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Hi!
>>Leaping Lizard is back in certain situations so I made a point of doing more with the cookie transport between reps in the 2nd session.>>
Yes, that totally helped! And you can bring out a Cato Board or something so she can run to it, let you move to position, then release to run to you to line up. That can also keep it really fun!
The lead outs are going well overall! Super!
Be sure take a moment of eye contact (and even some praise) after you have raised your arm and before you say the release. The arm/foot step and the release were coming pretty close together – sometimes without connection being established so she had questions. And we don’t want the arm being raised to accidentally become the release, so keep them separate by a few seconds 🙂
The rep at 5:46 is an example of needing to establish connection back to her before the release – arm back to her, eyes on her, wait a couple of seconds (you can add in quiet praise too), then release. You had a high arm and quick release (with the jump verbal) but no movement in that moment, so she had a hesitation. When you added a tiny bit of movement, she release (along with the break verbal). Compare to the mirror image at :41 and 1:28 where you started moving when you released her… so it is possible movement is built into the release and she was confused when you didn’t move
She is finding her lines really well! And the turns on the throwbacks look really good too (be sure not to take more than one step back on those, or you will end up on the wrong side of the jump LOL!)
On the lead outs that were starting on the blue jump closer to the camera (and same blue jump when you switched it to the other side for the next session) – she was facing straight to the jump so she had an additional turn. You can set her up on a slice so she sees a straight line 1-2 on those (I don’t think she will have any questions about that at all).
When doing the blind on the jump after the tunnel, you can be even sooner – if you are in position between the uprights, you can start it before she even exits the tunnel (1:33). And then definitely don’t say “yay” LOL!! It makes her BIG MAD because you tend to break connection when you do that. That is what happened at 1:35 when she had a BIG MAD moment – you said yay then disconnected and looked forward. She didn’t know where to be, and so you got a leaping/barking moment. Lift is definitely a “just the fact, ma’am” type of dog so the directionals or obstacle cues plus connection will help de-leap the situation 🙂
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi!
>>We did try the yes tunnel no tunnel go tunnel and I’m pretty sure we did the yes/no part wrong.>>
True, it was not the same exact handling as the demo but it worked! The FC-RC into the tunnel worked really well and so did doing the spin to get him past the tunnel entry. Really nice connection at :17 and :46 and :59, so he knew exactly where to be. He needed a bit more connection to find the wing on the other side of the tunnel, which is what you added at 1:01 and it worked really well.
>>We also tried the send to the tunnel from the back and this was… not awesome. I>>
A lot of the youngsters had trouble with that tunnel entry! He knew it was the tunnel entry, but couldn’t quite make the entry. There is a LOT of collection needed to get into it and they are just not used to collecting that much for a tunnel entry. You broke it down really well by taking out your motion and starting closer – and I bet he sleeps on it and knows it better during the next session 🙂
One thing you can do is place the reward inside the tunnel entry, so it is there as soon as he turns to get into the tunnel. Then you can move the toy progressively further and further through the tunnel, until it is at the exit after he collects to get into it 🙂
>>I’m wondering what you use for jump training. >>
I use variations on Susan Salo’s stuff – same or similar grids, but I add arousal and handler motion a LOT earlier than she might suggest, plus I use the moving target we used in MaxPup 2 🙂
And I do jump organization work built off of some conditioning stuff – tight sits on a to plank or similar, then taking off plyometrically from there for wraps, slices, etc.
The main thing with any of it will be reward placement to get the head position (looking NOT at us LOL) and hind end use 🙂
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Yes! The dates are Jan 31, Feb 1 and Feb 2 (and probably more dates too in that time frame). You’ll get an email when we figure out specific days and times!
See ya soon!
TracyHi!
I agree – you two made a lot of progress!!! Looking good!>>And as a side effect over the summer the puppy, Firnen, learned to quit attacking every piece of equipment that I picked up to move.>>
Ha! That is a bonus LOL!!!!!
