[Kathy McClung]

Hi!
I hope the rest of your travel is happy, safe & uneventful!

Thanks so much for the lineup game videos. OMG Plot Twist!!!!

>>One suggestion: You can set her up on a slice angle for jump one and release her with a wrap verbal, so she jumps in collection. She dropped the bar on the first rep because she might have thought she was going straight and tried to adjust in the air.

Thank you! I totally should have done that!

We worked on the Driving Ahead exercises. I didn’t use the Manners Minder (even though it is her fave motivator) to keep her focused on toys. I used a placed lotus ball wth treats. I need to start fading the MM out of our weave training (we are on 4 2x2s and just added poles 5&6. I think I waited too long to start to fade it, but she is so motivated by the MM).

I think my mechanics were not the greatest in this session because I just sent her instead of running with her but letting her get ahead. She wasn’t sure what to do after jump 1. We both started getting the idea by the end. She didn’t blame me for being lame!

I also did some leash play with her. She is tugging so wildly she is taking off her own leash! There is a leash session video & some leash play ahad of our Driving Ahead session. Hysterically, I think I need a sports bra for tugging! Bwahahaha!
I really do need to make some progress on her “out”. There is a tiny bit of progress, but she needs to know that I have treats to be reliable.

Driving Ahead session with leash games at the beginning:

Leash games:

Remote reinforcement game question:
I have been playing the game indoors and yesterday moved it into the yard where we practice. Is it muddying the picture if I play the “Let’s go” game in the yard, but then after we do 5-6 reps, I put treats in my pockets to then go do sequences?
I’m thinking that may be un-doing what we just did.
Should I separate the game from practice for now and then I am anticipating that we will be progressing the game to longer & longer sequences before returning for treats.

Warm ups:
How often do you warm up your dogs at a trial? I have been doing a warm-up before every run since sometimes we have hours between runs.

Our usual routine is that we take a potty walk and I get her to trot a little to loosen up. We do some warm up exercises inside (sit/stand, down/stand, shake front paws/high fives, tall stetches, spins, side steps). Then we do action ganms while we wait our turn.

Thanks for your help!!!

• This reply was modified 7 months, 3 weeks ago by Kathy McClung.
• This reply was modified 7 months, 3 weeks ago by Kathy McClung.

[Kathy McClung]

Hi!
Thanks for ALLLLLL the great feedback.

Engaged chill – I’ll try the 2 snuffle mats & slowing down the game. I’m not sure I can use a licky mat with her food restrictions but I’ll keep that in mind in case I can figure out a way to make that work. I could do it at home with blended kibble mush, but it would be tough on the road.

Shuld I be trying the decompression after training sessions at home?

>>When is her next adventure in the ring at a trial?
If I didn’t send my entry too late, November 30th
If I did send it too late, Dec 7th

>>
So try this: as she exits the pinwheel jump and is heading to the jump before the tunnel, give her a turn cue for that jump before starting the threadle cue. It can be a ‘left’ verbal if you think that is powerful in the face of a yummy tunnel straight out ahead. Or it can be her name (“BAZINGA MARIE!”) to get her attention. That can help let her know that there is a turn cue coming all before she takes off for the jump.

>> She had a little trouble with the pinwheel jump (those are hard for her!) so you can randomly throw a reward out past it when she takes it to keep the value high. And you can revisit the lazy game to be able to toss rewards for it, so she takes it without requiring perfection in the handling. I thought your handling was good there, so putting more value on the pinwheel jump will really help.

Bazinga Marie made me laugh!! LOL
I tried these last night & this morning. She was fabulous!!!
I really noticed a difference in her commitment on the pinwheel today after sleeping on the lazy game last night.

I swear she is listening to your videos! Yesterday on our walk and before we started the Lazy game, she decided she loves tugging on the leash! I’m going to keep going with it so we can use it as a forever toy when we go into the ring but I am terrified about teaching her the impulse control needed for this activity!

