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Good morning again 🙂
These were really fun to watch – I can see definite trends that I want expand on for him and a couple of things we can compare/contrast to see what is fastest 🙂Seq 1:
Lovely powerful opening! He slipped a little landing on 4 turning to 5 – I think because he didn’t know about the turn before 4 and was looking a little straight. You can start to turn your shoulders when he is a stride out of the tunnel to help that out. He had a great turn on 5 – partially because the slipping decelerated him and partially because he is just a really lovely turner!
He had a question about 8-9: You can start the cue when he has exited the tunnel – send and move away more laterally – keep moving and then decel, rather than decel then explode away as you give the cue. You might need to go closer to the tunnel there on these types of ‘no place to run to’ sequences but on a bigger course you probably would not need to do that.
There is also the possibility of using the opposite arm as a little ‘brake’ arm for a colleciton cue but based on how he looks overall – I don’t think you will need it. An earlier cue and decel through it is probably the key.Really nice collection on the wrap at 11 at :26 – great turn! I would love to compare the times of that style of turn to a softer cue with only one hand, less direct eye contact (which will produce a wider turn but less collection) – same timing of delivering the cues for him but different style to see what is faster. He can really power up and down the lines, so less collection might allow him to power even more!
Nice ending line!
Seq 2:
nice opening again!
Nice turn on 4, nice and tight! As with 11 on seq 1, I would love to compare a softer turn cue here too to see if it is faster to collect a lot like he did here, or if the slightly wider turn is faster (the dude has some serious ground speed so less collection might exploit that in a good way)On the way back to the tunnel you got into the pinwheel 6-7 to give a strong collection before a spin at :50 on jump 8, then rear crossed the tunnel entry. All really nice! But…. I would love to compare it to sending him to 7 and doing a FC or BC 8-9 there. The collection and spin gets a tight turn on 8 but the RC on the tunnel drew more of a zig zag line for him plus puts you out of position – even with significant hustle (you were really flying!) he still turned towards you on the tunnel exit at :54 (one stride, but that adds up!)
Based on his ground speed and his natural turning ability – I then sending to 7 and then BC 8-9 would be stunningly fast and also pretty easy for you, once you get comfy with it.Seq 3:
I think whizzing by 2 on your forced front cross at 1:07 was a dog training thing not a handling thing. You stayed there for a heartbeat longer at 1:30 but we can train it so you can do what you wanted to do on the 1st rep. As you rotate and start to leave, you can reward his choice to come to the backside by tossing the toy out past the landing spot (so this is happening as he is just getting to the entry wing). This creates the default of “take the jump” on the backsides so you can leave fast like you wanted to there.The whole middle section was full on giddy up extension but also accurate – I don’t think we would want to change a thing! Super speedy!!!
At 1:37, use your right verbal (or name call) as well as the FC physical cue when he is still about 6 feet away from the tunnel entry. That will help him know to turn on exit (he was wide at 1:39) – you can send away to the jump before the tunnel more so you are in a better position to show the turn cues on the tunnel sooner and be where you want to be for the exit. You did all of that after he entered the tunnel so he could not respond til he saw it when he exited.
The ending line looked great!
An overall thing:
Watching him nail those slice line in extension and also power out of the tighter turns makes ne really want to compare the super tight turns versus the not so tight turns – if you can get them both on tape, we can overlay or time them. As long as timing is pretty much what you did here and he knows where he is going… I want to see what the times are if we let him rip more and collect a tiny bit less. A dog with his power might not need to be asked to turn as tightly because he might bleed off speed to do it… or not, perhaps those gorgeous tight turns are best. But only the stop watch will tell 🙂
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
This looks really good! Toys, Taken, pool… really good distractions but he was easily able to offer engagement (cheese is a beautiful thing LOL!!)
