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Hi!
>>My “teach-it” is coming. I’ve watched the video a few times but want to be clear where I should start. With it on the lowest setting? Then when she’s super comfy move up from there?>>Which game? With the teach it on the mountain climbers, I start with the board at full height and the teach it at the top setting, so it props the board stationary but full height.
Or if you mean the downhills (teeter tables) the teach it will be kind of a medium height so that the board doesn’t move a lot.
Let me know if that answers or if I am missing something LOL 🙂
Tracy
Hello!
>> I was going to use a target and 2o2o for the teeter end behaviour, but I intended to only use a single cue for the whole teeter behaviour chain – get on, run, target: “Tee Tee Tee Tee”. Do you feel it’s necessary to cue the teeter AND the target if I am doing running contacts for the other two obstacles?>>
Yes and no!
(Helpful, right? HAHA!!!)
It depends on the dog. Some dogs find it very helpful because they can discriminate the DW from the teeter more easily (especially with the slatless DW) and also some dogs drive harder to the target when you say it (or some dogs don’t stop if you don’t say it, I have one of those LOL!!! Oops!)
But some dogs slow way down the instant you say it, and get super careful trying to be accurate and find the position.
So… for the target verbal, use Tee for now (just once, not repeated). And then as we build the entire teeter, River will let us know if you can stick with just “tee tee tee” or if you need something else. I *think* the way we are training the obstacle should be fine for your goal of just one cue… but the dog will guide us 🙂
Let me know if that makes sense 🙂
TracyHi!
This was only your 3rd session? She looks really good, particularly in a new place/new teeter!Having the other person help at the end of the board was great! Please pass along my thanks! I like to have people help with mountain climbers because the dog really gets a lot of support, but the pandemic has made it difficult to include helpers. And it looks like you went to the magic of peanut butter, so Emmie was happy 🙂 When you added a lot of running past, she got to the top and then lost a little confidence: At 1:11, you ran past a little too much so after she had a lick of the PB, she got a little concerned because no one was there. And at 1:50, there was more tip and no people around so she also got a little concerned. You can dial back your motion so you are adding the challenge of moving past, but come right back so she is not up there too long by herself. It shows where she is still building confidence: being at the top with the peanut butter is all good as long as you are there relatively close by, particularly when the board is moving a bit 🙂 And that is fine, because she is only on her 3rd session – she is doing amazingly well.
If you can do another session or two like this (little to no tip) then she will be well-prepared for the new games coming on Monday.Great job here!
TracyHi! So awesome to be able to do this in a new place with a different teeter!!
The Bang game is looking good here! I think her errors were good ones – she LOVES the MM so she was NOT at all worried about the movement or noise of the teeter. LOL! The errors were small crimes of passion because she is so excited about the MM. There is a little release confusion happening – she was not entirely sure if she should release later on in the session after stopping (but I am not worried, that is the easiest thing EVER to clear up). Also, was there a strip of tape across the bottom of the teeter? I think she mistook that for a possible target on a couple of reps. So while the rate of success for the stopping in 2o2o was perhaps not super high, the excitement level was very high and by the end of the session, her accuracy was going on. And since you said that she didn’t always love movement of the board – I count this as a really strong session! The next session will be even more successful in terms of accuracy because the excitement will carry over as a positive. The MM gave her a nice focal point to look at and also got her too pumped up to be concerned about the new teeter.The cone definitely helped her line up here, good job incorporating it! We are going to raise the stakes of the bang game shortly (on Monday) so you can try it with a smaller cone (or no cone) because we are going to put you pretty close to the end of the board to get it started.
Great job!
TracyHi! It is fun to get the dogs weaving!
Yes, there are only about 10,000 different ways to train weaves haha! I think channels are great! I think 2x2s are great! I like concepts from both, so for a long time I have trained weaves using concepts from both – the like manners minder at the end of the 2x2s, rather than shaping without a reward target and relying on the quality of my throws haha!
I am training my 3 young dogs with both methods, concurrently. I am working it all the same way I am working the teeter training: progressively through each element. The training on the 2x2s has helps the work on the channels, and the training on the channels has helped the 2×2 work – so overall my progress has been pretty fast with the dogs (and I am not really training that much haha).
So, I guess I am voting for both! It all makes the experience richly reinforcing for the dog while allowing us to really cover all of our bases at each step 🙂
Tracy
Thanks for the 2×2 reminder, that sounds familiar LOL! It has been a long time 🙂
>>What did you mean by stringing 2x2s together for channels? Or is that in the channel track which I hadn’t looked at yet since I figured I didn’t have any.>>
I mentioned it but didn’t demo it – you can take your 6 2x2s, line them up and then open them up so they look the same as the channel – the base will be different, but you can still totally use them for the channel track if you wanted to!
T
Good morning 🙂
The Hairy was a ginger rockstar here! I love how he basically goes fast and happy on every challenge. Just help stabilize him as you are getting him off the board, because he was happy to start to fall off after eating the treat LOL!
