[Barb VanEseltine]

Hi Tracy

No, I haven’t tried a foot treatment, although there is some around my house somewhere. Mark’s place is probably the best footing we have for indoor and, as I said, outdoor is going away.

(Speaking of going away, I’ll be on vacation July 1 to 15, so I’m not entered until late in July. I will get some video of him jumping then.)

I will try to find my foot stuff and try it next week. My theory has been
1. Avoid the very worst places (we have some in MI that I won’t show Enzo in, much less Casper).
2. Expect them to figure it out (I know some very fast dogs who have figured out how to run on almost any surface but I think it was inherent, not taught). This strategy is a fail with both dogs.

Also, I will try adding some flexibility stretches to his exercises.

Moving along to the Under Pressure Challenges.

You must have had some sad experiences with proofing to put in a sentence like: “It is really important to understand that this is NOT proofing, and we are NOT trying to set the dog up for failure or punish the dog.” Even back in the 90’s, when obedience people talked about proofing it didn’t mean “set the dog up for failure”. It meant: create a situation where the dog has a choice and reinforce when he makes the correct choice. We had Denise Fenzi come to Kalamazoo a couple of times (before she was as famous as she is now) and my take-away was: everything needs to be taught twice. Once with cookies in a calm environment (for example, teaching puppy to sit) and again when the dog is high as a kite (which we achieved with wild tug play). I’m not sure why I am feeling so protective of obedience but it does sound like you weren’t exposed to the best of obedience training.

In general, I get very close to the same behavior in trials (or class) that I get at home. I’m not sure exactly why but this has been true of almost all of my herding dogs.

Casper’s start line at trials has been exemplary, so I don’t think that is a good choice for the under pressure game. I decided to work on wraps and teeter contact performance for my under pressure examples. He does a lovely teeter but doesn’t necessarily hold it until released. <grin>

Looking at the video, I see that Casper is not a fan of circling the tunnel. By the time I reached the teeter rep, I was handling a bit more intentionally but I still give me a B- on tunnel handling.

The wraps are first. The helper jump is about 8 feet away and he never got near it. On the second one (check = left), I added some wild tug play to try and jack him up. It worked a bit, as the second wrap was looser than the first.

For the teeter, I set it up as tunnel, teeter, jump, toy. I wasn’t expecting him to be successful, since he makes the error in training and class, especially as I run by. I only have one tunnel outside (such a hassle to mess with tunnels and tunnel bags!!!). I could reverse the order and maybe do tunnel circle, jump circle to teeter with the teeter facing the tunnel.

Bernie Brown (famous obedience instructor and exhibitor) once said: “I’m not in the ring to make my dog look stupid” which I have interpreted to mean: if I need to help my dog, I will. In other words, I could maybe make my dog break the teeter stay but I’d rather him be successful.

Well, suggestions needed: those were beautiful, don’t you think? He did tick the left wrap but that was about all.

You made a comment about Casper being bigger than Enzo. According to their jump height cards, Casper is 20.75 and Enzo is 20.88 – so I’d call that about a tie. Casper has those long legs and no hair which make him look tall. As far as weight, Casper averages about 38 pounds and Enzo is 35.

Looking forward to your comments!

Thanks,
Barb

[Barb VanEseltine]

Hi Tracy,

This is probably the very last outdoor, AKC trial in Michigan. We (Kalamazoo Kennel Club) have been putting it on for years in the face of wretched weather (often hotter than h*** or freezing cold with pouring rain). This year was the best weather I can remember but the club members are totally burned out and no one has stepped up to be Chair or Secretary or Chief Ring Steward; sad but not that surprising. Attendance has been dropping, since people don’t like to be burning hot or freezing cold. It reminds me of obedience: there used to be outdoor trials back in the 1980’s and early 90’s but that hasn’t been true here in over 30 years. In the case of obedience, we perfected our turns and striding and changes of pace and didn’t want to trip in the grass.

Yeah, when the question is a skill (like weaving or teeter performance or…) then Casper is your man. He wants to do the right thing and learns pretty easily.

Of course I agree that he needs to learn how to collect and keep the bars up:
– When there are a bunch of collected jumps in a row
– When I move suddenly
– If I say something.

At any rate, as a baby-step beginning, I took some time this morning to work on collection, mostly when I am on the landing side of the jump. This was filmed at Mark Bills’ place: Highest Hope Dog Sports. If I arrive early for my weekly class, I can use the “empty” half of the ring most weeks.

