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Send & Go & Blind Cross
>A subtle tweak is to think about using your arm and sending to the takeoff spot in front of that middle jump, instead of to the jump. Sending to the takeoff spot will point your feet and shoulders to the jump more. Sending to the jump turns your shoulders a bit away from it.>Thank you! I really have to get my body to cooperate! I want to tie something around my shoulder so I can’t flail my arms so high!
Mountain Climbers
>Also, when the cat joined in – I think there was a competitive element for the food! He was like OH NO THIS CAT WILL NOT GET MY CREAM CHEESE so he was driving up the board without you. Thanks, cat! LOL!>He did get really wild running up later on – maybe Minky & the cream cheese were the reason!
We did a session of Next Level Pup 1: Looking Ahead
Our first rep, I think he read my body language as a blind cross & was driving to the toy?
I switched sides because the other side was just dirt and I felt like it was rude to keep throwing his toy in the dirt.I didn’t get much distance, but he did seem to really be looking ahead. We can do another session and see if we can build more lateral distance. The tunnel is kind of short, so even the middle position is not that much distance, but we aren’t there just yet.
We did another session of Love the Slam and added a little more slam on the teeter. He was so amped for this game. He barked every rep! I’m trying to figure out what his motivation is. He loves the little treat dispenser, so that might be adding value, but I’m literally just dropping the treats in it, like a target. He is getting steak, but he gets steak for all the Concept Transfer & Wingin It games too. He was trying to snatch steak between reps though. Is he that excited to get to be on the teeter? Is he outraged about the quid pro quo? It is a Lew mystery!
We did our first session of Wingin’ It Countermotion Commitment. I warmed up with just one wing & a dropped treat hugger in the morning and then we did an official session with the treat hugger on a tether later that day. He liked that! I edited out the agonizing time of me getting my directionals together for each rep – LOL. I left in a little play at the end 🙂
We definitely need to keep working on the Next Level Pup 1: Looking Ahead & get to the Next Level Pup 2. Are there any other Week 2 games that you think we should keep doing (or all of them!)? We have some week 3 games started, but I don’t want to get ahead of ourselves if we still need work on things that we’ll need for the next games.
Hi Tracy!
Thank you for answering my question about treat holding toys on the field & then some! I felt totally “stuck-up-for” so thanks! 🙂
>One thing you might not realize you do is you call him when he exits the tunnel and is on the way to the jump 🙂 No need for his name there, you can just tell him to jump.>
Yes! Thank you. I noticed that when I was editing and that is the moment when I need to be saying “jump” or “go”. I was doing it when I felt him fall behind a little.
>He is also very watchful of your shoulders and adjusts his line if your shoulders turn.>
I’m impressed that he is so observant, but I will work on rewarding on the line more often. Thanks for this detail on how to help him find the line!We did a session of Send & Go & BCs. There were a lot of “phases” to work through but looking at clip 1 to the last clip, he was doing really well, I think! We refreshed the one step send. It needed a little practice. Then we broke the pieces down & put them together.
I left in a clip where he ran past the jump after the send but before the BC. I can see that I didn’t stay turned back to indicate to take the jump, I started the blind too soon. I left it in since I think that will be my mistake on blinds at a distance that I’ll need to work on.
We did the Mountain Climbers. Lew went crazy for the cream cheese! Yay!
He really thought this was fun. Especially after he saw me pre-load the target with cream cheese. He was too excited to do a sit & wait, so I just kept working on the walking with him step. I didn’t think about doing a cookie toss, that may work to allow me to get to the end of the teeter.Thanks for watching!
Hello!
>Before trying it, though, attach a target to the end of the board (it can be somethingNOT fancy like a strip of duct tape lol) and also test a deviation thing to lick: cream cheese? Do you remember what you did with Bazinga in this game? I can go back and look to see.>
I looked back and I taped a strip of a licky mat to the end of the board and placed kibble there & you suggested we make a paste from soaked kibble to get something lickable and that worked like magic.
