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Fusion Class- 2/11/25
This was our last agility training session before the seminar with Casey on Friday and her NFC debut this weekend. I had treats in my pocket and in her furry lotus tug both times.
1rst session –
Took a bit longer than usual to re orient to me after we walked in so waited and then tossed a treat when she did turn back. Had some feelings at the start but then sat when I asked her to, Did her first long jump (took a bit of a look and collected to add a stride but jumped it nicely). She was noticing the rest of the class coming in to set bars near the end and then I didn’t cue the right turn to the tunnel well at all so she kpet on her line and went right up to Dawn (who had just set a bar to 16in) and had to stare at her for a bit. I purposely stayed in the ring a bit longer to test her on whether she noticed/cared about the BC coming into the ring on the far side but she was fine.2nd session –
I liked our “setup” for the 1rst sequence here. Followed me in, did her bark and off we went. I think I want to do something like that for her first NFC run. Check out about 1:30 where Dawn accidentally got more in our way than we intended and Lift ran right by her as she was trying to get out of the way!
LOL! I almost wrote a comment about how I hope there is a tunnel close to the entry so that I can cue a bark and spin and then run. (ideally it’s a slightly curved tunnel so that I can get to where I need to be for where we are going next)
yes – on the left turn out of the tunnel, my verbal cue was late and the physical cue was pretty non-existent for what she could see. I was worried about pulling her off the tunnel with the a-frame there but I don’t think I needed to be.
With the line-ups where she was still standing. I was pretty sure she wouldn’ stay in a stand based on how her freeze it games have gone. And I gave her 50/50 odds on whether she would sit if I cued it. So planning on no leadout for the first rep in the first run and we’ll see how it goes from there.
I saw the rabbit fur lotus balls at Clean run but wasn’t sure how to attach a bungee to it. And Lift has been meh on any kind of lotus toy that doesn’t have fur – there are a lot of fabric/canvas ones out there that I found.
Fusion Ring Rental
Khamsin was out of town and Reacher is recovering so we had to settle for Kaladin’s barking as our distraction.First session was with no treat in the lotus fur tug. I like how she orients back to me after coming in the ring but lots of feelings about lining up (not sure if it was the lack of treats or just because). However she ran what I had planned and is doing well going back out after getting the treat in the box. Got a line up on the 3rd rep so clearly we won’t be asking for a line up in our NFC debut on the 15th since I am pretty sure we won’t have time (or enough brain cells) to do more than 2 mini sequences.
Second session we worked on tunnel exits and I did put treats in the lotus toy. We did much better on the 2 tunnel line here compared to class last week.
I’ve been looking for another fur covered lotus toy on a bungee off and on for weeks and finally realized I bought the one I have from Fusion! (Ordered from Paws Made in the UK) Good news a special order going in tomorrow. Bad news they won’t get here for a few weeks. I haven’t had good success with other kinds of toys for agility in public (and limited success with some wing wraps to a toy at home), but I only have 1 lotus toy and I would like to use it for part of the seminar with Casey on Friday. So should I make sure I really clean out any crumbs after the seminar and still use it as my bridge to the food box?
Fusion Class 2/4/25
She’s doing a lot better with noise from spectators and with people moving around the ring. Also I am liking her jumping at 8in.Rep 1 –
No treats in the lotus tug, but I did have cheese in my pocket. Also turkey in the NFC reward box. I felt like she was a bit less into the toy when I tossed it after she realized there wasn’t a treat in it. However still great about running to the reward box and then back out to work. We didn’t have much decompression time before our turn but did manage to lie on her cot while I swapped my shoes and then did a snuffle mat and some pattern games on the way to the entrance gate. I wanted to try lining her up without using treat tosses but she had some feelings about that and then it was too much when Beth came in close to get the leash so when she came back after I called, I did toss a few treats for tricks and then got her to spin and took off.
Rep 2
Treat in the lotus tug this time. Started inside the ring a bit more to take the pressure off a bit but with jumping towards the gate to add some difficulty and she was brilliant. Also was ready with the pattern games &tricks as Beth came in to get the leash so that went much better. I did get a leaping lizard moment when I was asking for the back of a jump, but she was way more tolerant of my inadvertent Yays instead of marker cues and she was really good about circling back around (kinda in a flow) to get the tight right turn out of the straight tunnel the 2nd time. (I think I was pretty late with the cue the first time and was facing towards the left a bit which is probably why she turned to the left out of the tunnel the first time).