Video 1 – last night with the lazy game. The video cut off early. She had some successful reps in this session.

Video 2 – this morning! YAY!

Thanks for watching!
One more question. What are some ideas to train a lineup so I can position her happily? Maybe the sit between the legs as part of her action tricks?

Thanks again!!!

• This reply was modified 7 months, 3 weeks ago by Kathy McClung.

[Kathy McClung]

Hi Tracy!

Thanks for sharing our first FEO run with us!!! It was a blast & she had fun. As gung-ho as she was, she was very happy to spend that evening & Monday on the couch with me after her big day. I feel like she was extra cuddley and smiling in her sleep. I did hide the toy and I realize now I probably wasn’t supposed to, but I run like that at home to doscourage her from jumping up & grabbing it.

We did a session of the tunnel discrimination sequence 1 this morning for something fun. Here is our video. We got the threadle the first time only but she was FAST!

This is a lot of questions – thanks in advance & sorry!
I’m going back over the package 2 & package 3 games and making a plan of the games to play & how to progress them. I may be back with questions.

I loved that you said in the zoom chat about decompression that there is the active decompression (like shredding) and the calming decompression (like chewing or a snuffle mat). Do you need to determine which kind your dog needs or do they need both? It seems like sctive decompression like shredding lets them get their energy out so they can relax after & a snuffle mat would encourage them to focus & calm down.

I have been thinking about Bazinga these are my ideas:
Calm Decompression:
frozen kong
licky mat
topple with kibble
snuffle mat? Maybe. I have not tried this yet but scatters in the grass make her focus on getting the treats
long walks away from the busy area at a trial?
beach walks – scheduled decompression

Active decompression:
Kill the towel (she loves to steal laundry)
Tug where she can kill the toy ($$$$)
Shred something? I’m thinking I can save paper towel rolls and put kibble inside & roll the ends & let her shred them. I have to WATCH her because of her histoy of eating stuff. I haven’t let her shred cardboard for that reason, but I bet she would LOVE it.
Would fetch at the trial site count?

I’m thinking about this question: Is Bazinga Volume dial or business?
As crazy as I feel typing this, I think she is all business. The look she gives me when we do a start line stay, is very serious. She really seems to take that part seriosuly. But she seems to be able to handle all the action tricks and still stay focused when we play them at the start line.

Engaged chill.
I REALLY need to learn how to encourage this. We do not have this skill. It is either 100% attention on each other or she is looking for crumbs. She snaps out of the crumb search when it is time to play, but some engaged chill would be better. I’m not sure what to cultivate as engaged chill. I love Electra with her paws up on you. Can I shape that with treats & slow the treats down?

Thank you for the advice!!!

[Kathy McClung]

Good morning!

>>See how she feels about the trial site. And see if she is interested in any toy there. And then decide 🙂 you can always do a quick zip in and out with the toy, even if it is not her total favorite thing yet 🙂

She seemed pretty comfortable at the trial site today. We played at the practice jump and she was engaged & really, really liked playing with the toy. I’m still working on a reliable “out” so we’ll see how that goes in the ring! There may just be 1 play session – lol. We walked around the grounds and all around the ring a few times today so hopefully that will seem familiar & boring tomorrow.

I think I’m going to put her leash in my pocket when we start so I can leash her up and let her walk out on her own 4 feets at the end and I don’t have to pick her up. I hadn’t really thought about that yet. When I take her to League, I throw the leash on the ground and that is where we end so I can grab it & leash her while she has the toy. I think if I do that, the leash runner may try & come get the leash, so I’ll pocket it like a hoarder.

Friday evening we practiced Sequence 1 of the mid-course sequences again. We did the BC and the RC! I think we had better connection. I built the course a little wonky to fit it and the tunnel was offset. I had some trouble pushing her out to it. The video is long but I left our play sessions in between each attempt so you can see what it is like. It was much lighter outside in reality than it looks on the video. Sorry it came out so dark.

