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This cato session was fabulous!! You can see the light bulb going off and that she is actually targeting with her rear on purpose now!! I loved seeing her with that extra stride so she had a little more momentum (that might be a common theme when you start to do box work – she will look better with more distance and momentum in). She has a one track mind – so when she wants to zero in on the toy – you did a great job just moving to reset the brain so she could think about what might unlock the toy. I thought about suggesting holding the toy more to your side or behind you to see if that gave your quicker success…. but I’m honestly really happy with the rate of success – she seemed to get the idea faster than when you were using food.
Take a look back at my comment on July 30, 2025 at 9:21am for the notes about adding in a prop next to the cato (so she has to go over it).
From this one she had a hard time when she was keeping her eye on the cookie in your hand that was behind your back (that she was expecting as her reward cookie but it didn’t get placed on the ground as expected), then she wasn’t looking ahead to the other hand for the final/next cookie.
2 things to try:
1) Give a tinier and tinier piece of cookie for that toss behind you, but still do a big flashy hand motion. Since that visual is going to be the go ahead cue. When you are ready to fade the cookie behind you still do the hand signal/lure (no cookie) and then bend over more and exaggerate your cookie hand through your legs to pull her through. This way once she is behind you she will start looking towards the final cookie and drop the ‘getting behind’ you cookie.2) Do a lineup cookie on the ground behind you – while having her toy in the other hand. She does the lineup, you hold like a flyball hold – then toss the toy and release her to it. That might integrate some toy play sooner that she will enjoy.
Go ahead and turn that Cato sideways (so she has more room to turn and swing her rear up). She is really starting to understand and fascinating how she had a little bit easier time to the right. You also gave her a quicker rate of reinforcement because she did a few short successful turns in a row so that have also been why it was clicking. Keep doing both! I love how her rear is pushing up and the direction of how her back feet are turning – going to have a lovely turn here very soon!!!
I found it fascinating that if after she got her cookie if she looked back up to you, made eye contact with your face and held it, she successfully hit the jump on the next rep. The times where she kept her head down she went between you and the jump on a sniff/find my own thing.
Similar to last night in fitness – I would be curious if you did give a tiny bit more vocals to get that immediate engagement after a treat or reset… would that lead to a higher rate of success with head up=taking the jump. And if the vocals work, you can ask her “jump” so she starts to associate the word and the action.
I messaged you about adding the height on the tuck sit – I’m hoping that we can get this tuck sit into proper form!
Patience and praise is going so far for her!!!! I loved when she walked by the Cato and then took a minute and was like… hmmm…. let me try… this? And it worked and she flew back to the Cato to do it again to get that excitement from you again.
If she were mine – I might add some “props” on one side of the Cato now (touching the Cato), just so she can see that different in the visual that will come in the future in a context of the exercises she knows how to nail.
Then once she is like okay that was weird but I’m still fine I would take the props away, turn the Cato sideways, and start to shape the turn. Still going slow and waiting for the back feet. Then I would likely add the prop back in so she is hopping up over it slowly. That is going to make her transition to the slant board (and a prop) much smoother.
The mat work was fabulous. You got terrific distance/commitment and rotation in the rear was exactly what I want.
Since you are worried about the contacts/mat work confusing her – you could go ahead and move to a slant board super low. And then go ahead and start angling it up higher and higher. For her journey in particular, you can do her box turn in 3 parts:
-Slant board starting low and then making it steep as the box (3-4 sessions). Make sure a prop is included for some of them so it’s not a shock when we add the ball in the next step.
-Slant board + Ball on Velcro – starting low and then making it as steep as the box (4-6 sessions).
-Velcro ball on the box (typically starting on outer holes but she’s small so you might be best to start on the inner hole).Hopefully that is helpful to see the upcoming progression.
The jump games look terrific! I would love to see you releasing from 10+’ behind the jump and as she drives ahead (awesome for leaving you) you throw that tiny toy ball as hard as you can ahead of her. It’s heavy so it should makes it’s way out in front of her. You are basically marking the moment she is committed. I don’t care if she brings it back over the jump for that – but you can encourage it like you were doing.
Backing up – I was doing these the other day and put together it’s just a combination hiccup exercise – so to do that many in a row was epic! It’s a terrific core exercise.
I want to add in this bonus one for Jinka in particular – there is a similar one coming up – but I want you spending more time on this for her. It’s going to make her box turn push up stellar.
Zero spits with that two tug game with motion! Did you notice that she always turns into the orange hose no matter which way you set her up. And the right turns are more on a dime, where the left ones are the wider zooms.
When you stand and call her to you, you face her. When you run before you cue her to the second tug, you have your back to her. If you wanted to work on “bring me the tug and we play with that one” without switching, you could try adding in some of that movement away from her and see if that helps her make the decision to zip to you faster. I’m personally not worried about it – but I have a dog like her that’s VERY similar and when I do want to stand there and call him to bring his tug it makes me bananas when he slowly sharks in a circle making his way to me eventually.
Here Game distractions were awesome – your older little dog wanted to play the game too! I love working multiple dogs tugging side by side, I feel like it simulates a lot of that nearby tugging in the runback.
Her getting that bunny ball and switching to the tug is adorable! She showed amazing impulse control to stay while you placed the bunny. She held still while you revved her up, and took off like a bullet. But then she also decelerated and turned on a dime – so many sighthounds continue forward with that speed and then turn when they slow down. I’m loving so many parts of these pieces together!!
Steal that orange Cato – that will be perfect – turn it longer side (like how the box is longer left to right) to practice with the turn. Your mat can turn sideways too – it’s on the skinny side right now.
As you keep progressing – see how much of you that you can fade out. I would love to have you be 1-2 feet away from the Cato and she takes that step towards it and turns and then comes back off. Less luring, and more her decision. I find that helps make box turns that are not prop dependent.
This one was the playing with the prop jump (over and back) I believe. You can still say YES so she knows she is doing it correctly – she started to doubt herself at the end when you were being so quiet.
You can also play this game with a toy – very informal and just have fun. Have her tug and chase you back and forth making her go over it. Or do a release and retrieve over it. Nothing structured – just the idea of carry something in your mouth over a jump.
Great job introducing the jump. Now as you work up you will just turn your body a little to cue/indicate they can go over and keep tossing that cookie ahead. I liked that you said the YES marker as she was over the jump.
