[Khamsin Giedd]

Hi!

So glad you are up for the summer of Jimothy! He is nothing if not entertaining.

Today we did some mountain climbers and the wingin’ it stuff.

For the mountain climbers, I opted not to add any real speed coming into it, because he wasn’t totally confident. The tip-assist I was using was a little wobbly, and I think he felt that. He did do a big leap off once. 😅 I tried to play it cool, not sure I succeeded.

We also worked on the 1-step sends to the wing. Generally these went fine when I told him to take the wing instead of telling the wing to take the wing. Sigh. My camera also went bonkers and stopped midway through.

Thanks!
Khamsin

[Khamsin Giedd]

Hi hi!

Yes, you get all the Jimothy this summer!! I’m SO excited for Brain Camp and we are coming to Iowa for a day too!! We will try to take it easy on you. 🤣

Tried some lazy game this evening. Once he stopped offering middle, he was pretty good. And of course I got greedy and tried for 3 jumps. 🙄 But he does seem to look for them (again, when not doing middle…).

Thanks!
Khamsin

[Khamsin Giedd]

Hi!!

We didn’t have access to FAS and our stay is still very much a work in progress, but we got some other stuff done in between rain and at ring time.

First up is the smiley face. I felt like maybe the toy was a little too much for him, or maybe I was moving too fast? He did better turning right than left, but was definitely looking at the toy a fair bit.

Also revisited rears again, and he still needs the toy on the left side. There was other stuff around that might have made it more challenging, but I feel like left was extra hard today.

Also did some rocking horse turn aways. I thought he did well despite me doing handling with the wrong leg back like 50% of the time. 🤦🏼‍♀️

Last one is baby layers. This was not a problem, it was harder to get him to take the tunnel.

Thanks!!
Khamsin

[Khamsin Giedd]

Hi hi!!

Thank you for the reminder of pressure/stress. I often find myself thinking “oh look, he can do it!” in situations that are maybe harder for him and forgetting the impact of external stuff. I think Mochi spoiled me a bit, plus I didn’t really know how to read the difference between doing the thing and doing the thing but struggling a bit. If that makes sense??

Also, I was struggling with “jump left” vs just “left” because I did it with Mo beforehand and pulled her off the jump. So I had decided that she needed the jump cue, but I bet it’s my timing/pressure…

Super interesting on the transition stuff, I noticed I felt more comfortable with him on my left, but attributed it to his ease in turning right. I will revisit!!

We revisited our go-outs. I feel like I was better about not stepping in (but maybe not perfect) and I definitely remembered to use the outside arm, and he read it way better!

Also had access to FAS and tried ladders and the next step in zig-zags. The first couple reps of ladders (with moving toy!) I think the jumps were a little too far apart, I kept hearing him hit one of the bumps. I moved them for the later reps, and these were better.

Zig zags, we added bumps. These were our first tries, he was a very good boy! He did kind of whack the jump bumps, not sure how concerned I need to be about that at this point?

Thanks!
Khamsin

[Khamsin Giedd]

Hi!!

Some updates, it was a cruddy week in terms of weather and work, but we got some stuff in today.

Rear crosses: >> Also, there was a high pitched squealing noise in the background, and I am sure that was not helping his brain trying to process the hard mechanics on a rear cross.>> Ahhh, yes. My lovely neighbors who use their leaf-blower about 3x/day. So great. 😐
We did some more rears today, inside, with no distractions, and I started with the manners minder first, then toys, then nothing, and he did great! He was a little meh about the MM, so we switched to toys pretty early on, hopefully you can see that in the video. But he was able to do it without a toy placed by the last couple of reps.

Also did some transition work. I even put dots on the floor as a visual, this was a super great exercise for me, as I struggle with this regularly. I practiced this with Mochi beforehand, and I think that’s why I got some of the early pulls off of the jump with James – I was thinking I had Mo who I can send from about a mile away, vs. baby Jimothy who isn’t quite there yet.

Also tried some get outs. I think I maybe helped too much by stepping in? I did catch myself looking at the jump instead of him after the wrap. More good work for me to work on connection and then the line – he is keeping me honest (or trying to, anyway).

Thanks!
Khamsin

[Khamsin Giedd]

Hi hi!

Your puppy is adorable. Please bring to MN when you come!!

We’ve done some stuff. I re-tried serps in the yard with no Momo distraction. I think he did pretty well? I think the ones he missed I was maybe moving a little too fast. I also wonder if he needs a bit more space between the wing and the jump?