>>To work on building more confidence/drive/speed do you think I should go back and work on MaxPup3 or any of the other classes again? I know she’s never going to be Mazi but I think she’s got a lot more in her.>>
Has she ever done MaxPup 4? That brings in trial experiences, training in the ring, and more sequences – it might make the most sense to do that one. MaxPup 3 might be a little too simple at this point.
Nice work on the video! I agree – you got to a great spot here and I am sure you would have gotten the layering with her, but ti was better to keep the session shorter and not drill.
>>I could feel when I did things wrong and I felt like I knew how my handling contributed.>>
Yes! Things generally went well, and if there was a blooper you made terrific adjustments to clarify things. It was fun to watch!
Looking at the video:
The Left turns at the beginning are looking good!
The verbal timing was good on these – the
2nd rep at :18 had better shoulder turn timing because the shoulder turn was more visible to her before she entered the tunnel (so her turn was better).Timing of the go was very good too! You can keep saying it as she exits to really solidify the line – don’t get too quiet after she enters the tunnel. These tunnel exits are all talking, all the time, no time to breathe LOL!!
She had some questions about going straight when you wanted the turn to the backside. At :38 – you had one quiet verbal as she exited the wing wrap then no other verbals. Your physical cues went straight, so she carried on straight to the jump. The verbal cue was closer to the tunnel entry at :45, but the physical cue was still straight so she also went straight.
At :54, your shoulder turn was a lot earlier – she saw it before she went into the tunnel and got a really nice turn on the exit! Yay!
So you can give a more urgent verbal turn cue there (her name can help too) as well as a brake arm, because it is hard to get shoulders turned in time as you are running.
Adding the layering: The Go without the layering went great!
The first Go with the layering at 1:14 was harder- it is possible that she saw you pulling away to layer. She still stayed out on her line so it is rewardable in these early stages of layering training.The rep at 1:21 made me chuckle – why do they stop and sniff when we are sprinting across the ring? LOL!
The rep at 1:29 was really nice! Strong repeated GO verbals and the motion to match it, she stayed out on the line really well. Super!
Adding the collection and wrap exit to the next jump: the wrap cues started as she was gathering for takeoff at 1:36, so she turned on landing.
MUCH better timing at 1:49 – the decel and verbal were happening before she exited the tunnel
She couldn’t quite organize the collection (I think she was a bit surprised that we would cue a tight collection on a layering line) but with more experience, she will get that easily when you use that timing.
Super nice send to 6 and left turn out of the tunnel there!Adding the through the box section:
It is tricky to get the precise connection needed for this tight jump box! At 2:02, she is landing from the blue jump and your shoulders are closed forward. So even though you are looking at her, she doesn’t really have the side into to know where to be with both shoulders closed forward.Each rep through there got clearer and clearer! You had it really clear at 2:17 and even clearer at 2:29 and 2:42 after the FC on the backside.
Speaking of open shoulders and connection: compare how tight her line was going from the tunnel exit to the backside at 2:40 (your shoulder was more open, so more connection was visible) compared to the previous rep at 2:27 where your shoulders were closed forward more when she exited the tunnel. So definitely keep your shoulders open to her so she can see the connection clearly
Sending past the tunnel at 2:43 also requires a lot of connection – you decelerated right next to the tunnel to send her past it. Your arm going forward broke connection and turned your shoulder to the tunnel. So… into the tunnel she went 🙂
Excellent connection adjustment at 2:52 to get her to the jump! Looks like you might have pressured her line and stepped to the center of the bar a bit, so she did a rear cross there
Compare to 3:05 where you had the clear connection and didn’t pressure the line, so she got the correct turn. YAY!!Great job on these!!!!! And great job all summer!
Tracy
You did an awesome job with Bacon!!!!! It was so fun to watch! Your connection and teamwork is coming together really well, and it will get easier as he gets more experience – more experience means he won’t need you to be completely perfect LOL!!!
Great job with him! Keep me posted and hope to see you in Florida this winter!
Tracy
Good morning! Congrats on a very successful Festival, both as an organizer and competitor! I saw Kaladin on a lot of podium photos all over Facebook 🙂 Yay!! Did he win 16” overall?
