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Hi Tracy,
I was going to do the Tunnel Exit Turns exercise from Week 1 and/or the Find the Jump, but my husband is using the cart that I need to haul tunnel bags and tunnel. So these may need to wait another few days or next week until he finishes sealing our walkway. It’s too hard on my back to carry everything and he’s working so hard cleaning and sealing pavers I don’t want to ask him to do anything else.
Yesterday we tried the L/R Minny Pinny proofing and it didn’t go very well. Did a mini version of it last night in the house which was great so we tried again outside this morning. That went much better, but in watching my videos it looks like I’m inadvertently cueing with my body which way she should go. We will need to keep working on the Go!, L/R and wrap cues a lot.
Same thing happened with the Sends & Serps yesterday. That didn’t go well so we quit after only a few tries. We tried again with the send/right to serp this morning. It was just ok, I had to jazz things up a bit because she seemed kind of ho-hum about it and she doesn’t come in on the serp jump if I’m moving. We stopped after she started sniffing the jump. I think the session was too long (more on that below). It didn’t help that I woke up with a REALLY stiff neck this morning either.
We redid the set point after lunch today with the 2nd jump still set at 10″ as you suggested to see if she’s ready to add more height. The length between bars is still probably about 4′-8″, maybe I’ll go out and measure it later. I thought she did really well! Let me know if I should change height or distance between jumps for the next try. UPDATE: jump distance shorter than I thought! 52″
After the set point we tried a little send left to serp but that didn’t go well at all and I couldn’t get her to come in. I switched to using a toy instead of the Manners Minder. I angled the jump after a few reps and she still wouldn’t come in. We didn’t spend much time on this and finally stopped.
So, what I wanted to bring up is that poor Hola is not only in adolescence (15 months old on Wednesday this week), but she came in heat on Sunday (her 2nd one) and that is definitely affecting her concentration, mood, etc. She was so fussy the first 2 days I couldn’t get her to move! She doesn’t like the panties and is doing better now. I’m thinking fewer exercises with very few reps for the next few weeks might be in order. Or mix in something that she really likes where she can run or chase a toy. I’ll be gone all day tomorrow so she’ll have a good, full day of inactivity and rest.
Let me know what you think and any suggestions you have for us.
Thanks!
PattiHi Tracy,
Thank you for sharing the magnet fingers video, that was great! Especially at the end showing how pointing can actually look like a blind cross. I will try to remember magnet fingers when running the little sequences with Hola.
Here is Hola’s set point with the 2nd bar raised to 10″ and no increase in distance between jumps (still a little less than 5′). The higher bar definitely made a difference in her form and she even hit the bar with back feet once. Should I still be keeping the bars locked in the jump? I think she may have been doing better towards the end? Maybe I should have gone a little slower with the moving toy when starting out with the higher jump bar.
The plan is to do the straight tunnel with turns and pill bug on Thursday since I’ll be up in Gainesville until early afternoon tomorrow.
Looking forward to your input and advice as to next steps!
Patti
I was moving the toy when on the set point, although verrrrrrry slowly and probably too slow to see when I released her! I was going to throw that toy but it was so big and dangly that I decided to walk back and give her a treat instead. Should I carry an extra toy or bigger treats to toss back at her? I knew I didn’t want to release her on that forward lean. That will be fun to finally start moving the bar up on the jump. I love the way you’re teaching this with the dogs powering forward, head low to the moving toy.
I meant to tell you I don’t think I’ve ever seen a “magic finger” video you mentioned.
How often do you mix in the WIYH and the tunnel/wing discrimination? I know Hola definitely needs lots more work on the discrimination exercise.
The heat has definitely hit Florida this weekend. I’m going to have to try getting out early in the morning to work the exercises but not possible this week as I have something I need to do Monday thru Thursday already.
Patti
Good morning!
Thanks for the encouragement on the Smiley Face yesterday! Funny thing about that first spin was totally by accident, LOL! I was totally shocked it went as well as it did, but I think in large part that was because I kept everything close in. We’ll see how it goes some other time when I move the jumps out further! 🙂
These exercises are from yesterday!
The set point exercise 2nd jump bar has been raised to 8″ and the jumps are still just under 5′ apart.
WIYH
Enjoy your day! I’m off soon to nosework class with Gingji. Hola has to stay home today since it will be too hot for her to wait in the van.
Patti
Hi Tracy,
Hola and I tried the advanced Smiley Face game today. I think it actually went better than I thought it would. Also tried tunnel/wing discrimination a couple of times but it didn’t go all that well. I guess that one just needs a ton of reps before she gets it. Wish I didn’t have to lug the tunnel out every time to practice, though. I miss my training partner (Cathy) back up in VA.
