[Barb VanEseltine]

Hi Tracy,

Speaking of Casper rotating away from facing jump #1 but taking it anyway…. I was just watching the 4-Legged-Flix video of the EO individual finals. Mine isn’t the only dog who rotates to follow the handler but still takes the correct jump when cued. <grin> I saw fewer slingshot starts this year than I remember from past years. And the weave entries were mostly very, very challenging. I wish I could set up the Intermediate finals course just to mess about with that weave entry. I can’t find a course map for the run but I have watched the whole thing and think I could build it (well, I would know how, not capable right now).

Moving along to the next set of pop outs. The weather is back to dreadful and hot, so I tried to work quickly.

On the second run of pop out #4, I used a lap turn 4 to 5. I don’t think I normally would but my mobility continues to be challenged.

On pop out #5, he obviously doesn’t know how to set up for the backside on a flat approach (#5 to #6), so after a couple of tries, I put in an aid and just moved on. Also, IRL, I would like to turn #7 to the outside but my position was not good so I let him take the line he was on.

It is 94 degrees, so we weren’t going to get to #3. (Since I can only do “one thing” a day and this was today’s thing, I thought I’ll just send it along and see what you think.)

Thanks!
Barb

[Barb VanEseltine]

Hi Tracy,

I thought I’d move along to some of the pop-ups. Since I’m not very mobile, they also become a series of discrimination exercises. <grin>

First I set them up and ran the first three with Enzo with lowered jumps. He didn’t have much trouble and was happy to get to play. I didn’t include his runs on the video.

Then I went back to #1 and worked Casper. $%^&^&%$#%^ I forgot to turn on the camera. That is really disappointing because I learned something which I thought was kind of interesting. At #3, the dog has to turn back on his line to get to the #4 tunnel the most efficient way. With Enzo, I used the verbal “switch” which (apparently) I use to mean “turn against the way you want to go”. [It is supposed to mean “turn away from me”.] At any rate, Casper didn’t get that at all. With a bit of practice we decided to use “dig” which is his right wrap verbal and makes sense. Once I figured out the video wasn’t running, I went back and re-ran #1. Of course, that run was perfect.

However, never fear, we had lots of struggles with #2. As you can see, my lead out at an angle is not very good. He understands “look” but if the angle gets too steep, then he won’t stay in the proper position. I suppose I really should go back and re-teach his stay. <sigh>

Casper probably won’t get to do #3. My mower-man comes tomorrow and will rearrange the yard to suit his mowing purposes. By Monday, I may be up to work on 4,5,6.

Thanks,
Barb

[Barb VanEseltine]

Hi Tracy,

Good day today! The temperature dropped from high 80’s to mid-60’s, although the humidity is still very high. I was in a good place on the pain/meds curve and we had a great time!

Here is Casper. I did a couple of DW to jump/tunnel discriminations. Since he has a stopped DW, there isn’t too much excitement with this, except reminding him about the correct way to stop. I also did a bit of one jump discrimination work. In theory, all of these should be “in play” on a verbal: 90 degree left, 90 degree right, wrap left, wrap right, switch (turn away), backside wrap, backside slice, threadle wrap, threadle slice. I think Enzo is well over 80% on the left/right and backside wrap/backside slice; he is working on the threadle cues. Casper is working on all of it…

The whole tape was only 10 minutes but most of it was me walking to various places. For example, the first full minute was us walking out to the far end of the DW and me taking a lead-out. I am very happy with today’s training.

Thanks,
Barb

[Barb VanEseltine]

Hi Tracy,

I think I’m getting better! The entire training session was about 3 minutes. Of course, it was really hot and I’m still pretty crippled up, so that has to be taken into account. By the time I threw away the setup and returns, it is a pretty short video.

Only one error but I don’t think I’m showing enough motion. We may have to hang on for a few weeks to see better movement from me. Ah well, getting better day by day.

One thing I did think of: I have been known to cue a major obstacle (contact) even though there is a jump preceding it. So, even though it should technically be “jump, climb”, I might just say “climb” on the grounds that you don’t need to cue every jump. I am noticing that cueing everything is back in vogue. For a while, there was “silent running”. <grin>

Thanks,
Barb

[Barb VanEseltine]

Hi Tracy,

Great thoughts. I think I get the concept of messing with the visibility of the entry to both obstacles. I don’t have a curve in the tunnel because I am very hesitant to carry more tunnel bags. I don’t “approve” of only 2 sets of bags even on a straight tunnel but that’s that best I can do right now.

I am quite hesitant to mess with the pitch/volume/rhythm of my verbals because I doubt that I will be able to execute that in a trial. Heck, I have sent my dogs to a tunnel with a weave verbal due to … mind fog? Also, would I use the louder verbal for the one further away or would tunnel always be louder/quicker and jump lower/slower? Possibly more than I can manage.