One small detail that will make it easier in new environments too: do that first ‘find it’ toss right as you step into the environment, rather than wait til he looks around or until you are a few steps into the new environment. That first toss starts the game and basically says to the dog: game on, new place, this is how you acclimate. In harder environments, I think he will be able to acclimate and engage even more quickly if you start the first toss as you step into it before he even knows what is happening 🙂An idea about mechanics – have the cookies ready and in your hand, so your hands don’t have to move much – that way Select does all of the ‘operating’ and you just flick a treat from your hand, rather than reaching up to your mouth (or a pocket). The hand movement can muddy the waters for him, so the quieter your can make your hands/cookies, the better he will be able to make decisions. And, because there are only so many treats we can hold in our hand – when I am down to my last cookie, it is my reminder to get out of the environment 🙂
Do you have any trial or training opportunities coming up, where he can play this game on the road? Even if he just pops in for an visit and looksee. Or if he is visiting the rehab person, you can play this game there too? That would be a great place to get more engagement 🙂
Nice work here!
TracyGood morning!
Lots of good work here, he is REALLY great at responding to turn cues and also looks good on the lines!Some details to obsess on:
Redo wrap video:
Because he responds so well to turn cues, stay in motion so you don’t give an accidental turn cue 🙂 For example, at :03 you can go deeper to the tunnel so you are not standing still at 4 when he exits (don’t want to stand still if we don’t want collection). I think you do the same for the 8-9: move in closer to the tunnel so you are in motion when he exits.He seemed to have no questions about the wrap at :16 in terms of collecting and which way to turn! NICE! On that rep, you kept connection over your right side for too long so he thought that is where you wanted him -the connection to the left was a little late (:19) so he had a little zig zag there on the way to the tunnel.
I liked your cues a LOT on the next rep at :30! What did you say to him after the wrap? It sounds like zoom go weave walk it LOL! So many words LOL!
The next couple of reps had too much acceleration (:39 and :50) – this made the decel and rotation late (plus there was a lot of forward energy) so he was wide and had to turn after landing (dropped the bar at :51). He liked the hustle back to the tunnel though!! But then you were on his line and ran him past the tunnel entry – he needs you to turn your shoulders a bit and stay connected like you mentioned.
The last rep looked great! That one (1:02 approx) and the rep at :30 were great. You can also help with the collection with softer quieter verbals there – the louder you are with them, the more it propels him long. If you get quit, he will bring himself into collection more easily.Sequence 2:
1-2-3 looked great. Wheeeee!!4-5: I think it is worthwhile to play with a send and go rather than a spin – he turns SO nicely that you can probably send and go in places that the rest of us slackers need to do all sorts of spinny things. Your verbal was a little late on this first one and the motion away was a little late at :05, but the next rep was LOVELY at :20. That is definitely something we need to start timing to see which is faster: Send or spin?
Small detail: Try not to spin on the tunnel entries (:22) hen you want a straight exit – that spin is a turn cue and we don’t want to dilute it by pairing it with going straight afterwards.
About that jump before the tunnel… we will look at it 2 ways: handling and training.
For the handling, you were generally too early (we handlers are usually NOT too early LOL!) so he was seeing the rotation before he had a chance to really look at the jump.
You were too early at at :26 – you had decelerated to get it but the FC started as he landed so it pulled him off. I thought you were better at :34 and definitely at :45 but he said it was still too early – one thing that will help is if you shift your connection to the landing spot there as you do the FC instead of look at him. The direct connection to his eyes is part of what is pulling him and off the jump.But there is also the training element: he is only 2 so there might be a thing or two we haven’t trained fully yet right? LOL!
I think in that moment (:35 and :45 when he didn’t take the jump) that I would send him right back to the jump and then reward, so he doesn’t just come off the line and grab the toy (the toy is not in play unless there is a cue for it). When you cue the verbal, we would like him to go take the jump even if you are early – so remember to use the verbal and also toss the reward to the landing side (don’t deliver from your hand) to help solidify the understanding to commit even while you rotate (this is the same when you do the blind, too). You can work it on a wing to get the value, then add the bar: it is MUCH easier to do it on a wing, in terms of jumping effort. And on a full height bar, it is hard to commit and jump than it is to just come to you – so shifting the value will really help him out.You got him to take the jump at :51 and 1:01 by moving all the way across the line and being later – which means he doesn’t understand the FC as independently as we want him to, so it is good for training! I also think the reinforcement procedure comes into play too – if he thinks the toy is in play when you rotate, it will be easier for him to come off the line. The cue to take the toy will really help him not lock onto it until you use it as a reward (but for now totally toss the reward to the landing spot).
