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Hi Louise,
I like the startline games! They look good! You can also leave the lid off the container and get her to drive harder to the reinforcement station. Notice how she is going to it, then looking at you and waiting? This is of course natural, but I would like for her to get the reinforcement sooner for a bit. If she starts cheating and going around obstacles and such, go ahead and put the lid back on. I liked the sling shot with her. She seemed to like it too!?
Commenting on the drills as I watch them. Drill #1 – this looked good. I would like to see the front cross MUCH earlier. I went back and watched it in slow motion and you took 7 steps after the jump before the tunnel before you rotated. I think 3 would have been perfect. One of the things I always tell my students is handle in the direction of the course. Meaning that my handling path should be towards the tunnel rather than a few steps past it. This will tighten up lines and more importantly give the dogs information sooner. Does that make sense?
The second drill was the same.
Second drill 1st try. This was good! She questioned the rear cross a bit before the tunnel, but you ran with it. I like the opposition reflex! How did you feel about it?
Last drill was good too! I liked how you had her chase you for the reinforcement. Great work!Hi Dana,
Glad to have you back! So the speed circles look really good! I am being nit picky, but your front cross could have been a bit earlier. If you freeze the frame at 1:11, you will see that you are on his line right as he is taking off (putting you on his path). Because this is pressure, this can cause them to slow down. Not that I think it was bad, I just think you can start your rotation a bit earlier (even if you’re not entirely in position). This just gives him more information sooner. You last couple blind crosses where much smoother than the first. I liked the blinds! Just trust his obstacle commitment a little more so that you can move even faster!!!
Looking forward to the videos from league! Very nice work on the drill!From video 2 on, I really liked what Zoe did! She does like the ball being thrown rather than on a rope. You can also put your reinforcement station at the end of your line of obstacles. Think of it like if you had your reinforcement station at the end of a course. You are going to come down the line of obstacles, put your leash on your dog, head straight out the gate and to your reinforcement station.
My thoughts on her first video and the start of the second video. I think she really needs that acclimation time. You will have to anticipate her spending the first few times taking in her environment. Set your expectations to that idea rather than thinking she will go out and be great the first go. She needs the adjustment period. I suspect what happens is she has a hard time at first, you get disappointed, then she senses it and then the rest of your runs you both are bummed and she is worried? Just remember, she is having a hard time and when we can be empathetic to that idea, then we adjust our expectations.
Pepper went through a period where she was VERY worried around my kids. She was about 12-14 months old (which behaviorists suspect there can be a second fear period for dogs around that age, but there is no scientific data). She would flee the scene when they would cry. My attitude was “well, she has been around them since she was 9 weeks old, what’s the problem”. It would frustrate me and then the situation would get worse. It wasn’t until I was listening to a Podcast and they were talking about a similar situation and the speaker said “just remember, the dog is having a hard time”. BOOM! It hit me that she can’t help what she is going through, but she needs help understanding that the noisy kids is not something to be worried about and flee over. Is she still sensitive about it, sure. But the bottom line is we have tools to work through things if I sense her getting upset. We spent the holiday with my brother and he has 3 kids, I have 2. Did she stress? Sure, but it was NOTHING like what we went through a couple years ago. The sensitivity is still there and probably always will be there to a degree. We just have tools to work through it now. That’s what I REALLY want you to walk away from this course with, is tools. I think you are getting some good tools in your toolbox! She looks FANTASTIC on the last video and most of the second video. I think some time off this weekend is great! Go enjoy your amazing girl!!!Okay, video #1 I want you to be lower, think like you are sneaking away from her. Why is this important? Dog’s understand it because it is part of how they play/work. Have you ever watched a bc play with sheep? They creep away 🙂 I also want you to move when you release her from your stay and get her to “chase” you for the food (you could also use a toy).
She’s holding her stays nicely on the mat. You could also blow her mind and say your release word and throw the reward back to her (like in the It’s your choice startline game).
Love the work you are doing around the 2:00 mark and on to the end!!! Great work!
SUPER work on your drill! Lots of good stuff here! I LOVE your startline choice! This was perfect! Also, you two are having fun and look at how FAST she is! GREAT WORK!
As far as the weekend. Pick a couple things you want to work on and stick to those. I would say if you can bring the Dobie, then have him there just incase. If she stresses big time (which would surprise me), bring him out as your back up.
You are making some really good choices! I hope you are having as much fun working with her as you guys are to watch!
On Sunday afternoon, I am teaching a half day seminar (not sure what timezone you are in). If you want to send me your videos on FB messenger as they are happening, I will have easier access to watch them and give you immediate feedback. If I don’t answer, I will get to you as soon as I can! Great work!Okay, great!!! So the game I was talking about is:
2. It’s your choice – This is a game for a dog doesn’t stay all the time. THIS IS MY FAVORITE STARTINE GAME!!!! Here you start by asking the dog for a sit or down. Then you might start with something verbal (I say, “ready, ready, ready”). This is a similar action to the previous game. The difference is that when you lead out, if the dog gets up, you will stand up and the game stops. If the dog sits again the game starts again. If the dog breaks, you simply go to the dog and reset them, but leave the emotion out of it. Video: https://youtu.be/kfcRJPtLvY8
Pepper was also very serious going into the ring and that’s where I started to teach her to bark on cue. It is a happy bark and barking as a trick, puts the dog into play mode (which is what I want for agility). I think if we get you into “play mode” maybe Tiki will follow?Hi Fei,
Be kind to yourself, you are doing great! If you have confidence in you and your dog, the speed will come.
I LOVE how at around 1:50 she starts interacting with the plank herself, this is fantastic! Do you have a way to make a secure up and down ramp on your plank? It doesn’t have to be long, just stable.
