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Hi Tracy,
Ah…good to know about the loss of connection on the A frame. It was higher than it should be so I will work on that.Yes, I am determined to get these BCs better and not to chicken out…come what may. At least this week he didn’t get on my wrong side so some improvement I guess even though he had to hop over my foot! I did walk the course with the rolled up map in my hand (in lieu of a toy) but for some reason that upper body rotation was difficult…maybe I drove in too close to that wing?
His JWW time was 17.43.
He is super amped and also quite distracted when setting up at the start line so that is why I “placed” him there…I expect as he gets more used to things (exciting dogs and smells), he will set up easier and more independently. I ask for the high five so he gets his head back in the game with me….part of my established routine…tells me he’s ready to go. He typically will set up straight/facing the first line but he was very interested in something on the sidelines yesterday.
He actually weaves faster at trials! He did another “I don’t like weaving in dirt” in class last week…skipping poles due to divots in the dirt. Sigh.
Because of the special workshop and then the trial, we did fall behind on week 1 and now we have rain for a couple of days. So I hope we have some time to catch up along the way. I’m trying hard to be good and not over work him so we do not jump 2 days in a row.
A sheltie “person” gave Benni high compliments after his T2B run. Proud mom here! 🙂
Benni is studying up on the next assignment:
Thanks!
Sandy and BenniHi Tracy,
I’m so used to the summer camp videos coming out on Tuesdays! We are still on week 1…Benni got 1st place in novice JWW today and his second leg so far. We also did T2B for training.
T2B:
Novice JWW: still working on those blinds but he got 1st place!
Thanks.
Sandy and BenniHi Tracy,
We will get to the rest of this week’s work on Saturday. We had group lesson yesterday, seminar with Jess tomorrow so we are conserving his jumping for those.However, I have a question about something we did in our novice class yesterday. It was called “setting lines”…I think it used to be called or maybe still is called V set (?) where you shape the dog’s path on the take off side of a jump to manage what they see on landing. So she was having us step in on the dog’s line and then peeling away to whatever the next obstacle was…we practiced 4 different options. It felt weird to be doing this and I don’t recall anything you have taught us resembling this. The set up was a U shaped tunnel to a jump to another U shaped tunnel and 2 jumps sort of serpentine style off to the right of the second tunnel exit…so it was 1) get the non-obvious end of the second tunnel 2)get the jump to the right of that 3) get the jump to the right of that and 4) V set to get the first tunnel where they started from….3 obstacle sequence each time. Have no idea if you can picture this….I did my by-pass cue to get the non-obvious end of the tunnel when I ran the whole course but then we did this particular drill for practice. It was drill 1 and 2 that she had us shaping the dog’s path…the other ones involved crosses/spins of some sort. Benni went very wide because he has never seen me do this before and I’m wondering if this is a useful tool to have or just let it be that we “tried” it and be done with it? I do have the map of it but have no idea of how to load it into my feed.
Thanks.
Sandy and Benni
PS Back to being fussy about weaving in dirt because of dirt divots…oye!Hi Tracy,
As requested, videos from the novice/open only trial we attended on Friday. We did novice JWW for competition and T2B for FEO.Novice JWW – we got two refusals…one late BC and poor exit line connection (boo handler!) so he bypassed a jump and the second was something about the tunnel entrance that he thought twice about and popped back out…oh, and he has a “thing” about barking at the judge and ring crew so you will see him take a second prior to the weaves to say something to the ring crew sitting in a chair there off to the side! I actually don’t run for Qs right now otherwise I would have chosen a FC and not the BC but it was fun to get the ribbon anyway….knowing if he hadn’t had the 2 Rs and the time to fix them, he actually would have placed 1st! He was still 16 seconds under SCT with all the mistakes. 🙂
T2B – this course had some really difficult/funky lines. I ran the course as per the map intending to do the BC at the bottom of the A frame to see if he would read it and not tunnel suck (he did, but probably less than perfect AF performance), next line was very hard and my only regret here was not rewarding him for finally doing the wrap and not taking the inviting off course tunnel, then I wanted to try running for the BC after that middle tunnel and again a horrible jump line which we muddled thru to some awesome weaves (in soft sand which he’s never run on). He has not seen a see saw in sequence yet so he darted off and I chose to bring him back and play a couple of bang games and continue on…but holy smokes ending line….good boy….95% of dogs aborted before the final jump. I believe our “‘GO” games from summer camp has paid off in spades 🙂 I was not really sure what would have been the best handling option for that wrap a couple jumps after the A frame…and the angle of the jump was so weird that it might have actually needed a threadle cue prior to the wrap cue?
