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Yay, swimming!!! I think the 2×2 work gave him a strong understanding of the entries but the channels are giving him the striding. Your description makes total sense (my big dog was doing the same thing). Smart choice to go to the channels, I really like what he was doing here! His only striding question was on the rear cross challenges. So, in your next session, tighten the poles up by the width of one finger and present him with easier handling challenges so he can focus on his striding (we only one to increase the difficulty of one variable per session). And if that is fine and dandy, you can leave the poles at that tightness and add the harder handling challenges on the session after that 🙂 I think he is going to absorb it like a sponge! Great job here!!
Tracy
Good morning! Yes, he is doing well here! I want to really focus on getting him doing it with you moving.
>>Other than one rep where I had too much movement (no surprise Katarina made me sit in a chair during early dog walk work), he was doing great finding entries. And you could also really see him doing a bit of weaving footwork. He was 100% finding that straight entry with me stationary, so I think next time I could add some slow motion.>>
You are going to laugh but for the weaving: no more standing still. LOL and definitely no chair!
I think with the weaves, I would take the opposite approach and install the motion before closing the poles. He is doing a lot of great entries and the poles are getting tighter… but there is very little motion. And when we go to add motion, chances are he might not fully understand the weaves so I think at this stage it becomes really important to add the motion. Make that the priority over closing the poles with little or no motion. His success rate with you stationary or very slow is really high, so the next step is going to be working up to you being able to run.On the rep where you moved and he did not get then entry at :19, there was not anything really incorrect about the motion (he got it with the same motion on the previous rep) and that was the hard spot for him last time too. So adding in motion is key here. When he missed, you went back to standing still so he was successful but we don’t want to dial back to stationary. You can keep moving along the line there and if the success rate is low… open the angle a tiny bit. Let’s get the motion going and then it will be pretty staightforward to close the poles up.
And if he has 2 errors, don’t change your motion – change the angles of the poles to get success 🙂
Great job!! Let me know if that makes sense!
TracyGood morning!
Tell them that rain is not acceptable right now, we are too busy. LOL!On your 2x2s: yes, he was really good with you walking and near the entry. 100%! Towards the end of the session, you were walking and ahead of the entry, which is good because we don’t want you near the entry all the time so putting yourself ahead is great and also starting really close to the cone so he drives ahead is great too.
Question: with just one base of straight poles, how does he do when you run? I suggest revisiting that – using the cone and poles 1-2 straight, let’s find the question and answer it there. Then it should be easy to add poles 3-4. You might need to layer in running by adding fake running first (arms pumping or leaning forward but not moving faster than a walk) to see how he does.
And when poles 3-4 go back in, you can also reward between the 2 bases to keep the entry really valuable.On the channels clip – he did really well! And excellent butt usage in the dirt rolling LOL! For the channels – at this stage, try to always run. That will bubble over into the 2x2s because he will be used to seeing motion everywhere 🙂 And the channels are easier right now, so he will be more successful with the running 🙂
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
Great job using the tunnels for the variety of entries!
Looking at striding first: I think based on the width of the poles here, she did really well. The poles are still just open enough that she doesn’t quite need to choose a stride pattern, so she is making it work with good speed and rhythm here. And she found her entries really nicely too!
She is getting nice consistent speed in the poles themselves, and is faster to the poles overall without losing the accuracy of the entries. So 2 ideas for you:– if possible, have her do one or two reps, then let her watch one of her sisters do something (tunnels, weaves, anything fast and fun). Then Keiko does another rep or two. Then her sister gets a turn. That adds a layer of stimulation that can get her to run more like a maniac into the weave entry. Admittedly, it is a pain in the ass to do this but it is fun and also ends up allowing for more reps because she rests in between and won’t get fatigued. I do this with my smallest dog: she watches the other 2 train so she is MUCH wilder during training which has resulted in more speed to and through the weaves 🙂 (And more tunnel commitment, strangely enough, but I will take it LOL!)