I love how at 2:54 she cuts behind you to get on the plank! This is great!!! 3:32 was also super GREAT!!! You did a nice job just rolling with it and the jackpots.
Overall, great job!Yes! We will talk about opposition reflex in lesson 3, but the short answer is yes 🙂 I would just say tunnel and ideally we want the dog looking at the tunnel (again lesson 3). I would also work the It’s your choice startline game.
Hi Jamie,
Great to have you here and Callie sure is a cutie!!! I watched your videos and will give you the shorter version (if something doesn’t make sense, let me know and I will clarify). You two have some very nice skills based on the box work! She has a MACH, so that tells me you have more skills 🙂 Here is what I am seeing and TRUST me I was guilty of the same thing. I see a lot of really technical stuff causing her to slow down, wait for you for information and come into mega handler focus (which you basically said too). With your STD run, there are a couple places I want to point out obstacle focus:
Tunnel after the dw – which she got, but she pulled in because she is more handler focused
Jump to the table
You did a great job cueing the weaves
Great job to the last tunnel
Great job on the final line of jumps
However, I think in all these places, she could be faster 🙂
I think the speed circles will be a great thing for her. I would personally take a break from anything technical and work towards building speed with some handling. In lesson 3 we are going to work on opposition reflex more and forward focus. There will be some great exercises for you both. Often times when a dog doesn’t have enough info, they find ways to be distracted. I know that we are just getting to know each other, so I am basing my feedback on two runs 🙂
There’s TONS of good things here (including your rdw 😉 ) so we just need to build speed now! Excited! Let me know if you have questions.Hi Kerrie,
Video 1. She did really love the video. What are your thoughts on playing the It’s your choice startline game with her? I noticed you reset her for breaking her start the first time, but then she actually stood up again and you let her release? I just want to makes sure we are consistent with things. I think that would be a great game for you two and would put some more “fun” into the course.
So you keep mentioning that she gets “serious” during trials. How much of this do you think is you vs her and her personality? Can you do trick at the startline before you run in competition? What I want you to do is to set things up as though you are at a trial (same vocabulary from you, no treats on you – use the reinforcement station anytime you want to reward, same everything) everytime you work her. I want her to relax and feel that the process in competition is the same anywhere. It’s like the first time you get on stage you are super nervous, but the more you do it, the more relaxed you get. The more you rehearse this and it becomes the new “normal” the more she won’t take things so seriously. Does that make sense?Hi Andrea,
So glad you are liking it! In this video https://youtu.be/7QMHt1WknX0 right around the 0:35 mark, I am using the sling shot method. We are going to talk more about opposition reflex in Lesson 3 (which is me pulling her back in the video getting her reved up). I could also start more to my left (as long as I don’t pass the plane of the tunnel – which was in the picture on the pdf). This would give me a nice lead out advantage. Let me know if that makes sense and if not, I can get you some more video later today.Okay, so they say that dogs come into our lives to teach us something and even though my Pepper has turned out to ba a FABULOUS dog and I could list 100 things that she has taught me, the MOST valuable thing I have and will ever learn from her is to be patient with the process. You are going to have days where you feel like you are taking one step forward and two steps back. Dog training ebbs and flows.
So for your class. I have to say that I am SO PROUD of you and how you chose to run her in the class. I cannot say enough praise about your decision to do this. GREAT JOB!!! For the Lazy B Game. This was a good start. I want you to walk a little slower, or you can stand near a jump or two and every time she engages in one or the other, she gets a cookie.
The more I get to know you two, the more it seems she needs to get into the groove when working. Zoe seems to start off slow, then she really speeds up? This is great information. I had a dog that was the exact opposite. She was a bit crazy for the first few runs and could level a course, then she would settle in and work. This is GOOD. We can move forward. Does this seem to be accurate?
In the third video, she started working around the 4:30 mark. You were quite late on your rear cross cue out of the tunnel and she didn’t seem to like that. I would like to see you handle more aggressively and do some blind crosses. She also likes the “whoohoo” and the “yeah” when you praise her.
The last video she gave you more consistency and speed. I think overall she did good. Was everything filmed in one day? It might be that she did too much in one day?
Stick with it! We are only 1.5 weeks in. I have seen some really good stuff from you two and know that this is normal. Tomorrow will be better and take time off for rest and a nice walk. Those are SUPER important too!Sure, but what I would like you to do is set up all your practice work as though it were a trial and work on this every day. She will never know when the reinforcement station will appear. Do you have any fun runs or trials you can enter for practice? I would even do this in a competition. Meaning, I enter the ring, have her do a couple tricks, then maybe a jump or two and run out to your reinforcement station. I did this with my aussie Jack for about a 6 month period. Meaning he never knew how long the course would be. Maybe one obstacle and to the cookies, maybe 5 obstacles to the cookies and maybe the whole course. I am going to talk about this concept in future lessons. Make sense?
Hi Stacy,
Can you take Neo to the agility trial? I used to play this game with Pepper (she gets super jealous of other dogs too) where I would have my friend hold her and I would take my friend’s dog to the practice jump while she watched. Pissed her off big time!!! She would be on fire for me in the ring. I would do that 2-3 dogs before she ran!!! One of her fastest runs (where I learned she had crazy speed) was when I ran my young dog in T2B and she had to watch because she was a few dogs later. I realized how much horsepower was there!!! If that’s a tool you can use, use it!
You can take some cookies if you want, but I wouldn’t take her out to “do something”. You can even give her a Kong or a bully stick to preoccupy her. Just let her hang with you and if things are good for 2-3 minutes, put her up and try again later. If she stresses, move somewhere a little quieter and try again.
Makes sense?