We played with a couple tunnel exits too. I need to do more of these, Mochi helpfully reminded me how important they are at our UKI trial last weekend. 😐

And we tried rears. Again. I was determined to get him to turn left. I cut out the multiple attempts of me doing the same thing and expecting him to do something different (sigh) and instead tried a couple different things – slowing way down, placing the toy (that backfired a couple times when he skipped the jump) and tossing the toy. He also couldn’t turn right today either, so I’m guessing I am probably the issue.

Thanks!
Khamsin

[Khamsin Giedd]

Hi hi,

Wednesdays are class nights for James so I don’t usually get to do training (or get to attend the live class 🙁) but I worked from home today and part of that work was spending time outside with the dogs.

Today we did some rear crosses and… turning left was not our friend. I know my mechanics aren’t perfect, but he’s pretty happy to turn right, so I think I need to do some more work on just left/right verbals?

A couple of days ago I revisited serps in the backyard and took your advice with the angles. I also had Mochi out there because that’s something I didn’t do well with her (work with the distraction of another dog) and because I was being lazy. I thought he generally did pretty well with everything going on!?

Thanks!
Khamsin

[Khamsin Giedd]

Hi hi!

I hope you got out of the WI blizzard unscathed! Judging from FB, you found some puppies, so I’m guessing so!! Can’t wait to see who’s who!!

The snow melted here and I tried more actual serps in the backyard, and it was mostly a disaster. I had to turn the jump almost perpendicular to the wing to get him to see it. I videoed that, but we tried it again inside today? And that video was way better and he was able to do it sooo much better – latent learning for the win!! EDITED TO ADD: I totally forgot to do the reps where we skipped the jump because I was so happy he was actually taking the jump. Eyeroll to me.

FAS was with me so she helped out as a holder on both the ladder grid and the zig zags. We’re working on a stay but it is definitely not there yet. Realizing this isn’t maybe the best angle for the ladder grid, but his striding seemed good. I was able to angle the jumps a bit and also add a little bit of motion.

Lastly, here are the zig zags. I thought these were pretty good, and added a wing. Hoping I’m doing them OK!

Hope all is well!

Khamsin

• This reply was modified 1 year, 3 months ago by Khamsin Giedd.

[Khamsin Giedd]

>>On the serps – you inverted the line to the jump so it was more a FC drill where you had to push him away to the jump and not a a serp>>

Oh FFS, I knew I was doing something wrong. But I was so proud of him! Again, it’s like I’ve never done agility before. And it’s snowing again. Sigh.

Anyhow, I’ll fix the serps and will definitely get a holder for the ladders. Thanks for the tunnel exit info too – we’ll keep working on that, hopefully this snow doesn’t stick.

Thanks!
Khamsin

[Khamsin Giedd]

Hi hi!

First off – I hope Contraband is OK! What a bummer of a weekend for him, and for you. 🙁 I really wanted to watch his muscly butt run some of those courses too. Mochi had the same eye thing for a few days, it seems to be going around – Jimothy got it too. Blah.

So we did get a dumb amount of snow, but luckily I snagged some ring time and it’s melting. I meant to do a better job of posting these videos more spread out, but ended up hoarding again. Sorry!!

In no particular order:

Minny Pinny working turns away. This was SUPER hard at first (the turning away part, he’s fine with straight up rights & lefts). He did better when I held his collar and repeated the direction and then let him go. I have a couple of attempts here:

Tunnel exits. I was a little rushed for time and he was being a dork about grabbing the toy so this might not have been our best training session ever. Still having a little bit of a challenge with tunnel commitment, but he’s getting better, I think? We really struggled with the straight ahead exit, 100% sure I was not doing something right.

Pillbug. This was fun and felt pretty OK? Tried to keep the reps shortish, but he did have some trouble when the toy was in my inside hand vs. my outside (at least I think that was what the challenge was? He kept cutting behind me).

Serps. I forgot to re-read the PDF of this before we did it, so it’s entirely possible I did it completely wrong, but I thought he did a good job of finding the jump! And you can see the dumb snow still in my yard. 😐

Lastly, the ladder grid. I don’t know why I thought I would be able to do this without a stay, but I tried it anyway. He forgot what the MM was, so that was fun. But I found it interesting that he’s happy to take the line of jumps back in the other direction without any trouble. I might need to start spreading these out a bit more, but he was being such a goof I couldn’t tell. 😀

OK – that’s it for now. Now that the backyard is accessible again, I can spread stuff out more. And I promise to actually read the instructions before jumping in (though I can’t guarantee I’ll retain it all because my brain seems to be atrophying by the minute).

