt, and asked me to consider finding him another home on numerous occasions. But I couldn’t sell him, I knew I could help him.
Nitro's first trick - discovered when he accidently sampled cat food
I spend YEARS helping him overcome his fears and gain confidence. I am proud to say by the time he retired he was a functioning member of horse society. No more nervous breakdowns in group settings, no more kicking fences out of fear and frustration, no more plowing me over just because he could. Nitro still has his quirks. He never COMPLETELY got over his cow fear (although he could now walk past them without panicking) and he still preferred not to be too close to strange horses he didn’t know (no pair class for us) and if put in the wrong situation, he’d probably still plow me over to get to a safe area. But the difference is I can trust him now, and he trusts me to make sure he is safe.
Nitro was never that perfect Dressage horse that won me first place ribbons and every kid wanted to borrow. He was a challenge, and its because of him that I am a better rider and a better trainer. I had to work every single second I was with him. I’m happy that he was able to find a home with me, its horses like him that end up in homes that don’t understand them and ultimately end up even more battered and bruised than they started out.
Nitro is one of those special horses that comes along to show you the way. Thank you Nitro for 12 years of excitement! Happy Birthday Pal!
Nitro 2004
Nitro 2005 Super Hero Pas De Deux - highest score of the day
Nitro 2006 Pas De Deux
2006 - Nitro passing a C-2 rating - one of our BIGGEST challenges
2008 Nitro and his mare, Jet
2009 Nitro at IHF
2010 Nitro with his "cushings disease" winter coat
Ammo competes in Earthdog
Ammo driving us to Earthdog
If you follow along on Ammo’s facebook page, then you know that I have been working him up to compete in his very first Earthdog competition for the past few weeks. If you are unfamiliar with Earthdog, this is what wikipedia describes it as:
An earthdog trial tests the working ability and instinct of the small, short legged terriers (and dachshunds). These dogs were bred to hunt vermin and other quarry which lived in underground dens. Earthdog den trials involve man-made underground tunnels that the dogs must negotiate, while scenting a rat, the “quarry.” The dog must follow the scent to the quarry and then “work” the quarry. Depending on the sanctioning organization, “working” means barking, scratching, pawing, digging; any active behavior. The quarry is protected at all times by wooden bars across the end of the tunnel. The hunting encounter is controlled, and neither dog nor the quarry, usually two rats, are in any danger.
I decided to take Ammo to an Earthdog competition after I found a link to it on the AKC website. Ammo is decidedly the hunter around our farm, I think the barn cat trained him, but she’s now happy to sit back and relax as Ammo patrols the farm. He brings me something stinky (whether dead or alive) almost everytime we are there. I once watched him go down a groundhog burrow and bring me back a dead groundhog when he was about 6 months old, it was about 4x’s his size. So needless to say I had reason to believe Ammo would excel at this type of sport.
So I watched a few videos online about what I thought might occur, and set out to clicker train Ammo to enter a tunnel. Here are two videos of some of our practice sessions.
As you can see he was a bit hesitant at first, but with a little coaxing would proceed through the tunnels. I wish I had had a few more weeks to work with him, because we didn’t quite have enough time to work up to a tunnel with a turn in it – the hardest part.
Anyway, on Sunday we packed up early (5am to be exact) and drove an hour and a half to the site of a small farm in the middle of amish country. We arrived to find the parking lot filled terriers; carin terriers, jack russell terriers, west highland terriers, and so on – not a Dachshund in site. Ammo was the one and only Dachshund.
As we listened to our first briefing it became evident that we were the only people (and dog) completely new to the sport. But everyone was nice, and was more than happy to give us pointers and tell us exactly what to do. Here’s a few tips I learned for anyone thinking of trying Earthdog:
1. Never step on the scent trail! You don’t want to spread the smell around and confuse your dog.
2. You can take as much time as you want to first release your dog onto the scent. So the best thing to do would be to hold onto your dog until you are sure his nose has caught the scent and he really wants to go for the rats. For roof rat control collierville, Tennessee rodent trapper Richard Hodges says his company Patriot Wildlife Control catches over 500 rats a month. Roof rats in the attic are known to gnaw and destroy wires, insulation and stored items in the attic. Roof rats can climb and gnaw through almost anything.
