[Cindi Delany]

Here’s a bit of remote reinforcement.

I did an accidental marshmallow test when I left the room to move my 13-year-old border collie (who COULD NOT handle hearing me play tug with the puppy) away from a baby gate in the hall. I left his toy on the stool and he had to make a VERY difficult decision not to just grab it. So cute (and totally unintentional on my part).

[Cindi Delany]

Probably obvious from live classes the past week but we have not practiced serps for months – since MaxPup1. So, today we did both Serp homeworks so far.

[Cindi Delany]

We’ve been off on border collie puppy adventures – road trip, hiking, herding instinct testing, crazy dock diving party with other crazy border collies – all the things.

We’re back practicing/videoing. BUT, it rained a lot the past 24 hours and my agility field is quite muddy.

I went out to give it a try anyway and ended up about 3 inches taller within minutes with mud caked on my shoes. I could barely walk 🤣

We were working on “Finding the Jump” from the tunnel. He did great but I was really having a hard time moving around between the mud and some agility furniture I didn’t have the time to move (plus rushing to get into a Zoom meeting for work). I also apparently totally forgot my “Chase” LSM for the thrown toy. Oh well, next time we’ll get our act together.

Hoping it’s dry enough to use for class tonight (this was taped this AM about 6 hours ago and it’s been a little sunny and windy so might be okay).

[Cindi Delany]

I truly feel like my WordPress site should do what I’m thinking regardless of what buttons I actually hit.

Here’s some tunnel turns. So I’m getting the verbals out pretty early before he enters the tunnel most of the time, but watching the video I can see I should definitely be repeating them as he exits instead of just being silent to confirm the cue I want him to respond to on the exit side.

[Cindi Delany]

Here’s some chill with varying degrees of actual engagement. He’s pretty good at on off switch. He enjoys calm pets WHEN it is calm pet time. He doesn’t enjoy it as much in the context of a working session and at times finds it annoying/slightly aversive. So for him I typically let him just do a standby stand or do a waist, chin or shoe chin rest and intermittently hand him a kibble. Sometimes that’s next to me or between my legs but if there’s something stimulating in front of us, like I’m watching another dog run, I’ll ask him to lie down facing me so he can more easily relax and chin rest on my shin or shoe.

2 clips here – at a tree planting ceremony this morning – lots of dogs and people in tight quarters. We’ve just gotten to the other side of some teenage reactivity b-mod so I am paying him for this.

2nd clip MaxPup2 training session this AM. Some standby stand, some loosely cued lie down with intermittent calm pets, and then a go lie down chill while I move equipment around to work on RDW.

[Cindi Delany]

Hey Tracy,

I was going to watch last night’s Zoom recording to figure out what the heck my shoulders were doing before I do the Serp exercise. Do you have a recording link?

Cindi

[Cindi Delany]

Here’s a bit of “Instant Focus” Parts 1 and 2.

We used his target object from back in MaxPup 1 so did Part 1 pretty quickly.

We are at home and he’s seen each of the objects I used in Part 2 before so I did give him a bit of a challenge there just to see how he would react. He did need to do a bit of checking the objects (including big stuffed animals and some of his favorite tug toys) but then was able to get right back into work mode. I think this is a good exercise for us to keep working on.

Coincidentally I did actually take this object to a dog show this weekend and did some training with him about 10 feet from the ring on a big open field. We used it for front feet targeting and then also for a 2o2o as a target for backing up to. He did great doing those behaviors/tricks in that setting. It’s a nice easy object to take various places so I’m thinking I’ll keep using it a bit for that.

[Cindi Delany]

I’ll redo the set point and wind in your hair at 16” and see how it looks.

This morning we worked on some tunnel discrimination and smiley face game. Sorry that I cut off the right side of the frame when I set up the 2nd part.

[Cindi Delany]

P.S. Congrats on Contraband’s first flyball title. Got video?

[Cindi Delany]

Apologies in advance for the long video. As Ripley’s gotten a little older and been able to start playing on some actual equipment we haven’t done as much prop free tricks (other than a few favorites we do regularly). I’ve got lots of stuff I’m working with him for his classes right now out on the equipment so I’ll probably bundle sessions of flatwork for this class when I can.

