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Good morning!
>>The Scratching the target is beyond my pay grade.>>
Ha! It is totally something to play with 🙂 Two ways to get it: You can bury a cookie on the target under some dirt or grass (or snow, but I really hope the snow is done for the year!) – he will paw at it to get the treat. Then you can fade the treat, bury the target a little – the click/treat for pawing at it. Then you fade the dirt or whatever is covering the target and he will still get rewards for pawing at it. The other idea is you can shape it on a flat board then transfer it to the target. I shaped the scratching on a board that have sandpaper on it, so not only did the pup learn to scratch, but she also learned how to trim her own nails. And the agility PT vets tell me it is a great shoulder conditioning exercise, so they were happy too haha It was a triple win LOL!!!
He is already tapping his feet on the target a bit here so I think it is possible for him!
The session is looking really good! He did best when you were parallel to him or out ahead, so stick with those for now (rather than sending him ahead, we will add that later). He had more trouble stopping when he ran all the way down the plank, but it was a good error (he ran through the end of the board entirely rather than stop at the pivot point). And then he fixed it on the last rep. He is beginning to really show us a good understanding that it is about feet on target! Yay! He is wanting to look up at you, so one thing to add as you keep working this: rather than reward him with his head up, get all the rewards right down next to the target, between his feet. You can go back and deliver the reward nice and low, or you can toss it back nice and low. The goal is that his head is down when the reward goes in – which should begin to translate to him keeping his head down and looking more at the target as he moves to put his feet on it. And that will translate to more weight shift when he is running across the board.
Great job here! A couple more sessions like this will allow us to really build on this game too 🙂
Tracy
Good morning!
>>I plan to do 4 on with him. He has been pretty nervous about the teeter. I have a clip and go target at the end, but he and I are both nervous about him going that far😊>>
WOW! If he was nervous, then you have done a brilliant job getting him happy!! He seems like his normal happy-dude self on these games. FABULOUS job!! And thank you for letting me know, because now we will protect that happy attitude about the teeter – we protect the happy feeling like it is gold 🙂 I have stuff coming in the next package on Monday about how to protect it when things get harder.
But for now… yes, go a little more to the end but with very very little tip of the board. And SUPER high value food, like peanut butter smeared on the target or something. Yum!!
The teeter-tables back and forth looks good! He was running through the tip to the end of the board here, and that is exactly what you want. You can reward him when you lift him and put him on the end of the board (just to keep it a very happy-making moment). You can also add more of you jogging like at 1:18 – he really liked that 🙂 He hopped off when you added the first cross, but that is fine, we will work that skill when we add the end position to it.
Since he is doing so well – on your next session, only work the downhill: he starts at the top, runs down, gets the big reward, then you release him (rather than running back up the board). And since he likes toys, you can tug between reps – then start over on the top of the board. If he is happy with a couple of downhill-only sessions (and I think he will be!) then you will be in the perfect spot to add the new games coming on Monday 🙂 Yay!
Great job here!!!!! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
>>I had done some 2×2 a la Susan Garrett over the winter, but got a bit stalled out when adding a 2nd set of 2x2s. >>
Confessional: despite having trained the SG method for a bunch of years, I can’t remember how she adds the 2nd set, I think it was pretty close and angled? What troubles were you running into with Kaladin and the 2nd set? We add the 2nd set here in the 2nd games package and it is really easy for the dogs. And also, if they have seen the channels, it is SUPER easy – so you can consider creating a channel out of your 2x2s and working that!
> It was hard to work through the barking dog across the street (who was also giving him stinkeye from its back yard) and the people down the street dragging out their rattly trash bins but I’m proud of him from getting back to work.>
GOOD BOY!! I know it is hard because we humans are keen to work the skills… but I keep reminding myself that even if I find the distractions annoying, it is really valuable for the pups to encounter them because of the limited exposures they have had to distractions so far (and my neighbor playing golf on his lawn has been a distraction for sure LOL!!!!)
Loevly job at 3 and 9. I loved that he was adding speed and you were adding angles and motion away from the poles – he was on a mission and appeared to not give a hoot about where you were while he was seeking out the poles.
