Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Yes, it is a little “bigger” when he’s more aroused and that instances was the “biggest” on a course that otherwise went perfectly (he’s had some before we started the leash send that were bigger when he knew something had gone wrong on the course and was unhappy about it). This was the biggest likely because he’d been really liking the leash send, didn’t like being sent to a leash that wasn’t on the ground and “knowing” that I wasn’t sending him to grab it from the leash runner. We will work through lots of permutations of find the leash now that I know this venue isn’t going to yell at me for having him do it.
Yesterday before I saw your response above we did slice into and away from the course. Also proofing some Startline stuff (in case you’re wondering about some of the weird dancing and pauses). I played with a few different angles on the jumping away from the course stuff just to check his understanding of the threadle jump commitment.
Okay, so I think I just posted in your Jumping class about leash sends, and then realized I actually taped leash sends in our homework for this course today (not that one).
Anyway, just so it’s here – we worked on leash sends at a trial this weekend (to avoid “arousal errors” of leaping into my face at the end of each course like he’s been doing). It worked great and only 1 episode of leash runner not leaving the leash on the ground like I asked and doing the “Zombie walk” toward him (I threw myself under the bus to prevent catastrophe and took the brunt of his arousal/frustration at being sent to a leash that wasn’t there). So, in today’s session at home we’ve continued working on leash sends after sequences, adding in a typical chair like you see at lots of trials (and I’ve got a little kids camping chair coming from Amazon since lots of our trials use that as a leash spot too). We’ll work on various places/appearances of the leash at the end of a sequence so we’re more fluent in trial settings.
Leash sends at a trial:
We circled all the way back to the beginning of this course since we got behind on working through the content after we did the live. So this is first jump sends away from the course.
Field has finally dried enough to use it again and I’ve recovered from my devastating case of FOMO from the last week of bingeing 4LeggedFlix UKI US Open while at a local trial (and so wishing I could have been in Florida).
Great job in the US Open and helping run it. I donated to 4LeggedFlix to get the on-demand recordings and planning to catch up on the runs I missed when I was running Ripley here in CA.
We did implement sending to the leash with a small hollee roller attached at the end of his runs this weekend and didn’t get yelled at by any judges. He loved it as expected, so now we’re working on sending to various types of chairs or places it might be in different trials. This past weekend was NADAC so I had to explain to each leash runner to please leave my leash on the ground. We only had 1 scary moment where the leash runner disregarded (or didn’t understand) what I was asking and zombie walked it toward him (and of course she was a nice older woman not super sturdy on her feet) so I had to call him off her and let him express his frustration to me, which was on overdrive since we’d been doing the leash sends all weekend and I’d even said “Get your leash” before I realized she was still walking it toward him. I swear, he’s not usually quite this angry at the end of a run and it’s on our list of things to keep working on.
Great and 1 scary 😲 leash sends at this weekend’s show:
Today we did backside slices. He still has real 2 on 2 off feelings about his Cato plank so that’s why he’s trying to drive into the position.
I did have to tear that down right after since I had it in our main dog yard. I’ll put it back up later this week or early next.
We did a quick session of Organizers – Backside Wrap this morning. I felt slightly uncoordinated and not super sure where all my parts should be at any point in time.
Snuck in a quick session of 3 jump zig zag with flatter angles and then moving toy between bouts of rain.
Just did reps with first jump on left instead of inverting the angle since time was limited.
I don’t think anyone else chose that layer option but it was fun to try. Other option of just running around the dog walk worked fine too.
Pouring rain here. Gonna go old school MaxPup and use the foyer to do some jumping work from our other class here but can’t really do this class’s stuff until it dries up a bit.
How the heck are things at the US Open? Same venue I saw on 4LeggedFlix last year with both indoor and outdoor rings? How are they dealing with weather? Maybe those UK folks just don’t care if it’s wet out anyway. 😝
Got soo much out of the live I haven’t gone back to do/video exercises yet. I’ll get caught up soon (weather permitting). Super happy you might extend posting to Thanksgiving ish.
Super short clip of use layering the dog walk at a trial this past weekend. Push to an out hoop and tunnel (NADAC). I also tried it with a pull and rear on the next run (double run format – same course twice – nice for trying out A B handling testing). 😁
Hi Tracy,
We had some rain and so the field is a bit sticky/clay-like. We just did a quick session of 3 jump zig zag going to the 135 angle like you recommended. I immediately had about 2 inches of clay/mud on my shoes and right after that Rip started to get it between his toes and was uncomfortable so we ended quickly.
So, last session of 3 jump zig zag I had him start from each end of the 3 jump pattern. This session it dawned on me that if I’m having him jump into the V of the first 2 jumps he’s always doing the same first side even if I start him on the opposite end. So first jump on his right both directions the way I set this up. Took me a sec to realize I needed to invert the zig zag if I wanted him to start with first wing on his left. 🤣
We just did Manners Minder reinforcer since I could really run in the mud and wanted him able to think a bit more this first session with the flatter angle.
