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OK – think I got it but a few questions:
1) should I be using the real cue when we’re experimenting with how to get the bounce or just leave it for narrow channels until we get the bounce more reliably on the 2x2s
2) any issue with trying to get the striding in another environment or better to get it at home and then take it on the road?
3) Both sets of 2x2s open a tiny bit or just the 2nd set? A few weeks ago he was doing great with me running when the first was straight and the 2nd was around 1&7 but nearly straight is a lot harder.And I did notice the lack of eye-rolling on the wing wraps. I think it also helps that we’ve been in the 40s & 50s all week so it’s kinda brisk out. Plus running for Nemo is always a favorite pastime…
2×2 – 2 sets straight- 4/21/21
We worked the 2x2s down to a 1ft gap between the bases. Had to open up the 2nd set a bit when sending off my left and with me moving. I did less movement the next time and he still popped the 2nd set so I opened them up again. Should I have just opened up the angle the first time he popped the 2nd set?I plan to try the Find Em game with more open channels on Friday or Saturday and then go back to either the 2x2s or more closed channels for the session after that.
Downhill to End Position – 4/19/21
Raw food in the Toppl and me cueing the wrong word led to a crime of passion. And then he started offering the Bang Game and going up and back on the plank. It was a very exciting morning. We’re working on increasing the gap to the floor so that that board starts to become more parallel to the ground. This was a 7in gap and using the smaller lid target.
I’ve never had a dog do this before so it took me by surprise at first. But then again, he’s the first one raised during a pandemic. I think all my other Shelties worked through approaching or ignoring other people when they were much younger. If he had less confidence he probably wouldn’t approach at all. It’s 99% the imbetween moments or just meeting people out and about when not working. There was one instance several weeks ago where he released from a jump, took it and ran straight to the instructor to circle around and jump on her. We worked through that with lots of rewards of not looking or glancing quickly and back at me (the look at that game) and he can go by her now. Every other time it’s been a imbetween moment.
Oh good idea about the treat hugger. I have one but hadn’t figured out how to incorporate it into my training.
Had another crime of passion this morning in downhill to end position (well his raw food was out there as a distraction! Video to come). Will move the plank to the back yard and around. Was going to move the teeter out but we’re in the 40s now with frost overnight. My 2x2s stuck to the grass Sunday morning.
The jumping up was more of a herding dog, circle behind and also bark. He has a different happy wriggle when he stays in front of the person. Once he starts the circling behind, I have to interrupt it. The accosted person ignoring him doesn’t do the trick. But I am going to play around with seeing if lack of eye contact makes it less likely to start.
And with treats – I was using halved charlie bears so that he could find them in the grass. If I use something smaller then he spends time hunting them!
Fading Target on Plank – 4/18/21
Did some sessions with the smaller lid target on my Plank and 2 other teeters and then Fading it take 2 went much better this morning. I added in the Flying Squirrel for excitement and even got him to commit a crime of passion. (It’s just one exciting after another in the Heller front yard). He is lifting his head to look at me but it’s after he stops. He seems to be focusing down at the target/ground as he’s approaching the end and getting in to position.I was reviewing all the games and realized I missed one – the wobble board to target end position. Should I go back for that one or is the fact that he’s doing well with the bang game mean it’s a moot point?
And last night Kaladin got to attend his first live mini seminar. There was only 1 other team participating but it was a very vocal Sheltie (working and waiting) so just about the right level of distraction for him to work through. I had time to walk him around the ring for about 15min before it started which helped him alot. Then we did some tricks in the ring before our turn and he rocked it! (Video clip on my FB wall of the one long sequence we did. He ran 8 since we were lazy about changing bars and I wanted it to be really easy for him to stretch out and run) Other than deciding he needed to jump up on presenter between runs that is. I think it might be eye contact that triggers it. He does that to some people where he will circle around behind them and jump up. We had time to work on it with Brooke and when she avoided eye contact he stayed on the ground and I could reward him for looking at her and away or going by her without engaging.
LOL! I’m going to assume you had a typo in your first sentence and meant to say it was a good session.
Thanks for the suggestion and reminder on getting him to move forward independently of my motion. I think I will try having a helper toss the ball from the end while I stay stationary (maybe with the hoop on the end at first just to ensure he hits the target). I think this would be better than me trying to throw the ball while I”m that far back. It may also work to set a tunnel after the DW to add excitement.As an intermediate step I may also try leading out partway and then standing still and releasing him to drive past me. Going past me when I’m still will be harder for him but he also doesn’t have to go so far ahead of me at first.