2 and 8 – also no problems. Finding the entry, bending, driving to the PT – great! Harder angles? Also great. Wrapping the tree before the weaves? Perfect. LOL! Super high rate of success even with the good distractions.
So 2 things: you can add running to the 2 & 8 angle (your running). I highly doubt this will be a problem for him at all. That means that you can warm up with a couple of 2 & 8 reps with you moving fast, and then in the same session… onwards to 1 and 9. I am also confident that you will be able to move to 12 and 6 very quickly too – if he continues with this level of success, you can get there within a session at each angle.
If you are going to be out and about anywhere, you can also throw a base of 2x2s into the car and move them to different spots!
Great job here! Keep me posted!
TracyHi!
>>I knew something felt different this session. It’s because I started drifting with a lead out 🤣. Oops.>>
Ha! It was not a bad thing at all – but for him, too easy. Plus he is super speedy so I want to make sure we do not neglect the driving ahead and driving away element, because you might perhaps not always be ahead of him hahaha 🙂
>>I have 3 2×2 and a full set of channels. Should I complete the 2×2 track or jump straight into the channels? Fully open or partially closed?>>
You should work the tracks simultaneously 🙂 I know, CRAZY sounding 🙂 but so far, the results have been very cool 🙂 So keep moving along the 2×2 track like you have been. And start the channel track from the beginning, with 6 open channels (so he is not really weaving, just moving through them). I believe you will be able to skip the intro part where we teach the dogs how to go through the channels, and just start with the entries and reward at the end.
keep me posted!
THi!
>>“To help get that rate of success very high, take out the threadle side entries for now and focus on the sending side entries – so anything on the 11, 10, 9, 8 side of the clock (the Pet Tutor is at 6) should begin on your left side. Any sends on the 1, 2, 3, 4 side should be from your right side.”
So left shoulder directly in?>>
On the send entries, when he starts on your left, your let arm/leg can point to pole 2. When he starts on your right, your right arm/leg can point to pole 1.
>>On think you can add is your motion, especially from the 12-1-2-3 angles (on your right) and the 11-10-9 angles on your left! Sending and walking, so he gets used to the idea that you will be moving too 🙂 I think he will like that!”
>Where am I moving?>>
You will be moving down the line towards the Pet Tutor, basically on a parallel line to him in the poles.
Tracy
Good morning! Great to see you here too!
>>I have a question before we get started. Will Hero start right back at the beginning again?
Based on what you are telling me about his understanding… I would start over. It can’t hurt, can only help 🙂 You will move through most of the early stages really quickly and it will allow us to see if there are any little holes along the way. One of the dogs in the demos (Hot Sauce, the medium-sized mostly-black the terrier mix) is a ‘start over’ dog because she had to take a year off of training (due to needing to find and then fix a luxating patella issue, then have the pins removed). So while she was basically weaving a year ago at this time, I started her over because… why not? It is easy and fun in the early stages, and in the past year I have expanded the foundation games for the weaves so she is learning more than she did originally.
>>He does not have independence, although can weave both sides from various angles. Sometimes he finds it difficult to enter as he doesn’t brake and bend his body to get in. Flat side entries (90 degrees) is difficult. He has just started popping out at pole 10 in competition.>>
Yep, I would start over – we are going to be showing him all of those things AND proofing against pop outs when other obstacles are visible or when you are sprinting 🙂
>>My goal is to be able to do that cool thing where he knows his job and is weaving while I am running in the opposite direction! Not just because it looks cool, lol, but then I know for sure he knows his job! >>
Yes! I just filmed the early stages of this skill 🙂 In over 20 years of agility, I have never ever needed to be running in the opposite direction in a trial, but having the skill has certainly made the crazy challenges we DO see in trials into MUCH easier challenges LOL!
>>Also I want to be able to send him from a distance.>>
Yes, that is an important skill!
>>We have a full set of 2×2 weaves, so we can do that or make them into a channel.>>
This is the first time that I have used the 2x2s and channels simultaneously and I have got to say… I love it! I am working both progressions with my 3 youngsters and they are picking up sooooo much faster with less training time (they each get less because there are 3 of them LOL!) So if possible, use both! The 2x2s as channels should work perfectly for that track.
Keep me posted!
