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We are back from a wonderful vacation in the Adirondacks. Here are my videos for Week 3, Set Up 2, Sequence 6. I admit that I am a bit confused about the proper timing of these blinds. If I understand it, we should be starting the blind as the dog is taking off from the previous jump so the blind is completed before take off of the next jump. It seems to me the timing might should vary based on the distance between obstacles and the speed/stride length of the dog. It seems to work for Nifty, who has a much longer stride. If I start a blind at take-off from the previous jump, by the time I get it completed, she is one stride from the next jump and can adjust her stride and take-off point. But if I begin a blind as Canny is taking off from the previous obstacle, the blind is completed while he is still 2-3 strides from the next obstacle and, more often than not, he pulls off that obstacle. I know I should remember to reward him anyway, but sometimes I just forget. Your thoughts?
Canny
Nifty
>>Oops, sorry for any confusion, that is on me: I consider each sequence to be a separate ‘lesson’ so you can have the 2 edited minutes or 5 unedited minutes per sequence, for example, not for all the sequences together. That should allow for plenty of time for both dogs.<<
Oh, that’s very generous. Thanks!
The sequences went really well!!
> I see maybe I was moving too far over and not keeping true to the mouse line?>
>>A little bit, yes, but I think it might have been a bit more about the distance being shorter than expected, so Nifty didn’t see the blind soon enough and was adjusting over the bar.<<
Ok, reviewing the video, I do see than I had things much closer together than you did in your video. Nifty can only get one stride in before the jump. I do think if I had spread things out more, the exercise would have been a little easier. In the Week 3 sequences, I did use a measuring wheel to get the proper distances.
>>One other thing to consider: after the blind, you might find it easier to keep rotating towards her to do a spin (that FC-BC move) at :30 and 1:24. Getting connection and doing a post turn is sending her a little wide and delaying you from getting back up the line<<
I would usually do that, it does get a much tighter turn and I can accelerate much faster out of it. But you used a post turn in your video, so I thought I would try it.
>>Interestingly, you want to use your dog-side arm more to connect after a blind with Canny, which blocks connection (like at :06 and 2:19). Keep making that exit line connection with the opposite arm across your body, because that is soooooo clear to him!<<
I see what you mean. I appreciate you giving me the time stamps. It’s very helpful. I am working on learning to send with the opposite arm. But I have been sending with the dog side arm for 20 years or so, and my body just wants to do what it already knows. It’s going to take quite a bit of practice.
Here are the first 2 sequences from Week 3, Set Up 1. In general, I find it much easier with Nifty. She is more comfortable taking those sends and because she’s bigger and takes longer strides, it’s easier for me to see when she is going to take off. Canny needs more remedial work on sends. I am used to AKC distances. But, I want to do ISC and UKI and we needs those skills. I am going on vacation this week and the dogs are coming with me. I am going to bring a couple of jumps so we can practice some of the earlier exercises.
Nifty, Week 3, Sequence 1 (I did a bad toy throw at 00:55 and I think that’s what caused the dropped bar.)
Nifty, Week 3, Sequence 2
Canny, Week 3, Sequence 1
Canny, Week 3 Sequence 2
Here are the Advanced Two Jump Games. I did do the first introductory sequence of 1-3 but didn’t include them for time savings. With these longer exercises, it’s hard to keep things short enough to get 2 dogs in the allotted time. Moving forward, I guess I will just choose one dog. After recording these, I re-watched your video and I see maybe I was moving too far over and not keeping true to the mouse line? BTW, these are shorter bars on the jumps, which may have been a contributing factor to the bar coming down in Nifty’s video. I think they are 42″. I made these jumps years ago when I only had a tiny yard and very small dogs.
Nifty (The shrieking you hear in the background is Canny having a tantrum because he was not the chosen one at the moment.)
Canny
>>He was giving you good feedback on shoulders and connection 🙂 What was happening on those reps is that when he was behind you landing from the jump, you started to rotate your dog-side shoulder forward and point ahead of him to the wing. That looked exactly like the beginning of the blind cross 🙂 so he said “aha! A blind!” And changed sides. Good boy, he was correct (which is why we want to reward even when it doesn’t go according to our plan).