Not on video, but I took her into the ring a dog after our 2nd run because the rest of the class was walking a different course for their 2nd turn. She was brilliant with me taking the leash off, asking for a line up and then re-calling to me with a tossed treat followed by a run into the reward box while handlers were busy walking by. This time in the reward box, I had her bark after she gulped her treat and before running out again. I think that little “yup I, ready to go again” bark worked well since she had a speedy line up (no barking) the 2nd time even with a handler walking by a few feet away.
She did tag along with me to the MAC UKI trial at OTR last weekend. Spent some time in the car, some time being good in a crate, some time barking in the scoring room (whether Kaladin was in there with her or not), did a great session on the practice jump on their new turf (using turkey) while a class was walking, and had some puppy play sessions in the back room to let off steam with her new best buddy, Kim Otis’ 10month old cocker girl, Hobbes. (yes -the deal with her husband was that she could get another dog if he got to name it). I’ve got Fusion ring time booked on Friday & Sunday and will probably use it for some 2×2 or channel weaves (sadly it got cold again and snowed a bit but last week I was able to do this outside twice), some RDW mat work and doing some backside slice drills. I was thinking about going back to wrapping a wing/cone and then moving up the line to the jump and gradually moving across the bar more. After that she has a class next Tuesday and then Casey is here for the seminar next Friday.
Yes! I think the cheering & noise jazz her up. That’s the most speed I’ve seen from her in a group setting. Hmmm. I think I know just the person with a young dog to invite to join me for a ring rental since her husband also does agility and is a good sport about being roped into things.
3rd line-up – We’ve done the freeze dance at home when she offers a stand, but usually she offers a sit. I thought I’d see if she wanted to freeze in the stand but clearly not!
NFC times – yup I was looking at the timing of that first session from when she crossed the first jump and 3 reps with that many obstacles is probably too long for a 50-60sec NFC run. I was pretty efficient with the food reward box, but she’s going to need time to regroup before the next mini sequence. I am thinking 2 reps with the first one not starting near the gate or with doing a trick like a spin and running off the start (her behind the back start might not be ready for an actual NFC run just yet). Then for the 2nd rep, taking a pause to see if she needs to shake or bark and if she looks good, maybe asking for a line up and a very short lead out.
Backside issues – yes – definitely something to address separately to balance her back towards not always assuming it’s the front of the jump. I was trying really hard to keep the connection on the 2nd time for sure and she was convinced it was the front. However like you said – she kept doing agility and there wasn’t any leaping lizard moments.
2nd session with poor lost Henry – I did start tossing food for her but not soon enough.
She’s going to tag along for this weekend’s UKI trial up at OTR, but she’s not entered. I’ve got 605 runs to get through as show manager this weekend plus the excitement of a hotel stay on Sat night so that I can go out to dinner with Merritt and not worry about driving home (slight potential for a bit of snow) after that. The Casey Keller seminar is in 2 weeks on the 14th with the trial on the 15th & 16th. Right now she’s entered in 2 classes/day, but guessing we wont’ run all of them, esp with the seminar on Friday morning.
Fusion class – 1/28/25
Got to class early today so had the opportunity to practice waiting longer before our turn. Snuffle mat, hanging on the cot and pattern games before the first rep. Added in some engaged chill (perched on my lap as I was kneeling) before the 2nd rep.
Dawn P (teaching) and the class (including some of the boarding staff who came to watch during a lunch break) really came through for me with making it more raucous. LOL
Rep 1
No treats on me or in lotus tug. Practiced using it as a predictor of the NFC box. Gave her a chance to re-focus on the jump on the first leadout. I think she needed a shake/cued bark or a moment on my 3rd line-up. However aside from missing the backside slice, she had no issues taking all the cued obstacles, putting her mouth on the toy or leashing up at the end.
Rep 2
Had treats on me and in the toy for this one. Dawn really outdid herself this one with the obnoxious gate steward act. It was a bit too much for Lift right at the beginning (she really wanted to help Dawn go find “Henry”, but we re-grouped and I just had her spin and go.
Hi!