Lift seems happy with the angles on the teeter entry – doing it on your right with the board there was harder as you mentioned (harder to hit the angle on a left lead, maybe?) The angles when starting on your left were much easier for her with and without the board – so you can work the harder angles on your left for now and stick to simpler ones on your right (then over time the right side approaches will get easier and easier for her). You can also slide the boards in closer to the teeter so less of the board is visible – just enough sticking out to be a visual guide to the board but not enough for her to hop over 🙂
Also, you can add more of your speed to encourage her to speed up the ramp too – that way she gets the feel of straightening herself up when running fast, which will be very useful on course.Layering is also going well, she is really getting the idea! Remember to tell her about the layering or turning if not layering before she enters the layering line. When layering after a tunnel you can tell her about it before she enters the tunnel. If you are quiet when she enters, she is going to have to either look at you for info or ignore your position (which could come back to haunt you in a different context LOL!)
And when layering from a line of jumps, you can tell her as she is getting on the line that it is a go line (or a turn and not a layer). I think the timing contributed to her question when she continued to the tunnel and you wanted the serp:
– at :45, you sent with decel into the line then accelerated, and there was no verbal cue til after she landed from the 2nd jump. She did get the tunnel nicely there! But then at 1:10, the physical cues all looked very similar to :45 and there were no turn verbals before takeoff, so she locked onto the line to the tunnel (and when you did start to show serp at 1:11, it was too late). She was a little frustrated after that when you tried to re-start her so remember you can just reward as if she was correct (because she was LOL!)You had a bit more decel and bigger serp cues so she got it at 1:32 but ideally all of that info starts when she is between the first 2 jumps, so she knows about the right turn to the jump (or the layering) before she is faced with a decision about the tunnel. So as she is landing from the first jump (after wing wrap) you can already be using the verbals and showing the turn or the parallel path for the layering. That way she can change her takeoff for the next jump, and land facing the correct direction. This ramps up the distance skills but she looks ready for it!
Great job here 🙂
Tracy
Good morning!
You and Sly looked great this summer – you did a ton of super high level work! Yes, your threadle wraps are going well but also your connection and teamwork has really come together. You two are looking smooth and fast!!!!
The sequence on the video was fantastic!
Interesting how much he looked at you 1-2 at :03. Maybe he thinks serp starts are weird and just needs to see more of them LOL!!! He had no questions on the rest of it – and the acceleration after the threadle wrap is exactly why we would use that skill there!!! Not only did he have a fantastic turn, but he exploded with speed up the next line. Great timing on your cues and connection throughout!!! Yay!Remember to run just like that at trials 🙂
Great job this summer! I will keep you posted about what is coming up!!!!
Tracy
Good morning!
The exit line connection sequences are going well – your exit line connection is super clear, even on rep 1 when the toy was in the wrong hand (you still showed great connection!) He seemed to have no questions on exiting those turns on 4 or on 5. Yay!!His only questions were on the commitment to the jump 1 or 4 if you were not connected long enough in the cue for it. When you were very connected, he took the jumps there every time (like on rep 1, and at :24, :37, :43). For now, in those moments, keeo your arm out of the way and eyes on his face so you can also see his feet. He will cue you to move away from the jump by lifting his front feet 🙂 If you pointed forward and turned away too soon (:18 or :29 and almost at :50) he had questions.
It will get a lot easier to get the commitment as he gets more experienced, but for now you can be super patient (I hate that word hahahaha) by watching to see him lifting his feet as your cue to go the other direction. You can also keep going if there is a blooper – the more you stop, the more he starts to look at you. So keep going and missing a jump is a cue to you to amplify your connection more.
And you can adding sometimes throwing rewards to the landing side of any jump where there is countermotion (like the send to 1 or the FC on 4 or 5) to keep the value of commitment on those sends and decels high so you won’t have to be as perfect with the connection.
The running contact work is going well too!!
