[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi! I think there was a TON of good stuff here and you will see how he reads the open shoulder versus the closed shoulder.

>>In your previous comments you noted that it’s the exit line that is the element to focus on using eyes and shoulder position to connect to the exit line. I knew when I was doing it, it still was not right because I wasn’t getting the tighter turn I wanted or expected.>>
After looking at this video many times, I think it’s my “closed” shoulder? In my mind, I’m thinking that if I pull my shoulder in I will pull him in tighter/closer but the opposite is happening.>>

Yes – it was the closed shoulder versus the open shoulder you were showing in other spots.

>>So..it appears that what I need to do is to “open” my shoulder while looking at him and putting my arm down and behind me to turn my upper body toward the preferred line? >>

Yes! Exactly. You are quite excellent at this on the FCs on this video (and the threadle exits). The spins where he was drifting wide were where you can do more of it (that is where you still had the closed shoulder).

Here are details about the video, then an idea for you for the spins:
Overall –
Your collection cues and connection for them look really great, he is turning so nicely! Part of that is the connection is revealing the upper body so he knows exactly where to go. Really lovely turn cues before the jumps.

Isolating moments: Look at :11 – :14. At :11 you are giving a lovely timely and very strong collection cue. Nailed it! He is jumped so tight over the bar. As he comes around, your shoulder is closed forward so he looks up at you at :13 before heading to the tunnel. This is where you are expressing frustration with him being a bit wide. Let’s compare:

Now on the W3 Seq 2 redo at :22 an :30 and :40 and :49 – nice tight collection! Pause the video as he is over the bar at :22 and :30 and :40 – your eyes are on his eyes and your left arm is back, opening your shoulder to him. He does not drift wide there at all! That is the open shoulder/exit line connection. It allows your upper body to show exactly where he needs to be.

You also had an open shoulder on the exit of the wrap at :24 (can be more open but it was definitely not closed forward) and he drove straight to the line, no drifting out. You can step out the wrap cue there more directly to the tunnel (you stepped back a little, which widened it) to get it more perfect 🙂

When you did the throwback at :32 nice strong collection cue before the jump! Pause the video when his feet touch down from the throwback jump at :33. Your eyes are on his eyes and your left arm is back, opening your shoulder. You held that connection while you moved away til he came around the wing – perfect. Gorgeous tight turn!

When you repeated it at :40, you showed more of the landing spot so the collection was not as good on the throwback jump but at :42 your exit line connection was also opened up back to him, so he still ran really tight around the wing.

:51 also had a strong collection cue and good connection on the exit line and he had a great turn there too.

All of your turns were high quality and super close in timing – I would need electronic timers on the jumps to know which was fastest!

Sequence 3:
You repeated your lovely cues on the get out jump, so let’s look at the FC on the jump before the tunnel – even with a moment of forgetting on the first rep – pause the video at 1:01 as he is lifting off for the FC jump. Note your timing (FC is already done, perfect!). Note your line (on the most direct possible line to the tunnel – perfect!) and note your exit line connection: eyes on his eyes and your left shoulder is back, revealing where your upper body is pointing, yay!!!!
Same thing at 1:10 🙂
The turn at 1:10 was not quite as good because you had more motion into it, so he was jumping with a little less collection. But you nailed the exit line connection so the collection before the jump didn’t matter as much, he still had a great turn.. On the next rep at at 1:18, you were rotated away on the FC even sooner (nice!!) and maintained your connection as he was over the bar, You can keep the arm back all the way til he is past you and closer to the tunnel, or he might end up drifting wide if connection breaks.

So I think you had really lovely exit line connection on the FCs here – you can hold that for a couple more steps before relaxing back to ‘normal’ handling but it was really cool to see how nicely it set the line for him.
At 1:26 you had a question in the video about you looking at him but your shoulder being closed – yes (at 1:35 too) it was closed. Compare it to the exit of the FCs at 1:31 and 1:41 where it was more open. So I think you are getting really good at the exit line connection on FCs and now we have to match it on the spin exits. When you do the spin, you can create the exit line connection like you did on the FC 2 different ways, whichever resonates and is more comfy:
You can open up the dog-side shoulder by showing him your other hand across the body (casually placed on your opposite hip) while looking at his eyes. On this sequence, it would be your left arm across your belly on the right hip while you look at his eyes. Or another way to think about it is to think of your dog-side arm having a string that goes from your fingers to his nose – don’t break the string by moving your arm or shoulder forward 🙂 This will help get the shoulder back.

