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Hi Tracy,
We haven’t posted in a bit but the last live was great and we’ve been working on MP3 stuff, just not always taping.
Today we worked on teeter independence first. I tried using the Manner’s Minder for remote reinforcement straight ahead after the teeter and it was a bit perplexing for both of us at first but he caught on to it. Not a ton of reps as it’s already getting hot out there. When he’s on my left I can only go so far without 1st smacking into a tree and then a fence. I’ll have to move the teeter to do much more with this.
We also did double blinds. I am SUPER BUMMED. We did a great little session and when I walked over to the camera I HAD NOT HIT RECORD. Ugh. It’s going to be too hot later today so I hosed him off and we did a few more reps but I could tell we were both kind of tired and we weren’t quite as brilliant as the first reps LOL. I think it was mostly me being tired and not moving as smoothly, occassionally forgetting one more, one more thing of keeping moving and also my arms were getting flappier as I got tired and started to forget my biceps to sides tag point.
Anyway, it wasn’t a huge failure but just not as lovely and smooth as our unrecorded session.
Teeter Independence:
Double Blinds:
I feel like straight line 4 ways has lots of super important elements so want to stay on it for a bit. Here’s session 2, same direction, trying to incorporate as much of your feedback as I could remember. Started with jumps at 20” then lowered to 16” after the first few reps just because it’s hot out already.
1. Got the toy out there on the straight line and helped a lot to keep him looking and driving ahead (jumps are about 22’ apart here and when he comes in in extension he’s needing to do a pretty short 1 stride).
2. Inside wrap I’m not hating.
3. Outside wrap I’m struggling a bit not to really cross behind him and not just turn and run laterally (even though I told myself to drive in, set the line and drive toward center of the jump for a more diagonal cross instead of the 90 degree turn I’m doing). I’ll have a talk with myself. Also, I’m not decel’ing. I feel like at some Power Paws camp years ago with my 1st generation of dogs I was told to really drive that line and not decel and that’s what stuck even though that was typically for soft turn rears, not wraps. Again, sounds like a little talk is in order.
4. Push is feeling/looking good to me but I know I can turn and burn earlier since once I see him commit to the line I feel confident he’s not going to pull off at this point and feel pretty good he understands the cue to mean go to the back and take the jump.
If this is looking at least better I’ll set up the mirror image tomorrow (or Sunday since I think we have a live tomorrow) and make sure no issues on his part.
We worked on the straight line 4 ways today. I watched/read the assignment a couple of days ago and messed up a little when I got out there – rewarding after the handling challenge each time instead of heading back to the first jump out of the tunnel. We’ll work up to the full sequence next session.
We were at a 4 day show all weekend and I forced him to have a day off yesterday. He’s got class IRL tonight so I was going to post some footage from this weekend for some feedback (I hope that’s okay). If it’s not I’ll come back and delete.
This is NADAC and “Intro” level so very short courses, not lots of jumps and lower than his eventual jump height + they do a double run format so you get 2 rounds of the same course (which is actually kind of awesome for working through issues and increasing a baby dog’s confidence). I haven’t been much of a NADAC fan the past decade or so but am really liking it for baby dogs now.
Here’s our highlights reel (I cut out a lot of our training runs with toy play after the contacts). I don’t train much on hoops and his commitment to them isn’t quite as strong as jumps. On the other hand his commitment to and independence on jumps has swung a bit too far 🤣 (2nd video).
Highlights
Hmmm……a little too independent on what is NOT a pinwheel. 😝. Note the red jump near the umbrella is NOT part of the beginning of this course (whether Ripley believes it or not 😂). The camera doesn’t show jump #1 but 4 to 5 is a 180 and then out to that outside straight line of jumps (so Rip’s trying to add a full extra loop of jumps).
Hi Tracy,
Thanks for the fun live class last Saturday. We had a lot of fun.
Here’s a little bit of rear cross stuff.
I did a little rear cross work last week. He seemed to read them well but that was on a straight send to the first jump and either a soft or more acute turn to the 2nd jump I was using.
Here’s that session to see where I thought we were starting from:
We tried the first exercise you shared as the bonus RC stuff this morning (already really hot out so just did the 1 sequence) and just had a bit of trouble setting the line from jump 3-4 to get a nice rear cross on 4. No real issues reading the rear once I’d done it, but an issue committing to front side of 4 with my speed and pathway and the angle of the 2 jumps.
Rep 1 – was okay, but he swung out a little from 3-4 like he thought it was a backside to 4. I also used “left” instead of his wrap cue “dig dig” for 4 which wasn’t really correct.
Rep 2 – he still had a question mark about what I wanted on 4. I asked for a wrap (wing wrap to his left) on 4 but did NOT decel, just turned. So, that’s my bar and I deserved that head check between 3-4.
Rep 3 – too much decel too early, got a head turn and he read my rotation for the rear as a push on his line to a backside. Poor puppy.
Rep 4 – he checks as he lands off 3, sees I’m heading to his line so confidently takes the backside of 4. He’s not wrong.