This is only his second AKC trial (the first one, we did the same type of runs) and we have done about 4 UKI trials doing NFC. I like where this is going and how he is handling his start line and doing fairly well with focus and drive. Young dog stuff noticing the extra people in the ring should diminish over time and he does get a bit excited and barky and loses his focus for a second or two every now and then but he is SO much easier than CAVU which just makes it more fun and relaxed for me.
And, I’m not sure if I told you but he measured exactly 14″ for his temp height card…whew. Hoping for the same when he gets measured in Dec/Jan after he turns 2. How can he be almost 2 already?!
After watching the live seminar, we went outside to start the week 1 homework:
Regular Connection:
Exit Line Connection (crosses/spins):
Exit Line Connection (serps):
Thanks.
Sandy and BenniHi Tracy,
Can you please refresh my memory on how to change my avatar (is that what you call the photo ID…?)I want to update Benni’s photo 🙂
Thanks.
SandyHi Tracy,
Not sure if this course is now closed out but I have a question about something. Benni is good on the start line stay but his attention wanders as I lead out. Then I stand there waiting for him to look at me so we can begin. Sometimes I clear my throat and he will look at me. If I say his name, he’s likely to get up. I keep my focus on him as I walk away and try to keep talking to him but sometimes the distraction is just more interesting. Any ideas on how to work on this? It happens in his group lesson a lot and sometimes at the privates as well.
Thanks.
SandyHi Tracy,
He just had massage, stretching and chiro on Monday. The weave thing happened last Tuesday and this Tuesday. He is fine running, jumping, tunnels, A frame in the same dirt footing…it’s just the weaves.He has one day of trialing Sept 13 and one day Oct 2 and will be different dirt each time. The other trial is on grass and I only entered him in T2B that day because JWW is early morning which means wet, dewy grass which I won’t run on…don’t need another broken wrist nor an injured dog. Mainly going because it’s fairly close and they have a VMO there. I want to get him practice measured before he turns 2 in December.
Ran thru the narrowed channels just an hour ago wicked speedy. Decided to proof things using channels to avoid fatiguing him in 12 poles and to keep it more fun for him.
Thanks.
SandyHi Tracy,
Haven’t had a chance to do any more homework this week BUT I do have a question for you….Benni does his weave poles just fine on turf and grass….he will not weave on dirt. We take class in a horse barn. The first week, he was hesitant and very slow but finally did them. I thought maybe that initial reaction would improve second time around…it got worse this week. He did 12 poles once in a short sequence and after that he was avoiding the entry or literally walking thru them and skipping poles. Have you ever seen this before?
I’m curious to see what you suggest but I was thinking I’ll have to find dirt arenas to rent and maybe start back with the 2 x 2s.
After he did that in class last night, I went home and set up slightly open channels, 6 + 6 poles and then right into 12 poles….all of that went just fine. Oh and he has done open channels at the barn driving thru very well.
I have him signed up for novice JWW for one day at two different trials….on dirt…ugh.
Thanks.
SandyHi Tracy,
Well, I tried the novice sequences one more time hoping for improvement. It seemed as though things that went well before went awry this time. Sigh. I’m hoping you see something that is better at least.Video 1: Seqence 1
Video 2: Sequence 2 For the life of me I cannot get that BC…I’m in his way every single time and I see I was on his line for the tunnel after the wrap too…something for me to work on is getting my visual markers better. Good thing he’s not an ankle biter!