Thanks and hugs to Contraband Alexander!

Khamsin

[Khamsin Giedd]

Hi hi!

Well, our weird-ass winter continues, in that we’re now in the middle of the snowpocalypse. Or it’s coming, or something. It snowed last week, but luckily I had some ring time on Friday with Sarah & Ruth. Was able to get in a few sessions with James as we traded off. But it’s supposed to start snowing again tomorrow, so who knows. Pfft.

Anyhow, we did some more wrap proofing. And I remembered to hold his collar, say the words, and let him go. He’s still not super tunnel-crazy, which works in my favor, I think.

Also re-tried the set point with a moving toy, with FAS helping out (she likes that she has her own acronym, by the way). I also moved the bumps a little closer – set them at 4 ft, I think I had them at 5 ft last time.

Lastly, we did some find the jump work. This was pretty easy for him, at least the finding the jump part. Still working on tunnel commitment.

We’ll try to get more work in soon, but we might be stuck at home for a few days if the weather is as bad as it sounds like it will be. 😐

Thanks!
Khamsin

[Khamsin Giedd]

Hi!!

I wish I would have read this before I trained tonight. SMH. Because I did the smiley face drill and was lamenting my crappy set ups. Why it never occurred to me to grab his collar… sigh. It’s like I’ve never done this before. 🤣

We also tried some set point with the moving toy. I think I need FAS for this drill because we still don’t have a stay. I tried treats on the ground (hence the white mat, so he could see them) but that set us up for not great positioning for the first jump bump. His focus on the moving toy seemed pretty good though!

Thanks!
Khamsin

[Khamsin Giedd]

Hi!

I have a couple questions and a video. Questions first:

>>I have reduced that ‘toy out ahead’ scenario to one marker “get it” whether the toy is moving or not – that takes out the grey moments in between the toy being thrown and landing (dead) so it reduces the need for perfect timing.>>

I like this a lot because I’m really struggling with chase vs. mark, and ‘get it’ is what usually pops out of my mouth (because of course a totally different word is what comes out when I can’t decide between 2 words). However, I use ‘get ’em’ (repeated 3x) for weaves. Are those words too similar?? Mochi has never had a problem with it, but she’s also special. 😉

>>And, he needs a marker for grabbing the toy in your hand (I use ‘bite’ and when the dogs were pups, I was careful to not use praise for that because it is confusing). That marker will help him know exactly when to look at the toy and take it, versus when to keep moving on the line.>>

We have been working on a separate take the toy command (‘strike’). Need to work this in higher arousal though, because he forgets pretty fast. And I forget to say it, of course. I need to practice my marker words without the dog, I think.

We had a busy weekend with some guests, so not a ton of video. I did get some wrap proofing – this was our first go at it. He hasn’t been super gung-ho about tunnels, so this was pretty easy this time. I suspect it’ll get harder as he decides tunnels are awesome…

Thanks!!
Khamsin

[Khamsin Giedd]

Hi!!

OK – here’s part of the blooper reel. My timing was amazing here, Sarah and I were both rocking it. 😀

For the moving target pre-game, I have what might be a dumb question. So as you know from MP1, I’m trying to use more marker words. This may or may not be the best idea with an aging brain, as evidenced by the # of times I either forget or use the wrong word.

But my question is this – I have a marker word to get a dead toy (mark) and another marker word to chase a live toy (chase it). I guess these technically aren’t so much marker words as release words? And in that case, I would use ‘chase it’ for the moving target game – does that sound right?

We did some wind in our hair yesterday outside, as our bizarre winter/spring continues. You’ll notice I used the wrong marker word multiple times here, sigh. And James is working through some impulse control challenges with respect to grabbing the toy – we’re working separately on that, because he’s a toothy little bugger. But overall, I think this wasn’t too bad for our first go, especially given that the backyard is super extra fun.

Thanks!
Khamsin

[Khamsin Giedd]

Hi!!

We tried some set point stuff this weekend and… I should post the blooper reel. Sarah was helping me, and it was something. J doesn’t have a stay yet (we’re working on it, but the low pressure version). So we tried a couple different ways to get it done, but it wasn’t super pretty. Both Sarah and I maybe wet our pants a tiny bit laughing, so at least it was fun. 🤣

More tomorrow, I am determined not to get behind this session!!

Thanks,
Khamsin

[Author]

Posts