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Hi Tracy!
We had a super rainy day but it cleared up and we tried the rear crosses again. I am just a mess trying to concentrate on throwing the toy & saying the verbal.
I’m looking forward to the weekend to have time to do more. I have Zig Zags set up and we need to start on the new games too.
I’m excited to try the blind crosses again. I am finding that I’m having a tough time keeping my eyes on her. I really need to get that down. Crucial!
Thanks for watching – have a great weekend!Hi Tracy!
Strike a Pose: Proofing Serps & Threadles
>>– lead out a bit and go faster and faster to challenge her to differentiate the cues even when there is more speed and more excitement
>>– lead out less and move into it, so she differentiates the cues even when you are not ahead or not in perfect position. For example, as you are passing the first wing, can you get her to go to the tunnel? Or come in for the serp?We did another session with movement. I tried to vary where I was when I released her. I think I was in the “threadle area” a few times and she came in (as I think she should have).
I think I need to still release at the same spot (or at least just as I am passing the first wing – but not before it – even though I may lead out less or more as described above?
Ladder Grid – Slices
I set this up again & I think you are right, she processed the changes since the last session! She jumped over 2 noodles (not Ramen!) on 2 tries, so maybe the way I am settign it up is too tight for her.
The Diamond – Tight Blinds
We tried this one! Whew! I need some quicker moves! She read the blinds but we were a little wild about it. Adding the tunnel was too much for me! I couldn’t keep my eyes on her. Maybe after we (me) get better at the blind cross mechanics, I’ll try that again, but I didn’t want to smush her. Also, I really need to be careful on these games where I hold a toy. I didn’t do a good job at the toy training and she doesn’t know not to grab for it until I cue her & is doing a lot of pogo bouncing to try & get the toy as we set up and move around. I’ll work on my mechanics so the toy isn’t so visually tempting. During these reps, I’m working on letting her tug, offering a treat as a trade & then presenting the toy again to “get it” & not just doing the next rep so that I’m not always taking the toy away from her. I just have to make sure she eats the dang treat & doesn’t choke on it! BOSTONS!
Verbal Brain Spiral
>>But another side of it is that dogs are absolutely brilliant at sorting out context so you can use the same verbals in different context, as long as you maintain criteria. For example, I use ‘stay’ on the start lines. And I also use it at home, when I am want the dogs to stay in a sit when I open a door. They seem to recognize the difference in contexts but also recognize that stay means ‘don’t move til the crazy momma says the next cue’.Thank you for the extra help in thinking about this! I think you captured the very important nuance & why I feel uncomfortable with what I’m doing & that is because I am not maintaining any criteria when I ask her to “wait” and then take another dog outside. I pretty much just leave her there for several minutes before we come back. So I do think I need another word. I like “hold-on”. The criteria for that is – you don’t get to go out the door, but there are no other criteria.
As always thanks so much for watching!!
Hi Tracy!
Thanks for the feedback & the awesome detailed info on the rear crosses – that was very helpful! I gave her a break on these yesterday and I’ll give it another try.
I’ll do our next session of the serps/tunnels with your suggestions too!We set up the Ladder grid. She was a really good girl on her stays! I backchained & did a few catches at each of the jumps and then did a break or two from each jump. I angled the jumps, but maybe when I did it, they were too far apart for her or she was tired. She got 1 jump & 2 jumps but for the 3 jumps she took all the pool noodles with her! Poor girl! (not that she cared – haha). So I ended on that & gave her lots of treats. I’m going to rewatch the video to be sure I am setting up the angles right.
I have a question about verbals and wanted your advice & some verbal suggestions. ☺
I don’t want to muddy my “break” in the agility ring, so I don’t use it as a release for other things like a sit & or leave it. For those, I use “ok” which isn’t the best since I say “ok” a lot in day-to-day life, but I’m not doing competition obedience either, so I think I can get by with it. But what about “wait”? I think that should only be for agility too. Is there an alternate verbal that I can teach for day-to-day stuff instead? Like waiting at the door or when I put the food bowl down? I don’t like “stay” because it is too loaded a word for me – hahaha. Also, I have always taught that “wait” means hold until I release you and “stay” means wait until I come back to you and give you a reward. But to be honest, I never use “stay” and haven’t taught it to Bazinga.Thanks for your help!!!
Hi Tracy!
We did another session of Proofing for Serps & Threadles.
