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Hi! I think these are duplicates of the sessions you posted in your thread here:
https://agility-u.com/forums/topic/lisa-and-maia-2×2/
Let me know if you have trouble seeing it in the forum! Also, let me know if these were supposed to be different videos posted. I also copied the feedback here from the originals – really good sessions!
Hi Lisa! You and Maia are off to a great start here!! And she is so fun 🙂
On the first video: great job working all of the angles around the clock – looks like she had no questions at all. Was she driving to a bowl and your assistant was dropping in treats? Nailed it! She was perfectly focused on her line. You can also toss treats into it if you are training on your own.
For some reason, when she was on your right, the click was distracting her a little and she was looking back at you, but not on the left side. You were clicking quietly after that and she was fine. You can also go to a quiet verbal “yes” and then toss the treat.On the second video – the angled poles were also no trouble for her. Super! It was fun to see her so happy and nailing the entries. So – because she was offering brilliantly in both of these sessions, you should move on to the next steps:
– with the poles at this angle, have her start next to you, you send her, and you add motion down the line parallel to the poles.
– for the send, convince her to come to you and not start without you 🙂 I use a line up cookie for that, so I can convince my dogs to set up on the angle I want and they wait for the send
– for the send, you can put on some type of interim weave cue or noise, just to be able to give her a little permission to start. This will be useful when we get into the crazier angles.If the next session goes well with motion… onwards to tightening the angle. The poles in the 2nd video were at about 2 and 8 o’clock, so you can go to 1 and 7 and work the angles on sends and then the angles with motion. She is looking great, so I bet you get to straight poles pretty quickly.
Great job!!! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
I make the kibble in the MM more exciting by mixing it in with other things – right now, I have freeze dried tripe (ewww) mixed in with the kibble to make it more exciting for my big pup who is not all that food-driven. I have also jazzed up the kibble by soaking it in tuna juice (the stuff that is in the tuna can LOL!) and other stinky smelling stuff 🙂 It raises the value of the MM compared to what is in my hand 🙂T
Hi!
Yes, she was more fidgety than usual in her sit here, perhaps the tugging got her excited or maybe the presence of the jump? Or both. Ha! She was also very opinionated hahaha
She did well reading the difference between your motion forward and your decel for the wrap. She is going to be a GREAT turner on course! So now – add your verbals 🙂 I think you used your release word for all of them, which is fine to get it started. She is ready for more to be added now:When you want the go, lead out halfway, release and use your go go go cue (before you throw the toy.
When you want the wrap, lead out to the wing like you did and release but use your wrap cue there.And if your snow has melted, more room between her and the jump too!
Starting her a little further back will give you more time to add the wrap cues to these because she will have more distance between the stay and the jump after you release.Great job on the placement of reward for each cue!
Lovely work on all of these! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
This was really good! You definitely had less ‘swoosh’ 🙂 Her commitment looked really good too on these, so I think you can now move to the next step where you are moving away sooner (plus walking all the way around the jump so you are releasing while you are in motion). Her stays also look really strong – she only had one error, when she took about 3 hours to eat the cookie – then when you released her, she had forgotten when she was doing and just went to you LOL! But all the rest were great 🙂Finding the right value of food versus toys is HARD for sure when the dogs are young! When you moved the toy she got right into it – when you dropped it, she thought it was dull LOL! So – definitely move the toy when you present it as the reward so she can chase it and grab it. When you are throwing a reward to the landing side as you move away, you can toss a treat or a ball for that.
I noticed that she got a little bitey on your hand when you grabbed her collar on the transition from tugging into the sit. That is something good to play with – tug tug tug, collar touch (just a touch) then tug tug tug so she gets used to your hand going in and out. She was not being aggressive, she was just all jazzed up – but still we want her to not deliver any tooth hugs LOL!
Great job here too!
TracyHi!
