Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Hi! Great session here too! All of the momma-running challenges look great, so those can all get added tip like I mentioned above. He definitely had a “what the?”response to the rear cross and also a little bit when you were decelerating a little later in the session. I am glad you abandoned the rear for now, because we don’t want him asking questions LOL! So, approach that separately without much tip at all: put the BEST rewards at the top (peanut butter? Squeeze cheese? Rack of lamb? Lol) and just work the sending where you are stationary and he goes up the board entirely without you. Get him barking first haha 🙂 He might be slower at first but that is fine – as long as he goes up the board and eats the thing. Then you can go get him to help him off the top. We haven’t really focused much on sending him without you because we have really wanted to support him, but I think he is ready for the sends now!
Good plan for teeter-tables later. It is gorgeous weather here, I hope you are getting the same!
Tracy
Hi!
On the first video – I think the teach it placement relative to the teeter worked well here, it was sitting on the rubber thingies, yes?
He did well here! He was moving up the board but not racing up the board – so for the next session, do the exact same amount of tip so he gets more into the racing up the board. And when coming from the wing, help line him up so he has a really straight path – he was finding the board fine from angles but he has to slow down to do it and we want him to go full bore up the board 🙂 We are now entering the ‘adding tip’ stage of the games so in general, we spend 2 or 3 short sessions like this at each tip, then add more.The session at LU also went well. I gotta say… I think his best reps were when you got him barking before you started (SORRY KEVIN!! Ok, not sorry, but ya know…. haha!) So, get him barking, make him deranged, then giddy up. He did well at the original tip, and did well with the added tip!!!
So a plan of attack for the next session:
* Barking 🙂
* One run up the board at the easier tip he had here, very little tip. Assess: Fast and happy? Add a little more. Not happy? Either repeat or go back to easier tip.
And repeat the process for another rep: barking, up the board, add more tip (just a half inch).
Then on the last 2 reps – go back to easier tip! That will finish him on a bang of excitement and easy challenge.
Let me know if that makes sense!Bang game is looking great!! Especially the left side rep – BOOM right into position. Fab! Try to get reward in right away for getting into position and then release. Don’t add any type of ‘stay’ challenge to it here on the teeter yet. You can totally do that on the unmoving plank, but for the teeter I would like him to be in the ‘you can do no wrong’ mode for a while longer. I don’t want to tell him he is wrong for anything related to the teeter at this point, so we won’t ask the questions about staying yet haha! Those questions can be asked on the plank and on the start line.
Have you don’t bang game at LU recently? That can definitely go in the rotation, plus you can add a tiny bit more tip on this game at home too.
Great job!
TracyHi! Here is how to change the photo:
Our website software pulls profile images from a popular profile image service called Gravatar. You can create an account at Gravatar.com using the same email address that you use on agility-u.com. Then follow these instructions to upload your profile photo over on Gravatar: https://en.gravatar.com/support/activating-your-account/
Have fun!
TracyHi!
I was totally thinking of Hairy Maclary! I didn’t know the author was from NZ!!! So cool 🙂 and yes my dogs all have a first name, a middle name, and about 35,000 nicknames each haha! “Ginger Weirdo” made me laugh out loud LOL!He did a great job on the mountain climbers here! The session had a good structure – starting with supporting him by going with him up the board, easy! Then adding more challenges. When watching, I look to see any dips in confidence, change in behavior, questions on any of the different challenges… Nope! His answer to all of your questions was “GO FAST!”. Nice! Seems totally confident so…. add more tip 🙂 Just a tiny bit more. The goal is that he does not really notice the added tip and is happy like he was here, with similar structure to the session – start it easy, then add more challenge and excitement.
The other thing you can do (before adding tip) is add the wing before the teeter so he gets used to running up the board with more speed and excitement. And yes, be sure to help him off the board so he doesn’t leap off LOL! It is a sign of confidence in many ways, but we still don’t want him to leap off the top 🙂
Great job! I will go get the avatar info and post up here in a minute for you.
