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Hi Tracy,
I think Mookie has mastered the zig zag grid.
Since Mookie is extremely fit and strong, I tried the zig zag grid at a height of 20 inches which is his preferred height with 4 jumps at hard angles and he nailed it in both directions with ease and speed. Can’t slow him down.
I then put the jumps wing to wing in a straight line and he again nailed it in both directions with ease. I tried my 2 y/o Buddy at a height of 16 inches with the jumps in the straight line and he did it well easily in both directions.
Should I now keep the grid straight and at a lower height for Mookie for Maintenance or should I keep it at 20 inches for him ??And I just want to say thank you again for doing this camp. Even though I could not do the full courses due to lack of space and equipment, I could do the Novice and Masters sequences and sections of the courses. I loved the custom skill sets, your structure and the vidoes which I watched repeatedly. I can now do backside blinds easily with Mookie and Buddy and they both read my “close ” cue well now. I had the opportunity to really practice this summer in my backyard. I have to wait till whenever before I get to trial once again and try some of my new skills due to COVID, But my dogs and I have had the best summer learning and bonding even more through your agility camp.
Linda and her BC boysHi Tracy,
For the Zig Zag grid I set the third jump more angled in a row of 4 to make it easier as you said to try, and Mookie missed the 3rd jump 2 out 4 reps.
I then set all 4 jumps on the same on hard angles and he then nailed the grid 4 reps (2 on each side). Go Figure ?? Then I left it at success and stopped.
I will have to see if he stays consistent.
This was at a height of 16 inches.
Do you work up to competition height with the Zig Zag Grid as the dog becomes successful, as I have read in Susan Salo’s Jumping Grid book that the bars should always be kept lower for this grid. Is that still true ??
I plan to do this grid weekly as Mookie continues to knock the bars of backside slices but I am running him on uneven ground in my backyard in his defense and it will take time for him to learn from the grid. He does try and has been succesfull just not consistently as yet. He continues to be and always will be my happy willing worker who lives for agility.
Do let me know how you would progress with this grid with my Mookie Man, especially the height of the jumps and the angles.
Thanks so much
Linda and her BC boysHi Tracy,
I have been doing the zig zag grid with both of my monkeys and Mookie tends to miss one jump in a 4 jump sequence. After 2 reps then he gets it. He is fine with a 3 jump sequence.
Buddy the thoughtful one gets them all.
I still have the jumps angled and not straight. The highest height has been at 16 inches.
Mookie does better when I send him to the backside of the first jump in the sequence and then he gets them all.
Is there something I should modify or be doing differently.
If I point out the missed jump which is usually the 3rd one in the row of 4 he gets it.
I feel I should just let him work it out over time, but would like your advise.
Thanks again for your valuable input and insight.
Linda K Mookie and BuddyHi Tracy,
Thanks so much for your input.
I have been doing jump grids weekly with both dogs doing different ones every week from Susan Salo’s book. How often do you think I should be doing the Zig Zag grid to work on Mookie’s slicing issue to start ? And then how often for maintenance?
Thanks
Linda and her BC boysHi Tracy,
I continued to work on the default skills and added the skill set for week 5. Convergence has worked well. And both dogs are reading blinds which I have come a long way with as I used to be afraid to do them. My timing has improved. 🙂
I did the Masters Sequence #3 and Mookie wanted to do all backsides. I really had to cue him as to what I wanted and did succeed. This was a handler issue which I resolved. I will always be working to cue faster with Mookie. However, he tended to knock the bars doing his backsides slicing them too closely.
A local instructor had told me to place a pole or a stool on the backside of the jump to teach Mookie to round his approach. The bars most often knoked on the Masters Sequence 3 were jump # 2, 5, 11 and 14. Once the poles on the backsides were in place he kept the bars up better at his height of 24 inches but kept all the bars up at a 20 inch height for which I also left the poles up.
Do you think I should use the poles regularly to give him the motor memory of how to round himself more for a backside approach??
Are there other methods I should be doing?? He is a 3 foot long dog who moves fast.
Buddy my 2 y/o who moves slower and is a thinker did well on the Master 3 course at his regular height of 20 inches. Buddy rarely knocks a bar but I can cue him faster due to his lesser speed. He also naturally rounds his jumping for backsides.
Both dogs and myself did well on the Masters 1 & 2 sequences 🙂
I know this is a work in progress and we or I should say, I feel I have progressed. I will be working on all this well into the Fall when the weather is cooler.
Do let me know about using the poles as training aides or whether I should be doing something else either for Mookie or with my handling.
