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Hi, Tracy,
Thanks for the feedback above. Looks like I can pick and choose depending on the situation. šOk – so next we worked on the Switch exercise – I called it Turns and Directionals. I tried this yesterday, just using the word “Turn” which is what I use on rears, and she has been doing fine. However, when I had to limit my motion for this switch exercise, I realized just how much she is relying on my physical motion. So I experimented a bit, trying some motion, adding left and right cues, etc. I messed up on the directionals a bit (said left and right rather than lef-lef and riii-riii at first). And I was late on getting out the turn and direction cues. Bless her, she did okay on many of the turns. She still checked occasionally to see what I was doing position wise.
So, what do you think I should try to focus on? Will I confuse her horribly saying 2 or 3 verbals such as “over-turn-lef”? Can I still use physical cues or do I have to freeze in place? I’m open for suggestions. Thanks!
Whew! Rain storms, wind storms, and picking the branches and leaves off the field have made the field difficult to use – but we’re back! These videos are from yesterday. Keiko and I gave the Backwards Starts exercises a go. (I think I labled them Backwards sends, but you know what I meant…) There are 2 videos – the first just on the beginning exercise, the second with the jumps in a different position.
I thought Keiko did well. We had to review the send with my back to the jump, but she seemed to remember it quickly. I have a question about my handling. In the cases where I’m just turning with her, am I turning too soon or losing connection or rolling my shoulders a bit too much? When I first started agility we used to use a shoulder roll (good heavens!) and it’s so easy to revert or get sloppy. So, if you have tips and ideas for how I’m handling these easy “post” turns, I’d appreciate it. Otherwise, how’s my girl look? Thanks, Tracy.Backwards Starts part 1
Backwards Starts part 2
Hi, Bobbie,
I just read your information on the snuffle mat. Keiko has had a mat since she was a young puppy. I used it as enrichment. She really enjoyed it, but I could not leave her alone with it since she did chew on the base and pull out the felts once the treats were all gone. We put it away as she got older and stronger. I can certainly bring it back out and see how she responds to using it in other locations. Anything particular I should do, or just follow your guidelines in the article? Thanks, ~KristieHI, Tracy,
Yes, your ideas are spot on! I knew my timing was off for the right hand turn, but I also figured there should be a better way to let her know earlier – and shifting the cuing to be a different set of words makes tons of sense! Also, I need to work on getting out cues sooner/faster. It makes a difference for the dog – and really smooths out the handling.
Thanks so much. Now to hunker down and wait for the rain to pass….
Take care,
~KristieHi, Tracy,
We are looking at 6 – 8 days of rain starting tomorrow – with 3 inches in the first 2 days….At least we’re not in California right now where my sister is battling torrential rains and high winds. Is any of this going to reach you in Viriginia? Weather!
Obviously, we needed to get out there and do something before the weather turns, so Keiko and I did the Layering exercises. We did them all, and you’ll see we had one little bobble – I think I dropped the ball there in terms of connection and cueing. Otherwise, she flew through it. Of course, we’ll have to try it on the other side, but I figured this was enough for one session. š
Hi, Bobbie,
I’ve been reading through the articles you have posted under the User Guide section of the class. I just finished the Management and Agility section. I realize for a lot of folks that dropping out of trialing for a while is hard. I’ve only just returned to agility trials with my almost 8 year old after an (her) injury. We spent over a year in weekly PT sessions. She was given the go ahead a few months ago, and participated in her first trial a couple of weeks ago. She was simply thrilled, and so was I. The time off and doing things carefully and thoroughly really paid off.