Let me know if that makes sense – the FCs look great so now we just match the exits of the tight spins to it and you will have great turns on each 🙂 Great job!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

>>his was my fault. The ground was a little wet. By the time I got to the last few sequences I had, created a mud traiL, and it got slippery. My sneakers were slipping. I’m pretty sure I was hesitant on my feet because of it. I was more concerned about watching Demi.

Ah! That makes sense. It is also good excuse to go shopping for shoes you feel comfy running in especially because she is driving so much – I have waterproof Salomons with cleats for grip so I don’t fall on my ass hahahahaha

>>Anyway, looks like the yard is becoming less than desirable. We will get some videos to you this week from another location.>>

Stupid winter! At least you have good indoor options 🙂

>>Should I go to week 4, or finish the sequences in week 3?

If you have good access to indoors – finish week 3, it will make week 4 easier. Then plenty of time to do week 4 🙂

Have fun!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi! I am glad you snow melted, it is tooooo early for snow!!

Lots of nice work on these sequences! Small details will iron out any of the oopsies. They questions were not particularly connection related, more about timing and motion.

First video:
Yes, it was pretty straightforward and looked really good! Little details for you:
Rep 1: Look at her collecting so nicely on the decel on 3 on rep 1! Nice! You can probably leave even sooner there.

2nd rep – it looked a little bit the same as rep 1, I thought it was a redo and I think she did too 🙂 Show more transition here so she sees the decel sooner and so you can rotate sooner. At :20, she was about 6 fet from the jump, almost taking off and you were slowing down but not yet rotated. It was a good turn but I think it can be even gooder with earlier info 🙂
Rep 3 – you were too chill on 1-2, so the FC after the tunnel was late (she was already in before you started getting over there to the exit for the cross). You were still rotating and moving backwards at :29 so she was not sure if she should commit or not. You had a good training moment by getting her to take the jump even with you kinda sideways so she learns to commit even if you are a little late.
On the 2nd rep, you were a lot sooner getting to the tunnel exit… but still a little late because she was like a speeding missile LOL!! Ideally she sees the FC starting before she enters (while she is still 3 or 4 feet from the entry) and then the FC will be totally finished before the exits to set up the transition to the spin. You were still finishing it as she blasted past you at :40 so it was a little wide – in that moment you can also shift connection more directly to her eyes so that you are cuing more collection even as you finish the rotation.
To get to the tunnel exit sooner, lead out more laterally 1-2 and line yourself up with where you want to be on the exit of the tunnel – then you can release from way over there and start the cross before she enters.

Lap turns – These do require a lot of patience, letting the dogs get pretty close to the hand before stepping back. Doing it as the backside on the first couple of reps was harder because the entire front of the jump was visible and very tasty 🙂
On the first rep, she was not quite on your hand and then you stepped back, so she read it as a throw back (you were a little too close to the wing too). I thought the 2nd rep was better but you were a little too close to the front and she had a hard time passing it. At :16 you drew her further back and it was easier for sure! So I think the difficulties were more about being a little too close and not quite patient enough to let her come to you past the front side of the jump. When you did the other side at :23 – nice! The distraction of the wrong side of the bar was great reduced because of the angle so she read it really nicely! You can work the distraction of doing it as a backside by adding a little more room for her to bypass the jump, being laterally further away from it,

Sequences:
First sequence – the #4 jump is a little bit of a backside here, so you can push across 3 sooner at :04 and :13 to set that line before she takes off – that will allow you to shift connection to her eyes as she lands and set up the turn on 4 sooner. Sam with Badger on his video – at :03, you were a little stationary and turned towards him for 3, so really had to push him back out for the FC at 4, which made for a slightly wider turn.
Mochi seems to be needing a softer connection to her eyes there at :05 and :14 rather than a swoosh to the landing spot to set up a tighter collection. Her turns were good! But she is very bendy so I think you can ask for more collection on the takeoff side to get them even tighter 🙂
You had good exit line connection – you can fade off the line sooner but I think the main thing that pulled the bar at :06 was the tunnel verbal while she was jumping. It is a good proofing game because she can learn to let you talk over the bar and not let it distract her jumping 🙂 You were super connected and quiet at :15 and her line was lovely!