So, I taped some of the ones we do frequently and also dusted off some old ones. It will be obvious which ones are the old ones since both of us barely remember them. 😜

You’ve got:
-Hand touch
-Spin and twirl (I haven’t actually faded a slight hand cue and keep forgetting to do this one)
Hup – hand touch over his head
-Back (had to jump start him with a prop since we also haven’t really pulled this one off a prop yet)
–from standing
–from sitting
–from a lie down
-Speak on cue (competing with the Swissy so used his name with the speak cue)
-Close, Side, Middle positions
-Middle moving (he thinks it’s funny)
-Up/Down game (he offered the down but typically out and about he’s in a stand)
-Ping Pong – get it side to side – boring version with kibble, more fun with cheeseball and then countermotion version.
-Hug – jump up on my chest with front legs
-Chin on hand
-Chin on upper thigh
-Chin on foot
-Leg weaving (barely did this when he was little and haven’t done it in many months)
-Figure 8 between legs (same as leg weaves)
-Kibble drop from over his head (we do this out in public a bit ringside to see if he can focus really closely with stuff happening)
-Thrown treat catch
On my “tails” treat thrown behind you I see I’m varying “Get it” or “Tails” – tails is still a newer cue for him (and me)

So, we’ve got active tricks step 1 and 2 (treats in hand, then treats in pocket), then some line-up stuff with all 3 of his lineups (I don’t think any are poisoned or negative so just worked them all). Then we did a little bit of calmer stuff and in between a bit here and there he offers some calmer engagement while I try to get my sh*#t together. His lie down in middle position +/- chin on my foot is something we’ve been doing ringside a bit lately to give him a place to be that is both close and connected to me. 🤣

We also do a little of our barking dogs are a cue for focus on mom +/- putting your chin on her thigh just because the other dogs did do some intermittent barking and that’s what I would do in class or a trial.

This is a longer training session since we’re doing so many different things and he was having fun.

[Cindi Delany]

Okay, glad to see you think the hind end thing isn’t a big deal. Today we did some wind in your hair. I switched to just a Hollee roller do I could throw better (accepting that I was putting my hands a little at risk on the return tug without a braided fleece or bungee). Only 1 time he got my hand a little and no actual injury. 😊

[Cindi Delany]

I love this puppy – he is so fun. 😁

Here’s a bit more set point. More toy behind on start line. Bounce distance 6’, jump at 12-14”, dragging toy forward. I did use a little shorter toy since I ended up carrying 3 toys but will remember to use a longer one for this again in the future. I feel like he’s pulling his rear legs in and forward over the 2nd jump a bit early. Like if he was a horse and I was riding him I feel like he’d be bumping me out of the saddle right when I would otherwise be going back to 3 point from my in the air 2 point position when his rear legs pull in and bump his butt a bit higher in the air. What do you see?

Also just a tiny bit of his baby weaves. Totally off topic for MaxPup2 but I was so thrilled with his footwork and drive forward today I just needed to share with someone nerdy enough to see how fun this is.

We started some single 2×2 work about 6 weeks ago and added a 6 pole set with x-pen cages and a channel set about 4 weeks ago since he was in a live class that uses that. He’ll be 13 months this week and I’ve been really limiting how many days a week we do weaves (2 max) and how many reps we do. He’s mostly been hopping with an occasional single step/swim stride. Today for the first time he really settled into a swim. So fun to see him becoming a big boy. 💗

[Cindi Delany]

Hi Tracy,

Good catch on that hand dragging mechanical issue. I think I fixed it today (yes, just a right hand preference on my part I think). Also used a longer toy. I am firmly convinced I do not know how to run. I plan to work on it (and soon now that this kid is ready for more sequencing).

I did a little with toy behind (cue to turn and get toy is “tails” which as you guessed/knew we haven’t done much of). He’s not the biggest fan of the dead toy (and it’s a lower value toy than the one I’m dragging) so we’d have to work on that more to keep it higher value.

Last session gap was supposed to be the same as during our live class at about 6′ but when I rewalked it it was more like 5′. This session we started at about 5 1/2-6′ and then I spread it to about 7′. The jump bar is at about 10″.

Cindi

[Cindi Delany]

Just a little bit of set point today.

[Cindi Delany]

Do you know your Argus dates yet so I can put something on my calendar?

It’s a 12 hour drive but we did it last year for a Shade seminar (the week temps hit 115 up there 😵‍💫).

I wished we could have done the summer camp there in Aug/Sept but Ripley was just too young (7 months).

[Author]

Posts