TracyGood morning!
>>I think the moving parts of this one made smoke come out my ears. I think I may be too early on my toy placement looking back- maybe lu-rly… although me moving, aiming, watching was SO HARD.>>
I feel that pain! While you might have been a tiny bit early on the straight-on reps here and there, overall I think your timing was fine and NOT lurely 🙂 he was totally heading to the entry on those – and if you were too early, he could have easily gone around the poles to grab the toy. So it was good! And also a nice distraction for him to maintain his commitment to the poles (especially on the harder entries) in the face of the flying toy! Yay!!!!
>> My aim was pretty good here so I am proud.
Agree! I am impressed!
>> He did super. Zero failures other than an early take off without a release.>>
Also agree. He freakin’ rocked it: fast and accurate! And the early takeoff was just a crime of passion, no big deal.
You can use two high value toys to help get rid of that massive victory lap 🙂 I use 2 frizzers with Contraband so that he comes right back. I don’t mind victory laps all that much *except* they are incredibly inefficient in a training session: these boys run around and get hot & tired, which reduces the length of the session. It looks like it was only that one big lap, so you probably only need the 2nd toy right at the beginning.
>>I didn’t need to do any collar restraint to get him have forward focus for this session. I felt like he was working without it. In general, I try to avoid color grabs in high arousal because they can sometimes lead to tooth hugs but we’ve gotten a lot better >>
Got it! Makes sense. I think his forward focus here was lovely! But don’t give yourself a lead out on the ‘easier’ entries – start him right next to your leg like you did on the harder entries. That allows him to feel the driving ahead or driving away from you to get into the entry.
Super session here! Next session, angle the poles more 🙂 Wheeeee!
Remind me about your access to channels – you have a set, yes? I think you should also add in some channel sessions 🙂Great job!
TracyGood morning and welcome! He is SO COOL!!!! I am excited to see him learn to weave 🙂
This session was super nice! He is very clever and figured it right away 🙂 Dogs that have been shaped sort this out REALLY quickly 🙂 I love how he got faster on the part of the session after the cookie re-load (or whatever that break was LOL!) There were lots of little breaks in here, and that is great. At 1:35, you were changing your position and I was not as sure what the line of poles were there – you were alternating between entries and back-and-forth shaping, I think? So, you can now formalize it into the progression with the clock and move past the back-and-forth offering. Poles can start at 3and 9 (with your v-shape cookie target at 6 o’clock) and he will only go one direction (towards 6 o’clock) and that is where you can change your start position – but don’t change the cookie position (reward target line). The reward line is what really helps define the line of weaves which makes adding the angles easier. So while he can get rewarded for coming back to you through the poles, it is more ideal that you can him around the poles, line him up, and re-send.
Because he was so fabulous here, you can start the poles at 3 and 9 on the next session but I am betting that you will very quickly be able to angle them to 2 and 8. Yay!
>>I genuinely appreciated how you provided the fantastic field guide. When I saw it, I thought it would be helpful. Unfortunately, I forgot to print it out so I apologize in advance because I am sure I forgot some of the steps.>>
No worries LOL!! I have a photo of it on my phone (which is always nearby haha) and use the phone to scratch in my notes for easy saving in the photo section. The most important part is trying to remember what to do for the next session 🙂
>>BTW: After looking at the video, I can see that I have started baking in “head checks”>>
Head checks are normal during the first shaping session, especially when we are waiting to be sure the dog gets between the poles and while the dog is learning about the reward lines. When you go to the around-the-clock angles with the reward target always being in that one spot – he is going to head check a lot less. Also, early on with the poles still pretty open, it is easier to throw really early so Cowboy will keep looking ahead.
Great job here!!! I am looking forward to more!
TracyGood morning!
I think this session is a useful for answering some of his questions! There are a couple of things structurally in the session to change in order to get more clarity for him, which will also bring more accuracy and more speed 🙂 Yay!first, definitely put a timer on the session to take a less is more approach. A short session will also leave him wanting more, which will help with the speed. We humans don’t feel the difficulty of a 7 minute session because we are not really moving 🙂 He was walking here so we want him to start to jog/run – and he will only run if the session is very short (2-3 minutes tops). If he expects the sessions to be long, he will not offering running because he is going to conserve energy (smart!) You can do several short sessions a couple of times a day – but keeping them short, fast and fun will really help.