>>I put 3 of those puzzle piece floor mats on top of each other for the contact work. >>
That looked really good – he had more forward focus to it and really good hits! Yay! Keep using throwing the reward very straight out ahead of him (using your get it marker) so that he doesn’t want to look at you or curl into you.
>. I also have the contact trainer for the Aframe that Indy runs through. Probably not the same thing but thought I would try it.>>
That was really good for him to have to work on his striding independently while you ran. The aframe box does produce different striding (more of the leaping striding we want on the a-frame) so definitely keep using the mats (for the DW striding, which is more about running and less about leaping) but practicing both is really great for independence overall!
Nice work here 🙂 Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi!
He is definitely getting the idea of following the shoulder turn to get the jump and not the tunnel! Yay! You want to be early like you were at :04, but also add decel and a softer verbal – fast motion and loud verbals can make things harder to read, like at :16 when you were not as early with the shoulder turn.
And really nice balance on the go tunnel line 🙂 Yay Bacon!Looking at the blind cross: because he is so fast, you can send to 1 from further away so you have time to start the blind sooner. At :33, he didn’t see it til after landing of 2. Ideally you can start it as soon as he exits the wrap at 1. You had great connection there at :34, really clear, which helped him read the blind to the jump! Nice!!
At :47 he went around 2, like it was a backside. That was because as you were running for the blind, you ran towards the fence first so he read that line of motion (he sees everything!) So be sure to move directly up the line towards 3 and not towards 2 at all (and that is safer for you because you won’t end up in his way) 🙂
He was locking onto the tunnel for a few reasons after the blind – mainly it was the cue you were showing, with the cues for the threadle wrap happening after he was in the air over 3 and looking at the tunnel. The distances were a little tight, so you can spread things out to give yourself more room (and more time, more importantly) to show the info. That way, as he is over 2, you are already decelerating and getting the threadle wrap/turn away cues going.
Also, since he is young and the threadle wrap is probably a relatively new skill for him, having the tunnel right there is really hard. You can take the tunnel out of the picture entirely so he is more likely to see your cues and not lock onto the tunnel, as you work out the timing.
Great job here!!!
Tracy
Good morning! These runs are looking really strong!!!!
>>Well I might look like a T-rex or some weird bird with my arms all spayed out when I run, but today we felt like a million bucks!!
You do NOT look weird LOL!!! And remember that the T-Rex ruled the kingdom, so that is a good thing to aspire to LOL!! There was only one spot where I thought your arms were flying a bit more than needed (see below) but other than that, I have only gold stars for you for arm use 🙂
>> I thought these went really well and we even had time and energy to clean up/push limits after 2 awesome runs!!>>
Yay! Great session!
Overall, the runs looked great. She has really developed that forward focus so nicely on the opening line!
2 places wehere you can be earlier on your timing:
On the turn on jump 3, you were starting the check and the decel as she was taking off at :10 and 1:09,so she was wide. Remember to start it as she is over 2 so she is seeing decel as she lands and can set up the turn.
The other spot was the spin on 7 – that can start a little sooner (after she exits the #6 tunnel) so it is finished before takeoff to 7 and you are not on her line as much at :20 and 2:27. (you did a double blind of sorts at 1:17 by accident. I think, so we will ignore that one LOL!)
Super nice push to the backside on 9! You were miles ahead 10-11! I am doing a happy dance at how well she is processing the tunnel send versus the backside send in the same context there. Verbals for the win!! The handling was very similar because that was the only option… so the verbals have become a lot more powerful and that is GREAT!
On the first run, you were a little late on the turn cues for 12 (starting as she was lifting for 12 at :27) so the bar came down. Excellent adjustment on the next reps, though: she saw the decel into the wrap at 1:26 and she was much tigher. And SUPER nice decel at 2:35 – really nice turn there! Starting the timing of the decel as she was landing from 11 really helped her set up the collection.