>>She still needed motion to the tunnel (for now) – When she could see you between the uprights and not moving, she was convinced it was the jump (which is a valid guess). So you can dial back the amount of motion and walk very slowly, then eventually fade it out.>>But, more important than fading out the motion, is getting her to differentiate between the serp and the tunnel cue while you are moving the whole time on both. So definitely try to be walking on both cues for now, and the verbal & upper body are what cues the different obstacles.
I tried to stay in motion for both and it seemed to help her! What do you think? Keep slowing it down to fade it out?
We also did another session of Wind In Your Hair, Part 2: Rear Crosses and Backside Wraps.
I think I am keeping my line too straight & throwing too late? I think she was watching the toy? She did great tugging & releasing for a treat & staying engaged with the toy!
Thanks for watching!
Hi Tracy!
We started Feel The Wind In Your Hair, Part 2: Rear Crosses and Backside Wraps!
I knew this was going to be hard on ME with my left-right issues. It kept feeling like I was in the wrong place. Eventually, I decided to keep the toy in my dog-side hand & say the verbal that matched my empty hand. Just to help my brain.When I do RCs now, I never really think about what direction, just that we are switching sides. I’m also pretty sure that the way I do them with Frankie is not how we want to do them with Bazinga. I used Frankie as a guinea pig and worked with her first & she read it just fine. I was just terrible working out the mechanics with the front cross, getting my bearings & throwing the toy.
Let me know what you think.
We also did the Strike A Pose Proofing For Serps And Threadles game. She was really good with her stays & the serps. I was surprised that it was hard for her to take the tunnel.
Thanks for watching!
Hi Tracy!
Thank you for the feedback & the info on the lead legs!
We did another session of Sends & Serps. I started with the jump less angled than last time and it was a little too hard for her, so I moved it again. I think we were still a little less angled than the first time. I’m losing her when we line up to wrap the wing. I’m not sure if I just don’t have her full attention yet, and I’m starting too soon or if I am too lateral from the wing for her.
Looking forward to watching all the pups in class tonight!
Thank you!
Hi Tracy!
We have beauuuuuuuuutiful weather today!!! We did some things ☺
Hope you had a fun weekend! I got to watch some of the WC Open.Set Point with Moving MM
Set Point Progression
>>I think the order of festivities should be:
– first add the moving target MM-on-wheels with the noodles for one session
– then if that goes well, go back to the stationary MM and put a bar in on the 2nd jump as low as possible and see how she does!We did a session with the moving MM. The distance for the jumps here is the shorter distance we did last time – 30 inches. It was very exciting for her. I have to bend over to get the handle and that amped her up a bit. I think we only got one true stay where she waited for me to actually say “break”. After the session, I moved to the deck and just put the MM on the ground and did some start lines with “catches” and then I bent over & squatted next to the MM before releasing her. She did much better without the jumps in front of her & the MM moving. I’ll do that a few more times today and hopefully, it will help her excitement level on the next moving session.
We did a second session of the Zig Zag game with the wings 4 feet part. I think she did well but what am I really looking for besided that she moves through the wings. Should I be looking at which leg she used to lead off with? If she is moving to her left, she should use her front left leg first, is that right? I could use a better understanding of lead leg/changes.
We did Find the Jump! I used a toy and we even tugged between reps. She magically was both super into tugging but happy to trade for a treat on almost every rep. I left a clip in the video. We are not to a formal “out” yet. It is more like a quick trade before she changes her mind!
Thanks!!!!Hi Tracy!
We have been working on the Minny Pinny between classes since it didn’t involve a lot of running. She really wants to go around the jumps herself. I am trying to hang on to her so that she can hear the verbal first. On the more advanced “sends” where she is turning away or neutral at the center, if my feet are pointing in the direction I want her to go, she does much better. Do I need to fade that out? I’m looking forward to your feedback on this one.
Minny Pinny with Verbals
Zig Zag – 4 feet apart
So the next step for this game is to bring the wings closer together so she gets to practice doing her lead changes quicker and quicker. Move the wings to 4 feet apart and see how she does (your cues will need to be quicker too). And if that goes well, you can eventually move them to 3 feet apart for ultimate lead change quickness!We moved the jumps to 4 feet. She did skip a jump here & there. I am guessing that it was my handling – maybe not obvious enough?
Smiley Faces Calm Your Hands with Water Bottle!
We did it! I still think my arm is too forward but I really tried to stay looking at her as I ran. Bazinga was chasing the water spills! LOL
Thanks for watching!
-KathyHI Tracy!
