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Hi, Tracy,
Oops – sorry about the video above. I mis-named when I saved it, and didn’t realize I hadn’t given you the right video. Thanks for the feedback! To answer your question regarding “back” – it’s our verbal for going to the back of the jump and completing the jump from the backside. My motion, signal, or additional verbal tells her what to do next, so it would not always indicate a wrap.Okay, here’s the correct video on laps and tandems. I thought we did okay on the simple sets. I need to be more prepared when mixing them up. Your comments are welcome. 🙂
Hi, Tracy,
Today we worked on the away turns. I think I got more confused about what I planned to do, which sometimes left poor Keiko guessing. Lap turns seemed more consistent and easier then tandems, so I’ll be focusing on more practice there. Any suggestions? Thanks, Kristie
Hi! Thanks for the seesaw ideas and video. Yes, she did this before we took the table away, we just didn’t do a lot of angle entry work, so backing up will see like a game to her, I’m sure. Thanks!
On the discrimination exercise, I realized I was taking a step, and it was almost impossible for me not to! It’s been ingrained for too long! We’ll work some more on this, concentrating on verbals, and I’ll try to neutralize or at least make the motion consistent for each send. :j
Hello!
I really really liked this exercise. I’ve never seen anyone do the discriminations quite this early and in this manner. It certainly makes sense. We did a few more sends than I’ve included here, but these are very representative. She really had to think about the verbals, and there is visible steam coming from both ears! I was pleased with how well she did, especially on something so different and new. Anything else we should be focusing on in this exercise? Thanks!
HI, Tracy,
Here’s more work on the angled entries on a ramp. You asked how we began training the seesaw. We worked on lots of uneven surfaces and the 2 tippy boards I have, then we used the 2 table with the seesaw in the middle approach, with gradual lowering on each end and raising in the middle.
I took your suggestion and added more motion on my part. I also used a wing to wrap on one side, and she had to go through a curved tunnel on the other side. You’ll see that she did pretty well on all the entries – and was flying off in the beginning in reaction to my speed. I slowed a bit (and she figured out nothing was being thrown) so she started using the MM again. 😉 Your reactions? thanks, ~Kristie
Hi, Again,
Here’s our first work on the Lead Outs. Keiko really has a nice little wait. I do do specific reinforcement of the position, but didn’t include it here since I had plenty of questions on the other things we were doing. I was fine with our work on the Blinds. I did them both with the Tracy Twist and with my default turn,a dn she seemed to read them both well. Then we did the Front Crosses. I am used to the idea that the FC shoukd be done before the dog takes off for jump 2. But when I tried that, Keiko just skipped jump #3. It was especially bad on the right side. So I turned later and slower. What should I try in this situation? Goi g past jump 3, or running past 3 as I give her verbal “over”? The throw behind and blind on three turn went well. The. We did the draw the line piece. This felt really strange to me. There was little action, and Keiko seemed to sort of shrug – that’s all she asked? What should I do on this- should I be running past the next jump, #3? What types of situations would use this straight forward line approach? Thanks for your help! KristieHello, Tracy!
Weel, we gave the old MM a try in the ramp set up, and it worked! She trotted rather than flew, and her angling up to the ramp was pretty good. She only tried to short cut once, and I think that was because I started quite far back from the ramp entry. Sometimes you’ll hear the MM go off twice. We are running out of kibble that fits, so sometimes nothing came out and I wanted to be sure she got rewarded. You will also notice I started to narrow the entry space and then started moving the boards back along the ramp. Should I keep fading them in that manner, or do you have a different suggestion? Thanks! Kristie
HI,Tracy,
Thanks for the great ideas on both of these postings! I had been thinking of using the mat for the obstacle discrimination exercise, so I’m glad you think that’s a good idea. We’ll soon see what Keiko thinks. 😉
I really like the idea of the MM on the table. When I saw her leap the whole second yellow section on the ramp, barely touch the table, and leap off into the leaves, I figured we needed a stop sign somewhere. Love the idea of the MM serving a dual purpose. Thanks!
Cool temps but no snow right now, so we’ll be working on the other exercises over the next couple of days.
Take care, ~KristieHi, Tracy,
I set up a 12′ ramp on a 16″ table with small broad jump “wings” for the entry. We did this both with wings to go around before entry, and “plain” entries with just the broad jump pieces. The more confident she got, the faster she went and the more she tended to leap along the ramp and then off the table. While I want enthusiasm and speed, I don’t really want her flying. What do you suggest I do to keep this fun AND safe? Thanks, ~KristieHello!
Here’s our work on the first foundations exercise for running contacts. She did look around a couple of times to see if there was anything else she could do that might be more interesting, but seemed fine with moving from treat to treat. 🙂 https://youtu.be/1eY1-tCBbU8Hi, Tracy,
I agree that 2-3 inches seems to be the ticket here. For most of the runs, I was pre-placing the reward, which should have meant she just rant ahead and didn’t look at me. I can certainly try to learn how to aim and drop the treat, but I thought having it pre-placed would be even better (?). Perhaps I need to start staying farther away and vary where I’m standing/running as she moves along the ramp? I’ll experiment a bit and we can see how things look. Thanks, ~KristieHi, Kim,
Good to see you and Sly here, too! I’m wondering if you can tell me where you found the plastic see-thru cylinders that you’re using on the plank work? They look like they’d be really useful in a variety of situations. Thanks for your help, ~Kristie
HI, Tracy,
Yes, right now the ground is snow-free and fairly packed, so we’re able to do agility – and are taking advantage of the opportunity! Today, Keiko and I worked on the seesaw bottom, trying to see where I should place rewards to get her to rock back on “touch-down.” In the video, I started with it about 3 inches away, then did a couple at 2 inches and then down to about 1 inch. When it was that close, she tended to keep her front feet on the board, rather than the 2o2o position. The last couple of sets, I wanted her to stay in position on the end while I moved around a little and rewarded the position. I’ll be doing more of this to help reinforce the stop at the bottom. As you’re so good at showing us, do a piece at at time and then put it together. 🙂 Thanks! ~Kristie
Thanks for the info, Tracy. Sounds good! Just make sure there’s no snow flying when we have to be on the seesaw! 🙂 ~Kristie