Also – obsess more on your rate of success – he had a whole lot of errors here, which is also part of the reason the session was long and he was walking. If he fails once, make it easier right away, or switch to a spot where you know he will get it right, then go back to the harder spot. When that rate of success goes up, his speed will also go up. And if there is a spot where he can’t get it – you can leave it til the next session. I leave trouble spots pretty quickly if the dog is failing and I can’t help him out 🙂
Using a 1 failure rule for a few sessions will pump up the rate of success and then when he is running, you can go back to the 2 failure rule. Remember that the 2 failure rule is really for the entire session, not just one spot on the clock. (Also, the line up cookies keep the rate of success high, because they do count towards the math of the rate of success :))
To help get that rate of success very high, take out the threadle side entries for now and focus on the sending side entries – so anything on the 11, 10, 9, 8 side of the clock (the Pet Tutor is at 6) should begin on your left side. Any sends on the 1, 2, 3, 4 side should be from your right side.
>>Related question is the threadle the wrap around the poles to the entry?>>
Threadle side entry is kind of a rear cross entry, where he has to slide between you and the poles to make the entry and where he has to turn away to get from the entry to pole 2. Another way to look at it is that the other side of the poles (2nd pole here) might be the more ‘obvious’ entry. So a threadle entry would be him on your right side for the 11, 10, 9, 8 angles and on your left side for the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 angles.
You can use line up cookies to get him where you want him before you send him, so he is lined up in the right direction. The balance of reps on the last couple of sessions has been a little too much on the threadle side of things, and I think he is confused as to which direction the weaves go.
For example, with the harder entries at 8 o’clock – at 1:40 he was on your right and your position was blocking the line to the entry so he was not sure about how to get past you. When he was on your right, he was offering going all the way around the poles to make the correct entry from the other side – which is actually quite brilliant! But we don’t want him to do that LOL! So this is a good spot for you to use the line up cookie to get him on your left and send him on your left at 8 o’clock.And that will also reflect on the opposite side of the clock at the 5 oclock spot: when you sent him from your right side: excellent! When he was on your left (the threadle side) he was confused about which way the line was going- and that is why for now I would keep him on your right side for the 1-2-3-4-5 side of the clock until those entries are super solid. I think when he lost even the easy entries, it was just a product of lower rate of success and long session. He did get them back later but we don’t want to lose the easy entries.
On think you can add is your motion, especially from the 12-1-2-3 angles (on your right) and the 11-10-9 angles on your left! Sending and walking, so he gets used to the idea that you will be moving too 🙂 I think he will like that!
Let me know if it makes sense! And of course let me know how it goes 🙂
TracyHi! I thought I replied but clearly I never hit “Post”. Sorry!!
>>Robbie is so easy I have to remember to go slow…we are at the obvious end of straight tunnel in 2 sessions. Not on verbal but working on that too.>>
If he can do it with the physical cue, that is great! You can add in the verbal and you can also stand still and only use the verbal 🙂 That tunnel threadle verbal is a lifesaver LOL!
>>And he completely gets the threadle slice with the strike a pose…dives in between me and stanchion, over bump to his toy..no more hand touch. I had to slow down though because he was self releasing when he saw me go into strike a pose. Did more stay work etc and he’s better now. Will keep throwing his toys back intermittently to support his attention on stays.>>
Good boy! The hand touch does get faded, so I am glad to hear that he is really getting the threadle idea!!! Onwards to adding motion! And yes, keep rewarding the stay as it will serve you well if you have a serpy opening on a course, and it will also help him maintain contact criteria if you show serp or threadle handling before he finishes the contact (especially on a running contact where you will be hustling!)
Keep me posted 🙂
TracyHi!
>> I do have a second teeter that I can set-up that is not a competition teeter. I think it would be good for her to get on that one because it moves a lot more.