3. In the Junior level and up you may not speak to your dog aside from giving him an initial command like “go get ’em”
4. You must never touch your dog until it is over.
So that being said, onto how Ammo did! We first entered him into the Intro to Quarry division. This is basically for beginner dogs or dogs who need more practice. Its a short tunnel with one turn in it. I walked Ammo into the fenced off area and removed his collar (dogs must be naked to prevent them getting hung up in the tunnel) and waited for his nose to reach the rat scent before I released him. He quickly caught onto the scent but was unsure about what to do about it. Eventually I was given permission to walk up to the tunnel to try to coax him in verbally. I did get him to enter the tunnel, but I think when he reached the bend he got scared and shimmied back. This went on for several minutes with him entering and coming back out before it was evident he just wasn’t going to do it. Here’s the video:
Being optimistic I entered Ammo in the Junior division beforehand. In Junior (and on up through Senior and then Master) you can earn titles. You are only ever competing against yourself in Earthdog, and if your dog passes the time constraints for each level (by two different judges on separate occasions) you may earn a title. For example I think in the Junior division the dog had to reach the rats in under 10 seconds and work the rats for at least 30 seconds. (I think this is correct, but I may be remembering it wrong). So seeing as how Ammo didn’t even conquer Intro to Quarry, I knew he wouldn’t complete the tunnel phase in Junior, but we knew it would be good practice for him. The Junior tunnel was much longer and had more turns, not to mention it was a lot darker inside. Ammo approached the den opening and was about to maybe enter when he spotted the judge. Protective mode kicked in and all he could do was bark at the poor guy. Seeing as how his concentration was obviously broken, the judge invited us over to see if Ammo would at least work the rats. As you can see from the video below, Ammo’s natural instinct to get the rats kicked in and he barked, whined, and scratched at the opening where the rats were.
The judge then said we could put him back at the opening to see if he would put two and two together and enter through the tunnel to get the rats. Ammo was too smart and decided to take a shortcut to get to the rats instead.
So even though Ammo didn’t set any records, he did show potential to be an EARTHDOG. I was proud of him, and glad to see that he tried. I read on Vents Magazine an article about CBD products for my dog to help him feel better. I think with a few more sessions in Intro to Quarry he’ll be flying through the tunnel and working the rats in no time.
exhausted after a long day
Ammo the Dachshund Artist
Ammo and his first in the "Dachshund Series"
Occasionally on the Trick Ponies Blog I will mention my dachshund, Ammo. Ammo is like my adopted son. He is with me ALL the time. He comes to work with me, comes to the farm, runs errands with me, and basically just never leaves my side. Ammo is one of those dogs that has so much personality that you mistakenly think of them as human. Since the day he came to live with me in November of 2008 I had a dream for him (just like any loving mom that has aspirations for their kid).
I dreamed of the day that Ammo would sit beside the Trick Ponies, paintbrush in mouth, and paint WITH them. Since April I have been steadily working towards this goal with him. Teaching him to hold the brush, teaching him to target the paper, even taking him to training classes to get him more in tune to my training methods. Ammo is getting closer and closer to the goal, but I have yet to add paint into his shenanigans – mostly because I know it will result in a HUGE mess.
"Blue Dachshund No1" by Ammo
So in the meantime I was dreaming up a way to involve Ammo in the creation of artwork that was a little bit “cleaner”. I was looking for something we could do together while at work, that didn’t involve me on my hands and knees scrubbing paint out of the carpet. Enter scratch art.
This month Ammo created his very first scratch art pieces after I painstakingly cut out dachshund shapes from carbon paper for him. Honestly I think they are so cool! I’m totally going to hang a few of these in my house. The best part about them is that each one is different.
Ammo’s Scratch Art is available for purchase on the Painting Pony Shop, and with each one we sell we will be donating $1 to the Main Line Animal Rescue.
May Paintings
On May 3rd the boys and I were able to paint again. Most of the new paintings created in April sold already, so it was due time to create some new works. I was even able to help Boomerang create two of his first paintings available on canvas. They turned out beautiful! Check out the new paintings below.
"Misty Dreams over Chincoteague by Chincoteague Minnow
"Spring Roundup" by Chesapeake Boomerang
"Waves of the Eastern Shore" by Chesapeake Lightning
"The Littlest Chincoteague" by Chesapeake Boomerang
So what do you think? Do you have a favorite? I think my favorite might have to be “Misty Dreams”, but I do love them all!
