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Hi!
The 4on might just be for that individual dog for the bang game 🙂 You can totally encourage the 2o2o by placing the reward where the 2o2o target would be, so that the front feet come off the board and onto the ground 🙂Tracy
Hi!
I really love that you are taking the time to do this systematically – I think the only element you need to add is more connection and maybe a little of the visualization if you are distracted using the walk through (EMMIE! Haha)!The little bobbles you have here and there are connection bobbles, from lack of obsessing during the planning stages. When you obsess on it and plan it? You nail it. So by obsessing on connection, I think you are going to be consistently running clean and fast with both dogs, which is going to result in lots of podium appearances!!!!!!
>> So my normal habit is to 1) walk dog path 2) pick handling choices based off that 3) walk handling 4) run at speed. I need to really focus on adding the verbals in now too. My weak point.
I agree that verbals are a weak point for all of us 🙂 Verbals and connection, both hard! So that is why I have moved them both up to a higher priority in the walk through order – starting to work both as soon as I start the handling after deciding the dog’s path. That way we are rehearsing them the whole time. Add in your connection as soon as you start walking your plan – always be along where your invisible dog is 🙂
You probably don’t need to walk the whole dog path either – just look at the trouble spots and then make decisions – walking the whole path takes a long time! I don’t mind having the dogs walking around during the slower parts of the walk through because it is as distracting as having a crowd of people LOL! But I do put the dogs away when I need to really run in the walk through because they like to join in LOL!
You did add in good speed by the end but not enough connection, so really emphasize that. Did I mention that I think more connection will help smooth out any of the little bobbles? Ha! On that last walk through, your pace was good but you were looking ahead a lot – you did have moments of connection like after 7 and after the tunnel exit at the end, but I think you can really emphasize the connection the whole way through, almost over-emphasize it 🙂 I couldn’t really hear the verbals but it could be that my air conditioning here is REALLY loud LOL!
if you have another person who can run in place of the dogs, have that person run and ask if they can see your eyes the entire time. It is an informative game!
Emmie’s run – I think you ran your plan for the most part, but didn’t really lock into the connection til jump 8 or so. The opening will be smoother with more connection rehearsal.
The forgotten section where you were a little late crossing 6-7: be sure to work in the visualization, even in the 5 minute walk through. I also use it to make myself a little nervous, like I would be at a trial, which is great to remembering the plan too 🙂 I am really happy with what she is doing on course so it is about the connection and verbals now – subtle, but so important 🙂Kippy’s run
Bypassing 3 was a connection moment – 3 is a serpentine, but your shoulders were closed forward from walking it looking forward, and you were slightly looking ahead so he didn’t come in. You can open up the shoulders there like a serp and make dramatic eye contact. It was better on the 2nd rep but I think you changed motion more.
And yes, you can plan to cue the turn for 2 when he lands from 1, rather than driving through the opening. But I am not too worried about that turn, that bit of wideness will go away when you connect for the serp at 3 as you leave laterally.Great job on these – I am going to keep bugging you about the connection because it really is the last piece of the puzzle for you and both dogs. Are you going to the US Open in November? This should help prep for it!
Tracy
Hi there!
>> While I briefly read the exercise description, I confess that I didn’t watch the whole video until after I’d done my walk through, so the walk through you see is “my” style. The 5 minutes went by super fast and I still wasn’t 100% certain of my handling choice for 7-8-9.>>
It is fine to stylize the walk through so it suits you and the dog! As long as the walk through rehearses and produces very successful runs, we go with whatever works best for the dog and handler. I think having set elements of the walk through keeps me on track so I can finish the walk through without feeling uncertain of the choices.
In the walk through here, you didn’t start adding speed til the 3 minute mark and then you slowed down, so it was hard to gauge what the pace of the run would be.
You had some really good moments of rehearsing connection (like after the BC 4-5) but then moments where you looked ahead too quickly while your invisible dog was still behind you. After the 4 minute mark you had more speed, but I think the elements of super connection (which is so important with young dogs) and verbals and speed are something you can keep adding to the walk through.Was the walk through at 4:40 after dinner? Well done running and yelling on a full stomach LOL! That had fabulous speed and also nice loud verbals! You were looking ahead too quickly, it is something everyone is doing: if the invisible dog is behind us, we need to keep looking back. Most folks are doing what you did here: make a heartbeat of connection back to the dog then immediately look ahead. The dogs are fast… but not THAT fast LOL!
