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Hi!
Yes, the decel class at Paws would be great!>I feel like I owe a donation to the SPCA!>
Ha! No, you don’t owe, that was only for people who were being mean to their dogs. You and Zyp did GREAT! He did lots of excellent sequencing with focus and accuracy and speed. SUPER! He never once did his own thing – you reinforced him a lot, so he never got frustrated. The work you have been doing with him really helped him shine!!!
Tracy
Hi!
The left side zig zag session went well! I htink that his questions on that side are more about mechanics in arousal on that side, so you can help him out a little in terms of session structure:He might only have two good reps on that side in terms of mechanics before the arousal for the toy kicks in. So you can take a ping pong approach on the harder side: do an easy one with you closer, then one or 2 hard ones (with you further) then an easy one. And by “easy” rep, it can be you being closer, or you using food rewards, or both! You did go back to a slightly easier one after he had 2 failures, but you can plan to do that before any failures to help him maintain the mechanics.
Nice work! Keep me posted on how the tunnel threadles went!
Tracy
Hi!
>Our startlines need a bit more practice!>
She is loving the agility 🙂 so you can throw back lots of rewards to keep convincing her that start lines are worthwhile 🙂
She did well on the grid – I think she is having to jump it in collection with the bar at that height, so you can add a little more space as we try to find the sweet spot. If that was 28″, maybe try 32″? That is a guess based on her size, so you can set it up, do one or two reps, then watch the video and see how comfortable her bounces look.
The step in on the first jump might also be playing a role:
Even with the lowest possible bar, the first jump with her set up close (correctly) is a little high – you can use that little blue stride regulator you used with the set point to replace the first bar.She is doing really well reading all the jumping games, so this is more about finding the sweet spot of distance so she can really power through it and not slow herself down to get the proper elevation.
Nice work!
TracyHi!
He did great here! 12″? No problem at all. I think he is also ready for you to run more – you can really accelerate on the Go lines, and more acceleration will make it easier to show decel into the FC wraps. He has been beautiful in his optimal arousal and toy play, so adding more motion will be more arousing but I totally believe he will be fine (and he will also love it :)) The backside pushes had more motion already and he was PERFECT!
>He missed a couple fronts turning left but watching the video my handling looks like I wanted a rear so he was a good boy!>
Yes – at :14 it looked like the RC (especially since he had just done 2 nice ones :)) So as he is exiting the wrap on the start wing, you can be driving forward – and let him see you shift into deceleration right as he exits the wing (you will decel but face forward to the FC wing). As he passes you and collects, you can then do the FC and I think that will look significantly different from the RC cue.
When he did get the FC wrap at :22, you had more motion then a little decel (all facing the wrap wing) and then the FC itself. He read it really well! You can exaggerate the decel more and it will be even easier.
His turns are looking really good, and so is his “go”. I am *most* excited about those rear crosses, though: he did a great job sliding past you with the rear cross pressure and reading the turn the new direction. YAY!!!
Let me know how adding more running goes! Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
>Hope the rain has moved out of your area now!>
It moved out of where I was… now I am home and it followed me (torrential storms happening!). Sigh.
>MissL got to go practice some drills on the big agility field we train at and did AMAZING! She even showed a little start line stay. I was exceptionally proud of her by (mostly) sticking with me and did not run off to go explore (like her brother Wayne used to do!)>
This is exciting!! She is getting more and more into the game with you and it is fun!!!
She did great finding the jump (and playing with the toy :)) I think she really liked all the motion, so we are seeing her open up & run when you are also moving. Since she had no questions about finding the line (even when you were adding more directionals and turns), you can add more distance so you both and move more. One way to do it is to put the tunnel as close to the fence behind where it was here, so there is 15 feet or more to the jump. Or you can rotate the setup so it sits lengthwise in the yard – and see if you can get 20 feet or more between the tunnel exit and the jump. That will also allow you to add more lateral distance from the jump, as well as more options for you being way ahead or deliberately putting yourself behind her by running close to the tunnel before moving up the next line. She is ready for all of that!
Great job here!
TracyHi!
This is the turn away video – can you report the tunnel threadle video? I am excited to see it!Tracy
Hi!
>I went back and pulled out the reps from our not-so-good side.>
It is great to see these and compared to what did work! I think this was a human side preference question, and she read you correctly every time.