Yes, he loves running and he loves food, so he is making super fast progress here. The wing to the mountain climbers looked fabulous – and yes, he was kind of sliding at the last moment at the top of the board but I LOVE that! My BCxJRT mix did that (and I think he is the same size as Hero) and my medium sized girl is starting to do it too: going up the board REALLY fast and then sliding down like a surfing quarter horse. It resulted in a super fast teeter AND great end position. So as we add the end position, if he wants to slide into it: fine with me!Adding tip: that was a significant enough tip that he totally noticed it… but I didn’t see a change in his behavior or attitude. He was still very ‘game on!’ and he also did not seem to mind the noise at all. And the teeter performance looked pretty much the same on each rep, even when you changed positions.
So, next session: same tip but add more of your motion and add the wing before it (so you can also add the rear crosses).Great job!!! Have a great time at the show!!!
Tracy
Good morning!
The downhill track of back and forth looked great in the first video, she was keen to get on and drive down! And happy to come back up to you too. And on the 2nd video, she seemed perfectly happy to do the same, even with the tip! Yay! That was a pretty significant tip, and there was noise and bounce… but she didn’t seem to care. She didn’t mind it when you ran, either, she was very happy. That is great!
The use of chairs is creative and definitely allowed you to set it up pretty easily. For this downhill game, in the 2nd video, you were only going 1 direction which is perfect. She wanted to come back down the plank so you had to be quick to call her off LOL! So the next step is mainly to find gradually shorter and shorter objects to put under the ‘down’ side, as you keep adding tip. You can use a stool or table? I think another session or two with the chairs is great but she will be ready for more tip pretty soon.
>> because the treats were placed on the chair, she sometimes put one foot on the chair when she was getting the treat.>>
Is her end position going to be a 4on or 2o2o? If it is a 2o2o, then the treats on the chair were perfect! If you are going to do a 4on position, you can duct tape a spoon or target to the underside of the board, so that it sticks out just far enough to get her to the end, but she doesn’t step off the board.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
>>The Scratching the target is beyond my pay grade.>>
Ha! It is totally something to play with 🙂 Two ways to get it: You can bury a cookie on the target under some dirt or grass (or snow, but I really hope the snow is done for the year!) – he will paw at it to get the treat. Then you can fade the treat, bury the target a little – the click/treat for pawing at it. Then you fade the dirt or whatever is covering the target and he will still get rewards for pawing at it. The other idea is you can shape it on a flat board then transfer it to the target. I shaped the scratching on a board that have sandpaper on it, so not only did the pup learn to scratch, but she also learned how to trim her own nails. And the agility PT vets tell me it is a great shoulder conditioning exercise, so they were happy too haha It was a triple win LOL!!!
He is already tapping his feet on the target a bit here so I think it is possible for him!
The session is looking really good! He did best when you were parallel to him or out ahead, so stick with those for now (rather than sending him ahead, we will add that later). He had more trouble stopping when he ran all the way down the plank, but it was a good error (he ran through the end of the board entirely rather than stop at the pivot point). And then he fixed it on the last rep. He is beginning to really show us a good understanding that it is about feet on target! Yay! He is wanting to look up at you, so one thing to add as you keep working this: rather than reward him with his head up, get all the rewards right down next to the target, between his feet. You can go back and deliver the reward nice and low, or you can toss it back nice and low. The goal is that his head is down when the reward goes in – which should begin to translate to him keeping his head down and looking more at the target as he moves to put his feet on it. And that will translate to more weight shift when he is running across the board.
Great job here! A couple more sessions like this will allow us to really build on this game too 🙂
Tracy
Good morning!
>>I plan to do 4 on with him. He has been pretty nervous about the teeter. I have a clip and go target at the end, but he and I are both nervous about him going that far😊>>
WOW! If he was nervous, then you have done a brilliant job getting him happy!! He seems like his normal happy-dude self on these games. FABULOUS job!! And thank you for letting me know, because now we will protect that happy attitude about the teeter – we protect the happy feeling like it is gold 🙂 I have stuff coming in the next package on Monday about how to protect it when things get harder.
But for now… yes, go a little more to the end but with very very little tip of the board. And SUPER high value food, like peanut butter smeared on the target or something. Yum!!
The teeter-tables back and forth looks good! He was running through the tip to the end of the board here, and that is exactly what you want. You can reward him when you lift him and put him on the end of the board (just to keep it a very happy-making moment). You can also add more of you jogging like at 1:18 – he really liked that 🙂 He hopped off when you added the first cross, but that is fine, we will work that skill when we add the end position to it.
Since he is doing so well – on your next session, only work the downhill: he starts at the top, runs down, gets the big reward, then you release him (rather than running back up the board). And since he likes toys, you can tug between reps – then start over on the top of the board. If he is happy with a couple of downhill-only sessions (and I think he will be!) then you will be in the perfect spot to add the new games coming on Monday 🙂 Yay!
Great job here!!!!! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
>>I had done some 2×2 a la Susan Garrett over the winter, but got a bit stalled out when adding a 2nd set of 2x2s. >>
Confessional: despite having trained the SG method for a bunch of years, I can’t remember how she adds the 2nd set, I think it was pretty close and angled? What troubles were you running into with Kaladin and the 2nd set? We add the 2nd set here in the 2nd games package and it is really easy for the dogs. And also, if they have seen the channels, it is SUPER easy – so you can consider creating a channel out of your 2x2s and working that!