The run went early well! The walk through handler was MUCH faster but honestly – that is working out for all of us LOL!! When we walking faster than the run, we have more “time” during the run to work the connections like you did here. So, keep working up to that speeeeed but also add in the big connection, really emphasize and obsess on it during the walk through so you see invisiPresto every step of the way (so important with baby dogs!).
The only other thing I would recommend is to put the toy in your pocket or something – you were switching it from hand to hand, which delays your handling a tiny bit. Everything else looked good – choices, connection, lines, verbals!
Great job here! And congrats on an amazing debut – baby boy is looking great and things will keep getting more amazing from here! So exciting!
TracyHi!
This didn’t feel like a lot of start and stop, because it was “great job on the sequence, here is your reward” rather than “something went wrong, let’s try again” if that makes sense. And he can feel the difference for sure! But I think the session was too long – it was already long when he left for a break, then you did a couple of minutes after it. 2 minutes in the heat, tops, total, that is really all the youngsters can tolerate.
I think he was great here! He had some questions, but they were minor and that is what these sequences are designed for 🙂 He was definitely paying attention!On the video:
Jump – wing sequences at the beginning: really nice on both sides!He had a question about ignoring the tunnel at :51 and 2:21 – you were too far out of the picture, so you can get right there on the wing to help him not go into the tunnel like yo did at 1:27 – and also revisit the proofing games with the wing right near the tunnel entry that we did over the winter.
When you did the wing- jump – wing sequences: looked really good!
He needed a little more connection at 2:02, great job making the adjustment and he was already better at 2:43 🙂
There were 2 minutes of blank time, it was hard to hear what you were saying? Was that when he called an Uber?
As you were passing the tunnel, to establish the skill you can move slowly at 5:23 so he can REALLY see the connection (more like what you did at 5:35 and on the reps after it) so he can see the connection and which side to be on. He just needs to see that such a crazy thing exists, then he is fine with it LOL!
Yes, at the end, you were a little disconnected and late turning so he serped into the other tunnel – he thought he was correct, it was a fast reward 🙂 Definitely better than rolling your ankle!!
Great job here! I think the main thing is to really limit your session length, spread it out over several days when there is a lot to do (you might notice I had 3 demo dogs for this, because it was blazing hot!)Nice work 🙂
TracyGood morning!
>> In addition, I am considering teaching a running A-Frame. I have not taught one before; although, I have started running Cowboy through a PVC square. Because, I have not combined running and stopped contacts before do you believe this will cause confusion (i.e. will Cowboy be more inclined to run through the end of the dog walk and teeter)?>>
Dogs do really well with a stopped contact on one obstacle like the teeter, and a running contact on another like the a-frame. The key is consistency and clarity of cues and reinforcement! I think he will be fine with that!
On the teeter here – I think he has 2 areas of confusion, which are causing the questions. He is not 100% sure if it is a 4on behavior or a 2o2o behavior. He knows it is something about stopping with the MM as the focal point, which is great! But he is not sure exactly where to stop.
And, I think the release is a bit unclear too, you were using different releases (I think you had break, the MM beep, and maybe even a get it as releases?).
So we can clarify both of these and then he will have an easier time 🙂The release is the key to the reinforcement, so you can consider his front feet hitting the ground to be the “doorbell” to open the door to reinforcement. As soon as his feet hit the ground and he is fully stopped (make sure it is not a running teeter haha), use your “break” and click the MM.
Now, to get him to put his front feet there – I would go back to the target at the bottom of the teeter, on the ground. I think every time you add a new layer of speed, you will want to go back to the target – it really helps him with the behavior. Then you can ‘warm up’ the behavior with some bang game on the end of the board into 2o2o to the target, then release to the MM (as you show him the new layer of speed). Then do a couple of sessions with the target, then fade it out. That should help get rid of the confusion about where to put his feet and allow you to clarify the releases. Let me know if that makes sense! He is doing well, so these might just be the final steps 🙂
Have fun!
TracyHA! I feel your pain about head exploding on tandems – they are harder than lap turns, I think! But you were focusing on the mechanics and nailed it again! Yay! She was looking at something in the environment but still got them right. I think one thing that will make the tandems feel less weird is if you are moving more (they are cues. That are used when we move, unlike the lap turn where we stand still more. So on this small setup, you can move in closer to the tunnel so yo can be moving up the line to the wing a bit more – that should make them feel even smoother.
Great job on all of these! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning again!