I think the blind is a great choice here – when I walked it, I felt it turned my feet to the tunnel sooner and I could finish it quicker than the FC. At 1:14 – his was a definite ‘too early’ moment, your outside arm for the blind was coming up as he is landing from the previous jump so the cue was beginning. But, the training side: you said over and I don’t want him to just come grab the toy on that cue – yes, you have another stride or two before the blind starts but you can also do a real quick send back out to the jump then toss the reward. We do want to reward him! But we don’t want to have him come off the lines and drive to the toy. It is a delicate balance 🙂
The blind at 1:23 and 1:44 both had better timing and looked really strong! I like the blind there for you two!
On last detail about your Go and Go on cues: – be careful of saying go for everything 🙂 Go is only for straight lines and not just a general commitment cue, so even a ‘go jump’ can dilute the go cue. And when you do a go on – throw the reward so he doesn’t decel to come back to you.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyWhat a good boy at the trial!!!! I think this helps us plan for him:
Keep moving and use your arm as long as you keep moving (like when you are behind him or on big distances). But if you are ahead – your arm causes you to stand still and that is when we lose his speed. So in the smaller setups, you can practice moving more by getting closer to the obstacles (for now). And then keep playing the lazy game with the thrown rewards so you can have really strong sends without having to run.T
Good morning! There is not too much video here – just the right amount for the games! She is doing really well!
On the lazy game:
No worries about the occasional bar down – it seems to happen when she is chewing and then goes right back to the jump, so give her a little extra room and extra time to finish chewing haha! And you can also lock the bars into the jump cups if the bars are hollow and they fit, or for this you can leave them on the ground.
Her understanding of the game and of the commitment looks really good!!! And she was picking up speed! So you can spread them out a little to add more challenge by adding distance.
One thing on this game and the others too: in the words of Aaron Burr (or Lin-Manuel Miranda): “Talk less, smile more” 🙂 You talk to her a lot and praise a lot… but that, for her, is actually a bit distracting. I think she is more of a ‘just the facts, ma’am’ type of worker and you can praise her *after* you deliver the reward (not before it – before is all about cues and using reward markers like get it). This will help her keep the bars up too. More on that below because it gets more obvious in the one step sends.Mountain climber – well, I guess she really likes this game, she was trying to do it without you LOL!!! Good girlie! Only 2 suggestions:
Try to stabilize the chair more (it wobbles under her height) or use something strong to hold the board. That way it will be very stable as you get her running up it faster and faster.
Also, you can use a long spoon and some duct tape (fancy, I know :)) to attach the spoon to the underside of the teeter – and then that is where you can put her reward. She will run all the way up to the end of the board and the spoon will be sticking out with the treats – this gets her right to the very end of. The board and helps prepare for a 2o2o behavior, which is generally what we teach the big dogs on the teeter 🙂She was really good about going back to the toy here – if you had SUPER snacks like cheese, make sure you use the bestest possible toy because, well, cheeeeeese yum!!! Ha! I can relate.
The one step sends started off perfectly! Loved it! You can add your wrap cue to the wings so you start attaching the verbal to the wing wraps there.
The tunnel send at the end fell apart a little because of the ‘talk less smile more’ thing 🙂 It wasn’t that you asked too much of her, she was doing it great – it is just that she really has to duck down to get into the tunnel at that angle (any angle, really) and at 1:14 and 2:01, right as she was ducking down, you said a big loud YES!!! So she assumed it was reward time and came to you (because every other time you say the big loud yes, she gets a reward).
So…. talk less 🙂 Keep telling her tunnel tunnel tunnel and then be patient – don’t say anything til she is in it and going through it, then reward 🙂
At 2:20, you disconnected and turned your back on her, so she thought your were doing a blind and ended up on your other side. Then I think she got a little frustrated, and that is why she offered the other behavior of getting on top of the tunnel LOL!
