Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Line up – I’m not sure if the center line up is the best option for a little dog . We had some training challenges.
I took the games package on the road this weekend and also included the pre ring and transition into the ring.
My job – we’ve discussed is securing offered engagement in the ring like I have outside the ring when I have treats in my hand.Here is one more post of the Kinetic UKI trial from the weekend so you can see the different behavior I get at the start line. This is the largest trial she has probably ever been to and this building is particularly hard for her. I was very proud that she hung in there and wanted to work although occasionally distracted.
Finally, I am posting games package 1.1 which goes through pattern to remote reinforcement. She was great at not noticing things in the environment.
two things to note:
1. With the instant focus game she forgot the shaped behavior and started offering me a different behavior, I waited it out and then decided to use the pattern game to get her refocused on the original object we had trained.
2. I slightly modified the remote reinforcement game to align a little more closely with what I have been doing in my lessons with Perry. Before I let her go get the reinforcement I asked for a hand touch so she knows that she can’t just go and get it (like she did at the trial…). It adds one more layer of connection/slash behavior.
(and check out my new remodeled training room/basement)This all makes a lot of sense and I am glad I had all that video to show you. Having had Rat Terriers with stress issues the set up body and facial cues are all well known to me unfortunately. And you can see how the other ring behaviors later in the course all refer back to the start line.
Here is the challenge for me, and I need to get your recommendations on how to balance this out.
As you know I have been working closely with Perry and Jessica on this start line protocol and yes it is not working but Jessica insists we are close. I am not sure exactly how to judge this but we have amped up the pressure in class which I think is contributing to the ring improvement although I can’t say for sure it is exactly improving the start line.
Leaving the building and the collar grab came from them. I know that that the one collar grab in the video looked awful but it was better than letting her wander off – i know it adds to stress.
I am totally committed to taking this class and doing the exercises but I am going to have to figure out a way to not just throw out their coaching (especially when I am in class).
For example, maybe running away from her when she blows me off so she has to come chase me. Spending more time on the recall training (oy) so I don’t need to use the collar grab.
One of my theories is that the carrying her in and putting her on the ground is creating a problem. I started doing that to mitigate issues with the leash having to be put in a bucket and to get the leash runner out of the picture.
Next post will be our homework. Please see below:
Here is what I would like the set up to look like. You can’t see but I have treats in my hands to start.
So it appears that I haven’t posted in a month =- oops! I really wanted to try and finish week 4 on deliberate disconnection. The wraps are not that hard for Skipper but I am having lots of challenges with the backside slices. I guess it is a good thing that I am taking the independent backside class! I don’t feel confident enough to even think about disconnection. The lateral backside on one side was decent but the other side was very hard. I would like to get your advice on these lateral sends to the backside and tell me what else I can do to break it down and what I might be doing with my feet, chest, motion that causes her to take the wrong side of the jump – other than the fact that she is a little dog.
No video but super proud of Skipper today in class. We had an opportunity to use our Extreme Connection and she rocked it.
1-2 hard connection – take the start jump and run past the tunnel to the second jump, 4-5 Get out, straight tunnel to a rear on the flat to a jump with a get out cue and she read it like a pro! Jess was impressed.Very cool.
Extreme Connection – this was fun. Maybe I enjoyed it because Skip did a great job. The backside took a bit for us to figure out but once we got going she did really well. I did learn that when there is a choice between coming into me or taking a jump (at least in the yard), Skipper chooses the jump so we need fairly strong connection to keep this from happening – you will see it in the video.
She was a good girlie and I squeezed in the last part right before it got dark.Week 2 2.0 – The feedback on part one was very helpful. I think I was able to incorporate into how I handled the games for shifting connection. This is not as easy as it seems to keep all this stuff balanced during execution. When I did the blind into a spin it looked like Skipper didn’t know about the turn until she was in mid-air over the jump – see what you think. At the end of the short course games, I added in a bit of a do – over on the tunnel break lap turn using the existing set up – I think we are getting there but definitely something I need to keep practicing.
Week 2 Shifting Connection –
Front cross connection was pretty straightforward. The Lapturn was hard because it involved a tunnel break, a threadle out of a tunnel and a turn away which is not a strong skill. I included the variation of errors on the turn – not sure if that is a shifting connection issue or just handling…Sequence three was the spin. She was very good at reading go to the tunnel after the spin. When I watched the video I was amazed to see how late/slow I was to execute the spin, and I seem to be flailing arms and legs when I could have been crisper in the spin.
A good session with Skipper but sequence two was hard for us, the right level of connection was a bit of a challenge.
Exit line connection sequences. I was able to get through the first three with a few oopsies. I made the mistake of doing the hard two first and really had no idea what I was doing so I think I need a do over on those (not worth sharing the video). Here are the first three sequences. Starting to fall behind in my class work but there is no point in rushing.
Week 1 assignments:
Regular connection https://youtu.be/ACJsTFDTLzM
Exit line connection: https://youtu.be/lDX69ax4GSo
Here are the first two exercises. I worked these at 10 inches and probably should have worked them at 8 inches. In the first exercise a took my eye off Skip in the second go around of the first exercise and she dropped the bar. I’ve slowed down the video so you can see. I think these look pretty tight. I was worried about my coordination on the spin but those actually look really good (I think).