Backchained 3,4 then exit of 2 to 3,4. I’m trying to avoid asking for a flick, so trying not to run to the right of jump 4 to pull him toward it and then abruptly rear cross in an old fashioned flick fake out. He’s just not totally reading my shoulder pull to 4. Help needed.
Rep 5 – still buying the backside.
Checked the video, checked my jumps and realized maybe I had set too sharp of an angle to 4 for his current understanding and my current attempts at handling the sequence, so just made it a little kinder for him.
Rep 6 – last rep – he got it so we stopped (I dropped the dig dig but that was just a mistake and he still read the RC wrap).
Looking forward to you setting me straight. 😝
Hi Tracy,
Here’s our first real homework assignment video from this week’s assignments since that other stuff was video we already had.
I kind of have a broken rib so the lazy pinwheels exercise was perfect.
So I feel like on the left right question I should decide that left or right means do the tunnel or jump, instead of only using it on jumps – then turn as you come out/land to make my life easier. I agree with basing cue on dog’s body not mine since I don’t want him turning to look at me if I’m behind and don’t want to worry about our exact relationship to each other if I’m ahead or doing weird cross/spin things.
Here’s the baby level of a question mark. This was a gamble – Intro line us shown here but higher levels layered the inner tunnel and I did that too just because I didn’t think I could go all the way into that far pocket and get the front cross to get out again. I used a get out and a bit of an off arm (kind of the modified lap turn arm) but it’s a similar scenario to a non-obvious/run across my feet tunnel entrance (which would be chute for us) and if I’d been farther behind I would have needed just a verbal – so a right would be good if it seemed kosher to have that do double duty as a tunnel and jump verbal.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/tG1bzwEET2hwkm7P6
I saw a more advanced version of this at a show a few weeks ago – before he was old enough to enter – where the 2 tunnels were completely parallel and it was a distance challenge. So dog needed to come out of tunnel 1 at speed turn away from handler full 180 to another parallel tunnel – all with handler 20’ away and not super visible from dog’s POV. Would that also be a directional since the turn was 180?
And this – 6A to 6B where you’re a bit stuck behind the a-frame.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/rZ2J4ou15iW1vmxP7
And this – 3 to 4 where I want to just stay at the entrance to 3 and run like hell as he commits to 4. Because the tunnel curves it is a bit of just a go on but there’s a rear cross kind of plus a front cross after that technically. Some dogs turned left coming out.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/m11z5JddTAzTmNjg7
Lots of people at these shows use “switch” – change your lead away from me – and I’ve used that with my previous dogs – but it’s just feeling too handler dependent and risks changes on the flat and pulling off commitment (which sometimes happened with my previous really fast and responsive BC).
This was his first taste of NADAC. He’s only allowed to do “Intro” in that venue until he’s 18 months old and the baby dogs jump 4″ lower than their full height, plus they have more classes with no or fewer jumps (and no teeter or tire in that venue) so it’s REALLY baby dog friendly.
On 2o2o training we used a target pretty briefly and faded it and just did lots of speed into 2o2o on various planks and plank like objects.
At home he’s VERY independent and able to find and stick 2o2o with all kinds of variations on my part – lateral distance, my position – ahead, behind, even with, speed, motion etc. So at home I can continue running ahead, blind cross, front cross, diverge, converge, keep a consistent lateral distance etc. and he finds his 2o2o and waits for release. That’s my goals for eventual trial performance.
He was also able to do this in class and the couple of fun matches he’s done (and he hadn’t done any contacts in trial settings yet) UNTIL last week. Last week in class, after we’d entered this past weekend’s show, was the first time he struggled to stick the landing on his contacts. Sequences in class are getting longer, faster and more fun and he just couldn’t quite stick it. He was trying, not being naughty, just couldn’t quite do it.
We refreshed a bit at home in the 2 days after class and before the trial but it’s clear that when his arousal is higher my motion – especially speed forward – can pull him off his 2o2o. So, we’re keeping that on our list of things to really work on in the next few weeks. It is definitely my goal that he can find and stick his 2o2o no matter what I do but obviously we’re not quite there yet.
I’m resurfacing my old DW with the rubber skin and can do some low DW/partial DW stuff once that’s good to go.
I am completely waffling on RDW. His stride is so long when he opens up I’m just not sure I want to put in the time and reps to train it.
ALSO – I need help with verbals. Now that we are walking and running real courses I keep seeing situations where I’m not sure what verbal to use. For example – turns out of tunnels – I’ve got left/right which in my mind means find the next jump and turn that direction, so doesn’t feel quite right to use with a turn out of a tunnel. I want to be able to say it early enough before a jump that he can hear/understand/do and don’t want it to degrade to do this when I say it so I end up getting turns on the flat before jumps.
Then there’s rear cross wraps and rear cross soft turns – do I use my same dig dig and check check that I use for wraps without a RC, do I use my same left/right soft turn even with the RC?
How about a 180 degree and push out turn out of a tunnel away from me at a distance – to another tunnel or a jump – like in a gamble or just when I’m behind and want to layer the tunnel he’s coming out of?