On the side where she kept going straight, your motion and shoulders were all forward, which conflicted with the verbal and the outside arm (I don’t think she saw the outside arm at all). As she exited the wing wrap, you were facing the straight ahead tunnel entry for a step or two, so she correctly went that way. To get the threadle end on this side, you will want to match it to the handling you showed her on the other side:
When you were on the other side, when she exited the wing wrap you were turned facing the threadle side of the tunnel, so she correctly went to the threadle side.
Here are the visuals:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1JydwyGN4MxaGiQl-V-f1z2Qe0_9CckIjgx2AW4SVFu8/edit?usp=sharing> Nothing really worked that well though and I was getting frustrated, so I banned this side’s reps from the initial video>
It is definitely harder to watch our videos when were are frustrated, but important to watch to see both what we were doing to cause the questions, and how our responses affect the dog:
If the dog is absolutely *convinced* that she is correct… she probably is and withdrawing the reinforcement is going to create frustration. So, reward her then go watch the video to see what is happening before the next rep. You can see her stress response to your withdrawing of reinforcement (folding arms, stopping your movement, etc) – she lowers her head, pins her ears, flanks out a little. She will keep working (because BCs will keep working) but we don’t want her to work in a frustrated state.
Then there was confusion about whether she should get the toy on the next rep when you were stationary – the yes marker and hand movement said yes to the toy, but you kept it bundled up in your hand so looks like she accidentally grabbed your hand – then more stress after that.
So it all comes back to making sure she gets rewarded even if she did not do what you wanted… because she was probably doing what your cues were telling her to do 🙂
>I’m submitting this game early since we’re going to be learning serps in Ellie’s class Tuesday evening and I’m hoping you can keep me from causing her to wipe out on the serps like she did in this video …>
The lateral lead outs on the one jumps are off to a good start – she is committing nicely with you on the takeoff side of the first jump and on the landing side of the first jump. Nice connection!
She is having some jumping questions setting up the turn on the first jump which bubbles over into jumps questions on the 2nd jump (lots of front foot pattering to sort it out), so she should see this game with a wing and a jump a few times before adding 2 jumps with bars. This is not unusual or bad, it is normal 🙂 and she just needs to practice a bit more.
The first wipe out at :46 was not on a serp, it was on a FC – partially it was because the FC was late so she was surprised and slipped when she landed, and partially because she had not sorted out the jumping yet. There were not any other wipeouts in the video (the others were post turns to front crosses which all looked really good!), but the wipeout definitely told us she needs to see this with a wing and one jump (and probably an 8 inch bar on that for now) to let her sort out the mechanics.
And for serps in class… angle the jumps and lower the bars, especially if she is running on turf which is more slippery than your grass (your grass is really nice!). Also, staying in steady motion but not fast motion can help her get the mechanics on the harder jumping lines.
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi!
I am looking forward to seeing you at Paws For Thought!
> I am going to start taking him to different places at the end of the month to run now. (Before I do, Harmony will give him another massage to make sure he is A OK!!) Planning on doing the start line routine that you saw in the video. If he is not happy, etc. thoughts on what I should think about doing. I will be going to Five Point (Joel Bassa) where he has been on 5/25 many times so it is not a brand new place. Also, I am hoping I can catch a drop in with Deb Bogart at PFTF before July.>
Before solidifying a routine (which could actually increase anxiety rather than decrease it), just try to ‘read’ him and see how he feels – and make it fun fun fun and easy 🙂 For now, bring food into the ring with you especially for the first time in new places. And reward him a lot – you can do pattern games on the way in, tricks for cookies, etc, all to keep him feeling good as he goes into the ring.
>FYI Fitness is moving along. And he is finally starting to back up. YEA>
Yay! That is great! Keep me posted 🙂
Tracy
Hi! They are on the course syllabus page under the Extended Edition Chats:
[AU-072A] MaxPup 4 Transition To Trials: To The Line – And Beyond! Extended
Hi!
She did really well here, lots of nice balanced one-striding. She didn’t seem to have many questions about anything you changed, she was good about still looking for jumps. One jump on a harder angle was more challenging to find, so you can definitely add in weird angles to all of the jumping stuff 🙂You can add a little bit more arousal, 2 separate ways:
– add moving right next to the jumps more, not pulling away or trying big shoulder turns to get her to take the jump if the line is hard. We don’t want her to need you far away 🙂 So think of it as slow jog/fast walk right next to the line and still toss cookie rewards for finding jumps. No rewards for passing the jumps, just keep going and see if she can fine the next part of the line.