Lap turns:
A couple of ideas for you:
bear in mind that backwards motion is the same as forward motion – so backing up as you set the lap turn at :24 (and backing up fast it was pretty impressive! I would have totally landed on my ass!) will cue a throwback line. You backed up less at :32 and :47 but still backed up and stepped back as she landed, so she did another throw back.

Also standing will with the hand out and feet together til she basically gets to 2 inches from your hand will allow you to get the collection that sets up the turn.
This is why she still did a throwback at :53 and :57 – you were trying to get her on your hand by your leg was back – cuing the throwback. Darned leg LOL! The mechanics of the lap turn especially with young dogs need the feet to stay together til the dog is literally about 2 inches from our hand (patience is brutal! LOL!) and then you can step back parallel to the jump, turn her, then step forward.
Badger was showing his experience when he got the lap turn. Your cue was similar to the cue you gave Mochi – at :17 and :26, freeze the video as he is taking off for the 4 jump – he is totally facing the throw back landing spot. Then he sees you step forward so he turns his head in the air and finishes the turn when he lands. It was wide but he got it. Good boy! So setting it with less backwards motion and feet together will help him tighten it up. Mochi doesn’t have his experience, so she landing on the throwback line.

Get out: I can see why she didn’t know how to NOT take the jump LOL! You were close and it was the only thing out there, so…. LOL!! It was much easier when you moved further away and that added a bit of challenge to the get out. When you moved towards the camera – you had great reps of the line versus the don’t get out. Yay! I think when you put it into context on sequences, she won’t need the bypass/tapping. So…. onwards to sequences!!

>>We are supposed to have decent weather this week, so I should be able to get some more work done in an attempt to try to catch up a bit! I am loving this class though, it’s really helping me think about connection in chunks, which is good for my wrinkled brain.>>

Hooray for great weather and I TOTALLY feel the whole wrinkled brain thing haha!

Great job! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

>>I don’t really understand the difference in outside arm position for out vs backside. Also, I had not been using outside arm for a backside cue so that obviously didn’t happen the way it should have. To me the “out” and “backside” outside arm looks the same except maybe the pulsing of the arm towards the jump for the out. So maybe you can help me decipher this.>>>>

The shoulder position is one of the keys, and there is not much difference in the actual position. The difference is in handler position, context/line, and verbal cue. The upper body is basically the same. The pulsing is just part of running, not a deliberate or necessary element. Let me know if that helped clarify it?

T

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!
I would say you nailed the connection on the first one! Did you feel you could see his really well? You can add shifting connection very strongly to his eyes at jump 3 (as he land sfrom 2, to get better collection – either a spin or a soft brake arm) and aso the jump after the tunnel at :09 – he has such a big stride that the extra collection cue will set up the turn sooner. Nice wrap at :13! He didnt drive around the wing but I think it was more about the footing (mats making it harder to exit wraps) – his hed was turned before takeoff! Nice!

2nd run – connection looks really good here too! Nice opening line! He was totally expecting to go to the same end of the tunnel as the first run – so as he lands from 2, you can decel and start the threadle cue to the other tunnel entry. Nice cue for the wrap at :25! It looks like you shifted connection to his eyes and that helped! You can put the arm cue (right arm) more on the takeoff side and less on landing, then it should be perfect.

3rd run – nice opening and the in in to the far end of the tunnel looked GREAT! The back line with the dog walk and after the DW also looked really good – it is hard to see the exact connection but based on Cody’s response, I would say it was really good (he seemed to have no questions!)
He had a little question at 1:03 on the jump befor the teeter – he was looking at the blue tunnel because you were a little late in the turn – that can start when he lands from the jump after the FC so he commits while already turned.

>> The confusion after the teeter was 100% me, forgot the plan.>>

He did appear to be wondering what was happening LOL!!

