[Amy Sannes]

Thanks for the feedback.
> to let him know when it is the wing versus when it is the toy in your hand, keep using your directionals but also use a marker for the toy. Sometimes he was getting the toy, sometimes you wanted the wing, so he was not sure which. The toy marker will help a lot.
Ah yes, “use your words!” Will try to do this. I’m sure he would appreciate it if I could give him more clues 😉

Also appreciate the feedback to stay upright and look at him! Will also try this. Definitely would benefit from practicing without Skizzle for a few reps.

We tried some backsides – I think the example was proofing, but I thought we could start without the tunnel distraction/proofing first (that was probably an exercise I skipped over). I do have sincere thanks to the neighbor kids on the trampoline and the neighbor dogs barking – to help with environmental distractions.

If my notes are right, I think tomorrow or Wednesday is the last day to post…this likely will be my last one. Thanks for another great course! I don’t feel like we’re ready for the MaxPup3, but plan to sign up anyways to have the progression for next steps available.

[Amy Sannes]

Thanks for the feedback…will try angling the jump for the next attempt.

Here’s our playing with the tunnel. Still new to both of us. I can work on pointing to his collar, and presenting the toy at my side.

[Amy Sannes]

Hi Tracy –

Here’s some Sends ‘n Serps attempts…with one of my new wings! We started out well, but near the end you’ll see some runs for the toy instead of wraps. There were a few before I stopped. Upon review, I was considering whether it was too many reps for that time (6 minutes total with some breaks)…and/or lack of clarity – feels like maybe we could benefit from reviewing Strike a Pose. I really appreciate your expectation that the picture you present directs the dog what to do/where to go (vs. verbals). Skizzle isn’t close to driving through the jump – which is what I’d like to see.

[Amy Sannes]

Thanks for the notes, esp these re. smiley face game:
>Looking at when things went really smoothly, it was when you started him lined up at your side and you were really connected,
And: >Ideally, you look at him the whole time
> AS he exits the tunnel, try to keep your left arm back to his nose, make eye contact, and keep moving to to the barrel for another step or two so motion supports the connection.
This is super helpful! Skizzle is good at teaching me that my handling matters – like stopping coming out of the tunnel. I’ll try to remember that it’s probably me doing something not quite right – even when I start to think “why isn’t Skizzle doing x ?”

Also (for wind game): >You were emphasizing connection and that is more important than going fast Thanks!

All good things to think about…and not what I was expecting.

We had the chance to try the jump grid outside. The spacing looks ok (?) – though I probably have him starting too far behind the first jump/bump. I was entertained by the last rep – that I thought it was past due to reward the stay – and then he definitely broke it right after.

[Amy Sannes]

Thanks for the feedback, esp:
> For now, we are going to keep you out next to the toy and moving forward
Appreciate you saving me miscommunication and future problems.

The East coast has crazy blizzard conditions. Here (more West), we’re having unseasonably warm weather. A perk for practicing agility outside!

We tried the Smiley Face game. We’re both learning 😉 In these clips, Skizzle seems to prefer turning L (on the L) out of the tunnel for the wrap vs. the R. It seems like too few reps to know for sure (or unequal handling/cues). He’s having a good time – and I’m excited that he’s enjoying it! I don’t (yet) look like an agility handler – I’m running my own smiley-face arc here, instead of cutting across. I need to review the example video again, now that I have this one to compare to, esp. for handling.

We also did Wind in My Hair. I could have more wind in my hair (aka – run!). Even here, seems like I need more space (or more likely, better timing). He misses 3 jumps here – one rewarded with toy and the other 2 with reset cookies. I think his attitude was good throughout.
I had planned to try rear crosses or mission transition, but with the missed jumps, didn’t try those. They’ll have to be in an upcoming session.

[Amy Sannes]

Good morning, Tracy!

Thanks for the feedback on the zig zags – that the handling is ok at the moment.

And on the mission transition
>Note that at :16 you did your wrap verbal and he went and wrapped the jump
>At :23 you cued Go so he jumped in extension, then you wanted him to come back to you for the reward.
Ah, yes! Really good boy, Skizzle! No wonder he’s confused! Thank you for pointing this out. [My communication by osmosis is still not working ;)]

We tried baby jumps grids this morning. Seems like it went well, including when I slowed down the video. Looks like low head and arched back. LMK what you think. The super-long handled toy is also working better for him (thanks).

