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Hi Charmaine,
1. Don’t worry about what happened yesterday 🙂 When I talk about the new normal, what I mean is that when we constantly train and reinforce this, it will become the new normal. I don’t think that will be your case because you are aware of it. Just don’t put too much pressure on the both of you. Figuring out our dogs take time, allow for that time and don’t rush the process.
I am going to share a personal story with you. The phrase “ignorance is bliss” is the title of my story…. My first three agility dogs were very high drive and loves the game (one border collie and two aussies). It was my addictive phase of “I have to run more dogs because this is so much fun” so I had 3 dogs that were less than three years apart! We trained and they loved the game. Then along comes Jack (my soft aussie – I didn’t know it at the time he was so soft). He was 3 years younger than my 3rd agility dog. I KNEW how to train dogs now and I had also opened my dog training business that year and felt the need to prove to everyone I was a good dog trainer. I put so much pressure on Jack and tried to train him the way I had trained my other dogs. He ran well at his first trial, but things went downhill SO fast with him with each trial. If I had brushed off the small stuff, let him have that off course tunnel, ran with him when he was worried (and been able to recognize the worry), allowed him to run, bark and play, trained him with his absolute favorite food (pizza) and not given a crap about what other people had thought, he would have been a much different dog. But Jack came to me to teach me HOW to train dog (by all means I am still learning), but his mission was to teach me to be a better dog trainer. If I hadn’t had Jack, I know in my heart of hearts there is NO way I could have trained Pepper!!! She is MUCH softer than him. The moral of the story is my first three dogs were not soft. Was that nature or nurture? Probably both (all my aussies were related). With my first three dogs, I was just having fun, didn’t know much about anything (like what it took to get a MACH or go to Nationals), but we had fun and tried to make it through courses. When I learned more and decided I had to prove myself, it started to fall apart!
Hands down the VERY best compliment I have ever been paid was someone said to me “I love watching you and your dogs, not matter how good or bad your run was, you always come off the course smiling and telling your dog how amazing they are”! This is what it is all about. Last year at AKC nationals my friend’s dog died at 2 years old (he was a full sibling – not littermate – to Pepper) died suddenly. It was devastating. She ran agility with him one weekend and he died the next. I reached out to her and she said “You go have an extra fun time at nationals…embrace it and feel lucky your dog is healthy”…… Enjoy every moment and if you are having a bad day, take Tails for a walk, you don’t need to train, you’ve got skills!
2. Yes! I think that would be great for him!
Keep me posted on how things go!Video 1 – so was that your first attempt at running her? I think she needs a bug jackpot BEFORE you run her. She was WAY more enthusiastic before she started!!! Then she just got faster and faster!!! Where did she go at the end? lol!!!
Video 2 – WOW!!! Loved it! What was she running to? Whatever it was needed to be placed at the end of your course 🙂
Video 3 – Good for you for just rolling with her off course around 0:35! You are building value for obstacles, and she went out and took that jump!!! One thing I would like for you to do is also reward on the course (not just throwing the toy out after a jump). I think she is scanning a bit for the lotus ball. Does that make sense? That way when she approaches the “outside” obstacles on a course, she is not looking for the lotus ball because it also appears ON the course too.
Video 4 – LBG: you can also start this with a jackpot before, or get her to chase you for some cookies. Have you worked any shadow handling with her? Front cross circles, rear cross circles, blind crosses? That might be a fun way to get her engaged and chasing you before you start? She did seem a bit distracted here and maybe tired?
Video 5 – I would take the play somewhere that is not agility related, but that she is comfortable (maybe your garage)?
Let me know if you have questions.Hi Stacy,
I have some ideas about the weave poles and will get with you on those!