So what I see is that he is not jumping quite as long when I ask him to collect – adding a stride – but he isn’t coming as close to the jump as I’d like him to. Also, he is doing something Patt did. Instead of adding a stride, or in addition to adding a stride, he is flipping in the air to land on the line but not in a good way, in a weird upright way. If that isn’t clear, I can try to film it from another angle to help you see. (You can sort of see it at :51).

Consider the left wrap at :58: it is not ideal but I would take it if I could get it on a course. It is plenty tight enough for anything we might want to do, I think. On the other hand, at 1:07 I would like a sharper turn. However that is much better than the one at 1:15 when I am on the takeoff side of the jump.

As far as flexibility, when I am right on top of the jump (:34 for example) I think it looks pretty good. He gets a massage every week and sees the chiropractor every month – this makes me feel like he is “ok”. However, I can add flexibility exercises, if you think they would help.

And despite working on tight turns today, I will take your advice, work the camp material and see if we can improve handling and connection.

Bring on the Summer of Casper!

Thanks,
Barb

[Barb VanEseltine]

Hi Tracy,

No, nothing exciting for him to see, he just doesn’t collect very well. We are working on it but so far, it is not sticking very well.

I have a couple of things to show you. The first is from yesterday’s trial. I handled the “same” way with both Casper and Enzo. Enzo Q’d and Casper did not. This video shows Casper doing a lovely job while I layer the weaves (although he goes much longer than Enzo did before turning into the weaves). So that went well and the judge (Lisa Selthofer) left lots of blank room in that corner for dogs going long before the weaves. I left a bit more of the run in this clip because he dropped a bar that I don’t understand.

My thoughts:
1. I didn’t trust him on the layer, so sent him VERY long and wasted a ton of time
2. Maybe the bar came down because I wasn’t moving soon enough to show him the line (??).
(I would have included the video of Enzo’s run but it is blurry. I’m not at all sure what would cause that but the video is pretty much unwatchable.)

Back to our LYD course! Here is the continuation of the first handling skills challenge, going around the other way. I had hoped that he would get it better going right but I don’t think so.

Things I tried:
– Two hands on the first turn
– Back chaining the end
– As much connection as I thought I could

Other thoughts:
– He doesn’t know the backside verbal as much as I thought
– I did chicken out a bit on trying to get the simple dog-on-left backside, since Casper would hit me without a qualm. It seems to me that his first attempt at the backside was the best, since he acknowledged that I was asking for something. Part way through I moved the camera, so we can see down the line 4-5-6. I feel like the secret to this is a nice sharp turn at 4 but I’m busy layering and can’t make it happen.
(…then a couple of RDW from Enzo…)
Lastly, I included Enzo doing the drill which he did easily both ways. And it was easy to see that his turns are much closer to 90 degrees.

Maybe I should devote my summer to trying to get Casper to collect and turn nicely 90 degrees and do the LYD with Enzo. What do you think? If I continue with Casper, I don’t think I’ll get much benefit from this course, since we’ll wind up doing baby things, like trying to get a decent 90 degree turn.

Thanks,
Barb

[Barb VanEseltine]

Hi Tracy,

That turn off the running DW was aided by the walls of the building and the absence of other reasonable choices. <grin> My 5 verbal exit from the running DW is not close to fluent (left, lay, go-on, ray, right) but we’ll be working on it now that summer is here and I can put it in the middle of a 100×200 field.

Well, here is Casper trying the first handling skills challenge.

There were LOTS of bars. (Sad but true, I didn’t realize the bar came down on the very first run.) Also, I think I was punished by the agility gods for being too lazy to put down a baseline and build the course correctly. I made a number of changes to the course as we ran it.

I thought I was doing a pretty good job of staying connected but must not have since the bars kept flying. Here is what I see comparing your video with mine:
– Casper is running a giant oval shape instead of lines
– The #4 jump in your demo looks like a “gimme” but for Casper it is a send and he dropped it a lot.
– On your setup, the backside of 6 is the continuation of the 4,5 line – mine wasn’t until I adjusted it.
– Maybe my path isn’t good – I think I’m standing around too much. I tend to minimize going north if I’m just about to turn around and go south.

I did not include the reps where he dropped jump #1 or #2.

Help, help.

Thanks,
Barb

[Barb VanEseltine]

Hi Tracy,

Yes to timing/connection over position. I actually said (and demo’d) that exact thing to my class on Wednesday but couldn’t see it myself until I looked at the video AND read your comment. (sigh) Looking at the video, I was still telling myself I needed to get further up the line before starting the blind.

As I am a reluctant BC’er, you can guess that starting one before reaching a “reasonable” position is difficult indeed. So glad we can work together at Dawn’s.