I have a question regarding Keiko. One of our issues, being a “pandemic” pup, is getting familiar with new places. We’ve participated in 4 Out and About classes. She’s curious and loves to sniff and explore. Right now, the venue we will eventually trial in is holding all trials under Covid regulations. This means there is only 1 dog in the agility area at a time. NO observers except the judge, ring crew, and score keepers. I can take her in and keep her on leash, carry a toy, just walk around or do a jump or tunnel and then leave, with cookies waiting on the other side of the gate. I was thinking about taking Keiko for this type of quiet visit to this venue and giving her the chance to be in the location, connected to me, and with minimal noise, distractions or motion from others. Any concerns I should be thinking about? Thanks, ~KristieHello!
We went on to the next set of exercises. For some reason, forced fronts have not been something we’ve praticed – “in-in” a little, and no forced fronts. So we did part of the first exercise to introduce the concept. She picked it up pretty quickly. We’ll add distance and some of the other bits another day. š
Hi, Tracy,
We added “back” to our discrimination choices today. I have just included a few clips to show you progression. We started with a quick review of the verbal “back”, and mixed in some tunnels and overs. I then started angling the jump a bit more. The last 3 clips were in a row (I just cut out her bringing the ball back). We will revisit this later and turn the jump more, but I thought she did really well and that this was a good place to stop for today.
Thanks, KristieHi, Bobbie,
Thanks for your reply. I had to smile when you asked if she has a tunnel issue. She LOVES them. She doesn’t explode off the start line because I really worked on a good startline stay so she didn’t bolt forward. I need the time and control to lead out, and she’s been wonderful about giving it to me.
Keiko is a thinker. When she’s learning something new – as she was in the videos from home that I posted above – she works at a steady and thoughtful pace. She likes being right, and doesn’t like to have to repeat the same thing over and over again. Her pace also varies with the rewards I’m using. Food (lotus ball or MM) is a good motivator for thoughtful, steady work. She has a range of toys that I pull out depending on what I’m looking for. Highest ranking goes to a squeaking tennis ball or a flirt stick. If I want full out racing, that’s what we use.Things that impact Keiko’s confidence: 5. Unexpected noise/sounds, 4. Unexpected motion/behavior. 3. Having to repeat a behavior or sequence or skill more than about 3 times in a row (she seems to think she must be wrong) 2. Unknown things – strange/new objects
I know you asked for 5 things, so I’ll have to think about that a bit more. All of our Aussies have been sensitive to peoples’ tone of voice/emotions, and I think that’s pretty natural for humans, too. She is a bouncy, rather pushy red-head who loves to be doing something almost all the time, and begs to go to our little agility field to play agility. If I pick up my iPad (video machine) she is right there, hoping it’s her turn. ;).I’ll definitely tell Mary “hello” from you.
Thanks again,
~Kristie
Hi, Bobbie,
Thanks for your note. I’m posting 2 videos below. This first video has clips from the Obstacle Commitment on the Run online class we just finished doing with Amanda Shyne. This is how Keiko runs at home – happy, and confident, focused and connected. Even with birds, squirrels, barking dogs in the neighborhood, and cars on the road, she usually is very eager to work together. We did some training using my husband as a distraction (she loves her daddy) and were able to work through that, too. Now it’s almost like she wants to show off so he’ll praise her. š
The second video is from our latest class session at an smallish indoor training center. This is the center owned by Keiko’s breeder. Keiko and her siblings got to use this room as a puppy playground since they were born in late November, and snow and ice on the ground kept them from romping outdoors too much. So she is used to thinking of this place as a place to play and, yes, to toilet since that did happen when they were young. Since there is no storage, the room is lined with lots of equipment, crates, and other things, including a cage with a couple of cats who are let out at night to keep the mouse population somewhat under control. Mice still sometimes pop out in class, adding to our distractions. The other dogs and handlers in class are on one end of the building, dogs in crates, but there is non physical divider separating the agility sequences from the observers. This does cause Keiko some issues when the course causes her to have to run into those waiting their turns. We started class here about 3 months ago. I thought it would be a good place to begin because it would be familiar. Now I’ve discovered the distractions can be a lot for her. I’m sure we can work through this and having distraction in a familiar place does have its pluses, too. You will hear the instructor and the woman taping for me talk to each other from time to time on the tape. People don’t realize everything gets recorded! š
I also plan on getting a video from the other location where we are currently taking classes. These classes are taught by Mary Champagne (who says she knows you) and are held in a large horse arena that Mary uses for agility classes and occasionally for herding classes when the weather outside prevents outdoor class. Keiko finds the smell of the mice in the arena walls to be quite enticing. She works better here for me than at the other location. The set up has more space, distances between obstacles is larger, and there is fencing separating the running field from the observers and other dogs. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to get a video from this spot until next week. So be on the lookout around a week from this Friday. Then you’ll have seen her in her current major haunts. The seesaws in both training locations are rubberized, hollow and have a loud reverb when the end returns to the ground. Keiko is very sensitive to noises, and these seesaws are a real issue for her.