The main thing with the lap turn is the patience to let her get almost all the way to your hand, then you turn her away – and you nailed that perfectly! Because you were patient and let her get close to the hand before moving, it didn’t matter as much what your legs did – you kept your feet together and allowed her to drive to your hand. The ONLY cue she ever sees like that is the lap turn, so I felt she was prepared and did a great job. So keep remembering to be patient, and then you won’t need to worry about your leg stepping back as much 🙂 Perfect connection on those too,
She definitely liked the race track – remember to keep your arms back and down so she sees connection – yo were looking ahead a little at :29 and :30, so she looked up a little at you.
Great job here!
TracyGood morning, these look really strong!!!!
On the blinds at the beginning!
The timing much better! 2nd BC especially – you are basically getting them started as she is landing from 1 so the BC is finished while she is doing 2. Nice!The timing of the FCs seemed to be started at the same time, but they take longer to finish because of the rotation. So you can try starting them earlier, but also the blind is a better option for this particular type of sequence.
On both the blinds and the FCs, I think you are running too much towards 2 and not enough towards 3 🙂 On the first 3 reps, check out how you zig towards the landing spot of 2 and then zag back out towards 3 (she dropped the bar on the 1st FC rep because she was like, where are you heading? ). On the 4th rep (2nd FC), you stayed outside the wing of 2 and that was definitely better position!!! And you can be even closer to 3, not need to get in towards 2. Your motion supports it, and the positional cue of you being near 3 helps the turn (even if you are late :))
Lead out push reps looked good, lovely arm position and connection was really good! I felt she was really reading them nicely!!!! You can move faster on the first one, but you were working the connection and it looked good.
Broken stay on the 2nd one (she looked very sorry about it NOT hahaha)
On the 2nd one, you started moving sooner – I think you can add the challenge now of moving sooner (like you did there) AND faster 🙂Great job! She looks wonderful!
TracyHi!
>> Take the easy one first. #2, yep, meant really any directional that is meant for a jump in the end (right/left/backside/front). And yes, just the concept of a bar, either the bar on the ground, 4″, or jump bump, just something helps it look like the final jump appearance. I decided with Joe to keep my training very clean and always present it that way or it gets another word. Ie, around a cone vs around a wing.>>
Right – there is a decision point about what to name things, and when. I decided that backsides, serps and threadles would all have something that looked kinda like a bar, because those are important parts off of I define the behavior.
>>>#1. Interesting! It looks like you use the marker word before or in replacement for the “yes”. Is that right?
Correct! I try to use the marker and NOT yes as the marker – I might babble with excitement after the marker but I try to keep the marker clear and NOT just shout YES hahaha easier said than done!
>> Do you load your marker word in the beginning like you do with “yes” or a clicker? I want to read more about this, need to find something that talks about this.>>
I teach the markers as part of reinforcement procedures – just finished a series of videos on them, I can send the procedures video (I think it has some of the ‘why” and some of the “how”). It is pretty easy. I don’t load the “yes” because I somehow yell it all the time, so the dogs figure it out LOL!
T
Sorry, I mis-typed: it is the package 2 game 🙂
>> Am surprised that you suggest getting closer to the distraction.>>
In a comfort zone training environment where he is distracted by not stressed out or worried or anxious – you can get closer to the distraction to basically say to him: Ok, Nuptse, let’s sort this out (by specifically introducing the distraction element into the environment you are training in). So, the trees in the backyard are perfect. If you get too close, you can move further away.
If he is nervous or anxious about something – then don’t get closer, start the game wherever you are. The goal os starting closer in the home session is to embrace the non-worrisome distraction and work through it.T
Good morning!
I agree that connection is the hardest part of agility – both getting it and maintaining it… and teaching the dog to let us disconnect and still doing what we want LOL! Your mantra can be “look back”. – always look back for the dog, really obsess on it – you’ll feel less rushed, have more accuracy and better timing. You still have a tendency to want to look ahead after your crosses. Watch your head at 2:27 after the FC, and at 2:33 after the spin on the backside – looking forward both times. It doesn’t mean that you won’t connect in the run, it just means that you are still thinking about where the course goes, and not as much about where the dog is. The more I bug you about it and the more you practice – the more you’ll be thinking about where the dog is and then it will all get much easier 🙂 There were plenty of spots where you really did get great connection after the cross here on the walk through – but I am going to bug you to be 100% in practice 🙂
Wowza, I think this run looked great! You were really working the connections, which is terrific! Look at the spin exit – you remembered to look back for him! But you can remember sooner, without disconnecting then looking back 🙂 So I will continue to bug you, especially with NZDAC on the horizon! The other thing I see here is that the pace of your walk through is a lot slower than the pace of the actual run. When you attack the next sequence, try to flip that so the pace of your walk through is faster than the real run (and perfectly connected too, I know I am a pain in the bum haha!!!) Ideally, the pace perfectly matches the run but I think if we get you going FASTER than the run, then the run itself will feel quite like a calm stroll rather than playing catch up LOL!!! That way you will finish the walk through in the overlay before you finish it during the run. That will also give you a better sense of timing, in terms of the urgency of getting places with both dogs.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning! Nice session here!!