I’ll keep you posted tomorrow and will send video!!!
Thanks for all the encouragement!!!

[Kathy McClung]

Hi! Whoa it was a crazy trip and we didn’t get to do a lot of sequence work but we had 3 days this past weekend with a lot of opportunities at the trial to do pattern games (up and down & find my face) and we also played at the practice jump and did the volume dial game there. We walked around the rings and played pattern games there as well.

Frankie thought this location (indoor on dirt with 2 rings) was very distracting, so I was pleased with Bazinga’s response to it.

We are home now and this weekend we have a 1 ring trial that is outdoors that I signed her up for FEO on Sunday (day 2) of the trial. The date arrived so fast! EEEEEKKKKKK!
Should I do it!?
She’ll have a chance to get comfy at the location on Saturday and I can do some practice jump games & pattern games to let her get acclimated. My plan is to (no startline) take off her leash, do a little volume dial and just run with her over a few jumps & play play play. Hopefully the course has the tunnel positioned where we can get to it too. I have new fur bungee toys that are scheduled to arrive tonight for her. Should I surprise her with it in the ring or let her see the toys ahead of time so I know she likes them?

Here is Bazinga practicing Remote reinforcement. This is the first official session. If I’m doing it right, I’ll try and do more sessions before Sunday and move it outdoors and to the trial site on Saturday.

If it is ok, I have a question about using Reward Prection Errors to get a dopamine spike. I’m wondering if I am applying the theory correctly with Frankie. Can the surprise be the TYPE of treat?
Frankie is currently on a special diet so all her treats are her kibble (my poor dogs they are both on just kibble – boo) She is a good sport about it and I give her kibble as treats and do action tricks at the gate when it is our turn. I do a lot of “are you ready” & touching the gate & treating to amp her up. As soon as we walk through the gate is when I see her “mute” and start her shut down. (we are doing an FEO run a day to keep her motivated and she loves that). So, this weekend, I decided the surprise her with a different treat as the very last treat as I opened the gate to enter the ring (run 1 was sweet potato fry, run 2 was a ball of vanilla cake) I could see by her expression she was surprised. Do you think if I always give her a different, awesome treat before we go in the ring that it may help her want to go in the ring?

Thanks for all the help!!!
We are going to set up some sequences later.

[Kathy McClung]

Hi Tracy!
Thanks for the feedback and pics. It helped to see how “tiny” I felt the disconnect was but that it mattered. I’m starting to get the “feel” of the connection with her again and am loving the sequence work.

We have been traveling so I missed the zoom call. I’m going to watch tonight.

We got a chance to do FEO at a new location and she had fun. I didn’t get video though.

We set up the first “middle of the course” sequence today at a friend’s house. I think she did well. I made a mistake & forgot the BC and i got on her line. She was ok though. I joked for drama.

We are at a trial this weekend so we can work the pattern games.

Thanks!!!

• This reply was modified 8 months, 1 week ago by Kathy McClung.
• This reply was modified 8 months, 1 week ago by Kathy McClung.

[Kathy McClung]

Thank you for the pictures!!! That really helped!!!
I did try again ☺

We got 2 successes but several pull offs. I am a slow adapter it seems but I went through the video & marked what I messed up on our misses. Mostly pointyness & foot direction. I feel like my brain knows what to do, but I can’t get my body to cooperate. I really can’t take my eye off her for a second. I’m going to need to develop my peripheral vision & sonar!!

Here is our video:

Thank you!

[Kathy McClung]

Good morning!

Thank you for the videos! They did so good!!! You stayed so calm! It was cool to see other debut FEOs.

I’ll work on showing her the toy as I’m running so she can grab & tug and I don’t let go. I think we’ll get to go to a league practice next week.

