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Hi!
>>I did do that one on purpose and forgot to tell you I modified.
Perfect! Makes sense!
>>It’s Ben Franklin with the key and the kite 🙂
You see it, right?
>>ahhhhh yes! this is what was particularly challenging about what I was trying to do. I told Carrie that I couldn’t use an out to help him distinguish because both sides required a lead change. It wasn’t an in-in and it wasn’t a go….. which probably should have told me that if I didn’t have any of the tools in my toolbox to handle it, the course was wrong. FACEPALM!!!
It was indeed an ‘out’ from 3-4, and your position/connection would make it clear (plus timing of the verbal, which can start before he enters tunnel #3.
Hi!
>>I love his speed, and I don’t even think we’ve reached full gas but I feel so behind always. Even when I’m ahead. I need to keep working this. But you are correct, I usually do a good job of staying ahead.>>
The rehearsals help all of that, which is why we do them over and over 🙂
>>Between the last 2 tunnels, this is another connect to the dog behind you moment – at 1:56 you were looking ahead and also quiet (he was not naughty, he was correct). Compare it to 2:08 and 2:57 where you were looking at the dog behind you and talking to him – nailed it! Yay!
I did both a front or a blind here. Did you have a preference of which one seemed to work better?>>
A blind will be quicker for you to be able to reconnect, but either works well as long as it starts early so you are reconnected before he exits the first tunnel.
T
Hi!
This is one of my favorite exercises 🙂 It went well for you and Sly!!!I think you might have been narrating the walk through like an instructor LOL! That makes it less efficient and effective, which might have contributed to running out of time. A 5 minute walk through goes by so quickly – you had really good sense of plan and natural connection, so next time add in more emphasis on rehearsing verbals and the speed of handling.
The run was really good – very connected, plan was in place, he seemed to know where to go at all times and he was able to run the sequence accurately and FAST 🙂 YAY! One thing to consider – you went silent til you said tunnel for the last jump LOL! That is probably a product of not being able to ‘rehearse’ the verbals at speed in the walk through, so your brain was super focused on the other elements. That wasn’t a big deal here on this one, but it might be on a bigger course, so definitely add emphasis to the verbals and handling speed.
Great job here! Onwards to the next one!
TracyHi!
I used to dread training stays, but I love *having* stays – so making it fun was important for humans and dogs LOL!
>>Yes! I do need to trust Cowboy. Once I removed the Manners Minder (he is obsessed with the thing) there were zero errors. I will continue to keep at it!>>
Good boy!!! And yes, keep trusting – you will either be super happy with what he can do, or he will tell you where he needs more training, or he will let you know if you disconnected. It is all good!
TracyHi!
>>I need to work serps with a landing side blind. Well I think I need to do more landing side blinds in general with him.>>
Yes, the backside serp and regular serp jump commitment training will really help – right now he is relying on handling cues, which makes it harder to handle these on full courses.
On the walk through video:
A-ha! I think we are on to something! The bulk of the rehearsal/walk through has the invisible dog ahead of you which is not realistic to what would happen when running him. If we can change that rehearsal, we can change the runs!>>I wouldn’t have done this one with both our energy levels but the lawn person comes tomorrow and tears the course down.
I understand having to get things done between the weather and lawn care 🙂 But, for the youngsters – crank up the energy (cold brew coffee does it for me haha!). You didn’t have a ‘dress rehearsal’ walk through on this, so the run was when you were doing the verbals/connections/speed for the first time. You can eliminate errors with that dress rehearsal – and plus it eliminates errors for him too! An example would be the last two obstacles, 16-17. You handled it in your mind, looking ahead, but never really walked that line: so he was not able to read it. I think you also left out the #6 tunnel in the run? I think you walked it with the tunnel there but didn’t do it in the run (also 8 is a backside, it looks like he did is as a front) which is one of the reasons to add the section of the walk through where you look at the map. The parts where you connected looked really good, like the opening 1-5 and 9-10-11 and 14-15-16! So now we can push to the next level to get the whole run looking like that, the first time, consistently 🙂
You can do the next runs on the smaller sequences if you don’t have the whole course built anymore:
walk with the connection to the dog behind you (adding verbals and speed too of course :)) and then just run him once – if anything needs fixing, re-walk it! And if you are not sure what needs fixing, watch the video.I think we are on the verge of a breakthrough, so be strict with walking it this way and let me know how it goes!!!
