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Hi 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 tooHi Tracy,
Thank you for your input.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving 🙂
Linda and Mookie
And my Dal Ace says Hi !
We really enjoyed your classes back then.
He is now 9 years old and retired.Hi Tracy,
For the run that didn’t go well, I didn’t know how to handle 2 sequences on the course and therefore did not really rehearse or visualize. I was in the first group in so could not really watch others. It was my first time in Premier Standard and a fellow exhibitor told me that it was the most complicated course she had ever seen and was not a good one for my first time. So yes, I skipped steps as I had handling choice issues with Mookie’s speed.
I have since recreated the 2 sequences and figured them out.
I have been practicing what we have missed in runs which has shown me what cues I have to give for those type of sequences.
If we see these sequences again (with bi-directional jumps and skipping a jump in a serpentine line of jumps) I now know how to handle it.
Mookie and I are just starting out in the world of Masters Fast, Masters Standard, with 2 legs towards his Excellent Jumpers Title. It took us a while to get out of Open due to knocked bars due to poor timing on my part. My timing is definitely coming together.
And this course has really helped me.
My next show is not until January but I will see you Dec 8 for a seminar. 🙂
Linda and MookieHi Tracy and everyone,
I usually audit courses but this was not an option for this class, but I am so glad I took it.
I am not computer savvy.
I have been working on becoming a team with a very fast Border Collie to me. I have been sticking to a good pre and post trial routine with my dog. Our Q rate had improved to 2 out of 4 runs but after reading the material from this course and putting it into practice, at our next trial we Q’ed 5 out of 6 runs with placements which was at large trial with 3 -4 hour wait times between runs. My goal for the weekend was to just get 2 JWW legs and we succeeded. I said my Run Reminders both to my dog and myself on line to run. What seeemd to help me the most was walking the course with connection with my invisible dog and then I visualized more then I had been doing. I did the normal speed and speed visualizations. I didn’t feel prepared as well for my first Premier Standard run and I lost my focus. However, I was able to regroup and I Q’ed my next 2 runs. I attribute this to this course. The structure has helped me as well as the positive self talk. I am usually too hard on myself.
So I thnak you Tracy for posting this course and my dog especially thanks you for a more focused and organized handler.
Linda and 4 y/o rescue Border Collie “Mookie”