The line from the teeter to the frame looked great! After the frame, you looked really connected but you can give your turn cues sooner: When he lands from the double jump, send to the green wing jump but then immediately leave for your cross – you took an extra step or two so he was wide (plus you can use your right verbal there too).
The FC worked at 1:46 but a blind will be easier and give you more time to decelerate into the threadle – you powered out of the FC so the threadle to the tunnel was a little late. That is where connection is so helpful though – you stayed connected and helped him get on the right track before taking off. Yay! The ending line lookd great!

Well done here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!

No worries about being behind, things are nutty and this week (tomorrow) will be busy for all of us – there is time to get things done, no rush 🙂

On the video – good work here! In general, all of the get out cues were great and he was already moving to 4 before taking off for 3. Yay! You don’t need it on all of the reps but it looked really strong.

On the first sequence:

The opening looked really good! The FC at :11 was late, he was taking off on the slice line as you were starting it, so he brushed the wing. You can use a brake hand as he is passing you to the backside there as you rotate, as well as earlier timing: Based on the backside commitment line, I believe he is committed to the backside when he is halfway between the 4 and 5 jumps there, so you can set up the FC sooner.
Compare your timing to the next full rep: at :37 you are already changing the info, and at :38 you have started the FC and he is still 5 or 6 feet from the entry wing. Reaching the brake hand across the bar helped too – you can wait one more heartbeat right on the line to get one more collection stride before leaving then I think it will be perfect.

I love that you tried all the things on the 6 jump! Wheee! I of course had to get out my handy dandy timer to compare 🙂 Here is what I found, from fastest to slowest:

German
Japanese/threadle
Whiskey/switch
backlap
reverse wrap

Now going back through, I think the japanese/threadle one can end up being fastest (no spin needed, that is tooooo much rotation. I agree that the spin would not be my first choice, but the BC to threadle might be, because of how fast it can be and how I can get to better position after it! More below). I will go through in order on the video:

The switch/whiskey was really well done! You can maybe add a little more decel as he was approaching the backside, but I am not sure this is needed nor will it get the line faster.

>>– On all reps of the last sequence, I would have been better off it I didn’t need to babysit the #5 backside as much.
– While I did pull off the German, I wasn’t very well positioned.>>

Yes! And these are related – and I don’t think you need to babysit 5 that much – when you give the big connection as he is exiting 4, you can hang out kind of in the center of the ring. On the backlap at 1:4, you would then head to the center of the 6 bar, using connection/verbal to send to the 6 backside when he is taking 5. You went a bit too much to the entry wing so it was hard to get a tight line across the bar at 6 with some decel and an earlier turn-back cue.

Same for the German at 1:35 – you can send more to 5 and head straight to the exit wing of 6. He definitely kicked in a higher gear of speed when he saw you drive through the german!! And heading more directly to the exit wing (as if you are running more towards the tunnel entry) will tighten the exit line.

Both of these can also be done with less get out to 4 and more motion towards it, so you don’t get too far ahead 4-5 and end up standing still.

On the BC to the threadle at 1:53 – you were too helpy on the backside send to 5 so the blind was late – he read it but had to slow down a lot there. You can definitely cue/send to 5 sooner and get up for the BC before the threadle earlier. Then you had a bit too much power & acceleration to the bar at 6 – try to step to the center of the bar and don’t go past it, then leave for the tunnel. That will make for a tighter exit without needing a spin. You can take off a couple of tenths in each spot, which is why I think this will end up being your fastest option because it was only 1 tick slower than the German (also gets you further ahead if something crazy was after the tunnel)

The wrap is good to work of course 🙂
>>– I don’t love the wrap but based on my possible positioning and motion, it was pretty good.>>

I agree! You can send to 5 and leave sooner, to get up to the position where the wing meets the bar as he lands from 5: then hang out t here, slightly rotated to your next running line, brake hand to help get collection – and don’t move til he passes you. And when you do move, move directly to the tunnel – at 2:18 you stepped back away so at 2:19 when he landed, he looked at you for a while until you stepped back in to the tunnel. You can cut off a good chunk of time by moving directly forward. In this scenario, I don’t think it will be faster than the german or the threadle, but it does get used in other scenarios so getting it nice and tight is good to practice 🙂

Great job! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

>>For the ladder grid, I had the bars at 8″. At what height should they be to add more jumps?>>

Start on the lowest setting you have, 4 or 6 inches for the first session or two, then you can raise them up. 8 inches will be ‘full height’ on this particular grid 😉

>> He seemed to totally have the idea of get out or no get out though so that was super cool.