> It was hard to work through the barking dog across the street (who was also giving him stinkeye from its back yard) and the people down the street dragging out their rattly trash bins but I’m proud of him from getting back to work.>
GOOD BOY!! I know it is hard because we humans are keen to work the skills… but I keep reminding myself that even if I find the distractions annoying, it is really valuable for the pups to encounter them because of the limited exposures they have had to distractions so far (and my neighbor playing golf on his lawn has been a distraction for sure LOL!!!!)
Loevly job at 3 and 9. I loved that he was adding speed and you were adding angles and motion away from the poles – he was on a mission and appeared to not give a hoot about where you were while he was seeking out the poles.
2 and 8 – also no problems. Finding the entry, bending, driving to the PT – great! Harder angles? Also great. Wrapping the tree before the weaves? Perfect. LOL! Super high rate of success even with the good distractions.
So 2 things: you can add running to the 2 & 8 angle (your running). I highly doubt this will be a problem for him at all. That means that you can warm up with a couple of 2 & 8 reps with you moving fast, and then in the same session… onwards to 1 and 9. I am also confident that you will be able to move to 12 and 6 very quickly too – if he continues with this level of success, you can get there within a session at each angle.
If you are going to be out and about anywhere, you can also throw a base of 2x2s into the car and move them to different spots!
Great job here! Keep me posted!
TracyHi!
>>I knew something felt different this session. It’s because I started drifting with a lead out 🤣. Oops.>>
Ha! It was not a bad thing at all – but for him, too easy. Plus he is super speedy so I want to make sure we do not neglect the driving ahead and driving away element, because you might perhaps not always be ahead of him hahaha 🙂
>>I have 3 2×2 and a full set of channels. Should I complete the 2×2 track or jump straight into the channels? Fully open or partially closed?>>
You should work the tracks simultaneously 🙂 I know, CRAZY sounding 🙂 but so far, the results have been very cool 🙂 So keep moving along the 2×2 track like you have been. And start the channel track from the beginning, with 6 open channels (so he is not really weaving, just moving through them). I believe you will be able to skip the intro part where we teach the dogs how to go through the channels, and just start with the entries and reward at the end.
keep me posted!
THi!
>>“To help get that rate of success very high, take out the threadle side entries for now and focus on the sending side entries – so anything on the 11, 10, 9, 8 side of the clock (the Pet Tutor is at 6) should begin on your left side. Any sends on the 1, 2, 3, 4 side should be from your right side.”
So left shoulder directly in?>>
On the send entries, when he starts on your left, your let arm/leg can point to pole 2. When he starts on your right, your right arm/leg can point to pole 1.
>>On think you can add is your motion, especially from the 12-1-2-3 angles (on your right) and the 11-10-9 angles on your left! Sending and walking, so he gets used to the idea that you will be moving too 🙂 I think he will like that!”
>Where am I moving?>>
You will be moving down the line towards the Pet Tutor, basically on a parallel line to him in the poles.
Tracy
Good morning! Great to see you here too!
>>I have a question before we get started. Will Hero start right back at the beginning again?
Based on what you are telling me about his understanding… I would start over. It can’t hurt, can only help 🙂 You will move through most of the early stages really quickly and it will allow us to see if there are any little holes along the way. One of the dogs in the demos (Hot Sauce, the medium-sized mostly-black the terrier mix) is a ‘start over’ dog because she had to take a year off of training (due to needing to find and then fix a luxating patella issue, then have the pins removed). So while she was basically weaving a year ago at this time, I started her over because… why not? It is easy and fun in the early stages, and in the past year I have expanded the foundation games for the weaves so she is learning more than she did originally.
>>He does not have independence, although can weave both sides from various angles. Sometimes he finds it difficult to enter as he doesn’t brake and bend his body to get in. Flat side entries (90 degrees) is difficult. He has just started popping out at pole 10 in competition.>>
Yep, I would start over – we are going to be showing him all of those things AND proofing against pop outs when other obstacles are visible or when you are sprinting 🙂
>>My goal is to be able to do that cool thing where he knows his job and is weaving while I am running in the opposite direction! Not just because it looks cool, lol, but then I know for sure he knows his job! >>
Yes! I just filmed the early stages of this skill 🙂 In over 20 years of agility, I have never ever needed to be running in the opposite direction in a trial, but having the skill has certainly made the crazy challenges we DO see in trials into MUCH easier challenges LOL!
>>Also I want to be able to send him from a distance.>>
Yes, that is an important skill!
>>We have a full set of 2×2 weaves, so we can do that or make them into a channel.>>
This is the first time that I have used the 2x2s and channels simultaneously and I have got to say… I love it! I am working both progressions with my 3 youngsters and they are picking up sooooo much faster with less training time (they each get less because there are 3 of them LOL!) So if possible, use both! The 2x2s as channels should work perfectly for that track.
Keep me posted!
Tracy