The other suggestion is to run with the toy in your hand, not your arm pit – when it is in your hand, you can open up your arm back to her and have better connection. When it is in your arm pit, your shoulder remains closed to hold it there, so your connection breaks more. I don’t think the toy scrunched up in your hand will be a distraction for her if the info is clear. And you can also use a marker (I use ‘bite!’) to tell her when she is allowed to lock onto the toy 🙂Great job here!!! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>“Tunnel Threadle Verbal (Kiss Kiss Kiss) This verbal tells the dog to take the ‘non-obvious’
tunnel entry that is not on his line (the one closer to you). It is used in tunnel
discriminations”>>When do you teach this? Also, what is the quick primer on how to teach this. Is it really always the end closest to you? I drew something that I think of as a bi-pass, but I can’t figure out how to attach an image. Is there a way?>>
We start teaching this in MaxPup basically as soon as we have shaped the pup to run into a tunnel. I can post the videos if you want! I think it is the end closer to me but I think of it more as a sandwich – if the pup and I are the bread and the tunnel is in between us (pup is on the outside of the line, kind of like taking the front side of a jump or push to a backside) then it is a regular tunnel cue. Also, the pup drives directly to it and does not need to turn away to get into it (the tunnel might turn the pup away once he is in it, that is a different story). If the pup needs to squeeze herself into the middle of the sandwich (tunnel and I are bread, puppy is the meat haha) and turn away to get into the tunnel: then it is the threadle cue (not a bypass, that is different and pukey lol).
Let me know if that makes sense. And if the IMG tab isn’t working, can you put it on a google doc and post the link? Sometimes the IMG tab is wonky in the forum.
T
Good question! If I plan to toss treats, I do it while things are quiet and there are not many dogs around – like early in the morning, or far from the ring. Being far from the ring helps when there are dogs running. And to be honest… no one has said anything about me tossing cookies around near the ring but that might be because the locals here are fine with it and also flyball tournaments have no uptight-ness about that 🙂 I have not had any other dogs come play.
That being said: when I am waiting on line at the ring, two thoughts:
– I am not playing this game to help acclimate because at that stage, the dog should be relaxed, so no cookies tossed.
– But, I do vary this pattern with rewards in my hand – the dog offers engagement and I give a cue to get the reward in my hand, so it is a modification of the pattern.But I do get close to the ring with this game as an acclimation/relaxation game with the youngsters, and I do toss treats. I think I just get a spot where the dog can see the ring but other dogs can’t grab his stuff 🙂
T
Hello!
>> OK, we are back in town for a bit. I worked step 1 & 2 with all three dogs (Hoot, Zing and Joe) this morning. Zing and Joe were the best LOL.
Welcome back! I am not surprised that Zing and Joe were best – we approached things differently with Hoot and her cohort LOL!! And I am glad Joe is getting to play!
>> I need another word other than “Get it” I think. I use that as permission to grab their toy. And “find it” for finding their toy. Can I use “find it”?>>
I was going to ask about your marker – I couldn’t really hear it. But if you were saying get it and get it also means ‘drive to your toy’ then something else would be appropriate here. ‘Find it’ works or something silly like “snacks” would be good too 🙂
>>I am posting with Zing. She is fairly good at working through distractions at this level, but I want to find the point at which she breaks. Might only be with stimuli that is like a trial, we will see.>>
She did well here, but I think I would like her to look up at you more. On most reps, she was not looking at the distraction but also not really looking up at you. In this game, we’d like them to eventually look at us – you can isolate it by standing still and only using the ‘find it’ when she makes eye contact for now (no distractions). And then as you add distractions, you can shape it successively by rewarding looking away from distraction or in your general direction but building up to looking at you (for example, at Flyball tournaments with Contraband, I reward looking away from the racing with a cookie but I give him a frisbee cue if he makes eye contact. That packs a wallop so now I get a lot of offered eye contact LOL!
And you might need to stand still each time you add a layer of distraction, to let her settle in and then she will move through the levels quickly.
>>Anyhow, let me know what you think. If the mechanics look good I will go on.>>
I think the only other thing is to have the cookies in your hand and don’t move your hand or reach into the bag – that is a lot of hand movement/cookie movement for a shaping game so I am being a bit of a purist in that you can keep the hand stationary for as long as possible then use the marker and flick a cookie 🙂
I think she is ready for more 🙂 Great job here!
TracyHi!
That is good info about what she finds stressful!!! I think the weaves and the table are secondary and will be easier when the startline stress gets resolved. And yes, these 2 games are a great place to start!She did a great job with the pattern game: easy peasy! So now you can go to the next level with some distractions and also playing this game in other places.