Yes- that was outstanding – he had no questions at all!!! Good boy!!!

T

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!
>>Good morning!

>>We played with the Rear Cross/Turn and Burn over the weekend and I felt it with this too…..not the same drive out of the turn around the barrel as we went on. I’m thinking he’s telling me that the sessions are getting too long and/or too much thinking so I’m planning to play some of the handling games where he’ll get to run a little more….like the Diamond Game or something similar. Your thoughts?>>

Yes, could be that the sessions are too long – do you run a timer on them or limit the # of reps? Also, since he is a full-on foodie, you might be seeing the effects of food rewards – food rewards can often be calming 🙂 Yes, adding more running games for sure! And also adding different reinforcement styles where the food is more toy-like. For example, with my Papillon who is one of the biggest food pigs on the planet: I tied a line to his lotus ball and when I tossed it to reward, I swung it around like a toy using the line, so he would chase it and grab it like a toy. Then he started tugging on it too! It was definitely NOT calming hahaha

And there is also the flyball style of rewarding – run and whoop it up and run and then deliver the reward. Wheeee! That can reduce the ‘chill’ factor that the food brings. And it is a good workout haha

On the RC versus GO – One thing I notice is that he is not powering into the Rear cross, which makes it harder for you to show the line – so he sometimes gets it wrong because you are late (you can still give happy feedback there – a ‘good boy, you are cute, your reward is over there!” can help him learn to make the RC turn even if you are late for whatever reason.
So the reason I think it probably felt sticky and was late on the first rep has to do with the Go reps: On the Go cues, you are leaving the barrel early enough that he is not driving ahead, he is chasing you. He is fast and driving, but behind you. So when you move towards the jump with less acceleration for the RC, he is uncertain about driving ahead. A-ha! So if we get the go to be more about driving ahead, then the RCs will be muuuuuuch easier! He is reading the RCs but it probably feels sticky in the moment, right?
So on the go reps: stay close to the barrel until he is all the way around, don’t move, let him get to yoru side (he can even look up at you like, what the heck, human?) Then accelerate towards the jump. And to encourage driving ahead, you can have his reward placed out there already for a few reps, then go to throwing wicked early – throw as soon as you start driving and saying Go. When he is smoking you and gets to the jump 10 feet before you do, you can add in the RCs again 🙂

I just put this video up for the Crazy Commitment class to get more GO on a jump – it is in the context of *not* having to connect but it can also give you another way to approach getting more drive ahead to the jump (without a barrel):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EXRG7Q4Gsg

The backside circles look great! He found the backside really nicely and double gold star for committing to the bar while you kept moving past it – yes!!! You can add in your verbal for these circle wraps.

>>And oh yeah…… on the next to the last rep of the rear crosses to his left I forget to use his Left verbal and on the next one I remembered. I don’t like that I forgot but I sure did like how it helped him understand the cross on the next one when I remembered>>

YES! That was so cool to see – the verbal being helpful is perfect because it really helped him nail it. Yay!!!
Great job! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!
This is going really well 🙂 He did a great job discriminating the 3 different cues! Only one suggestion: on the threadle in particular (and on the serp too, but I don’t think it is as important as on the threadle cue): show the body position of dropping the arm back and then release with the threadle word (‘come’). When you said the word and *then* did the arm cue, he has to wait a moment to see/hear the full cue (the word is not fully independent yet). And when he wants to react fast like at 1:14, if the arm cue is late after the verbal, he might consider the wrong side (that was the rep where he almost took the serp side then saw the arm cue, stopped, came in. Good boy!!) So the order of festivities would be: you move then do arm cue then do the verbal cue 🙂 Then it will be easier to get the understanding using the physical cue. After a couple of sessions: move him further back and switch the order: move, verbal, then arm – that way the verbal predicts the arm better and will help solidify the understanding, if that makes sense 🙂
The serps looked good and so did the tunnel cues! The only tunnel question he had at 1:44 I think was because he needed more connection – which you gave him on the last rep and it was perfect.

