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Hi! I suggest something else that doesn’t involve a prop like hanging on a toy, for 4 reasons:
– so he can breathe 🙂 he can take more normal breaths without a toy in his mouth
– in case there is a longer-than-expected wait near the start area (he can hang out in engaged chill for many minutes – but tugging on a toy is too tiring to have much duration to it)
– so he can look around a bit and further acclimate to the environment
– so he can maintain a more balanced state of arousal, and so you can see where he is an modulate it if needed – if he is on a toy until you go to the line or until you are ready to run again, it might be harder to know his mental state, and that can cause errors in his arousal state in the ring.And of course there will be times when hanging off the toy is perfectly great!! This will be useful in training situations where you might have a quick re-start back to work, or when he is more experienced and the training/trial environment is not ‘novel’, or when another dog is in his space 🙂 I like to have all the things in my toolbox!
Have a great vacation!!!
TracyHi! I see what you mean about her love for tunnels!
A couple of ideas for you:
for the wing, away from a tunnel, build a LOT of value for going around it – If you are close to the wing, she should just go around it. If that is already in place, you can then gradually begin to move it closer to other distractions -10 feet away or further to start, if needed! Then gradually work it closer and closer so she can still wrap on cue when it is pretty close. When you incorporate the tunnel, you can turn the tunnel entries down to the ground so the tunnel is visible but she can’t get into it. When she can find the wing, you can gradually introduce the concept of the tunnel entries being visible (start as far away as needed).Separately, do some training sessions right in front of a tunnel: hand touches, sits, downs, etc – all sorts of things that are NOT the tunnel and give her lots of rewards for doing it. And then sometimes cue the tunnel with a tunnel verbal.
Over time, you’ll find that these 2 things will meet in the middle: she will have a better understanding of wrapping with distractions near obstacles, and she will also have a better understanding that things can happen near tunnels that are not actually going into tunnels 🙂
Let me know if that makes sense 🙂 Have fun!
TracyHi!
>>This exercise of learning to not take off-course obstacles Nuptse & I did in Sylvia Trkman’s Extreme foundations class several years ago, but Sylvia had us saying “Close” to get by unwanted obstacles. She did not emphasize connection so much, but probably she was doing it herself. “Close” slows down the dog.>>
I think this might be different: ‘close’ from Silvia is probably a bypass cue, which is generally defined as “don’t take any obstacles until further notice” – and I agree, it does slow the dog down. This is a slightly different concept based on current course design trends: the dog should stay on the line and take obstacles – in fact, the dog’s line is really nice! But there is all sorts of stuff in the way on the handler’s line that the dog needs to ignore 🙂
You can see this was a hard challenge for handler and dog! On the very first rep, he took a big look at the blue tunnel before finding the wing.
He found the tunnel well on the 2nd rep but based on your line/motion and shoulders at :23, I think he was correct to go around the wing before going into the tunnel – that is what the body language presented on the line, you can reward that. You were much clearer on the next rep!
Great job on the full sequence! I think by then he had figured out to watch your line and NOT peek at the tunnels that were there 🙂 The handling looked strong too – if those tunnels were not there, it would be sooooooo easy, right? But the tunnels in the way add a new element of complexity.
He also did a nice entry-to-the-ring procedure there! One thing to add in is taking off his harness. That will make it more realistic, plus it gives his shoulders even more freedom to move during the run.
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
Rear crosses are hard – they are not a ‘natural’ skill for the dogs so need some training even if the handling is good! One way to do the training element is to reward her on the side you want her to be on, even if she turns the wrong way first then finds the correct side. That way it will help her read the cue, and also it will teach her to save you if you are late LOL! So definitely reward her a lot more, even if she is not perfect with the turn or if she doesn’t see the wing. There were a couple of reps where she turned the correct way but didn’t see the wing because you were behind, so you can still reward her 🙂
The first several rear crosses to the right looked good, she could see them before she got into he tunnel. Yay! When you switched to the RCs to the left, they ended up being late because you were too close to the tunnel and had to hold still til she passed you – then you did the RC, but she was already in the tunnel so it was too late. But then at 1:19 you stuck closer to the wing and moved into the RC more, so she got it – she could see it before she got into the tunnel. You did the same thing at 1:31 and on the last rep, and she nailed it 🙂 Yay! So on rear crosses, definitely don’t get too far ahead: start closer to the wing (or previous jump, on a sequence) and then move into the rear cross so she sees the cue before she goes into the tunnel.