TracyHi! The tip here seemed to be no problem, which is great! I think partially it is because he is happier with the tip in general (hello, peanut butter!) and also because there was less tip here.
For the end position – he was getting the idea of where to put his feet quite nicely (because you were consistently placing the reward well). So the next step is to get him to not look at you 🙂 It is an easy answer: we will be adding a target to this game, as we add in the end position. The specifics on all that comes in the next games package on Monday, but feel free to get a head start and put his target out for him to drive to. We will add it in, get the end position going really well, marry a few games together, then fade the target over the next bunch of weeks 🙂
The other thing you can do is add more tip (without the target) but instead of waiting for him to move into position, just move your hand in as he is leaping on to get the reward into position so the treat is there as he is landing on the board – that will encourage 2o2o quite nicely too!Great job on all of these!!
TracyPeanut butter is magic indeed, so is squeeze cheese based on what the other dogs in this class are saying LOL!!! I need to go shopping 🙂 Check out his tail on these reps – definitely in happy position! And don’t take this personally, but after you sent him down the board, he didn’t give a hoot about what you were doing or where you were going. It was all about getting to the end of the board LOL! Good boy 🙂 He is driving straight through the tip with no questions and no concerns from what I can see here…. so if possible, add some more tip, just a little 🙂 I am excited by all the progress he is making!!
T
Good morning! The mountain climbers are looking really good!
I am really excited about how well he did in the new place, new teeter, good distractions of barking in the background. He does definitely love it when you are moving and running past but I think he still did a great job when you were sending. Great job starting off with easy reps to just be sure he wasn’t going to freak out – then adding more excitement. And good choice of how much tip to give him. It is all about confidence in these new places and on new teeters! I like that your set up had tip AND a bit of noise – the Clip And Go teeter is so quiet that sometimes the dogs don’t realize teeters are noisy til they get on a different teeter! So the little rattle here was perfect. A really great session!
Now normally I would say you can add a wing wrap before this teeter game but he kinda finds those wing wrap starts to be dull… so next time, add a tunnel before it, or a lead out on a jump! I think he would enjoy the added speed challenge and would still be fine with the teeter.The home session also looked really strong – that teeter had plenty of movement and noise, and he seemed perfectly fine with it. Yes, you can lead out more and start the crosses sooner so he sees it before arriving at the peanut butter spot… but I think it won’t make a difference in his performance LOL!! And that is very happy-making 🙂
So at this point with the mountain climbers, we are entering the more more more stage of adding more tip, very gradually, tiny bit at a time. Keep spot checking the different challenges but you can add a little more tip and see how he does!
Great job 🙂
TracyGood morning!
His little sequences look great!!! I have a little bit of guilt about not doing a lot of sequence work on balance with the obstacle work, but I figure the youngsters just finished a rotation that was heavy on sequencing so the little break is good. He looks GREAT!!!The mountain climbers also look great – he pretty much drive to the end the same way every time, regardless of what you do. Perfect! He is confident AND he loves cheese: the perfect storm for teeter training LOL!
Taking a ‘spot checking’ approach to the different challenges as you add tip is fine when he is confident. You don’t have to do all the challenges in every session, as long as you keep track and don’t accidentally neglect any challenges. You had a good mix here!
The only time I would make sure to do every challenge is if I see any questions or worry from the dog… so I would focus on more reps at the same level with the challenges and less on adding tip. I don’t see any questions or worry from Presto here, so… onwards!
>>AND I started using the wrong cues for wraps. Ugh. I think I need more sleep. >>
I feel that! Coffee is my friend. I was wearing 2 masks and sunglasses so my face away basically fully covered when I went into a Starbucks to grab a coffee this morning… and yet I was greeted by “Hi Tracy!” Oh dear I guess I have been doing a lot of coffee lately? HA!!!
>>>Any advice and how quickly to add drop? I’m not in a rush, but also happy to move along.