I tried 2 more sessions on that first sequence and we are just not getting jump #3. Here is my last session from last night. I think I’m going to just move on to the other sequences & see how they go so I don’t keep drilling this one move. I’msure it is me, I’m just not sure what I am doing wrong. I’m not going fast and I feel like I am staying connected. I am guessing that my position is pushing her off the jump?

Thanks for the help!
PS: What are Ramen’s colors?

[Kathy McClung]

Yay for FEO & Whippets!!! I’d love to see Larry’s new fave toy! I bet Bazinga would be loco for the fur! Did Ramen do FEO too!? I’d love to see videos!!!

Thanks for the ideas on how to “fade the trade” We did a little session in the house with just a blanket (she is a laundry stealer) and when I said out & moved to where we keep the treats, sh let go & followed me. As soon as I gave her the treat, I went back & played again. We repeated it a few times. I’ll keep it up & switch to a toy & then 2 toys. This will be a helpful tool to have, so I’m motivated to teach it!

>>You can try running slower 🙂 I know, that sounds nuts 🤣😂 but running fast can get very disconnected with arms pointing everywhere.

Ok, this gave me a huge lightbulb moment because I am trying to keep up with her. If I can stay connected, she can get the information & take the obstacles independently without me having to be right there.

I did another session and we had the same results but there were a lot of distractions nearby that day. I can post the video if you want to see how I was doing on connection or I can try again.

I took her to agility league last night. We did the up & down game on leash and then we did 3 small sequences with a bungee toy & the volume dial game!
I got video!!! It was so fun! I did use treats to get the toy back but she was really good about letting go.

Seq 1

Seq 2

Seq 3

[Kathy McClung]

>>As you build up to that, you can refresh her toy play so she is ready to use a toy in the ring doing the FEO runs.

Good thinking! Getting ready for toy play for FEO – what do you recommend/what should I be trying to incorporate?

AKC doesn’t let you throw the toy, so I usually do tug with Frankie but I only do it once on an FEO run – at the end. I’m thinking with a baby dog, I’ll want to do it more than once.

I have been throwing the lotus ball with food inside for sequence work. She likes to play tug and I have a bungee lotus ball that she loves. I can use it with no food for FEO.

I am thinking I should get a better tug & release with Bazinga. Currently we are still trading & she is pretty strict about the rules – hahaha. She gets the ball open & then I give her 1 kibble & say “out” and pick up the ball. I need to fade out that 1 kibble. But how? any good ideas? Trade for another toy to start?

Here are our games & sequences:
Openings sequence #2
I am not keeping good connection past the first few obstacles. I didn’t want to drill things so I kept it short. She did great on the startline & the leadout pivot & even the BC.
Should we be doing the volume dial game before each rep?

Pattern Games:
We have been doing the up & down game & the bowls game at trials. Here is a session with her leash on in the house. I’ll do a few more of these and also do a few sessions in the yard. We are traveling next weekend to a trial and to stay at a friend’s house so I’ll be able to advance to doing the games in new locations then.

Action Tricks!
We got a hi-10! The hi-5 is hit or miss, she’s giving me both paws for that. I must have lumped!
I think I’ll back up and try for a “give me your paw” trick instead of the hi-5 until she understands one paw at a time. The figure 8 through the legs is pretty new too. She’s getting it. The nose touch really seems to be the one that gets her amped up.

Thanks for watching!!!

• This reply was modified 8 months, 3 weeks ago by Kathy McClung.

[Kathy McClung]

Hi Tracy! I set up the Openings course. My space is a little tight so I edited out jump #5 for sequence #1. I’ll try breaking it up so that the important parts are included as I move through the dfferent sequences.

I have not been setting up courses and it was so much fun! We both needed it. We’ve just been working on weaves and running contacts and a tiny bit of teeter work. Why did I save all the hard stuff for last!?!? I was feeling a bit burned out. The running contacts training stresses me out. I am second guessing her understanding and I am a little paralyzed on moving forward. Not sure why I stopped setting up sequences, I guess I just lost my routine. Happy to have it back!

