August 13, 2023

Activity level: calm

We started our day off with 45 minutes at Fresa Parque. It’s nice how quiet it is at 7:30 on Sunday! Then our friend Dina joined the party and Chai and her got to run lots together.

Chai is now contently sleeping on the couch. This was a perfect start for the day! Game and her also found a bunch of stuff to scavenge on, including a bag of mysterious salsa.

Home alone

Game and I went trigger hunting, ran errands and park-officed for two hours while Chai stayed home. Really glad I made time for leaving her home alone – I need to make sure I keep up with Chai staying back and Game heading out with me as Chai is pretty much able to do as much as any adult dog, but still at an age where repetition is crucial for her to not develop FOMO.

Park-officing at Parque Morelos!

Now that we’re back, Chai is chewing on the Nylabonbe I got her yesterday. Based on her chew choices, I suspected she would like the hard rubber. And I was right! She is the first dog I’ve ever had who is into Nylabones! She looks blissed out chewing on it on the couch while Game couldn’t care less.

Solo adventure

In the late afternoon, Chai and I went out for about 20 minutes. We walked to the Toy Play Plaza on her back clip harness. I let her run around for a few minutes and, since there seemed to be a Squirrel Party going on, used her formal recall cue “Schnee,” marked with “Birds!” and ran with Chai to point out a squirrel. She had a blast! It was an easy recall with a big “IT’S A SQUIRREL!” reinforcer.

I then quickly set up for distraction recalls at the barrier stage with liver in container #1, location #2, reinforcing both with liver from my hand and the liver from the container. Today, Chai started towards the container while still chewing on the treat from my hand. She already knows she’ll get the distraction, and she is waiting for me to open her containers! I love it! I’ve been hiding my camera behind trees or bushes so it doesn’t become too much of a set-up cue. However, I suspect Chai still knows when things are set-ups. She’s just too damn smart to trick.

We walked back home in collar mode, making it between 5 and 20 steps between treats (20 only once: calm days are hard! That’s why we’ll make sure to keep at them!) Collar mode walking treats is how the Border Collie earns her keep on calm days that don’t have a lot of shaping in them!

House training …

August 14, 2023

Activity level: average

The AM

We spent 30 minutes at Fresa Parque. Chai played with the black whippety dog and a few others. When she plays with this dog, it becomes really clear that she isn’t the fastest Border Collie on the block! That little black one runs circles around her! She’s not slow and her movement pattern looks great, but she isn’t the fastest Border Collie I’ve seen. 4-months old Maki is already as fast as Chai. (You won’t see little Maki in pics and videos anymore because she moved back to the farm she was born on yesterday. She had made it clear that she NEEDED to have herding in her life. Viri and Esteban listened to her needs. It was a good and brave decision – a hard one, but the best decision for all of them. I am sorry, Esteban and Viri. It takes strength to do what’s best for our dogs, and you did!)

After today’s stint at the park, neither one of my dogs was “played out.” So they continued wrestling on the couch while I worked. Now, after playing and shaping, they are both soundly asleep!

Shaping!

We played two-toy fetch with two 10-peso coins and then shaped one object in another with both a clicker and a coin in the water bowl. Chai ROCKED it! You go girl! I love how toy skills and shaping are coming together to make this trick happen!

Solo adventure

We walked to the Dead Poultry Park. While Chai ran around chasing ardillas, I stealthily set up container #1 in its third location, with liver in it, for our barrier recall. I didn’t record this time because I didn’t have my phone with me. Unlike most previous reps, Chai and I had to stroll past the distraction area multiple times before she noticed it. As I suspected, the tripod is a cue to look for and then recall from a distraction! Going forwards, each container will have at least one rep I don’t film – just to be sure Chai generalizes the behavior when there isn’t a tripod. In any case: she was being a superstar!

She also found puke in the tall grass and ate a lot of it. We’ll see what her stomach thinks of that. She then played for quite a quite a while with a 10-months old German Shepherd, an adult mix and a Boxer. She mistook a Chihuahua for a squirrel – but only for a moment. Clearly, we need more Chihuahuas in our life! If you’re in Mexico City and have one who’d like to befriend a Border Collie, reach out to me!

On the way home, we walked in collar mode between 5 and 30 steps (we managed 30 several times – Chai was tired and a superstar about walking next to me)!