– without adding more motion or anything, add tugging before you start and before each rep. The food will still be the primary reward, but the tugging will get her internal state a little more ramped up 🙂 which is also an important element.
Great job here!
TracyHi!
> I have noticed in the last several weeks that she seems to be happier and more settled with a bit more working and less downtime than what she needed say 6 months ago.>
Nice! She is both learning/getting comfy, and maturing!
> Not included in the long list is the Midwest Cup in June since she’s staying at home for that one. I was a little tempted to put her into SS Challenge there but then decided that was rushing things for no good reason. I’ll get my jollies running her in SS Challenge at our Midwest Classic instead.>
That is a good call. She can do Cups next year 🙂
> Actually what I could do for Snooker or Jumping is to declare NFC and go in without a toy but have a friend ready to toss it as a surprise right and then hustle out of there to our leash and a party.>
That is a great idea!
>Yes – will need to see how she does with outdoor heat. Last summer when training it didnt’ seem to affect her, but who knows if that’s changed. I do think she is more “heat-resistant” than Mr “I like to be a Slug when not working” Kaladin. (seriously – Demi’s nickname is Sloth and his is Slug which we mean in the most loving way….)>
Right – I remember in her puppy sequences last summer she didn’t have heat struggles. She also wasn’t really an adolescent, so that *might* be a factor (or might not, we won’t know til she is in the moment LOL!) and also the outdoor environment has a lot more visuals of other dogs all around the ring. That is an added challenge for the youngsters too.
>Weaves are coming along nicely but we only just got to the 2 sets straight a few feet apart. Also done the first find em (set of 2 by the tunnel) and a few channel sessions where I start doing crazier things.>
Perfect! Things will come together nicely now!
>Question on the channels – if I am serpentining across the front, fading laterally, or doing other things, should she be following that handling once she exits vs carrying on to the Pet Tutor? Like should I not trigger PT and reward from my hand instead? I can’t remember that detail when I was training Kaladin.>
I personally like to keep rewarding on the line rather than put any value on me as they are learning the skill. I promise she won’t ignore your handler position or motion when you are running for real 🙂 But the reward out on the line seems to get better results for staying in the poles with fewer reps of having to do it.
> But – contacts will be a priority this summer since I really don’t want to go through another winter of “well – didn’t get that trained when I was able to work in my yard”. So no USDAA Steeplechase just yet!>
I bet her a-frame comes together quickly. Sounds like she is doing great with foundations!
>I think I also need to go way back for the teeter. It was coming along nicely last fall and she’s still great at the bang game, but she’s more hesitant at mountain climber which was solid last fall.>
It was probably just the time off and will need a quick re-build. She will sort it out pretty quickly.
>Quad Cities – I thought I was on the friends & Family early notification list for your end of May seminar there but then Dawn forgot to tell me about it. >
Darn it!
>Luckily the August dates are probably going to fit better in my schedule anyways. As of 3 or so weeks ago she was “working on the schedule” and asked for my input (I requested a novice session on Sat). And said she was planning on rolling out pre-reg in the middle of May so it’s on my calendar to ping her tomorrow. (last time around I was too polite and didn’t check in more and then totally missed it)>
Yeah, don’t be polite LOL!!!
>Frizzer rolling – yes! She is doing much better chasing in our yard. Total flop when I tried it at Fusion yesterday – wouldn’t even chase it the first time. If Kaladin is there, she loves to chase her frizz and grab it and then jump on him with it in her mouth. He’ll keep retrieving to me but she prefers to accost him and she mostly ignores me. The change lately is that she will tug with me for a bit with it as we are wrapping up and she will cue into me the first time I toss it for her.>
Have you ever done alternating Frizz chase games (apologies in advance, Kaladin): you have both dogs and several frizzes. You hold Lift and roll one for Kal. Do that once or twice. Then hold him and roll one for Lift for her to go get. Often we see social learning kick in and the dogs go grab it and bring it back to play. I dont’ send both dogs at the same time, because of the collision risk and also because some dogs back off the frizz in order to just chase the other dog LOL
>Set point distance was 3.75ft (ish). Slightly less than 4ft. The 12in jump did surprise her but it was like her 2nd ever 12in jump. We’ve done more grid work at 10in. I’ll try it again with the distance but set up closer to the first jump and see how it goes. Are you thinking she needs a slightly long distance between jumps as the height goes up?>
She might need a longer distance but we will let it percolate for now with her setup closer and getting used to 12″ jumps.
Keep me posted!