>>But it’s hard to let her pass when I am leaving early on the FC.>>
On these, you can be decelerating and rotating, but still very connected.
On the video: Nice tugging to start!
I think in general you are pretty connected! You can do this game with an open water bottle in your hand – so you know if you are connected or not 🙂 If you hold the water bottle all the way back towards her nose, you are connected. If you spill the water, you are disconnected LOL!
There were one or two spots early on where you arm came forward and she grumbled at you, and one time where you sent forward and she ended up on your other side, thinking it was a blind cross. But then your connection got *awesome* and it looked great!Now, I know I am bugging you about perfect connection… but in the moments where she grumbled at you, I think the connection was fine. So since she is so young (and she is also very opinionated haha) we can get her to commit more by tossing treats out past the barrels more frequently (like we did early in the training) rather than having her come to you for reward. But throwing rewards out past the barrels more, you will find that your connection will matter less because the barrels (and eventually jumps & tunnels) will have so much value.
So for now, keep working on perfect connection 🙂 but add in more rewards out past the barrels. She looks great!
Tracy
Hi! Yay for great weather! Boo for MM malfunctions. But the dogs are so patient with that thing LOL! And it is far less time-consuming to just chop off the beginning and end and let the session run. I can watch the in-between parts in fast forward 🙂
How does he do with playing with toys in the presence of the MM? I think he did really well on all the angles here, the toy play in between will both help you get him past any environmental distractions plus it will also add challenge by getting him more stimulated.
On the video:
He really had no questions on the slightly open poles and also on the straight poles. Happy dance! And I think he did really well with the environment – Yay! So next session: straight poles but with gradually increasing motion – jogging and maybe some running. Don’t worry too much about the threadle side entries for now – focus on straight poles because Monday brings us new games that the straight poles will be useful for 🙂Great job!
TracyHi! This is a good intro to the distraction of weaving with a tunnel nearby! He did a great job, hitting all of his entries. It got a little harder when you added the tunnel before the weaves (there is a lot of speed happening) but he got it on the second rep and then again when you did it at the very end. So on the next session, you can move the poles right up against the weaves so he is very tempted and work all the angles 🙂 Yay!
And yes, you can totally play with the threadle side entries! There is no need to work the ‘bottom’ of the clock (4-5-6-7-8), you can stick to the top: 9-10-11-12-1-2-3. The bottom side of the clock is something we will address with threadles at a later date 🙂Separately from the tunnel or threadle entry – I think he is ready for you to straighten up the 2 poles to 12 and 6. He is like a sponge so far, absorbing everything! So we can move forward and get the poles straight in prep for the next games package coming on Monday.
Great job!
TracyHi! The folding weaves might work! I found them to be too light for my dogs who were pushing them over but Merlin is smaller so it might work.
I will get a video of the 2x2s turned into channels, but one of your classmates is doing it. You can follow along with Julie and Kaladin. Here is the video Julie posted with her 2x2s used as channels:
https://youtu.be/KdzKOvg1zek
Have fun!
TracyHi! All of this is looking good!
>> As I went through all of this, I was beginning to wonder if the 4 on end position behavior I originally taught Sundae might need to be adjusted…is she too big for 4 on and needs to switch to a 2o2o? She’s 17 inches and about 35 pounds.
>>I originally taught Sundae to do a digging behavior at the end of the board, and you’ll see that come out in our backing up video here. >>She is a good size for 4on! I do like the digging behavior a LOT as it adds another layer of ‘something specific’ at the end of the board – and all 4on dogs need something very specific to do there. More on that below.
Backing up video – really good! She perhaps thought it was a little weird so she was a little roached when she had all 4 feet on, but I think she will straighten out and will “pop” her hind end out more when she is more comfy with the concept. And after she gets the cookie for getting back onto the board, you can have her dig at the edge of it as the fun extra ‘something to do’ when she is there.