Barb

[Barb VanEseltine]

HI Tracy,

<Two paragraphs of whining deleted – you can thank me later.>

Skipping ahead to Week 4. I quit when defeated by
1. Heat
2. Don’t know how to fix it.

The first couple of reps were very nice. <grin>

After a few tries where I couldn’t get the BC between 5 and 6, I tried stretching the course out a bit. Not sure that would be easier but it guaranteed that I wouldn’t trip on a tunnel bag while running around the tunnel.

I tried to ignore the dropped bars, since the only advice I get on fixing them is “be more perfect” and that doesn’t really help. <oops–extra whine snuck in>

Then he almost hurt me on a late BC. At that point, I just tried to get the BC from 5 to 6. Looking at the video, I see that was doomed to failure, because I needed the cross completed about when I released him. <sigh> Might try to sneak in a few more reps tomorrow.

Thanks,
Barb

[Barb VanEseltine]

Hi Tracy,

Moving right along, here is my video of week 3 sequences 4 and 5. My original plan was to include #6 but I think 4 and 5 expose all the issues. Also, the weather did a 180 and we have sunny skies with a temperature of 80 degrees. The boys and I are not ready for 80!

This is all Casper. Alas, we continue to have a LOT of bar dropping issues.

Sequence #4:
The BC makes sense to me in this sequence.
Rep 1: in this sequence, we need to not only do the BC but a lot of collection at #9 which I didn’t appreciate, therefore he went really wide.
Rep 2: nailed it.
I think the timing of the BC was correct in both cases. On the second rep, I think I was closer to the mouse line but I’m not sure if that would matter to the bar dropping.

Sequence #5:
Ahhhhh. First off, my feet say 4 to 5 is a FC. That is because I wouldn’t go in very far and basically can stand in the same place, facing the tunnel and the FC is essentially done with zero effort.
Rep 1: I did it with the FC. Two bars down.
Rep 2: I used the BC, made it work by moving with him a bit more (instead of staying in the middle and pointing). One bar down.
Rep 3: Dropped the BC bar which, I guess, means I was late. Your instructions were to start the BC as he exits the tunnel. I did start it OK, I think, but I didn’t get it done until he was lifting. Then we lost focus at the end.
Rep 4: I think this was not the best one; the BC looks very late to me. One bar.
Rep 5: Back to retry the FC. I tried to show the mouse line a bit better on this one. Two bars.

I had a dear friend who used to come and train with me every Monday. It was impossible for him to run a sequence and leave before he had a perfect rep. I might be in danger of succumbing to the Bob-syndrome.

I’m really looking forward to working with you in person!!!

Thanks,
Barb

Today’s thought: All slow agility teams run alike; each fast team is fast in its own way.
(A bastardization of Leo Tolstoy’s “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”)

• This reply was modified 4 weeks, 1 day ago by Barb VanEseltine.

[Barb VanEseltine]

Hi Tracy,

Moving along…. Week 3

“…what the timing is and how to get your connection…” Exactly what I need!

I find looking at the sequences and figuring where I would do a BC is so interesting (well, given I have to do a BC! <grin>). I built this course last week and then went to a show and then we talked about some of my show-runs and then I was too busy to run these courses. However, today is the day! Tomorrow the lawn mowing guy comes and that will be the end of this setup.

For sequence 1:
This is my kind of BC! Without prompting I would probably plan a BC here because the alternative FC is one of those flying-camel type crosses and the RC is just lazy. Well, I could probably design a course where the RC is acceptable but this isn’t the one.

For sequence 2:
Looking at the map, I would choose to put the BC between 5 and 6 because I would be afraid I couldn’t get around the far wing of 5 in time to support the backside at 6. You made it look easy.

For sequence 3:
Enzo has a really excellent switch (turn away over a jump) and I would do that at #5 every time with him. Casper’s isn’t as spectacular and this gives me another option to try while he is learning.

Video: https://youtu.be/HgWGaUUz3_8

Yikes!! I’m really glad I have a working spot. (Sorry about the wind noise – I forgot how nicely these videos come out if I just wear the Airpods and let them pick up the sound.)

Sequence 1:
It took us 3 tries to run clean but I feel like I understood the issues.

Sequence 2:
a. No turning cues were communicated on #4, so he was hugely wide on #5. I wanted to tighten up this run (BC on takeoff side). <sigh>
b. Stalled out going to #6 and didn’t get the push.
c. Pulled him off #4 by turning too soon (failing to see commitment to #4).
d. Same (btw, the “damn it” was directed at me for making the same mistake twice in a row.)
e. Restart at the tunnel; crash and burn.
f. Moved the BC to landing side of #5 and it went ok.
I obviously need help with running it with the BC on the takeoff side of 5. I want to blame our problems on Casper’s enormous stride and non-existent turning ratio but, of course, that is a training issue I haven’t managed to conquer.