[Amy Sannes]

Thanks for the great feedback!

>– instead, you can use a reset cookie in the form of a ‘good boy’ and reset him at your side with a cookie, for the next rep.
Yes! Appreciate the reminder for reset cookies. Skizzle is more polite than my previous dogs – who would check-out if reinforcement was lacking. Yet, I feel like he shows slowness/hesitation relating to my rate of reinforcement/lack thereof. It’s like I lost that skill by holding a toy in my hand 😉

>Out of curiousity: Scent hound or sight hound? Mixed (?) – Mixed breed – 1/2 foxhound.
I’m glad to hear that your sighthounds do well with verbals. Skizzle is very in-tune with me, so I should assume we will be a great team with verbals. Baggage is real 😉
>The key is getting the verbal happening before any movement is added.
This is also a great reminder to be clear/clean with training: verbal – pause – movement. (like click – pause – reward)

Here’s a couple more videos.
First, Zig Zags. I can be a little more deliberate and move less (like you were in the example video), esp. since he’s moving where I’d like him to. I did reward a couple of the stays in here – but he’s also doing a really nice job with them.

Then Mission Transition – fun! I decided to use the wrap verbals both for the barrel and the “wing” after he didn’t understand initially. Is that something I should fade – since he should learn to do so from my deceleration alone?

[Amy Sannes]

>Working on the scent stuff sounds like fun! Does he love it?
Skizzle enjoys it, and I love watching dogs do what comes naturally to them and is completely fascinating to me. It’s also been a good way for us to spend time in a trial environment (lots of waiting with a few moments of activity).

>It’s clear he doesn’t recognize “Ok” as a release. Do you mean when he was stopping at the barrel?
Ha – laughing at my (tired) self. I got ahead of myself – this comment pairs better with the exercise (jump grids) that I had done in person before I sent you this video.

>Perfect!! Send photos!!!
Here’s a short video of Skizzle with the (14 ft) tunnel – the only day I had it set up so far. I thought I was going to set up the smiley face game, but he wasn’t too sure about the tunnel. The last tunnel he’s been in was just a puppy tunnel. So I made it straight and rewarded him for going through it. We have a little work to do before he’s at risk for the tunnel-suck 😉

>So for indoors til the snow melts, you can do the GO and you can also skip ahead to the Mission Transition version to cue wraps – that will work in a small space too!
Thanks for the suggestion – I watched the video for the exercise, and look forward to trying it soon.

>He looks so cute in his coat!!!!
Here’s another couple coats. He definitely likes a coat in colder weather – and I like dressing him in coats 😉

Minny Pinny, Handling Errors on 1st try (a little ugly)
I lumped too many steps at one time (in the middle AND not moving) – and Skizzle had a few errors. Here’s a couple in a row. I bailed after his worried look on the second one and played fetch, because that’s easy and rewarding for him.
What would improve how I handle “errors”? In retrospect, I shouldn’t have thrown my hands up and made a big deal of it, especially given he was already slowing down, hesitating and lip-licking. I almost feel like I need to have variable reinforcement for Skizzle – where I reward every effort, but have higher value rewards for “correct” efforts. Open to suggestions.

Here’s our later try at Minny Pinny. Tried to make it easier to help him be successful. He still has a few questions. I’m fascinated by dogs who understand verbals, having had a hound dog who was very good with signals, but not so much with verbals. I’m sure Skizzle doesn’t know the difference between the left and right verbals yet – but we’ll work on getting there.

[Amy Sannes]

Tracy –

Thanks for the feedback! – I intend to get back to the experiment noted soon. I’m trying to get back into a better habit of agility training. We have a done a bunch of scent work stuff in the past 3 weeks, and now no longer have that looming (and need a break from it).

And I now have a tunnel (though my back is taking a break from lifting heavy things for a while). And I have supplies coming and time set aside to make wing jumps in the next week (only telling you to help me stick to my own plan 😉

Here we tried wind in the hair and a little with rear crosses. It’s clear he doesn’t recognize “Ok” as a release. I could also use “toy” to chase a dead toy. I’m a little bit hoping he’ll figure out “ok” as a release with more practice. On the bright side, I’ve flopped from having a dog with no stay to one with a little excess stay.

