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Great work with the play before you started! Love it! I want you to use frisbees for reinforcement (since that is the highest value right now). However, because the fun in the frisbee is the throw and then the chase AWAY from the handler, we have to have a way to get the dog to come into handler focus. That is why I like the hand touch, then throw. Loki is pretty good about bringing it right back to you, but some dogs will drop it a few feet away and flank around ready for the throw. This completely defeats the purpose of engagement with the handler in play (that’s why tugging is the very best and easiest option for play for this purpose). Does that make sense?
Speed circle #1 so one this one, you never really addressed the take off for the jump and lost connection. Loki comes out of the tunnel and you have your head turned, but you are running ahead with your arm out. What I want you to do is go a little deeper into the tunnel (exit) then run to the next obstacle. Be sure you address each obstacle 😉 YES, you should absolutely reward the dog for your mistakes 🙂 Much better job on speed circle #2! Do you see the difference in how you addressed the jump in 1 and 2? Nice job on the third one! That was great! You can also focus a bit on getting your cues out earlier.
I like how you handled the last one too with the mistake. Be aware of what your arms are doing. Especially the off side arm. Some dogs REALLY watch your arms (especially if you do blind crosses), so when the other arm is active too (swinging when you’re running) the dog thinks it might be a cue to cross behind you. What that means is we need more reinforcement for coming to the correct side on a blind so that Loki doesn’t question which side. Another thing is does he cut behind you on course and you just run with it? If that’s the case, I have a great exercise for you!!! Let me know if you have questions.Hi Kyle,
LOVED the engagement prior to your run!!! I think Maise did too! Very good with the tricks and then rolling right into your tunnel! That was perfect. It looked like you bumped the jump with your hand and that’s why the bar came down? The reward at the end could’ve been a tad earlier (I would like for her to see it being thrown as she is exiting the tunnel rather than exit tunnel, then reward). Nice job! Let me know if you have questions.Good news!!! I found a couple old videos to show you the difference in aggressive handling. See in the first video how I am standing and cueing? Yes, she is doing the jumps and has moderate speed, but I actually timed these manually for a lesson I was working on with an instructor online and decreased my speed by 1.4 seconds! THAT IS ON 3-4 OBSTACLES! That is huge! We will talk about this more in later lessons, but I want you to see the difference!
On the catch me game, I would like for you to move more. She likes the toy on a rope, but can we make it longer so that you can stand and it drags on the ground and she can chase it. Does that make sense?
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE HER SPEED IN THE SPEED CIRCLE!!! This was fantastic and YES a great problem to have if you have to figure up how to catch up 🙂 Nice work!!!Since you are entering her at NFC, see how she does with 16″ and loads of play. I would not keep her there, but just take some of the pressure off in a trial setting. The goal is for her to be moving so fast that you can’t keep up 🙂
I will 🙂 I am on the road and will be home tomorrow. If I don’t post it for you by Thursday, please remind me.
Hi Sara,
Thanks for the videos! She seems to have some really great food and toy drive and some nice work ethic! I think in the beginning of the first video, she wasn’t that excited about play because you were standing pretty still? In the second video, you were moving much more with the toy and she was very excited about it. Does she maintain that level of enthusiasm in class? Fun runs? I would like to see some of the videos of your runs in competition if you can send them?Dogs are smart and can count 🙂 This is why it is important to vary your reinforcement. Meaning that sometimes your dog gets a cookie every 4 obstacles, 6 obstacles, 8, 20, 2, 5, 7, 1 and so on. I thought your run was good! We will talk about opposition reflex in Lesson 3 I believe. You have a BIG lesson coming tomorrow with lots to work on 🙂
Hi Kathy,
Some good stuff here, but I think we can get more speed. I would like for you to repeat the lesson (or one similar, but I would like to see you throw the reward every 3-4 obstacles. Will he drive to a dead toy? Meaning could you place a toy at the exit of the second tunnel and run 1-4 and he drives to the toy? I would like to see 3-4 obstacles and reward, then 2-3 obstacles and reward, then 1-2 obstacles and reward and so on. Let’s do a couple sessions of that (rather than a whole course) and see how that impacts his speed. Questions?All this looks good! I like the enthusiasm for the frisbee the best! Do you have a hand touch? We can get him to reorient to a hand touch before you throw the frisbee. My very first agility dog was trained with a frisbee and she was a great agility dog 😉 so if that’s what he likes, then use it! Do you have a second one so you can trade them out? For the frisbee, you can tuck it in the back of your pants (that’s what I did). If you use food in grass, I would recommend large chunks of something (like chicken) that are visible in grass. Nice work! Let me know if you have questions.
Hi Dana! Thanks for the video! The first two videos are great! You have nice play mechanics and some great tricks. Couple things about the feedback on your runs. On the first one you aren’t really addressing the jumps until later in the run. Meaning that you aren’t pointing to the take off of each jump (in order to commit him). There is a couple games in Lesson 2 that will help you guys too (particularly the Lazy Bastard Game 🙂 ). On the second run, the conversation you two had at the start line is a bit like you asking a good friend to tell you about their weekend and as they start to respond, you turn your back to them. Take your time at the start line and make sure that your dog is engaged and ready to go. You have a few seconds to spare to make sure that the dog is sitting and not stressed. I believe this set the tone for the beginning of your run. Does that make sense?