No videos that I wanted to post as we’ve done mostly 2×2, RDW mat work and “The Pet Tutor is not as exciting as you think” work, but it’s all going well.I trained by myself at Fusion on Friday morning and figured out how to turn on the music streaming service (whatever it is – I don’t do apple devices!) so we at least had background music on fairly loud (plus Kaladin chiming in to protest his incarceration). I made sure to give her more time to settle and reconnect on leadouts before releasing and it went well with some short sequences testing turns out of tunnels and some layering.
AFter a few sessions at home (also watching Kaladin since she loves to mimic him) of crunchy Os in Pet Tutor and more exciting treats on me, she seems to be much better balanced about sending to the PT and then turning back to do something by me or to do some thing without the PT before me triggering it again. I was working on her directional cues with it in 1 direction and tossing treats for the other. I did two short 2×2 sessions tossing cheese and discovered I can’t hit the dish worth beans (or i hit it and it bounces out). Then she got confused looking for cheese in the dish and missed where it actually was so I picked up the dish and just worked on marking and tossing as early as possible so she wouldn’t head check. We’re up to around the clock at 2&8 and will be trying 1&7 next. I think I’ll try putting the PT back in so that she has a good target to focus on. I can’t remember – were the channels a track to try concurrently or should I go further with 2x2s before trying some channels? (Fusion has both and way more room than I do inside at home)
In regards to pacing:
This is an on-going thing that we’ve been keeping tabs on with her rehab sports med vet and massage therapist. She has a tendency to pace especially if she eases into a trot from a walk/amble. If I slow her down a bit and then ask her to move forward she often starts up in a trot instead of a pace. (Fingal was the same way and he wasn’t built at all like her so go figure). When I first noticed it months ago she was out in her pelvis and sacrum (likely due to rough housing), but that was addressed and hasn’t come back. She actually stopped pacing for a while right after her spay and Dr Julia was saying she often sees that anesthesia can reset things. Lately it’s come back intermittently even though we’re not finding anything that is causing it in massages. (her last adjustment was in december 2 weeks after the spay). She just got cleared for full balance/fitbone work again so we’ve picked that back up.I’ll ask the class on Tuesday to be more rowdy! I think I will also start asking her for more complicated handling in the group environment so that her actual NFC run(s) can be super simple at 4in and basic.
Fusion class -1/21/24
Moved her back to 8in jumps on Tuesday in class and I think she looks pretty good going over them.Rep 1 – No treats in the lotus tug or my pockets for the first sequence. Some sass for the line-ups, but she was a pro at ignoring Beth as the pushy leash runner. You can’t see it but she was great about shoving her head through the leash loop at the end even though it was right where Beth was standing (I think she thought I was doing another rep and was surprised I cued the leash after 2 short sequences. LOL!)
Rep 2 – went back to having cheese in my pocket and a treat in the lotus tug for the 2nd turn. I might be imagining it, but I think she was slightly less excited about the toy on the first throw after it didnt’ have a treat inside it for the first rep. However she was awesome about running right at the bar setter when I tossed it that way for the 2nd throw (and the barsetter was so proud of her because she was trying hard to be a clueless bar setter and stare pretty hard at Lift)
Not sure why I haven’t noticed this before, but Lift does need some time to settle down inside. Thanks to pattern games and asking for tricks she can walk down the aisle past other dogs & people, but she’s pretty amped up at first. She can handle going into the ring about 5min after coming inside if she has to, but she’s more relaxed after her first turn or if she has time to hang out in a crate for a bit. So I’m writing this here to help remind me that I should take her out for her potty break before I walk a course (especially if she is early in the class) so that she can have more time to acclimate to being inside the building.In other news, I did our first session with 2x2s on Monday. The value building with tossing a treat went really well, but then I discovered a hole to address – she’s so into the Pet Tutor that she doesnt’ want to leave it (of course the stupid thing sometimes randomly spits out an extra treat after the fact – way to be variably reinforcing!). And when she does leave it she’s still looking longingly at it and can’t focus enough to come close to me for any kind of trick or to reset. We did a short session today of sending to the PT with crunchy Os (liked but not super high value) and coming back to me for higher value treats plus doing other tricks by me for treats. (and Kaladin got to join in so that Lift could practice waiting on her cot while watching). So we’ll keep that up for a few more sessions before we try again with 2x2s
Yes – USDAA starters courses are often baby-dog friendly as long as you don’t have a huge-striding young dog! Jan Skurzynski is the judge in March and I’ve always liked her relaxing manner and her courses.
