I've been having an interesting conversation with Johann's mum. She has two great video clips of how she trained Johann to succeed with the wooden Nina Ottosson Dog Casino.
First she taught him to focus on the little pegs that close off the drawers.
Then they moved on to pulling the pegs out of the holes.
So far we've practised Penny touching the peg for a reward from my hand. We moved on to clicking when she knocks the peg off the game, because I thought that might be closer to what we need finally, when she'll have to pull up the peg and throw it off the Casino so she can pull out the drawer to get the treats.
Johann's mum has mentioned the command 'pick it up' and Penny knows that well, so we experimented with that.
(I just can't seem to co-ordinate using the clicker and stopping myself from saying 'Yes!'. Luckily Penny's used to my muddled training methods, lol.)
Showing posts with label intelligent games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label intelligent games. Show all posts
Wednesday, 29 August 2012
Sunday, 13 February 2011
still playing doggy games
We're still refining our game, 'Find this one', in which I show Penny a toy and she has to go around the house looking for the matching one. It's fun and we don't have to reward her with food - just finding the toy makes her happy. By the way, when I say on the clip that the toy is 'in the toilet', that means the room, not the actual toilet bowl!
Sunday, 30 January 2011
In a comment on my last post about activities to keep Penny thinking, Jess the Dog Shopper mentioned a game where dogs have to fetch a toy that matches the one the human is holding. (At least, I think that's what she meant.)
Well, of course that was an excuse to pop into my favorite pet shop, Murphy's in Hawthorn, to buy a set of new toys. I could have bought a new copy of a toy we already have, but I thought it would be better to get two new ones so they could age together, with the same appearance and smell.
Two toys looked good, so I bought a pair of each.
I was attracted to the little animal toys because the label said 'eco naturals' but when I got them home and looked, there was no information on the label about why they should be called 'natural'. And they're made in China. Seeing I have the greatest respect for Murphys as an ethical business, I'll assume the toys are as good as they look.
Penny loved the little creatures. They seem to have a squeaker and what might be a little crackly bottle inside. However, I don't let her have toys unsupervised, unless they are specifically 'home alone' toys like Kongs.
Anyway, back to the game. As I've learned from reading Honey's blog, I started with the simplest version of the game. Penny sat in the kitchen while I hid one little creature-toy. I came back with the other little creature in my hand, held it near Penny's nose so she could sniff it, and said 'Find this one'.
She already knows to wait in the kitchen after I've held a treat or a toy near her nose, waiting for me to hide it at the other end of the house. But this task is different, in that she sees me with a duplicate of what she's meant to find.
I was amazed. She shot off into the other end of the house and came back with the matching toy. Then she waited for her reward - the exactly identical one I was holding!
I guess it's a reward because she wants the one I have.
At last, at long last, we have a game that doesn't involve food. Hooray!
After we had played a few times with the little creatures, we played with the dumbell-ball toys.
Next step will be to put two different toys at the other end of the house and see whether she can bring the correct one back. But we won't move to that step until she's had lots of success with this simpler version.
Well, of course that was an excuse to pop into my favorite pet shop, Murphy's in Hawthorn, to buy a set of new toys. I could have bought a new copy of a toy we already have, but I thought it would be better to get two new ones so they could age together, with the same appearance and smell.
Two toys looked good, so I bought a pair of each.
I was attracted to the little animal toys because the label said 'eco naturals' but when I got them home and looked, there was no information on the label about why they should be called 'natural'. And they're made in China. Seeing I have the greatest respect for Murphys as an ethical business, I'll assume the toys are as good as they look.
Penny loved the little creatures. They seem to have a squeaker and what might be a little crackly bottle inside. However, I don't let her have toys unsupervised, unless they are specifically 'home alone' toys like Kongs.
Anyway, back to the game. As I've learned from reading Honey's blog, I started with the simplest version of the game. Penny sat in the kitchen while I hid one little creature-toy. I came back with the other little creature in my hand, held it near Penny's nose so she could sniff it, and said 'Find this one'.
She already knows to wait in the kitchen after I've held a treat or a toy near her nose, waiting for me to hide it at the other end of the house. But this task is different, in that she sees me with a duplicate of what she's meant to find.
I was amazed. She shot off into the other end of the house and came back with the matching toy. Then she waited for her reward - the exactly identical one I was holding!
I guess it's a reward because she wants the one I have.
At last, at long last, we have a game that doesn't involve food. Hooray!
After we had played a few times with the little creatures, we played with the dumbell-ball toys.