Also, I think if you put the video link in its own line (hit return, paste it, hit return) so it has a blank line before and after the video link in your post when you submit the post it embeds the actual video in your post (vs a link someone has to click to go to YouTube to watch it). If you type text, paste the link without space around it folks have to leave AU and go to YouTube to see it. Hope that makes sense.
Hi Tracy,
Loved the live session for your 2 week Course Trends on Saturday (highly recommend it for others with the great exercises you set up).
Took yesterday “off” from online work for an IRL fun match.
Starting on 3 jump zig zag exercise. Stationary toy in this session. Added a little chill motion after the first couple of reps. Jumps are about 90 degrees here.
Also a short session of organizer frontside slice.
Okay. Will keep working on the arousal level stuff. It’s a lot of fine-tuning and titratng of the arousal levels which for me is MUCH better than trying to convince a dog that agility is fun. It’s a “high-class problem” to have in my mind, so will be fun to work through it and see how I can support him.
We did some Zig Zag with drag toy today. Also mixed in some leash tug, leash on/off and some aroused fun lie-downs to start building that skill with a +CER.
He does like to tug on anything, including the leash. I haven’t used that in the ring after some kind of scary moments when leash runners did a zombie walk towards him with the leash held out in front of them looking a look like an invitation to tug at the end of his runs and I slow mo watched in horror as he relatively gently (for him) launched toward them to try to tug (inclduing some pretty old not so sturdy looking folks). I now check the leash holding setup at trials and tell folks inclined to carry it to us not to, but still. He is super good about not targeting his leash or toy on the ground (even if I leave it at the end of a course where he has to do a pass by during the course). Let me contemplate and test some stuff out.
He has a class tonight that he tends to be super amped at (and it’s a frequent trial site) so I’ll test some stuff out and up arousal at home too.
So we’re in brain camp now and will hopefully get some more ideas there – but at shows coming in the ring he kind of tunnel visions on the obstacles and is no longer able to respond to most cues. He’s sweet about it and gently wagging his tail but can’t really be bothered to do things like hand touches, chin rests, sits, etc. He’s not barking or bouncing, just VERY focused. And, at the end of the run he needs to express his opinions on it (good or bad) and launch toward me (like the “arousal error” launch at my face I slow mo’ed for you during Argus). I’ve started making moving downs more fun and reinforced and asking for a running down after the last obstacle and then asking him to go find his leash or leaving him in the down if it’s a jump height change after us and I hold the leash open for him to leave the down and try to get his head in (like I did a few times during our training session).
Lots to think about now that I’m seeing what his trial MO is.
Today is running contacts and threadle basics review day so we’ll revisit zig zags and organizers in the next few days.
We’re back from another fun UKI show (I really do wish there was more UKI in my area, he just loves being able to run in extension vs constant collection the other venues end up asking him for) and a couple of days off.
We went back to organizers – to the jump/front side wrap and then back to Zig Zag working on flattening 2 jump angle.
I used the Manners Minder since I forgot his toy this session – but he needed some calmer mind thoughts anyway for this stuff for now.
We’re also trying to work in some startline leash on/off and end of run leash on here and there since we currently get very excited before our run and very aroused at the end of it. We’ll hopefully see you in virtual brain camp.
Organizer to the Jump/Front Side Wrap
2 Jump Zig Zag
We worked a bit on zig zag with flattening and a bit on organizer/to the wing (after doing the to the plank with a wing wrap first).
Zig Zag – I pulled out his old floofy puppy drag toy. I think it made it a little hard for him to think but also think he was just having a hard time (especially with first wing on his right) getting the bounce as the angle flattened. I tried some different things (made notes on the video). Interested to get your take. It was more reps than I had planned but I was really trying to figure out which variable was causing him to 1 stride (angle, distance, toy, left/right side start) At the end I even reversed the angle of the exercise so that he was jumping from screen right to screen left with first bar on his right (vs screen left to screen right) – just in case there was something about the ring layout that was discouraging the extended bounce on the 1 side. Didn’t seem likely since on screen left we are pretty close to our property line fence and on screen right we have more free space and then the dog walk a ways away.
Plank Organizer we finished the “to the plank” exercise by adding a wing wrap to it, then went on to “to the wing”.
We worked on “Organizers – to the Plank” and “Zig Zag Jumps”. I didn’t quite do “to the Plank” the way the instructions said (I thought I was but re-read the instructions after and didn’t quite do it right since I had him moving with me to it a lot of the time, not always behind me to a cookie toss).
I like the Cato Plank width, stability and surface for him for these exercises, but it does have a deep reinforcement history for 2o2o training. So, I started out with a wing at the front edge of it to help him realize I wasn’t asking for 2 front feet off. Once we got going and he was getting the concept I faded it by moving it farther away. We’re also working on his running dog walk and a-frame these days so I’m not particularly worried about this breaking his dog walk 2o2o that we’re getting rid of anyway.
We did Zig Zag (7 reps total). My wings are separate from the jumps and so there was an extra support PVC foot in his way on the 1st rep that I pushed out of the way after that. He does still have to deal with the jump’s foot (which he’ll see in regular tight slices) but I felt like 2 feet slightly apart wasn’t totally fair.