That will also allow you to get to the wing after the rear cross and make connection – and even if you are behind, still make connection and try not to point forward: she can read that connection even if you are behind her.Great job here on these! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi there!
>> Thank science for video so I can see what the H*ll I’m doing. LOL!>>holy cow I totally agree! Being able to watch so much video really helps!!!
>>Earlier “Tunnel, tunnel” and then my go! or turning cue
You can say the tunnel cue sooner but definitely switch to the left or right or go before she is in. You ere telling her which it was either when her head was going in, or her whole body. To train myself, I laid a leash on the ground about 3 feet in front of the tunnel entry – so just before the pup arrived at the leash, I was already giving the next verbal.
I think she did a good job balancing the GO and the turns on the tunnel, and yes the sooner you tell her, the better she will turn 🙂 although I think she was fast AND tight on the turns. She was definitely paying attention through and responded really well! I only saw two oopsie moments – both handler errors LOL! and those were both rewardable responses from her. When in doubt, reward her because it was probably a handler error 🙂At :28, she made a good right turn out of the tunnel but then you didn’t connect back to her (your shoulders were both facing forward) so she didn’t know where to be and guessed.
At :50 you got behind on a big go line so couldn’t make connection to her between the tunnel and the wing out ahead – so she didn’t know which side to be on and stayed on her lead ending up on the wrong side of the wing. To help that, you can send more so you are further ahead there like you did on the next rep.
All of the other reps had strong position and clearer connection, so she got it right each time. Super!!!! Onwards to the rear crosses below 🙂
T
Hi! Great to hear you have a rehab vet! My Contraband saw my rehab vet today – he will be 2 years old in October. She gave me the ‘all clear’ to keep moving forward with his training and jumping. I asked her about various ages and she said that growth plates are not as important as people think they are – they all close at different rates. The most important things are front limb strength, hind limb strength, core strength and body awareness – these are more important than running courses and should be done more frequently than running courses. She compared our dogs to football players: she said that the footballers play for real once a week, do lighter scrimmages maybe 2 a week and the rest is all about strengthening and coordination. Good food for thought!
Tracy
Hi!
She did really well here!!!! Most reps were spot on and really independent (she’s not quite ready for the rear cross, and maybe distracted at 1:27?). Overall, really solid lovely session! Trying to figure out the reinforcement is probably the hardest part, especially because of the down position. Based on where she is looking while in the down, you can try taping a spoon to the underside of the teeter so when she arrives in the down, you can place the treat in the spoon for her to eat. That way the spoon is also a good target for more independence- which will help with the rear crosses too!
Nice work here!!
TracyGood morning!
Good work with the volume dial game!
Using the friz is an interesting challenge: it is hard to use as a tug, he prefers it thrown… but it is also high enough value that it is likely to break through big distractions in different environments. So keep it in the rotation as you also fiddle around with tugs and food (and combinations). Definitely try this with food too, as it is the easiest reinforcement to use around the ring.
The behaviors look good – yes, the precision fit target is hard but that is also a good one to tell us what his mental state is! If the foot target is normally an “easy” behavior, then you can dial the volume dial back to see if he can do it (calmer behavior, move further from distractions, or use treats).
He does love the leg weaving but yes, he appears to think that leg position is the cue: so be careful of that when you don’t want him to offer it 🙂
About the roll over: I generally don’t have this trick in my toolbox because when the dog is in a higher arousal state, they fling and torque. It seems a little unsafe to me, so I don’t use it in those moments.Next up for the volume dial is different places, higher level distractions, and different reinforcement (but not all at the same time LOL!) Keep a list of what is most effective in different places so you can find the patterns and plan for the trial environment 🙂
Have fun!