Tracy
Hi!
>>And for your delightful pleasure my walk through.
Thanks! I will keep bugging you about it 🙂 If I can get you to change the structure of your course running sessions, you will see an entirely elevated performance on the runs. This session definitely had improvements! But I will keep bugging you about it because it will make a massive difference.
Two things about this session:
– you tend to do most of you walk through (here and on the next course too) as if Fever is ahead of you (or moving at the speed of light so ahead of you immediately after a cross). But the reality is that he is either behind you or laterally away from you on the bulk of these – and having rehearsed it as if he is ahead of you is what is causing the problems. When you worked connection with him behind you, you nailed that section the first time and also Every.Single.Time after that (more on that below).
– during course work sessions, try to complete a run once – then let him cool of somewhere and re-walk the trouble spots or the whole thing…. and then re-run him. I think you are trying to make changes/adjustments on the fly when he is out there, but it is causing too many stops and starts because your plan is not fully-formed or rehearsed. So on a run, if there is an error: either keep going, or send him back over the jump and keep going -then finish the run, reward, give him a moment to cool off…. ad re-plan your handling before trying him again. It is important that you don’t reward then immediately line him up to go again or send him again, because there will be more errors.
For example, at at 1:05 he turned off because he was correct, you were not (you were handling the invisible dog ahead of you, as rehearsed, rather than the real dog behind you, so he was correctly going to the wrong end of the tunnel) – and he saw your change in demeanor even though you handed him the toy. That is why re-walking the plan is so important – partially to keep him pumped up, partially to avoid making the same mistake.>>This double tunnel opener kicked my butt!!
>> I walked it with trying to keep connection in mind but obviously was missing something.>>You missed that 2 was supposed to be a backside 🙂 That buys you a lot more time to get to the exit of 3 to show 4. By rear crossing the entry of 3, there is really no good way to show 4 (if 2 was a front side, handling from ahead would be better: FC or BC or lead out push)
Also, there is a lead change element 3-4 where he has to turn away from you – it needs both verbal cues and handling, more like what you did at 3:20: connection and motion and verbal.
A couple of other ideas for you:
After the wrap at 1:28 and 2:43, you were handling the dog ahead of you (trying to get to the 11 backside) so he had big questions about 9 and 10. This is a good spot to remember that the dog is behind you so help him see the line. The backside at 11 went well! But you don’t want to sacrifice the 9-10 line to get there.For 13-14, it was a similar thing causing questions – you were lookign ahead and a little quiet, so he was not sure where to be.
Now, compare it to the FC at 15-16, getting him to the correct tunnel entry with 3 off course tunnel entries available:
at 1:53 and 2:54 and 3:44, you nailed it with connection, he totally knew where to go! Yay! And it was because you rehearsed it like that every time during the walk through. That connection to the dog *behind* you is key!Between the last 2 tunnels, this is another connect to the dog behind you moment – at 1:56 you were looking ahead and also quiet (he was not naughty, he was correct). Compare it to 2:08 and 2:57 where you were looking at the dog behind you and talking to him – nailed it! Yay!
So for your next course work session, here is what I want you to do:
– walk it looking at the dog behind you (and the obstacles behind) for the entire walk through. Have your head turned back behind you, looking at the obstacles he would be taking – and if you feel yourself looking forward, turn your head back behind you. Trust me when I say this will make a massive difference.
– run him once and keep going if something goes wrong, no worries, then he gets a break.
