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Good morning!
She drove ahead really well here! You can add your motion even sooner: rather than wait for her to get past you then start moving, you can start moving as soon as she finishes the wrap. And your motion will take you towards the center of the bar for the RC, which will teach her to understand the pressure as part of the cue. You can move the toy out ahead to the direction of the RC turn so she doesn’t go straight. And on some reps… don’t have it out there! Have the toy in your hand and throw it as she is driving to the jump.
And you can mix in some reps where you go straight (no rear cross) and the toy can be placed or thrown straight.
>I do notice how quickly she started to slow down though. I stopped after the last rep but think I could have stopped sooner.>
It might be that she is acclimating to the heat? She is young enough to not truly have felt summer heat yet and had to work through it? Or maybe her brain was working extra hard and that tired her out. She did great though!
Nice job here!
Tracy
Good morning! These went well!
Sequence 1 (blind on the exit of the tunnel):
The blind was gorgeous! You can ask him for more speed by running in closer to the tunnel then exploding forward to the jumps. He saw you decelerating so he responded with collection, good boy!Sequence 2: On this blind (4-5) you can be heading more directly to 5. Heading to 4 sets a bit of a straight line past it, which makes the turn harder to set up.
You did a nice job adjusting the blind here:
The blind was late at :25 (you did it as he was jumping 4). It was earlier at :37! Then really fabulous timing at :53! And he responded with great commitment and a lovely turn. On that rep, you also showed bigger connection back to him at :54 so he saw the line to the 5 jump really well.Sequence 3: At 1:08 the blind was a little later but also you ran pretty far past 4 then back towards 5, so he was not as sure of the line and dropped the bar. Then there was a little break of connection at 1:14 pulled him off the jump. When the weather cools down, you can start with that sequence: heading towards 5 for the blind rather than towards 4, which should make the turn at 5 even easier.
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning from somewhere in Indiana!
>at Merryfield Farms
OMG! Merryfield Farms! I went to one of my first seminars there EVER – I was running my Dalmatian, Pierce. I think Brenda Buja was teaching? Those were super fun days!
>YES! I never recognized that a lead change was needed here….. I recognized that the distance and the angle and all that was going to make it one of those that wasn’t a gimme but I didn’t grasp how hard it was going to be at all. Now I’m going to have to watch the videos (maybe see if I can do a screen capture and find the lead change). >
The lead changes are the source of many bloopers on course – they are subtle and if we don’t cue them many dogs stay on their line and pass the jump. And if we cue them late, a bar might come down. But if we cue them properly, it almost looks like a straight line. And some dogs are better at them than others. My terrier mix? Lead changes are very easy. The Whippets? Lead changes are sooooo hard, I really have to be convincing to get them to do it LOL
>Is it one of those lines that if he knows it early enough that he can actually make the lead change on exit of tunnel? >
Yes! Or he might do it inside the tunnel if he knows what the line it. That is why a cue on how to exit the tunnel (Go!) then maybe a jump verbal or even a ‘get out’ can all help.
> this does need that level of connection, doesn’t it? >
I think the big connection really saves us 🙂 when the line is hard or there is a big discrimination. It is more important than timing in many ways.
>Haven’t decided which setup from Week 4 I’m going to play with first…they both look wicked fun! >
Have fun! I am looking forward to seeing you and Sly run them!
Tracy
Good morning!
I am glad she is doing really well with her pattern games! You can do this at the start of the session, even if she seems undistracted. The patterns set up her brain to ignore the distractions even better! There were some big distractions in the environment on the video: sounds like a lawn mower, sirens, wind, jealous family members, etc etc. That is a LOT of a baby dog and she did great!
The rocking horses on the wings were fantastic. She is committing really well and rounding the wings perfectly (not touching them at all) on the crosses and the race tracks. SUPER!!!! I am doing a happy dance! How is she doing with her toy play outside? You can include a toy too, that will be even more fun. And you can spread the wings out more so you are both running more too.
Great job :)
TracyGood morning!
That is great news about having the Tollers and a BC who can do walk with you and Macklynn!!!!
And the up and down game resets the dog’s nervous system – it is REALLY cool to see it happen and I am glad she did well!
She seemed to like Find My Face a whole lot – easiest game ever! The only delay was when she couldn’t find the treat in the dirt 🙂 You can also mix in sometimes rewarding with the toy, I think she will like that too.
Rocking horses also looked great! She gets a double gold star for ignoring the toy that was dangling there until you presented it to her!