The goal is to ‘boil the frog’ – make it happen slowly enough that he doesn’t even really notice. So, like you were doing, add in a bit more here and there, about a half inch at a time. And if he is confident and fast like he was here? Keep adding. If, at any point, he says “wait, what??” – immediately go back a step, stay there for a bit, then add in a tiny tiny bit. There are more specifics and goals for that coming with the next games package on Monday 🙂
Great job here! Yes, add in the end games and also downhills, they are all going to meet in the middle pretty soon and the games coming on Monday will probably give him the opportunity to move forward really quickly! I am excited!!!!
TracyGood morning and welcome to you and Potion!!! Baby dog is growing up!!! He looks fabulous here and gets a double gold star for ignoring the distractions and the audience 🙂 Perfect!
The mountain climbers look great – he seems nicely confident moving with you, recalling up the board, letting you move past the end, adding speed, and even rear crossing!
He didn’t necessarily want to accelerate past you to the end when you were moving with him at first, but I think the rear crossing will help that (he was happy with that) and also you can do more simple sends where you just stand back at the starting point and don’t go to the end of the board til he arrives there. I think one more session will get him blasting ahead and then you can add a tiny bit more tip – the board was moving a little and rattling a little here, he seems unbothered by it, so you can add a little more.You can also move to adding the wing wrap before the board, I think he is ready for more speed 🙂
It looks like you had a target taped to the end of the board (or something was there :)) so try to put the reward right on that target. To draw him as close as possible to the very end of the board. The reward placement was stopping him a little short of the end here, so you can move it to just off the end of the board. If the reward falls off, try a dab of peanut butter or squeeze cheese to help it stick. Have you decided on a 2o2o or a 4on for him? I think he is the right size where you can have either as a good option. He appears to be the same size as my Border Jack, Export and my Hot Sauce – both of whom do a 2o2o behavior.
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
OF COURSE Cole decides to strip down the instant the camera is turned on LOL!! Kids crack me up! When he is all grown up, this will be a good video to play for him LOL!!!!The backing up is going well – he is actively thinking about his back feet, judging by the independent picking them up and putting them down. NICE! Bearing in mind that form is more important than distance, you can stay really close for a long time – as close as needed til he says “this is the easiest thing ever” and immediately backs up with good form. And, that includes adding more tip – stay close til he can do it with about an inch of tip to the end of the board. So keep nice and close, the only suggestion to is to be very still til you move the reward – you were leaning in towards him a little. I think the leaning was mainly to be able to see what he was doing, so now see if he can offer it with you completely stationary.
The funny thing with the bang game: Just as I was writing “he needs the target” in my notes, you reached over and put the target in. Ha! Perfect! If the target is not visible, don’t wait for him to offer 2o2o – you can just put the cookie in position to help him move into it. When you are waiting for the 2o2o, have the target there as an aid. (More on this coming on Monday). I leave the target there for a while to help, and I think that will make the difference for him. The circling is something to note but not really worry about – it is hard to know if it is excitement/arousal, frustration, value of the end of the board, all of the above, none of the above LOL!! So… I just note it and keep tracking the rate of success 🙂 The target should make it even easier. I think there is also a strip of tape at the end of the teeter board, so you will probably want to remove that visual so he doesn’t question which one he should hit.
Great job!!! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi! The forum can be a pain with images (I need to ask the tech people why that happens) so if you have a photo, you can can email it to me (agilitydals@yahoo.com). Coffee is loading now, so I am more coherent haha!
Hi! The forum can be a pain with images (I need to ask the tech people why that happens) so if you have a photo, you can can email it to me (agilitydals@yahoo.com). Coffee is loading now, so I am more coherent haha!
Hi! Really nice session here! I figured better to start on 4 poles and then maybe the biggest regret would be that it was too easy haha!