She had a little trouble ignoring the tunnel at the beginning, so you can start her facing the wing more in the direction you want (away from the tunnel :)) so she doesn’t think thoughts about the tunnel LOL!
Good job with the target for the teeter, I think it really helped and she had really great 2o2o behavior happening!!!
You can toss the rewards to her so she doesn’t try to curl in towards you after she gets into position or toss them off to the other side of her and release her to get them. She was starting to self-release as you were coming back to reward, so you can leave the toy out ahead on the ground (if she can hold position and not self-release it it) or put a closed/covered bin of treats out on the ground (6 feet from the end of the teeter) so she can focus on it, stop on the teeter, then you can release her to the bi and run over to open it. It is a good way to challenge the behavior and also keep her from watching you too much.>> I did a session before this but missed the button to start the video. I worked to going more lateral and to my great surprise, she jumped off the teeter in the middle on a couple of attempts. >>
I hate when I forget to start the video, I feel your pain LOL! The jumping off the middle probably had to do with her not being entirely sure of how to finish the teeter while you (and the rewards) moved away laterally. So having the reward out on the ground about 6 feet past the teeter will give her a nice focal point: she won’t have to look at you or track the reward as you add the lateral distance. And, it is the next step rather than putting cookies on the target, because she will still get to make a choice about the 2o2o behavior (the cookies on the target make that choice really easy :))
>> . I also lost her focus on the wrap in the middle. She chose the jump and tunnel. Could have been the air conditioning or were my cues off?>>
This starting happening at 4:05 – I think you were facing that way, plus people were there plus maybe the sound of the a/c. If the sound of the a/c has been a struggle for her in the past, then she did a GREAT job here! I would rather she take an off course tunnel in that moment, then get scared of it. Good girl! I don’t think she was wrong or being naughty 🙂 I think she just needed more turn cue and more practice ignoring the tunnel.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi! The pattern game looks good here! When you take it on the road, do it just like you did here 🙂 When you are at a trial, start it pretty far away from th ring and other dogs and see how she does. Then she will give you feedback: can you take it closer? Is food reinforcement powerful enough? Do you need better food? Or try it with a toy? The goal is to be able to work this up to doing it with other dogs that are staring at her (that is a big trigger) – but it might take a couple of weeks to get it that close to the other dogs.
The instant focus can also go on the road, with the same strategy of starting far from distractions then getting closer. Bear in mind that it is the first moment/reward that is the instant focus element. As soon as she gets a reward or two, it is “just” a shaping game (because rewards are visible at that point) but that is fine too!! Shaping in new environments is a great thing to do.
Have fun, stay cool, and keep me posted 🙂
TracyGood morning!
>> I think one thing I don’t do in training is really take the full time to walk through a course and that is where a lot of mistakes come from. When I actually take the time to fully walk a course like at a trial I do much better. However not fully walking it is a good exercise for me in itself.>>
Getting really good at walk throughs is such an important element, and I agree – we all do much better when we do a proper walk through 🙂 Having not fully walked it is a different mental prep exercise LOL! I do that in snooker ALL THE TIME to practice changing plans on the fly and also to change the plan after the walk through (sometimes you realize you missed something or see a better way to do it, so you can get it without having walked it – but again, that is a practiced mental prep game :))
As far as walking the course then running a while later? That is a GREAT practice because it is so realistic to how things go at trials. I think the craziest time I ever experienced this was at Cynosport one year: I walked Team Snooker at 6:30am, and ran it at 7pm (and ran other courses before it). So I file away walk throughs in my head and then pull them up like computer files to “look at” throughout the day, in terms of visualizing. Definitely something to practice before big events!
I think the walk-runs here went well! A couple of ideas for the walk through:
It was hard to hear the verbals – so be sure to be loud and clear on them even in the walk through, so it is easy during the run.