Lew doesn’t have any diet restrictions and he likes peanut butter a lot. I’ll try that & see what he thinks of cream cheese too because – variety!
It was very cool to look back on Bazinga learning what Lew is learning now. So Cute!>Looking at the handling game: he is fast and wrapping beautifully! The current situation is that you need to be perfect in your connection, and praising mid-course is actually a distraction for him (he is all business out there, wants the info not the love haha). If you looked forward a tiny bit, he pulled off the line.>
Thanks for this feedback & your suggestions. I’ll keep working on it. It was good information that the praise is distracting, I need to zip it! It cracks me up to hear that he is all business but I think you are right!We had agility league last night and I played the “semi-disconnected version of the lazy game” with him. We had a video-ing mixup so I didn’t get video but he did really good. we weren’t perfect but I was pleased that he was finding the jumps away from home.
I have a field etiquette question for you. I was throwing his treat hugger with steak pushed into it as the reward. The toy is very tight and nothing falls out of it. Lew has to really work to get his treat. Is it cool to use a treat toy like that on a field when dogs are running in turns? No one seemed to be distracted after we were out there, but someone was concerned it would be a distraction. I don’t want to be “that person” if it is rude.
We did a session of Fluffy Blind Crosses & Front Crosses. I think he did really well! Baby Lew did some blind crosses!
I didn’t always send to the tunnel to try not to tire him out. I’m going to try & do one game in the morning and one in the evening to move along faster. I think he can only handle 1 running & jumping game per session.Thanks for watching!
Good morning!
We did Love the Slam with about an inch of movement on the board. He was going back to the board so fast, I had to give up on clicking to open the treat dispenser! It took too long! I just dropped treats into it.
We tried the wraps again fresh this morning. I moved the jumps out more too. I think we were close to 15 feet from the tunnel.
I love the first rep & the next clip in the video because he was streaking through it so fast. Lol! The third clip shows a rep that happened a few times. He came with me past the jump. I feel like I was looking at him. Maybe I need to run closer to the tunnel so I’m running with him?
We weren’t perfect, but he was committing to the jumps pretty well and is reading the wraps great.
I raised the plank to “paint can height” and we practiced getting on & off and doing spins on it. He jumped on so fast I can’t tell if he missed a front foot and stumbled but recovered. I watched it a bunch & in slo- mo but i can’t tell if it was a slip or if he just looks muppety. At the time he just seemed excited & happy to be up there. He did lose his footing at one point but recovered and got right back on.
Hi Tracy!
>I guess his very first reaction to run up the teeter means you will want to block it off when you are not right there so he doesn’t go flying up to the end without you LOL!!!!! We will teach him that next week.>
Yes! I always prop it up on both ends so it is parallel to the ground and it can’t tip after we use it.
He’s going to like Mountain Climbers! He gets this weird blissful expression on his face when he can climb up high.>Whoa! For real he noticed! Also, can I apply to be your dog because I, too, enjoy a nice medium rare steak and would run up the teeter for one LOL!!!!>
Hahahaha!!! Me three! I had yogurt for dinner that night!Lew ran Fast Cat today but he still had some energy for a game in the evening. We did the Concept Transfer Wraps game. I’m working on staying connected. I think he did well understanding the wrap verbal/physical cues. I may be a little late on them and can give them out earlier. I’m still yeling. I think in the moment I think my voice can propel him over the jump.
I noticed I was jogging in place in a few places. Like at the end of the tunnel. Do I have the distances too tight between the obstacles or was he maybe just tired and running a little slow?
Thanks! Hope you are having a fun weekend!
Hi Tracy!
>The arm can be a little lower and you can think of it as sending to takeoff more and not as much to the jump. But I don’t think we need to repeat this session – you can move directly to the week 2 sequences!<
I’m going to visualize more of a butt scoop type motion. It reminds me of a DEVO dance move – lol
We’ll try the week 2 sequences!I had to leave super early today to go to appointments so we didn’t get to do our morning stuff. We did try the Love the Slam game on the teeter this afternoon!
