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Hi Laura,
Sorry for the delay today, I was out and about with family all day.
Good! The fact that these were on the same day and he was much more chill in the second go gives us good information. Meaning that it could be a bit of decompression or him being a little more tired by the second run. This is good and it will get better. Dogs that stress up or down inconsisently are much harder to pinpoint than those that start off on a day up and gradually decrease as the day goes on. Do you find this to be the case with Flynn?
Okay, got it! He handled the Sheltie much better the second go than the first, but I also like your position (on the floor with more static/relaxed training).
Licky mats are great!
Okay, no problem! I would like you to sit in a chair and work with 4 poles. Various positions (clock entries), entries, speed, distance and so on just to build up that drive to the poles. I use the chair to build LOTS of independence. Starting it close, then adding distance. Does that make sense?Hi Kathleen,
Sorry for the delay! I have been spending some time with family and we were busy today đ
I am glad to hear that your friends feel Prue is looking great! It is always nice to hear that!!! I have to totally agree!!! Your forward focus or obstacle focus games look REALLY good, but even more so is YOU’RE handling aggressivly!!! YAY! Even in the short drills it was obvious! Nice work! It also seems to me that you two are working more TOGETHER. I like it!Sorry for the delay, I am visiting family and we were busy all day!
First video: I think Raven is moving out better and better all the time. I am seeing more effort from Raven and I like it! I wouldn’t wory too much about the bar in the first video since you threw the lotus ball right as he was going over the last jump. Otherwise, nice work here!!!
Second video: This was good also, just remember that when you are trying to get Raven to look forward, make sure that you look forward as well. You did so on the third repetition, but not the first two. It is super easy to look at the dog, but ultimately we want to look where we want the dog to look.
Third video: This is good too! I like where you are headed with this! Especially around the 0:40 mark when you reward and he kind of jumps forward to get the treat! If we can get that kind of power off the startline, we would be golden!!! That’s the picture I would try to recreate here đHaha! I thought I included that in the homework (I did, I just didn’t call it that). It is when you are sneaking off like you do in your video. Kelsie seems to really like this!
You two are doing great! These things take time and I have no doubt you two will get there! Keep up the good work đHi Laura,
He did great with more jumps, I would just add collection and send him back into the tunnel a couple times.
Looking at the videos at the trials. Were they on different days? Or were the runs on the same day? The second one was much more relaxed and I think that really reflected in your run. Are there just certain dogs that he responds to that way (as he did the sheltie) or is that more normal? Distance is good and I am very pleased that he easliy goes into work mode. You might see if you can find those single serving peanutbutter cups for your pretrial routine. He often takes a cookie, looks around, then reengages. This is fine, but I would like him to spend a little more time actually being reinforced. When he has to lick the peanutbutter, it will slow down the process and he can’t reengage with his environment so quickly following the treats. Does that make sense?
The runs were good! I thought đ Yes, he can go faster, but he it really trying. He is taking every jump! The COOL thing about the tunnel (yes, as you said you disconnected) is that he came back into handler focus and took the tunnel! This is success!!! I would be very happy with these runs personally. These were much better than the ones you posted a couple weeks ago!
Weaves: how did your train them and how did you work the entries? Just so we can build on what you already have. You showed him a lot more deceleration at home than the trial. Have you proofed him finding the entries?Hi Mel,
I think it is perfectly okay to use a verbal like that. Pepper goes psycho for bubbles. I would pair her bubble play with the work bubbles. At the big events where I needed her to get excited and RUN, I would put my hand on her check (opposition reflex) and whisper âbubblesâ Before I lead out! This would get her wired (which was good for her). Of course we would end the agility run and have her go play with bubbles.
I am a bit confused about the âturn on the gasâ cue versus âturnâ cue.?…../Hi Margaret,
I thought all the startlines looked okay. You can also get her to line up and try the âpink pantherâ start line or the ârunning start lineâ. Mix it up so she never knows whatâs coming đ. It was fine when your other dog came out. I live in a world of constant chaos (two young kids and soon to be 6 dogs), thereâs always things happening. Donât worry too much when things get messy, sometimes you have to laugh! I wouldnât worry too much about reengagement from her. At that point, I probably would have run the other direction. And played with both dogs đ
Honestly, we all ask that question when we see how fast our dogs are capable of running or how hard they can play! It will happen!!! Just keep working at it! You are doing everything right. I think some dogs need both the work for motivation and maturity. My guess is some of it for Kelsie is maturity. I think the next lesson will have some really good ideas for your handling!
To end her play sessions, I would let her win the tug toy and carry it off. If youâre working with food, a sniffle mat is great!
Itâs a GOOD thing when dogs are disappointed with their session being over!!! I wouldnât worry about that too much. Just continue to let her win and think sheâs successful!
The drills look good! This will come in lesson 4 with examples, but I want you to drive harder into each jump. Some dogs will match their handlers efforts (physically because that is what they see), I would like for you to run hard to every jump/tunnel like there is a $100 bill sitting on the jump.
I would do a couple more sessions at this height, then move her up.Hi Melanie,
She looks much more engaged and in âplay modeâ to me??? I like it and she likes it when you get her excited in the lead out!!! This looks good and she is moving fast! I would start adding more handling. Maybe add a front cross and head the other way. Nice work! How are you feeling about things?I am so glad!!! It was funny when I started editing video for this course I didnât intend to keep the instruction, but it was so helpful. My âliveâ students all got free lessons for their time and efforts đ
Motivating dogs is HARD work!! I am so glad you are finding this class so helpful! Keep up the good work đHi Allison,
I am SO glad!!!
You might try the opposition reflex game at meal time around your agility equipment and see if she will work it that way.
Just like with food vs toys, some dogs like the opposition reflex game and some do not. Itâs completely okay. Another game that really drives excitement (I donât talk about it much since itâs a behavior most people try to stop) is barking. It was a great way for me to get Pepper out of her own head if there was stress at a trial. I only did it if it didnât affect the dog in the ring. Play with food is another good one! Here is a short video: https://youtu.be/3MMtcOKrD3I
Let me know if you have any questionsHi Susan,
Thank you, hug received. It was quite a harrowing journey and just when things came together and I felt like we could take on anything, her agility journey was over. BUT, we have to do whatâs right for our dogs. I tell people all the time that while I thought I was teaching her to run faster and be more confident, she was teaching me all that and so much more. I am grateful for the amazing career she had, just disappointed it was so short. Cherish every single run… that was another great lesson!!!
I am so glad that you recognize your dogâs needs. That is half the battle! I look forward to more video when you can post it!Yay for shopping! Yes, exactly with the lotus balls! You might take some time to work this away from âagilityâ so that she is okay with leaving one âemptyâ lotus ball for a âloadedâ lotus ball. I donât think she thinks she wrong, but itâs more like being at the grocery store when the same person keeps getting in your way. You finally give up and go find the shampoo you need. I think it just demotivates her. But, hey! Thatâs why youâre here đ. Sounds good! And great that youâre giving her a break! Those are just as important đ
Hi Laura,
This looked great! Keep working this drill, but add more jumps so that you have more speed and vary where you put your wrap so that he is basing his decisions off of your verbal and physical cues. You can also use a collection cue out of the tunnel and work collection there. I think he got better and better. I would keep working the 2 toy game with him. You can also send him to the reward station too. You did the wrap to running to chase you for the toy correctly, but instead of running back towards the jump, you would run towards the camera. This will help Flynn pay attention to transitioning from obstacle focus/handler focus. I thought overall it looked great!!! Also, if you ask for a tight turn and he goes wide, ask again rather than letting it slide. Of course as long as he tolerates it.
