[Kirstie]

Morning Tracy,

Its getting very warm here – we are starting at 7AM and its already muggy and hot. I am ready to get to Colorado!!

We worked on the advanced 2 jump blind with tunnel games this AM. I lowered the bars due to the tight space, but he still knocked many down – mostly due to lack of speed I think. More importantly, I am starting to feel comfortable with the blind crosses!! Not saying these are great, but I am not having to think as much about it (other than the one rep where I totally forgot to do the cross). In watching these, I realized I need to pay attention to my verbal cues as well. I accidentally called a simple jump an “out” and a “back” more than once 🙂

Two jump blinds with tunnel adv

We head to Europe on Sunday (next weekend), so I will send you a couple videos of Copper’s contacts by Friday. Would appreciate your thoughts on his progress. He is hitting the A Frame pretty much 100% of the time now, and the dog walk about 80% of the time. I am going to really pick up my speed and also start amping him up on purpose this week.

Thoughts appreciated!

Kirstie and Copper

• This reply was modified 3 days, 8 hours ago by Kirstie.

[Kirstie]

Hi tracy,

Today Bandit and I worked on the reverse retrieve and barrel threadle wrap games.

Reverse retrieve – Bandit was hesitant to chase me when he had a great toy already. Most of the time he eventually came to me, but we need to work on this one a bit more. I would appreciate tips on improving his quickness in deciding to chase me (versus hanging back with the initial toy).

Bandit reverse retrieve game

I thought he would quickly bring the toy to me because he brings his ball to me when we play a similar game. Here is a video of him playing ball for reference. I have thought about flyball for Bandit because he seems like a natural with the ball. But I was not able to find any teams/coaches near Orlando. If you know of anyone in Colorado Springs (we head there in 3 weeks) or Orlando, I would appreciate a reference!

Bandit playing ball

We also did a first pass of the barrel threadle game.

One barrel progressions (both sides, then added motion).
Bandit one barrel threadle games

We then gave the two barrel advanced game a shot:
Bandit two barrel threadle game

On a separate note, I watched your webinar on signs of injury where I learned Elektra has been dealing with an injury. Love the webinar series and hope Elektra is on the mend! Bandit seems to have slowed growing in the past three weeks. He went from 16 lbs to 16.3 in that timeframe. Do you recall when Elektra started slowing down, and how much more growth happened after she turned 6 months old?

Thoughts appreciated and hugs to Elektra from Bandit and I!

Kirstie and Bandit

[Kirstie]

Hi Tracy,

We did another round of the two jump blind game today. There were no tunnels available on the field so I was not able to add that element. But with the wider distance between jumps, Copper was successful in jumping 20″.

Copper two jump blinds

Thoughts?

Kirstie and Copper

[Kirstie]

Hi Tracy,

We started on the two jump blind games over the past couple of days. I am sharing the latest round we did this AM, with the jumps spread apart. Towards the end I decided to start him in a sit-stay instead of the wing wrap due to the tight space we had.

Copper two jump blind game

I then attempted the opposite side, and clearly need to work on this side more. No need to give much feedback since you will see me trying to sort out the direction of the turn. I just wanted you to see that we are working both sides. I will work on this more over the next couple of days.

Two jump blinds weak side

Thanks!

Kirstie and Copper

[Kirstie]

Hi Tracy,

We are finishing up week one with a round of the tunnel blinds. I am finally starting to get the hang of turning the right way for a blind cross. Not saying this session was awesome, but its a start in the right direction (pun intended!!).

Trying to turn correctly in these games has been painful for me as I am directionally challenged. This course is really helpful, so thank you!

Copper tunnel blinds
Copper tunnel blinds

Onward to week 2!

Kirstie and Copper

[Kirstie]

Tracy,

We worked on the circle wrap ladder this AM. I struggled a bit with the pattern, but think it was kinda close? Copper did his best to try to follow my lead despite my hesitations.

No blinds:
Circle ladder no blinds

With Blinds:
Copper circle ladder with blinds

I will keep working this one to get more comfortable with the pattern and to work on the other two setups.