I prepped by upping my treat game & cooking a sirloin steak to medium rare and cutting it up into Lew sized bits. A much higher grade of steak than he usually gets! He noticed.I left in what he did the second we got outside in the beginning. He is fascinated with the teeter. It is normally in the yard with both ends propped up so no one gets squished and he is nosy. I have had him walk across it like a plank and he likes that. I’ve also had him watch Bazinga doing the teeter and I think that makes him interested in it too. Also, he likes to be up high.
I gave him some time to figure out what to do, I cut some of the in between out. He did not seemed bothered by the teeter at all. It didn’t move, so it was just a plank to him, but he figured out touching it got him the steak!
Thanks for watching!
Hi!
>Well, he wasted no time at all slamming the wobble board LOL! And he got mad when the reward was NOT FAST ENOUGH (according to Lew LOL). I love his big opinions!>
😂 He really does! Ususally they are quiet judgy opinions but sometimes he shares them out loud!Thank you for the extra tips on the teeter introduction. I’m hoping to do it tomorrow.
Yes no windy dogwalks for Lew! Thanks for looking for some options that you think are good for non-BCs. ❤️I went back & did a first session of The Lazy Game parts 2 & 3. I think he did really well and forged ahead to the center jump. I can see my 1 step send arm is too wild. I’ll work on that next session.
We did a lot to startline/catches scattered in between reps. He decided that the thrown toy is very exciting and waiting was hard. I’m happy he is liking the thrown toy!Thank you!
Hi Tracy!
Thanks for the great feedback. I can see now after looking back that the tunnel was too straight on one end to give him a good line to the jump. I can also see the difference in my connection on the reps that you pointed out.
>He was missing the jump after the tunnel mainly because the tunnel was propelling him out straight past it (on a backside line) and he was feeling fast! Yay! The other side of the tunnel was facing the jump more, so he didn’t seem to have questions there.
And coming into the tunnel entry near the camera was hard too, mainly because of the angle – it was a little offset. Ad young dogs are very literal: at 1:02 he was looking kind of straight on the go verbal and missed the tunnel, so I think he needs more of a tunnel verbal there to find it.>
Also thanks for the details on the cadence & volume of the verbals. That helps and I’m going to work on adopting those changes to give better information to the pups.
I realized we didn’t try the Lazy Game parts 2 & 3 yet. That was kind of the transition between the lazy Game & the Timing & Connection Game (duh!) That will be our next session.
We had a rainy-soggy day here so we didn’t go out back to use the tunnel. We did the Plank Confidence game yesterday and the some indoor Love the Slam game. This session was louder and I waited for him to make the noise before I clicked and treated. Do you think he is ready for the advanced game on the end of the teeter?
Plank confidence game. I wanted to be sure I worked with him on the angled entries.
We started doing the very first session of the Weaves independent study. This is getting real!
I bought the channel weaves that I borrowed for Bazinga from a friend so we can do the 2×2 and the Channel tracks.This is an early question about the Dogwalk and tiny featherweight dogs. Do you have any recommendations? I don’t want to take the same running contacts class I took with Bazinga for Lew. Do you have anyone who does online classes you would recommend that teaches a run through like you are teaching me?
I’m not sure what his speed is going to end up being. I think he has the potential to be FAST once he knows the game and is confident (and cool – haha)As always thanks for all the help & advice!
Thank you for the feedback!
>I think he is ready for the new games that were added today! >
I was so psyched to read this! ^We tried the Timing & Connection game. I was excited to see what he thought of this since he really liked the Winging It – One Step Sends game, but also since we are still working on the jump commitment of the Lazy game.
He was really excited to play but after a few reps, I realized I needed to get him used to the thrown treat hugger as the reward and that this was a big leap for im from the Lazy game. I dialed it back a bit and I think he did really well. He was having fun and while we didn’t get everything, I think he was getting used to the verbals and handling cues coming at him in sequences. I really haven’t used the jump verbal with him yet.
I’m excited to hear your feedback on the session.
I have some questions & overthinking thoughts to ask you!
