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>>I think at one point you said “your brain is braining” and that is the funniest thing I have heard in a while LOL!!!!!!!!
Hahahaha!!! I’m glad that made you laugh! 🙂 That made my day!
We did Handling 1. I broke it up into 2 sessions. I did position 1 yesterday (I needed to brush up on my spins!) and then today did a quick warmup of position 1 & then the others. I think maybe I wasn’t extreme enough in the changes in position. They didn’t really look dramatically different when I reviewed the video, but I did feel like she did better when she was ahead of me (position 3) than when I was past the obstacles (positon 2).
Handling 1 – position 1
Handling 1 – position 2,3 & 4
Thank you!!! I like the way you describes the different release verbals. I think using jump/obstacle name on a lateral lead out is more helpful than “break”. I’ll work on that with her.
We did another session. I set her up in the center in front of 3 different jumps to get her used to the “jump” release verbal & her moving away from me without my movement. Then we went back to the tunnel & jump set up, but set her up close to the jump at first & worked on that and moved to the side until we were in between the jump & the tunnel. The video is from when we got over to the tunnel & jump.
Thank you for the great ideas!
For the next session, should I stand or sit?Over-thinking thought of the day:
I’m wondering if I’m confusing her with her startline by lining her up & saying “jump”. I always release her with a “break” verbal at the startline and it is almost always a jump. If I use a tunnel at the start, I think (I bet) I just say “tunnel, tunnel” so she may be more used to that.Will I mess up her startline if I use “jump” and it confuses her?
Hi Tracy!
Here is our first submission. We tried the verbal_only commitent exercise. I warmed her up on just a jump and just the tunnel and she was pretty gung-ho on each, so I tried the first exercise.
Me sitting really changed the picture for her. The beginning set up, I was sitting pretty far back – maybe 10 feet and the jump was 8 feet from the tunnel. It was very hard for her, so I cheated and stood up for a few reps and she did better. Then I moved the chair closer and moved the jump closer to the tunnel. I think her lightbulb may have gone off. I tried to keep it short, so we ended the game. I left in some good bazinga-bloopers! I edited out me getting up to retrieve thelotus ball each rep! hahaha!I’m sorry if I have abandoned CAMP! I decided I really need to focus and finish our Weaves, Teeter & Dogwalk. Also…the HOT!!! Everywhere! Hahaha
I feel like I’m still in class with you with the Teeter & Weaves classes! We did a lot of practice with forward focus & lateral starts. She is getting it and it is a great skill. I’m going to try to do the independent obstacle skills for the rest of CAMP to gain more skills.We are getting there with the teeter and are almost ready to start the last package. She has loved every bit of it. I think she is a thrill-seeker! I don’t want to lump it and my teeter board is homemade from wood and has a pretty strong whip, so I want to make sure she knows what to expect once the drop is from high.
We have 12 weaves!!! We have 6 weaves not at home! We did the 6 weaves in FEO at a trial!!! EEEK!
I am still fading the MM but she understands the lotus ball now. I added her verbal “get it” so she knows it is coming and that helped her.
Here is our FEO with weaves last weekend! I was so excited! I was planning on giving her the toy after the weaves, but I saw her face & she wanted to run! So we did! I think she would have been mad if I stopped her to play. haha
YOUR NEW PUPPY IS SO CUUUUUUUUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you!!!Hi Tracy!
Me & Bazinga were able to finally get out there & work on this exercise again. I added in a placed lotus ball but it was very tempting for her. Rep 2 had some cheating – haha! I do think it helped her focus on the jump.
Here are reps 1, 2 and some later reps. I did eventually switch to throwing the lotus ball and that worked well. I just didn’t show it here.
I haven’t worked up to getting laterally to the other side of the tunnel yet.Hi Tracy!
>>I did see a video on Facebook with you running in big girl panties that had me laughing for hours LOL!!!
LOL!!! My friends are hysterical!!!! There was no way that I wasn’t going to wear those when I saw them!
>>I don’t think it is too extreme, but it is possible it has lost some value because it doesn’t spit out any treats. So you can surprise her with rewards from it and that can keep her looking ahead.