Thanks for the feedback on her set point & especially about when to mark/not to mark. I like that distinction!Great class last night! It really did help to hear how you progress your serp cues. My current one (which cracks me up) is I yell “serp!” and rely completely on body language and Frankie loves serps, so she reads them well and everyone thinks I have a 3 jump verbal! Bwahahahahaha! I’m really saying “serp” for me so that I get my handling right.
Do you give a directional on each jump of the serp line?Sends & Serps
We did our first session of Sends & Serps! I was happily surprised that she read it. When we tried it a few months ago it was very hard for both of us. She wanted to go fast, so I tried to keep up with her. I’m not sure I really succeeded in opening my shoulders and keeping my arm back. I lost connection with her on the wraps and remembered to look at her & BOOM! It worked.
Zig Zag!
She liked this game even though there was no Manner Minder🙂 haha
Hi Tracy!
>>With her speed, I suggest strong coffee or espresso LOL!!!
Bwahahahahaha! Also I love that you think she is fast!!! Exciting!!!!>>I watched for that and was expecting to hear some big bad momma voice coming out… you were very polite when you said no! You marked the break very quickly and very nicely (on the 2nd one, she re-sat herself, it was kind of hilarious). So you can mark it as long as you are as sweet about it as you were here.
I’m relieved – thank you! I’m not big on marking mistakes, but sometimes they slip out. Does it help them to learn to mark the misses (nicely)? I guess it depends on the dog. I don’t want to squish her spirit. I usually just reset & try again.>>I want to try the set point 6 inches smaller and see if that is the sweet spot – you can also have her a few inches closer to the first jump, about 3 inches away.
We did another session! I set the jumps 6 inches closer, so we are at 30 inches between the jumps. I think she landed more in the center at this distance, but want to hear what your thoughts are.🙂 She knocked the pool noodle a few times. I think it is a little “bendy” and was curving up. Do I need to change my set up? I have not put bars up yet for her, I wanted to hear when you thought she was ready. My bars don’t fit in my jump cups to lock them in.
She did much better with her stays when I did not bend toward the MM! YAY!
We also did some easy stays & breaks to the moving MM (not on this video). She’s into it!Thanks for the great feedback & for watching!
Hi Tracy!
Tahnks for the feedback. I like how you mentioned changing the volume of the soft turn cues so they are not as loud as the Go! I will do that.>>Think of the two of you giving cues to each other: you cue something like the tunnel, and keep cuing it and moving to it until she cues you that she’s got it and you can move to the next thing. She will cue you by looking at and stepping towards the line you want.
I love this description! Thank you.
Calm your hands with a drink:
>>I think you did this with Frankie? Or am I making that up in my head? LOL!I did!! I used water with Frankie, I may use tequila for Bazinga! hahahaha
I’ll re-do the Tunnel Exit exercise with a water bottle.🙂
I feel like your feedback about looking at the dog & not the line and using magnet hands (no flailing) are 2 huge holes I’ve had in my handling. I am committed to working on this and improving!
I’ve been watching your videos to see how you accomplish this & how do you keep your bearings on the course while watching the dog? You are brilliant at it.We worked on set point. I moved the MM further away and it increased the difficulty of the stay. Do you think I should do some less challenging setups with the MM closer (even if it is not the best position for her jumping) to be sure she is successful? We had a few false breaks. I said the “no” word in this session & died inside. Bad human. I don’t want to do that again. 🙁
I think her form looked good when she jumped. The rug was moving beneath her when she pushed off, so I’m going to remove that for our next session. Maybe I’ll keep the one in the center so I can do some “catches” and she can find the treat. That did not seem to give her an issue.Our wheels came and I tried them out but it didn’t speed Bazinga up. I think I can’t move them fast enough to mimic a toy. Is it ok if the MM is just moving in general or does it need to be a chase? I let her get used to the moving MM and tried 2 reps from jump 1 to see how it looks & there is a short clip below.
Ste Point
Manners minder on Wheels
Thank you!
Smiley Face:
Thank you for detailing the difference where I am looking ahead and losing connection. This is super helpful for me. To my eye the difference was so very subtle, I doubt I would have ever noticed. I can see in the examples you pointed out that she looks at me instead of looking ahead but my inexperienced eyes would have assumed that was her being connected to me – because she is looking at me. But now I can see that it is a question! She is looking to me to figure out what is next vs. knowing what is next & just continuing on. INTERESTING!!!!Set Point:
>>Her form over jump 1 is perfect. I think the MM might be a little too close to jump 2, because at first she was a little leapy, going more up than over, but that is normal when we use the MM, we get some leaping Then she smoothed it out but she was decelerating over 2 rather than powering over it, so moving the MM another 5 or 6 feet away from jump 2 should give her room to land powerfully, take another full extension stride, then get to the MM.I’ll move the MM further and see how this goes.
