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Sorry for being absent for a week – work is crazy.
We worked on early serp training today. I’m not sure how much I’ve really broken this down for him before as far as coming into that open arm with me at a standstill so I worked it in stages, starting with rewarding from hand, then tossing his lotus ball, then having it on the ground.
So, he doesn’t wear a collar, wears a harness and would probably be horrified if I grabbed it. He’s not much of an opposition reflex guy.
It’s super windy out but we tried to get a quick training session in.
Go – I did try sending him out around a cone and then on to the jump and beyond with a Go. He’s actually pretty good at that stuff. Nice to have that in my pocket for times like now when I don’t want to have to run (Achilles issue still pretty bad).
Setpoint – We did a little bit of setpoint with the toy on the ground.
Mini Pinny- I thought I was remembering everything, then realized you wanted the original stage to be a bounce. So, I messed that part up since this was set as a traditional 180 degree pinwheel and ends up being 1 stride between each jump when he takes it on the innermost part (where the distance is the shortest).
We did a short session of Go Extension to mix things up a bit and will go back to setpoint in the next couple of days.
I’m having an issue with some Achilles Tendinitis so am super gimpy. Also, I am not great at getting the ball low and straight while also running. So many things to think about. 😉
The first 2 tries I threw way too high. He drove out nicely but turned to look at me in the air and on landing because the ball was so high he hadn’t seen it. I cut those out of this clip since they were totally my issue, not his. So, on these ones I was trying to get that ball a bit lower and earlier so he could see it as he was driving forward.
I do use the cue “Go” a lot. Pretty much daily when we play fetch. I give the cue, he starts running straight away from me, looking straight forward and I throw the ball to land a ways in front of him on the straight line he is on (I use a big tennis ball, a ball thrower and am standing still so am quite a bit better at aiming for those ones). So, the cue and use is not new.
We also did a quick session of bending today. I tried it yesterday but used his verbal for going around a thing “Around” and then re-read the lesson and realized you didn’t want any verbals on it.
We’ve done lots of training with various props (agility obstacles, platforms, other stuff) and so he’s got quite a bit of stimulus control to not do the thing without some kind of release or cue from me. So, he was just a bit confused about if he was supposed to do anything. I tried to give a soft cue with my body or a non-specific verbal (nothing I would use for an around or pinwheel). He was a bit faster yesterday when I used his “Around” cue but I think he’ll actually feel more confident with this when the poles are added and then it becomes a pinwheel.
Thanks for your feedback.
Here’s a short session of SetPoint. I have the Susan Salo Videos (???maybe really that old and actually VHS, or maybe DVDs) and remember using them with my border collies and Aussies over the years. I don’t actually think I worked through them with this little one.
Since he basically dropped out of agility school while still in beginner classes we may just not have worked through this (we had sooo many other things on our list that were higher priority in a world full of Bogeymen).
I threw in slow-mo for each jump just because I was already playing around in my Camtasia video editing software for a work project (creating online learning modules for animal shelters to use for staff during the COVID crisis).
Thanks for the feedback on those first 2 exercises Tracy. I tried to incorporate some of this into today’s session.
We worked on a second session of offered jumps – adding some angles and some distractions. I was really happy with how he did. He has seen these white chairs and at least 1 of the 2 pole setters before a while ago. I think I used some of these props about a year ago when we were working on some distraction stuff. I started the clip with us coming out of the house and him seeing them for the first time since then.
In the moment I felt like I was turning my lower body when he was at least 1-2 strides from the jump but when I watch in slow-mo I can see that I really am only turning as he leaves the ground or after he’s in the air. I feel like I need to really work on that timing more. In any event, he’s totally committed regardless of what I’m doing here so far. Early in the session he was using the chairs as a kind of “go around” obstacle so I just moved them closer to the jump like some crazy wings.
We also worked on tunnel commitment 1 a bit. He again did surprisingly well. I have not been giving his next directional cue before he enters the tunnel. I think I usually give it when he’s halfway through or coming out. So, that was totally new to him today. I was really surprised it didn’t pull him off. I don’t think he’s truly yet thinking extension or collection for turn coming out of the tunnel based on my pre-tunnel cue, but I can see how this will come along quickly as I incorporate this into my normal handling with him. He’s actually not much of a tunnel dog, hasn’t really loved them in the past. I felt like he was showing more enthusiasm for them today in general, so really happy about that.
Because we started about a week and a half late I’m feeling a little behind. Should I wait and not submit any more video until next week or continue catching up with the rest of the class?
1. Offered Jump Session 2 – 3/19/20 – with angles and distractions
2. Tunnel Commitment 1 – 3/19/20