Her commitment is looking good and your connection is going well too – so now you can spread things out so both of you are running 🙂 She was ready to get faster but was waiting for ‘permission’ with you all going faster 🙂
>I’ve just become increasingly aware of how uncoordinated I can be >
You are doing great! Just stay connected and trust her commitment, no worries about anything else 🙂
The stays are going well! She is definitely figuring out that staying is fun even with all sorts of things out there (tunnel, toy, etc). One thing to add is maintaining eye contact as you lead out, then release. And mix that in with *not* maintaining eye contact but when you look back at her, praise but don’t release (then throw a reward back). Playing around with eye contact like that will help her understand that it is *not* eye contact that is the release (especially when you lead out with out eye contact then look at her).
If the release comes at the same time as you make eye contact again, she will think the release is the eye contact (or hand movement, if you move your hand at the same time).
You can also add in a stay in front of a jump or in front of a barrel if you haven’t already done it.
>Do you have any suggestions/modifications for the Flyball/Restrained Recall? I’m on my own and don’t live near many people who could assist.>
Good question! Plus she might not love a stranger holding on to her as you run away. You can out a small soft treat in a bowl and send her to it (small and soft so she doesn’t choke on it). You will be walking away as she arrives at the bowl and as she eats the treat: run away as if someone was holding her for the restrained recall. That will be fun and you can also take the bowl to other locations!
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
>We did the Shipile game & Lew thought it was awesome! I really thought he would be afraid of heights but I am learning that the saying that Chin are catlike is pretty literal and he really seems to like to climb up high.>
This was so true! He was very happy to climb all around it LOL! The next thing to add to this is getting him a little wild before you let him get on the pile: you can throw a toy for him to chase, or do cookie recalls on the flat. Then break it off after every 2 or 3 treats on the pile to get him wild again 🙂
That can increase arousal and will challenge him more: can he still be cat-like even when he is wilder? That will help him learn to coordinate mechanics even when he is ‘higher’.
>We tried the Tight Turns & Leading with the Head 360 game and it was very hard…for ME!>
The human mechanics are definitely the hardest part of this one! Two tricks to it:
– send him to the pole and and turn him away for the 2nd wrap with the same hand. Switching hands is where things can get weird 😂
– keep the magic cookie hand for the turn away right in front of his nose as he finishes the first wrap, drawing him past your feet then slowly turning him away. Doing it too fast will make it hard for him to follow in the early stages.This is what you did 1:10 – 1:13. That was my favorite rep!! On that one, you started him at your left side, sent to the pole, then used a low & slow left hand to get his focus on it and turn him away. He read it perfectly! So be sure to always start each rep with him at your side, and use the same hand to send & turn away.
When he recognizes the game more, it will be easier in terms of mechanics.
He did well with the threadles!! He was really locking onto your threadle hand. Super!!!
On the wingless jump, he can see most of you between the uprights which makes it harder, so you can use a wing jump or put more of yourself outside the edge of the upright on the wingless. This will be super helpful as you add movement too. The only bloopers here were when he went to your body position (after getting the cookie toss)
>He needed more help moving towards the manners minder than he did moving towards my hand. >
That was interesting! He doesn’t love it yet… but I figure he will be obsessed with it pretty soon LOL! And he will realize that the grinding gears are the marker to go get the treat.
>When we start alternating Threadles & Serps, if I am doing a cookie toos to start, do I just say nothing for the Serp since I’m not asking him to “break” from a stay?>
For the serp, you can say his name or a left/right directional based on which way you want him to turn 🙂
>Also, you know that I’m going to be one of those people that asks about the alternate off-hand position. When would you need that vs the other hand?>
For the threadles? That will depend on the course design. For the style of threadle on the ISC courses or international courses, you will probably only ever need the dog-side hand like you did here.
But for the American-style threadle and AKC premier threadles, the off-hand is used more (the lines are very different and a lot less intuitive to the dog). And for those classic Premier threadles (where the jumps are set up like a serpentine and the dogs come through the gap), the off hand is very helpful and I also use foot rotation on those!
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Thanks for checking in! I am glad you got to spend a nice relaxing weekend with friends!
And setting aside the training to focus on hanging it, strengthening, exploring… that is perfect 🙂 And definitely better than navigating around holes in the yard! We will have a MaxPup 3 in the fall when you are back to feeling 100%. I will keep you posted and keep checking in 🙂
Tracy
Good morning!
>Instead of having him hop into the end of the board like I had been doing with food on the piece of duct tape, she had him wrap a cone, to get on and then move down to the end to put his feet on the target. >
So we do need to have him hit the target without the food there, but it starts in smaller steps – I start it with just the target (can be the fancy one or a big slab of duct tape) and the bang game (hop on the very end and hit it, then I put the cookie on the target) and also the end position game (target on the end of a plank):
>So should I be using something besides duct tape with a bit of elevation to it? >Adding more elevation just means we have more to fade out. So if he catches on to touch it (or paws at it) with his feet? Duct tape is all you need. If he doesn’t figure it out, we can help by adding elevation.
Tracy
Good morning!