Great job!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!
Glad you were able to be outside! I see green grass and no white stuff 🙂 I always prefer grass over mats for jump work especially.

On the set point:
I think he looks good at 12″! One thing about grids, is that they are really “chill” and we are teaching form but they dogs are often not as powerful as they are on course. He is stepping in really well, nice and balanced, seems light – so I really think the slightly higher butt is just because he is being ‘chill’ on the way to the reward. One thing that he might be ready for is the set point and then instead of a toy… put a tunnel out there. Wheee! You might see that butt stay fown more because he wants to drive to the tunnel. I need to do this with CB so maybe I will get it on video this week (it is really only for the older pups, I won’t do it with Elektra who is only 7 months old).

Ladder grid – also looking strong! He was a little more head up on the first time through the 4 jumps but really didn’t lose the overall form of it. I think he is not really driving ot the reward as you mentioned so he was a little hippity hoppity on that last rep – but again, I think it is more about the grid being kinda chill, the reward being ‘dead’… because he is not losing his form or his mind, we can add more excitement 🙂 You can get him wilder with tugging or tricks then set him up and ask him to do it with more internal arousal. I still think he is going to be fine with that – so you can add more of your motion. That will be harder 🙂 but I still think he will sort it out nicely, because he is able to go fast and get excited without losing his brain. I love that!

Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!
I love how you have an entire agility ring in your space there – I see a jump, weaves and a contact! Yay!

He did really well on his out jump here! My favorite rep was the one moving towards the window/away from the camera: Starting at :31, he was on the inside between yu and the jump and you had the opposite arm going as the cue. Yay! He read it really well.

When you send him around the barrel (his wraps look good!!) you can switch sides so you are on the outside and he is between you and the jump – that will make the out even easier. I think that is why he had a question at around :47, he was facing the other way so he needed a moment to figure out which side to be on – because he is young, you can line him up next to you (between you and the jump), give a cookie, then do the out – that will start him off looking in the correct direction.

Thanks for the trial run!!! He is showing a lot of speed and drive on the lines – true, not always the correct lines but that is normal for a baby dog and he did a GREAT job especially at the end. Yay! Loved his stay!! And OMG someone peed on the poles?? Eek!!! He was a good boy! Nice job staying connected and getting him on that big long line at the end: wowza, he has some speed! And the crowd cheering was so fun to hear 🙂 Well done to you and Merlin!!!

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!
She does seem to be back to her normal self 🙂 This went really well!

>> Switching gears can be as tricky for us as for the pup.>>

Truth!!!! I had to stay sooooo calm during this session and calm is not natural for me hahaha

The look on her face on the first far at :11 was SO funny – she was like “what the…?” LOL!! Keep working it – keep letting her find the tunnel by herself (it is so hard to resist the temptation to help her with a hand cue). She was figuring it out and that is going to pay off in the long run – just keep repeating the cue like you did and moving to the tunnel and having a party when she figures it out (but the look on her face when she is coming towards the camera is just priceless, I can see the steam coming out of her ears LOL!) I think you were in good positions for the far cue and also you got the directional in on the wing before it when adding speed. She does best finding it independently when you were moving directly towards it like at 1:22 and a bunch of the other reps. When you were a little too far away like at :59, she needed more help. She does not seem to be looking at the off course tunnel so you can totally drive in to the far end with confidence.

Great job on these!!!

Tracy

• This reply was modified 4 years, 10 months ago by Tracy Sklenar.

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!

The turn away/lap turn is really challenging for handler mechanics: it is a slow motion precision move which actually feels delayed when you do it right. If you are too early or off a little in mechanics: young dogs will do the throw back like Lennan was doing. On the lap turn/turn away, it is a 3 step process: after waiting til he is about 2 inches form your hand (that is the slow motion delayed feeling part LOL!) step 1 is follow hand and leg back, step 2 is turn him away, step 3 is indicate the jump. A throw back is more flingy, meaning we don’t have to wait as long and we can swoosh the dog away to the wing with less precision and more motion.

>> A few times he actually seemed to be quite sure that I was wrong though, lol. He would start to come in to me and then quickly change to the other direction around the wing. >>

Well, yeah…. he was right LOL!!! He was reading the mechanics correctly. Darned honest young dogs LOL!!!