– tighten up the poles! She has the speed and rhythm in the poles and looks super accurate finding the entries. So…. onwards to every so slightly tightening them up. In the video above, are both sets at 1&7? If not, they can both go to 1&7 (hard to tell from the camera angle). Then if they are still a bit far apart, move poles 3-4 closer to poles 1-2. We might be seeing some striding there! Fun! And then we can work towards poles 1-2 going straight later this week.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
I am also excited about this!!!!
On the downhills – the weight shift was just fine 🙂 We aren’t really asking for a behavior there that requires more weight shift because we are basically asking him to run across and eat LOL! And the more forward he is running across the board, the faster the teeter performance will be so I think he was perfect. Note how he was in no rush to release when you released him, and he was hanging out near the end of the board when you moved towards the camera. Those are small signals but also HUGE in that he is a lot happier to be doing the teeter (you have invested a lot of squeeze cheese into getting him there LOL!).
I think he was faster doing the downhill when you wrapped him around the cone then ran him into the setup, so try that next time (I tell most people NOT to do that but he is incredibly coordinated and is able to maintain speed without losing balance, so it produces more speed and excitement).When he gives you two short sessions on this setup where he is a bit of a joyous wild man driving across the board… fade the blue table out and let him run to the ground. That is a MASSIVE change so show it to him first with the bang game or elevator game there as a warm up, then let him kinda meander down the board. When he gives you the paws up… then add back the speeeeeeed and reward him even if it is not as fast as you want it yet. He strikes me as a dog that has to think about big changes before he can lay on the speed, and that is fine!
Because you mentioned you feel like he is still concerned about falling off, check out the angled approaches game. That uses a game he is very familiar with to teach him how to balance getting on the board so he doesn’t fret about possibly falling off.
Good job on the elevator game!!! He was doing it correctly but he seemed a bit less confident at first. So two things – be sure to say your target cue and then drop the board within a second, so he can predict when it will move. And, because he is so wiggly during the countdown and seems to be trying to lick your face, you can actually do the countdown more quickly. So it is more of a 3.2.1 and less of a 3…….2………..1…………….. LOL! Some dogs LOVE the anticipation of the drawn out countdown. Some dogs are more like “get on with it, lady!” My medium sized dog definitely prefers the fast countdown because she is already on edge and the countdown is more for information and not as a fun anticipation game. She presents many of the same behaviors as Krome when my countdown is too slow (leaning back too much, wiggling, face kissing). As soon as I switched to a fast countdown: boom! The game got much better.
You will find that you can move into the Elevator game part 2 within the next couple of sessions! It is an easy addition to what you are already doing (it was posted yesterday).
Great job here! Let me know what you think.
TracyGood morning!
This session looked good! We don’t see a lot of speed in the downhills here because there is no momentum to start, so what I look for is the dog driving to the end and not stopping early. He was great! So let’s plan for the next steps:
Talk to me about the Tip Assist device: a couple of questions. Is there a way to remove the tall arms or make them shorter? We want to be incremental about fading them because they are a visual aid he might be using and taking them out entirely might be too big of a leap.
If they cannot be shortened, then we can replace the tip assist with something else for the board to land on, like a block of some sort with the target on it? What do you have that will hold the teeter, isn’t too tall or noise, and the target can be attached to?And the other question – it looks like the board is very close to the ground now (SUPER YAY!) so as soon as we transition the visual away from the Tip Assist and he is producing the same behavior (running down to a block or something with the loaded target), then we can go to the next steps and get him running to the ground and the end position. Yay! It is a big step forward to the finished behavior, so I want to make sure we don’t skip the steps of transitioning away from the Tip Assist. Let me know what you think and we will get it going.,
Great job!!!
TracyGood morning! Excellent news about the wobble board 🙂 And letting him watch his sister do it is a fun way to raise arousal!
