When Pigs Fly!

[BullyLady]

Ack! I LOVE Vanya!! Beautiful shape, awesome markings, I am in love!

[maberi]

Ha, great video. Vanya is one good looking dog (love the markings). Was there any reason you choose to have Vanya come back to you for the rewards? This was a LOOOONGGG discussion on the clicker forum, that is the only reason I ask

Our copy of When Pigs Fly came today. What fun! Just as I started searching for that definition of "biddable", the FedEx truck came down the driveway, hours early. Vanya was snoozing on the back deck in the sun, and decided it was his turn to illustrate what When Pigs Fly is all about. He adores vans, new people, open car doors...so when the FedEx driver opened up her door, Vanya leapt in (ignoring my recall command, of course) and tried to smother her with kisses, in between checking out her van for hidden treats. Luckily, she likes dogs and Vanya decided she's even cuter than his plush dog.

Here's a clip of Vanya playing the shaping game. I'm lazy, so I usually lure, but I felt guilty enough reading the first chapters that I decided to get out a wooden box and shape some interactions with the box:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhZwq1zYAds&feature=player_embedded

Thanks for the recommendation for this book. It looks great.

[tiva]

Ack! I LOVE Vanya!! Beautiful shape, awesome markings, I am in love!

Thanks! Sometimes I tell him it's a good thing he's so cute, because otherwise....

Ha, great video. Vanya is one good looking dog (love the markings). Was there any reason you choose to have Vanya come back to you for the rewards? This was a LOOOONGGG discussion on the clicker forum, that is the only reason I ask

Was there any reason you choose to have Vanya come back to you for the rewards? This was a LOOOONGGG discussion on the clicker forum, that is the only reason I ask

I'm afraid I didn't read that discussion over on clicker solutions, to be honest, since I'm not aiming for accuracy in dog sports. Most of the time, I toss treats into the grass, in part because Vanya loves to search them out. If we're working on foundation behaviors (sit, down, watch, heel, etc), then I do treat in the position I want him to be in. But much of the time, I'm aiming for a moment of calmness in the ocean of excitement that is Vanya's life (ie, the off-switch game from CU), and tossing treats re-starts the excitement and re-sets the fun. For shaping box behaviors, getting him to come to me is a way of shaping the action of getting up on the box. If I had wanted to focus on shaping a different behavior that started from sitting on the box, I might have treated in position.