The second video (which is actually the first game) is also going to be really important for your start line procedures! First thing – i think you were using ‘get it’ for the rewards behind her here and also for the tossed cookies in the pattern game. So I recommend a different word for the rewards that are outside the ring Just so it is really clear what you mean.
In the session, you went right into the sit and the stay at a jump. I think that is fine for home, but when you go to new places, keep it simpler: let her see you place the treats down, then just take a step or two away, then give the cue and run back to them. Then add in one little trick! Then we can build up from there – taking this to new places will become important.
You can also take this game into your agility classes – do it as she is starting her turn (but you don’t have to do it on all the runs, just here and there) to get her in the habit of understanding how the rewards are earned when you don’t have any on you.Question, for planning purposes: when she is at class or a trial, will she play with a toy? Ball? Or is she only into food? Will she tug on a leash? The biggest step to getting her to run without stress is going to be NFC and FEO runs, but we need to know what she will like as reinforcement before we do that. Let me know and we will plan 🙂
Great job here! And these are games you should be teaching Maple too, start ‘em young!Tracy
Hi!
Yeah, the weather has been a little nuts for so many folks but I think we can get a lot done in between raindrops 🙂 Remember, it is more about concepts and less about running all the courses.Good session here!
Looking at the various sections of the sequence:
First run started off great! Then he went around a jump and you disconnected/lost energy and called his name, so info stopped and he almost called an Uber LOL! Yes, don’t mark errors and he likes action – always keep moving.The 4-5-6 is like a Goldilocks moment: too much, not enough, just right 🙂
You can handle the 5 jump a little differently at :12 – rather than get up there and round the line with him (which was too much acceleration), you can send when he lands from 4 and peel away to the tunnel, to tighten the turn a bit. You used decel there on the 2nd rep, but that was too much especially since you were already there and decelerated, so he lost speed..
You had more of that “just right” middle ground at 1:31 – less of a big decel, more of a send – it worked well! One thing to consider is not getting too far ahead: on courses like this one where there is no place to go, you can drive in deeper to the #3 tunnel so you don’t end up decelerated and waiting for him when he exits for 4-5 and also 8-9.One little detail:
If you are going to use his name as an attention cue after the tunnel (which is perfectly good, he is very responsive to it), say it before he enters the tunnel – you are tending to say his name when he exits the tunnel, which delays the next info. For example: on the soft left at :44, you called him when he exited the tunnel and then said right as he was jumping 8, so that ended up being late.
This is also a good spot to drive more into the tunnel – you ended up stationary there so he almost came in too tight.I liked the send and go much better at 1:35!!! I think combined with a few more steps into the tunnel so there is less decel, it will be the perfect combo.
Remember to not just cue the tunnel on a verbal – connect and drive forward to it, to support the cue with motion. Being decelerated plus not connected and turning away pulled him off the tunnel (good boy) and he got concerned. Then I think there was a noise distraction, a horn or thunder or something? But I think he likes action, so if something goes wrong, no worries, keep running to the next line. If he is worried, just keep moving.
The wrap at :49 is a good place to add more decel and to stay on takeoff side – your right arm ended up a bit on landing side and you were sideways and moving wide of the wing, so he was wide based on the motion. If you get there early, just hang out a bit on the takeoff side of the wing. I think you can also try the spin there to get the BC exit, rather than FC then RC the tunnel (the spin should faster because he can chase you and it sets a better line than the RC of the tunnel does here).
He might have pulled the rail at the end when you gave him a big yes – or he might need a little more ‘extreme’ connection (hard eye contact as you keep moving up the line) heading to the bar after the tunnel because of the lead change. Extreme connection cues the lead change really nicely.
Great tugging at the end of the first run! Wheeee!
And i something happens and he turns off (thunder, for example) it is perfectly fine to stop the session (better than trying to work through it, because the pressure and the worry might get associated with agility, which we don’t want.
>> I feel less prepared when I’m running full out.
I feel this!!! Same for me hahaaha! But we will build up to that 🙂 And going deeper to the tunnel will give you more of a running full out feel.
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>> I will go back and look more closely at where my eyes go.
Yes – connection is so odd – we humans like to point things out, but that is not how dogs read courses. They do a lot better on sending if we look at their eyes. Strange but true LOL!!