TracyHi!
Smaller trials in comfy places, or working around dogs she knows: both PERFECT opportunities to transfer the games to new places! That way you and she will have a better handle on things when presented with distractions that are more difficult or make her uncomfortable 🙂
THi! These are all good behaviors! The backing up is also a great physical warm up. You might want to help with a little hand cue for the backing up versus the spin, so he can be totally correct. And you can reward approximations – for example, if the scooting back is not perfect in a new environment or when aroused, you can still reward it! That is something you might run into in new environments – and by rewarding approximations (good efforts at responding even if they are not great responses LOL!) you’ll find it is MUCH easier to handle arousal and get him into the sweet spot of the optimal state. You can definitely take this one on the road, to play around with how different tricks and different reward styles affect him in different environments. And add a leash to it – partially because it changes your mechanics (3rd arm needed LOL!) and partially because it changes his state of arousal (because leash means something might be happening!) and partially because you can use it as a toy 🙂
Chin-in-hand is a GREAT one for the engaged chill! And you don’t need a couch to do it LOL!! Starting it with food is good – ideally we build in other elements so you can fade the food (less food means less work and more relaxation and chill :)). An idea is to add in gentle stroking of his chin between treats – at first a little stroking and lots of treats, then gradually increase the amount of time of stroking before he gets a treat. The stroking is both a bridge to extend time between treats and also something that is semi-reinforcing (feels nice, hopefully) but doesn’t require work or treats – and he might even seek it out in those chill moments.
Great job here!!! Let me know what you think!
TracyYes, you should be able to see Games Package 5 on the Course Syllabus page. I will re-send the email if it did not go through. Let me know if you can’t see it!
TracyHi!
On the first video: This is looking really good! Connection looked great in general and she was doing a lovely job finding the line on the one jump and 2 jump serps.
As the angles get harder and there is more motion, the serping gets harder too 🙂 A few ideas to help her see it better:
Your position as you move can be closer to the jump (close enough to reach out and touch it without stretching your arm) and more rotation of the upper body back towards her. The other thing that will help her find that 2nd jump is to make your connection to her eyes more direct when she lands from the serp jump (first jump here) as that will turn your upper body more to the line while your feet keep moving forward. At :37 and :41, the connection was a little too gentle LOL! But then at 1:09, you were more direct and also closer, so she got it really nicely!She had a little trouble getting the 1st jump when the angle was harder – I think at 1:13 she was moving based on your motion: the serp cue happened at the same time as the release, plus your position was not far enough across the jump for her to really see it as a serp so she moved parallel.
You were more connected on the last rep but not moving so she got it – but I think she got it because of lack of motion and we definitely want you to be able to stay in motion. So try leading out further, so you are closer to the exit wing – then assume the serp position, make eye contact, start to move…. then release 🙂 That should help her see the first jump and come in over it even as you move.She did a great job with the lead out on the first rep! On the 2nd rep, you walked away without a lot of connection so she wasn’t sure about holding it but when you stepped away with connection she did great. Same on the 3rd rep – on this rep you were a little clearer about the process of sit, reward, wait, lead out – and she did great. You can mix in lots of rewards thrown back to her, so she loves holding the stay as you get further and further away 🙂
The handling looked good! She read it perfectly and understood to stay on the line for 2 – yay! I think that you can do the FC sooner: as soon as she lands from 1, start it. You did at as she took off for 2.
Your lead out push on the last rep was a really good example of the proper timing: she landed from 1 and you started to move. She knew to commit to 2 and turn. YAY!!!
I think that you can add more distance now between the jumps, building it up to 15 or 18 or even 20 feet between them to help prepare her for the bigger distances she will see on course 🙂Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi! Super nice session here!
Yes, on the first couple of reps your shoulder was a little “closed” plus I think you might have been a bit far from the jump. When you went back to that line later, you were more open and also further ahead and closer to the jump – and he nailed it 🙂 yay! Having very direct eye contact when he lands from the serp jump will also help turn him back out to the next jump (direct eye contact also points your shoulders/chest you where you want him to go next).