>I’m going to focus on helping his sit. He doesn’t have a good down honestly and since it’s arousal based I would potentially muddy that cue too. He just needs more focus practice on it and I’ve been lazy!!>
Be sure to not create stress with the sit by adjusting it a lot. And now is a good time to train a down and a stand stay, as those can both help the sit.
And you have to do a butt check before every release. On the lead out video – he stood up and started moving at 1:30 then got released. He did the same exact thing at 2:30 and you stopped him. That will be confusing/stress-inducing to sometimes run, sometimes stop so you need to double down the consistency. I think he is anticipating the release based on your proximity to jump 2, so you can change the timing/location of the release and throw the reward back a lot more.
On the lateral lead outs – just one suggestion is to be closer to 3 as you move up the line, further from 1 and 2. 3 was not visible in this video but based on his turn over 2, you are showing a straight line. Being laterally away on a line towards 3 will cue the turn even before you start the blind.
>You mentioned he doesn’t know when to get it. I would say yes I’m not always clear but I am about 90 percent. He has certain contexts of when it’s happening. He does very clearly know the bite verbal when it is isolated.>
Yes, he knows the bite verbal when it is isolated but you can also try doing the exact same thing and use a different verbal like a down cue or big yes or something – does he understand the verbal, or the context?
And you were definitely more clear with the bite marker on this video, I think there is only 1 time that I didn’t really hear it or it got lost in praise (which diminishes the understanding of the marker). Keep being insanely clear with it – it is super important because he might accidentally grab your hand, ouch.
You can also be careful of how you hold the frisbee as he is learning not to jump for it – when it is up by your shoulder, it is very visible and tempting to leap for, so having it lower and holding it more causally will make it less tempting
The tandem turns are going well! As you add more speed into them be sure you are turning to move along a line parallel to the line you want him to take, kind of pulling away from the wing here. When you did that, he got it every time. At 2:29 you were moving towards the wing and showed a parallel path to the line he stayed on, so he went to the other side of the wing.
Nice work here!
Tracy
Good morning!
Throwbacks went well! You can be even closer to the wing, almost sitting on it, to really emphasize the positional cue. And because she has a lovely response to countermotion, you can start moving forward to the correct tunnel entry even sooner without having to step back wards toward the jump at all.
>I was so focused on her that I forgot to call her in time to cue her to the opposite end of the tunnel.>
Yes, she was a good girl to stay on her line 🙂
2nd video –
For the blind on the landing side of 3, if you are able to get between the uprights of 3 before she exits the tunnel then you can also already be done with the blind (already on your left side like you were starting to do at :21, on this sequence, rather than connect on your right then blind to your left). That will be even quicker!
The takeoff side of 3 was a FC that had great timing
Be sure to turn her at :24 & :39 – you were accelerating and I think you said go, so she stayed on her line (which was the line past the jump). Turning your shoulders and calling her name at 4 should be all she needs to turn.
You can see this one the 3rd video – for the first reps, yes – she was correct to read it as a line to the backside. She could see acceleration and parallel line motion over 4, good girl! So to get the FC side of 5, you will want to turn sooner to face it as she lands from 3 (that is more of what you did at :40 so she found the front side). A name call will help too! Then as she is jumping 4, start the decel for the wrap at 5. You
>rear crosses. We haven’t been very successful with these. How can I break these down?>
For the rear cross: using this sequence for example, you will want to be running to the center of the bar of jump 5 as early as possible – and no later than when she is taking off for 4. At :53 you turned to the right turn line then showed RC info after she took off for 5, so she turned right when she landed.
You can break it down by starting at 4 to show her the RC line, then adding 3 – when you add 3, you might have to give her turn cues on 4 so she turns to face 5 while you move to the center of the bar of 5.
Nice work here!
Tracy
Hello from somewhere in Indiana!
Whining is always welcome! Whining can stoke ideas.
>I tried to ignore the dropped bars, since the only advice I get on fixing them is “be more perfect” and that doesn’t really help.
Valid point, though! In handling classes, we generally work only on the handling side which does indeed feel like a lot of advice to be more perfect.
But the reality is, perfect is impossible in agility so I have 3 other things I do with jumping skills:
– conditioning so the dogs have the power and core strength to jump properly over and over (confession: I need do more conditioning of course)
– jump education and proofing (grids with motion, distraction training, etc etc)
– high arousal training and regulation work (i do a ton of this) because the first thing that goes away when the dog is aroused will be mechanics. And jumping requires a lot of rapidfire mechanics. The arousal work has served me very well because the dogs maintain excellent form even in high arousal.
– a steady program of body work for the dogs so there are no restrictions, soreness, etc. They see massage and chiro as often as they compete and, depending on the dog, sometimes more often.
Happy to discuss any/all of these so it isn’t all about handling needing to be perfect.