I 100% agree! I like to show dogs the other types of teeters and not just the beautiful, quiet ones 🙂
>>I also can try to get to some friends’ teeters this weekend hopefully.>>
Perfect! Even if you can’t get there this weekend, it is something good for the future 🙂
On your video – she did ask a little question on the very first rep, but then yes, I see what you mean: you couldn’t keep her off of it LOL! Good girl!!!! And she also didn’t mind the turning around and going back down, which is all sorts of movement and noise too. She was happy with the rear crosses, with you sending, with you driving ahead, crosses, she was a happy girlie. And she was relaxed enough to spend quality time at the top of the board to be sure she got every crumb of the reward haha! Excellent session!
You can move the position of the wing supporting the board to add a tiny bit of tip, I think she is ready. And when you get outside and have introduced the teeter outside, you can definitely add the wing, I think she will like that!One other thought – since you are training the 2o2o, you can rig a target that is past the end of the board so she goes further up the board and gets her toes right at the very end. Before I had the teeter teach it, I was very fancy (not) and used duct tape to attach a long spoon to the underside of the board. It stuck out just far enough that the dog would put her toes at the end of the board and reach forward off the board to get the reward – and I also bent the spoon upwards so the dog didn’t have to reach down too much to get the reward.
Great job! Keep me posted on how she does with more tip 🙂Tracy
Hi! You’re going to laugh – I think the end behavior might be too easy for him, so he is able to get it right AND look at you for the cookies. Because he is smart, we can make the behavior harder and then he has to to do more to get the cookies – which translates to looking at you less 🙂
2 ideas for making that happen – try elevating the target a bit, having it on a thick piece of cardboard or something so it is something he can almost step up onto. Since it is a foot target, you can also consider having it as a strip across the length of the end of the board so he can put both feet up on it.The other idea is to that rather than just have him touch the target when he gets there, add one more behavior, something fun that will keep him focused on task. I have my 4on dogs scratch at the target, so they drive there and scratch scratch scratch… and that keeps their heads low, they look at the target, and they love it 🙂 Does he like to scratch or dig? If so, we can shape it to the target and then add it to the teeter. And a super fun end behavior like that will also really help build the drive to the end of the board.
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi Helen! I think we have entered the stage of the uphill and downhill games where my replies are going to be super boring! They are all starting to sound like this:
That was great! He was fast, he was focused, he looked REALLY confident and drove all the way to the end. Now… add more tip.
So on your next session can have a tiny bit more tip… you can get creative about what you use to support the board while incrementally adding a more tip because we only want maybe another half inch of tip here.
And if I am wrong and he is NOT ready for more tip, and you see him slowing down or getting worried or leaving the session… immediately go back to the level you had here on this video.
I think he is enjoying the cheesing here: cheese on the end of the board, cheese for the stay… he looks happy with all aspects of it LOL!
Great job!! Keep me posted about how he does with more tip.
TracyHi! I am glad the snow is receding!!! Fingers crossed that things will dry out quickly 🙂
Backing up is going well! She was really thinking about finding the board with her back feet and you had some good distance going!! I’d like to get her head a little lower – You were leaning over to keep the rewards low but she was still lifting her head… so you should sit or this one (either on the floor or in a chair, whichever is more comfortable), so your cookie hands are low enough that she lowers her head. I think ideally her chin would be at the center of her chest – that will really open up hind end independence and weight shift! And the more we can convince her to lower her head, the better 🙂
End position: really nice!! She is driving straight and fast, hitting position with complete focus and accuracy, and only after that is she looking for you. Fabulous! It looks like you were able to add all sorts of challenges by changing your position and she didn’t change her behavior at all. GOOD GIRL! So, take this to as many different places as possible, even if it is just around your house 🙂 And if possible, prop the ‘get on’ side of it up so the board is angled. A FitBone or something similar is perfect because it adds movement but is also going to hold the end of the board pretty well.
Mountain Climbers look great too! All of your RDW work has built a lot of plank confidence so this seemed easy for her. She drove ahead beautifully! Rear Cross? No problem. When you have more room, you can add more of you driving past the end of the board (I am thinking this will also be no problem for her at all). Using this setup… add more tip 🙂 Start with just a little bit of tip and see what she thinks of it! Her response will let us know how quickly we can proceed, but so far she looks amazing!
Great job here! Let me know what you think! Onwards to the next steps 🙂
Tracy
