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Hi,
Rented some arena time at Argus today since most of the instructors are at the Open so no classes this next week. Gonna try to get down there again to practice some zig zags.Worked on Organizers: Front Side Slice, Backside Wrap and Backside Slice. I had to switch to a Cato Board for the slicing exercises as my Aerobic Step was sliding in the dirt as Street was pushing off and I didn’t want him to hurt himself or get scared. It’s wider than the Aerobic Step but he still organizes pretty well. He is a bit slow sitting on some reps but I think he is anticipating the release.
Hi,
Best of Luck at the Open!!! Have a wonderful time.It’s been raining pretty hard all week (welcome Fall in the Pacific Northwest).
Moving Target
The inability to go out and train gave me time to think of a work around to Street’s love of food and the next step of adding controlled motion. After working on a couple ideas, I think I figured out a solution. Tried it out inside and Street is obsessed (cream cheese helps) and bonus, he keeps his head down when following it.Leading with the Head
I decided to try adding a target so I could get Street lined up better. This helped him approach the cone straighter. I think it helped.Hi,
I probably should have given Street a break on the Organizer exercises but it wasn’t raining and my brain told me …MUST TRAIN. I used the manners minder today with the Organizer exercises to help decrease his focus on me even more. Street really loves his manners minder.Organizers Part 4 : Front Side Wrap
Added a wing. The wing is not lined up properly so he doesn’t come in straight but he manages to organize himself pretty well.
Organizers Part 5 : Front Side Slice
A bit slower organizing on this one. Not sure if the presence of the manners minder is making it harder for him (reward anticipation) than the bowl. I did move the aerobic step so it’s sitting next to the jump leg not on top. Having the step over the leg of the jump wasn’t working today as the step was sliding on the grass when Street climbed on it.
Zig Zags : Backside Zig Zags
I did as you suggested and worked his better side with the jumps in line then his harder side with an angle before straightening the jumps. Worked really well. He did have one slip on the grass but seemed to recover without incident.
Hi,
No rain today so we worked on a few things.Organizers Part 4: Front Side Wrap
I used a bowl at the wing to try to get Street to stop focusing up on my hands so much. I think it helped with his organizations, especially on the right side.Organizers Part 5 : Front Side Slice
My aerobic step does not have a deep enough cutout underneath to straddle the leg of the wing. If you look closely, you can see that the step is slightly tilted in the set up. I do have another set of “legs” for the aerobic step to make it taller. It is currently 4 inches tall and would be 6 inches with the additional legs.Zig Zags 4 : Backside Zig Zags
Street was happier with these than the regular zig zags (probably because motion was involved). I should have stopped when he laid down in front of the manners minder which he will sometimes do when he starts to get tired.Hi,
Went out and worked on a couple of things since today is the only day this week it isn’t supposed to rain.Organizers Part 4 : Front Side Wrap
Street got the hang of this one pretty quickly. I think he wraps better going to his right. What do you think?
Zig Zags 2 : Adding Jumps
This session went much better than the previous two. Jumps are nearly straight. He does much better when he jumps to his left over the first jump. So that probably his stronger side for this exercise.
Hi,
We have been MIA for a couple of days due to Street coming down with gastroenteritis. I blame the canned cat food I used in the last session😒. Two days of vomiting/diarrhea and one ruined dog bed later and we are back.Organizers Part 3:To the Wing
Worked inside so limited space for adding motion.Hi,
Went out today and worked on a few different things.1- Turning the Head
Started with flicks and got some good head turns. When I line him up in front of the wing though, he tends to drift lateral/flank the wing so he doesn’t really turn his heart much to go around the back side. He does turn his head when he is coming around from the back to the front. Should I try to add a barrier to get him to approach the wing straight? If he did, he might turn his head more.2- Moving Target
I used a bowl with cat food attached to a leash. Worked well for getting him to keep his head low. I do have to do some modifications to the bowl because it kept flipping over when I was dragging it.3- Organizers Part 2 : To the Plank
I used an aerobic platform with a thick yoga mat taped to it. The platform is about as wide but not as long as the Cato Plank.4- Zig Zags 2 : Adding Jumps
Worked on this longer than I probably should have. Only worked the one side. Managed to get the jumps almost parallel. I notice that Street does not extend much over the first jump and really has to reach to bounce the second jump. Is this what he is supposed to be doing? Is there something I can do to encourage him to extend more over the first jump?I forgot to get an image/short video of the serpentine set up I was describing in my last post. I’ll do that tomorrow.
One other thing that just occurred to me…
I have been using the Cato Plank in Street’s running dog walk training. Knowing Street as I do, I think using it concurrently with the Organizer exercise may cause him to become confused (should he gather himself and sit or run over it). Granted the environmental context between having it at the end of the dog walk and near a jump is totally different so I may be worried for nothing. I think I’m going to start with an Aerobic step first.
Hi,
Worked on Zig Zags Part 2. Street did well when the jumps were angled at about 40 degrees and the wings were slightly overlapped. When I tried to decrease the angle, he started putting in an extra stride so I stopped the session and will try again later.I think this exercise is going to be difficult for Street given what we have been working on serpentines the past few weeks. The set up had the three jumps with stride regulators between each jump to encourage an extra stride between the jumps. The exercise focused on teaching the dogs to read the distances so they would collect/extend as needed. The distance between jumps varied from pretty wide (4ft between wings) to pretty narrow (wings touching). The final step was removal of the stride regulators and ensuring the dogs maintained the added stride between the jumps. I am wondering if the emphasis on adding a stride is causing some confusion to Streets understanding of this exercise. Being a Border Collie, he learns a pattern very quickly but has trouble “unlearning” it.
Hi,
Did a short session of Organizer Part 1, Step 3 (sit on platform with motion). He did much better than last night. It looks like he is starting to organize his back end and while still some easty-westy feet, it’s getting better.Hi,
Took Motion Override outside. Tried not to decelerate. Hard to tell since we are working on grass but I think the manspreading is better this session.Also worked on Zig Zags on the Flat.
Thanks for the feedback.
We use the foam pads in our conditioning work so he is very accustomed to either putting his front feet or his back feet on them. I got a lot of 2on/2off then rock back into a sit at first.
Yup, I have a deceleration problem🙂. Will work on that.
Hi,
I know you haven’t had a chance to comment on my videos from earlier today but I worked on a couple of things tonight with Street so I thought I would go ahead and post them.Motion Organizers 1, part 3 (adding some motion to the platform sit).
I ended up using the two foam pieces attached together for this exercise because Street was not able to tuck himself up on just one foam piece out of motion. He kept falling off.Motion Override
Got some definite “manspread” going on during this exercise.Hi,
My yard is very tiny so I take my training on the road to neighborhood parks and nearby schools. Thank goodness no one was at the park when I was working on the jump proofing exercise🤣.Leading with the Head
Street reminds me of a semi truck. The head turns and the body follows but doesn’t really bend.Moving Target
Street is much more food motivated than toy motivated (he’s weird that way). That isn’t to say he won’t play tug but food is life for him. Street is the type of dog that aims high on the toy so, more often than not, he isn’t driving forward with as low as he could.Jump Proofing
This one actually went better than I thought given Street can be very sensitive to movement/pressure.