Low DW – 4/16/21
Sneaking one more video in. We had access to a low DW last night so I thought I would see what he did with it. The first few reps he is sending to wrap a wing and then I switched to a low jump. I added more motion from me to see if that helped him run more (and because I didn’t have my Pet Tutor with me) He had a few trotting reps in the middle I cropped out and then I ended on the last one since he was cantering and strode through the target nicely. Unfortunately I didn’t notice there was a hoop right next to the DW until I was done so I didn’t try that.
And I just noticed there is an extra clip of him coming down the DW on the last rep before the slow-mo clip. I think I must have accidentally duplicated it twice.Bang it & Elevator Game on Clunky Teeter – 4/16/21
We rented some open ring time tonight at our training school and got some great practice in on a very loud and clunky teeter. (it’s a back-up teeter because the nice one broke). I reduced the tip a bit but he did great for the bang it game, a short break and then then the elevator game. I also swapped out my larger target for a much smaller lid and still got a foot target and then the scratching.
Channels with Real Cue – 4/16/21
Moved the weaves to the back yard (We did them twice opened up more at lunch and then this video was after work). Added my “poles” cue, but he
seems a bit confused on his striding. I had to slow it down to try to figure out what he was doing. I am pretty sure he should bounce but it looks like he’s trying to swim a bit here and there too. He’s 23in from his chest to his tail so just slightly less than the distance between the poles.My plan with the 2x2s is to inch them down while straight (I’ll stick to the easier entries for a bit to let him sort out striding). When they get close to the real distance, I will open up the 2nd set a bit if needed.
2×2 – 2 sets straight – 4/14/21
This was from yesterday. We inched them down until the edges of the 2×2 bases were 3ft apart (so I guess that makes the poles 5ft apart).
Last Sunday we did 2x2s at the airbnb in Toledo with my sister’s family as spectators. Not surprisingly, I had to open up the 2nd set a bit and push them further apart for him to be successful. We got them back down to both straight and about 4.5ft apart there. Weave poles are moving to the back yard for the next session. Should I focus on getting the 2x2s closer together, the slightly tighter channels where I can add the real cue or is it fine to alternate back and forth on the days he gets to do “real weaving”?Fading Target on Plank – 4/15/21
We transitioned to a smaller and less obvious target before this session. I’m not sure he’s ready to fade the target. He stopped each time but he’s curling in to me a lot more if I hang back and it doesn’t look like the scratching was strong enough with the target to persist without it.Plank to Jump & Wing – 4/5 & 4/6/21
Hi Jordan – We took a bit of a break due to several days of rain, me needing to get a new phone, a road trip to Toledo to pass a Sheltie to my sister to take to my parents in NY and then some snow this week. So these two were from more than a week ago.4/5/21 –
I experimented with a low jump to keep him focused forward since sometimes he would pull off a wing. We started right next to the plank since he had been doing a launch for the first time in a few sessions if we started furtherr back and were using raw food as the reward. I liked the results with the jump. I kept it low and close to make it less likely he would launch over the target. I think I’ll try pushing it further back to see if I can get him running in a bit more extension through the target.4/6/21 –
Not sure if it was the jump the previous day, but this has been his best session so far with a wing after the plank in terms of him focusing forward to the wing. He did launch over the target on the first rep even though I started him close to the plank. Since the raw food had gotten him pretty excited, I went with no reward or screw up cookie with a trick for a launch but had him do a trick for a cookie if he trotted. I think this session went a bit long for him as he started throwing in some trotting later. (either that or the lack of reward after the launch kicked in)
Some other questions since this class is wrapping up
Is it an issue that the plank I have on the ground in my yard isn’t the same length as a DW plank? It’s about 10ft.For now I’m concentrating on getting him to at least canter instead of trot. He is not running in full extension down the plank so I expect I’ll have to circle back to the foundation exercises when the lightbulk clicks and he picks up speed and extending his stride. Any tips on what to do when this happens?
How far should we be on the DW training before I try an a-frame? Doing a full height DW consistently? Some other point?
Elevator Game 4/13/21 and Bang Game 4/14/21
Hadn’t read through the new games yet or I would have progressed the Elevator game to lifting the board up a bit with him on it. I was rather disorganized in this session but I like how he seems pretty happy to jump on the board.I don’t have the teeter outside yet so it’s hard to add in Nemo in the basement, but I can use his raw breakfast as a distraction to increase arousal!
Elevator Game & Bang Game – 4/7/21
Catching up on some videos from last week when I was busy getting my new phone set up and then driving to Toledo and back. (and as for the target fading – uh I think I missed that game…will need to go look)Took the Elevator game on the road. I think that “smaller dog-more concentrated weight on the end of the board” theory is it.
Then did some weaves and circled back for the Bang Game.