If you have access to a tunnel or something near the teeter, you can let him watch his sister run through the tunnel a few times (not the teeter, just the tunnel) and then bring Summit out to his teeter one hit wonder rep. That can get him really stimulated and he might be less concerned about the board!Also excellent news about the bang game!!! Super! Keep playing this, adding more tip very incrementally with lots of high value, one hit wonder sessions, mixed in with tunnels and other fast and fun things he loves 🙂 You can start the elevator game but do it with only the tiniest bit of tip, maybe half and inch. The elevator game and bang game tracks can go a long way to helping him love the teeter.
About the level non-moving teeter: it is totally normal that the different trackers progress forward at different rates. It sounds like the wobble board and bang game are progressing really nicely! So on the full board – how tall is it? One thing you can do is lower it – get it as low as you can, so he is going back and forth only a couple of inches off the ground, and teach him the hop-on, turn around, hop-off game there. My guess is he does not yet love that foundation plankrobatics game? So starting there on a really low board can help break through to more and more confidence. Then we can look at running him across the lowest possible board, doing something line tunnel-low board-tunnel.
Let me know what you think! He is making progress so we will keep finding the ways to help him 🙂 Great job!!!
TracyHi! Glad to hear about the Zoom call – trying to find a day/time for it has been challenging!!
And I think you will find the next package is generally a continuation of what you are already doing with the addition of one new game that is not too challenging to add (and similar to something he did in puppy class). This week’s stuff and the last set of games in 2 weeks are all about putting it together and taking it different places, so it is now just a matter of working very progressively. I figure we will be working here in the Forum until the end of May, at least, so no one feels rushed 🙂
Speaking of working progressively, nice job on the target fading! He didn’t seem to have any questions about the smaller target with all the challenges and just as I was thinking you probably should make the target smaller… you did. And he again had no problems. He was slowing down a bit, but I think that might have been fatigue – the teeter work is entering the same stage as the weaves work where the concussion on the body as the teeter lands coupled with the core strength required is a lot on young dogs (or any dogs) – so one start to limit your reps, I would say no more than 10 per session, and sessions on rotating days. (I give the teeter a lot of respect once it really starts dropping – the PT people say the teeter is one of the last obstacles to put the dog on when rehabbing an injury – along with the weaves. LOL!). So since he has the idea really nicely, you can fade the target more and do fewer reps with more breaks in between. The sliding was all good and I don’t think he cared when the plank slipped off the boss board – it added very true to life teeter movement LOL!
The Elevator Game is going well!!! I agree that the turkey hot dogs made for smoother mechanics – when the cream cheese was above his head, he was getting the idea to NOT look at it and to look forward instead, but his head was in a better spot with the pre-placed treats. I also like that he was starting to look forward and even dip into the down during the countdown!! That is what we want! Good job getting him right to the end of the board and getting the mechanics to feel smoother.
About holding his collar – I couldn’t tell if he was noodling with that because he didn’t want to be touched, or if he thought the cream cheese was there? But a gentle hand on collar or on his back is a good stabilizer and I think he was fine with it overall.
The only nit pick on the mechanics is about the words: try to say the target word and then drop the board (rather than simultaneously) so it is more of a cue/antecedent. And also be sure to use your release words/cookie markers and don’t release on “yes” (we all get into that habit, I constantly catch myself LOL!)For the next elevator games – as with targeting, this game gets pretty concussive now, so limit reps to 8 to 10 at most.
I suggest doing it at this tip first with you standing as long as it won’t kill your back to bend over a bit). Then with this tip – fade the pre-placed treats. Then, over the next several sessions, add more tip and each time you add tip, you can start with the pre-placed treats as a reminder about where to look. This builds into the Elevator Part 2 from yesterday pretty easily 🙂Nice work here!! Let me know what you think!