I basically repeated the last session today. He did very well on the “jump nearest” setup. The jump furthest was harder. I thought it was going well, so I added in the weaves. That isn’t even on the video because it was such a goat rodeo. I’m going to stick with just the tunnel and jump for a while longer. Or, what about if I pull out the jump and use just tunnel and weaves?

Barb

[Barb VanEseltine]

Hi Tracy,

Thanks for the feedback! I’m trying to get back in the groove but I can really only do 1 thing a day (e.g., train, shop, eat out …). So I’m hoping to train maybe every other day.

More from Casper.

It seems to me that he continues to show a strong preference for the obstacle nearest him but I think it is improved from Friday. Toward the end I tried to improve my motion so that it was 90 degrees to the discrimination. I also think that if my location is “depressed” from the entry to the tunnel, he can’t stay out enough and defaults to the jump.

Barb

[Barb VanEseltine]

HI Tracy!

Well, I am a bit slow with my motion but any motion is going to help, I guess. Interesting that distance work is a focus this summer because
(1) it is almost all that I can do and
(2) both of my dogs are surprisingly bad at it.

I have demonstrated to myself on various occasions that Enzo really needs handling to do these discriminations. I haven’t worked on it too hard since
(1) we do mostly AKC and don’t need it and
(2) in order to become truly fluent in verbal discriminations you need to put more work into it than I have wanted to.

Well, surprise! This summer is almost half gone with nothing done and I might as well spend the rest working on things I think I can do.

I love your optimism “This might take multiple sessions for your dog to get a good grasp on…”. Enzo and I have played verbal discrimination games and, without almost content upkeep, it falls out of his head. The one I worked the most on was tunnel/A-frame but I can’t say he ever really “got it”. Except weaves, he can find weaves on a verbal with almost no other help. <grin>

So, since Enzo is still on injured reserve (so am I for the most part), here is Casper giving this a try. Since he had an 8 week “vacation”, my big hope for him was: please don’t revert to the catch-me-if-you-can game. I feel sort-of bad for him, since tug is one of his big rewards for agility and I can’t really play tug at all right now. We did a bit of fetch with me sitting in a chair on the front porch starting a couple of weeks ago. Casper was pretty good at it. Enzo appeared to have the “if you won’t play tug, I won’t fetch it more than once” attitude.

Setting up the course is not a fluent skill for me right now, so I pushed stuff around and called it good enough. My plan is to try to do some of the specific skills and maybe some of the pop-outs.

I was ***surprised*** that you didn’t reverse the position of the runnel and jump (so the jump was further away) before you added the weaves. I’m not sure I’ll get to add the weaves any time soon. Also, although I KNOW that most super-trainers have no problem with a short set of weaves, I have never been comfortable with fewer than 12. My personal quirk, I guess.

I am comforting myself with something you said recently (or at least, as I recall it): “I am not an athlete, my dogs are athletes”.

I tried to follow your instructions. However, could you comment on these thoughts (not in the video just things I have thought about).
• I have added a “go” or “out” to a verbal to try to aid the discrimination. So “out-tunnel” when the tunnel is further away. It seems to me that this aligns with the louder, more energetic pronunciation that you are using for tunnel.
• I have used “left” and “right” to help when the obstacle has two sides (weaves and tunnels, mostly) and we are at 90 degrees to them.

I did pull out all the best treats but food is pretty far down on Casper’s list of reinforcements.

So here is Casper. https://youtu.be/M9g2EzuFhbk

It is 82 degrees and muggy, so it was a pretty short session. Casper really struggled. In the middle, I changed up to sending him from between my legs at a halfway point. I think it helped – sorry the video isn’t very clear. And he faked me out at least once. If the weather cooperates and I’m not too tired, I’ll try again tomorrow to see if we have any improvement.

If you tell me that I am using subtle (unconscious) cues to tell him which one, I’ll believe you!

Thanks,
Barb

[Barb VanEseltine]

Hi Tracy,

First, I took a look at your videos with Voodoo. Thank you, I agree this is work I should do with Casper. I have already done a bit of the 2 jump tight collection work (slowly work up to 3 jumps 40“ apart at 20” high). We’ll need to continue this kind of work between now and his first ‘real’ trial, tentatively scheduled for January.

Moving right along, here is the JWW course #1 from package 5. I am still too zapped to do a very good job on these longer, more complex courses, although I eventually got this one.

My biggest trouble was 7 to 11. The original plan was around 7, around 8, in on 9, FC and send 10 to 11. I never made that work, I was always on his line between 9 and 10 (and therefore bought the off course tunnel).

The simplest, successful way was leave out the FC between 9 and 10 and RC 11. That was the way that was ultimately the best. I also tried doing 7 as a backside R to L and 8 as a backside L to R. That should have made 9 easier and potentially could get me down the line for the send to 10-11. I couldn’t make that work. Enzo was offended by the linked backsides in that manner and took a lot of convincing to even do them correctly. And when we finally did it, I was still in his way and sent him to the off course tunnel.