Ok, I’ll mix it up a little and see if it helps keep her forging ahead like she used to. I am hiding it behind a single wing. I’ll also set up a jump and hide it behind a wing of a jump.
Once she’s comfy with 6 again, do you think I should I move forward with the adding the 4 poles and keep mixing it up with the MM & the lotus ball as a reward and just plan on fading the MM once she has all 12 poles? So the MM will be a part of the whole process and work on totally fading it at the end?
If I try the weaves in FEO, I won’t have the MM as a visual, so I’ll keep working on “other locations” with the weaves & the MM until I can fade it from the “other location” too. Then I’ll bring it into FEO?
Here is her video from yesterday:
Thanks for alllllllll the weave advice!!!
Looking forward to chat nite!Hi Tracy!
We had a FANTASTICLY FUN weekend! Frankie got her MACH4! She ran happy all weekend! YAY! Bazinga was awesome at the trial this weekend! She Qd another FAST run!!! I’ll post videos tomorrow. I really wanted to ask about the weaves so we can work on them again.
>>It might be growing pains, it might be a bit of “sheesh can’t we finish training this already”
Hahahaha! I am feeling the sheesh! Am I taking too long? I feel like I’m dragging through the weaves, teeter & DW. Is it my own fear?
>>Apologies for my lack of caffeine which equals lack of clarity LOL!!! I meant that because you’ve been noticing her watch your hands more, you can carry the reward… but do 50% of the reps as a reward from the MM that is hidden somewhere. That will be surprising in a good way, and also help keep her from looking at your hands because the reward is out on the line somewhere.
Oh! Ok. I have not been treating from the MM at all. I just have it out there as a kind of visual target. Maybe that is too extreme?
So I can still use it – just switch it up & be surprising? I have been hiding always in the direct line of sight from the weave exit. Should I be putting it off to the side too? I am very bad at fading!
I guess I feel like (maybe this is superstitious) that she can’t find the weaves in other locations if the MM isn’t there as a target.We did a session yesterday and I put the MM behind a wing and gave her some ROOM to work on the left side of the weaves and I think that helped. Maybe I was crowding her. She did much better this session on both sides. I can post a video if you want to see.
>>Thoughts and prayers 🤣😂🤣 He is so cute that it really doesn’t matter if he has life skills or not. Just carry him around everywhere in the trial environment (he is so smol!) and soak in his cuteness.
🤣 YES!!! He got lots of attention from his aunties and did a lot of visiting. He got his first steak treats and NOW he is food motivated. He has a new Auntie Steak lol. He did a great job for such a new little guy.
Thank you!!!
Thank you!!!!
>>Bummer about the video but congrats on a great run! Did you at least get a cool Boston Terrier ribbon?
We did! That reminds me, I need to do a photoshoot for her. Little superstar!Thanks for all the feedback. She was going really fast. I’ll rewatch the videos to see where I was cheering too much and remember not to do that.
>>Looking at the weaves – I think they are going better than you think they are going
Thank you for saying that. Maybe I’m feeling the growing pains? I just feel like she has a better handle on them earlier. I’ll read your comments over again before our next session and make the adjustments.
I do have have one question on this below. I didn’t follow what you meant?
>>and you can have the MM hidden behind a wing so she doesn’t see you throw the reward all the time.We are headed to a trial tonight for Sat & Sunday. I am bringing tiny puppy Lew and am feeling very “We’re coming as we are and we are not ready for prime time” I expect a weekend of chaos! I suck at teaching life skills to dogs because I am a pushover and I know he is not ready for crating. PRAY FOR US!
HAHAHAAHAHAHA!!!!Have a great weekend!!!!
Hi Tracy!
Boston Nationals was a blast!!! Bazinga was AMAZING!!!We tried for FAST for real twice. The first run she got the send (jump to tunnel) but I said her name and she turned on a dime & came out of the tunnel! That was allll me. I say Frankie’s name when she’s in the tunnel so she turns to my voice and that is not going to work for Bazinga.
FAST (NQ) But I’m so happy with her run
The second FAST she got! She even did an A Frame! She got her very first official AKC Q <3
I don’t have a video of her Q though. It was pandemonium! Everyone was running dogs & volunteering so we were all loco.
