Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Hi! The moving threadle is proving to be quite the challenge for Reacher. Practice since this last post hadn’t been going very well, so I had to make some adaptations and go back a bit. Unshared sessions included taking the movement back out, removing the MM, and putting a wing on it (now have Beyonce stuck in my head! 🎼😀) Almost got the hand target back out too, but then he got a bit better. So now I am here:
The rocking horse on the wings seemed to go fine:
It’s so interesting that he is finding the threadle so difficult. I think Ronin got that one easily but struggled on other things that Reacher is not. Dogs are so complicated and different!
~Kristin
>>This session went well! You have it marked as threadles but they were serps>>
Oh, for dumb – yes those were serps!😂
We tried the actual threadles and had some errors so not sure what I should try differently to make it easier. Should I practice a few more times without adding the movement? Unfortunately I lost track of the # of errors and did way too many. BAD HANDLER! I will be more conscious of this in the future! But for now, how shall I change it to be more clear?
Thanks!
KristinHi! Question about the switching-toy-hand-to-hand issue…I’m happy to practice with the toy in my pocket for now, but it made me curious if you ever run with two toys, one each hand? If I wanted to break my habit but also have the toy ready to throw at the perfect timing and not fish it out of my pocket, is two toys a viable option to try?
We worked on Find my Face and I think this game was easy for him:
Tonight we also worked on the moving threadle. I think I was maybe a bit two forward pointing with my body even though I did have my hand back, but what do think? Should have I had more rotation towards the jump?
We did also practice the turn and burn with a wing now, but somehow I screwed up the recording and didn’t get it, but I think he did fine. At first when I just tried to shape it he didn’t seem sure what to do, but the second I added a little bit of motion towards the wing he totally got it and started turning around it easily and quickly. I was surprised that he didn’t do that when I was motionless, but perhaps I was too far from the wing at first and he was pretty fixated on the toy I had also. But he was happily going around by the end of the 2 min.
Finally, I keep forgetting to add this, but shortly after our last tunnel threadle practice I caught Reacher napping in the tunnel! It was too cute!
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=6294168713970205&set=pcb.6294174523969624
(I think you can access this – not sure how to embed a photo here)~Kristin
30-Jun: Whoops! Here is the Minny Pinny WITH bumps:
Thanks for the other feedback also. I believe I had the same with Ronin about switching the toy in my hand. I thought I could be sneaky enough, but of course THEY KNOW. LOL!
Yep, we’ll be practicing a lot more sitting on grass by itself! And it was such dry stuff right now that I’m sure it was exceptionally pokey during that practice.
1-July ——Edited to add below items—-
I have two more Rocking Horse videos for you.I wasn’t sure which one to use because they both have different problems, I think. In the first, that I took yesterday, I could NOT stop switching the toy in my hands. It is just so automatic for me! I think on one of the reps he stopped because he was choking on a treat.
So I tried again this morning, also when it was a lot cooler out so I also thought he’d be more enthusiastic, but he seemed slower. Granted, he HAD already chased a chippie and dug a hole before this so may have been a little tired. LOL! But also, I do not like my positioning when heading to the barrels – I think I was really blocking his path, yes?? I did remember to not switch the toy hand to hand but wow that took a LOT of my brain power to overcome. Seriously how do I even survive and have a tough job juggling lots of stuff and yet can barely stop myself from moving a ball to my other hand!!! LOL!!!!
Then we worked on sitting on grass and stays (we had worked again on just sitting on crunchy grass last night). This morning it was kind of wet and probably softer so maybe that also helped.
Let me know what you think!
KristinHi! With the tunnel threadle I started helping less and he was getting it about the same. He definitely gets it better when he’s on my left (turning left) than right, which is interesting since I thought he was a righty. But no biggie, he’s doing fine.
We worked on the Rocking Horse Part 2. Oh, and I got a new timer!😀
We also did the Minny Pinny, which he aced the first few reps so I added the bumps in.
https://youtu.be/MiSyVlDug9wAnd then the most interesting finding, Mr. Reacher isn’t much of a tough guy and is clearly not comfortable sitting on grass yet!! I guess he’s never had to sit on grass before today, so that was really new and so we had to just work on that rather than on the Stays like I had planned. We’ve done some stay work before so I thought it would be easy, but oh no, not on GRASS!! It was probably poking his little bum and felt weird.😂
Let me know your thoughts.