You are my hero! I quit running at 7.5 months BUT had my first trial 6 weeks after the baby was born!Hi Stacy,
These look really good. She is pretty thoughtful when she is entering the weaves. How did you train the weaves? I like the drive for the frisbee! LBG can absolutely be used as a warm up! This is a great way to reinforce some obstacles before you run! Overall, she seems very happy to be working and running! When do you trial again?Hi Louise,
GREAT WORK!!! I loved watching both your runs and she was focused and happy!!! I think you telling her how awesome she is around the course also helped her! Around 0:40 seconds on your jumpers run, you did a FANTASTIC job picking her up out of the tunnel. Running into and out of obstacles really helps!!! Very nice job!!!Hi Kyle,
Thanks for the video. I thought your drill looked really good! I think you’re right in regards to the running start vs the opposition reflex. She likes the running, the opposition reflex looked more like she was almost trying to get away. Have you tried putting her in a sit, you taking a few steps back and then running. As you pass her, you would release her (you are releasing her while in motion). Let me know if this makes sense.Hi Charmaine,
Happy New Year!
For your arms, think of drawing his path (like you have a laser pointer and are pointing him around the course with it).
Video 1 – This looked really good and you did much better with your arms here 😉
Video 2 – This was nice. I would have placed your toy a little further from the exit of the weaves. He decelerated a little towards the end of the poles. Looks like it was related to toy placement.
Video 3 – He did look a bit distracted. Be careful with this type of work. If he is tired and not trying so hard and you have him work in this type of mental state, then reward him, he is getting rewarded for slower more thoughtful work (he has to think harder when he is tired). If we do this often, it becomes the new normal. It is SO easy to keep going when things are going well. Honestly, you can do more harm to the quality of training than good. It is ALWAYS better to quit while you are ahead. I have literally walked out to the agility field, warmed my dog up, asked for a dog walk, gotten the perfect hit and quit. This is quality training rather than quantity. Does that make sense? I know as a trainer, I have had to go back and undo the damage that was done by “just try to get it one more time”.
On the last video: Go back and watch the attention that you paid to him completely missing the poles and the that although you had to fix, he got the poles….. You will see that you are way happier and played with him more when he misses the poles completely. Personally, I would not have rewarded the missed attempt at all, I would have run right back to the jump before the weaves and tried again. This is hard, because do we reward the effort or the corrected attempts? I have a “try again” word. It is upbeat, happy and I may ask for hand touches for rewards as we head back to fix the mistake.
Missed tunnel, yes, that was the handler. You have to address the opening of the tunnel as though it was the take off side of a jump (this totally cost me my Round 2 jumpers run at EOTT this year). Again, the thought of using a laser pointer. On the rest of this session. This is where you go into recovery mode. Opposition reflex, cookie tosses, active tricks. You knew he shut down and I think this is where people have a hard time deciding what to do. This is where I would ask my dog to spin, toss a cookie, spin, then over a jump, cookie. You could also run over to the tunnel, used some opposition reflex and send into that tunnel to the jump on the other side of the tunnel. Re-engage your dog and yourself with the course. Even if it is with a game of toy chase.
For the trial this weekend: GOOD LUCK! I think you two will be great! Remember, he’s young and inexperienced, he will enjoy the game as much as you make it enjoyable. With that in mind, the first trials can be amazingly fun for him (as long as you show him), or become a place of stress. It is your job to show him amazingly fun. He is not your older dog, so you have to help him and he doesn’t know when to save your bacon. Address each obstacle and tell him he’s wonderful several times on the course. You and him are the only two that matter out there. Go have fun and show the agility community how awesome your dog is!!!Hi Fei,
Will she only play with you like that in your room? Or can you play with her in other places in the house like that? I also want you to look at your positioning in the room vs outside. See if you can play with her in the room while you are in the same position you were outside.
On the drill, do you see around 0:40 seconds where you are really far ahead of her out of the tunnel? I would like for you to meet her at the end of the tunnel and drive out of there with her. Same with her at 0:53, where I would like for you to drive into the tunnel with her (like you are going to touch it). This goes back to week 4 lesson of Running to each obstacle. I think if you would apply this to your handling, you begin to see more confidence in Zoe and less questioning. Same thing with picking her up out of the tunnel at 0:57.