I’m actually moving her back to 8in in tomorrow’s class and I did some set point work with her at 8 and 10in yesterday. The intent is to be running more at 8in going forward so that the 4select at the trial is super easy.
I can easily add in a Sat run for her for Fusion (being that I’m the secretary and it hasn’t closed yet!). She’s not the best at waiting for her turn at Fusion so I think I will have Dean bring her partway through the day on Saturday once I’ve gotten the trial going and can then focus on her more. It’s so convenient having Fusion be 8min from my house!
I also just entered 2 runs sat & Sun for the late March OTR UKI. I’ve got plenty of time after Feb Fusion and even the early March USDAA to re-consider and adjust if necessary.
LOL – it is Lift. She could suddenly decide the food reward box is stupid! The rabbit fur lotus is gaining a lot of value for her. She is doing better with me carrying it while running and she will sometimes tug with it in the ring too (before & after getting food out of it) I think I will experiment in class and see how she does for a short sequence with me carrying it and tugging her over to her remote reinforcement from a short distance (pseudo – NFC reward box) to get actual food. Then see what she thinks of going back out to do a few more things and then leash and done for a remote reinforcement out of the ring. Also try it as a one and done of short sequence – engage with toy – and run to leash and out. I just want to try it out so I don’t get an explosion from her in the ring during an NFC run because she’s decided that it’s stoopid if the lotus tug doesn’t immediately dispense food out in the ring. Or were you thinking I should just carry it, do the mini sequence and then leash and out to reinforcement. (then I’ll be one of “those people” who carries the toy and doesn’t reward the dog with it!)
If the experiments go well, I might try an FEO or two at the early march USDAA trial. I’m already planning on entering Kaladin for that one.Fusion Rental 1/17/25
Didn’t have friends to share the rental with on Friday but I crated Kaladin inside since I knew he would bark some. The boarding dogs also went wild with a cacophony of barking before Lift’s first rep. We did her power bowls outside the ring and volume dial before the video starts (I cropped it out since you really can’t see through the lattice gate). First sequence has all treats outside the ring on her remote reinforcement station on the chair. I had intended to do a RC on jump 3 but forgot and did a FC instead so we just kinda winged it back up the jump line.
Next part of the video at the other end of the ring is right after she got her turkey outside the ring. She was a bit sassy on the line-ups but then worked for her lotus fur tug (stinky St Rocco’s treat inside)
After that she got a break in a crate off to the side and enjoyed 2nd breakfast in her toppl while Kaladin got a turn.
I brought Lift back out to balance between sequences 3&4 (turning from 4 to the tunnel vs contining onto the #5 jump before the wrap to the tunnel. She did great with the long run from 1 to 2 (I had course building challenges that morning) where you jump out of the course on 1 to 2. (last time we tried this in November she kept jumping up at me on that section) Had a late FC so she bulged out on the turn over 3 the first time but got the line to the tunnel. Switched to doing a RC on jump 5 and then did the 2 jumps on the line out of the tunnel. That one was lovely. Then did just 2-4 and tightened up the turn over 3 with an earlier FC and the outside arm (with toy) crossed across my body and pointing back to her ad dropped her toy on the line to the next jump. Sadly I didn’t get video of this (either my aging phone crapped out or I hit photo instead of video – I give it even odds!)
Overall really happy with the session. I asked her to do more complicated things and she was speedy and focused with no leaping lizard moments.