Sequence 3:
I spent all my mental energy on this course worrying about 7 to 8 and that was a snap for Casper.
The first run was “clean”; I should have stopped there. I didn’t like it because he was very wide around the wrap at 5 and got no turning cues on 6, so the 7 to 8 line was easy. <grin>
After that it was ugly. He dropped the #3 jump a million times. I got the wrap in isolation but not in flow. I even adjusted the tunnel to improve his angle to #3.
The last run was with the “switch” cue; it wasn’t better than the blind/collect/spin although the #3 jump stayed up. Naturally, he dropped it when it was #7.

Things that went really well:
– Start line stay: this has been a nightmare but is gradually yielding to consistency and audible releases.
– Returning with the toy after a rep and setting up to run again went very well.
– After every set, I gave Casper the toy to chew on while I put down the new numbers and walked the course a bit. Then I called him to come play and he came! Every time!!

Thanks,
Barb

[Barb VanEseltine]

Hi Tracy,

Lots of things to think about!

I’m going to highlight this one:
“The first BC 4-5 was super nice, great timing and connection! One consideration is that you didn’t need to be quite as far past 4 and can be moving directly to the tunnel and not near 4 at all.”

I can explain that I don’t have a good feel for when the dog has committed to the various options. I certainly wouldn’t have thought of running it that way: Enzo might just skip #4 entirely. I gave some consideration to a tunnel break but, to be honest, I was already doing a bunch of handling and didn’t have room to hold everything.

I think that is part of the trouble I have with blinds: knowing how much support various options need. On this course, there is another good example at the end, coming out of the final tunnel. Because of the RC, I thought I needed more support on that first jump out of the tunnel. And that extra step is another thing which helped make me late.

I hear what you’re saying about Plan A and Plan B but I try to only have Plan A, especially in local events. If I allow myself to have a Plan B then I will be quick to grab it. <grin>

I set up one of the class sequences last week and then didn’t get a chance to run it. Hopefully soon!!

Thanks,
Barb

[Barb VanEseltine]

Hi Tracy,

Enzo easily won that round (it was just Time 2 Beat).

However, this next video shows why I am so hesitant about blinds. In BOTH cases, when I walked the course, I had no idea if the blinds would be “OK” or not. So here is the run where I couldn’t make it happen.

One of my buddies ran it successfully with the blind exactly where I put it, but I think he did it mostly as a jibe. <grin> I saw other folks do their blind immediately after the triple and that was where I was gong to do it with Casper except his run blew up entirely (he got the BC before the initial tunnel but then did the entire set of weaves and we never got that run back on track.

Thanks,
Barb

[Barb VanEseltine]

For review. This is Enzo. I thought it would be very hard but it wasn’t. This is a simple Time to Beat course.

Thanks,
Barb

[Barb VanEseltine]

Hi Tracy,

As you can see, I struggled with the tunnel BC section. I showed some of my walk-throughs, in case that helps.

Looking forward to your thoughts.

Barb

[Barb VanEseltine]

Hi Tracy,

Here is how we’ve done so far.

I didn’t intentionally throw the toy to Casper. It worked out that way sometimes.

We struggled a bit with the two BC in a row on the flat but made that happen with a longer lead-out.

Casper is SO WIDE just doing the 2 wing wrap exercise that trying to slide a BC in is quite an adventure. I got two toys but, to my surprise, he much preferred the Frisbee to the tug-toy. I would have expected them to be about even. Eventually we got a bit of that done.

Despite the poorness of the 2 wing exercise, I moved on to the 90 degree turn because it seems like it might be the most useful. It was really easy to watch you but I had a bit of trouble.

I’m trialing this weekend so I may not be able to get to the tunnel until next week.

Thanks,
Barb

[Barb VanEseltine]

Hi Tracy,

Thanks for the great feedback; I was pretty pleased with his work on that video!

I will try to post about the CA adventure on FB.

Barb

[Barb VanEseltine]

Hi Tracy,

Btw, I will get done what I can this week and will miss most of the rest of the class as I’m going to the NAC (3 days driving to CA; 4 days there; 3 days driving home). I used to do that kind of thing all the time but I just realized that was 30+ years ago. Oh well, we’ll see how it goes. I’m just taking Enzo, so will have only one dog to mess with and he’s a pretty easy traveler.

Anyway, here is my video. I didn’t do all the exercises but I got in some with the OUT and some with the SOFT TURN. It went pretty well, I thought.

Thanks,
Barb

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