– re-walk any section you want to re-try, looking at the dog/obstacles behind you.
– run him one more time.This is designed to change your rehearsal patterns, while also making it super fun for him to be out there and leave him wanting more. By changing the patterns, we will get more of what you were nailing here and get rid of the errors 🙂
Nice work! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>>The first threadle wrap ran afoul of me having to duck to avoid the tree and knocking some rain off the leave anyway which landed on Min’s head and got into her ear.
Ha! A whole new set of distractions. Don’t tell any judges about it, I don’t want to see it on course LOL
I am finding this to be a harder skill for the experienced dogs than for the baby dogs! The experienced dogs definitely need some exposure to this, they are all hesitating and asking questions like Min did! On her first run, she looked at the tunnel behind you then didn’t find the jump. She was better on the next rep! When you started the 3rd little sequence at :30, she looked at both tunnels and had to slow herself down to process it. Then she was fine on the sequence after that – just make sure you stay connect and she will nail it (you disconnected at 1:40 so she went past the jump there). I think it will be easier on the bigger courses if she can do it here on the tiny setups 🙂
The biggest question she had was at 1:11 when you cued the threadle wrap – yes, part of it was the tree branch incident LOL! – but also the blue wing was on your line so you were moving towards the threadle wing but cuing the threadle wrap, so she was unsure which side to take.
Kaladin on the other hand was perfectly fine with the challenge (the youngsters are nailing it!), and he was faster than Min (and less judgey about it all too haha)
The off course tunnel at :09 was lack of strong connection as you noted. Then at :25, you tried to pick him up with your dog side arm – didn’t work 🙂 The pick up should be with very direct eye contact, not a hand down low because the hand low closes your shoulders forward, which breaks connection: your right arm can be back behind you so you can look him right in the eyes more like at :32.
He liked the get out tunnel cue! Yes, it can be sooner on the first rep, as early as takeoff for the jump before it.
I think his question about the tunnel entry after that was more of a line of motion question – the running line looked a little too much like the same line you would run if you wanted that end of the tunnel.
At 1:08, 1:22, and 1:49, your line of motion was a little too much towards the tunnel entry and also you were pointing forward so he guessed. I think the motion on that line plus the dog side shoulder going forward (almost looked like you were setting up for a RC on the flat, sorta) caused him to guess it was the tunnel. More connection back to him (no shoulder movement forward) plus being more lateral from the wing to run a path that showed no convergence towards the tunnel can help. He was much better at 1:38 because you had more connection – your dog side arm did not point forward. And at 2:08 you called and didn’t pressure in towards the tunnel, and he was perfect there (in fact, he read your running line so well that he looked at you like “why are you calling me so much hahahahah)The last sequence looked great! Good boy for coming back after the stroller interruption!
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
This is a perfect use for the little magic wand thingie LOL! And rewarding the foot touch was a good choice – it is an easy and probably fun behavior for her to do, which will make things easier when you use it in new environments. Keep building value for it – you can probably stop using the clicker because you might need the hand space for the cookies LOL! And also it is easier to do this ring side without a clicker (people get real persnickety about clickers near the ring LOL!!)Have you looked at the pattern game? That is another good one for her, for trials! And also the volume dial. Let me know what you think!
TracyUgh! Sorry to hear about the weather!!! It has been a crazy heat summer here too, but I have been able to film the demos at dawn, literally. The joys of country living!! But take a look at the transition to trials games: you can work those indoors and get him ready for going to trials when the weather cools off!
And I understand about the mental break – TOTALLY a good thing! But sorry about the covid scare – I know how awful it can be!!!!!!T
Hi!
>>. Our trials around here have been “no observers” due to Covid, so I’ll be looking for something held outdoors. Her class has no barrier between the dogs in crates and people in chairs and the area where the dogs are running, so she has to be crated in between her turns. She can watch the other dogs if the setup is conducive to that, so I reward her for quiet attention to them and focus back on me when I ask, and this has been helpful.
