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Thanks so much, Tracy!
I had planned to do barrel wraps today but became obsessed with the rear cross. I made the mistake of using the clicker board instead of the blue mat so now Tribute is consistently doing a rear cross to the left and consistently spinning when going to the right (spins are a favorite trick). I stopped when I realized that I might be clicking for the spin.
“Goat Tricks”: I had planned to introduce Tribute to the bang game on the teeter but it converted into mountain climbing. He is becoming more coordinated but there is still work to do. I am planning to do a “four-on” for the teeter.
I had a few minutes left on the rental so I finished with a straight tunnel. I think next time I will use a toy to get more running from him.
Video: Tribute _ Rear Cross, Teeter & Tunnel
Thanks Tracy! I am going to give it a try at our next session.
Today, I took Tribute to a new place. Since I didn’t need any agility equipment, it worked out perfectly. We worked on rear crosses followed by blind crosses. The rear crosses were a bit messy. He wanted to spin (more on his less preferred side). I know it is my handling. I am just not sure about my timing and position on this one.
The blind crosses were a little awkward at first but we fell into a nice rhythm (somewhat). towards the end.
On to more barrel wraps and focus forward!
Video: Tribute_Rear and Blind Crosses
Hi Tracy!
A MESS is an understatement! I haven’t seen that much snow and ice and multiple days of sub-freezing temps in over a decade! The training center closed frequently due to the weather and I only shoveled enough snow in my yard so my dogs could potty, so not much yard space either.
Karen was great to work with! During her introduction, she noted the increasing trend of dogs as young as five months old doing full courses and she set the expectation that the workshop would focus on puppy foundation flatwork. Although, she would make adjustments for any team that had more advanced skills.
Tribute was wonderful throughout! Karen did attempt to move the toy so that Tribute would target it better. However, he seemed a little confused. He hasn’t played tug with anyone else and wasn’t sure if he should grab it. I guess I’ll put that on my “things to work on” list! I will also try having him drive to a bowl. That seems like it should work.
Today, I worked on sending and wrapping around a barrel. I started with the Vito game as a warm-up and then asked for the wrap. I used both food and a toy. It was a little rough. I am not quite sure how to convert the Vito game into a send followed by the wrap. Maybe I missed that part in the video and I am happy to view it again but any suggestions would also be appreciated 😃
Video: Wrapping around a barrel
Hi Tracy,
The availability of the training center (and my yard) were hit or miss in February due to ice and snow. However, it looks like we are turning the corner and I will finally get back on schedule.
In the meantime, Tribute and I attended the Karen Holik Puppy Workshop where we worked on
1) Go on
2) Get it
3) Bring it back to hand (toy)Tribute is still not overly thrilled with driving to a dead toy but I can see he is starting to get the idea. While waiting my turn, I practiced short stays and he did really well considering that two rings were going at once and there were a lot of distractions. We still had to use collar grabs for some of the activities but he was much better about it. All-in-all it was a good outing! He is an honest and happy worker and I really love having him as a canine partner!
Video: Tribute at the Karen Holik Puppy Workshop
Brilliant! I love it!
I love All the props (mats, bowls, T&T, etc.) but if there is way to not use one, I am all about it.
I also use “catch” when throwing a treat back towards the dog. Hah! I just didn’t think to do it for Tribute.
Thank you for your comment about reward placement and fixating on my hand. I probably have taught Tarot to do the same thing. Ugh!
Thanks Tracy! That is all so very helpful!
I do have a question about running NFC at the local UKI trials. You mentioned having someone throw or place a reward or target to help Tarot drive ahead in trials! It never occurred to me to have a second person in the ring as a helper. Is that allowed in NFC? If so that would be fantastic since there are a lot of UKI trials in the area!
Hi Tracy,
Tarot and I did a small CPE trial at Y2K9s two weeks ago. Overall she did really well for her 4th trial. Her startlines were beautiful and the end behavior on the dog walk was really nice (the A-frame, we will not speak of). I still struggle with encouraging Tarot to drive out ahead of me (she want s to turn and flank) and she will still occasionally run past an obstacle but this 4th time around was much improved over previous runs.
The video I am sharing is not of one of our runs but the warm-up. A while back, I attended a workshop with Bobbie Bambhree at Y2K9s and she talked about these dots. Tarot trends towards high arousal and this dot game really helps her to settle.
Video – Dot Warm-up:
Thanks so much, Tracy!
Here is a video of Tribute being introduced to the “stay”. This is our first attempt. He didn’t understand the release word (in this environment) so I decided to use a hand touch instead and will start using brief stays and releases while we are out and about.
Video: Tribute’s Intro to Stays
Hi Tracy,
I have not had access to a snow-free training space, so I focused more on simple inside games like developing a startline stay (work in progress!)
I did have the opportunity to attend another puppy workshop with Tribute. It was instructed by Mary Ellen Barry and Rachel Sanders. They split the ring and taught a group each and then switched midway through. I thought it was a great format!
Tribute and I worked on the following things:
1) Offering a jump (Vito’s game without bowls) – Tribute was a little stuck at first. However, when he got going he was fantastic!
2) Following the handler – Tribute is still not overly thrilled with driving to a dead toy. However, my forward movement helped a little.
3) Reverse wrap on a wing – These went reasonably well! I was less coordinated than he was!
4) Lead changes on a series of wings – Tribute does not have a working startline and has an issue with collar grabs so I couldn’t do many of these. I was thrilled all the same. The workshop was scheduled for 3.5 hours and he got progressively better with each exercise!
Video: https://youtu.be/a_VRfPTN2ZE
Thanks Tracy!
Yes! Tarot is a levitating alligator! She has gotten better about targeting the toy instead of my flesh but it’s been a long haul!
We worked on the set point exercise today. The two jumps are set at 4 feet apart with a height of 6″. I initially used a food bowl set at about eight feet away since I thought it would help with keeping Tarot’s head down. It did but she also broke her stay a lot more often, so I switched to a toy and she did much better. I have a Treat and Train, that may also help.
In addition, should both jumps be winged jumps? If I use a combination of winged and wingless, does the order of the jumps matter?
Tarot: Set Point Jump Exercise
Thanks so much, Tracy!
As usual, this is helpful feedback! I will revisit since focus forward has been a real challenge!
Today, I got to work on sends with Tribute. The target I used has a clicker attached so it marks every time Tribute steps on it. The target did slide around a bit so, maybe, not the best for this surface. I bet if I placed it on top of an anti-slip rug mat, I would have better luck.
Tribute: Forward and Lateral Sends
Hi Tracy,
Tribute and I worked on Deceleration and Turn Foundations and Focus Forward. Tribute likes to tug but I continue to have challenges with him driving to a toy that isn’t moving. I am going to retry using a Holee Roller
Video: Drive to the Handler &Focus Forward
Hi Tracy,
I am starting off with the “Moving Target” pre-game since I don’t recall having done that one before.
Video: Tarot and Moving Target