Thanks. Take care. ~Kristie
Hi, Tracy,
Here’s our work on some of the pieces of the tunnel/jump discrimination exercises. Keiko was bored with the work around the wing, so we moved to the jump fairly quickly. I have included clips for sends to both the tunnel and the jump. When I added the wing send, I sometimes had her on my right and sometimes on my left, turning in different ways to give it more variety – and challenge. You’ll see one time when she expected to be sent to the tunnel, cut behind me, and then realized I was saying “over” and went to the upm. She did look back at me to see what I thought, and I thought she was brilliant! :). How does this look, and what should we try next. The back side of the jump?
Thanks, Tracy, ~Kristie
HI, Tracy,
Thanks for the information. The descriptions did tend to lean in that direction, just wanted to know what you thought.Okay – now on to today’s video. Kieko and I did the Distance Skills pt. 1. I was really pleased with how well she did. I included clips from each step of the exercise. She seemed to have no trouble turning out of the tunnel to come back to me or go over the jump on the side when I said her name as a sort of tunnel break and used “here” or “riri” for the turn. What do you think is a better cue for me to use? Or perhaps both depending on whether there is a jump or she is to return to me at the mouth of the tunnel? I figure we also need to go back out and do the left side of the tunnel, but this was enough for now. Another thing you may notice – I used the tennis ball almost exclusively as a reward to chase. Then I treated her at the treat table afterwards. Too bad we can’t use tennis balls in a trial……;). ~Kristie.
HI, Tracy,
I wrote you an email a few days ago, but I realize you’re swamped with new classes starting and (trying!) to train and trial your own pups. So I thought I’d ask my question here, and you can ignore the email. š
Iām wondering what your thoughts are regarding the Confident Canine class and your Reward and Reinforcement class. Iām thinking of Keiko and her issues in class. For example, she is nervous about running toward (into) other dogs. One of our classes has no fencing between the crates and the equipment, and the instructor has been having some of the people covering their dogs when they are in a place that makes Keiko nervous. She is also very fearful of the bang from seesaws. She is fearless on ours at home, but the hollow, rubber covered ones with clanging chains are very off-putting for her. I would welcome a class that would help me deal with some of these types of problems. Do you feel either of these classes would help with these issues?
Thanks for your thoughts,
~Kristie
Hi!
We also worked on crosses at the tunnel. For some reason, I kept spinning on my FC after she was in the tunnel, but she came the correct direction, despite my oddities. š I again played with different rewards and she tended to go forward more when it was something like a frisbee or squirrel than the ball. I think this is due to my throwing skills which are much more precise with the ball. So I think the tennis ball is a winner for training at this time (along with the lotus & MM). ~Kristie
Hi, Tracy,
Keiko and I worked with the MM. The first 2 runs are with the MM at the end, the rest have it to one side or the other. I hope this is not too many runs for you to watch – I wanted you to see that I sent from both sides of the tunnel, both ends, and from the far edge of the tunnel opening so she had to turn away from me. There was one little bobble which I think meant I may have been taking this on too long. Thank you, Keiko for the tip.
