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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!!!
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!!!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=sharingShe 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!
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!
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!!!
Hi Tracy!
I don’t have any new videos yet but !!!OMG!!! you are a goddess of attention to detail!!!!
THE COOKIE HAND!!!!!!!! Bwahaha!!! She is so stinkin’ smart!!! She was (correctly) convinced she was supposed to hold at the target!!! Ummm – thank you for letting me see it! ☺>>When she froze in position, she was probably waiting for another reward in position. On the successful reps with the release, it was very clear that there would be no more rewards in position (you were upright and facing forward more. And on the frozen rep, you were reaching to the cookie pocket on the first one, then had another cookie in your hand on the 2nd one. I think that there were cookies in your hands on the others, but something about the body language when she didn’t release was saying “more cookies coming” so she kept offering the position 🙂
I swear (I hope I’m not lying) last question on the weaves class. When do we do the “Find ’em” tracks? After the regular 2×2 & Channels tracks are complete? thank you! sorry! sorry!
-Kathy
Frankie is feeling better, but she had a tough week. Poor girlie! She is currently mad because she can’t play until she gets her stitches out in 2 days. But that is a good sign 🙂
I borrowed a set of channel weaves!!! I love agility peeps – they are the best!
Do I do the 2×2 track lesson 1 one day (like Saturday) and then on Tuesday do the Channels track lesson 1? And switch back and forth between the tracks as they progress? So, do different tracks on different days but work through both at the same time?Thank you for the great feedback on the connection on our last session. I feel like a chump for not rewarding her. We’ll circle back to that one and give it another try.
We worked on the teeter and added the release word. She got that right away for the first few reps and then got confused & froze in the down position when I gave the release. I gave her a chance to break out of it & then I threw the treat to the bowl, so that I didn’t move. Not sure if it was the right thing to do. On one rep she didn’t let me hold her & jumped up on the teeter and I froze and didn’t treat her and I can see that it messed with her confidence. She hit the target perfectly. I wish I had rewarded her.
We did the first session of the Concept Transfer Decel game. She had fun! She liked the return of the turn & burn!!
Thanks for watching & for always having such great feedback & ideas!!!
Hi Tracy!
Trying to get it together after a crazy week. Frankie had a dental and a bump removed Wednesday and got sick with HGE Friday night. Fingers crossed she’s feeling better. She had to spend an overnight for IV fluids. She’s home now <3
Bazinga helped keep me busy today and we played a bit.
We did another session of the bang game and moved the bowl further away.
We did the very beginning of Lead outs 3. I was terrible at keeping connection. I can see it when I watch the video but couldn’t see it when it was happening.
I feel like my yard is a teeny bit small for the setup and I’m squishing it and making it awkward. Or maybe I just need to work on my connection! 😉😆
Thanks for watching!!
Hi Tracy!
Thanks so much for the advice about starting FEO. I’m going to hold off on FEO and just let her do the tunnels fun run.>>I am not a believer in a crate-to-ring routine because the environment is way to fluid to have a routine. And if the environment changes and you can’t do the routine? We don’t want the dog to stress. I am a big fan of having a toolbox of things to use to support the dogs, because we know the environment is always different and always changing. It is much easier to be able to help the dogs that way
THIS ^^ This right here is why I need to cool my jets and take MaxPup4!!
Also what you said about Seminars and classes allowing me to use food made so much sense! A much easier transition for her!We took a few days off & went to trial with Frankie.
We started back today and did our first session of the Forced Front Cross and Forced Threadles.
I have some questions about the Weaves course. I hope it is ok to ask here. Can I do the 2×2 track with 3 sets of 2x2s and a set of 6 weave poles? I have 3 sets of 2x2s )making 6 weaves) and then a full set of weaves (2 sets of 6 poles). Do I need a full set of 2x2s (making 12 weaves)?
Is it best to do both tracks? Maybe I can see if I can borrow a set of channels for a few months?
One last thing I just wanted to let you know that the image examples that show the filled-out field guides are not loading on the intro pages.Thanks for everything!!!
Hi Tracy!
Thanks for the feedback on the mat & the details on how to progress – great details! I’ll get a board to put under it next.We were soggy today after a big storm so we did the teeter session with the bowl added. I feel like she was still looking over at at me. I couldn’t get the treat delivered fast enough. What do you think?