The rest looked great!!! He was definitely thinking about his footwork and sorting out the jumping more and more, he was definitely figuring it out (serps are hard, in terms of coordination :))About the Go versus Mo: most folks have found that it gets confusing when the dogs start running bigger courses and we get louder 🙂 most folks I know that have dogs with names that rhyme with Go have gone to RUN RUN RUN as the go-on cue. That is much clearer for the dog, because there is soooo much value in their name plus we can’t seem to stop using their name on course LOL!
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>>Oh now I see that at .06. When she missed #4. I “Closed” my shoulders forward too soon. Then she came with me. Boy she’s smart. And the others I stayed “open” till she was headed for the jump. That really helps. Timing is everything. I can run. Just keep upper body open.>>
She is great at seeing everything, so yes to keeping your shoulders open for her 🙂
>>Okay. Lateral send. Lead out-connect- then indicate- then release. Yea….with the other dogs I never release if they are looking at me, only if they were looking at the jump. Duh…..refresher course 101 here. lol. It’s no different for the puppy.>>
Perfect! She just needs to see this skill more, she will figure it out really quickly.
>>I have another question. I have been doing the accordian and big looping jumps at 12″. Do you think I should move the bar up to 12″ for these games or leave it at 8″? She will eventually be jumping 16″. Probably in no hurry. But I don’t want her to get too….used to the little jump. She’s 13 months now.
If you are on good footing and she has 18 feet at least between jumps, you can start to move the bars up. But at 13 months old, you still have plenty of time. She is still ‘muscling up’ and learning to use her body. I suggest only using taller bars on skills she is really good at and doesn’t have to think too hard about.
>>Oh another question. Do you always get x-rays for bone closure or just go by thier age. I’ve never gotten them with mine. Sports sister at the time got them after a year, so I just figured Sport was good too. With Jedi I guess I just waited to jump higher too. Thanks.>>
I used get x-rays, but then I stopped because I wait a long time before I do the hard stuff. My BorderWhippet is 21 months old and just yesterday he saw bars at 18″ for the first time (he will jump 20 eventually). I am confident his growth plates are closed, and I will xray him when he is closer to 3 for OFA and PennHip scores. But I wait a long time after the growth plates are closed because it takes the young dogs a long time to get coordination and also to get fully muscular enough to handling jumping and weaving. So I personally do NOT go by growth plates. My other puppy is 16.5 months old and I am sure her growth plates are closed too… but she is a complete noodle, has not come into season, has no real muscle development yet: so she is still jumping 8 inches when we train.
Before adding height, I take all of my dogs for an assessment by a rehab vet, who either releases them to start jumping or tells me to wait. Contraband (21 months old) has his first assessment tomorrow, and that will help determine my training plan. I feel that people start waaaay too young (2 of Elektra’s littermates starting competing at 15 months old, at full height) so I wait til more pieces are are fully in place 🙂Tracy
Hi! I guess it is good news/bad news about the new job! Yay for working, but boooooo for not having as much time with Indy. At least there is a lot of daylight so you might be able to get some training done in the evenings when it is not too hot out.
On the tandems here, things worked best when you got her attention first out of the tunnel, then cued the wrap with the wrap verbal (like at :05 and :12 and :27 and :32 and the last 2 reps).
When you didn’t do that, she read it as a regular wing wrap:
At :08 where you used the wrap verbal and stepped into to the wing, she wrapped the wing. At :18 you didn’t call her to get attention on the line you wanted – so she processed the wrap verbal as go-wrap-the-wing. So definitely call her and bring her into you with the physical cue, no need to cue the wrap til she is coming into the correct line you are ready to turn her away (when she is relatively close to you)Also, remember to reward the correct ones with the toy – this whole session was done with one single reward at the end. I think that can get confusing: if being incorrect means getting sent back to the tunnel, and being correct means getting sent back to the tunnel… she won’t necessarily know which behavior you want to see more of 🙂 So when she is correct, be sure to deliver the toy and have a big party 🙂
Nice work here!! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