When you add more speed in the handling, remind yourself to keep looking back at the dog behind you, for longer. We are all making the same mistake of looking forward too soon, which skews the connection and timing. After the FC 4-5, for example, the dogs are still behind you for several strides – the dogs are fast, but not THAT fast – so don’t look forward immediately. That will help you tighten up the turn on both of them over 5 (a blind cross is an option to consider there, because it can be finished sooner, leaving you time to move away sooner so they don’t jump as long over 5).On the 2nd to last jump, you had a wrap versus slice decision. The exit of the wrap definitely had a better line to the last jump – so when you see that, it is worth it to take the time to walk the distance. You looked at the exit line here but it doesn’t look like you walked the distance, unless I missed it (the distance should be shorter on the wrap). The exit line of the extension slice puts the dog looking at the orange jump for a stride then at the backside of the last jump for a heartbeat before seeing the front of the last jump – I would bet the wrap is faster than the slice for your critters 🙂
I think both of the runs went well!
Kippy’s run looked good – a little wider than needed over 5 because of the acceleration out of the FC, and you actually ran a better ending line than you walked 🙂 I think your inner handler took over and told you that it was extra running with no benefit to do the original plan, and the inner handler produced a better one LOL! I liked it better – so you can try to run more full-out in the walk through so your inner handler has a moment to give feedback of “you will be here, just keep moving through rather than run all the way back the other direction” – that is one of the reasons we try to really run as much as possible in the walk throughs.Emmie did well too, I don’t think things went poorly at all!! And you executed the plan you walked but had to scramble to get it.
She was correct to look at the orange off course jump at the end because that is the line that slice exit sets – I think you saw her question there. It was not a handling execution question, it was more of a planning question.Great job here! Let me know if the ideas make sense 🙂
TracyHi! This was not a hot mess – that weave entry is so hard!
Good opening line – that is a weave entry to be trained 🙂 You can train it by teaching her the concept of staying out on the other side of the dog walk and going a ‘thing’ that is further away. You can start that with a straight tunnel she can see clearly. Then do a jump instead of the straight tunnel. Then the weaves can go there. I think she can do it if the weaves are closer? The other option is to bring the wings in closer to where she can do them – then gradually move them back out. I am pretty convinced we will be seeing this at the US Open, so it is good to have a baseline for training in the next couple of months 🙂
I think your cues before the tunnel were good, it is a trained skill more than a handled skill – the dogs need to learn to look 20 feet away for the weaves. It is easier with a big dog that can be there in one stride than it is for a little dog that needs multiple strides to confidently get out there.
When you did it from the other side, it became a turn away on the flat so you can add in tandem turn handling (rear on the flat) But I think she will learn the skill quickly, so you won’t need to add the extra handling to help.
As she is weaving, trying to turn and go before she exits, to be able to get the FC on the next jump sooner (you were late at :59, she was already taking off). This is also a good skill challenge to work during the next couple of months.
I think the handling of the push to the backside at 1:05 was good (she dropped the bar here) but she had a question – she lifted her head and didn’t propel from her rear here. Maybe it was the turn of head/disconnection that was happening as you moved into the blind? That would get filed into the dog training category, because that handling move requires the head turn – so you can show her this skill and deliberately disconnect even sooner – and then reward for not touching the bar.
She did not seem to have the same question at 1:34 on the same jump with basically the same handling, so maybe she needs a warm up on that skill before you run the course? It would be a good use of the warm up jump to practice a little deliberate disconnection 🙂
That line was indeed a crazy line. From the backside push, you can hold connection on your right longer then do the blind on the flat when you know she has come through the gap to get the front of the jump after it, or give your threadle verbal sooner (or both, I think handling plus early threadle verbal would be perfect 🙂 )
Looking at the section when you handled it differently at the end – doing it as multiple crosses works, as long as you get the last FC at 1:57 in sooner. I love blinds and double blinds, as you know… but the more we do in a row, the higher the likelihood that we are going to be late (and when I say “we”, I mean “ME”. Ha! But you were late on the last FC,so welcome to my club LOL!!) A less-is-more option on that line is to keep her on your right the whole time after the DW: threadle in for the backside and then run like mad to serp her back out after it. I think it will work nicely and also, fewer crosses needing timing so fewer opportunities to be late.
The line before the DW went well (it was in between the ending line on the video, so I am jumping around :)) – I think you can handle the jump after the tunnel at 1:20 from further away – try not to cross the plane of the dog walk – so that when you do the FC to get back to the dog walk at 1:23, you can be sooner and also further ahead. You went in a little too deep to the orange jump after the tunnel, so the FC was a little late and you were aught behind the dog walk plane. So to be able to get past the tunnel, you widened the turn to the DW. I think handling the jump after the tunnel from a distance will keep you on that line to begin with, so you can ge the good line without a wide turn on the jump before the DW here.
Great job here! Have fun this weekend!
Tracy
