# how is everyone doing with articles?



## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

Several people posted saying they were getting ready to start articles, I was just curious how everyone is doing, and what method they ultimately went with.
We decided on the tie-down mat, and the Tito Monster is up to all 6 metal articles, with 5 still tied down. He gets it right at least 19 out of 20 times now. It's so amazing to watch him go out and "work the pile", I just love to see it. The first time he actually used his nose to check each one and then came back with the right one I was so excited I almost peed! For a while there I thought maybe he was nasally retarded, it seemed like he just wasn't getting it and then suddenly, a light went off, and he got it.
Getting ready to introduce leather in the next few days.
I hope everyone is doing well. This is so much fun!!


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## Jersey's Mom (Nov 25, 2007)

I wound up going with the tie down mat also, and Jersey is doing fantastic!! He's working a full set of articles. I may have rushed it a little, but trying to do too many reputations without REALLY changing the picture was confusing him... so the lower number of articles we only did one or two reps before adding more because it was too hard to make it look different. He's the type that always wants to be right and assumes if he's redoing something it must be wrong... so he was really tugging at the tied down ones assuming it couldn't be the free one. Once I started moving a little quicker he really got it and is working the pile well. We'll work probably for the better part of the week (just a couple trials each evening... if he's working well probably just one with each, metal and leather), to start changing where I put the mat to proof. I have video... working on converting it and uploading to youtube now.

Julie and Jersey


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

that's great! don't you just love the articles? We do!!
We've been (at the suggestion of my trainer) moving the mat to every place I can think of, and having different people stand there and watch, etc.
Someone reminded me, be sure to have him get used to other people's scent on the tied down articles. I didn't even think about that step! But in the ring, the steward and/or judge will handle the other articles, and I don't want that to throw him off.


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## Jersey's Mom (Nov 25, 2007)

I'm really getting a kick out of the articles... I just loving watching the wheels turn in his head!! We've been so all over the place with training lately... when we go to the dog park we've been working "doubles" with bumpers since it's been empty.... at home we're working the articles every evening... and now we're starting up with agility classes on Tuesday (it's been about a year since we really worked agility). The good news is it seems to be keeping him content and a bit tired! Here's the video. I found it really hard to be the handler, steward, and camera person all that the same time... I'm going to have to make some friends in this apartment complex that I can con into helping me!






Julie and Jersey


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## MurphyTeller (Sep 28, 2008)

hotel4dogs said:


> Several people posted saying they were getting ready to start articles, I was just curious how everyone is doing, and what method they ultimately went with.
> 
> 
> > In the course of two weeks of actively working articles Teller is now working a pile of 14 articles with a 100% success rate in the last week. I did not use the tie-down method - but it's obviously clicked with him. I took articles on the road this weekend as I'm starting to proof the exercise and he was spot-on at the training center as well. Too soon to know if they'll fall apart on me later, but right now I have a happy, confident dog on articles - galloping out to the pile, checking the articles until he finds the correct one, galloping back with it to front...The hardest part for him at this point is when our helper shakes the article bag and dumps them on the ground  He's just so into the game.
> ...


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## Jersey's Mom (Nov 25, 2007)

MurphyTeller said:


> In the course of two weeks of actively working articles Teller is now working a pile of 14 articles with a 100% success rate in the last week. I did not use the tie-down method - but it's obviously clicked with him.
> 
> <snip>
> 
> Erica


Great news! Out of curiousity, what method did you go with?


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## MurphyTeller (Sep 28, 2008)

Jersey's Mom said:


> Great news! Out of curiousity, what method did you go with?


I sort of used my own method  I took bits and pieces from Connie Clevland, Terri Arnold and Bobbie Anderson and came up with something that I thought my dog would do well with. I went very methodically with my placement of articles - 1 - 2 - 3, etc in a very logical progression. I wanted him to go to the pile and look systematically...which I got! 

I didn't want to use the tie-down method because I didn't want a demotivating component to the articles - for my boy making a mistake is very demotivating - so I set him up for success and didn't move forward until he was confident on the step he was on.

I also used the properties of scent and scent pooling - which made things harder - but he'll never see that level of scent pooling in a ring - so we're training at a harder level - I also use more articles than he'll ever see in a ring...

