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My iPad and I have been having a bit of a disagreement the last couple of days, finally “beat it into submission” and was able to edit a couple of videos from yesterday.
First is another session with the jump set points. 3 height, spa ong combinations. Started with 4” bar, 3’6” spacing, the to 4’0” with the bar at 4” and then back to 3’6” but raised the bar to 6”
And then a little wind in your hair 😊
Hi Tracy, Thanks! Good to be back! He’s 11 months old and just a bit under 16”. What if I do the next session at 3’6”, same height and see how that looks? Closer to the jump and reward further away….got it!
Thanks for reminding me to just let him have the food or the toy in the above 2 exercises. He REALLY was not happy about either of those things…and he certainly let me know, especially with the toy. As you said, he’s definitely got some pretty strong opinions about some things. One of the things that I really do like about him is that unlike Mags who when I do something that she doesn’t think is “fair” she sort of melts and we have to take a break from whatever we are doing and do something else until she’s OK again. I like it that Sly continues to play…just adjusts the rules. He’s going to teach me a lot 🙂
Two really short sessions yesterday with lots of running……Rocking Horses with lots of speed and distance and our first session of Turn and Burn on a Wing. It was pretty warm and the humidity was still awful – thank goodness for the weather change today. Another thing I’m discovering about Sly is that he seems to be a dog that “runs hot” and heats up quickly. Mags is very clear about letting me know she’s hot, I need to pay more attention to that with Sly. Anyway….question on the Rocking Horses….. I think I was mixing up Backward Sends and Forward Sends and I’m thinking this is meant to be an exercise with Forward Sends or does it matter?
And a second short session from yesterday with Threadles…..there’s a LOT of stuff in this short session!!!! Not sure what we’re going to play with today but for sure it’s going to be something where he gets to run!!!!
A session from yesterday with Serps……I wanted to see how we did with me not moving (could I actually make myself stand still…answer – barely!) and just verbally cueing for him to get his toy. Interesting session…….. I think I learned a lot about him in this one. It was a “hard” one for both of us – I hate not moving!!!….good boy for sticking with me but he definitely told me not to “step on his toy” again!
Hi Kristie! SO good to hear from you. Life’s gotten back to being busy so we haven’t been videoing as much as we were. That said, my place is now open for a very limited number of rentals and I’m teaching some private and semi-private lessons but no group classes yet. I’m indoors and although it’s a nice size and really well ventilated I’m just not ready to “manage” a class situation. And honestly I’m really enjoying the individual lessons, more time to focus on specific skills and stuff. The kind of stuff I really like! I think it’s one of the reasons I SO enjoy the on-line classes – really get to concentrate and focus. Glad my questions are helping you too!!! I probably need to thank Tracy for her patience and detailed answers 🙂 They are so helpful!!!! Stay well, and hopefully we’ll all get to see each other in real life again sometime soon!!!
Good Morning! Thanks for the explanation. It makes total sense, especially the part about the less than perfect handling. I swear that Mags’ primary purpose in life is to make me a perfect handler! She’s actually got lovely commitment but it’s got to be “by the rules” and the rules she was taught was a dog-side foot/leg. She’d never dream of going on a backwards send! Unfortunately for her I think she’s finally realized that she’s never going to be completely successful in her mission so I’m definitely going to incorporate them in Sly’s tool box.
Here’s a couple of videos from some training late last week. Rocking Horses – I need to be really careful about not getting stuck in the round and round vortex! A couple of times I did 3 or 4 in a row and he definitely slowed down …less wraps, MORE reward and fun!!!
And Strike a Pose – Serps – OH my, my hand is SO high!!! And I’m probably moving more than I should?
We’ve clearly played with barrels a bunch 🙂 Question….. Towards the end of the video you do this with a Sideways/Backwards Send instead of a more “classic” Front Cross. I’ve never really done Backwards Sends, somewhere along the line they became “taboo” as they taught the dog that’s it’s OK to go behind your back (or at least that’s why I was told not to use them). Not sure what I think….guess I think that like any handling technique, when done well they are fine and that the “problem” isn’t in the technique but in the “how it’s executed”. I think I’d like to learn how and when to use them, seems to me like it’s an opportunity for clearer info for the dog sooner. So that said, when would you use a Sideways/Backwards Send instead of a Front Cross? I’d love to hear your thoughts on the pros/cons!
As I edited my video on this I’m guessing that I should not step towards the next barrel if I’m going to stop him at my side and reward, right?
I think you’re right/correct in that the right turn was harder here because it was 2nd. I was thinking that when doing this game before that turning to his left was harder and was beginning to think that it was his “harder side” for all turns. Now I’m not so sure that’s the case and am thinking that it’s more about me being such a creature of habit and that I usually start training with him off my right side! So the hard side is whatever is second. I’ll pay a little more attention to that.
Here’s our first time with Strike a Pose… damn, I need to get my hand lower!!!
Rears on the prop from a couple of days ago. I think we are starting to get it. Going to take a break from this game for a few days and let it “simmer”, go for some of that latent learning. I want to play with some of the Strike a Pose games. I think they’ll be fun! Have a great weekend!
We also played with the Collection Sandwich a couple of days ago. I bet I walked it 10 times be myself before I did it with Sly! Thanks for the warning!!!
Yeah…. Especially those “little” dogs that aren’t very patient and are pretty sure they know how to do this!! 🤪❤️🤪
We did a couple of short sessions with rears yesterday… first one, we both struggled a bit, second one it was like we both started to get it. I’ll get the video edited and posted later today, I hope! In the meantime here’s some Parallel Path fun!
Thanks Tracy! I think I finally actually “get it” as far as what you are saying about the timing of my movement behind. He needs to “feel” my movement, or maybe more correctly said he needs to know the new direction almost as soon as he steps toward the prop because at this distance he’s making a decision to set himself up for the turn essentially as soon as he leaves for the prop. Is that about right? Can’t wait to try this again!
And we’ve continued to solidify our “foot prop” …. we’ve done the sends and counter motion games to the prop against a wall at the house for breakfast a bunch of mornings to get him more comfortable with my pressure….seems to be helping him become more comfortable…. lots of reward and the thought of breakfast takes over his brain pretty quickly 😊 From the names of the games it looks like many of the new games in Weeks 3 and 4 are designed to build comfort with being close…. looking forward to finally getting to play them. We did have some time to “train” yesterday so played with the rear cross prop game some more. I can’t remember which side now but one side he is much better at driving more straight to his hat, the other side he sets himself up almost as soon as he starts moving for the turn which makes the rear really hard for him so after feeling like we were stuck I tried to help him with a plastic cylinder which 1) he knows to go around both towards me and away from me and 2) is sort of in his way if he presets for the turn. Again, trying to think of a way to get the behavior. Anyway… fun session, tested my “trainer brain” but in the end he was happy, lots of food and I think we’re both starting to get this rear cross thing a little bit… can you tell I’m not great at rears…give me good blind any day! 😊
I REALLY hate it when “life” gets in the way of my dog training fun!!!! Thank goodness it’s going to rain for a couple of days, I’m hoping to get caught up on the Week 3 and 4 games videos!!! That said, we have been able to watch a few …. picked a couple I thought would be really fun… here’s Turn and Burn from Week 4. We both like this game 😄