Back home …

I decided against shaping today: it means I won’t video, which means I’ll save myself video editing time. I am slowly but certainly getting sick of editing, but am still committed to this project of documenting every day in Chai’s training life. And there are SO many videos I still need to catch up on editing from the last couple months! Every new one adds to the pile. I am now at a point where most days, I edit more than I add or manage to break even. Slowly but certainly, the backlog is shrinking!

Instead of shaping, Chai rested back home, wrestled with Game and then ate the last remaining pieces of the Nylabone I had gotten her yesterday. (No, it is – supposedly – not edible, but according to Chai most delicious.)

Home alone

Chai stayed home alone when Game and I walked to a pet supply store to pick up a few things – among them a Nylabone-replacement for Chai. It’s an off-brand chew, but Chai approves – and so far, it seems a lot sturdier than the original Nylabone!

Hours later, that toy has been played with and chewed on and is still intact!

Another reinforcer test

I also did a reinforcer test today. A few days ago, Chai found a pile of irresistible fish treats at the park – so I got fish treats (at a RIDICULOUS prize). I thought they might make another single-protein option if Chai’s stomach agreed with them. After all, she seemed CRA-ZY about the ones she scavenged. Well, pitted against dried beef liver (which we already established is the same value as cooked chicken), the fish clearly lost!

I wonder what the fish treats at the park had that the ones I got don’t have. They looked the same and I got them at a store close to the park to maximize our chances that they actually were the same brand. Maybe the ones she found just sat in a puddle of lukewarm rainwater for a while and went deliciously bad while the ones I got were still boringly safe for consumption?

House training

Just gotta keep it up two more days and I’ll get the next brownie!

August 15, 2023

Activity level: average

The AM

We started the day with 45 minutes of being dogs at Fresa Parque where Chai got to play with a park friend.

Game did NOT beat up a Whippet who didn’t see her and accidentally crashed into her at full speed. She was going to and I immediately interrupted her. I don’t think she would have stopped before having told the Whippet that this behavior was inacceptable in the past. I have Pat Stuart to thank for this! Thank you!

Left: Chai and two of her park friends. Right: Game being a good girl who stays out of the commotion.

Home alone

Both dogs stayed home for a little under two hours while I worked with Scarlett and Panucho, a Golden who is taking his first steps towards being a social butterfly (rather than a grumbly grouch). He did fantastic and so did our helper Pau!

Panucho: breaking hearts with extreme cuteness since 2021!

Solo adventure

Chai and I walked to Kiba’s Park. I let her run and sniff and did a barrier recall with container #2 in location #1, reinforcing with liver from my hand and from the container. Like yesterday, I casually placed my distraction and then came across it; no tripods giving its presence away. Chai was being a superstar!

We saw Nicole, a kid who is crazy about dogs, knows all the dogs at the park and LOVES Border Collies. Chai has learned to stay just out of their reach since Nicole likes calling and picking up “their dog friends.” Chai has figured out how to dodge that bullet by now, doing casual drive-by-s but staying just out of Nicole’s reach. It soon started raining … time to head home after a shorter-than-expected adventure. Chai wasn’t done running yet and needed a high rate of leash-walking reinforcement.

Shaping

Over the course of the day, we had 3 four-in sessions and I did one session practicing my timing and mechanics without a dog. We’re down to (struggling with) my smallest bowl already! I’m proud of my girl.

House training

One more check mark tomorrow!

August 16, 2023

Activity level: average

The AM

We spent half an hour at Fresa Parque. Chai had lots of fun playing with Doodle puppy Pipa and her friend Dina. Game got brushed and had fun greeting Dina and two of her human friends. We’re now at a point where Chai gets really excited to see Dina while Game gets really excited to see Dina’s human Daniel, who may already be regretting that he told me Game was welcome to Malinois-hug him anytime.

Chai also found a most delicious dead squirrel (nice and smelly after probably having been dead for a few days) and had some of it before I threw it out. We’ll see what her stomach thinks of that input tomorrow!

Home alone

Both dogs stayed home alone while I ran errands.

Noon and beyond

Around noon, the three of us walked to the Toy Play Plaza. Game and Chai had a blast trying to run up vertical palm trees after squirrels while I worked. We then did barrier recall with liver in container #2 in its second location. I tried setting up as casually as possible: first the tripod, then walk away, then walk past it, then place container #2 while Chai wasn’t watching. Of course she turned and saw it, moved towards it … and did a beautiful formal recall. I had planned to walk some more before encountering it, but this worked too. It was lovely to see the recall work just as well in Game’s presence! (Usually, I only take Chai for her recall set-ups.)

