[Deborah Hill]

Thanks so much, Tracy!

I think you captured one of our main challenges (there are others but will start with this one). Focus forward! I was planning on doing Rally along with agility so I practiced a lot of attention heeling. She has a long reinforcement history of looking at me.

Tarot also likes to chase me (very velcro) instead of focusing on the next obstacle so if I try to leave, I will pull her off the obstacle because her commitment is not that strong (focus forward again, countermotion?)

I am really looking forward to working with you, Tracy, and want to make sure I am doing the right things by her!

Here is a video I took during a private lesson with Grace Heck.

Tarot Focus Forward:

[Deborah Hill]

Thank you Tracy! You give the best feedback!

I love working with young dogs but it can also be challenging because my older dog is becoming seasoned and I am falling into the trap of assuming the young one will just do the thing!

I will reset and try again

[Deborah Hill]

Hi Tracy,

Today, I spent some time with Quinlan on wing wraps and the “Smiley” sequence. I started off with a toy but quickly switched over to food, as he doesn’t have a good “out” and his retrieve is a work in progress (any suggestions to improve on both would be genuinely appreciated :)!

Quinlan is not as enthusiastic when food is in the picture but I was able to get in multiple reps.

I didn’t do much of the “smiley” sequencing because he would dart behind me or go wide so I wanted to hear your thoughts before I continued.

Video: Quinn Wing Wraps March 2023

[Deborah Hill]

Thanks so much, Tracy! Yes; he is a big dude! I haven’t measured him recently but he looks to be very close to 22”.

Sometimes I see a very athletic young dog and other times, I see an uncoordinated youngster who looks like he is wearing roller skates! I am happy to give him the time that he needs.

Quinlan shares the same dam as Kelsey Kirkpatrick’s Endeavor and Janet Terry’s Menty. His sire is a Welsh import who was very successful in herding. I know there’s no guarantee (so many variables to consider) but am hoping his genetics and our partnership come together 😊

[Deborah Hill]

Thanks so much, Tracy! I find your feedback extremely helpful!

The decel exercise was a tough one for us! There was a disc dog event outside and Tarot was really distracted by the people coming in and out of the building and the sound of the electronic voice over the PA system.

I warmed up (and finished) with some tugging which she really likes but the switch over to food typically gets a lukewarm reception. I will revisit this one.

Video: Tarot Deceleration
https://youtu.be/L_3hCTPLIwo.

[Deborah Hill]

Thanks so much, Tracy!

Today’s plan was to do another session of foot targeting but didn’t want the session to go too long. Instead, I warmed up with some hand targeting followed by focus forward.

Tarot’s retrieve and her toy release is not consistent yet so if you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them, as I don’t want to introduce conflict while playing these games.

Video: Tarot Nose Target and Focus Forward

[Deborah Hill]

Hi Tracy,

Here is our first entry. I walked around looking for some novel non-agility item and found a silicone water bowl and a foam disk.

Tarot didn’t know what I wanted at first but once she sorted it out she was very consistent.

Video: Tarot Foot Targeting

[Deborah Hill]

Hi Tracy,

I worked on soft turns today. I wasn’t sure how far the wing should be from the jump placed behind it so I set it to about 12 feet.

In addition, because this was our first time doing this exercise, I started by staying mostly stationary. I wanted to get you feedback before doing the walk-jog-run portion.

Video: Cowboy Soft Turns

[Deborah Hill]

Thanks Tracy! A lot to unpack for sure!

Looks like I will need to undo some things. For the wing wrap do you think “Check Right” and “Check Left” would work since Cowboy is used to hearing the word Check? I am thinking about using the Manners Minder for this but if you have any alternatives, I am happy to give it a try.

I am not sure how to indicate to Cowboy how tightly he should turn when doing a rear cross. I rely a lot on my motion to get him to collect or jump in extension but would love to learn more how I can improve my precision in that area.

Here is a video from Friday. I tend to use “Check” and “Check, Check, Check” interchangeably but am working towards being more consistent with the wording.

Video: Cowboy Wing Wrap

[Deborah Hill]

Wow! This is excellent feedback!

I will start placing the MM behind Cowboy in the ring and occasionally outside of the ring.

I also liked the idea of placing the leash next to the MM and developing a routine where where I mark the end of the sequence and run to the leash/MM combo. While watching the AKC Invitationals over the weekend, I observed a few dogs that had been trained to get their leash from a chair after their run. This should help with diverting focus on the ring gate where treats tend to happen.

Where it makes sense, I will also leave the MM in the middle of the ring to serve as a substitute judge and/or ring crew if needed but will still reward after completing the sequence.

Thanks again, Tracy!. 

[Deborah Hill]

Fantastic! Thanks Tracy 🙂

This week’s theme was having fun with remote reward delivery!  

I watched your video and don’t remember if you specified where the MM should be placed so I left it out in the open where Cowboy could easily see it instead of hiding it behind a wing. I started out doing a two-jump sequence and then switched to a longer one.  

I found that having a MM randomly set in the middle of a course was a bit of a distraction at first but we worked through it.  I also found that I need more practice holding the remote while moving! For the longer sequence, I set the remote control on a chair (off camera) and then ran to the chair to press the button. I don’t know if doing this added an extra layer of complexity as opposed to pressing the button at the very end of the sequence.

In your video, you stated to use the verbal marker cue (in my case “Treats”) before delivering the reward instead of a lot of excessive praise so that it was clear what was signaling the reward….well, I need more practice with that too 🙂

Video: Remote Reinforcement Procedures with Cowboy

[Deborah Hill]

Thanks Tracy!

I will see if I can continue to build on this. Cowboy is such a social butterfly so he still likes to visit but the nice thing is he is reconnecting with me much faster and I think these reinforcement procedures are helping 🙂

[Deborah Hill]

Hi Tracy,

I have been working on building more value for tugging on the leash and so I am sharing a brief video of Cowboy tugging at the end of a run.

My mechanics / timing could use work but I was thrilled that he was offering this behavior since tugging was never his thing and he really is starting to get into it 🙂

Video: Tugging on the Leash

[Deborah Hill]

Hi Tracy,

I gave using the leash as a toy a try. I used a rubber ball to cover the metal part and it seems to work reasonably well. I then switched over to tossing the leash and using the verbal cue “Get it”. When Cowboy realized there was a ball at the end of the leash, all bets were off and it turned into a ball retrieval thing!

I am wondering if I cut a hole on the other side of the ball and slide the leash through if that would be legal for an AKC agility trial.

BTW…the video is out of focus; when I reviewed it, I was wondering if I should make an appointment to the eye doctor.

Video: Cowboy Reinforcement Procedures using the Leash

• This reply was modified 3 years, 4 months ago by Deborah Hill.

[Deborah Hill]

Thanks Tracy!

I will give the leash thing a try and if I don’t forget, I will also video some of my reward approaches in class 🙂

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