A snippet from our session of adding the “Station” cue: just say it right before your dog is about to go back to the mat to create an association between the new cue and the behavior!
Links to all posts in the CU mat-work walk-through:
In the session following the last video in my part 3 post, Puzzle started sitting down on the mat. With the help of strategic treat placement, I got her to lie down. At this point, I stopped clicking, too – I just calmly delivered treats in order to increase her relaxation. I sat down next to the mat, and slowed down my movement. No video because the camera angle was off.
In the next session after, Puzzle was ready for the next step: Down for the Count! The Down for the Count game is Leslie McDevitt’s way of building duration on the mat. Count to one – feed a treat (place it in a spot that encourages a relaxed body position!). Count to two – place a treat on the mat. Count to three – place a treat, and so on. If the dog gets up, gets fidgety, or breaks their position, lower criteria by decreasing the duration. Depending on the dog’s behavior, I might start over with one – treat, or just go back by a number or two.
At this point, the only behaviors that are reinforceable on the mat are relaxed ones: taking a breath is okay; calmly looking around is okay; eye contact is also okay – but we don’t want the dog to be in working mode.
Puzzle here is doing really well in her counting session. She shifts positions now and then, but not because she’s restless – she’s simply figuring out how to best combine resting/relaxing and eating treats.
I tried singing the numbers like a lullaby, letting them bleed into each other. I’ve seen Julie Daniels do this, and really love the way it sets the matwork mood of relaxation for both dog and handler.
At this point, I can kneel in front of the puppy: she doesn’t interpret my posture as threatening anymore. She trusts me! Look how fast she lies down! She is an ambidexturous curler-upper: she can curl to the left and to the right. I’ve seen her curl to her left a bit more often than to the right, so that’s the direction I’m aiming for when helping her lie back down after she got up. Strategic treat placement for the win! Sadly, my camera stopped recording after the first minute.
Another counting video – this time, the camera did its job, and you get to see me count from 1 to 10, CU-style. Puzzle is turning into an expert mat relaxer! This is the first time I sneak her “Station” cue in as well.
Links to all posts in the CU mat-work walk-through:
Now that I’ve built confidence around my presence and movement, and Puzzle is drawn to the mat, we’re ready for some actual CU-style treat dropping: I am wandering around the mat, clicking for being on the mat and for sniffing for treats, and dropping treats all over the mat while she’s busy eating. We continue building the association mat equals treats (rather than handler equals treats).
As a side-effect, Puzzle gets introduced to her second marker cue: the clicker.
A snippet from her fifth mat session (Day 2), showing that she has become magnetized to the mat:
A snippet from session #6 (Day 2), showing both attraction to the mat, CU-style treat delivery, and how she learns about her release cue – another useful word she is learning on the go in the context of mat work!
In session #7, Puzzle and I talk some more about release cues, and the fact that the mat goes offline when there’s no puppy on it. Backing up off of the mat works, too! Watch until the end for the cutest part:
Links to all posts in the CU mat-work walk-through:
Puzzle kindly agreed to assist me in teaching CU-style matwork from scratch. This is how we started out on our first evening together. This session was filmed just an hour or so after Puzzle temporarily moved in with me. She’s still new to the apartment, new to me, and new to the mat. Rather than doing any actual CU matwork here, we are working on feeling comfortable. Notice how my body language impacts her!
Day 2
Second session – first session of Puzzle’s second day. I’m still not standing near the mat, but sitting in the way that helped Puzzle be comfortable earlier. I am being mindful of what I’m communicating with my body language – I don’t want her to startle. She starts out more comfortable, and is starting to become magnetized to the mat: it’s hard to lure her off!
Our third session! I’m being more mindful of dropping treats CU-style: they show up at random spots all around Puzzle. I want her to believe that the treats are coming from the mat rather than from me. This is one of the elements that distinguishes CU matwork from other protocols: we do NOT want handler focus. It’s about the mat, not about the human. You’ll also see me drop a treat off the mat after the click in the middle of the session. Will Puzzle go back to the mat to reactivate it?
Day 2 was all about matwork. Mat work is a low-energy, relaxing activity. It’s hard to overdo it! So Puzzle ate most of her daily meals on the mat that day, and made some lovely progress! At the same time that she is learning about mats and about the fact that I am safe, she is also learning the meaning of her first marker cue, the tongue click: food is about to appear!
Links to all posts in the CU mat-work walk-through:
My neighbors have a litter of puppies: two brindle ones, three brown ones, all of them cute. I’ve watched them grow up, and slowly follow their mom out into the callejones of our neighborhood. They are eight weeks old now, and while they are looking for homes, my neighbors are letting one of them stay with me for a week.
Old enough to venture out into the world! They live behind the red gate.This is their mom. A little Schnauzer mix, two ducks, and a cat are also part of their family.
I’m working towards my CU instructor certification. Puzzle is going to assist me by means of learning matwork CU style. And perhaps Superbowls to help her get over her fear of the vacuum? We’ll see how things go.
Of course, I’ll also take her places while she stays with me. Socialization experiences are incredibly important at this age.
If you liked the Brindle Girl series – I’ll be doing something along the same lines with my little pandemic companion, Puzzle.
Why Puzzle? Well, she didn’t have a name yet, and on the first evening, she fell asleep in this box:
Puzzle! There may be another wave of Covid raging outside – but we’ve got it nice and cozy at home.Life could be worse!It just gives me a boost of feel-good hormones to look at a snuggly sleepy puppy!