We got our wheels for the MM delivered last night! Can’t wait to try this out for Moving Set Point!We did the Tunnel Exit game. I got 2 toys that are treat holders & are covered in rabbit fur on the outside (sorry bunny😞 ). Bazinga is loco over them. She did not want to trade for food. What? Yes. Would not trade for food. I’m happy that she is so into the toys. Now my challenge is to work on a cooperative “out” because when I try & snatch the toy from her, she jumps after it so high and I don’t want her to get hurt.
I tried to control my arms on the soft turns (left & right) but I still had them high. I guess I am doubting that she has the verbals and I think I need some dramatic physical cue. I’ll try again and concentrate on not raising my arms so high. Do think she is pretty good on the verbals. It is just me.Hi Tracy,
Thank you for the link. Those wheels are in my amazon cart!Wind In Your Hair:
>> I think her only question was about when the toy was available for grabbing, especially when she was on your right after the wing wrap.
Thank you for this feedback! I will adjust what I am doing. I’ll add more distance and see how we do.Wrap proofing:
>>When you do the combos, she did not go to the off course tunnel but she had a question about the wrap at 1:20 and 1:57. it is possible that you were blocking the wing a little and not taking a step to it (she was fine when you stepped to the wing). So you can tuck yourself in closer to the tunnel so she sees the full wing when she exits – that might help her commit even when you don’t step to the wing.I watched the video and it feels like I was doing a lazy body turn to get the connection & connected later when she was closer to me. Maybe that is blocking the wing or just signaling her to come to me. I’ll watch that in the next session.
We did the Smiley Face & Racetrack games!
I tried to do some advanced “make up your own course” stuff and tried to do a blind cross. I think I was causing the issue with my moves. There are captions on the video.Here is our Set Point. We were doing 3 feet between the jumps when we left off, so I set up with 3 feet. I was still using bumps and not bars & kept that the same. I’m posting both our videos (the first one from a few months ago & this one) as a comparison. She was so little & chubby in March!
Set Point 1: Sept 20 (17.5 months)
Set Point 1: March 21 (11.5 months)
Hi Tracy!
Thank you for the tug videos! I worked with her a little over the weekend and had some success with her letting go when I made the toy go still. I think it helped that I was sitting in a chair too. I will keep working on this since I’d really like to be able to throw & place toys for her. She is still on a special diet so I can’t throw cheese or goldfish crackers that are easy to see in the grass.
>>I have also put my Manners Minder on wheels and dragged it LOL!!! Food based toys are still toys 🙂
This is BRILLIANT! I may do this. The MM is life to my dogs.
Story: Remember how I told you I was having trouble separating them to work each one separately? I heard some people use 2 Manners Minders. 1 for the dog working & 1 for the dog in the ex-pen waiting. They are synched, every time the working dog is treated, the waiting dog is treated too.
Well, I only have 1 MM, so I put it on the setting where it randomly dispenses and left the Bazinga with it behind the gate on my deck and went to work with Frankie in the yard. The MM was so comepelling, every time it dispensed, Frankie ran up the stairs to go see if she could get some! It was pretty funny.>>Thank you for the close up at the beginning. She is just the CUTEST!!!
<3>>(Which reminds me – did we ever transfer her barrels wraps to a wing? You can totally do that if you haven’t yet, and also you can use a wing in the other games too :))
We did! She likes the wings & the barrels.
Also, I was so excited to see your posts about MaxPup4 I was going to be asking you so many questions about how to debut a puppy. I am excited to take the class. Will you be offering it after the MaxMup3 session from this group too?
Here is what we worked on yesterday: Feel The Wind In Your Hair!
I used a treat pouch made from fur, filled with kibble tied to a lotus ball for the Wind in Your Hair session. It seemed like if she knew the treat came from the toy and not from my pockets she didn’t lose interest in the toy. So I think this went well! Hopefully, she keeps that opinion! Ha!
I don’t think we ever walked on this one. She was pretty gung ho! She even knocked the wing over on the jump on the first rep & didn’t even care! I tried a few reps where I was close to the wing and let her get ahead of me. I think there was 1 rep where I got a little ahead of her. I need to be consistent and say Go!Go!Go! and not “Get it!” I think we were both pretty excited about the toy toy!
We did an early session this morning & did the Wrap Proofing. This girlie loves her wraps!
Thanks for watching!!!