Speaking of handling, I had an epiphany watching your video.
You were prioritizing position over timing. What I mean by that is you were trying to get to a decent spot between 5 and 6 before starting the blind. That resulted in late cues/wide turns and a collision when you were too much on his line.
In general, when you got to a decent position, you were starting the blind as he took off for 5, which is a jump later than it needed to start.
So here is the epiphany part: we flip the priority and voilà – blinds are easy peasy.
The priority should be connection & timing (they are linked), followed by position.
When you started to trust his line after the tunnel exit (after :26), you were far up the line enough that you can start the blind when he is approaching 4 (jump after tunnel). And keep moving up the line to 6. Motion (and a jump verbal if needed) will show 5. And he will see the cues before takeoff for 5.
I left in a couple of “oops too early reps” on the video but that dog is a lot smaller than Casper so I don’t think early will be an issue at all.
So that’s my only suggestion here for a fix: move the way you did, but start the blind when you see a blur near 4 (as long as you are passing 5, which you were :))
So it might have felt frustrating but it was overall good work!
Tracy
Hi!
I am heading out to the center of the country! Iowa (Quad Cities) then Minneapolis – agility seminars in both locations. Fun!!!!It sounds like your surgery went well! I know the dogs were bored but I bet you are happy to be finished with the carpal tunnel!!!
The stay session went great! And it cracked me up when he actually caught the treat! It think that he has turned trying to catch the treat into part of the game 🙂 He was very excited to be playing, held the stay beautifully, and was easily able to ignore Brighton’s Sad Song Of FOMO 🤣
Since his stays are looking great and his line up (‘peek’) is super as well – you can do a couple of little things here:
Instead of the treats in your pocket, leave them on the little table. Then go towards the couch, line him up, and go get a cookie off the table then keep going to a different spot. That adds in an extra stealth self-control challenge and some remote reinforcement.
You can also put a bowl on the ground so he learns to line up and stay in front of it, as if it was a jump 🙂 It can be empty at first and if it is easy for him, you can leave food in it (or put a bag of treats on the ground). It will be good practice for when he is needing to line up and stay in front of a jump.
Great job!
Tracy
Do you mean a target without food on it, then place the food on it after he arrives at the target? This is what the bang game becomes so yes, it is a good next step: have a nice obvious target and when he jumps into position and puts his front feet on it, you can then deliver the reward to his mouth just above the target. You can practice it first on a plank then transfer it to a target, I think he will pick it up really easily.
T
Hi!
He was fully engaged and excited… It looks like he was thinking he was in a stay for some of this and didn’t realize it was a shaping game 🙂 so you can do a wing wrap before it so he knows there is no stay. Or start from a cookie toss, to make it look different. I am glad he likes his stays and was offering them so well!
He was hitting the mat nicely – you can give him a bigger one to hit so his whole body can run through it. I am thinking a dish towel would be perfect 🙂 and you can start marking his back feet hitting it, instead of just front feet.
He was also watching the toy – you can use big chunks of food to throw as the reward, so he looks ahead more as you workthis game.
Nice work!
Tracy
Hi!
>I have always tried to square Benni up to any jump I want to RC this is on a bend. Sounds like this is not correct? I think that is what I was trying to do with Brioche.
Squaring up straight to the jump will present the turn towards you to a young dog – making the RC info late. An experienced dog will figure it out and be able to adjust, but it is more ideal to show the correct info earlier by facing the center of the bar to show the RC line so the young dog doesn’t have to figure it out with trial & error.
>As for the forced FC/threadle at a practice jump. Won’t it be hard with a wingless jump in a small space? Since there won’t be a wing for me to stand behind… I don’t want to make it confusing for Brioche. >
It will be a little harder but totally doable!
>Or maybe just the practice of the stay with the picture of me low with my hand out might be beneficial…>
Definitely a great opportunity to practice the stay as well!
> I have done the mountain climber twice at UDOG on 3 or 4 different see saws with no tip. We just used a wing to prop the see saw up.>
At UDog, if he is happy with no tip, you can add a bit of tip 🙂
> At home, do I continue to make it tip past the midway point in the same manner because then it becomes uphill and downhill? >
It depends on how his end position is going on the bang game. I don’t ask for any downhill stuff until the bang game is looking strong.
>Still can’t find a clip n go. I might have to drive 90 min to take a private with someone up in Saugerties, NY. They have one there but she isn’t allowing ring rentals anymore.>
90 minutes is a little far! I found one in NJ for you – do you know Jackie Wright-Minogue? And I am sure there are other folks who have one.
>>Jumps have been at 8 inches for Brioche. Let me know if I should put them up to 10″ or just keep it at 8″ for a week or two more.>
Try a jump at 10″ on an easy line, show it to him, and see how he does! I expect it will be easy 🙂
Tracy