After 1.5 hours of chasing squirrels, getting treats for checking in while I was working and (Chai) practicing a recall and playing briefly with a mix, the girls are back home and sleeping peacefully on the couch. The highlight of this outing, I am sure, was finding and sharing a pile of what looked like gooey tortilla chips with some sort of salsa.

Shaping

We did three sessions of 4 in with only the smalles bowl (blue, bowl #6). Chai is doing great and much more confident than only a few days ago!

Reinforcer test

We ended the day with another reinforcer test. Since Chai had so clearly preferred the liver over the fish treats, I wanted to know whether fish was even better than kibble. I used a blanket this time to give the fish better visibility in case camouflage had been their disadvantage in the last session. If the other day was any indication, these fish need every bit of help they can get!

Believe it or not – kibble is better than fancy fish treats!

House training

We DID it! Anther week – another brownie!!

August 17, 2023

Activity level: average

The AM

We started with 30 minutes at Fresa Parque – we had half an hour before it started raining. Since it was already drizzling, not a lot was going on this morning but we walked for 30 minutes and greeted a few dogs.

Shaping

We had three sessions of 4 in with the smallest bowl (#6). So much fun!

Solo adventure

TW: dead animals. If you don’t want to read about them, skip to the next heading (Home alone).

Chai and I walked around for two hours and she got off-leash time at the Dead Poultry Park where we practiced barrier recalls, did easy “Schnee” (her formal recall) recall games and a “Schnee” recall reinforced by “Birds” (squirrel chase marker). She very much knows what the marker cue “Birds” means by now and gets just as excited as Game does!

Chai also found another dead critter (not a chicken this time) – she’s getting annoyingly good at finding smelly carcasses. Of course, she enjoyed some of it before we agreed on leaving it behind. (I’d let her eat the entire thing if it wasn’t for her stomach issues.) Whatever this carcass was, it wasn’t a squirrel like the other day because it was BIG, but already decomposed to an unrecognizable degree. What is the deal with this park anyways? Is this where everyone goes to die?

On the way back home, we walked in collar mode with 5-30 steps between treats. (30 only once but she did well today in general!)

Home alone

Chai and Game stayed home alone in the morning when I ran errands and got my hard-earned brownie for yesterday’s weekly streak (it was delicious!).

House training

The brownie I earned for the weekly streak I completed last night!

New week – new streak!

August 18, 2023

Activity level: average

The AM

The three of us spent 40 minutes at Fresa Parque – then we left because Chai had found some delicious spot to insist on licking for-e-ver, which meant she was done playing with her park friends. Other people get fancy licky mats – I just take my dogs to the park. Game is a pretty foodie dog, but Chai is another level of food motivated – probably my dog foodiest one so far. I’m not complaining! Not only does she not tire of working for kibble, she also gets super excited about low-budget frozen Kongs (filled with soaked and squished kibble).

Home alone

Chai and Game stayed home alone for 3.5 hours while I went to a no-dogs social thing.

Shaping

We did four 4-in sessions with the smallest bowl …

Rainy park times

… and then Game and Chai spent 40 minutes walking to and running around Fresa Parque in the light rain and waited for me outside a store. Walking on her back-clip harness on the way out was hard for Chai today! (Game was off leash and ahead of us.)

A little more training

I didn’t record it to avoid “having to” edit the video, but I LOVE how well Chai did! Fold-back downs on a verbal cue – no lure! I’ll record the next session.

House training

Two days into the next weekly streak, and it wasn’t a tie! Yay!

August 19, 2023

Activity level: average

The AM

The dogs and I spent 45 minutes at Fancy Park I for our morning outing. It was a fun change for them, included play in the fountain and hide and seek.

Playing in one of the fountains! Chai was intrigued by the moving pillar of water!

Note to self: if going to Fancy Park I on the weekend, go early and parking will be easy!

Being in an area with bars and restaurants on a Saturday morning meant there was A LOT of food everywhere. I was daring greatly and recalled Chai away from two tiny yogurt containers with her formal recall cue (after pup-pup-pup failed). She came running and I sent her right back. Go puppy!

Photo proof of the first time I used “Schnee” in the real world away from food Chai had found, fed a handful of kibble and sent her back to finish her prize! So proud of you, puppy!