That does indeed make it harder for her to learn about the environment. Hopefully there are outdoor events you can go to.
>>For the past 3 classes (and for probably the next 2 or 3) a long-time agility friend has been running Keiko in class for me. It’s so frustrating not to be able to run her, but I think running for others is also good for her, and I don’t want her to have to sit out classes while my tendon heals… Tonight she actually put on the steam I usually get from her, and it thrilled my friend. It was good to see her finally relaxing when not able to run with “mom”. Every new experience and confidence boost is so good, especially for our pandemic pups>>
That is so cool to hear she is doing well running for someone else!!! It is not ideal because I am sure you would rather run her… but it is a great experience for her to build value for running agility in different environments! Yay!!! Fingers crossed that your tendon heals up QUICKLY because I am sure you would rather be running her 🙂
T
Hi there!
>> I have to say that I was dying out there. It was hot, humid for Colorado and the air is really smokey! Felt like I had just smoked a pack before the run
Ugh, sorry to hear this!!! I can see that the sky seems a little hazy too, compared to the normally crystal clear blue CO skies…
>>Well, I am biting the bullet. I figure now that Zing is over 2 I actually need to run a full course without stopping to reward.
Accurate! LOL! It is a good thing to do to get a feel for what she needs and what training takes priority. These youngsters need to learn that courses can continue for 20 obstacles, they are not always 1-8 LOL!
The walk through was clear enough that I could tell which course it was without having to look at the course maps 🙂 That is a good thing! I think your connection was strong, good job practicing the verbals! Your pace was a little slower than her actual pace when you did the ‘fast’ walk through, but I will chalk that up to heat plus smoke (I only had heat during my runs for these, and that was hard enough!)
There were a couple of spots where I thought there might be questions on the walk versus the run. Watching the walk through, I was unsure of the cue a 2 – based on how you exited it was a slice not a wrap, but it looked really collected? I guess I would need to see your threadle wrap cue to see the difference LOL!The back line 6-9 seemed like the cue for the wrap on 8 was not as clear in terms of begin different from the slicey jumping. Is left come your wrap cue or a soft turn cue, I wasn’t sure (hard to hear on the video) – it seemed like left got used for softer turns too? But a clear physical cue in the form of a deceleration will help too.
The backside send at 11 also looked a little unclear on the video – you were pointing forward so it would seem like the invisible dog was ahead of you there, but that would not have been possible if she was behind you wrapping at 2:26 on the 8 jump which seemed like an accurate guess on what would be happening – it is unlikely that she would be behind you at 8 and then ahead of you again at 10 for the send to 11 (she is fast but no dog is *that* fast across all that yardage if you are running LOL!)
On the run –
@ jump 2 at 3:30 I think she was questioning if it was wrap or a slice exit and had a lot of collection and I think she ticked the bar. You can definitely move away sooner: as she was turning to face the takeoff spot at 3:29, you were still in position and slightly rotated towards 14/19, you moved when she took off, ideally you would already be gone. What would a threadle wrap cue look like in this situation? I am curious to know if her question was about you being there longer than needed, or if it was too similar to the wrap cue?She was a little wide on the wrap at 8 at 3:38 – more deceleration into it would help and I think you said “jump left come” – the jump cue might have been too forward, so you can emphasize your wrap cues more with the decel as well. Then, stay connected as you move up the next line – you indicated 9 but then closed your shoulders forward, so she hit the bar as she was trying to catch up (that is a common young dog moment of being behind, rushing a bit to catch up and asking a question – that closed shoulder caused a question at 14 as well.)
For the 11 backside: Your position relative to her at 3:38 was accurate to where you were on the walk through at 2:26 when you exited the wrap at 8 – she was still behind you at 3:41 on landing of 10, so when you pointed forward to 11 it looked like the physical cue for the front side even though you had the backside verbal going. When she is more mature, she might get it on verbal alone but for now, more connection back to her as delivering the cue more directly to her will help – more like the arm-back, fully connected reset at 3:45.