The reps where he did not changes sides were when you kept connection back to him better. Ideally, your dog-side arm points back to his nose and you don’t swing it forward to show the wing ahead of him. It is that swinging forward that breaks connection and looks like the beginning of the blind cross cue.<<
OMG!!! ****BREAKTHROUGH!!***MIND BLOWN!!”
I see what you are saying. It makes perfect sense. I went back and watched your video again and paid better attention to how you send and I can see what you mean about the arm lower and back rather than swinging forward and pointing. That little tidbit alone makes this class worth the price of admission.
Nifty, Week 2, Two Jump Games, jumps in a straight line.
Nifty, Week 2, Two Jump Games, jumps in zig zag configuration.
Canny, Week 2, Two Jump Games, jumps in a straight line
Canny, Week 2, Two Jump Games, jumps in zig zag configuration
<<I grabbed a bunch of screenshots for you to see all this! >>
The screenshots are VERY helpful!
Here is Canny and the Advanced One Jump games. I set up the camera at the tunnel exit so I could get a better idea of what he is seeing. I think I did better with keeping my arms low. But I still forgot to reward the times when he made errors. I am not really sure why he ass-passed me on some of the balance reps. I was really working hard to stay connected. Maybe he needs more balance reps??? It’s still cold, rainy, and windy up here. If you are wondering why I am starting off a 00:49, it’s because a couple of trees came crashing down in the nearby woods.
Here is Canny doing Week 2, One Jump Games. I really liked this exercise! I did them with Nifty first, but that went pretty smoothly. So I posted the ones with my Mini Rough Coat Piebald Belgian Malinois because we had a few bobbles.
We did a UKI trial this past weekend. I have only shown Canny a couple of times and that was in AKC. He struggled a little with the much bigger distances of UKI, but he got better with every run. I have included a video of his agility run. I don’t know how to post the map. But I intended to send him out to the jump after the second tunnel (00:24) and do a blind after that jump. But I used a very late cue for the send and he didn’t go out and I had to run with him. I ended up doing a post turn and a rear cross. NOT MY PLAN!! But I am really posting so you can see his teeter. I taught him using a course called Terrific Teeters. Maybe you’ve heard of it? LOL!
>>Nifty’s session also went really well – did it feel easier to connect to her? It looked >>easier – and she had no questions. Super!
Yes, it’s much easier with Nifty. She’s 2 years older than him, so we’ve been working together longer and since she’s bigger, she’s easier to see. Also, she’s just brilliant.
>>One thing I suggest with both dogs to make the blinds even easier – keep your arms in as >>tight as possible as you send to the start wing, and as you do the blinds.
LOL! I did notice I look like a helicopter. It’s not something I realized before this. I don’t video my sessions very often, and I know I should.
>>Wow, Canny picked up the ‘mouse line’ on the L-shaped blind immediately!
Well, he’s basically a hairy mouse, so there’s that.
Here are my videos for the final exercise in Lesson 1, the tunnel. They are the second session I did with each dog because I forgot to turn the video on in the first ones. LOL!
Canny, Lesson 1, Tunnel
Nifty, Lesson 1, Tunnel
Here is Canny doing Wing Game 1. The doubles are harder than I expected. I had to keep practicing without the dog. I LOVE him, but I hate his mouth! Fortunately, he doesn’t bark when he runs. If he did that, I would have to cut his tongue out.
Here is Nifty doing Wing Game 1.
Canny: Wing Game 2
Nifty: Wing Game 2
I totally didn’t realize until I watched the video that at 0:58 she doesn’t commit, and pulls off the wing instead.
Nifty: Lesson 1 Flatwork
One thing I learned from watching this is that I need to position the camera higher. I also just realize I do a lot of processing out loud. LOL! It starts with singles, and the doubles start at about 1:50. It took me a while to realize I needed a much bigger lead out to get the doubles completed in time. I had to think a lot about my mechanics. It’s going to take a lot of practice.
