Ok, this new thing is called tunnel. All I need to do is run through a tunnel, sounds simple, huh?! Well, it's really not that simple. I'm not too fond of going through enclosed area. Unlike some of my terrier friends, they love going through tunnels in order to dig out rodents and kill them. I certainly do not have that instinct in me, so it makes the learning process more challenging. And there is just so much static between my long hair and the tunnel, I simply don't look good with all my hair standing straight up!
So, where this whole tunnel idea come from, you may ask. I think Claire has been thinking about teaching me to run through a tunnel for a while. She saw some dog agility shows on TV, did some research on equipments, found out the expensive price tag, and shelved the idea. But I guess she is always in search for substitutes. She spotted a play tunnel at the kids section of IKEA, and quickly made the purchase. It's just a straight popped up tunnel, about the length of a couch. (The technical term would an open tunnel) So it's a little shorter than the ones used in agility shows. But it will do for now until I fully understand the purpose of tunnels.
I'm very much food motivated, so as long as I get a treat, I will do it!
(Claire will do the rest of commenting for this post)
Ok, so I have the tunnel out sitting around for a few days, just to get Lilo used to it. For the first few days, she didn't really go through it. I tried to set her up on one end, and gave her a pad on the behind. But she ran right around the outside to the other end.
I crawled through the tunnel once myself, just to show Lilo it was fun and caused no harm.
I also set her up in the middle of the tunnel, so she would only have to run through half of it. Now, she is no longer afraid of the tunnel and I start to perfect her skill.
We put some treats in a small clear tupperware. We've been using that tiny container to store treats for training related activities during the past year. So Lilo knows yummy food is inside.
I know you can't really see the other end of the tunnel (sorry for my poor picture taking skills). Cameron is holding the container I mentioned above. See Lilo's undivided attention on that container?
Cameron tossed the container across the tunnel. You can see the lid of the container on the bottom right hand corner of this pic. And take a look at Lilo's eyes in this pic, very focused on the container.
Through the tunnel she ran! Just to chase after the food :) Once she came through, I opened the container and gave her a treat and told her "good tunnel"
I'm using Tunnel as the command for this activity. This exercise is more effective if you have two people on each end of the tunnel. It's easier for the dog to understand what is expected of her, since you're not setting her up on one end, running along side so you can get to the other end to reward her - if she runs through that is. This adds to the distraction while your dog is learning a new skill.
We do this for about 5-10 minutes a day. And I always end the training before Lilo loses interest, so then next time I set up the tunnel, she will stay interested. Lilo is getting better at this. Our goal is to have her run through without us tossing the treats.
-Claire
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