When I watched the Smiley Face enlarged on YT I noticed that I’m using a pointy arm and finger throughout the exercise. Looks like I to get rid of that? It’s been so long since I’ve done anything agility related it’s all new to me again and felt uncomfortable to do a numbered exercise. 🙂 I had to walk the course about 3 or 4 times and try to remember the verbal cues to use, LOL! This is probably also a good brain exercise for me.
I plan to do the set point tomorrow with jump 2″ higher and the WIYH with me starting super close to the wing. None of those will take many reps, we had lots of exercise today.
Then probably early next week the new tunnel exit exercise from Week 2 and maybe more tunnel/wing discrimination practice. Should I keep practicing Left and Right with Minny Pinny or the jump standard? I still need to go thru MaxPup 1 and see what I missed and should to catch up on if/when we have time. 🙂
Hope you have a fun weekend planned!
Patti
I have a question on the Go! word. Should I be saying go-go-go-go-go-go! choppy like I am in the video or is it better to draw it out gooooooo-gooooooo-gooooooo! if it makes a difference?
Hi Tracy,
Hola and I did the WIYH again today. I’m still late saying Go! most of the time. Wish I had more go-go-go myself, LOL!
We also took a stab at the Tunnel/Wrap discrimination this afternoon. It was super hot and should have done it early instead of after lunch. I think Hola likes the tunnel now. 🙂 I realized after watching the video that most of the time I’m cueing and releasing at the same time. Like the Go! above will try to improve my timing. Forgot to have any treats with me for lining up with the collar. I’ll keep some in my bag from now on. I didn’t edit out the very end because I thought it was hilarious. My throwing skills aren’t the greatest. 🙂
Patti
Yes it is! Great mental exercise and really tires the dogs out! After your advice about so many wraps etc. and since we did the wrap verbals this morning decided to wait until tomorrow to do any more MaxPup. Did nosework instead. 🙂
Perfect advice on doing these games, just what I needed to hear. I’m glad I don’t have to lug out the tunnel and bags again today! I will balance out with our nosework training instead. 🙂
Patti
>>Adolescence happens during the time with our sport dogs when we unintentionally are putting a lot of pressure on them because they are competition-legal at 18 months! Or 15 months in some cases – ewwwww!!! So it is important to keep emphasizing that they are NOT ready for that pressure 🙂<<
I can’t tell you how sad it makes me to see people in my breed (and others) out competing with their dogs starting at 15 months and in some cases even 6 months old! 🙁 I just don’t think they are mentally or physically ready for that kind of pressure.>> I asked a couple of the Brain Camp folks about it as well as Leslie McDevitt of Control Unleashed fame (who also does NW) <<
There are so many ways people train nosework. The method I’m using is training all the scent puzzles, etc., using primary (food) and then pair that with odor. I started her when she was probably 10 or 12 weeks old and there are fear periods puppies go through, and I’m just guessing the thought is that by 15 mo the dog should have been exposed to most things and less likely to associate a fearful experience with odor that would be long lasting and difficult to work through. Someone in the NACSW could probably explain it better than I can. I think I could have added odor in much sooner for Hola but she’s getting great experience searching for food in all different environments while learning how to work odor (food) so it’s all good. 🙂Good morning!
Thanks for the great advice on the tunnel/wing games. How often should we work on this game?
On the set point raising the bar, should I do that one more time this week with the 2nd bar raised 2″ or wait until next week since you said this is one to do only once a week.We did some pre-breakfast pre-game today. 🙂
My plan for today is WIYH again and possibly the tunnel/wing discrimination, not sure how well that one will go but it should be interesting. 🙂
Patti
Hi Tracy,
I totally agree on the set point exercise, her form looked much better. We did this again today with the slow moving toy. The jumps were probably about 4.5′ apart, maybe a little more. Let me know where to go from here. Any change to distance or anything else?
We also tried the smiley face game. How far from the tunnel should the wings be? Hola hasn’t done many tunnels and hasn’t done one since the last session tunnel threadle exercise. I set this up at first with the tunnel pulled out as long as it would go and it may have had a little more curve than what you will see below. I scrapped that exercise because she kept running past one entrance but then ducking in and coming back through the opposite end. I wasn’t sure if the sun or shadows were affecting her or what so I moved the tunnel, made it a little shorter, straighter and put the wings closer. I do have a question, though. After running it these few times, I’m not sure I will be able to get her to GO and complete the wing when running back out of the tunnel if I’m not closer to that wing to cue it. Same with the racetrack unless I can keep up with her (not happening). How should I work on this?
Looking forward to your comments.
Patti