I submitted the unedited video so you could see out start, finish & all the in betweens. I have a crate in the yard and the dogs take turns, so I let Bazinga out of the crate before we started & then I did a Volume Dial with her at the beginning. Then I waited too long to start after the Volume Dial – you’ll see! Hahaha

We need to get our connection mojo back but I was happy with the session.

I did an inventory of our action tricks:
spins
hand targets
leg weave (work in progress)

New ones to add:
I’m going to train a hi-5 and a hi-10 too
I am considering the bark on command. I haven’t ever trained that as a cued behavior before but Frankie offers a cute one if I get her riled up when we are waiting to go in the ring.

I have a question:
Bazinga loves to boing – but to be honest, I’m afraid she will hurt herself. Am I being over protective? (I may or may not be prone to that!) Is there a way to shape/train it so it is a safer trick? I don’t want to take it away from her since it is joyful (sometimes bossy) but I’m not sure I should encourage it. She is such a spazz! You’ll see it in the Openings video a few times.

I have 2 opportunities coming up to enter her in FEO at a 1 ring, outdoor trial. Nov 10 and December 8. I can always pull her but I signed up in case it was good timing with this class.

Thank you for the feedback!!!

[Kathy McClung]

Im so relieved we had a good session. We did a few on the practice jump at the trisl today and she got ’em! 😊

🩷 thank you for the kind words back. They mean a lot to me!
See you in MP4!!!

[Kathy McClung]

Hi Tracy!
Thank you for the feedback on the rear crosses!
>>Try the right turns on the other side of the sequence – it will just be the two jumps after the tunnel, with her on your right , so she will be turning back to the center of the sequence – and that might give us info if it helps her see it better : )

I think I did this as you described above. I drew a diagram because instead of hitting record, I turned off my camera and did not get a video! I am sooooooo bummed because she did SO GOOD!!!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-0CUigIlHW7dRmThS5LgGjh4ScQJDNDu/view?usp=sharing

She had an almost a perfect success rate. A few times I turned too early and she pulled off the jump and came with me, but she really read the cross once I changed the setup so she was turning into more space.
I also put jumps in a straight line in the center of the yard and rear crossed jump 2 and she was great!

I’ll try and get another video for you to see today but I know we are winding down & ending this class.
We are at a trial Sat & Sunday so I’ll try to get it Saturday if I get home before dark.

Thanks for such amazing classes!!! You are such a great teacher for the dogs and the humans. You always inspire me! I have learned so much and you made it so much fun to train Bazinga from teeny puppy to now 🙂 She had a blast too because all the games were fun & set her up for success. I’m so looking forward to MaxPup 4!

[Kathy McClung]

Hi Tracy!
Since we are at the end of the class, I wanted to work on rear crosses since I feel like that is the skill that we are having the most trouble with. I went back to the Challenging Rear Crosses lesson.
We did really good in 1 direction and really did not get any good reps when we changed direction.
It must be me. I must be doing something different when we change directions?
I did a session in the morning and when she was on my left, we were successful. When I switched to her on my right, we only had 1 successful rep.
I did another short session in the evening with her on my right side and it was the same. I tried to pay attention to pushing the line & running to the center of the bar and keeping my feet straight. I played with the timing a bit but I just haven’t found the flow yet.
I did do one rep that was more like the rear crosses I do with Frankie in the second video and she turned with me behind her. I’m hoping maybe it will give more information about why I can’t do it the other way.

Morning session:

Evening session:

Thanks for the help!

[Kathy McClung]

Hi!
We tried the Plankrobatics! I lowered the teeter so shorty could jump up on her own. She thought that was cool!

We did another session of the Decel game. She was a little wild and got tired in the humidity so we didn’t get as far into it as I planned. We did add some front crosses after the sends and got a little more speed starting jump to tunnel.

Thanks for watching!!!

• This reply was modified 1 year, 2 months ago by Kathy McClung.

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