This, unfortunately, made me overly confident. I tried a second time with a food container while she was already eating. Chai did not respond. Ooops. Error on my side. I “helped” her let go of it, repeated my formal recall and then sent her back to eat more of it twice. She also found a mount of cream cheese with a tiny bit of bagel around it and thought it was the best thing ever. I did not try any recalls or leave its there but leashed her and walked her away after letting her lick a third of it. It was A LOT of cream cheese and I don’t think her stomach would have supported all of it. That said, I am going to get cream cheese and try using it as my highest value reward!

Scavenging and life quality (an opinion)

By now, I am less stressed about letting Chai go back to small amounts of food after a recall (or just letting her have small amounts of found food in the first place.) Small amounts seem to have become okay with her stomach. Judging by my observations over the last couple weeks, Chai’s highly sensitive puppy stomach has slowly, but steadily grown stronger and does now tolerate of a much wider range of food! A huge relief because I see scavenging as SUCH a species-typical dog behavior and want my dogs to have it in their lives.

After reflecting on this some more, I’ve decided that I’ll even take the occasional diarrhea day. I don’t want to create a dog who lives in fear that I’ll take away a treasure they find. I want a strong recall that works away from any kind of food source anyways and am working up to it in our distraction sessions – but I’ll only ever use it when absolutely necessary. When Chai finds the next delicious food container like she did this morning, I won’t call her away from it (for now – we’ll get there after more distraction recall practice) but celebrate the find with her. And I’ll send Game (if available) to help finish the job so Chai only gets to inhale 50% of whatever she finds.

Life quality (being able to show species-typical behaviors such as scavenging) matters more to me than diarrhea-free dogs. I put scavenging in the life quality category because I suspect that’s what the dogs would tell me if they could weigh in. My readers may see this differently and that’s totally okay. Like in most things life, there is no one right way of being out in the world with our dogs. You do you and I do me!

Allowing scavenging is of course not a recall cop-out: the way I see it, strong recalls also go into the life quality category. The stronger their recall, the more freedom I can safely give my dogs. I absolutely want a recall I can rely on even under the most challenging food circumstances, and because of who Chai is, I’m positive we’ll get there – probably not in a straight line, but we will. From what I’ve seen so far, I suspect that food will stay her biggest recall challenge, but food is a controllable distraction and she’s a trainable Border Collie who doesn’t guard resources. With that kind of dog, food is the best biggest recall challenge you could possibly have! (This is not true for all dogs. Add resource guarding or low biddability to the mix and things look different for sure.) Chai isn’t the most biddable Border Collie I have worked with by far, but that’s part of what makes her so much fun for me. It’s not only her Border-Collie-ness, but also her quirks and the ways in which she challenges me that make her a great fit for me.

Shaping

I was going to continue with 4 in and the smallest container, but Chai said she wanted a break from this exercise. So we stopped. I’ll give it a week and then continue where we left off.

We worked on positions instead!

Afternoon adventure

I took both dogs to Fresa Parque when the rain died down. Chai got to play with Pipa (the Golden Doodle puppy) and Lola (Pipa’s older Old English Sheepdog sister). I usually chat with Pipa’s human, so this was fun. Their friend was here too and they invited Chai to play monkey in the middle together with Lola and her baseball.

Monkey in the middle with Lola and her human!

Chai didn’t have a solo adventure today, but she’ll have a big one tomorrow! And then I’ll have to take Game on a longer solo adventure of her own – probably a bike trip – next week to make sure Chai gets some longer home-alone time without Game. It’s an important skill to maintain! It’s also important to me that Game gets her fair share of solo adventures herself. I’m too busy to do it every single day these days, but two or three times a week are usually possible.

Home alone

Both dogs stayed home alone when I quickly went to the grocery store.

House training

Today’s pee outing was unsuccessful – but fascinating! Game didn’t pee because, I suspect, she didn’t have to and it was thundering. I cued Chai to “potty” in a spot Game often goes, and she immediately squatted but didn’t pee. I have captured squatting, but not peeing! Her cue to squat is, “Potty,” her prompt to mark is Game’s fresh pee on the ground and her cue to empty her bladder is having to go when not distracted from the bodily sensation by the environment. FASCINATING! I have exclusively rewarded after the potty cue when I saw at least a few drops (marking). And YET, squatting is what Chai has learned as the meaning of the cue! Dogs are SO fascinating!