The final (correct) run included a wildcard at #14. I don’t know if it was a byproduct of how I built the course but I was completely out of control of which way he would go around 14. I just showed him the jump and reacted to how he did it. A strategy which worked but which I generally do not recommend. <grin>

I hope to run the second version later today.

AND I am showing this weekend for the first time since June and probably the last time until December. A sort-of local trial is happening and a friend offered to drive me back and forth. I am SO grateful to get out and see everyone. For me, showing is so much about socializing and seeing the people.
(Many years ago, I did sled-dog racing with my Belgians. We used to describe people who wanted to come but weren’t wildly competitive as people who came for the potluck. Although I am competitive, I very much go to trials for the “potluck”.)

Barb

[Barb VanEseltine]

Hi Tracy,

Love the geekery!

As far as Casper’s jumping; I can easily work on the zig-zag drill and Stephanie’s games.

I went looking for backside jump drills that Enzo did. He was born in 2018 so it would have been 2019/2020/2021. Do you know how many classes I took with you during that period?? AND when things happen on the computer, the dates get screwed up, so it wasn’t easy to tell when a class was taken. I found drills for pinwheels and serpentines with Enzo but no “sit-before-backside-wrap game”. So, I’d be grateful if you could dig it up.

I hope to build the JWW course and work on it this week.

Thanks!!
Barb

[Barb VanEseltine]

Hi Tracy,

Yes, it was Linda M. who said backwards motion is still motion!

Thanks for the very clear photos of what I’m doing versus what you are doing. I hate to be “that student” who needs extra just to understand but it was brilliant. And look what happened!

As you can see, I belong to the “prove it wasn’t a fluke” school of dog training. What a good dog. We DID get it! Even the dread BC.

So, naturally, I moved on to the backside discrimination. And I clearly need more backside work: he is clipping the wings and doesn’t really understand the difference between “push” (wrap) and “around” (s-shaped slice). Plus he is dropping the bars when the cueing isn’t perfect and sometimes when it is. grin

Yeah for brilliant progress!

I see in the user guide that the last day for Video Review is 9/18. I’m guessing that is the “hot summer extended date”; correct?

Thanks,
Barb

Btw: I try to correctly praise/reward the bit we are working on, although sometimes a different mistake happens or I get greedy and try to get a bunch more stuff. But I am aware and do try.
However, when I get too concerned I remember that we don’t teach children in a logical manner. If a child says “Daddy just come home” we only correct it if, in fact, it wasn’t Daddy but Uncle Carl. So we say either “Yes, Daddy came home” or “No, that’s Uncle Carl” and the bad grammar is ignored. And yet, most kids grow up with grammar as good as their parents’.
An interesting analogy, don’t you think?

[Barb VanEseltine]

Hi Tracy,

I was actually thinking about the brake arm before I got your response. I have looked at your demo a number of times because I have trouble with using a brake arm without rotating toward the dog (wind and unwind). I put the jumps back to your original spacing and gave it another try.

Eventually I made it work but it was not a nice, sure thing. I had the most success when I did the full FC. Then I did the tunnel and sharp turn; no problem. That is the first video:

(Notice that he dives between my legs at 0:13? Ann Braue once told me she only taught that between the legs lineup to one dog (maybe Scream) and he dived through her legs during a run. That was the last time she used it. I really like it and am going to try not to have to give it up!)

Then I went off and worked on skills I can practice almost standing still (contacts and weaves). When I came back, I thought, “Why not try it with the backside?”. Such a surprise! He obviously heard the “around” and looked for a jump. Who would have guessed?

Thanks,
Barb

[Barb VanEseltine]

Hi Tracy,

My Terry was very fast and had a very long commitment distance. That is, if you wanted to create a turn you needed 19+ feet in which to do it. On an AKC course, that might be BEFORE takeoff of the previous jump. Yikes. Alas, I might be finding that out for Casper. My hope is that we can condition him to be able to respond more quickly but….

So, I worked on the JWW pop-out with Casper. From Casper’s perspective, the line is clearly 1, 2, tunnel. Every time. So the first part of the video shows a lot of that and a lot of (failures of) back-chaining. I dropped the bars to 12”, not because I thought it would help but just to avoid constantly resetting the bars.

It took me a rather long time to realize that the issue might be the tightness of the setup. Eventually, I moved #’s 1 and 2 out leaving the same tightness of discrimination on the jump tunnel. While not instantly successful, it gives an idea (4 of 5 reps successful).

Here is the video. I think it proves that if dog don’t really pattern as much/as easily as we sometimes say. I did send him to the tunnel (100% correct response) a few times.