Next step will be to put two different toys at the other end of the house and see whether she can bring the correct one back. But we won't move to that step until she's had lots of success with this simpler version.
Tuesday, 29 December 2009
a dog game made from a Christmas present
I was just about to throw out this empty chocolate box when I realised it would make a great little dog activity.
It has all the features recommended for an interactive game (as on the Fun-For-Dogs site): the inner box slides out, treats can be placed in the inner pull-out box, and, best of all, it has a little ribbon attached so Penny can pull the drawer out with her teeth.
By the way...the chocolates were delicious.
It has all the features recommended for an interactive game (as on the Fun-For-Dogs site): the inner box slides out, treats can be placed in the inner pull-out box, and, best of all, it has a little ribbon attached so Penny can pull the drawer out with her teeth.
By the way...the chocolates were delicious.
Tuesday, 15 December 2009
the amazing treat machine arrives in Australia
Today a parcel arrived on our doorstep while Penny and I were out on an early walk. The description on the customs declaration said, 'cardboard box'. Why would our friend in New York send us a cardboard box?
Hooray! It was the long-awaited Amazing Treat Machine. As usual, I hadn't been able to get it sent to Australia, so I ordered it sent to New York and our lovely friend there posted it on to us.
Penny checked out the instructions.
The first one was, 'Lay flat'. So Penny flattened it out.
But then things started to get a bit tricky for someone with paws, so she asked me for help.
Hmm... we needed a 16.9 oz water bottle. Well, there was no way we were going to buy water in a bottle when it comes out of the taps for free, clean and pure. And what size was that in metric measurements? We checked it out.
Penny waited at home while I dashed up the street to buy a drink in a 500ml plastic container, not such an easy task, given that 600 ml is the usual size here. But what luck! There were exactly the right bottles, containing green tea, which is my latest fad since I read that green tea protects against gum disease. (I read that in the newsletter of my brother's dentist at Dental Healthcare Associates.)
I cut up some treats, followed the instructions about cutting holes in the bottom of the bottle - highly tricky and a bit dangerous, but I got through the task with all my fingers intact - and there we were, ready to try it out.
Hooray! It was the long-awaited Amazing Treat Machine. As usual, I hadn't been able to get it sent to Australia, so I ordered it sent to New York and our lovely friend there posted it on to us.
Penny checked out the instructions.
The first one was, 'Lay flat'. So Penny flattened it out.
But then things started to get a bit tricky for someone with paws, so she asked me for help.
Hmm... we needed a 16.9 oz water bottle. Well, there was no way we were going to buy water in a bottle when it comes out of the taps for free, clean and pure. And what size was that in metric measurements? We checked it out.
Penny waited at home while I dashed up the street to buy a drink in a 500ml plastic container, not such an easy task, given that 600 ml is the usual size here. But what luck! There were exactly the right bottles, containing green tea, which is my latest fad since I read that green tea protects against gum disease. (I read that in the newsletter of my brother's dentist at Dental Healthcare Associates.)
I cut up some treats, followed the instructions about cutting holes in the bottom of the bottle - highly tricky and a bit dangerous, but I got through the task with all my fingers intact - and there we were, ready to try it out.
Tuesday, 1 December 2009
the Nina Ottosson intelligent toys are selling in Australia
Today I received an email from VCAworld.com to say they are now stocking the Nina Ottosson toys!
They said they will be receiving a small shipment of the Nina Ottosson toys this week. This is a pre-launch stock arrival so stock is extremely limited. They will be looking to launch the range early next year.
Woo hoo! These toys are wonderful.They said any enquiries can be sent to info@vcaworld.com
They've got the plastic range, and seem to offer the Dog Twister, Dog Casino, Dog Finder, Dog Tornado, Dog Spinny, Dog Brick, Dog Smart.
If you go to the Nina Ottosson site, you can check out these toys.
In plastic, Penny has the Tornado and the Brick, and they're both good.
These are not "home alone" toys, though. They need the human to be there all the time when the dog is using them.
They said they will be receiving a small shipment of the Nina Ottosson toys this week. This is a pre-launch stock arrival so stock is extremely limited. They will be looking to launch the range early next year.
Woo hoo! These toys are wonderful.They said any enquiries can be sent to info@vcaworld.com
They've got the plastic range, and seem to offer the Dog Twister, Dog Casino, Dog Finder, Dog Tornado, Dog Spinny, Dog Brick, Dog Smart.
If you go to the Nina Ottosson site, you can check out these toys.
In plastic, Penny has the Tornado and the Brick, and they're both good.
These are not "home alone" toys, though. They need the human to be there all the time when the dog is using them.
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