Thanks so much.
Linda, Mookie and BuddyHi Tracy,
Both dogs do great zig zag grids.
I worked on the default training for serps and backside slices more this week and it is me learning to get out of the way sooner and the uneven terrain of my backyard that has been causing the knocked bars. There has been less bar knocking the faster I react as Mookie reads cues quickly. He insists on going 200 mph even with backyard training. 🙂
He trains the way he trials so this work will benefit both of us.
Buddy gets ramped at trials but trains slower, but I know how to change gears because of Mookie.
A win win situation.
So, thanks
I really needed to work on the default exercises more for my handling.
Linda, Mookie and BuddyHi Tracy,
Due to my limited space I was able to work on the short sequences and the custom skill sets the best this summer. And I defintely needed to visit all these skills, so thank you for putting them in.For this weeks skill sets, I am seeing that my big boy Mookie puts more control into his wraps with proper decele but, tends to rush and usually knocks the bar with slices. My 2 y/o Buddy does both wraps and slices with the same level of control and focus. He is defintely more thoughtful and is not a bar knocker. Also, he is not a speed demon.
I have worked on slicing grids and strengthening exercsies. Do I need to be doing something else in training to cue Mookie better or sooner to slice a jump with more control ???
Any help with the fast dog would be wonderful.
Hopefully, in a future class I will be able to video, but I know you know all about speed demons.
Thanks so much
Linda, Mookie and BuddyHi Tracy,
Thanks for answering both posts. I wasn’t sure my computer was sending / receiving during this wierd COVID time.
I have been doing better with cueing backside blinds and Mookie is reading them well. He has been more patient with me. I still need to guide Buddy more and will use food more now also which he likes better. I was trying to use toys.
I am also feeling more comfortable the more “I” practice the moves even if it is only using a few jumps at a time. As you said it is like learning a dance. I still remember how you had us grab a Pez container ( I still have Tinkerbell) off a stanchion as we practiced crosses.
As for Buddy he does run faster when I cheer lead and seems happier. I also say “yes” after he does something difficult for him as we continue through a sequence. I can actually feel him smile getting praise as he goes over a jump correctly and then continues on.
I have also said yes in the middle of a run with Mookie at a trial and feel the same smile.
And you made me feel better about Mookie. Watching your Voodoo is like watching a smaller version of Mookie for me. These dogs live for speed. It is like driving a race car and when done right it is exhilarating. I watch you in awe with your timing 🙂 I hope to be as fast in timing as you one day.
When the heat breaks and Mookie is healed I will definitely work on disconnecting. As long as a tunnel is there I can disconnect sending him through a line of jumps or anything for that matter to a tunnel.
It was when there was just a line of jumps to the end when he knocked a bar. This I can practice, so thank you.
Thanks again for this great course. I can still work on these skills into the fall when hopefully it will be cooler.
There is so much to think about and practice and I love the way you have structured this.
Linda and her BC boysHi Tracy,
I don’t know if you saw my post above from July 10 last week.
I know it is hard to not be able to see video.
And unfortunately, it is headed for another heat wave so my training opportunities will be limited. Lastly, Mookie is injured and must rest from agility for 2 weeks. At least it is only a skin injury.
I did the skills sets for this week with Buddy only and he loses focus if I disconnect. He is young but I see this is another thing I have to work on. He is a low drive dog who is more food driven than toy driven. I have gotten him to tug. Is there anything else to increase his focus? Is there a place for cheerleading ?
And I have another question.
At a trial with Mookie running a straight line at the end of a run, I looked straight and ran and one bar came down. People came up to me afterward and said I disconnected when I looked straight which caused the bar to come down. Others said I was running too fast which caused Mookie to rush and knock the bar. I have been trying to watch him jump over every jump. Should I now start training some disconnection when appropriate on a course so he doesn’t relie on me watching him. It is diffcult for me to watch him anyway as he is speeding around the course but is still thoughtful to follow the cues that I give him.
Also Can you run too fast for a high drive dog?
Thanks for your input.
Linda KHi Tracy,
Thank you for the skill set for this week.
Due to a heat wave that is lasting a week with no indoor training opportunity I was able to work just the skills with 1-2 jumps early mornings daily.
I needed to watch your vidoes every day. I am still in the process of learning to move my body correctly to cue my dogs. I need these handling skills as I continue to need to react quickly to give Mookie the cues he needs. When he gets the proper cues he flows on course but I have to be on time.
For the backside blinds, I started Mookie on a sit stay from a huge distance in order for me to think and move.