>> I was really pleased with both of them and I will work on what you said above. Thank you so much!! I am loving this course! You are right, there is a lot to do but I am not getting overwhelmed. >>
You should be pleased with both of them – they rocked it! Glad you are having fun 🙂 And yes: Pick what you want to play with rather than trying to do all the things, and you won’t get overwhelmed 🙂
TracyHi!
>>I’m not quite up to running it band injuries are the worst and I suggest you don’t ever do that to yourself.
Yikes, that sounds painful!!! I hope it is healing quickly!!!
And yes, it has been crazy hot – I do all of my training and filming at dawn or dusk. Bleh!
I think on the lay game you were tossing the treat to cue him to take the jump – he did well, so you can reverse that now and throw it after he is moving towards the jump.
On the pinwheel sequence – this was a REALLY insightful session to help us figure out what he reads on course! I think he is cuing off your motion and feet more than off your arms (which is not that unusual for a smaller dog). He was really hustling and finding the lines independently when you were just moving along them and using your verbals.
But when you tried to use your arm to point to the jump – he was slower and less certain. That was partially because your arm moving forward to the jump blocks his view of your eyes and breaks connection (so he gets hesitant) and partially because pointing forward was causing your motion to either slow down or stop… so he was not as clear about what to do.
You can really see it on all of the openings, when you were just releasing him and moving along the line towards the tunnel – he was flying, even later in the video when he must’ve been hotter. And same on the lines after the tunnel where you continued to move. When you were trying to indicate by pointing more (like at 2:49 and 3:20)- it stopped your motion and broke connection, so he slowed down to figure it out.
This is good to know! I personally think it is easier if I can just run alongside the lines and not have to worry about pointing at things LOL! That allows me to move better and it is clearer for the dogs – I want to try this with Merlin too, so when you get to the ring rental (hopefully air conditioned!!) try just jogging along with connection and verbals, no arm pointing at the jumps, and see what he does.
>>I numbered the middle wing backwards so Merlin did what I asked whoops
No worries! We will do backsides later on in class but these are all front sides 🙂
>>the lazy game looked better on film after the fact he struggles to find white food without a whole lots of sniff and huh>>
A lotus ball or treat hugger is probably going to be more useful, then – if you have more than one, you can throw one for the first reward, then throw the 2nd one for the next one: then pick them up, reload, and do the next lazy game rep 🙂
Great job here! Let me know if it makes sense about motion (lower body) being more helpful for him than arms (upper body)
Tracy
Good morning!
>>I think that these first two concepts went fairly well, though there’s still room for improvement. I’ve also sped up the videos by 3x just so they would be slightly less boring.
Yes! I think they went well! You don’t need to speed them up, they are not boring 🙂 Fast forward makes it harder to hear the verbals and clicks – real time videos are better to really see what she is doing. Setting a timer for 2 or 3 minutes is great then you don’t need to edit – just post them up.
Lazy Game: It was interesting how she had trouble with the middle jump in the beginning! It might have been that after eating the first treat, she was going into handler focus and didn’t ‘see’ the middle jump. You did a really good job trying to toss your treat to help her line up to get it! That worked and then was able to find it – and then you could reward her to taking it. She was really getting it by the end! You can spread them out a bit more to add challenge, and also add the one-step sends to send her to it as you start to move away.
On the planks:
>>I didn’t have a 9 or 12 foot plank, but I had three 4-ft travel boards, so I just pushed them together. Acceptable? Here Ria kind of got on and off the plank wherever she chose. >>Yes, it was a good setup and she did well here too! I think she was getting off the plank when you started to throw the reward, so you can start to delay the throw by a few steps so she stays on the plank for longer. She also did really well getting on and turning around on these, good coordination! You can add in having her ‘hop’ off in the middle to make sure she knows how to safely get off the board too, in case she ever loses her balance going full speed across the dog walk.
Great job here! You can move forward to the next games too!
TracyGood morning!
>>Here is a redo of the mountain climber – much better..
Oh yeah!!!! Look at her on her mountain climber going straight to the end and right into the down. Super! On those first couple of reps, did you have something there to help cue the down or was it just an earlier verbal? They looked great. She was not as quick in the middle of the session and then back to being quick with the down by the end – it sounded like earlier timing of the cues. Perfect! As she grows up, you can ad tip to this game… but again, my rehab/ortho/sports vets don’t want the slam on the dogs body til they fully developed (joints and soft tissue) which puts things closer to 16-18 months at the earliest.