Is it ok to use wrap verbals here?

We finally have some snow – though it’ll probably all melt within a week. This is a little tight in this setting. I think I still see his questions on the rear crosses. If I understand correctly, I probably need to build drive to “go” more than practicing the rear cross?

[Amy Sannes]

Hi Tracy –

Skizzle and I have been busy with travel and nosework.
We tried the same exercise with a bowl. Still some hesitation over the bar. I may have inadvertently caused some of this by a poor setup where the bar under Skizzle moved (short video).

[Amy Sannes]

Hi Tracy.

Thanks for the feedback on connection and presenting a clearer picture for Skizzle.

That may be a good segue to this session. Lots of hesitation. Not sure why. I tried to make the setup easier by placing the jump closer to the barrel and the jump at an angle. Thankfully, he improves through the session.

[Amy Sannes]

Here’s our pill bug games. Love his attitude. It looks like I need to practice without him to help be more clear. 😉

[Amy Sannes]

Hi Tracy –

Thanks for the feedback.

>The edits are good, but also to save time you don’t need to edit at all!
I appreciate your flexibility! I prefer edited videos for myself, but sometimes the time it takes can be a barrier – so I won’t let that stop me from posting something.

>He did well finding the jump! Only one little blooper at :26, where he needed more connection after the barrel exit which is what you show on the next rep (:36) and he found the jump really well.
Upon reflection, he’s doing very well finding the jumps, compared to the parallel path game. I’ll need to keep this in mind, and make sure traveling over the jump remains the obvious path and that it is very rewarding.

>So definitely keep going with the moving target reward for this game.
Great feedback. My knowledge of a dog’s jumping form is novice, so it’s nice to know we’re ok at this point.

We did some more set point – with a moving target this time. Included is one short video from the front. Then I thought it should be more from the side to see jumping form, so that’s the 2nd video. He’s less perfect on the stays.
Maybe next time we can try a bar at the lowest cup for one of the jumps.

FYI. I’m tunnel-less at the moment (wasn’t paying attention to the needed equipment)…but should have one in the next couple weeks. Good thing, because I have tunnel exercise envy – watching this week’s games. Pretty sure Skizzle will love it.

Thank you!
-Amy

[Amy Sannes]

Hi Tracy –

Re. Set point >You can switch the moving target to start further away, at least 6 feet past jump 2 so he has more room to move to it after he lands.
Re. wind/hair >You can switch the moving target to start further away, at least 6 feet past jump 2 so he has more room to move to it after he lands.

Skizzle and I tried set point and wind in my hair outside – with more room – today. I also made him (and us) a longer toy (purple Kong on a rope); this is one he really enjoys retrieving, and he went right for the toy, not the rope. I left in a clip of him chasing and playing with that toy (in set point). He’s doing a really nice job of waiting until released.

Do the jumps look appropriately spaced? (They’re about 3.5 feet). He seems to really jump (up) here, without even a bar set. Also, I have a couple more jumps – just need to dig them out of storage. And I broke “middle” this week. I either scared him or bumped him, but he doesn’t want to hold that position while I move. Thankfully, he’s beginning to understand that forward over the jump is where he’s going – and sets up pointing that way.

A couple of re-starts here – for anticipating, then for an audible distraction (delivery truck door closing) when he’s part-way around the barrel.

I’m editing the videos more and more (trying to provide more reps and less fluff). Please let me know if there are pieces you would like to see that I’m probably editing out. Or if you want to see a “whole session” periodically?

We’re both enjoying getting back to agility foundations.
-Amy

[Amy Sannes]

Thanks for the feedback, Tracy.

I don’t have a lotus ball or treat hugger. I’ll see what I can cobble together for a toy with treats. I may also try putting a rope through his favorite retrieve toy – and see if that interests him for this game (worth a try).
Could I try a dead toy without me hanging on to part of it? He enjoys retrieving. Or will I need him to target the end of the toy (on a rope) for this and future exercises?

I’m glad his jumping form looks ok. I look forward to trying it with more space past the jump.

Here’s our wind in the hair game. I stalled out at barely walking towards the jump (vs. running). I feel like Skizzle sometimes responded to the verbal for the wrap and was mostly eyes forward over the jump. We would benefit from more space between the wrap and the jump. I’ll try for that soon.

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