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Cindi,
Nice work with Mouse! You got alot of angle work in a very short training session which is perfect for this drill.When you are behind pole 3, you’ll find it easier to put the treat in your left hand (right hand for behind pole 2). It makes the “lure” easier for you and gives the dog less of a visual. You did a super job rewarding the entry so I would not redo. Just keep in mind for the more advanced exercises, especially coming out of tunnel.
Thanks for posting training session!
Diane
Welcome Cindi!
Thanks for the introduction and great explanation of what you’ve done with Mighty Mouse and what your goals are.For the drills in this course, I would close the channel poles and use straight. Over the years, I’ve used channel, weave-a-matic and 2×2 and all work to teach poles. It’s eventually the training consistency and proofing that make for reliable weaves. Mouse will benefit from “one picture” for awhile and since he’s done guides and channel, you can always go back to them for speed training if needed.
Looking forward to working with you!
Please ask if you have any confusion with drills, want more explanation of the “why” or run into a different issue. I’ll be online a couple times a day.
Diane
Tom,
I think a Fc after the broad jump is difficult. With the line setup, you are in a foot race with Cody. From the wrap before the broad jump, you’d have to send from a good distance and be moving very fast to get past the broad jump and turned. A blind cross might work but I’d be worried that Cody would want off-course tunnel. Future work for you! Once he’s got a bit more turn on the wraps, you can start to really add distance.
Thank you for training Fc with me and I’m really glad you’ve gotten so much practice on the components and are ready to use in a trial! Awesome!
LI will probably be in the Spring.
Good luck at your trial!
Diane
Tom
Cody is using your position next to the yellow jump. A stationary layer is very difficult. I would choose to move with him and use motion to send to the tunnel as a layer exercise. Being stationary, means he can only use hand and verbal to choose correct line which you got on several of the attempts.
FC #1 – good job getting into position and holding line for Cody to jump #3.
FC #2 – you used your send well!
Your front crosses were well executed and Cody read them very well! Super training sets!
Diane
Debbie,
Collection drill
You did the drill correctly. Really like your position and handling LoLo’s exit line. She is definitely landing turned but she is taking off long. Freeze at :04 so you can see her airborne (perfect form for jumping!). With your position, she should be putting in a stride. With the long take-off, she’s going to pull down bars on course. You need to modify this drill.
1 – put her much closer to the jump (like 4-5 ft) to get her comfortable with a closer take-off point.
2 – move into jump a foot yourself to compress the area for her landing
3 – mark/click her taking a short stride (you may need a word for the short stride to reinforce her putting it in)Course #3
Nice job! You got very efficient lines from LoLo with both the front cross and blind cross placement but the blind cross was faster. I also liked how much further ahead you were able to get with the blind-blind combo. You were moving faster thru the turn after third jump.Diane
Tom,
Cody is definitely misunderstanding. Freeze at :13 and you can see he is taking off for jump a good 6-7 ft away which is way to far for a wrap. You are using a position with toes perpendicular to his path between the jumps. The very last one was correct and happy to see you rewarding!Thoughts for you…
– if you are using the spin motion to cue a tight turn, then you should be in motion as he lands the previous jump. this gives him time to recognize the cue and react (aka put in another stride)
– you can also modify your position so that you are facing him (toes pointed to “new” line) immediately. this is what I use in my handling to show dog new line as they’re approaching the jump, which gives them lots of time to put in correct number of stridesTom,
Good work on the check check cue. He’s turning tight and balanced so he’s understanding the verbal. I also like that you’re moving a bit further from jump each time.
I would continue to work distance in increments and perhaps add another jump so you’re doing back-to-back wraps. It’ll give you a chance to do more motion and will test Cody on whether he’s responding to verbal or just you being stationary. From there, I would add a tunnel to increase speed/drive at jump.
Nice work!
DIane
Tom,
Sorry! Thanks for reminder to check back.
Your first two lead-outs were well placed for the tunnel entries
Rep 3
Yes! Your position showed Cody a straight line over jump vs a tight turn line. Super happy that you are now seeing the lines!Rep 4
When I freeze at 1:37, it looks like you are setting a line to the tunnel. You are facing forward – feet & shoulders pointing at tunnel. You begin your turn to jump 3 as Cody is landing jump #1 which is good but the space is tight for a big dog. He lands turning so he knows what you want but he could be much tighter. For a collected turn, you should be facing the dog and basically standing on the X of the Fc. It’ll show Cody how to take jump #2 (with collection before and after jump) – much more information for him. Being forward and in motion is a cue system for a dog that needs motion to be motivated and perhaps smaller so there’s room to add more strides.Thank you for posting all your work for the group! Looking forward to weekend installment! : )
Diane
Lynne,
Welcome back! We have plenty of time. I’ll stay with the group an extra week. No new material but will continue to review posts until 12/20. It’ll help make-up for Thanksgiving week where everyone was so busy.