And while I am sure the barking dogs on the other side of the wall were annoying in the moment… they were providing a valuable distraction because our youngsters have really not had a lot of exposure to that this year! He was such a good boy to be able to ignore them 🙂You were really nailing the timing of the left-shoulder-pole-3 click on these. There were a couple of reps where he entered by didn’t turn, left shoulder never got to pole 3… no reward. Those no-reward reps were just as informative as the reward reps! I think he was quiet lovely on the left side reps! Yes, he sometimes tried to enter a little further down, but that is normal 🙂 And he did well on the right side reps too on a smaller part of the clock (12, 1, 1:30 lol).
3 ideas for you:
Left side – keep working up to the harder angles on the sending.
Both sides – add motion to the easier angles (left side will probably progress more quickly than the right side, and that is fine)
Right side – I think a basement training session on 2 poles with a clicker (no MM) will help him sort out going all the way around the first pole. His session here on the harder angles is *exactly* what my Elektra was doing on both the channels and the 2x2s, so I brought a set into a tiny area on a snowy day and just did a session or two of shaping that entry from my right (clicked right shoulder at pole 2 for the entry then tossed a cookie). I didn’t ask for speed and the cookie toss kept her from slipping. She seems to think it was super helpful because she is much more balanced making that entry now (finding the “other side” of pole 1). And if your weather is about to go to poo again for a while, this is a great time to do it!Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning! Welcome to weaves!!!
The simple angle at the beginning (poles at 3 and 9) looked good! She probably was asking for an interim cue to be sure when to start offering. But she found all of her entries really well with the addition of the MM as the reward target, especially when you were at really hard angles.
Starting at about 2:20 is when I think she was having confusion based on what you were mentioning from previous experiences with the 2x2s: she was basically asking, which is the line of the weaves?
>> I have always imagined that the 2 poles are at one end of a set of 6 or 12 poles, and so in the lower quadrant here, she would always be expected to go around the right hand pole and then go through the poles at an oblique angle, at least within the same session. >>
I visualize it as an invisible line on the ground with the MM placed pole 12 would be, and the 2x2s rotate around to eventually be straight on that line. And invisible pole 1 is at 12 on the clock, and the MM/pole 12 is at 6 on the close. So you can visualize it as the 2 poles being poles 1 and 2, and the MM being pole 12. Then gently open up the angle of the 2 poles so the #1 pole is more at 1 or 2 o’clock, and pole 2 is more at 7 or 8 o’clock – but the MM is still at 6.
Hopefully that makes sense – the invisible 12 pole line on the clock, running from 12 to 6 🙂 I have not had all my coffee yet this morning LOL!!! And thinking of it like that should remove her question about what exactly the line is and where the correct entry is.
Let me know if that makes sense! I think her next session should have the angled poles (not 3 and 9) so that you can clarify immediately and get high success. And add in the interim cue so she knows when she is allowed to start heading to the poles. And, because she is doing so well… you can add in motion too!Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning! This is going well! A couple of ideas for you for the next session:
– you can add more motion, go faster – I think he is ready for that challenge and it will be fun!
– to build even more independence on the harder angles like when you are at 3 and 9: does he like his collar being held or gentle restraint? To help him focus on the poles without the step, you can gently hold him, give a little ready ready ready then give your weave noise… Then let go. And when you let go, you just walk forward to the reward target, no step. Start really close to the poles and see what he does! If he gets it right with high rates of success – yay! If he is not sure… you can give a tiny step and we will keep fading it.
– he gets a little “meh” on the dead toy after a couple of reps, so until your Manners Minder comes back to life – I think we can go to throwing the reward. Try to throw it when you see him about to enter the poles and ideally before he looks back at you. Throw it pretty long, which also encourages him to look straight and not back at all. I want to go to throwing because I think it will be even more fun for him and also it will add challenge to that collection entry because he will want to go faster 🙂I also think the poles can be a bit more angled, he is doing great!! So maybe one more session in this position adding in the harder angles, then angle them more in the next session.
Great job! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