T
Hi!
OMG he did SO GREAT!! This was a lovely session! The FC wraps and the backside wraps were both spot on: he had great commitment and he had great turns. Your running lines were very clear to him (and good decel on the FC wraps) and your connection was super clear. That really helped, especially on the backside wraps: he committed a lot better when you shifted your connection to the landing spot as you kept moving forward.
Since this went so well, you can give him a higher bar to jump – this looked like 8 inches, so you can go to 10 or 12 and see how he does. The higher bar will challenge his collection mechanics, so we can keep raising the bar.
Great job!
TracyHi!
>I tried this game again to get a better line. I think I did a better job? Not too difficult for him, but I want to make sure we have the basics before making it harder.>
Yes, this looked great – it was easy for him because your cues were very clear. Yay! You can totally move to the advanced level where we add crosses on the jump.
And you can try a fun variation if your tunnel is still in that same spot: set up the tunnel so he can go into it after the out! It would be the wrap wing, you giving the out cue, then as he is heading to the jump, cue the tunnel. All while you run the same line you did here. And when you don’t give the out cue for the jump, he learns to ignore a nearby tunnel. I think he will enjoy the tunnel as part of it, and builds up some distance skills too 🙂
Looking at the zig zag video:
>Honestly, I felt like I was going this wrong like…the whole time. This is such a simple game >
Simple yes…. hard/weird mechanics? Also yes 🙂 Think of the mechanics as over-exaggerated front crosses, which is what you were basically doing on the successful reps (he would not have found the line if you were not clear with that). He did really well – but I think it was too easy and he seemed a little bored with it LOL!! So you can make it harder/snappier by moving the wings closer together to add challenge. That means you over-sized front crosses will need to come quicker to cue the lines, but that will be fun and a little silly for you both!
Nice work here 🙂
TracyHi!
> totally nailed the first side. Then he could not figure out how to do even the first jump on the other side. I even went back to the first side to show him and that did nothing to help him when we switched sides.>
The first side looked good! The questions on the 2nd side could have been that it was harder to shift left in that moment, or he was in ‘chase toy’ mode because the reward had been thrown and was still visible (context cue), or he was tired from chasing the toy (or all of the above). Start with the shift-to-your-left side next time as the first side and see how he does. You can also use a tug toy so he does expend a lot of energy chasing the toy between reps.
Since the zig zags are all about teaching the pups a relatively hard mechanics skill, you can totally use a reset reward after any errors. You can see that when he doesn’t know how to shift to his left here, he gets deflated and looks around the instant you indicate it is wrong (watch your hand that is holding the toy – it withdraws the toy).
>tried again this morning with his disc as a reward and we had some success on that harder side.>
Great! Did you do that side first or 2nd? Also, be careful of using toys that trigger the chase mode (like discs) for a precision game, because the context cue for chasing a disc can override the mechanics we need here. A tug or food might help him out more.
>The get out went better. I tried to keep moving forward instead of stopping at the spot where I was sending him out>
Yes! This went really well – he did great and you were moving the whole time. Yay!
The next steps would be to move the wing a little further away, and put a leash on the ground for your running line – that way you run the exact same line and the verbal/upper body cue what you want. That should lead you nicely into the advanced level with the crosses.Great job!
TracyHi! This went well too! Most of the reps were spot on! When he had a question, it was either because the timing was too early or you needed a little decel. Here are specifics:
The trick to the lap turns are to let him great relatively close ot your hand (6 inches or less) and then turn him away – when you did that, he was perfect each time.
When you were too early in terms of stepping back to the wing when he was still a foot or so from you hand, like at :17 and :42, it did indeed look like a cue to go to the other side (you can reward him when that happens).
Here is the visual of the timing:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1wPmcbsnzbHFkhFP4mruNYhfmPM98Ic5QZEuaa6ugy5E/edit?usp=sharingAnd when you added a bit of decel, he turned away really well. The rep at 1:25 didn’t have decel, so he went straight and fast past the wing. When you decelerated like at 1:33 and 1:44 – perfect turn!
Adding the race tracks went great, he had no questions and you did a great job throwing in a lap turn too.
When you add the tandem turns (towards the end of the video) – he read them well too! Yay! You can totally keep your hands lower so he can see them better. Plus, a little decel on the tandems will tighten up the turns on them too.
3:02 you added a spin so he ended up on the other side of you but found the wing anyway 🙂 The last few reps were great!
Nice work!
Tracy