I have a some questions about next steps. You can tell me if I am getting ahead of myself or if I’m being unrealistic 😊
Question 1 – Weaves
Can we start learning the weaves along with this MaxPup class or do you think it will be too much? I signed up for your independent study weaves class but if you are going to offer a video class, I’d LOVE to do that! You have such a good eye and I feel like you see things that I don’t.Question 2 – FEO
I definitely plan on taking MaxPup4 to give her the best foundation to be ring ready. I am super excited about that. With Frankie having shut-down issues in the trial environment, I really want to give Bazinga the right start. I know she is a different dog & personality, but I still want to give her the best foundation & introduction to trialing. That said, we have a few events I was considering doing FEO with her in May but I wanted to see if you think it is a good idea or if it is better to wait until we take MaxPup4. I am having ssecond thoughts about the FEO plans, but I think the tunnels fun match might be a safe bet. Can you let me know what you think? Here are the details:There is a trial in May that the location/setup most matches our practice location (yard). It is 1 ring, on grass, no cover. It is a fairly small trial. She has been at this location before and we have used the practice jump there. I was thinking of doing 1 FEO class and just doing maybe 2 jumps and tug & get out. Keep it easy & successful. I thought this would be the best place to introduce her to the ring one day, but I want to get her crate-to-ring routine more established before the trial. If I don’t have that ready, I think I should hold off.
The other trial is our Boston Terrier Nationals. It is here in FL and they have a tunnels only fun match. Just all tunnels & fun. It is indoors and on mats. She has been in the building but only once.
I could also do an FEO run this trial too if she is feeling comfortable. Just 1 or 2 jumps with a toy.
BUt again, I’m just not sure.I really need to get her in a group class so that she has more experience at other locations. I have been making the most of the trials that I bring her to. We use the practice jump at all the trials we go to and I have been asking friends to stand near the jump or walk near the jump like a judge would do, and she does not seem to care about them. So that is a start.
Thanks for the advice!!!
Hi Tracy! Thanks for the feedback about the lead out games. Thanks for the plan! Now I just have to make my body & face do it. We’ll give it another try with adjustments and some mama-only run throughs.
We did a session with the running contact foundation mat & no leaping. I hope I started correctly. We have not worked on the mat touch in a while and we have been working on the teeter & target and I also just started teaching her to settle on a bed/mat so I thought I needed to refresh the concept of hitting the mat with her paws a little.
She was not that leapy in this session, so I got lucky & was able to click when she touched the mat. I’m not completely sure there was a lot of value for the mat or if she was just running to the MM. I only treated in 1 direction and held & released her from the other side. I hope this is an ok way to start? I am thinking the next session I click when I see all 4 feet on the ground after the mat? I see Hot Sauce had a tiny pause after the mat. Was that just shaped by careful clicking? What would the criteria be for a non-click (besides a leap)? I was not clicking when she did not get all 4 paws on the mat in this session (or if she busted away from me before I let her go)
Thanks for the help!Good morning! The universe needs way more puppy footage…just sayin’…😁
Thank you for the detailed & great answer on the Threadle Wrap & Tandem Turn – that really helped solidify it in my head. I have a hard time with body movements and really need to move through them & get them in my head and that helped a lot!
We did another session of the Zig Zag game with 4 ft bars instead of 5ft. I may try the weave poles next but she did good on this session.
We tried the first 2 lead out games – baby levels. We had some trouble with bypassing jumps. I’m pretty sure it is because I am not reconnecting fast enough and she needs more connection. What do you think? I was pretty excited she was getting the Blinds on the takeoff & landing side though!!!
Lead Outs and Big Lines 1: Sequence 1 & 2
Lead Outs and Big Lines 2:
Thanks so much!!!
Twisty!!!! It has noodle vibes! PT! PeeeeeTeeeee!
I love him already!❤️
I am still giggling at Elektra being the Angry Hummingbird!Teeter behavior:
Maybe I should teach her to do a scratchboard while I’m at it so she has that skill too? I’ve seen some videos on how to train it. Then transfer the target to the teeter before I fade it out with the scratchboard?Thank you for the advice about the plank & Hot Sauce’s video! I can finally use the contact mat I bought a few weeks ago and try that ☺ Boingzina needs some lessons.
Apologies ahead of time…I have a question about tandem turns & the verbals:
>> So adding more lateral distance and rewards from your hands can help set them up. We can also call her before she gets into the tunnel, and add the threadle wrap verbal which will help discriminate!Tandem turns, lap turns, threadle wraps, backside wraps (and even the tunnel threadles since I never really was successful training it before). I am super excited about these moves, but they are new to me and I have never used them on an actual course. I’m trying to figure out how to think about them so that when I am walking a course, I can see where/if they would be appropriate or the best move. So my specific question is – does the tandem turn move morph into Threadle Wraps? Or will the Tandem Turn be it’s own move (where we both turn together & go in the new direction together) and the Threadle Wrap will also be it’s own move where she comes in to me & takes the jump from the other side, wraps the wing and I keep going & she completes the wrap & follows me? But they are related like the Tandem turn is the basis for the Threadle wrap? I’m sorry if I am overthinking it!