She found her weaves really well here! You don’t need to call her at 15 on the way to the weaves (:33 and 1:31) – it causes her to look at you and might accidentally pull her off the weave. You can just give your ‘get ’em’ weave cue so she doesn’t look at you. At 1:59, you didn’t call her and just gave the cue: she had a beautiful weave entry and didn’t look at you at all 🙂
The ending looked great each time – she found a new gear of speed to the tunnel after the weaves and you still got that blind really nicely 18-19-20! Be careful to keep your arms in tighter on the blinds – the more you did the blind there, the more your arms started to float up like at 2:06. That will block connection and slow you down, Definitely keep your arms lower like you did at :42.
>>as it is supposed to rain here for like the next 2 weeks straight!>
Nooooooooooo! EWwwwwww! Maybe the forecast is wrong. But you are certainly finishing with a lot of great runs!
>>If you are looking for class ideas, I would love a class on just evaluating courses, etc. I’m a little canine…I don’t generalize well! 🙂 For instance in this jumpers run, I never would have seen 10, 11, 12 as a serpentine if you hadn’t noted it in the pop outs and feedback. Or a class where you can run a course/sequence different ways and then learn how to evaluate how each worked for the dog/yardage/time to help decide what works best for a specific dog. >>
That is on my list for small space winter camp – analyzing sequences different ways, running them, timing them… then seeing which is best and which skills need to be strengthened. That could be a TON of fun!!!!!! And we can do video overlays for comparisons so we can see exactly what makes something faster (or not).
Great job in class! You and Synnie are looking amazing!!!
Tracy
Good morning!
All of the exit line connections on the FCs on the jump, BC on the jump, and FC after the tunnel looked awesome! SUPER clear connection so he knew where to be and could drive a fast, tight line. Yay!!!
The only hard part was getting commitment to the jump at the start, there were some refusals happening. I think part of it was starting from a standstill to go that direction with the rest of the course clearly behind him, and if you moved to the next line too soon, he came with you.Moving to the next line too soon was subtle: if you pointed forward ahead of him on the send then rolled your shoulders to the next line, he didn’t commit. He did best when you faced forward to the jump with more connection for longer, basically until he was lifting off, before you moved away.
So definitely keep facing forward until you see his little feets lifting off for jump 1. Then you can peel away to the next line 🙂 Young dogs often ask this question when jumping away from the course like this especially when we humans are trying to move the next direction. No worries! Holding the send a bit longer to support commitment will help and as he gets more experienced with this type of start, he won’t need as much support and will commit more easily.
Great job here!!
Tracy
Hi!
I think you did a lovey job sorting out what she needed for this really hard course. I was super excited by how well she read the forward focus to 1 with you closer to 2! Nice!
She is also reading simple decel really well and turning beautifully. I think that surprised you on run 1 3 to 4 where you pulled her in too much, but then you had a nice adjustment to trust the decel and support 4 really nicely.
5- 6-7-8-9 went really well!!! Nice!!!
>>Pulling her through 11 to 12 is a bit tough and then I panic yell to keep her from going in the tunnel between 12 and 13 and therefore the bar goes down. >>
The spin worked better on 9 to get 10 and keep you moving and not too far behind. Another option to consider is sending to 9 from a little further away, then do a FC 9 – 10. That puts you further ahead and on landing side of 10, to serp 10-11-12 and either RC 12 or do a BC on the landing of 11.
On the way to the weaves:
You had a little too much push to 15 which sent her to the tunnel at 1:25. Nice adjustment to support the line without over-helping on the next reps 🙂
>>We also had a little trouble getting the weave entry. I think I need to keep myself more parallel to her instead of moving laterally away toward the far end of the weaves. >>
Yes – you can totally face the weave entry longer, moving towards it, til she is in before you turn and move to the next line.
It was a little hard to see the 18 jump – looks like she ran past it on the first run through there but then was lovely on the other runs! And the ending looked great.
Excellent work! This was hard stuff!!
Tracy
Hi!
He did well on the teeter. I think the approach when he was on your right was a little straighter, but you can move the wing wrap more in line with the teeter so when he exits the line, it is totally straight to the teeter.On your left, the line had him coming on the board a little sideways, so that wing can move more in line with the teeter to make it totally straight.