Sends are truly a necessary part of foundation for good front crosses. Just work in increments. It’s a good off-season drill and only requires one obstacle to get started.
Diane
Tom,
I did have a few students try the blind cross there. It was hard to get a big enough send to get rotation (aka: looking over right shoulder) for the Bc between jump and tunnel. The dogs read it as a layer and continued straight – missing the jump completely. It actually worked well to put the Bc between the two jumps and send to the tunnel, effectively layering the wing jump with a reliable tunnel send. The dogs liked that one!
Diane
Tom,
First Sequence
What were you using as the anchor point? In order to set a line to jump #4 (backside of #1), then the anchor point should be the right wing. Freeze :32 so you can see that you’re in the middle of the bar and Cody is jumping on an angle (toward the dog walk) and thus lands were you are standing. Freeze :33 and it’s obvious he’s not on a line to the jump. Your final rotation was fine. You just traveled too far to your left.Second Sequence
You “fix” by moving farther from the jump which gives you more time to redirect. I would like a “fix” that has you anchor the front on the right wing of jump #3, which would set the correct line for Cody. It’s these kinds of zig-zag patterns that trap you further down the course. If you needed another Fc within a few obstacles, you would not make it since you’re now “stuck” redirecting to jump #4. Does this make sense?End of Sequence
I like where you anchored the Fc for the non-wing jump. You moved further to the right, which was correct. I would have stayed put right where you anchored your Fc. It would’ve put Cody on a curve (more strides before non-wing jump) which would let him wrap back to you w/o putting the jump in play. In other words, you don’t need a threadle command. You needed to use handler placement to get more turn on the flat before the jump.Jump Big
I think your “check check” command should help. I am assuming it’s a command that tells the dog to jump turning towards you. We refer to it as a lateral lift or lateral pull command. Many handlers use a “spin” for the same cue. Yes?Diane
Mary,
First, I must apologize for my delayed response. It’s been a crazy week with getting back from EOTT really late on Sunday, then I had two bitches spayed Monday which was way more work for two days than I anticipated, then I hit holiday w/zero prep : (
So, I’ll be staying online with everyone an extra week to make sure we get thru all the material and everyone has lots of time to process and learn as much as possible!Answers…
Rule #2
Yes! The vast majority of problems with Fc comes from the anchor point. Handlers either don’t get there on time or go to far beyond the line they want to set. If you go beyond the “anchor” line, then the dog starts to curve which often creates a zig zag pattern thru a sequence.Rule #3
Eyes on dog is critical and just takes practice. If space is tight, you need to be there really early so dog has time to put in collection strides. It may come down to analyzing the trigger – ask if you are getting enough distance/separation to truly be completed with rotation. This varies alot depending on dog-handler speed ratio.Guidelines
We all have this issue! I can often get to a Fc with my 12″ sheltie that is impossible with the Lab or BC. It’s possible to get to places with her that I cannot manage with the bigger dogs speed and striding. It’s also important to remember that the smaller dogs can get multiple strides in a 15-18′ area where as a big, fast dog is almost bouncing. We also “panic”! If you want to use a Fc, you need to be patient with the send/out for distance and then move and finish rotation. Sometimes it’s just footwork or body position that allows the rotation to be correct. I will put up some video on this soon along with an example of a box trap for clarity.Trigger
This is simply the point on course where you should begin executing the Fc. It is almost always where the distance/separation begins between you and dog. If the course setups the distance then that’s great. If you need to send to get distance, then we need to manage our path to be sure that happens (e.g. sending to a tunnel vs taking a few extra steps forward which puts us too close to the tunnel)Anchor
“X” is there 90% of the time. Sometimes we deliberate “slide” our position on the X to get a better line into or out of the Fc. It’s a super thought process to be sure you’re thinking thru all the pieces of the Fc during the walkthru.Execution
Stationary Fc – Yes! The handler is frequently “on the line” for a moment to set the line the dog needs. You’ll have time to move away and off the line before the dog lands the jump. This also ties into watching the dog to be sure he/she is picking up the cue for the new line, which then tells you when to move. Patience can be truly useful!Please lmk if you want more information or clarification!
Diane