The second attempt had WAY more speed!!! WOW!!!
Possibly this is something I have not caught with you two. I have rewatched the last video several times and am wondering if her enthusiasm is related to your reward system. I would like for you to try something. BEFORE you start a course, I want you to jackpot her 2-3 times. Jackpot her near the course (she doesn’t have to do anything at all), then jackpot her ON the course or near the end, then jackpot her before you start. I want you to be excited and tell her how amazing she is and just give her cookies. Then I want you to run her. I would like to see if anything changes. Does that make sense?Hi Charmaine,
Thank you! I think it is important to know that the things we experience in dog training is “normal”. It helped me significantly to know that I was not alone and that all dogs are different!
Play looked good! Do you think it was as a result of reaching his threshold with play? I can play with all my dogs for a certain amount of time, then I lose them too. Ultimate time is 30-45 seconds.
FF you can add obstacles. LBG, it looked like he was ready for some obedience training? I think if you do some cookie tosses, then run to the other side of your course and start there (little play to start).
Drill #1, he was totally focused on you when you started. Whether it had to do with him watching you put your toy up or your hand placement when you ran with him, I’m not totally sure. I would have taken a minute and held him at the start. Maybe said something like “tunnel, where’s your tunnel” or “ready” if he is understanding that in the FF game. But get his focus off you and more towards the equipment. We will talk about this more next week after we spend this week building more FF. If you look at 0:32, you will see he is actually looking at the tunnel before you release him.
On the second go, you rushed out of the 270 and that’s why he pulled in. You can treat this as a bit of a backside if you have that verbal, otherwise you need to support the 270 by stepping in there. For the last jump in the end, can you place a second toy at the finish and have him drive to it?
The third time you were much better with all three, I think the bar came down because there was quite a bit of arm action over that jump 🙂 I would like your focus to be on his take off spot (look there and point there). Also, when we talk about smooth handlers, this is related to the actions of our body. Agility TRULY is a dance with our dogs. The smoother you are, the smoother your run will be and the fewer dropped bars and missed obstacles you will have. Do an experiment for me 🙂 I want you to repeat the same sequence with two cups that are about 1/2 full of water…… Make sure it is a warm day 😉 you will learn very quickly to smooth out your arms!!! Just kidding! But this will give you a good visual.
Second course was good! I like the use of the placed toy A LOT!!! Did you consider a sling-shot start for this sequence? I think if you were more lateral to the first jump, it would have been a bit easier for you to be down the line. Make sense?Okay, thanks! SO, did you notice the change in her speed on the dw when you were in front of her vs behind her? She was actually faster when you were behind her and slowed way down when you were in front of her. Do you have someone that can help you? If so, I would like for them to hold her about 1/2 of the down ramp while you call her. I want her to be pushing to get to you (opposition reflex) before the helper releases her to you. I would like for you to be at the end of the dw with the super yummy treats. If she come down slowly, tell her she’s a good girl, but no cookies. Start with her closer to the end and start again. If she is fast and running to you, BIG jackpot! If you try this and things get worse (maybe having someone else restrain her is a no go with her) then stop. Please video this and send it to me (keep the dw low for now).
Play was fantastic! Can you get the same type of play somewhere else in the house? Outside in the yard?Okay, I would vary your placement of the bunny pocket. Sometimes on the course, sometimes in the car (or outside your training building) and sometime right by the ring. See if that changes her draw to it.
Hi Louise,
Did you happen to see or know what she was worried about in JWW from 3 to about 6? After the weaves, her speed picked up and she ran nicly. Is she aware of where your reinforcement stations are? They both started up about the same. Not very much excitement. Will Piper do tricks in the ring? I love to do hand bumps, spin circles, shakes or any fun tricks with my dog at the startline (assuming it won’t bother the dog running).
I was very please with her STD run! I thought she was fast and looked like she was having fun. In JWW, I think what ever she saw/heard/smelled distracted her a bit BUT she recovered nicely!!! Overall, I would be pleased.