>>>Next is the love the slam it, baby. We did these a couple days ago. I think front feet were solid, but back feet took a bit.
She did really well on the baby level here! No problem getting on it and moving it. This board is little so she really only fits her front feet. Do you have a second board so she can get all 4 feet on moving things? You can have her put two feet on each board. And you can use a tug to here too – she looked a little bored by just cookies LOL!!
The other thing you can do with this board is prepare her for the noise teeters make by taking this board to noisier floors and having her smack it around, and using big rewards whenever there is a noise.>> We don’t have a go backwards to get the back feet on. We also tried the advanced version, but nothing felt right, especially with the desire for the down at the end. (you will see I adjusted the advanced version when we were out today. Went forward, rewarded the down and then rewarded the release).>>
You were doing what I call the bang game – dog leaps on the end and moves into position. I would hold off on that for a bit for a couple of reasons:
– be careful of too much slam with a puppy, even a couple of inches is a lot of repetitive bang on their bodies (I have asked the ortho vets and they all say we need to wait until the dogs are closer to adult).
– I start it on a short plank to get the end position perfect before moving it to the teeter – she was not entirely sure of where to be, so you can use a target to get her into the 4on and also feed her lower, so she doesn’t have to leave the down to get the reward, and so she doesn’t look up at you.>>We don’t have a go backwards to get the back feet on.
You can play with that skill separately to get her really understanding how to use her hind end – it is perfect for playing in the house when it is a million degrees outside!! Here is the link to i from the first puppy class:
https://agility-u.com/lesson/hind-end-awareness-backing-up/>>>Lastly, we worked on the Motion Override. When I reviewed the video, it seems I was helping her with her sit. Although, I think when slow, she wasn’t bad. But if tried to pick it up, it took her way longer to process.
I agree – she did really well when you were moving slowly but it definitely was harder when you tried to go faster. You were smart in the session on the video to slow yourself back down on the last 2 reps, so you didn’t end up decelerating with her to create the behavior. No worries, give her a couple of sessions of you moving slowly. I think it will also be easier if you toss a cookie away for her to get so you can start moving and she will not curl in front of you. You can also reward her more quickly – as soon as she plops her butt down, you can release and play – that will help her get into position faster too.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
You and the boys looked really good here!!!First up is Bob’s run: This is a terrific first attempt!
Lovely 1-2-3 opening! Fast and smooth! You can add in a little more connection to his eyes on the send from 3 to the #4 tunnel – you were looking forward to the tunnel and pointing forward to it a little when you cued it, so he looked at you rather than looking at the tunnel. As strange as it sounds: if you look at him, as you say tunnel and keep moving, he will look at tunnel 🙂The little oopsie at :30 was the moment where you went the wrong way for a heartbeat, no worries 🙂
So he hasn’t seen 12 weaves in a course since a year ago? Wow, he did great and remembered a LOT!! GOOD BOY! When you have had some time to practice them, you will be able to change sides while he is weaving and get him on your right for the tunnel rather than rear cross the tunnel. That got you a little behind him which made it harder for the next line – that is why he almost took the off course tunnel. You were running to catch up and said ‘go’ so he was going LOL! Calling him sooner, as he lands from the previous jump (or a left verbal is he has one) will totally smooth that out – he responded as soon as you called him.
Pete also had a great run!! Your opening looked great too, and you had lovely connection 3-4 on the send to the tunnel: note how you were looking right at his eyes and not ahead, and he was smooth there, finding the line to the tunnel. That allowed you to do an excellent blind after the tunnel at :11 to get 5, really great connection.
Taking thee weaves out was smart but also made you have to hustle more – you can play with a more independent tunnel send to be able to get further ahead on the exit so you can stay ahead of him and not have to hustle as much 🙂 On the ending line: you didn’t say go to him at the end so he was more handler focused and never looked at the off course tunnel on the closing line. YAY!!
When you have the super independent weaves or tunnel send, I bet you can get into that gap for a blind (or front) cross with both dogs.They looked great! Nice work! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