>>Question for you, 13-14-15. That is super tight, not sure how I could get that.
The 13-14-15 section was designed to be very AKC-ish 🙂 and some of the stuff we see in USDAA and even sometimes in UKI. It might not be my personal preference, but the dogs need to see it if we want to get them out of Novice LOL!
She had a question there: I think when she lands from 12, you can start cuing the ‘soft’ left on 13 and cue it LOTS. Be emphatic: LEFT LEFT ZING (you can use a middle name if she has one, or whatever the soft turn verbal is for her). I think you got a little quiet on the left turn verbals, then you were a bit too early on wrap cue for 15 (you basically went from “take 13′ to ‘wrap 15’ so she was unsure of 14 and went around it, looking up at you). And she is probably used to seeing backsides in that flow anyway, PLUS the 16 tunnel is a little visible and possibly tempting too.
So you have more time after 13 to keep telling about the front of 14 before switching to the wrap cue: your decel and position will convince her to not take the off course tunnel. And keeping so keep your right shoulder open to her with more eye contact and cue the front of 14 before worrying about 15 should smooth it out – she doesn’t have to be all that tight on 13 or 14, because a bit of a “nascar” line there will set up the 15 wrap really nicely!!Only one other spot to look at: At 18 at 3:59, you went from standing still into acceleration, so she went wide there. You can flip that by running closer to the tunnel (doing a blind between tunnels can help keep you moving) and then let her see the motion switch to decel as she exits 17 to 18, which should help her see the turn cue there.
Overall, really nice work here! I think the main thing is ramping up the connection (not closing your shoulder forward) in a couple of spots and working out timing of deceleration and turn cues.
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyI feel personally attacked. HA!!
This is so true, I had to read it 10 times. It applies everywhere. LOVE IT!!!!!!!
Tracy
Great job on these games!
On the volume dial game:
>>tried both a treat and a toy oriented “dial it up” since I was interested in seeing if there was a difference for her. As you can see, she was happy to work for food, and stayed focused. The toy was, I think, even more exciting. Indoors at a trial or class, the food would be more appropriate, while I could use toys outside to help get her engaged, focused, and excitedThe food might be easier to manage, but if the toy helps her more… then we use the toy 🙂 And she will let us know: she might find the environment suppresses her and the toy brings her back “up”. Or, the environment might suppress her toy play, and the food brings her “up” – she will let you know when you try it out.
She was perfect here in this first video, of course 🙂 A couple of little details”
To dial it up, rewards from you hands rather than toss the treats – mainly because treat tossing right outside the ring might be difficult – and this game will get played in in crowded locations.
The toy was indeed very exciting@ She had trouble giving it back and looking away from it! But that might be a good thing in more difficult environments.
My guess is that you will end up finding a balance of toys and food- you can get her tugging to bring her up, reward the toy ‘out’ with a treat, cue a trick, get her tugging, reward the out with a treat, and so on. That combo might end up being the right balance – but she will let you know when you play with this in different locations.The look on her face during the engaged chill made me chuckle LOL!!! She was in her happy place LOL!! This is something you can use during her classes, when the instructor is talking about the next turn for her. And I think she might like it in new places and in the moments when you want to look around or check out the course.
The next steps here are to take these games to classes or seminars or trials, just to watch outside the ring and see how she does.
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
The current course that is ‘in the works’ is a ‘common trends in course design’ that we all need to prepare for, like it or not LOL! I was thinking of a Part 1 (handling trends) and a Part 2 (dog skill trends) – there is some overlap of course, but the handling trends would be the various handling skills (some of the easy one, some of the hard ones) and the dog training trends would cover the things like layering, distance skills and so on. I hope to have all of those project fleshed out in the next couple of weeks 🙂T