KristinOkay! We tried the Double Whammy after a warm up rep. These are all the reps, but I did take a minute to reflect on my opposite arm placement before that final rep turning to the right. I felt a little not smooth on the left ones more so on the right for some reason, but will keep practicing.
~Kristin
Hello!
Regarding the perch work, you said…
>>On the next session, do a couple of clicks/treats without the pole, then watch the video: is he stepping with each leg individually, or hopping them together?<<I did try this again and he did start single stepping. So I added 2 poles back in and he still single-stepped. Whew! I think he was just so excited that first round figuring it out.
Tunnel threadle:
Okay, definitely not the best start by me because I didn’t remember what arm to use and he was really wound up of course, but finally sorted myself out out and we had a few good reps. 🙂
Let me know what you think!
KristinWe again tried the Tight/Head turn exercise after reviewing the first video and correcting the hands. Worked a lot better this time.
Threadle/Strike a Pose 3 went marginally better than with the slice version but I still struggled with getting into position first and get the treat toss in the right spot, and manage the target and with the Manners Minder button and a handful of cookies. I feel at this point I need to prioritize his Stay training to avoid having to manage all that, particularly when taking it outside a treat toss in the grass won’t work well. Anyway, I’ll keep working on my mechanics with all that.
Perch work:
He has done some of this before so we skipped ahead but can go back if needed. I know I did also have several late and non-existent clicks and will improve on that next time.
Backside Slice:
I was not walking in an entirely straight line towards the barrel and instead angling in a bit which “helped” him. Will fix that next time.
Weirdness Gauntlet:
Two objects that have “bugged” past dogs didn’t seem to disturb Reacher. Ronin being loose for one of the runs was unintentional. I realized that some of this was not exactly in line with your instruction, but it happened.
Let me know what you think.
Hi! I get what you are saying with the verbal on remote reinforcement. Makes sense and I’ll amp up the energy on this one to better simulate what it will be like in the ring. I’m glad you found the verbal amusing – LOL!
Serpentine Concept Transfer try #2
I tried this again and was probably only mildly better but he’s still happy so… I find this one so hard to coordinate for some reason! Grr!
Other side:
Head turns:
I forgot to set a timer. Darn! This one went so…oddly. Maybe I was using the wrong hands or I don’t know. It was just off. I will re-watch the into video!
Will be coming to audit the seminar tomorrow!
Kristin
Thanks for the feedback!
We worked on two new things this weekend (actually 3 but one has nothing to do with this class).
Serpentine Concept Transfer
OMG, despite me practicing this without the dog – seriously I did – I really botched my first few reps. LOL! Oh well he got cookies anyway. I kind of got my act together at least a few times, but he just moves so much faster than I’m used to with my other dogs and I’m not adapting fast enough! Good problem to have but makes for messier sessions. I will try again soon.
Remote Reinforcement
I ended up moving more than I intended on this one, but his motion for some reason was making me feel compelled to. I’m not sure this was very good in that case. Happy to get feedback!
We also played both days out in the big agility field, which is finally functioning this season after some fence-mending. With Ronin out for injury it wasn’t a priority, but now I want to take Reacher out there. He has never seen that field and I figured we better just get acclimated with some treats and toy play in that large, enticing, smelly, totally new to him space before I ask him to do any work. I think I did have him go around 1 jump wing a couple of times, otherwise it was just play with toy throws and then letting him go sniff around, then re-engaging for play/treats, then more sniffing if he wanted, etc. I thought he might be a bit overwhelmed by all the new free space, but he was more focused on what I had going for us than I thought he would. Should be able to get out there for some agility practice soon!
~Kristin
Hello! I really appreciate all your detailed feedback! I went back and re-watched all the videos with your comments in mind and it was SO helpful. Thank you!
>>if he has a question and staying engaged like that causes the toy to go away, he could get frustrated and/or lose interest in the toy. So if he ends up at you or at the toy (or at the cookies), reward him and then increase the connection on the next rep.