The rest we ran FEO for Novice JWW and Premier JWW and she really tore it up and did some nice lines.Here are some videos!
FEO JWW Monday
FEO JWW Tuesday Run 1
FEO JWW Tuesday Run 2
I haven’t posted because I was struggling with weaves since we got back. I am really discouraged. I must be doing something different because it has fallen apart. She’s looking for the toy and pulling out of them & she never did that before. I’m wondering if the toy is more visible because it’s warmer out and I was maybe keeping it in my sweatshirt pocket. I’m not sure. I had tried them with no MM at home and tried her at other locations with the MM and got too many failures. She was SO amazing on them and was doing 6 + 4 and ever since I tried to fade the MM we have gone back to 4 and struggled.
She seems better on offside than onside but we are struggling.
Here is our recent session. There was no MM but I put a wing where the MM usually is. Not my best trainer-self 🙁
Here is a session the next day with the Manners Minder behind a wing.
She’s still really looking at my hands a lot.
I’m not sure what my next move should be. I don’t like when the sessions are frustrating for her. She loved the weaves!
Thanks for any advice 🙂
Frankie had an amazing weekend! She was amped & engaged for every run and we didn’t do any FEO! We did 3 runs a day. This is the location that we had the most trouble at 2 years ago and I skipped it last year. I am so impressed with her! THANK YOU for sharing all your knowledge and helping me discover they key to unlocking what was holding her back in the ring. Treat FOMO is real!!! Frankie sez so!
I am so encouraged by the progress I am seeing. <3We played the remote reinforcement game about 20 feet from the ring until we were closer in the lineup. Then we switched to volume dial games outside the gate. Lots of barking on cue! She even did some “middle” line ups in the ring AND barked in the ring before we started!
We didn’t get a lot of Qs but I loved every single run! She was fantastic! The errors were mine and she dropped a couple of bars but I think the dirt was slippery. It felt like when you stepped, the sand compacted but then the sand beneath that compressed sand moved underneath your foot and I could feel my footing slip a few times.
Here are her videos!!! I am floating!!!Saturday
STD run 1 of 3 Q!
JWW run 2 of 3
Premier JWW run 3 of 3
Sunday
T2B run 1 of 3
STD 2 of 3
JWW 3 of 3
She was amazing at the start line and I got distracted and almost got lost at jump #2. Lame Momma! Hahaha!
Hi Tracy!
Thank you for the trial feedback this weekend on Saturday!!!
>>The Timing Masterclass has a lot more content (all the way up to full courses and a year to do it all). The CAMP class is more of a specific focus (independence!) so I guess it depends on what you want to work on. Either way, you can share one spot between the 2 dogs if you want!
Thank you! This is a tough decision because I really want to do both. I’m leaning towards CAMP because submitting homework keeps me accountable & moving forward. Otherwise, I seem to get stuck in a perfection-illusion loop!
We had a blast at the trial this past weekend. It was a very busy atmosphere and she did great. Like really great. Thank you for the feedback about my “wait” vs “break” at the start line on Saturday. When I watched the video again, I do think she was waiting for me to release her and she thought what I said was “break.” When I think about it, I saw her expression & her face said it all, she really thought I released her.
Here is the video:
She had a great run on Sunday too. I did the volume dial after I warmed her up and when we got closer to the ring, I switched to the up & down game with treats on my shoes at the gate. She did tug the leash on the way in (which I was happy about) and she let it go when I unclipped it which is perfect! She let me drop it & gave me her attention. Then she did “middle” line up for me at the start jump.
We played a lot of tug after this run and we traded “out” for treats. She was dropping the leash really fast and was happy to re-tug each time. It was fun.
I really need to work on the offset jump thing. That gets us.
Thank you again!
Next stop is the Boston Nationals! I am going to stick to my guns and stay FEO for novice JWW. I could try doing FAST as In & Out (no toy) and see how she does with playing once we get to her leash at the end. That would be a first attempt at in & out for us.I have some crazy news! We are picking up a hitchhiker on the way home from nationals!