Listening to the video: I’m loud. I say each obstacle verbal 3 times in the same cadence. Are those drawbacks? Am I too loud? Would it be better to make each verbal different so they are easier to tell apart? Different cadence?I think with Bazinga I say “jump” once for just a jump ahead, “left” or right 2-3x for a turn. Go-go-go for a go-on for a line of jumps, tunnel-tunnel-tunnel for the tunnel, kiss-kiss-kiss for a tunnel threadle. I have not ever used “Go-tunnel-go-tunnel” but I could see why that makes sense in your video because you are saying the verbal before they take the jump before the tunnel. I like that. I’m stealing it 🙂
I may be giving Bazinga her verbals too late after watching your intro to this.Here is the video:
Thanks for the help!
Hi!
Thanks for the feedback & good descriptions of the One Step Game. I can see where I was sending to the line vs sending to the jump when I went back & watched.
We did another session and I tried to be better about my body language and to add in the center wing. It was a short session. I lost his attention and he started to get sniffy which is not like him, so I ended the session. He started out pretty feisty but then he slowed down. I don’t think I did a great job at improving my body language. This session was after our Lazy Game session where I used really big treats. Maybe he was full?
We did a Lazy Game session. The treats might have been a little TOO big because he grabbed one & ran away with it to eat it. LOL. I felt like he only missed a jump if when he turned after eating his treat he was facing me instead of the jump. That happened a few times and it always seemed to be the center jump. I tried doing 2 jumps before treating and that went pretty well.
Was I going too fast in this session (speed-wise)? Clip 4 is the second to last rep and the last rep we got photobombed by Minky the cat. Lew didn’t seem to care.
Thanks for the feeback!
Thanks for the ideas for the wobble board!
We’ll see how Operation Big Treat goes with the next Lazy Game session.
We did our first Wingin It – One Step Sends and he really impressed me! He was driving away 🙂
Thanks for watching!
Good morning!
We did another sesson of the Lazy Game.
>Try not to help by stopping by the jump. Keep moving very slowly (sooooo slowly and lazy haha) and let him sort it out. You can use your ‘get it’ marker to help him know where the reward will be coming, which can also help him look at you (and the treats) less 🙂 >
I tried to stay in motion but it takes him so long to get the treat out of the grass. I tried to look like I was still moving once he got the treat. He did a little better this session & seemed more confident about taking the jumps but if the direction he turned after getting the treat pointed him towards me, he would miss the next jump. I think I’m going to cut his treat much bigger for the next session and do less reps and see if that lets him grab the treat & keep going better.
We did a session on the plank. He has been using this plank about a foot off the ground for a while and he loves it, so he was pretty comfortable with this session. Again, it was treat retrieval that distracted him between reps. I’m going to try bigger treats here too.
We made some bang noises!!! He did not seem to care about it. I was very happy since he does get scared when he hears certain loud noises. He doesn’t like the sound of fire doors opening & closing and wants to run away from that sound. So I’m wanting to proceed carefully. I’ve been having him watch Bazinga on the teeter so he sees that she is fine with it and he hears the kind of noises that it makes. He hasn’t reacted to that, but he is up on the deck and not in yard (out of the squishing area) I’m not sure I can make this wobble board make more noise, unless I put something under it that would make more noise?
I still have to do some tug on the board with him.Thanks for watching!
We started the games!
Here is our first session of the Lazy Game. He was passing some jumps. I included a rep as an example. I think my position & movement really mattered and he needed some support & definitely needed my motion. There is one rep where he was going to go past the jump but thought about it & hopped to the side & over it.
We did our first session of Love the Slam. He immediately jumped on the board before we even started and then once we did get started seemed to get the idea of putting all 4 feet on the board and tilting it. But then he seemed to get confused. He didn’t like the treats I started with and I left the room to get better treats. He seemed to lose the concept of the game for a while after that. I was trying to change sides where I was standing but not lure him. There were some stand-offs! Lol.
Not sure if that was the right way to go to help him.
He doesn’t seem to be worried about the noise on the rug or the movement.Thank you for watching!