TracyOMG Nuptse, he was so funny on the first rep! I think he forgot a little of the mountain climbers then tried to fix it. Ha! But then he was perfect. The good news is that he seems to have become fearless about the teeter!! And he was lining himself up perfectly. You can fade those guides by making them shorter (or replacing them with shorter things). The only thing I would not want to use are number cones, as they will almost never right at the end of the board and I don’t want Nuptse to think that he needs to cue off the location of the number cone 🙂
Great job!!!!!
TracyGood morning!
This looks great – I loved the squiggly toy distraction on your plank work!!
Added bonus: not really in this class, but I figure he can try it… do the plank work like that with you running past and a jump right there. Then do it with a tunnel right there 🙂 You can put the target back in to get it start then fade the target. The goal is to help him love to stop in position even with the temptation of an obstacle right ahead. It can be pretty close, like 4 or 5 feet (or less – I worked up to having the tunnel 6 inches away for one of my older, tunnel-loving dogs :))The bang game also looks great! You can add to this a bit by putting a wing where the cookie bucket it, then the cookie bucket is several feet past the wing. Then it can be a mini sequence of bang game, release to wrap the wing, then on to the cookie bucket. The goal is similar to my suggestion above in terms of helping to solidify the stop in the face of other obstacles, and also it will allow you to start fading the visual of the cookie bucket.
let me know if this all makes sense, I might be under-caffeinated 🙂 Great job here!
TracyGood morning!
The minny pinny games are for the soft turns, not wraps (I also use left/right for my soft turns and different noises for each wrap).
It builds off of the MaxPup 1 lesson here:
https://agility-u.com/lesson/bending-and-the-left-right-minny-pinny-2/Tracy
Hi!
>>My “ai-ai-ai” verbal is supposed to be for food from my hand, and “get it” is supposed to be for a reward thrown ahead. In our previous session, as you noted, I was using ai-ai-ai too early, and it was confused with the “Yes” marker for the wrap. I am noticing these timing issues and working to clean them up. At this point, because I’ve been adding some new verbals into the mix, some are instinctive and some aren’t quite there yet. But I do understand and agree with what you’re saying, and am working toward clarity.>>
Training mechanics are the hardest part of it all. I distinctly remember having to work on mechanics under supervision until deemed worthy, before being allowed anywhere near the animals! Makes me laugh to look at the first day of the first chicken camp and remember that we were not allowed to work the chickens. We spent the day working out the mechanics. Clarity is hard! And I really appreciate the times when my dogs let me be not so clear 🙂
>>Your feedback on what to do when he says “nope!” is so helpful. I’ve been torn about this in these moments. >>>
This is the most difficult question in animal training: what to do in this moment!
>>I don’t like feeling like I’m pleading with him for engagement. I just don’t think that is productive for our relationship. >>
Agree! I didn’t think you were pleading. You can move to a different spot and ask a different question to see if engagement is possible. For example – you asked if he was ready for another wing wrap. He said nope. Ok, cool. You can ask again – if he still says nope, you can ask him if he is available for a spin or high five or something goofy. Yes? Cool! Here is a toy or cookie. Then ask another question to see if you can get engagement enough to keep going, or end the session. If you ask a different question and he still says nope -also cool, end the session, review the video, make a plan, phone a friend LOL
>>I have had some success with switching things up, but not 100% of the time.
I think the most helpful thing ever is a session timer. Either 60 seconds, or 5 treats for example. If I had to choose the one thing that universally caused the dog to offer a ‘nope’ answer, it is consistently that sessions went to long for the dog’s internal state.
>> And that “finish on a positive” note adage has been getting me stuck.
That is old school dog trainer “conventional wisdom” also known as bull sh*ttery that is unsupported by data or studies LOL! And it can wreak havoc on an otherwise good session.
>>I’ve been thinking about all of this a lot lately and how Phyzz and I have marched to our own timeline in a lot of ways over the years and he is still very competitive. >>
1000% true!
>>This helps me to not sweat it when WM’s training doesn’t always progress in a “linear” fashion.
