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Thanks so much, Tracy!
It never occurred to me to use the bang as the click but that would work perfectly! Hooray for the Manner’s Minder! I love this thing (Cowboy Love 3000!) I purchased your self-study course “Got Remote? Get Training! ” and am finding all sorts of uses for this remote treat dispenser.
This heat wave that we are having should break soon so I am hoping to work on the sequencing section. I have used the Manners Minder to work on the “go-on” cue as well as rear crosses. However, I have not used it for things like wraps or pushes to the backside. It should be fun to try 🙂
Round-2 of backing up! I warmed up with the clicker board and then switched over to backing up on the end of the teeter.
I brought the Manners Minder with me and placed it next to the tire jump while I was setting up and then forgot it was there! It wasn’t until I was about to leave that I saw it. Since it was already out, I did a few passes over the teeter at full height. On the earlier passes, Cowboy did a 4-on before moving into the end position. He then became more confident and moved right into the 2O/2O for the remainder of the runs.
Video: Cowboy Backing Up Part 2
Hi Tracy!
Today’s episode is all about hind end awareness! Cowboy is backing up on all kinds of things:
* Clicker board
* Travel plank (sideways so it was easier to find)
* Wobble boardI haven’t worked on backing up in a while so it started out a little slow and then got progressively better. He seemed to have a good understanding overall.
Video: Cowboy Backing Up
Thanks Tracy for the Fantastic feedback!
I think I used the upside arm before the send to the pinwheel because earlier in the week we ran a sequence during class using the tunnel to the blue jump to the dog-walk (off screen). I thought I saw Cowboy eyeing that line when he was exiting the tunnel and wanted to make sure he turned to the red jump instead of going straight (or at least that was the plan!)
Today we practiced the 2O/2O on the teeter. I continued working through the exercises from your Terrific Teeters class and now Cowboy can do a full height teeter. However, somewhere I made a wrong turn and now the 2O/2O criteria has gotten a little bit fuzzy for Cowboy. Currently, he is doing a four on and slowly moving into a 2O/2O with prompting.
In this video, I start out using a target plate and then removed it to see if one was better than the other but it doesn’t seem to make a difference. The last third of the video is a different session where I use a travel plank and the Treat n’ Train. He is a little better there. However, if I use too much motion (jogging/running) he will run through the contact.
Video: 2O/2O on Teeter and Travel Plank
Hahaha! Great observation on the beginning of the video! There were several obstacles offscreen and when I started the exercise, Cowboy would exit the tunnel and continue on to the next obstacle.
Today, we worked on speed circles. The start of the video is just the speed circle. I then added the front cross in the middle section and the blind cross at the end (The blind cross part is rough!)
Video: Speed Circle with FC and BC
Thanks so much, Tracy!
Commitment is still a challenge for us so I was happy with how well he handled this exercise!
Today I did more wing wraps and added the tunnel. Both wings are about 9′ from the tunnel entrance. In the first set, I was holding food in my hand. In the second set, I was not. I don’t think it mattered either way but I noticed that I cued differently when I was holding food.
Video: Wingin’ It with a Tunnel
Thanks Tracy!
Today, Cowboy and I worked on wing wraps and the Lazy Game. For the wing wraps I only used a single wing. The next time I will use it in combination with the tunnel.
When doing the Lazy Game, I moved the jumps further apart (they are approximately 15′). I also added less motion towards the end and only rewarded after every 2nd or 3rd jump. Initially, Cowboy slowed down when the reward wasn’t there after each jump so I will probably vary the reinforcement next time. Overall, a solid session.
Video: Wingin’ It and The Lazy Game
Thanks Tracy!
Cowboy and I had a go at this game. I found it very relaxing! I enjoyed it so much that I brought my other dog with me so he could try too so apologies for all of the screaming and barking in the background!
Video: Cowboy and the “Lazy Game”
Yes! Cowboy totally loved the trial environment and I agree practicing at all those different places (including a busy park) made a tremendous difference! I have never experienced anything like this before. As soon as we walked into the building, it was like we had entered Disney World!
He was excited to do agility but he was also very clear headed. He maintained his startline on all three runs, ignored the judge and briefly checked out a ring crew person (end of video) before coming right back and continuing on.
I also forgot to mention that the weave pole entrance was at ~4:00 and he found the entrance on the first try! THANK YOU for everything!
Thanks Tracy!
Cowboy did his first agility trial today! It was a UKI trial at Get Rev’d Agility. I ran NFC and tried to keep things fun and light and Cowboy looked like he was having a blast.
We were able to do 12 weave poles in Jumpers! Once he got through the first 10 he slowed down a bit but did not pop out. I would show you but the poles are obscured by a jump wing. I do have a highlight reel. Just general stuff from the trial. Cowboy ran faster than I expected and so I did have some issues with off-courses. I will be on the look-out for any upcoming handling courses. Thanks again!
Video: Cowboy at 1st Agility Trial (NFC runs)
Thanks Tracy for all of your feedback and for offering such a great course!
I am so happy with how Cowboy’s weaves are progressing and I think we both had a lot of fun getting to this point…well most of the time 😉
The other benefit from the course was an improvement in Cowboy’s forward and lateral sends. I spent a lot of time sending to and wrapping a cone/wing and every time I tried to increase the distance he would slow down or “pull off”. I noticed fairly early in this class that I could be pretty far away from the weave poles (or teeter) and Cowboy would continue to drive forward towards the obstacle. This has also transferred to sequencing, although I still need to continue working on obstacle commitment during certain scenarios.
Thanks again and I hope I have the opportunity to join a future course!
Video: Cowboy Foundation Sequencing Compilation
When I arrived at the training center, I couldn’t find the 2×2 weave poles so I started with the regular ones in the ring.
The session opened up fine; there were a few mistakes in the middle and then I had some really nice passes at the end.
Next time, I plan to do 4 x 6. He seems OK with them closed but having fewer poles (at least as a warm-up) will hopefully get us closer to doing all 12 poles.
Video: 6×6 Weave Poles
Thanks Tracy! This is great feedback!
I know the class is coming to a close and I don’t know your timeline for final video submissions. Either way, I will continue to work through the exercises. They were packaged beautifully and provided a very nice progression.
Thank you so much!
Today, I set up a practice session using a lowered teeter (4 links from full height). Cowboy appeared comfortable with the height so I added a tunnel . It got a little bit shaky from there so I went back to just the teeter in isolation.
I noticed that when there is a mistake he will offer a “4 on” and wait for me to cue the 2o/2o position. I have seen this on the dog walk and A-frame too so I am wondering how to address it. It doesn’t happen very often but does happen enough times that it could become part of the end behavior.Video: Cowboy 2o/2o on Lowered Teeter
Thanks again, Tracy!
Cowboy and I were at it again this morning. Now that the weather has gotten warmer (or just plain hot!) a lot of people are showing up at the park earlier. Cowboy handled the added distractions really well. We had a few mistakes but most of the session was reasonably solid.
BTW…the video is long but the actual session was very short. I edited out most of the in between stuff but a kept a few things in so that if I ever watched the video several months from now, I could get an idea of the level of motivation and engagement we had during the session. 🙂
Video: Outdoor Weave Pole Practice (poles 1-6)