Video 3: Sequence 3 – made sure to get the backside on 7 this time! The spin worked better last time although on the send here I know my connection wasn’t good so he did go much wider than desired.
Okay, time to move on to something else in a couple of days.
Thanks.
Sandy and BenniHi Tracy,
I have a couple questions on the feedback:
Seq 1 – 3 things
1. I have to say my least favorite opening was running in for the BC 2-3. I much preferred to stay on the inside line of the tunnel to cue either the RC or the wrap R. My tunnel has a bit of water on the openings and I think he slipped or something. I dried it up after that happened.
2. I did see him check in with me as he exited 4….however, when I thought about what “GO” means out of a tunnel and the fact I wanted a left turn at the next jump…I felt as if saying “go” would give him too much extension and then have to put the brakes on for the left turn or else he would land long and then turn left. So I didn’t say anything. If I had said his name he would have come out of the tunnel and looked at me anyway…so what is the best verbal here?
3. 6-7 jumps…I looked at 6 as a wrap because he was taking it and coming back to me…it’s not a 90 degree turn so I didn’t think using “left” was good…initially I just said “jump” and then I changed it to “tight”. In my mind his path from 5-6-7 is pretty much a U turn so that would mean “tight” to me.Sometimes when I just don’t know what the right verbal is, I opt for silent handling and hope that my handling will speak for itself…hopefully anyway.
Seq 2
1. line 4-5-6 By the time I push him to the backside which I don’t feel like I would get without pushing in on the line 4-5…then I don’t see how I would get to the gap 5-6 without some movement parallel to 5…I feel life if I moved in a diagonal line between 4 and 6, he wouldn’t stay out for the backside…does that make sense what I’m describing?
2. Do you remember early in the summer we had a course and I was trying to lead out pretty far and also laterally and move in on the line before releasing him and it did not work well. I was kind of thinking about that for the opening on this sequence. If I start out more lateral, would he take jump 2. I also feel as though I never did do the BC and get out of his way quick enough…he had to veer slightly around my feet to get to jump 4. Hence why I felt more comfortable with the RC on the flat even though it wasn’t the most efficient way. I know myself and if I were at a trial, I would not risk the BC…that’s not to say I shouldn’t practice them to feel more confident about them.Seq 3
1. I guess I tried the spin because I did the sends on seq 1. However, I didn’t realize the spin was so late….
2. RC on jump 7 – should I drive closer to the jump? Do I need to be saying something before he exits the tunnel?Do you think he is good on the 12″ jumps for all scenarios now? Is there and grid work you think might be helpful to revisit?
Thanks.
Sandy and BenniHi Tracy,
I set up the pkg 5 novice sequence. We did all 3…and smack my head, I did not read the backside on sequence 3 so we will be doing that again after he has rested. Also, I thought I had everything in the scope of the camera but beacause of a light post beside our driveway which I didn’t really want in the picture…you can’t see his landing on that one jump. SOOO, when I redid sequence 3 after moving the camera a bit (but still neglected the backside on jump 7…ugh), at least you can see what he is doing there… When I saw the custom skill set…I said “oh oh” I must have missed something! LOL Yep tunnel to backside.
NOTE: all jumps were at 12″
Video 1: Nov Seq 1
Video 2: Nov Seq 2 -I didn’t set him up right on the first try even though that was my plan for the shortest line…but it seemed better to set him more on an angle after that. Also, I used the wrong verbal on jump 4…should have used my “turn” cue for turning on the flat.
Video 3: Nov Seq 3 rd 1 before I moved the camera
Video 4: Nov Seq 3 rd 2 after I moved the camera – and now I know jump 7 was supposed to be backside…will re-do another day.
Thanks.
Sandy and BenniHi Tracy,
On the convergence…I’m not supposed to step across the plane of the 2 jumps into the gap right? And, it’s not supposed to be a push? The BC is easier for me because I actually do go thru the gap. Just trying to sort out my understanding.