After a week I can now send him around a wing from a distance to add more speed which he is happy about.
Mookie responds beautifully to his threadle cue for backside blinds and I can now execute these much better. Buddy is learning along with me and is slower. Buddy is affected by the heat more than Mookie who would do agility in 100 degrees or a snow storm.
I am also working on exaggerating my arm back instead of using dog side arm for exit line work. Mookie reads this naturally. Buddy needs more guidance but he is still young and loses focus in the heat.
Please give any other advise on my learning these handling techniques. I am so glad you had them planned for this week 🙂
I wish I could try them out in a course but this won’t happen for me for a long while.
When the weather breaks I can try to incorporate the moves in a 6 jump sequence.
My yard has many trees to maneuver around.
Thanks
Linda and her BC boysHi Tracy,
I was unable to do the full courses for the first group of exercises in my backyard due to lack of space and lack of equipment but was able to do pieces of them which I defintley learned from.
I did the first tunnel skill set for this new set of exercsies and it really opened my eyes.
Mookie my 5y/o really knows his verbals.
He did great when I said them 6 feet from the tunnel entrance and turned out of the tunnel correctly and more exactly every time and also did nice wraps back.
My 2 y/o Buddy needs work.
He knows the “Go”command out of the tunnal but was weak on the turning with a verbal and forget the wraps.
He did not stop going into the tunnel when I said the commands from 6 feet away which was a good thing but he came out looking confused.
I defintlely know I need to train the tunnel cues with Buddy.
He has heard my verbals for right and left when going over jumps but he is also relying on my body motion and position. However, he can also turn right and left and back without motion from me with just verbal cues over a single jump in front of him.
What other exercsies should I be doing to aid in his learning the tunnel cues ??
Should I use a shorter tunnel ??
Thank you.
Linda and her BC crewHi Tracy,
I was able to get through the Novice and Masters sequences with my dogs this past week.
My young dog Buddy had no issues for me ( he is slower than Mookie but runs steady and ha been reading my cues) (which I have time for 🙂 )
Mookie and I did have some problems with the Masters 3 course.
I could only do short sessions due to the heat here so it took me 3 days to figure it out.
He kept knocking the bar of jump 2 into the tunnel 3 when I showed decele, did a shoulder turn and used a verbal turn cue.
When I actually did a break cue with both hands and a verbal turn cue he got it every time and kept the bar up.
I was then able to get it down to using one break hand with a verbal turn cue the next day.
I am so glad you listed the Custom Skill Sets just when I needed them to work on.
I can see now that Mookie needs a strong break cues while Buddy responds to less.
Mookie also needed a stronger cue as it was at the start. He had to turn at jump 2 and he takes off like a bullet from the start line.
In the middle of the course I didn’t need to use any break cues when he turned.
Thanks for the extra info and videos.
Linda and her BC boysHi Tracy
Challenge update so far.
Skills set 1: I did this exercise at first with the jumps only 10 feet away. My Bad.
I re read the exercise and moved the jumps to the appropriate 18 feet away.
I used verbals with my younger dog but he seemed to relie on my body cues and motion more.
Mookie seemd to relie on my verbals as well as my body motion.
It was interesting doing this exercise from closer compared to when the jumps were further apart. There were less bars down with Mookie when the jumps were further apart, which to me says that my timimg was better with him when I had more time to think to give him cues.
Masters Seq 1 & 2 without tunnels
Masters 1: For both dogs I could lead out between jumps 3 & 4. I also ran with a lead out to jump 2. I found that my young dog Buddy really knows his lines as well as Mookie.
I also found that I needed to really show some motion to Mookie as I released him or he would drop a bar. I tend to stop when I see Mookie running at me like a heat seeking missle. This course will be teaching me yet again that I need to show some, any motion to Mookie all the time on a course as well as verbals and be calm.
Buddy is more my speed of dog ( I can flap my arms and it dosen’t affect him 🙂 ) but Mookie thrills me with his focus and lightening speed.(My arms need to be kept low for him)
Yes I have used the water bottles from your last seminar in Syracuse)
Master 2 went well for both dogs.
I will work on the Novice sequences and Masters 3 when the weather here permits.
My indoor training center remains closed to open training due to COVID9
I am grateful to have a structured course to follow.
LindaHi Tracy and Everyone,
I also play in Freestyle with my Border Collies Mookie and Buddy (My puppy)
I can defintely use the techniques presented in this course for my Freestyle Routines,
especially the Visualizations and the mental prep.
Linda and Mookie and Buddy too