Lew! He is a Japanese Chin. He’s the little guy at he top of the screen chasing his tail. He is my hubby’s puppy and I’m going to try hard not to steal him, but I think he needs to learn agility foundations at least for his well-being & happiness 😉I would love to learn how to do massage!!! Was the class far from Florida (probably) hahaha?
Frankie had a great weekend at the trial this past weekend! It was only 1 day and it was fun & done!
As I mentioned in Bazinga’s thread, I was spacey that day but she was on point!
Barking at the start line & very engaged! She did 3 runs. I only have video of two of the JWW & STD. They were runs 1 & 2 of the day. We did FEO Premier STD last as run #3. I decided to do FEO because there were a few creative challenges that I felt were outside our skillset and she got all the hard stuff! HA! That will teach me not to trust Frankie! 😉Frankie Standard – NQ but she was on fire! I was LATE with my cue.
JWW Q! She barked at the start line!
I’m excited to see how she does this coming weekend. The last time we were at this trial location, she was shutting down a lot and I felt like she really did not care for this location. I’m starting to think it may have been less location specific and more about overall stress and the fact that we were trialing so hard that year. I think she was burned out and stressed. There were a few other locations that I had flagged in my head as places she didn’t like and had skipped going there for a while that we returned to recently and she did well with them.
Thanks for the feedback!
Hi Tracy!!
>>One other thing you can try is getting her ramped up then right before going into the ring… a pattern game. That might be the sweet spot for getting her really engaged without any tooth hugs. Playing with it will help you develop the perfect ‘recipe’ but it will change in the next months/year as she gains more experience.
This was a mind-blower and brilliant! I love the idea of ramping her up & letting her tug & have fun ahead of time and then doing the pattern games and volume dial tricks when we wait to go in the ring. It may bring out her “all business self” in the trial enviroment.
I tried it at home with our TSA game and she was so good about letting go of the leash when I said “out” and traded for treats. I think the tugging was too close to the transition of me approximatng the wait in line and she was still pretty amped even after we did the pattern game. She wanted to tug on the way into the ring, so I let her (and watched my fingers!)
I’ll keep playing this game with her & put more time between the tugging and when we actually go up to wait by the ring.We had a 1 day trial this weekend and Bazinga did great! I was not on top of my game for some reason. I just couldn’t get my head in the game but fortunately, I don’t think the dogs noticed!
She had one run. It is a 2 ring, indoor arena on dirt. Pretty distracting environment and I think she had a lot of focus!
I’m really looking forward to your feedback on this run. I think I slowed down to do rear crosses in the beginning sequence and I think Bazinga responded by slowing down too. I think if I had moved a little faster, I could have gotten BCs in instead and encouraged Bazinga to stay fast.Bazinga FEO Novice JWW
We tried weaves at our training field last Wednesday. I brought the MM as a target & used her lotus ball as a reward. 4 poles was too hard. I let her do 2 poles and she was great. Baby steps.
Sunday we did weaves at a friend’s house. Same set up familiar MM and new weaves. She did 4 no problem! She is doing 6 at home with a jump before it. YAY!Here are some clips of us in small sequence class. I need to train a lateral start line!
I do think the times she curved in to my line, I was turning forward instead of keeping my shoulder and arm back and that broke the connection. I’m a little anxious about these sessions because I feel like I’m less in control of the environment and I’m trying to be conscious of rewarding her and not talking to the instructor & being distracted with her. I want to be sure that if something is too hard for her that I can break it down and make it easier for her. On the flipside it is good that it is pushing me to assess and react and see what we can do.Now that we are taking some small sequence classes, and people are seeing her in action, I am getting the feedback “you need to be faster!” because she is so speedy. Although I am committed to improving my fitness, I know that I am never going to keep up with her, I am working on keeping the connection in place so that I can handle her with distance.
Sequence 1
Sequence 2
I’m trying to decide on the next class that is best for us CAMP 2025, the Connection Masterclass or the Timing Masterclass. What do you think is the best place to go after MP4?
We have a 2 day trial this weekend and I’m excited for it! I’ll send video & updates 🙂
Thank you for the feedback!!