I’m so glad you explained this because I really thought the issue was because the toy was visible vs. a connection problem but you were so right (of course!) when I looked at it again and I absolutely don’t want to do anything to get him discouraged. Whenever imperfect things happen, I will reward. That’s so much more fun anyway.>>We definitely don’t want to curb his enthusiasm (which is also one of the funniest and most offensive shows I have ever watched LOL!!) 2 suggestions:
I will DEFINITELY check out that show! I love a funny and offensive show. Letter Kenny is one that also comes to mind, but may only be funny if you grew up in Canada or very close to the border like I did. LOL!
Great advice on the jumping up. I think this one will be hard to stop and I’m hoping will diminish with maturity, although it might not! But I’ll try to be prepared with things and if all else fails will just ignore as you said. Rewarding when NOT jumping also makes a lot of sense and I will do that.Here is our Get Out session. What’s super embarrassing on this one is that I didn’t say “Get It!” to get the treat even once! What is wrong with me!? I guess I needed a moment and to complete the stress cycle but I didn’t. LOL!! In this session I debated having him do a sit/stay vs. the treat toss so just kind of experimented with both a bit. Not clear if one way was better or not this time around, but I’m sure with more motion it will need to be cookie toss in the future anyway.
Let me know what you think!
KristinHello!
We did a lot this weekend! Reacher is definitely getting a training break tomorrow.
We worked on the Parallel Path outside yesterday with a Lotus ball and I tried to go faster and throw sooner. I can still get a lot better at the timing of my throws!
We also did Baby Level Rocking Horse before it got too hot and had to take it inside.
I totally forgot to add my verbals.
And then later today we advanced the Rocking Horse. Again, I forgot my verbals… DOH!
Running contacts… I added a slightly raised platform and started standing up, but I think based on this session I made it too hard too fast. After a few failures we quit here and I regrouped.
Determined on the running contacts that in addition to making it too hard too fast, I skipped a step I usually do with training running contacts. I want that touch on the board to be very intentional, more like a slight pounce at this stage. So I went back to what I usually do and will take it forward again soon.
We also did a Resilience Walk at Cabela’s. He was SO good! He was very unruffled with everything and liked to just stop and look at a lot of things, in between the confidently walking through the place. I basically let him drive unless he was intending to go visit people. 🙂 But he ignored most people and I don’t think he barked even once. We even took the elevator which he thought was no big deal. So far he is the least environmentally-sensitive terrier I’ve had. I hope it stays that way!
One other thing I wanted to ask you about… Reacher gets SO excited about the food and toys and playing that he tends to really do a lot of vertical jumping. Not very well planned jumped either. I am worried about him getting hurt doing this but I’m not sure how to stop it without curbing his enthusiasm. Thoughts?
As always, thanks in advance for your feedback!
KristinI will definitely try elevating the mat for our next round. I LOVE that idea so much! Currently looking for something with just the right elevation…
Meanwhile, we did some Parallel Path and Rotated Sends. He was anxious to start without me both times. Ha!
Hope to get back to the running contact work this weekend; I know how long those take and I think Reacher may not be as thoughtful as my past dogs about that task once speed really picks up. But it is still so much fun!
Kristin
And in the category of “what is the laziest thing this exhausted human can do that requires almost no energy but is still considered dog training” I offer my running contact training session.
I actually really LOVE running contract training! It’s so much fun. I had done a session with Reacher and the mat before a long time ago before this class, and I had done a refresher with me super close up last week once without video, so we’ve progressed in two sessions to this one.
Unlike some running contact trainers I do not require a split rear foot as the ultimate goal. For my dogs that I’ve tried that with it was always less clear to them IMO than just front feet on. Maybe it’s not as fast but I think I get more reliability and that’s my goal vs. speed. 🙂 Anyway, just explaining my criteria not that we require that at this stage anyway, but if we progress then you know what I’m going for.
This session I was late on a few clicks and I normally don’t reward for backing up to hit the target but at this stage I figured I’d reward that thoughtfulness and effort. 🙂
Let me know your thoughts.
Kristin
Thanks Tracy! Roger that on the tunnel threadles. Will start on easy angle first and add in the verbal.
Great feedback on the Handling Combo session.😂 Made some adjustments and tried again. I also learned that setting your timer on the phone causes your video to stop! So my last rep was cut off a teensy bit early but I promise it was the last because I heard the timer (and it ended well). I tried clicking the MM earlier in general but maybe was still a little late on a few reps.
Any additional adjustments?
~Kristin