So many little variations of things I’m getting all in my head about them.
Help please!
That sounds great.
Here’s some of our previous plank work (also from February – that’s when he turned 12 months old and I let him start doing more fun big boy stuff).
Here’s where we’re at on full dog walk in an actual show this past weekend. I admit I got excited by how great he was doing and how much fun we were having. His dog walk is a single cue for the full behavior including 2o2o. I originally taught 2o2o with a “feet” cue for just that feet and then faded it out. On our first couple of runs I got worried and threw that in there and lagged behind him. I realized quickly that’s not how I run at home or classes and so did some toy runs and tried to run the way I do at home with full speed running and then just a little decel at the end. I have thoughts about trying for a running dog walk in the future but want this solid first and that would have a different cue if I think I want to really go for it.
Sorry some of the video from this weekend is crummy. Sometimes I just set a tripod up since my friends in Elite were usually in the other ring when baby level/Intro was running.
This is the only recent full teeter in a sequence I could find on video (from dog camp a couple of weeks ago). The little shows he’s doing so far his level/the classes he’s allowed to do don’t have a teeter yet. I did do “rehearsal runs” the night before the show at the UKI show we tried and did all the contacts (including teeter) in 1 of those runs but I didn’t tape it. He’s only allowed to do Speedstakes “for real” at UKI, CPE doesn’t have a teeter at level 1 and NADAC doesn’t have a teeter at all. He didn’t have any issues with that brand new teeter, in a brand new location at full speed in a sequence.
We did do quite a bit of foundation work on banging, motion under your feet, driving up the board and driving into 2o2o before we got to the real teeter and then we gradually got it up to full height.
Hi Tracy,
We’re at a 3 day show (we’re doing a bit of tour of venues so he’s seen baby level CPE, UKI and this weekend is NADAC – mixing up training runs with toys and “real” runs since he sometimes gets annoyed if I interrupt a course to praise or play).
I did some mountain climber work back in February (I got the self-study version of your teeter course). I’ll post that here and let me know if you want me to revisit it. He’s doing a full-height teeter with 2o2o and no issues seen but I’m happy to circle back to whatever you think is best.
We had a busy and FUN weekend.
Ripley had his first fun match. It was a 2 day event at a location where he’s been taking some beginner classes.
We had a great time and he was awesome. He doesn’t always know what I’m asking, especially once the excitement and some speed kick in, and we still have to figure out some issues with all the legs he’s apparently grown, but I felt like overall he was all in and having a really good time. I tried not to correct anything that went wrong (almost succeeded but a couple of resends here and there).
We were seriously not perfect and watching the videos back I have lots of self-critique – BUT, not once did I feel like he was scared, overwhelmed or not having fun. Even when he needed to sniff a bit on the grass field (especially since there was a very consistent particularly smelly area on the left side of the field where we often had to enter).
It was crazy how much there was to think about. I went in with some pretty solid plans and contingency plans so I wouldn’t get too excited in the moment.
Day 1 I had my camera on a tripod so the video isn’t too great. Day 2 my partner was there so the video is much better.
It’s a LOT of video. Apologies but I wanted to capture at least some of our waiting for our turn, getting into the ring, doing the thing and then leaving, plus going to our remote reinforcement at the end.
Here were our goals/the questions I was asking on each of the runs:
Day 1 –
Run 1 – can you take cookies and do some basic behaviors while waiting and in the ring.
Run 2 – can you play with toys in the ring, even with your leash off.
Run 3 – can you take cookies, play with toys and do some easy obstacles or short sequences. (wasn’t able to film Run 3 outdoors as they asked me to move up a lot due to missing dogs but he did really well).He’s used to the indoor arena, has never been in the outdoor grass space and it has LOTS of smells, lots of critters and critter habitats, horses on the other side of the fence, etc. Most dogs struggle a bit on it in general, but especially at first.
Day 2 – Goals/Questions
Run 1 – Are we picking up where we left off or do we need to take a step back
Run 2- can you do some easy sequences
Run 3 – can you do some longer sequences and still stay engagedI let him do the most in tunnelers since he was feeling really confident and seemed very focused.
I broke the videos down since there were so many and they are so long.
Here’s Day 1 – standard ring stuff (realized too late that he’s never seen an a-frame without slats – baby dog stuff)
Day 1 – jumpers stuff
Day 2 – standard ring stuff
Day 2 – jumpers stuff
Day 2 – Tunnelers
We’ve got a 2 day fun match this weekend at the facility where he’s been doing some classes. I entered him both days knowing it will be a perfect next step.
Just different enough from what he’s done there already between classes, attending shows to watch and playing in the ring during walk thrus a few months ago.
My plan is lots of really easy baby behaviors and no pressure, all fun. Not planning to do any actual courses, no long sequences and no difficult obstacles. I’ll be sitting myself down for a serious talking to trying to ensure I don’t get excited and start to ask for too much. The struggle is real. 🤣
I’ll scope out some upcoming shows with FEO/NFC stuff.
And, we’ll be seeing you up at Argus for camp in August/September. 🥰