Looking ahead for UKI trials with the food reward box: I’ve got her entered in SS & Jpg (4s) on Sunday for the mid Feb Fusion UKI with Casey Keller. It’s small to tall that day so she’ll be first. (I could also switch her to 1 class/day and do SS at the end of the day on Sat and the beginning of the day on Sun. After the seminar on Friday, I’d leave her at home to rest for most of the day on Saturday and have Dean drop her off mid-afternoon) Going to pick a day at the Mar 21-22 OTR UKI (Harry Pawter trial). I can do Jpg & SS at the end of the day on Saturday (small to tall so she would likely be first) or there is double SS first thing in the morning on Sunday (tall to small so she’d be last. I could also pick the 2nd SS & then Jpg so that there are 3 classes in the morning for her to settle in during). May 3-4 at Fusion (Stefanie Theis judging & I am secretary. Stefanie is also doing half-day seminars on May 2). Other options that have NFC/FEO but no reward box so not sure about these: OTR USDAA Mar 1-2, ASCA at Fusion Mar 8-9. Kaladin and I are at the Invitational and then the Midwest ICE thing 2 weeks later, but I’m leaving Lift at home for both of those.
I can absolutely do a short remote reinforcement thing for her first rep next Tuesday. Then go back in and do another short rep with food. This time I’ll try to actually get there earlier so I’m not feeling rushed when the instructor decides to start with 4in!
And yes – I was just shaping her through the framed tire on the far side of the ring since I think she had only seen it once before. She’s seen the Galican one a few times.
The surprise from the person dashing was earlier in the day? I was bringing her in for short episodes and then rotating her out to the car again when I was going to run Kaladin. It was maybe her 2nd or 3rd time inside. I think it was the combination of sudden and fast movement that went right by her. When I had Ann walk by her that was later and she was more settled, but not too tired yet.
Oh yes- ASCA! I did some with both Kaladin & Min when they were starting out. Lift could jump 8in in their ACE program (she’s over the 11in cutoff to jump 8 as a regular height). There is a Mar 8-9 ASCA trial at Fusion. I’ll have to see how she does in mid-Feb at Fusion UKI. Pretty sure ASCA allows toys for FEO but doesn’t have a food reward box so I would want to be confident that we can do a short sequence and be done or maybe she’ll decide toys are good with agility again. Do I remember correctly that ASCA Jumpers doesn’t have weaves? (not that it matters if we’re FEO-in though)
Joni is intermitenttly loud with agility – she’s mostly quiet but when she gives a verbal cue it is louder. And Ruby is certainly very exciting so it was good practice.
Julie
Hi Tracy,
Do you want me to keep posting on this string for the extended version that starts on Jan 15? Or start a new string?
Julie
Thanks so much for anohter great MaxPup/Teenager support group session! Looking forward to the support group detials. Happy New Year!
Julie
Yes – She will be familiar with Casey from the seminar so mid-February it is! I scratched her earlier entries (easy to do when you’re the secretary!)
And yes – no food in the cue hand for the behind the back starts. I’ll mix these into some drop in classes so she does them somewhere other than home.
NFC Plans
I think I want her NFC debut to include doing some jumps/tunnels and not just lining up and doing tricks while staying away from jumps. She is cleared for multiple 8in jumps (straight or gentle turns) as of the day before the mid January trial so I could do some very short 4in jump sequences leading up to that trial and then see if the Jumping or SS course on Sunday at the trial is set up so that I can easily do a relatively straight line or curve of 3-4 jumps from a start position (not necessarily the real one) to something near the food box/end. Or just plan on her debut being the mid-February Fusion UKI with Casey Keller. The beginning of Feb UKI at OTR will have a reward box but that is a very new environment for her so I think she will tag along to play in the practice area but not be entered (plus – that’s the trial that hit the online cap on both days 2 weeks after opening and has a healthy waitlist both days! Hopefully I can get her in to OTR for a mini seminar sometime before that end of March UKI. (in regards to Kaladin coming along for support -she’s done her past seminars and a lot of new stuff at Fusion without him so not sure I want to bring him along to just be supportive – he’ll get pretty crabby not getting to play and I do want him to have a chill weekend right before the Invitational especially because we now have a Midwest ICE event 2 weeks after the Invitational in WI.) There is also a beginning of March USDAA at OTR but obviously no food box so I think that one is out unless she suddenly decides she loves toy rewards in the ring.Lucky you with warmer temps. It got warm enough that the snow has melted in our yard but it’s pretty sloppy and I think our temps are going back to MN January normals for next weekend (aka single digits).
Send Behind Starts – 12/28/24
We’ve done a few sessions in the last 2 weeks and here’s her first one sending around a wing. (no treats in my starting hand) I’ve also been playing around with it for Kaladin but Lift is further along. (she says – of course! she’s the brilliant girl after all)