Plank confidence video – she is looking really strong here too! She was happy to hop on, turn around, go back and forth, etc. The only challenge I think you can add that I don’t think was here is to get her to turn in a full circle (360 degrees) in the center of the board – it is good for balance and thinking about where her feet are on that narrow plank!
End position on the plank – looking good! I think you should recover the digging behavior – it will give her a great weight shift and it will bring her all the way down to the end of the board.
She did well with all the layers of challenges you tossed in here – stopping with her, running past, crosses…. she was a VERY good girl!! Perfect! Try to take this travel plank setup to as many places as possible to help generalize that behavior.One thing I noticed on the plank here: when you hang back and send her, she wanted to look back at you. That can cause her to slow down or curl off the side of the teeter. So, when you are behind her – you can reward her by throwing a reward forward and releasing her to it, rather than rewarding by hand or near you.
Bang game video – very good mechanics! You set her up to jump on right at the end. This video is the one that made me think you should revive the digging – her front feet are not quite at the very end of the teeter, I think she is leaving herself room to nose target. So if you have her come down and digdigdig right at the edge, you’ll get an ever faster teeter and great weight shift.
Plus it is great for shoulder conditioning LOL!
As with the plank, when you are not out ahead, you can toss the reward in lower and between her feet or release her to go forward to a reward – so she doesn’t curl towards you to look at you.
You can definitely add challenge now! Add in the motion and crosses you had on the plank, I think she is ready for it here.
And if that is going well – onwards to more tip!Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
here is the FB to DW videos:
Contraband:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjdKpNPaNxg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlfcarOi9VEElektra:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR0qzZfpGNA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSVuH4Pp-MI
Both the flyball instructor suggested I lean on the send and use less arm.I did see! But evidently there is this thing where I need to hit “Submit” on my reply in order for you to see the reply. Who knew? HA!
The reply is there now 🙂
TYay! The creativity on everyone’s setup is cracking me up. And hopefully Skills got some more free cookies because he was judging you for not giving him any LOL! Oh wait, I am supposed to be watching Stark LOL!
Stark did great here – he was very happy to run up the board and target, shift his weight into the crouch, then leap off. The bosu is pretty portable – maybe put it on the downhill side of the teeter so on the downhills, Stark runs down the board to the bosu ball end?One other thing to play with here – ‘jostling’ him a little to add more strength and balance (that was homework from HS’ rehab people): when he is balancing, gently push him on his side, so he has to shift his weight to balance (GENTLY hahahahahaa). Then gently push the other side. That builds balance and core strength by allowing up to elicit it with the gentle pushes. Be sure to not fling him off the side, though LOL!! I would only push hard enough for her to lean into me, which is good weight shift!
Great job! Let me know if the bosu goes outside to play 🙂T
Hi Lisa! You and Maia are off to a great start here!! And she is so fun 🙂
On the first video: great job working all of the angles around the clock – looks like she had no questions at all. Was she driving to a bowl and your assistant was dropping in treats? Nailed it! She was perfectly focused on her line. You can also toss treats into it if you are training on your own.
For some reason, when she was on your right, the click was distracting her a little and she was looking back at you, but not on the left side. You were clicking quietly after that and she was fine. You can also go to a quiet verbal “yes” and then toss the treat.On the second video – the angled poles were also no trouble for her. Super! It was fun to see her so happy and nailing the entries. So – because she was offering brilliantly in both of these sessions, you should move on to the next steps:
– with the poles at this angle, have her start next to you, you send her, and you add motion down the line parallel to the poles.
– for the send, convince her to come to you and not start without you 🙂 I use a line up cookie for that, so I can convince my dogs to set up on the angle I want and they wait for the send
– for the send, you can put on some type of interim weave cue or noise, just to be able to give her a little permission to start. This will be useful when we get into the crazier angles.If the next session goes well with motion… onwards to tightening the angle. The poles in the 2nd video were at about 2 and 8 o’clock, so you can go to 1 and 7 and work the angles on sends and then the angles with motion. She is looking great, so I bet you get to straight poles pretty quickly.
