This is the second post inspired by the recent Tracy Sklenar seminar in Dunedin. I had a working spot in the Novice dog session and this was the first exercise that she had us do.
Tracy talked about two different kinds of agility dogs. “Cold porridge” dogs are distracted or disinterested in agility, and lack focus on their handler. “Hot porridge” dogs are too hyped up, and may struggle with self-control or be focused excessively on the obstacles rather than their handler.
The ideal agility dog is warm, Goldilocks porridge. She’s focused on her handler and quick to respond to cues. She’s got her brain fully engaged so that she can give the right responses to those cues. She can resist the temptation to charge around, making up her own course as she goes.
I’ve had four dogs, and have progressed from slightly cold porridge (Funzie) to reliably perfect porridge (Toad) to thermonuclear porridge (Spring). My current dog, Rik, started out a bit cold, but has been gradually warming up and is now way too hot.
Perfecting the porridge
Tracy’s approach to the cold-porridge dogs and the hot-porridge dogs was the same: teach them at least five non-agility tricks, and get them to perform these as their porridge cools or heats to the right level. You’ll know the porridge is perfect when you can put away the treats or toy, and get five happy responses from your dog without losing engagement.
For a cold-porridge dog, these need to be tricks that the dog finds fun and easy. It gives them a chance to get lots of things right – and earn lots of rewards – in a short space of time. More active tricks (like spinning and backing up) increase the activity level and help with their enthusiasm.
For a hot-porridge dog, the tricks help to get the focus onto the handler rather than the agility. You may want to include a couple of static tricks, like bowing or sitting up. These tricks have an element of duration to them, which lets a busy dog practise small bursts of self-control.
My two hot-porridge dogs have both struggled with giving the right response to each cue. They prefer to do a trick at random, and if that isn’t rewarded they move on to what I call the Circus Dog Act, performing all of the tricks they know in rapid succession, and sometimes simultaneously! Using at least five different tricks means that these dogs have to rely on listening rather than guesswork to earn their rewards. If you do get the Circus Dog Act, don’t reinforce it. The best reactions are to either turn your back on the dog, or just wait for her to calm down and stop moving before you repeat the cue.
Putting it into practice
Rik struggled a bit to do her tricks at first, as it interfered with her desire to watch all the other dogs do their tricks. Once she got into the swing of it she was happy to trade tricks for tugs, although she tended to rush through low-quality performances as quickly as she could. Once the porridge had reached the right temperature, it was time to put it to the test – hide the tug toy and see whether I could hold her attention for five tricks.
I was a bit worried about losing her focus to the other dogs, so I got Rik way too hyped up the first two times I tried this. I felt like I had to use movement to keep her engagement up, and the result was a collection of tooth marks on my arm. Tracy politely pointed out what a stupid idea this was for a hot-porridge dog and we tried again.
The third time, I just used verbal praise and gentle stroking to reinforce Rik for her tricks. Despite my fears, she was happy to stay engaged with me. I was actually quite surprised to see that her porridge had reached the ideal temperature! She was laser-focused on me and quick to respond to cues, but also able to stay calm and wait patiently in between cues, instead of being constantly on the go. This was not the dog that I usually see at agility shows!
I’ve been experimenting with the tricks at our recent agility shows. Rik really likes to watch other dogs running, a bad habit that I have put into the too hard basket. I’ve discovered that while she’s not happy to turn her back on the agility, she will perform some of her more active tricks (like spins) while she’s watching. I can use these to gradually get her focus onto me and away from the action, which will hopefully help me to take a calmer partner into the agility ring.