Erica


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## FlyingQuizini (Oct 24, 2006)

Wow! Looks like you guys are having great success so far! Congrats! We havne't really started yet b/c right now I'm too busy to commit to daily practice. My friend with Quiz's uncle is doing lots of article work. She used the tie down method. She's off the aids now and the two things she says she wished she did differently would be introducing "other" scent sooner (feels she waited too long) and realizing what a leap it was for the dog the first time you do it in grass (we show outside). She ended up using fishing line staked into the ground with bent bits of hangers and tied onto the articles for a while when she first started working a pile in grass. 

Happy Training! Can't wait to start them oursleves... but I know I wouldn't do them justice right now... so we continue to polish open and work on our moving stand, signal stand, signals, etc. for Utility.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

It's so great to hear from everyone! Loved Jersey's video! 
Two weeks for Teller, that's awesome! I think it took me about 4 to get Tito to where he is, and we're still tying down. He's one that also cannot afford to make a mistake, so I'm taking him super, super slow on this. I feel he could move faster, but since there aren't even any shows I plan to go to for at least 3 months, I don't want to hurry.
Shows how every dog is different! If Tito picks up a tied down article, he just drops it and keeps working the pile. If I were to tell him it's the wrong one, even with a very gentle, "uh uh" (I've done it), he just falls apart. So for him, I have to keep them tied for now. The only time I've seen him get a wrong one lately is if I have them about 3-4 inches apart. As long as they're about 6, he's fine.
Sigh, I wish you guys were all closer so we could train this together. It's just so much more fun training with others. I train at a great club, but most of the people I train with have multiple OTCH dogs, a couple have been to NOI, one has won it a few times, 2 are AKC obed. judges, you get the point. It's not that they're not great, helpful people, but it would be fun to train with people who haven't done this bunches of times!
I think I will introduce other people's scent today. As I said earlier, I hadn't even THOUGHT about that concept, and as Quiz said, it's better sooner than later!
Happy training to all, keep the progress updates coming!


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## Jersey's Mom (Nov 25, 2007)

Brought my articles to work and had a bunch of my coworkers handling them. Wonder how Jersey will do tonight? I have a feeling he's going to look at me a little cross eyed!

Julie and Jersey


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## FlyingQuizini (Oct 24, 2006)

Jersey's Mom said:


> Brought my articles to work and had a bunch of my coworkers handling them. Wonder how Jersey will do tonight? I have a feeling he's going to look at me a little cross eyed!
> 
> Julie and Jersey


Just wondering... you had a bunch of people handle them? So you're gonna work several scents on the pile at once - not just "you" and "other"? Haven't heard of doing that.... and kinda assumed you'd only want one new "other" scent on the pile at a time. Lemme know how it goes!

You guys are making me want to suck it up and start training articles now!


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## MurphyTeller (Sep 28, 2008)

FlyingQuizini said:


> Just wondering... you had a bunch of people handle them? So you're gonna work several scents on the pile at once - not just "you" and "other"? Haven't heard of doing that.... and kinda assumed you'd only want one new "other" scent on the pile at a time. Lemme know how it goes!
> 
> You guys are making me want to suck it up and start training articles now!


I would have some concerns about this as well - you essentially want your scent and not your scent - two variables - to some extent they have to learn the difference between hot scent and cold scent - which gets confusing - for us and them - but part of the process when you're introducing articles that were hot yesterday, but there's another hotter article that's out there. One of the reasons I'm very careful to pick up and scent every single article as they go back into the bag - 24 hours later they should all have identical scents, so when I choose one to scent they are all equal.

Erica


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## Jersey's Mom (Nov 25, 2007)

I don't know why... but my obedience instructor always said to have as many people touch them as possible. It worked out just fine... he got distracted the first time out but once I pointed him in the right direction he picked up the game again and didn't have any problems with it. My best guess on the thinking is that no matter _what_ else he smells he has to find me. Good point about the "hot" scent thing though... it's something I haven't done as of yet and will probably start up tomorrow when cleaning up (touching them all so then the next day he has to find the fresher one). I was bad tonight... but with agility class and the weather I just got home, ate dinner, and now I'm going to bed. We begin again tomorrow!

Julie and Jersey


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## MurphyTeller (Sep 28, 2008)

Jersey's Mom said:


> I don't know why... but my obedience instructor always said to have as many people touch them as possible.


Ultimately I don't think it's a bad proofing exercise to have a bunch of different scents as a proofing exercise - I'd be interested to hear why your instructor wants to introduce many scents at the beginning stages of articles...not a criticism - I'm just curious. Like I said earlier - I didn't find any one method that I wanted to use for Teller - so I created my own - I'm a dog geek that way...

Erica


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