Correct! Puppy training is never linear, even though social media certainly makes it look that way. All of the training is up and down back and forth all the time 🙂
>> There is some scientific evidence about epigenetics contributing to variation in heat tolerance phenotypes among animals, such that tolerance for heat could be enhanced over time through multigenerational exposure. With WM, acclimation to heat may take longer to develop if he doesn’t have as much of a genetic foundation for heat tolerance.>>
That is fascinating!!!! It could explain why my Voodoo has such good heat regulation compared to other all-black dogs that I know.
T
Hi!
Very nice session here! He did well with everything, especially those rear crosses! The only thing he had trouble with was the blind cross at the very end, that distracted him and he hit poles 3-4. Definitely something to revisit!He is easily striding poles 1-2, but poles 3-4 are a little too open for him to stride with the bounce, so close them up a little more – only enough to produce the bounce.
I think you can do that before moving the closer and I bet he will be fine when they are closer too. Yay!
For the Find ‘Em game, I meant this one, sorry for the confusion:
https://agility-u.com/lesson/find-e-track-2x2s-game-2/
Great job here! Have fun!
TracyHi!
>>So I must apologize for posting the wrong video in my last post. That last one with the 2x2s was the same as my previous post, which you had already given my feedback on. So you must have been wondering why i was still using the clicker, when you had advised me not to use for these exercises>>
Ha! I thought it was vaguely familiar and that you had mentioned working on one side but the video showed the other…. but I figured I just needed more coffee hahaha!!!
On both of these videos, lots of good stuff! One suggestion for both of them, in terms of motion:
When you run really fast, she has questions: either hitting the poles on the right side sends (2x2s) or missing entries on the left side sends (channels). To help her, you slow all the way down and she gets it. But I think we can meet her in the middle so instead of slowing all the way down, show her parts of the running without making it too stimulating: fake running!
For example, pumping your arms really fast like you are running, but you are just walking (you might see me do this with my medium sized black pup, who finds running really stimulating). Or leaning forward. Or walking slowly but praising (she sometimes rushes on the 2x2s when you praise her and hits the poles).I think showing her fast running in little bits of it will allow you to build up to the real fast running without the errors. Let me know if that makes sense, or if I need more coffee hahaha!!!
Otherwise, I think she is doing great!! For the 2x2s, she is doing really nicely with the meatball throwing: left side looks great ! She sometimes hits the poles on the right side, so be relatively quiet and show some fake running there. But I think you tighten up poles 3-4 so they are 2&8 for a bit, then 1&7.
Channels are also looking good – yes, add the crazier handling on the open poles when you get a change. Separately, on 6 poles, you can start to tighten them a bit too!
And for both the channels and the 2x2s, you can add in the Find Em game from the wings 🙂
Great job!
TracyHA! The rolling at the end was so funny!
Straight entries are like the tighty whities of weave training… NOT sexy at all but they get used the most and end up being very comfortable. They are pretty challenging too!
So – you can do a couple of things to help. You can move poles 3-4 a little further away so they are less distracting. And you can be in motion the whole time, but not as fast. I like to do the straight entries from wing wraps, so there is some speed in there and the dog learns to go fast then collect.And yes, be patient on your toy throws 🙂 I think you are better with the harder entries because you work them more, so do a couple of sessions of only straight-ish entries 🙂 to balance the rate of success there.
Then you can start angling poles 3-4 too! Yay!>>Overall his speed looks pretty good even with a few failures.
I agree! He is looking good!
>>I do feel like his head is popping up some anticipating the reward. It could also be because the second poles are open and he’s not having to bend his body as much?>>
Yes, I think that was it – poles 304 are really easy right now so he is just looking for the toy. That will go away as poles 3-4 angle a bit 🙂
Nice work here! Go get your tighty whities in shape! And I really hope you know what tighty whities are and it is not just a Northeast thing hahaha!
Tracy