>>Apparently though the toy was just maybe too exciting for his brain because after it didn’t really seem to be working out we took a break, and then came back for another session with no toy and more success.>>

I think the success was all about your mechanics. The toy might have been a little stimulating but when he was correctly doing the turn away, your mechanics were strong! Here are the specifics:

At the beginning of the video, did look like a throw back rather than a turn away on th first couple of reps – partially because you were a little on his line and partially because you were melding steps 2 and 3 together in the mechanics:
You were turning and indicating at the same time so he didn’t turn, he went to the wing. Swoosh! It was more of the ‘flingy’ move and less of the slow motion/delayed move.
So to help him get it – be a little further from the wing (a meter maybe) and then focus on getting him to come to your hand (use the magic cookie hand position (I think that is what you were doing at 2:24) and you can even have a cookie in that hand. Then straight back, staying on the hand (the step back and hand back is parallel to the wing, not towards it, to separate steps 2 and 3 of the mechanics).

Looking at the rep that started at 2:23 as you sent him around the wing:
perfect magic cookie hand at 2:24 (he even opened his mouth, the joys of classical conditioning LOL!)
At 2:25 you were super patient, you kept your magic cookie hand visible/extended to him and your feet together til he was a couple of inches from you. Then you drew him straight back/turned him then indicated the jump. Nice!!

Compare it to the next rep – he came to your hand nicely at 2:42 but when he was about a foot or two away, you stepped towards the wing (arm and leg indicating) so he did the throwback.
Then on the rep after it, you slowed the mechanics down and isolated each step: lap turn. Same at 3:05 and 3:21 when you switched to the other side, and the next reps too. Yay!
3:55 was too early with too much indication to the wing: he thought maybe a throwback? 4:07 was very precise and slower: lap turn. Same the reps on the other side

Ladder grid is looking good! He is learning to power more with his rear – that will continue to develop as he continues to physically mature. You’ll see him land more in the middle of the distance and not as close to the previous jump. On this 3 jump grid, you can add in leading out less and walking while he is doing it (the toy should still be out ahead on the ground). And separately you can also add a 4th and 5th jump to the grid, same distances with you standing still at the reward – but lower th heights as you add more jumps because the balance challenge increases when there are 4 or 5 jumps.

Get out video: The out is looking good! And I think it is awesome that he never self-outed (is that a word? LOL!) when you wanted him to NOT take the jump. Yay!
You will see the tightness of his turns continue to improve – it looks like either he was really locked into the placement of reinforcement from the earlier stages or there was something out there on the line he was driving towards. When you did the blinds, you were a tiny bit late but I think it was because your were trying to figure out the strange mechanics. He got really tight at 2:29 when you were really early with moving away from the jump! So keep working to start the blind when his head turns – your last rep was the earliest so keep up with that timing. He will get tighter and tighter because he will realize that tight turn moves might indeed happen after a get out – I think this was news to him on the first couple LOL!!!! You can also do FCs there as well, which will help him turn (the foot rotation) which will make the BCs easier because he will expect that they are a possibility. And when you are more comfy – add in your wrap verbal when you see his head turn. that can totally help too!

Great job! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi there! She did really well here, she seemed VERY confident about leaving you to go to a line! Nice and fast, but also great turns. Yay!! And she is also very honest about whether your cue is clear or not – good girlie 🙂

Two general things: stay in motion more! You were tending to be stationary and leaning forward in a lot of places – she always found the lines better when you stayed in motion.
Also, try not to call her when she is in the tunnel when there is a ‘get out’ jump coming up – start your get out cue just before she enters the tunnel, so she is prepared to move away rather than come towards you.

Some specifics for ya:
Sequence 1 – you can definitely move more on the opening of this sequence, which will set you up to get an easier “get out” – more motion and more rotating your upper body towards her so your outside shoulder comes out ahead of your body rather than leaning towards her will help on that first rep where she didn’t go to the jump – the get out cue is a bit more upright and less about leaning.
The next 2 reps at :54 and 1:12 had more motion and that really helped her pick up the line! You were facing the get out jump with your whole body on those, you can try having your feet heading to 4 and upper body facing her.