Thanks.
Sandy and BenniHi Tracy,
OMG…I spent all summer working on handling and I still suck! LOL I don’t understand why it is so hard for me to cue earlier and also to cue and leave quicker. I think I need a session for someone to yell at me “cue NOW”, “run”, “send, now LEAVE”…well you get the idea. The drawbacks of training at home. Transition and decel are hard for me for some reason. I need to go back and do some of those drills.Tonight I decided to try the skill set from package 5 again. After that I felt like working tunnel exit skills as well. I clearly have trouble cueing the right turn. Also, for the first time, I tried doing a BC spin type thing on “dig” to get a better turn out of the tunnel. The first time I did this exercise back a few weeks ago, i know I was saying “dig” but still running a couple steps forward after the cue therefore the tight turn didn’t happen. I tried to be more aware of that this time. Should I be able to cue “dig” with or without a spin or does the spin make more sense and just do it that way?
Video 1: convergence vs serps, jumps at 12″, dog in sit/stay.
I still don’t think I get the convergence thing right.
Video 2: convergence vs serp dog starts out in motion
Video 3: tunnel exits revisited, yellow thing in the ground is my 6′ marker. Didn’t start out too well with the R turns although you can’t really see where he winds up because the camera wasn’t set up in a great location for that. He was exiting fairly straight with only a very slight curve right after going several strides forward. Better on the L in my opinion which is most likely MY better side. Just occurred to me that I forgot to do rear crosses for turns…oh well.
I signed up for 2 seminars with Melanie Miller in October in NJ. Do you know her? That’s it for seminars in person so far for me.
Jessica said she thinks Benni is ready for novice jumpers and T2B…I don’t know…maybe September. There is an outdoor trial in NJ I might try. I haven’t had him measured yet. I think I need to get a couple practice measurements before he turns 2 years old. I don’t want him measuring over 14″…so the more he gets used to the wicket the better. I think AKC only requires one temporary measurement though so maybe they will have a wicket at a UKI trial.
Thanks.
Sandy and BenniHi Tracy,
Thursday is our private lesson day. We did all jumps at 12″. I’m sending you the links because I wonder if the new height is causing him to make wider turns or is it me AGAIN or does it look okay to you? Videos have been edited but are still processing at this moment…hopefully when you watch they will be all done being processed.
Little bugger popped pole 12 and I didn’t catch it and Jess thought he did- and according to the video, he did! We fixed it after this.
This is a tunnel sequence…here is another circumstance where I used “left” but maybe should be “dig”? Jessica thought “dig” but I thought he needed a couple strides to set the line for the jump…but then I saw he went quite wide on the jump. Sigh. He was also VERY distracted by some sort of smell on the exit of the tunnel. Oye! But on this video you can see very clearly the turn from the jump going towards the tunnel….is my connection not good enough or do I need to move away quicker (there wasn’t much room to move between the jump and the tunnel)? Jess had me work on turning my head for the BC before he entered the tunnel which I didn’t do on the first rep.Anyway, I just wanted your take on these sequences as to what I need to do better or does he need to get more used to the increased jump height. This was the first time all jumps were set at 12″.
Also, I was thinking of re-doing the skills for this week on convergence and possibly threadle. My thought is to let him jump 12″ on the convergence since he is used to the serp work but maybe the threadle jumping should be kept at 8″ or 10″ right now. Please let me know.
Thanks.
Sandy and Benni
Thanks.Hi Tracy,
Tried the skills sets for package 5 tonight.
Video 1: serpentine vs convergence dog starting out stationary
Video 2: same as video 1 except sending dog to backside to start the exercise
Video 3: one-jump threadle with manners minder. I don’t know if he was getting hot from the humidity or bored or what but he was very distracted and not his usual motivated self on this. We’ve done this work before with a toy and also did the 2 jump threadle exercise once back in Max Pup 3. I’ll have to work on it when he’s more motivated another time.
Thanks.
Sandy and Benni