As always, don’t forget that we donate 10% of all canvas sales to the Chincoteague Pony Association to help care for the wild ponies on Assateague Island. Many don’t realize, but the volunteer fire department cares for the wild ponies all year round. Dropping hay on the island in the winter, giving inoculations and vet checks in the spring, and just generally making sure the Chincoteague Pony population survives on the island. Painting Pony is proud to support their efforts.
Mid-Atlantic #1 with Boomerang
This week has been crazy busy, so I’m just now finally getting around to posting about what has been going on. Last weekend I traveled to Upper Marlboro, Maryland (and the Prince George Equestrian Center) with Boomerang, the Dachshund, and my husband. The purpose, to take Boomer to his very first mounted games competition in the Masters division. I spent two days competing and camping with my little crew.
What I love about Boomer is his ability to adapt to almost anything. After 3 plus hours of travel Boomer walked off the trailer in pitch black darkness in a strange place. He glanced around, took a deep breath and looked at me like “ok, whats next”? No calling for his friends, no worrying, just a calm relaxed pony.
I pretty much knew that’s how Boomer would be, he’s been like that since he came to live with me in the Summer of 2008 (probably attributable to his great upbringing at 1000 Welcomes Farm in NC). What I wasn’t sure about was how he’d be competing in the Masters Division. For the past 2 years I’ve been training him for this, working on control and the races, and eventually working up to more speed. In my equine sport, this is rare. If you can equate mounted games with anything, its horse racing. Fast, Fast, Fast, all the time. Ponies are thrust into competition and taught to go, go, go. As a result I’ve seen many ponies have meltdowns. Refusing to cross the start line, exploding with aggression during competition. I didn’t want to train Boomer this way. I wanted him to LOVE mounted games as much as I do.
Naturally I’m a more cautious rider, I prefer to have a pony that I KNOW will stop when I want him to, but is also willing to GO FAST when I want him to. I knew what would happen if I just threw Boomer into top-level competition too soon. I’d be faced with a pony that fed off the adrenaline of the other ponies, jumping and rearing on the start, then flying out of control through the races. Boomer needed to learn self-control first. So instead of rushing him, I spent 2 years training him with clicker training. I taught him an amazing stop (in a bitless bridle I might add), I taught him to move off my leg, I taught him to balance his body better (he could barely walk down a hill without tripping over his 5 year old body when I got him), and I taught him to spin properly with the power coming from his hind end (not such an easy task when you have a pony that’s naturally on their forehand) among many other things.
So this was it, my two years of work with him culminating to this moment. As I stood on the start line with him I could feel Boomer’s excitement rising. He felt the energy of the other ponies, riders, and me. No matter how hard I tried to make myself relax, Boomer could still feel my excitement. I could think calm all I wanted, but my body language still said “its racing time”!
Boomer let out a few initial low rears on the start, which is certainly understandable for this newly turned 7 year old – its the nature of the beast. But what I didn’t expect was his off like lightning speed, after spending 5 years as a hunter show pony he was still overcoming his need to keep a steady rhythmic pace. So with the excitement of the day his desire to run kicked in, he kept up with his much speedier competition yet still had himself under control. His halts were amazing as he slowed just to my voice commands for the most part. Boomer even had himself rocked back onto his hind end for our spins. My teammates commented on how they loved how Boomer used his back end to propel himself into the turns and how light he was on his front end. My Boomer? This is not something I ever equated him with. After 2 years I was still struggling to get him to rock back around a tight spin, but somehow this day it all clicked for him.
I was extremely pleased with Boomerang’s performance over the weekend. We had a few issues with him scooting away during hand-offs (because he was scared), but that is certainly understandable since I haven’t had anyone to ride or practice with in nearly 6 months. Luckily one of my teammates was able to help me work on handoffs a little as I clicked Boomer for keeping his feet stationary and not shying away. We will definitely have to work on this more in the coming months.
Boomer was as magnificent as I pictured him to be. Slowly we are forming a relationship and an understanding of each other. – something I have been longing for since I had to retire my one true horse love, Minnow. Nothing will ever compare to the connection that Minnow and I share, but I hope to one day come close with Boomerang. I’m very much looking forward to this mounted games season, and excited to see how much more Boomer will progress. This is only the beginning.