Great job!!! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi! He is looking really good – one thing that I noticed on all the clips that involved the teeter: he was happier & more relaxed, and you didn’t have to work as hard to get him stimulated to run up the board with confidence. The confidence is there more naturally now, which is a tremendous step forward. Yay! More details below:
Targeting on the plank is looking good. Now, you can add more motion and excitement to this, he looks ready! As you do, add in 2 rules for yourself so that you have really independent behavior:
Your feet are not allow to be near the target on the plank anymore when he stops in position LOL! You can send him ahead and hang back, you can cue the target then move laterally, you can move ahead- but don’t have your feet next to him when he hits his position so he doesn’t have your position built into his understanding at all.
The 2nd rule is if you are moving past the end of the board or laterally away from it, you must stay in motion for 2 full steps after he has hit his target position. That way he won’t be relying on your deceleration or stopping as a way to help with the position (we all do that by accident, it is like a bad dance move LOL!)Mountain climbers – awesome! I see more and more confidence each time. He is driving up the board without hesitation. He appears to be stopping a little shorter than I want him too – he is stopping at the top of the contact a bit more than at the end of the contact. So, you can throw in lots of reps where you lead out to the very end, face him, recall him up the board and then reward him with his feets hanging off the very end. I suggest starting each session like that, and repeating it once or twice when you add more tip (or more, if he shows any concern). That will build a lot of value for the very end in a way that supports him so he is confident. And, I think you can add more tip on this too, bit by bit.
Backing up – yes, remain stationary while he does it – you might find it easier to sit on the ground or in a low chair, so you don’t have to move and he keeps his head low. But he did great here!!
The Bang Game is looking good, so now we move to the next level which will challenge his balance and get him even more right to the end of the board. Rather than have him jump on a little higher and then take a few steps down the board, start right at the every end of the board – your toes will be at the very end and he will be next to you and parallel to his target position spot. Have him hop on right into position – taking a leap onto the board and basically landing in position without any steps down the board. It is a little harder to do this, especially with the down as the end position, so do a couple of sessions without tip. When he is happy with that, add tip 🙂
As you set up the mechanics of being right at the very end of the teeter, you can be stationary with your feet next to the target. But as soon as he gets the idea, you can add motion and also add in the rules from the plank targeting: no feet allowed near the target, and you must stay in motion for 2 more steps after he has come to a complete stop 🙂
Great job here! He is moving forward in all the games 🙂 Let me know what you think!
TracyHi! He is looking really good!!
>>He had a few misses in the session, but they were really tough ones (mean Momma!) and was able to figure it out right away.
Yes! He was especially good on the right side entries which now appear to be stronger than the left side entries LOL!! He did really well with very few misses with the various angles (including hard ones) and the threadle side entries.
>>And I did remember your advice to give him an easy rep after a crappy click and that avoided a repeat behavior.
Yes, that made me chuckle! But he did not offer the clicked behavior again, whew! I mean, when I think back on it – we humans click the wrong thing, and then we humans ask the same question from the same angle, but expect the dog to magically offer a behavior which is NOT the one I clicked just a moment ago. It sounds insane when I think about it LOL!! So doing something entirely different kept a great flow to the session.
>>Next steps for now is just to keep doing angles and motion on this? And for 2x2s working angles and motion as it moves to “straight”?>>
Yes – channels remain open while you do angles and add more motion – I think you can probably try him on 8 poles, giving an intro to it by moving the MM down the line like you did with 4.
And yes to the 2×2 poles getting to straight 🙂 You can also isolate those wicked hard left side entries with a clicker, like you did with the wicked hard right side entries that look really strong now.
No need to do threadle entries past the 3 and 9 o’clock angles, as that open up a can of worms we don’t want to open up yet LOL!
Great job!!!
Tracy