Seq 2:
You were definitely more upright (less leaning) on the get out here, so now you can be further from the get out jump (closer to 4 :))
You were getting the line 3-4 really nicely – you were pulling her on your right side 4 to the tunnel which was hard because it sets up a difficult line to the tunnel (as you can see from her questions – she is an honest girl!!). You were in a great spot for a FC 4-5: using your get out to 3, you can hang out on the entry wing of 4 and get a FC (or BC) easy peasy there 🙂

Your get out cue at 2:20 now getting a lot more independent! You were further away, closer to 4 and feet facing 4 more. She pulled the bar on it – I think it is a complex skill and you started your push verbal as she was jumping – she is not quite ready for it yet, so for now don’t use a verbal while she is in the air. When she is more experienced, I think it will be fine and won’t distract her if you cue over the bar.

Seq 3 – This first rep was a definite keep moving moment 🙂 You can keep moving to get closer to 4 – you were stationary and ended up in in no man’s land at 2:54 so she didn’t know where to go when you pulled her in from 3.
You kept moving at 3:12, nice early rotation on 3 that set up a nice wrap on 4! Her commitment looked really good with all that countermotion! At 3:31 – you were turned too forward there and didn’t have quite enough motion – plus the cue was late – she is so honest, she won’t save you LOL! Compare that to the last 2 reps: You had much clearer motion and cues in and out of the 2-3-4 section, they were lovely! Well done!

Great job on these – she is reading her lines so nicely but keeping you honest if there is not enough motion 🙂 Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi! Sounds like things are crazy – stay safe! This went really well considering lack of sleep! And great tunes in the background!

First sequence – really nice! Connections looked good and the get out looked good – you ight have taken a step or two towards the get out jump on the first rep but I am nit picking – you still ended up in a great spot.
More nit picking – as she is coming around the jump to go back to the tunnel – call her quietly for a step or two before going to the high energy go tunnel cue: I think the energy was propelling her a bit wide there LOL!

Your get out at :19 was great! So was the one at :29 – but then you were rotated too early so she correctly read it as come through the gap.
The next rep had a great get out too – but you overhelped at :43 and went to the center of the bar on the FC – show the line like you did here but stay right at the entry wing so you can get a tighter FC line.

Sequence 2:
the get out jump also looking really good here, and the position and rotation at :54 and 1:07 got a great turn!
Small detail – on the wrap (reverse v-set, technically) at jump 4 – as she is passing your feet, you can transfer the arm cue from your left arm to your right arm to cue her to commit behind you (:55) – that will get you out of there sooner because you won’t have to twist as much and can maintain connection behind as you move forward as soon as she passes you. You had more of that at 1:09 so now as soon as she passes you, you can move forward. The games that I posted yesterdayhave more about being able to disconnect and not look at the commitment at all 🙂

Sequence 3:
You were a tiny bit early on the decel into the spin on 3 at 1:21, she almost turned off the line there 🙂 The 2nd rep looked good!

Good job with the backsides at 1:27 an 1:43 – I think on both of these you can be giving her the backside cue right before she enters the tunnel so she is expecting it more as she exits.

Seq 4:
This went well! One small detail: add some decel into the turn cues 3-4. You were going fast then rotated. she she didn’t collect as much as I know she can there.

Longer sequences – I liked the timing of the first push at 1:58, she was approaching 3 and committed to taking it and the cue moved her over across the bar at 3 and made it easier to see 4! You were too early a 2:10, she was just barely out of the tunnel so she read it as “don’t take 3”. The timing at 2:18 was spot on again and set you up for a good FC at 2:20!

You added more exit line connection at 2:54 but I thought you had very clear connection at 2:20, so as long as you look at her eyes like that you don’t need anything else 🙂

On the last sequence: I thought your backside push was well done in timing and verbal and your position was good! But there was a god training breakdown where she went to the backside and kept going at 3:05, right into the tunnel LOL!! You helped with a name call and handling on the next 2 reps but things got hairy LOL! On the last rep you were back to smoother handling, but what you did on the first rep here (3:05) was spot on perfect… we just need to train more commitment with a juicy tunnel out there 🙂 You can do a proofing game we are doing with the younger generation, I don’t think we have done it with her?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cl-65fe7KyE

And this week I will be doing the video for the backside proofing – I will post it if you remind me 🙂

Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

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