You can see that I lose faith in my verbals quite quickly. It is a simple 90ish degree turn and should be LEFT. At least I didn’t use any naughty words…but it quickly became LEFT, LEFT COME HERE. I’m not sure why I would use COME HERE on a dog with such a poor recall….

Thanks,
Barb

[Barb VanEseltine]

Hi Tracy,

First, thanks for the kind words. I think the folks are doing the best they can. I have a friend who takes me to class across the state a couple/three times a month. And, goodness knows, Jen Pinder is being the most accommodating that she can allowing weird class drop-ins and helping me plan how to break up the planned courses.

I had to look up “corn sweat” on google – good grief! We are having cooler mornings, so I got this course in without too much hassle. Of course, it was already built. 😉

How disappointing that the biggest trouble I had was regarding Enzo’s teeter performance. Or maybe that’s a good thing, since I can isolate and work on that with little expenditure of energy. The A-frame was not glorious but at least it was legal.

On the first run, I had to “fix” the sticky teeter, so then he turned the wrong way around 7 and it was amazing he was mostly clean through 12 (probably a refusal in there). He ran 13, 14, 15… exactly as planned. I don’t much like that loop de loop but it seemed like the best path. Certainly 14 needs to be a wrap, as that sets up the line for 15, 16, 17 so nicely. I don’t like the slice on 13 because it requires me to pull the dog completely across the face of 13 and, to be honest, I can’t see me doing that IRL (unless I got a cross in after the A-frame, which isn’t happening now). All things together, those were pretty good wraps for Enzo.

After the first run, I didn’t try to run the whole thing perfectly but focused on 4 to 12. He was fine on the start and the ending was lovely.

First I did a bunch of teeter reps. Since Casper is going to have stopped contacts, I had better get in the habit of reinforcing and strengthening stopped contacts. That will only help Enzo’s teeter and it looks like he needs that.

The original problem on 7 was caused by my coming in to fix the teeter. As long as I could maintain some distance, I had no problem getting the correct turn (right) around 7 and the rest flowed beautifully.

I see that I am willing to sacrifice correct contact behaviors in a sequence. <sigh> I know better. That will go on my training list for Enzo: no sequencing with bad teeter contacts.

Nostalgic Aside:

My very first “real” agility dog was Terry the Malinois. I don’t think I worked with you when I had him. He had perfect stopped contacts because Ann Braue said this is how to teach them and I treated it like an obedience exercise. I taught it, proofed it and insisted on it. Alas, since that time I have migrated to a more laid-back agility approach to training instead of keeping my obedience brain. I am going to get it back and work on beautiful contacts.

I am now desperate to mow the lawn underneath the current course. I will start moving the stuff in a bit and then hope the grass dries out enough to mow.

As always, thanks!
Barb

[Barb VanEseltine]

Hi Tracy,

Again, I am so sorry to read that you lost Crusher. It is always so hard when we lose them.

Here is package 4, Standard #1. It took me 2.5 days to build the course and, naturally, the grass now needs mowing. I think I might be going backwards as far as energy and stamina. But I did see the Doc and he expects me to gradually improve. I certainly hope so, since I don’t have much to give to this sport that I love. The most recent estimate for “when Barb can drive again” is 12/11. I may go nuts before then.

At any rate, the first thing Enzo did was DW to tunnel; twice. Since my running is pathetic, I took a gigantic lead-out on the third try and at least managed to avoid the tunnel trap. In addition to the lead-out, I started closer to the DW and moved laterally towards the jump.

I did pick up #17 between 5 and 6 but the rest was ok.

After that run, I took some time to reconsider my plan for 4-5-6-7 and decided I HAD to get a cross in between 4 and 5. So I took another HUGE lead-out and was able to do the BC after the backside push. That made everything much easier in that space. Then I was out of gas, failed to indicate 12 and stopped. I picked it up at the A-frame and finished out.

Regards,
Barb

[Barb VanEseltine]

Hi Tracy,

The training yard is a mess; half mown and needs raking (double yuck)! But we did get a bit of work done. Here is the first JWW course from package 4.

We ran is twice and got through it both times. On the first run, I thought it was “ok” until the end, and then it was a wide mess. Looking at the video, Enzo doesn’t know the line at #12 but recovered well. Then I flung him into space at #17 and was lucky to recover for 18, 19, 20.

I think there was a pretty dramatic improvement on the second run with surprisingly little additional handling/motion. Hmmm. Wish I knew ahead of time where that might be needed. <grin>

I tried to do the second JWW course later on but I just didn’t have it. We missed a couple of jumps on the first try (7 and 17) and ran into a major confusion about 17 on the second try. I just had to quit.

Next up is more mowing and then I don’t know what (rake??). At any rate, I’ll try to do the standard courses next week.

I really hope to get back some energy and stamina pretty soon.

Thanks,
Barb

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