For the mat work:
He definitely seems to know it is something with the mat, and is stronger when he is on your left. So when he is on your right, you can slow down a bit so he can look at the mat more.Two other things that will help direct his focus to the mat:
– you can attach it to something like a foam board or small plank, so it is elevated. That will make it more salient.
– rather than say yes then throw the lotus ball, say your “get it” marker and throw a big cookie (something visible like white cheese). The Get it marker will keep him looking ahead (the yes marker gets hin looking at you), and the thrown cookie will solidify that (he can drive to it without you).Nice work here! Let me know what you think.
Tracy
Hi!
The teeter plankrobatics is going well! He seemed perfectly happy to noodle around on the board, no concerns about it moving . He was moving at your speed because you are holding the food 😁 so you can place the food on a target at the end, then race him across.
He looked to his left and froze for a moment at :17 because there was a sound he heard – car radio close by? It didn’t look like he was worried, but rather listening to something.
A-frame jump teeter sequence looked good – he is finding the angle nicely! As you add more speed and more drop, straighten the angle of approach so he is getting a straight line entry to the teeter to he has the best approach, speed, and balance.
The decel sequences are looking good! He gave you great feedback about the connection. Right now, he needs a lot of connection because he is pretty inexperienced. It will get easier when he has more experience under his belt, but for now give him a lot of clear connection.
>>He missed a jump one or two times on the decel but we just kept going.>
It was great to keep going – in those moments, he had good questions.
That happened a couple of times on the opening line:
He missed jump 2 at 1:19 – the way it is set up, if hs ie facing #1 straight then 2 is a lead change away to the left to take the jump. On this rep, you were running straight and looking forward (not connected) so he correctly ran past it. At 2:25, you released him and ran but didn’t show him connection, so he ran past 1 and 2.
Compare to the opening lines where you were showing connection? Lovely! A good example of that is at 1:39 and also at 2:36. Yay!
Nice job adjusting the timing of the decels. When you were moving into it, you were a little late at 1:56, with t the decel happening when he was halfway between the 2 jumps. He did get a pretty good turn there, but the earlier timing of the decel at 2:42 (you decelerated right as he was landing from previous jump) was fabulous!!! Great turn and great commitment!
Both of those had really good connection, and so did the rep at 1:23 when you were stationary at the wing of 4.
When you were looking ahead at the jump and not showing him clear connection (2:02 and 2:12) he curled into you to get more info and did not take the jump. You made a good adjustment to add more connection at 2:49 and he committed really nicely – connection is a very powerful element of the commitment cue!
>>He missed going around the wing behind the tunnel on one or two of the reps so I tried to reinforce what he was supposed to do.>>
It was hard to see on the video (the tunnel blocked my view LOL!) but it might have been the same connection question: you were handing back but pointing ahead of him, which turned your shoulder past the wing so he might not have read it as a commitment cue. More connection as you send him to the wing can make a big difference. It is totally counterintuitive to look at the dog MORE to get better sending, right? But it works really well because it turns your shoulders to the line you want and supports his line with eye contact too.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi!
>>Weave pole question – what age do you generally start weave pole training?>>
I wait til 14 or 15 months old, just so the brain and body can be a little more mature. It doesn’t take that long to train the weaves and it is a lot of unnatural repetitive movement, so no need to start too young.
>>I heard there was a newish 2×2 approach that shapes the dog finding the entrance from the end of the poles instead of the start of the poles. Do you know anything about that concept?>>
I have not heard of it (but I am not exactly paying a lot of attention to all the various weave methods LOL!!) There are a lot of ways to train weaves that are really successful, so if this is a thought-out back chaining approach where you start with poles 11 and 12, then start with poles 9 and 10 in front of 11 and 12, and so on… I am sure it will be good.
2x2s requires a dog willing to offer a lot of behavior and a handler with good timing and throwing skills (it is a good method, several of my dogs are trained with it). Dogs don’t always figure out the footwork with 2x2s though. Channels are very popular now too, and that is easier for the humans LOL!!!! There are so many options – and you can be very successful with any of them 🙂
Tracy