Best,

Kirstie and Copper

[Kirstie]

Tracy,

Bandit and I worked on the backside slice game this AM.

Bandit Backside slice game

Thoughts?

Kirstie

[Kirstie]

Hi Tracy,

I thought I submitted this video already, but didn’t see it this AM in this feed. So resubmitting and apologize if I accidentally put this link in the wrong spot/course.

I had more room at the agility field so setup the two wing blinds. I did a couple of wrong turns at the start, but think I got the hang of it towards the end.

Copper two wing blind flatwork

thoughts?

Kirstie and Copper

[Kirstie]

Hi Tracy,

Here is another pass a the head turn game. I started with the cone, which he had never worked with before. We don’t have a single upright so the cone won! He was a little confused at first but seemed to catch on quickly. I then went back to the jump and he did seem to do better?

Bandit head turn Day 2

Will work on a different game next round, but will come back to this one again soon.

Best,

Kirstie and Bandit

[Kirstie]

Hi Tracy,

I did a round of the head turn game with Bandit this AM. Was a tight space, but we managed to adapt. As always, will take it outside next time around for more room.

Bandit head turn game

Kirstie and Bandit

[Kirstie]

Hi Tracy,

We did a round of the Tunnel to Wing game this AM. I think I need to move the wing further away from the tunnel. I was excited that my clunky blinds (after the first attempt) were good enough for Copper to read them 🙂

Copper Tunnel to Wing game

Kirstie and Copper

[Kirstie]

Hi Tracy,

Today Bandit and I worked on the threadles and serps shaping mix. We did a dry run before I turned the camera on. By this 2nd round he seemed to start making some of the turns on his own. He is a smart little guy!

Bandit threadles and serps

As he gets bigger, he looks more like Elektra every day. Is she a BorderPap? If so, how big/tall is she now as an adult?

Thoughts appreciated 🙂

Kirstie and Bandit

• This reply was modified 3 weeks, 2 days ago by Kirstie.

[Kirstie]

Hi Tracy,

Since there is some overlap in games between MaxPup and our 1:1 coaching, I am posting today’s contact work here.

Mountain Climbers – we did two rounds. My first round was to introduce him to the game. I noticed he hesitated about half way up, which is what he does on the live teeter. I know you are hoping to reduce/eliminate that pause. In the 2nd round I started moving a bit faster to see if that helped keep him moving. I think it did?

Mountain Climbers round 1

Mountain climbers round 2

Bang Game – I am learning that Copper does not like collar grabs. But once we got him lined up correctly, I think he started to get the idea of the game.

Copper Bang Game

Dog Walk – Copper continues to hit his mat with high consistency in this game. I started adding movement and lateral distance, and he still did great (I think!).

Copper Dog walk mat work

A Frame – we did two rounds. In the first round he was not hitting the mat consistently. We took a break, then came back to it. He did much better in the second round!!

Round 1 – A Frame Round 1

Round 2 – A Frame Round 2

Thoughts appreciated as always!

Kirstie and Copper

[Kirstie]

Hi Tracy,

Yesterday we did a round of the countermotion wraps and another session with me working on connection. I didn’t see your revised course until this AM, so will try that tomorrow.

Countermotion wraps: In watching the video, I think I needed to turn further away from the wrap when I was sending him. My side was facing the wrap versus my rear. In the moment it felt like I was pointing behind me though!

Copper counter motion wraps

Another day of working connection: This felt smoother for me and I think I was less hunched over. He dropped bars on his wraps but I think it was because I pulled off too soon, and not because of connection. Do you agree?

Copper connection work

Talk soon,

Kirstie amd Copper

[Kirstie]

Hi Tracy,

Today I did a quick round of the wrap course setup, but with a focus on watching his eyes and pointing at his nose. I didn’t worry about crosses or wraps, as I really want to get into the habit of connecting with him at a basic level first.

Honestly, I am not sure I did this right as he was looking right back at me much of the time instead of forward. In watching the video I was kinda hunched over, so maybe that threw him off?

Copper eye contact and nose point:

Copper eye connection and nose point

Thoughts appreciated 🙂

Kirstie and Copper

[Author]

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