My bigger question is what is the best way (other than putting it to use) to figure out when these moves are best? Is there a general “guideline” for each one? Like Rear Cross = when the dog is ahead and you need to make & turn & change sides? Thank you for the help!We took a break from the Wingin’ It games today and did the Zig Zag game & the teeter side approach.
Zig Zag Game:
I may need to make it smaller. Would I need a shorter bar?
Teeter approach from the side:
Thanks for watching!
>>Good morning from lovely Florida!!
Yay!!! Where in Florida are you? We are in the Panhandle in Carrabelle (south of Tallahassee)
Huge Puppy Congrats!!! THEY ARE SO CUUUUUUUTE!!!!! I can not wait to hear his/her name! You are a naming goddess!!!>>I almost snorted coffee out my nose on the first rep of the first video hen she smacked the crate with typical Bazinga emphasis LOL!!
Hahahahaha! She needs a warning label!
Thank you for the great feedback!Teeter Games
>>The other thing I like to do with a 4on and small dogs is to teach them to dig at the target. That gives them something fun to do while waiting the decades it takes for the board to drop, and it keeps their weight back. Does she like to dig at all?
I haven’t worked on that with her but I can try it. I actually think she may not have that much drop time on the teeter if she gets to the end. She is 13 pounds. She probably should be 12 but her vet likes this weight while she is still weaning off her meds. I think she’s a little “chonky” lol. How much does Elektra weigh?>>You can use the target at the top of the mountain climber game and see how she feels about being that high off the ground and getting into position – that is probably what will happen when she is doing the full teeter!
We did the Mountain Climber again and I rewarded for her touching the target & crouching or laying down. She started to get the hang of it on the high teeter.
We did a session of wingin it – turn aways: lap turns & tandem turns.
We worked on the Serpentines again. I was even able to straighten the jumps a bit. I’ve got to do it from the other side now.
We did another session of Tunnel Threadles and Tandem Turns. She was doing great the with figure 8s but once I changed to the soft turns (left and right) we had trouble. She was coming to the inside of the wing. I was trying to stay connected but we struggled. What is interesting is that we took a short break after that session and did a session of the Wingin’ It Tight Blinds to Wraps and she had no problem getting the wing for the blinds – with no verbals. I must be doing something weird to throw her off with the turns? Here are both videos:
Tunnel Threadles and Tandem Turns:
Wingin’ It Tight Blinds to Wraps:
Contacts Foundations: Plank Confidence
I haven’t had her on the plank in a while, and when we left off you suggested raising it a tiny bit to see if it helps her keep her feet on the board. This session went a little off the rails when I tried to add the curved lines. I borrowed a second Manners Minder and maybe it was too stimulating to have two going at once!
Thank you so much!!!!
Hi Tracy!
I saved these until you were back online so there are a few!We did 2 more sessions of the tunnel discrimination with a different crate. It has A LOT of value. I tried to keep them easy & short. I put a harness on her and I think that added some “stuff” for her too (not bad, just new) I think the 3rd session showed some improvement. I changed the way I was saying “crate” to be more like my “jump” verbal and less loud & fast like my tunnel verbal.
Session 2: added a harness here to help line her up
Session 3:
Wingin’ It: Tunnel Threadles & Tandem turns
I have a question about the collection cue you mentioned. We haven’t trained a collection cue yet. How would I introduce that? Is it something like “whoa” or “easy” for the verbal with a decel body language?
I did the session and used my wrap verbals and tunnel threadle verbal “kiss,kss”.
When we got to the figure 8s, I kept front crossing and getting on the wrong side for the threadle. I hope I didn’t mess her up too much. I stopped when I realized that I was messing up and worked through it without her. My brain. It is special!
We did another session of the bang it game on the teeter! I think she did a lot better getting into the down position.
>>I am guessing the angle of the board made it harder for her to get fully into the down? That is something we can watch as we add more and more of the teeter skills. If the crouch is a more comfy and balanced position then she can do the crouch instead of a down. The crouch also looked more comfy on the 2nd video, where she was hopping on the side.I think I am fine with just the crouch/play bow and not the chin touch since the teeter will have some kick-back when it is in motion. But I am guessing that we try to keep as much of the down position as we can and let her fade it as needed as she gets used to the motion once that is introduced?
Concept Transfer: Lead Outs
We did 2 sessions of these over 2 days. The middle one (stationary) was hard for her. I’m glad you showed how you broke it down for CB – that helped! I did “catches” between each position change but edited a lot of that out and allllll my walking into position for the lead outs, so you did not have to suffer though that!
Session 1: Moving Blinds & Stationary FC/throwback
Session 2: Continuation of Stationary FC/throwback and Lead out push. On the lead out push, I had to really support jump 3.
Thanks for watching all these!!!!
